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Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick
Reading Level:Grades 8-11
When Perry's parents decided to invite an exchange student into their home Perry was ecstatic. He couldn't wait to meet the hot girl who would be sharing their home. Gobi, their Lithuanian exchange student, is anything but hot. Her thick glasses, thicker accent and old lady clothes say it all...Gobi is a clueless nerd.
Perry's life spins out of control when his father orders him to take Gobi to the prom. Perry's hopes to get through prom unnoticed are dashed when he sees Gobi's prom attire...a sack of a dress AND a kerchief.
He's not surprised when he and Gobi are harassed and have to leave the prom early. He is surprised when Gobi insists they drive to a certain bar in New York City. Once inside, Gobi abandons him at a table. He doesn't recognize the sexy woman in the slinky black dress until she walks up to him and tells him to go get the car...it is Gobi.
He is even less prepared for the bloody body that comes flying through the bar's front window. Or the gun that Gobi presses to his head when she orders him to drive away.
Perry began the evening hoping Gobi wouldn't embarrass him. Now he's just hoping to survive the night.
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Other tales of dangerous girls include:
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter and
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Tags: 8th Grade, High Schoolers, Adventure, JY Fiction, SJS
Now is the Time for Running
Reading Level: Grades 7+
25 year-old Innocent is the big brother but 15-year-old Deo has always been expected to take care of him because Innocent is "different".
When the president's soldiers come to their Zimbabwe village bent on finding all who voted for the opposition, Innocent talks back to the soldiers and is dragged away. While the soldiers are distracted, Deo slips away and finds his brother staked out to die. As Deo cuts his badly beaten brother loose, shots ring out. Everyone in the village is killed except Deo and Innocent.
Deo knows they must get to safety, but how can one boy and one injured, disabled man survive in a land of heartless soldiers, dangerous refugees and wild animals?
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More books by Michael Williams
Other tales of the struggle for survival in a war-torn land include:
Parvana's Journey by Deborah Ellis
Login or register to post comments | Printer-friendly version | Send to friend | PDF version | Tags: 7th Grade, 8th Grade, In Other Lands, JY Fiction, SJS
Killer Koalas From Outer Space and Lots of Other Very Bad Stuff That Will Make Your Brain Explode!
Reading Level: Grades 2-8 (and even adults on a silly day)
They're soft. They're cute. They're fluffy. They'll rip you face off!! They are killer koalas from outer space. And they are only one of the hilarious hazards you'll encounter in this book full of terrible jokes, blood-sucking grannies and poo...lots and lots and lots of poo.
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If totally gross, stupid (and funny) books are for you, try:
The Adventures of Captain Underpants: An Epic Novel by Dav Pilkey
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Gilbert Goldfish Wants a Pet
Reading Level: Grades PreK-2
Gilbert Goldfish would really like to have a pet of his own, despite all the wonderful things he has in his fishbowl - a magnificent castle, yummy flakes that fall from the sky, and even a treasure chest! Gilbert often thinks about what his pet might be like - would it be big, or small? Would it be loud, or quiet? Then one morning, Gilbert wakes up to find a dog outside his fishbowl! Finally - a pet for him to love and care about. But it turns out that a dog isn't really the perfect pet for Gilbert... and the mouse figures out that Gilbert is not cheese, so Mouse is not a good pet either (nor is Fly). Will Gilbert ever find a pet of his very own?
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Login or register to post comments | Printer-friendly version | Send to friend | PDF version | Tags: Preschoolers, Kindergarteners, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, Animals--Talking, Don't Miss These, Friends, Humor, Read-Alouds, Picture Books, EF
Prudence Wants a Pet
Reading Level: Ages 3 - 9
Prudence really, really wants a pet, but her parents say no, so she is forced to find pets wherever she can, such as her pet Branch and Twig and Formal Footwear in this silly story of a very persistent little girl.
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The Future of Us
Reading Level: Grades 7+
When Emma gets a computer for her birthday, her friend Josh gives her a free CD good for 100 hours of AOL time - totally cool, since it's 1996. Emma signs herself up for her very first AOL account, and logs on to the Internet for the first time.
The very first page she goes to is called "Facebook," something Emma has never heard of before, but then again she's never been online before - so she begins to explore the site. What she finds is herself... thirty years in the future - and it's not a pretty one.
Told in alternating chapters between Emma and Josh, The Future of Us explores what can happen when you know your own future - and don't like it.
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If you liked The Future of Us, you may enjoy:
Gimme a Call by Sarah Mlynowski
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Bad Taste in Boys
Reading Level: Grade 7+
Kate Grable is used to gross boys. As the apprentice trainer to her high school's football team, Kate deals with sweat and much grosser stuff. But when Mike, one of the linebackers, spews black vomit on her car and then tries to chew her lip off, Kate suspects much more is going on.
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If zombies are for you, try:
Rise of the Corpses by Ty Drago
Login or register to post comments | Printer-friendly version | Send to friend | PDF version | Tags: 7th Grade, 8th Grade, Books for Girls, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, School, JY Fiction, SJS
Dreadful Fates: What a Shocking Way to Go!
Reading Level: Grades 4 - 8
Have you ever wondered about all the strange ways people have died? Being shoved into a grinding machine by a robot, jumping off the Eiffel Tower with a non-functioning parachute, and being hit by a thrown turnip are just three of the unusual deaths highlighted in this darkly amusing book.
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A Donkey Reads: Adapted from a Turkish Folktale
Reading Level: Grades 3 - 5
When an evil Mongol invader demands tribute from everyone in a small Turkish town one family can only offer an old donkey. Nasreddin Hoca saves the day by promising to teach the donkey to read in one month. How is that possible?
Login or register to post comments | Printer-friendly version | Send to friend | PDF version | Tags: 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, Animals--Real, Folktales, Humor, In Other Lands, Non-Fiction, J Non-Fiction, SH
Lost in the River of Grass
Reading Level: Grade 6-8
13-year-old Sarah, a new scholarship student at the exclusive Glades Academy, is miserable. In a school where kids judge each other by the amount of money and things their parents have, Sarah the daughter of the lunch lady doesn't stand a chance.
Teachers are no help. Sarah wouldn't even be on this stupid overnight field trip if Mr. Vickers hadn't insisted the trip would help her make friends. Surprise, surprise...the four other girls on the trip spend their time snubbing Sarah and talking behind her back.
After a morning of cruelty, Sarah has had it. She pretends to be sick enough to stay behind...but not need a doctor. Sarah has no intention of spending the afternoon in her musty bunk. Instead she agrees to join on a joy ride through the Everglades 15-year-old Andy, son of a local fisherman, on his air boat. He even lets her drive!
When the boat runs aground deep in the heart of the Everglades, far from any cell phone reception, Sarah and Andy must save themselves...or die.
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Other tales of survival include
Login or register to post comments | Printer-friendly version | Send to friend | PDF version | Tags: 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, Adventure, Realistic Fiction, Relationships, Survival, JY Fiction, SJS
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