Riggs, Ransom, and Jean Cassandra. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children: The Graphic Novel. New York, NY: Yen Press, 2013. Print. ISBN 978-0-316-24528-9; Hardcover; $20.00. Annotation: Jacob's grandfather Abe dies and leaves him with an eerie message: go back to the foster home Abe grew up in and learn about the monster that killed him and the friends he left behind. Book Talk:Jacob Portman is very close with his eccentric and adventurous grandfather, Abe. Abe regales Jacob with stories about being sent away from his homeland in Poland to a tiny island on the edge of Wales to escape terrifying monsters. The foster home he is sent to is for children with unusual gifts, such as lifting heavy objects or levitating. Abe even has pictures to prove it. As Jacob gets older he begins to doubt his grandfather's stories and presumes the photos are fake. Until one day, Abe is killed and Jacob sees the monster who did it. Convinced Jacob is losing his mind with grief, his parents send him to a psychiatrist who convinces Jacob's father that it's ok for Jacob to visit the island his grandfather always talked about, that it may provide some closure to Abe's horrific passing. Once Jacob arrives at Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and meets Abe's childhood friends, he doesn't get closure, only finds himself asking more and more questions. Read Ransom Riggs exciting story made into a chilling graphic novel and find out for yourself if Jacob and Abe are telling the truth about the monsters or if mental illness and peculiarities just run in the family. Available in hardcover and eBook. Teen quote: "I found this to be a quick, fun read." ~Christy, 19.
Cliff, Tony. Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant. New York: First Second, 2013. Print. 978-1-59643-813-2; Paperback; $15.99. Annotation: Watch Delilah Dirk plunder, kick and fly her way through various exploits while dragging along her mild, tea-drinking new friend Selim. Book Talk: Delilah Dirk is a feisty, sword-wielding, globetrotting adventure-seeker who refuses to be tied down to any man or place for too long. When she is detained by and later rescues Selim, a Turkish soldier with a penchant for tea and relaxation, he tags along on her latest escapade. It doesn't take long for Selim to discover he isn't cut out for explosions, murder, stealing treasure or flying ships. Read Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant to witness Selim's amazing reaction when Delilah gives him a compass and tells him to follow it. Available in paperback.
Alexie, Sherman, and Ellen Forney. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Little, Brown and Co, 2009. Print. ISBN 978-0-316-01368-0; Hardcover; $20.00. Annotation: Junior leaves the reservation to attend the all-white high school 20 miles down the road. Will he survive tragedy and illness to get the girl and graduate? Book Talk: Junior is a nerdy, sickly, reading and drawing obsessed Spokane Native who leaves his friends and family behind on the reservation to attend a racist all-white high school in the next town. Despite meeting the girl of his dreams, Penelope, and making new friends, like Gordy, tragedy strikes and one horrible thing after another happens, until Junior isn't sure if he can go on. Does being Native destine him to a life of drunken poverty, unhappiness and early death? He says, "I used to think the world was broken down by tribes...By black and white. By Indian and white. But I know that isn't true. The world is only broken into two tribes: The people who are assholes and the people who are not." Read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian to discover if Junior is willing to change everything in order to change his life. When given the choice, which tribe will he choose? Available in paperback, hardcover, eBook and audio CD. Awards: 2007 National Book Award for Young People's Literature 2008Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Fiction and Poetry 2009Odyssey Awardas the year's "bestaudiobookfor children or young adults" 2010California Young Reader Medal, Young Adult Book
