MADreads for Teens

Left behind

A review of: Hate List by Jennifer Brown

There are books that stick with you long after you close the back cover. The Hate List by Jennifer Brown is just such a book. Known more for her humor columns in the Kansas City Star (she is the two-time winner of the ...read more

Reviewed by Jane J - Central on October 13, 2009 | 0 comments

Just a little slip

A review of: Goldengrove by Francine Prose

I think it was back in February that I swore off books that dealt with grieving, but I slipped off the wagon. It's not really my fault...my book group selected Goldengrove by ...read more

Reviewed by Lisa - Central on September 25, 2009 | 0 comments

The spark to the revolution

A review of: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

If you haven't read Suzanne Collins' book The Hunger Games, be aware this review will have spoilers in it. A year ago, Suzanne Collins came out with the first book in her new trilogy, The Hunger Games. I ...read more

Reviewed by Katie H. on September 21, 2009 | 0 comments

Feisty girl heads west disguised as boy

A review of: Shelf Discovery by Lizzie Skurnick

I didn't receive a lot of guidance in terms of reading when I was a kid; I was basically allowed to read whatever I liked and if I didn't understand something, I looked it up. This wasn't really a problem until I started reading Holocaust literature, but that's a story for another day. My parents were very free and breezy with books. There were always a lot of books lying around the house, I was allowed to check out whatever I wanted from the library and my mom would buy me a ...read more

Reviewed by Molly - Central on September 15, 2009 | 0 comments

Truth in fantasy

A review of: The Eternal Smile: Three Stories by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim

After reading Gene Luen Yang’s award-winning graphic novel American Born Chinese and ...read more

Reviewed by Kathleen - Monroe Street on September 10, 2009 | 0 comments

Banned and beautiful

A review of Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan

Banned Books Week is approaching, so if you're looking for some rebellious reading, here's a book for you. Margo Lanagan's novel Tender Morsels is pretty controversial right from the start, since it begins with a few scenes involving incest and gang rapes. ...read more

Reviewed by Kylee on September 8, 2009 | 1 comment

Underneath

A review of The Underneath by Kathi Appelt

National Book Award finalist The Underneath by ...read more

Reviewed by Liz - Alicia Ashman on August 28, 2009 | 0 comments

Scripting a new generation of "John Hughes" films

A review of Derby Girl by Shauna Cross

Last week the world lost the visionary movie director, John Hughes. Anyone who grew up in the eighties probably has a favorite film of his, though it's had to say which I love more, Ferris Bueller's Day Off or ...read more

Reviewed by Katharine - Sequoya on August 18, 2009 | 0 comments

Zombies are the new vampires

Now that vampires are everywhere, there's a new trendy undead: zombies. They may not be as romantic as vampires, with their sometimes sparkly skin, glamorous fangs, and insatiable thirst for blood, but there's a lot to be said for the plain old corpse about town. My first encounter with the zombie trend was in Carrie Ryan's deliciously creepy ...read more

Reviewed by Kylee on August 6, 2009 | 0 comments

Cold hearted

A review of: Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Not for the squeamish, Wintergirls is award-winning author Laurie Halse Anderson's portrait of 18-year-old ...read more

Reviewed by Dennis - Central on August 4, 2009 | 0 comments