Lost in the Wild: Danger and Survival in the North Woods by Cary J. Griffith

I love the Boundary Waters and feel very comfortable there. This book made me reflect on how easily that beautiful wilderness area could turn into a sort of hell. Here, Griffith tells the stories of two men who ventured into the Boundary Waters/Quetico parks, got lost, and almost didn't make it out alive. One was much more experienced in the wilderness than the other, but neither was a novice. Their tales make for a gripping read and a good excuse to pull out the wilderness survival manual!

Peony in Love by Lisa See

I read See's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan a couple of months ago and simply loved it. I expected more of the same in Peony, but didn't get it. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Peony, but it is a very different type of novel. Readers of Snow Flower should be prepared for that!

More mystical than Snow Flower, Peony in Love is narrated by Peony, a young girl who dies in the first third of the novel. She becomes a "hungry ghost" and continues her story from beyond the grave. Readers prepared for the supernatural elements of the novel will enjoy See's fine storytelling and will learn more about seventeenth century China in the process.

Forever on the Mountain by James M. Tabor

I'm not a big reader of adventure or mountaineering books, but this book may change that.

Tabor tells the story of twelve men who climbed Denali (aka Mount McKinley) in July of 1967. Only five of them came back; the other seven died on the mountain during one of the most severe storms in Denali's mountaineering history. What happened to those men before they died remains a mystery to this day, and the lessons to be learned from their fate remain mired in finger-pointing and scapegoating. Nevertheless, Tabor has taken a convoluted and controversial set of facts and created a compassionate yet compelling story for his readers.

This book won a National Outdoor Book Award in 2007. A natural companion book? Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer.

Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich-Smith

Tantalize is a vampire drama (suspense, romance, mystery, action) similar to so many that are on the bookstore shelves these days. This one is set in a restaurant in Austin, Texas. I enjoyed the story and anyone on a vampire kick will want to read this one. On the other hand, vampire tale agnostics should start elsewhere.

Boy Toy by Barry Lyga

Oh boy. This is one of those books that takes the young adult reading world by storm. It is on a number of award nomination lists (Best Books for Young Adults 2008 among them) and many folks warn that is likely to be the target of banning because of its subject matter and graphic content. Nevertheless, this book, about the molestation of a young boy by his female history teacher, is one of the most gripping books I've read this year. Disturbing, captivating, and compelling. A must read for those interested in the dark side of modern times.

A Blistered King of Love: One Couple's Trial by Trail by Angela and Duffy Ballard

Did you ever want to hike the Appalachian Trail (AT)? I've dreamed about it, but haven't been able to get organized enough to do it. In this book, a young couple with little backpacking and camping experience, Angela and Duffy, take on the western, sister trail to the AT: the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). Angela and Duffy take turns telling the tale of their 132 days of adventures and misadventures on over 2,300 miles of trail between Mexico and Canada. Their stories are both humorous and informative, and anyone who doubts their ability to take on the AT or PCT will change their mind.

Deadline by Chris Crutcher

What would you do if you found out you had a terminal disease, that treatment might extend your life by a bit but it would make you miserable? That is the question that high school senior Ben Wolf faces, and he chooses to not only opt out of treatment, but also to not tell anyone he has the disease so he can live his last year in a "normal" way. Ben's last year is anything but normal and I enjoyed following his escapades and struggles and sharing in the lessons he learned before passing.

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld and Specials by Scott Westerfeld

Pretties and Specials finish the story of the dystopian world created in Uglies (which I read in November).

Donorboy by Brendan Halpin

I picked this up because Kathy D.'s freshmen were coming in and I needed a couple more Alex and Printz Award winners under my belt. I'm glad I picked it up because it was a darn good read. The plot features a turducken truck that tips over and kills 14 year old Rosalind's moms. Her moms had not named a guardian for Rosalind, so she was sent to her sperm donor, Sean.
Rosalind and Sean's father-daughter relationship is unexpected and neither has practice in their new roles, so there is a fair amount of comedy of errors. Neverthe less, their journey to becoming a "normal" father and daughter is a joy to witness.

World Without End by Ken Follett

This is a sequel to Follett's Pillars of the Earth, which I read years ago and loved. I've been waiting for this book for over 10 years! The book is set in medieval England and like Pillars of the Earth, features characters from the whole spectrum of medieval life. The main character designs buildings and I love learning how they built things back then! In addition to the architectural, there is romance, war, plague, and evil clergymen. It is a long book (over 1,000 pages) but I loved every moment of it!

If you like this book for the medieval stuff, do read Follett's Pillars of the Earth. If you like this book for the architecture stuff, consider reading Brunelleschi's Dome by Ross King, Cathedral by David Macaulay, and The Medieval Cathedral by William W. Lace.

An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris

I've read all the other Harper Connelly novels and expect this one to be just as good. Harper has a weird lightening-given gift: when she is near a corpse she can see his/her last few moments of life. This gift allows her to help the police solve crimes, but it also makes her the object of a lot of skepticism and antagonism (a lot of people think she is a kook and others simply don't like what she does/knows).

In this book Harper finds herself in Doraville, North Carolina where she "finds" herself dealing with 8 dead, runaway teenagers, and the controversey that starts when their bodies are discovered.

Other Harper Connelly books by Charlaine Harris include: Grave Site and Grave Surprise.

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Colin, a former child prodigy, has dated nineteen girls named Katherine and they have all dumped him. In an effort to forget his sorrow he embarks on a cross-country road trip with his friend Hassan. Colin and Hassan's adventures include the Arch Duke Ferdinand, the creation of a a mathematical formula for predicting who will get dumped in a relationship, and a company that makes tampon strings. It all makes sense in the story; believe me, and getting everything resolved is a hoot. This book will make you smile.

The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

If you liked The Giver, you will like this book. Westerfeld has set up a utopian/dystopian society that depends on cosmetic surgery unlike anything we know today. The remnants of OUR society (we were destroyed by a petroleum virus) linger in the setting. A secret society dedicated to preserving indviduality, cosmetic-surgery free, lives off-grid in a place called "The Smoke" and provides an escape for those who don't want to be surgically altered into submission.

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler

I just finished this book over the weekend. It was a lot of fun and had a happy ending (go figure!). I especially like the main character's spunky disposition and her positive way of confronting the negatives in her life.