One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones

Students seeking an easy read novel in verse with a rags-to-riches plotline may find what they are looking for in Sones’ One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies. Set in contemporary Beverly Hills, the sixteen year old narrator tells her story of loss, transplantation, meeting her estranged movie-star father, and adjustment and betrayal through poems and emails. Funny and over-the-top, One of Those Hideous Books is a quick read with no chapter breaks. Recommended for independent reading and available for book groups via the Great Stories Club grants Passages received.

Sones, Sonya. One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008.

Hate List by Jennifer Brown

Is Valerie a hero or a murderer? Hate List centers on teenager Valerie Leftman, a recent victim of a school shooting. Valerie's "victimhood" is complicated by the fact that the shooter was her boyfriend Nick, and some of those targeted were named on a hate list that she helped Nick to create. Although, Valerie helps to stop the shooting, inadvertently saving a social rival's life, she definitely isn't seen as a hero when she returns to school, not even by her own family. While the setting and characters may be distant for our students, the story brings up issues of culpability and community that should lead to an interesting book club discussion.

Brown, Jennifer. Hate List. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2009.