Title: Dead is the New Black
Author: Marlene Perez
ISBN: 9780152064082
Other Books in Series: Dead is a State of Mind, Dead is So Last Year, Dead is Just a Rumor, Dead is Not an Option.
Plot Summary: Daisy Giordano, a teenager growing up in the quirky California town of Nightshade, is the only "normal" member of a family with psychic and telekinetic powers. When Samantha Devereaux, a classmate of hers, starts looking distinctly vampirish, Daisy comes to realize that there is far more supernatural activity going on in her little town than she previously realized. Even worse, though, is when young women start turning up dead and severely wounded, the victims of a frightening new breed of vampire. Daisy must solve this mystery, along with her friends and would-be boyfriend, while simultaneously dealing with romance, sibling rivalry, her own suddenly extant powers, school cliques, and the unspeakable horror that is being on the cheerleading squad.
The Crucible
Title: The Crucible
Author: Arthur Miller
ISBN: 0142437336
Plot Summary: In Colonial-Era Salem, Massachusetts, trouble is brewing when a group of adolescent girls accuse various members of the community of practicing witchcraft. Accusations fly of lying, land-grabbing, adultery, and even being in league with Satan. In the midst of it all, John Proctor, a decent if imperfect member of the community, attempts to repair his marriage and help justice be done while protecting himself from Abigail Williams, his charismatic former mistress and ringleader of the girls, who is determined to bring him down along with the people accused of witchcraft.
Author: Arthur Miller
ISBN: 0142437336
Plot Summary: In Colonial-Era Salem, Massachusetts, trouble is brewing when a group of adolescent girls accuse various members of the community of practicing witchcraft. Accusations fly of lying, land-grabbing, adultery, and even being in league with Satan. In the midst of it all, John Proctor, a decent if imperfect member of the community, attempts to repair his marriage and help justice be done while protecting himself from Abigail Williams, his charismatic former mistress and ringleader of the girls, who is determined to bring him down along with the people accused of witchcraft.
Bridge to Terabithia
Title: Bridge to Terabithia
Author: Katherine Paterson
ISBN: 0064401847
Plot Summary: Jesse Oliver Aarons, Jr. is the lone boy in a family of girls, growing up in a small, rural Virginia community where change happens more slowly than elsewhere. Into this drab and predictable world comes Leslie Burke, a girl who doesn't dress, eat, walk, talk, act, or think like any of the others Jess knows. Intrigued by Leslie's free-spirited and nonconformist attitude, the two quickly become friends, ignoring the teasing of Jess's sisters and peers as they retreat together into Terabithia, a magical world of their own creation. But when tragedy strikes, shattering the mythical land they have created together, Jess must draw on the strength that knowing Leslie has given him in order to carry on.
Author: Katherine Paterson
ISBN: 0064401847
Plot Summary: Jesse Oliver Aarons, Jr. is the lone boy in a family of girls, growing up in a small, rural Virginia community where change happens more slowly than elsewhere. Into this drab and predictable world comes Leslie Burke, a girl who doesn't dress, eat, walk, talk, act, or think like any of the others Jess knows. Intrigued by Leslie's free-spirited and nonconformist attitude, the two quickly become friends, ignoring the teasing of Jess's sisters and peers as they retreat together into Terabithia, a magical world of their own creation. But when tragedy strikes, shattering the mythical land they have created together, Jess must draw on the strength that knowing Leslie has given him in order to carry on.
Indie Girl
Title: Indie Girl
Author: Kavita Daswani
ISBN: 1416948929
Plot Summary: Indie Konkipuddi is a young Indian-American teenage girl, living with her parents and younger brother in the suburbs of Los Angeles. Indie dreams of becoming a fashion designer, and when Aaralyn Taylor comes to speak at her school, Indie jumps at the chance, thinking meeting her idol will help her land a prestigious summer internship at Aaralyn's magazine. Although Aaralyn ends up only hiring Indie as a babysitter, Indie is disappointed but still accepts, thinking she may still get an "in" if she is a constant presence in Aaralyn's home. To Indie's disappointment though, Aaralyn turns out to be demanding, rude, ungrateful, and dismissive of both Indie and her own son. She sticks it out in her current position, despite her parents' concerns, even finding romance with another of Aaralyn's employees - until her boss's behavior during a trip to Italy convince her that whatever Indie's goals may be in the fashion world, she cannot let them come at the expense of her own self-esteem and emotional well-being.
Author: Kavita Daswani
ISBN: 1416948929
Plot Summary: Indie Konkipuddi is a young Indian-American teenage girl, living with her parents and younger brother in the suburbs of Los Angeles. Indie dreams of becoming a fashion designer, and when Aaralyn Taylor comes to speak at her school, Indie jumps at the chance, thinking meeting her idol will help her land a prestigious summer internship at Aaralyn's magazine. Although Aaralyn ends up only hiring Indie as a babysitter, Indie is disappointed but still accepts, thinking she may still get an "in" if she is a constant presence in Aaralyn's home. To Indie's disappointment though, Aaralyn turns out to be demanding, rude, ungrateful, and dismissive of both Indie and her own son. She sticks it out in her current position, despite her parents' concerns, even finding romance with another of Aaralyn's employees - until her boss's behavior during a trip to Italy convince her that whatever Indie's goals may be in the fashion world, she cannot let them come at the expense of her own self-esteem and emotional well-being.
Hacking Harvard
Title: Hacking Harvard
Author: Robin Wasserman
ISBN: 1416936336
Plot Summary: A group of intelligent yet rebellious Boston high school students come up with a plan for the ultimate "hack," or sophisticated prank: take a thoroughly below-average student, groom him properly for the job via any means necessary... and get him into Harvard. Doing this will not only prove that the system is beatable, but will also deny admission to someone the group feels deserves to be shut out of Harvard - preferably a particularly obnoxious classmate. They initiate a complicated and technology-heavy espionage method to find out exactly what Harvard's admission standards are, but get more than they bargain for when the Average Joe they select starts actually believing in his own ability to get in. Meanwhile, Lexi, the lone female member of the group and a chronic overachiever, is desperately trying to get into Harvard via honest means. Whether or not either he or she get into the world's most exclusive University will be a learning experience for all involved.
Author: Robin Wasserman
ISBN: 1416936336
Plot Summary: A group of intelligent yet rebellious Boston high school students come up with a plan for the ultimate "hack," or sophisticated prank: take a thoroughly below-average student, groom him properly for the job via any means necessary... and get him into Harvard. Doing this will not only prove that the system is beatable, but will also deny admission to someone the group feels deserves to be shut out of Harvard - preferably a particularly obnoxious classmate. They initiate a complicated and technology-heavy espionage method to find out exactly what Harvard's admission standards are, but get more than they bargain for when the Average Joe they select starts actually believing in his own ability to get in. Meanwhile, Lexi, the lone female member of the group and a chronic overachiever, is desperately trying to get into Harvard via honest means. Whether or not either he or she get into the world's most exclusive University will be a learning experience for all involved.
The Scarlet Letter
Title: The Scarlet Letter
Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
ISBN: 1442140712
Plot Summary: The narrator of the story, living in what is then the present day in New England, comes across some old belongings of a woman who once lived in the community known as Hester Prynne. Hester, a married woman, had an affair with the Reverend Dimmesdale while her husband was away, and bore his illegitimate child. For this transgression, she was ostracized by the community and forced to wear a large scarlet "A" on her clothing at all times, to symbolize the sin of adultery. She attempts to regain the community's trust by leading a quiet and charitable life, but the reappearance of a mysterious stranger in town throws her world into turmoil. Although both she and her lover attempted to escape their current situation, they found that the ties of duty, obligation, and their mutual child are too great to let them go forever.
Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
ISBN: 1442140712
Plot Summary: The narrator of the story, living in what is then the present day in New England, comes across some old belongings of a woman who once lived in the community known as Hester Prynne. Hester, a married woman, had an affair with the Reverend Dimmesdale while her husband was away, and bore his illegitimate child. For this transgression, she was ostracized by the community and forced to wear a large scarlet "A" on her clothing at all times, to symbolize the sin of adultery. She attempts to regain the community's trust by leading a quiet and charitable life, but the reappearance of a mysterious stranger in town throws her world into turmoil. Although both she and her lover attempted to escape their current situation, they found that the ties of duty, obligation, and their mutual child are too great to let them go forever.
The Handmaid's Tale
Title: The Handmaid's Tale
Author: Margaret Atwood
ISBN: 0771008139
Plot Summary: A theocratic dictatorship has overthrown the government of the United States and created the Republic of Gilead, in response to what it perceives as widespread immorality, corruption, and increasing infertility. In this dystopic future, women are not allowed to read, or even venture outside their homes except to run errands. In addition to the wives men already have, they are also allowed to take "handmaids," presumably still-fertile women who can provide them with now desperately needed offspring. A woman known only as Offred, a patronymic indicating only the name of the man she serves, feels stifled by her current life, remembering as she does the way things were before Gilead was founded, when she could live, love, and work as she chose. The only roles available to women in Gilead society are as wife, handmaid, or - for those who want a bit more freedom - prostitute. Offred makes plans to escape, but her ultimate fate remains unknown.
Author: Margaret Atwood
ISBN: 0771008139
Plot Summary: A theocratic dictatorship has overthrown the government of the United States and created the Republic of Gilead, in response to what it perceives as widespread immorality, corruption, and increasing infertility. In this dystopic future, women are not allowed to read, or even venture outside their homes except to run errands. In addition to the wives men already have, they are also allowed to take "handmaids," presumably still-fertile women who can provide them with now desperately needed offspring. A woman known only as Offred, a patronymic indicating only the name of the man she serves, feels stifled by her current life, remembering as she does the way things were before Gilead was founded, when she could live, love, and work as she chose. The only roles available to women in Gilead society are as wife, handmaid, or - for those who want a bit more freedom - prostitute. Offred makes plans to escape, but her ultimate fate remains unknown.
Wicked
Title: Wicked: 2003 Original Broadway Cast Recording
Authors: Stephen Schwartz (composer), Winnie Holzman (libretto), Gregory Maguire (original)
Cast: Idina Menzel (Elphaba), Kristin Chenoweth (Glinda), Joel Grey (The Wizard)
ASIN: B0000TB01Y
Plot Summary: Elphaba is an intelligent, magically talented, yet lonely and reserved young woman with an odd appearance and an unhappy home life. Galinda is beautiful, spoiled and popular, yet an equally gifted witch. When they are initially thrown together as roommates at Shiz University in the Land of Oz, they do not get along, but gradually become friends. However, things are starting to change in Oz: animals can no longer speak or hold teaching positions, and Elphaba starts to question the way things are run in the land. A handsome young ne'er-do-well, Fiyero, attracts the romantic interest of both women, leading to an eventual rivalry as they vie for his affections. However, the final straw comes when Elphaba, having visited the Emerald City with Glinda, discovers that the widely beloved Wizard is a magical fraud. She and Glinda have a falling-out over Elphaba's refusal to obey him, and the two part ways. Although their paths will intersect again in the future, they will not do so without personal tragedy and heartache for both.
Authors: Stephen Schwartz (composer), Winnie Holzman (libretto), Gregory Maguire (original)
Cast: Idina Menzel (Elphaba), Kristin Chenoweth (Glinda), Joel Grey (The Wizard)
ASIN: B0000TB01Y
Plot Summary: Elphaba is an intelligent, magically talented, yet lonely and reserved young woman with an odd appearance and an unhappy home life. Galinda is beautiful, spoiled and popular, yet an equally gifted witch. When they are initially thrown together as roommates at Shiz University in the Land of Oz, they do not get along, but gradually become friends. However, things are starting to change in Oz: animals can no longer speak or hold teaching positions, and Elphaba starts to question the way things are run in the land. A handsome young ne'er-do-well, Fiyero, attracts the romantic interest of both women, leading to an eventual rivalry as they vie for his affections. However, the final straw comes when Elphaba, having visited the Emerald City with Glinda, discovers that the widely beloved Wizard is a magical fraud. She and Glinda have a falling-out over Elphaba's refusal to obey him, and the two part ways. Although their paths will intersect again in the future, they will not do so without personal tragedy and heartache for both.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Title: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Author: John Boyne
ISBN: 97803857519637
Plot Summary: Bruno is a young German boy living in Berlin with his parents and older sister. When his father's job requires them to move to a remote village in Poland, Bruno bemoans the lack of other children to play with, general ugliness of his surroundings, and the loss of his old friends. However, when he starts to observe the goings-on behind the large fence visible from his bedroom, he makes the acquaintance of a boy his age who helps him realize that there is much more going on in his new home than he previously realized.
Author: John Boyne
ISBN: 97803857519637
Plot Summary: Bruno is a young German boy living in Berlin with his parents and older sister. When his father's job requires them to move to a remote village in Poland, Bruno bemoans the lack of other children to play with, general ugliness of his surroundings, and the loss of his old friends. However, when he starts to observe the goings-on behind the large fence visible from his bedroom, he makes the acquaintance of a boy his age who helps him realize that there is much more going on in his new home than he previously realized.
Anastasia At Your Service
Title: Anastasia At Your Service
Author: Lois Lowry
ISBN: 0395328659
Other Books in Series: Anastasia Krupnik; Anastasia Again!; Anastasia, Ask Your Analyst; Anastasia on her Own; Anastasia Has the Answers; Anastasia's Chosen Career; Anastasia at This Address; Anastasia Absolutely.
Plot Summary: Anastasia is bored, lonely, and short on funds. Her best friend, Steve, has left for the summer, and she is stuck at home in Boston with her professor father, her artist mother, her little brother Sam, and an allowance of two dollars per week. She gets a summer job working for a rich older woman, thinking she will be her companion, but ends up performing mainly domestic work. When she accidentally destroys a piece of the woman's silver and has to pay for it out of her wages, Anastasia finds that the job she applied for and the job she has now are two entirely different things.
Author: Lois Lowry
ISBN: 0395328659
Other Books in Series: Anastasia Krupnik; Anastasia Again!; Anastasia, Ask Your Analyst; Anastasia on her Own; Anastasia Has the Answers; Anastasia's Chosen Career; Anastasia at This Address; Anastasia Absolutely.
Plot Summary: Anastasia is bored, lonely, and short on funds. Her best friend, Steve, has left for the summer, and she is stuck at home in Boston with her professor father, her artist mother, her little brother Sam, and an allowance of two dollars per week. She gets a summer job working for a rich older woman, thinking she will be her companion, but ends up performing mainly domestic work. When she accidentally destroys a piece of the woman's silver and has to pay for it out of her wages, Anastasia finds that the job she applied for and the job she has now are two entirely different things.
Jane Eyre
Title: Jane Eyre
Author: Charlotte Bronte
ISBN: 0451526554
Plot Summary: Jane Eyre, an intelligent, headstrong girl, is orphaned at a young age. After living with unsympathetic relatives for a while, she is shunted off to an even worse girl's boarding school, where living conditions only improve after a fellow student dies. When Jane comes of age, she seeks employment as a governess, ending up in the employ of the mysterious yet oddly compelling Mr. Rochester. Although she initially develops romantic feelings for her employer, she comes to realize that there are some extremely dark secrets in his past. It is only after a great deal of soul-searching, life decisions, and various personal tragedies that Jane and Mr. Rochester are reunited - but if they are to remain together, Jane must be able to do so on her own terms.
Author: Charlotte Bronte
ISBN: 0451526554
Plot Summary: Jane Eyre, an intelligent, headstrong girl, is orphaned at a young age. After living with unsympathetic relatives for a while, she is shunted off to an even worse girl's boarding school, where living conditions only improve after a fellow student dies. When Jane comes of age, she seeks employment as a governess, ending up in the employ of the mysterious yet oddly compelling Mr. Rochester. Although she initially develops romantic feelings for her employer, she comes to realize that there are some extremely dark secrets in his past. It is only after a great deal of soul-searching, life decisions, and various personal tragedies that Jane and Mr. Rochester are reunited - but if they are to remain together, Jane must be able to do so on her own terms.
The Catcher in the Rye
Title: The Catcher in the Rye
Author: J.D. Salinger
ISBN: 0316769533
Plot Summary: Holden Caulfield has just been expelled from his prestigious prep school for failing all of his classes. Rather than confront his parents with this news, he checks into a hotel, leaving only to visit his sister in secret, confiding in her as he can never do with his parents. After a failed sexual encounter with a prostitute, a disturbing one with a teacher, and another brief outing with his sister, Holden reflects on his current situation, regretting the fact that he cares about his old friends enough to miss them.
Author: J.D. Salinger
ISBN: 0316769533
Plot Summary: Holden Caulfield has just been expelled from his prestigious prep school for failing all of his classes. Rather than confront his parents with this news, he checks into a hotel, leaving only to visit his sister in secret, confiding in her as he can never do with his parents. After a failed sexual encounter with a prostitute, a disturbing one with a teacher, and another brief outing with his sister, Holden reflects on his current situation, regretting the fact that he cares about his old friends enough to miss them.
Mean Girls
Title: Mean Girls
Director: Mark Waters
Authors: Tina Fey (screenplay), Rosalind Wiseman (book)
Cast: Lindsay Lohan (Cady), Rachel McAdams (Regina), Tina Fey (Ms. Norbury), Tim Meadows (Mr. Duvall), Lacey Chabert (Gretchen), Amanda Seyfried (Karen), Lizzy Caplan (Janis), Daniel Franzese (Damian)
ASIN: B0002IQJ8W (DVD)
Plot Summary: Cady was raised in Africa by her well-meaning yet clueless zoologist parents. Upon relocation to American suburbia, she finds herself totally clueless about how to fit in socially with her peers. She initially becomes friends with two other outcasts, hip, sardonic Janis and her friend Damian, a boy she describes as "almost too gay to function." Cady is soon adopted as a pet project by the popular girls in her class, whom Janis describes as "The Plastics." She initially does so with the intention of bringing down Regina George, the leader of the pack and Janis's former best friend. However, in the process, Cady gets drawn into their web of backstabbing, lies, and passive aggression, unwittingly becoming just as vicious and shallow as they are and abandoning her old friends. When Regina finds out about Cady's plot to ruin her, she makes the contents of a secret "slam book" the Plastics keep public, and the entire school is thrown into pandemonium. Cady eventually mends fences with Damian and Janis, but not before she and the entire school makes an effort to get past its mass avoidance of direct confrontation.
Director: Mark Waters
Authors: Tina Fey (screenplay), Rosalind Wiseman (book)
Cast: Lindsay Lohan (Cady), Rachel McAdams (Regina), Tina Fey (Ms. Norbury), Tim Meadows (Mr. Duvall), Lacey Chabert (Gretchen), Amanda Seyfried (Karen), Lizzy Caplan (Janis), Daniel Franzese (Damian)
ASIN: B0002IQJ8W (DVD)
Plot Summary: Cady was raised in Africa by her well-meaning yet clueless zoologist parents. Upon relocation to American suburbia, she finds herself totally clueless about how to fit in socially with her peers. She initially becomes friends with two other outcasts, hip, sardonic Janis and her friend Damian, a boy she describes as "almost too gay to function." Cady is soon adopted as a pet project by the popular girls in her class, whom Janis describes as "The Plastics." She initially does so with the intention of bringing down Regina George, the leader of the pack and Janis's former best friend. However, in the process, Cady gets drawn into their web of backstabbing, lies, and passive aggression, unwittingly becoming just as vicious and shallow as they are and abandoning her old friends. When Regina finds out about Cady's plot to ruin her, she makes the contents of a secret "slam book" the Plastics keep public, and the entire school is thrown into pandemonium. Cady eventually mends fences with Damian and Janis, but not before she and the entire school makes an effort to get past its mass avoidance of direct confrontation.
Harriet the Spy
Title: Harriet the Spy
Author: Louise Fitzhugh
ISBN: 0440416795
Other Books in Series: The Long Summer, Sport
Plot Summary: Harriet is 11 years old, the precocious daughter of well-to-do parents growing up in Manhattan in the early sixties. Her best friend, Sport, has become an adult before his time in his efforts to run life for himself and his struggling writer father. Janie, Harriet's best female friend, experiments with various chemical solutions in an effort to shock her overly jovial mother. All three resist efforts to make them conform to societal norms, particularly the girls, who have less interest than their peers in being "feminine." In addition to taking notes on her classmates, parents, cook, maid, and live-in caretaker, a stern woman she nicknames Ole Golly, Harriet has what she calls her regular "spy route": a motley collection of people she observes covertly, for no other reason but that she finds them interesting. However, Harriet's carefully constructed double life is about to come to an end. After Ole Golly and her new boyfriend take Harriet out for a night on the town, Harriet's outraged parents fire her on the spot; she subsequently marries the boyfriend and moves to Canada. She is discovered in the house of one of her regular spyees and sent packing, never to return again. To make matters even worse, Harriet's classmates discover and read her diary, an event which turns even Sport and Janie against her. Harriet must now figure out how to live without the woman who was her main support, conform to her parents' social expectations, deal with changes in her routine - and, most importantly, mend fences with her two best friends.
Author: Louise Fitzhugh
ISBN: 0440416795
Other Books in Series: The Long Summer, Sport
Plot Summary: Harriet is 11 years old, the precocious daughter of well-to-do parents growing up in Manhattan in the early sixties. Her best friend, Sport, has become an adult before his time in his efforts to run life for himself and his struggling writer father. Janie, Harriet's best female friend, experiments with various chemical solutions in an effort to shock her overly jovial mother. All three resist efforts to make them conform to societal norms, particularly the girls, who have less interest than their peers in being "feminine." In addition to taking notes on her classmates, parents, cook, maid, and live-in caretaker, a stern woman she nicknames Ole Golly, Harriet has what she calls her regular "spy route": a motley collection of people she observes covertly, for no other reason but that she finds them interesting. However, Harriet's carefully constructed double life is about to come to an end. After Ole Golly and her new boyfriend take Harriet out for a night on the town, Harriet's outraged parents fire her on the spot; she subsequently marries the boyfriend and moves to Canada. She is discovered in the house of one of her regular spyees and sent packing, never to return again. To make matters even worse, Harriet's classmates discover and read her diary, an event which turns even Sport and Janie against her. Harriet must now figure out how to live without the woman who was her main support, conform to her parents' social expectations, deal with changes in her routine - and, most importantly, mend fences with her two best friends.
The Lovely Bones
Title: The Lovely Bones
Author: Alice Sebold
ISBN: 1600240682 (Audio Book)
Narrator: Alice Sebold
Plot Summary: Susie Salmon is a teenager living in a suburb of Philadelphia. When she is brutally raped and murdered by a neighbor, her family must cope with their grief, loss, and determination to find Susie's killer and bring him to justice. Susie is not her killer's first victim, but he has evaded capture for many years, and this time is no exception, although he is eventually met with a form of justice. While all this is taking place, Susie watches her family's goings-on from heaven, eventually witnessing their slow rebirth as a functional family unit, and the continuation of life in the form of her sister's child.
Author: Alice Sebold
ISBN: 1600240682 (Audio Book)
Narrator: Alice Sebold
Plot Summary: Susie Salmon is a teenager living in a suburb of Philadelphia. When she is brutally raped and murdered by a neighbor, her family must cope with their grief, loss, and determination to find Susie's killer and bring him to justice. Susie is not her killer's first victim, but he has evaded capture for many years, and this time is no exception, although he is eventually met with a form of justice. While all this is taking place, Susie watches her family's goings-on from heaven, eventually witnessing their slow rebirth as a functional family unit, and the continuation of life in the form of her sister's child.
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