50.) A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness and Siobhan Dowd

“There is not always a good guy. Nor is there always a bad one. Most people are somewhere in between.”

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness and Siobhan Dowd with illustrations by Jim Kay (Walker Books 2011)


Genre: Horror, Fantasy

Honors: Kate Greenaway Medal (2012), Galaxy British Book Awards for Children's Book of the Year (2011), Los Angeles Times Book Prize Nominee for Young Adult Literature (2011), Red House Children's Book Award (2012), ALA Teens' Top Ten Nominee (2012) Carnegie Medal in Literature (2012), The Inky Awards Nominee for Silver Inky (2012), Galaxy National Book Award for Children’s Book of the Year (2011), Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Books of the Year (2011), Grampian Children’s Book Award Nominee (2013), YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults (Top Ten) (2012), The Kitschies for Red Tentacle (Novel) (2011) [Honors Information found at Goodreads.com]

Review: Connor's mom is sick with cancer and her treatments are not helping her like they should be, and on top of that and the bullying he is receiving from school,  a monster continues to plauge him night after night in the form of an awakened yew tree. The monster says that he will tell Connor three stories, and then Connor must tell him a fourth, because if he doesn't then he will have to eat Connor. But soon Connor's mom takes a turn for the worse and the monster is the least of his problems.

Opinion: This is such a very deep novel. Not really horror at all, but about pain and grieving and loss. It definitely starts out very terrifying, but quickly turns to almost a problem novel in a way. The problem is that Connor is a teen who is dealing with the impending death of his mother, the fantasy element comes in with the Green Man who is both scary and caring. 

Ideas: I would recommend this to anyone who is dealing with grief from the loss, or the impending loss, of a loved one. I would also recommend this to a reluctant reader because the story is rather short, and moves very quickly with great creepy illustrations.

One of the illustrations in the book

49.) Tomb Raider

Tomb Raider by Square Enix (2013)


Genre: Mystery, Action, Adventure, Survival

Honors: Best of E3 2011: Best Action Game; GamesRadar E3 2011 Awards: Coolest Character Reinvention; E3 2011 MVG Award Winners: Most Valuable Game; The Best Games of E3 2011: Best Stage Demo (Reader's Choice; Gamespy's Best of E3 2011 Awards: Best Trailer; IGN's Best of E3 2011: Best Action Game; IGN's Best of E3 2011 Awards: Best Action Game and Best Trailer; E3 2011 MVG Award Winners: Most Valuable Game Award; The Shortlist Best of E3 Awards 2011: Best Action Game; E3 2012 MVG Award Winners:Most Valuable Game Award; IGN's Best of E3 2012 Awards: Best Overall Game, Best Trailer, People's Choice; E3 2012 MVG Award Winners: Most Valuable Game Award; Digital Spy's Most Anticipated Game of 2013: Most Anticipated Game of 2013 (Readers' Choice)[Found on Wikipedia]

Review: Lara Croft is on an expedition to find the mysterious island of Yamatai in a Bermuda Triangle type area of the Pacific Ocean. Her ship is mysteriously wrecked and she washes up on the shores of an island. She soon discovers that there is a cannibalistic cult that lives on the island. Lara must survive, and rescue her team mates.  

Opinion: I really liked the game, the details and the game play were beautiful and seemless. But it was a little tricky for me to play being a beginner game player even on the easiest of difficulty levels. The game is quite gory with lots of blood and body parts, but I don't mind that as much as some other people. I didn't get a chance to finish this game but I got a decent way through it. There is lots of fun mystery and intrigue in the overarching story. 

Ideas: I would recommend this to experienced gamers, especially if they like strong female leads. If they like survival type games, or adventure games, this is a perfect game for them.

Screen Shot from game

48.) Kingdom Hearts

Kingdom Hearts by PlayStation, Disney, Square (2002)

Genre: Fantasy, Modern Fantasy, Role Playing 

Honors: IGN's Best of 2002; PS2's Best Game of 2002 Editor's Choice Award (nominated); PS2's Best Game of 2002 Reader's Choice Award (Runner-Up); IGN's Best Art Style/Direction,  runner-up for "Best CG Graphics"(Runner-Up), honorable mention for "Best Animation" in IGN's 2003 list of "Best Looking Games on PS2"; GameSpy "Top 25 Video Game Cinematic Moments" (listed twice).

Review: Sora is the main character in this roleplaying game that consists of different worlds. The characters are a mix of Disney and Final Fantasy. The player can have Goofy or Donald Duck as helpers in certain worlds. The different worlds consist of worlds that come from Disney animated movies. Sora is trying to trying to find his friends and help defeat the souless with the use of the Keyblade.  Goofy and Donald are on a similar mission from King Micky since his lands are being attacked by the Heartless.


Opinion: I know this game is old, but I am not a very good gamer and this is a fun game for beginners. It takes a player through the game play very slowly and in general is very simple to follow. 

Ideas: I would recommend this to someone who likes Disney, and is trying to start playing video games. Some teens might be having a hard time breaking into the video game world, this is a good gateway game for them. I wouldn't recommend it to serious gamers who play a lot of games because this might be too easy for them, unless of course they were really into Final Fantasy or Disney.

47.) Bob's Burgers

Bob's Burger's on Fox


Genre: Comedy, Animation

Honors: Teen Choice Award 2011: Choice TV: Animated Show (nominated);
Teen Choice Award 2012: Choice TV-Animated Show (nominated); Critics Choice Award:Best Animated Series (nominated); Primetime Emmy Award: Outstanding Animated Program (nominated)

Review:  Bob's Burgers is an animated television series about Bob who owns and runs his own burger restaurant and his family who help him. The whole operation is quite dysfunctional and the family is constantly plague with streaks of bad luck (most of which they bring upon themselves) which makes for some very funny episodes. 

Opinion: I never thought I would like this show, I was afraid it was going to be like Family Guy which I despise, but I sat down to watch an episode with my husband and we laughed our butts off, so we went back and watched all of season 2 and then season 1 (you don't really have to watch them in order although later episodes to refer back to events that happened in previous episodes. Season 1 is not as funny as season 2 in my opinion.  It's not as raunchy as Family Guy, much of the gross humor is implied, and if you didn't know what they were talking about you might not get it.

Ideas: This would be a good show to recommend to anyone who also likes Family Guy, Simpsons, or South Park. Anyone who likes comedy and humor. If someone doesn't like Family Guy or South Park then I would recommend this show as a little bit toned down compared to those.

46.) Downton Abbey

Downton Abbey on PBS (2010-UK, 2011-USA- Present) 


Genre: Historical Drama, Period Drama

Honors: Including: Prime Time Emmy Awards, Creative Arts Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, National Television Awards, and many more. Please refer to this page for the full list of Awards and Nominations [Found on Wikipedia] 

Review: This show takes two points of view from a large family estate, Downton Abbey,  in the Yorkshire countryside of England. There are three series that range from 1912-1921. The show takes a look at the world of the aristocratic family who owns Downton and the servants who work there.

Opinion: I loved this show and can't wait for more. I have heard so much about it but wasn't sure it would be something that I would like, but I ended up getting sucked right in. I think I watched the entire first two series in a week, but I have yet to watch the third. 

Ideas: I would recommend this show to anyone who likes historical pieces, high drama, and romance. I would recommend the second series to anyone who is doing any research on WWI, even though it's fictional, it would give a good insight to how the British people were involved in the War, and what it entailed.

45.) Vampire Diaries

Vampire Diaries on CW (2009-Present)



Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, Vampire, High School

Honors:  Teen Choice Awards (2010): Choice TV Show–Fantasy/Sci-Fi, Choice TV Actor-Fantasy/Sci-Fi (Paul Wesley), Choice TV Actress–Fantasy/Sci-Fi (Nina Dobrev), Choice TV Villain (Ian Somerhalder), Choice TV Breakout Show, Choice TV Female Breakout Star (Nina Dobrev) and Choice TV Male Breakout Star (Paul Wesley). For more awards and honors please refer to this page Awards and Nominations [Found on Wikipedia].

Review: The show centers around a small fictional town called Mystic Falls. The plot lines revolve mainly around a love triangle between Elena, who is human, and two brothers, Damon and Stefan, who are both 160+ year vampires. The show also has witches, werewolves, and other mystical creatures. A majority of the characters are teenages, or at least look like teenages (as in the case for Stefan and Damon), and attend high school and high school centered events.

Opinion: I watched the first season and half of the second season and I just couldn't stomach anymore, I just kept hoping it would get better. I guess the Twilight and other paranormal romance vampire fans really like this show because it has won many teen choice awards, but it's just not for me. 

Ideas: I would recommend both the book series and the television series to anyone who really likes Vampire romances. 

44.) Safety Not Guaranteed

"It's that time and that place and that song, and you remember what it was like when you were in that place. And then you listen to that song, and you know you're not in that place anymore, and it makes you feel hollow. You can't just go find that stuff again."

Safety Not Guaranteed by


Genre:Comedy, Independent, Romance 

Honors: ALMA Awards: Favorite Movie Actress- Comedy/Musical; Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror Films: Best INdependant Film (nominated); Central Ohio Film Critics Association: Best Overlooked Film (2nd Place); Chicago Film Critics Association Awards: Most Promising Film Maker-Colin Trevorrow (nominated); Chlotrudis Awards:Best Actress, Best Original Screenplay (nominated); Gotham Awards: Best Ensemble cast (nominated); Independent Spirit Awards: Best Screen Play (won), Best First Feature (nominated); Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards: Overlooked Film of the Year (won), Breakout Performance on Camera- Mark Duplass (nominated); Sundance Film Festival: Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award-Won, Grand Jury Prize (nominated).  


Review: Darius is in a funk, life hasn't been the same after her mother passed away. She begins interning at a magazine and gets and assignment to check out a guy who believes that he can time travel and is looking for a partner to go with him. Darius with another intern and her boss infiltrate Kenneth's plan to time travel thinking that he is a complete nut, but after Darius spends some time with his she begins to fall for him. 

Opinion: This was a fun and cute movie. Audrey Plaza plays pretty much the same character she always plays, but a little less cynical in this movie. Jake Johnson also plays pretty much the same character he always plays, Nick on New Girl, but he made the movie pretty funny.  I really like independent films because they don't play to the whole big Hollywood ideas. This is a simple, cute film.

Ideas: I would recommend this book to anyone who reads any of the general fiction books like Gingerbread, or Stoner & Spaz, just because they are all about real life but have an underline feeling of hope. That's what this movie has. 

43.) Iron Man 3

"You know, it's times like these when I realize what a superhero I am."

Iron Man 3 by Marvel Studios, Paramount Pictures (2013)


Genre: Superheros, movies

Honors: Golden Trailer Awards (4 Nominations, 1 Win)

Review: The movie starts out twelve years ago on New Years Eve 1999. Stark is approached by a scientist, Aldrich Killian, who is trying to discuss an opportunity for Stark to join his company A.I.M. Stark rejects and humiliates Killian. Going forward twelve years Stark is having trouble getting over some PTSD that accompanied his after his fight with the Avengers in New York. He spends all his time working on different suits, but in the mean time a terrorist, The Madarin, keeps hacking the airwavs and broadcasting bombs going off all over the country. Stark openly challenges The Mandarin, and suffers reprocusions by having his house attacked and Pepper nearly killed. He suit flys him to safty but then fails. While Tony reboots the suit he must rely on himself without the suit to save Pepper who is kidnapped by Killian. 

Opinion: I am hard pressed to find one thing I didn't like about this movie! It was great! The thing I loved most about it was that Pepper was no damsel in distress, and instead saved Tony a couple of times. This movie looked super serious in the trailers but it was far more amusing then I anticipated. I want to see it again as soon as possible.  

Ideas: I would recommend this to anyone who really likes super heros, or action movie, or funny movies because it has all of those elements. I would recommend some Iron Man graphic novels in conjunction with this movie because it would be nice to know some background of the character of Iron Man.

42.) What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones

“You're thinking I'm a hopelessly romantic idiot.
And you know what?
You're right.”

What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones
(What My Mother Doesn't Know, Book 1)


Genre: Poetry, General Fiction, Realistic Teen Life, Series

Honors: South Carolina Book Award Nominee for Young Adult Book Award (2004), Michigan Library Association Thumbs Up! Award Nominee (2002), Iowa Teen Award (2006), ALA Best Books for Young Adults. for Young Adults (2002), ALA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (2002) [Honors Information found at Goodreads.com]

Review: Told completely in a collection of poems, this book tells a Sophie's story of her first love, her friends, and finally the unlikely boy she ends up falling for. 

Opinion: I enjoyed reading this book, and didn't have a problem reading the poems. I'm not sure if it was an effective poetry book though, I mean some of the poems were rather silly, but honestly a majority of poems written by teens are probably pretty silly. So if you look at it that way it is a very realistic look at a teens life. 

Ideas: I would recommend this book to any teen who likes poetry, or any teen who like realistic fiction that is just the girl likes boy kind. If a teen is studying poetry I might recommend this book to them, but I might first try to get them to read some more deep and well written poetry like Sylvia Plath.

41.) Athena: Grey-eyed Goddess by George O'Connor

Athena: Grey-eyed Goddess by George O'Connor (First Second, 2010)
(Olympians, Book 2)


Genre: Mythology, Graphic Novels, Non-Fiction, Series

Honors: None Found

Review: This graphic novel is an overview of the goddess Athena from Greek Mythology. This book tells about five of the Goddess's most famous tales starting with Zeus's love for her mother. The vivid art work and great stories really bring this book alive.

Opinion: I really liked this graphic novel and I realized I knew very little about Athena, and was confused because the story of her being born from Zeus's head sounded like Minerva who is on the California state seal, but I looked it up and Minerva is the Roman name for Athena. I really like her, she's super bad-ass! and I like this series, and have always found Greek Mythology very interesting. I am going to go back and pick up the other books in the series. 

Ideas: I would certainly recommend this book to anyone looking for a strong female character, but of course anyone who is interested in Greek Mythology. Anyone who is interested in fantasy graphic novels will also probably like this series.

40.) Room by Emma Donoghue

“When I was a little kid I thought like a little kid, but now I'm five I know everything”

Room by Emma Donoghue ( Little, Brown and Company, 2010)


Genre: Adult Novel that appeals to teens, General Fiction

Honors: Man Booker Prize Nominee for Shortlist (2010), Orange Prize Nominee for Fiction Shortlist (2011), Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book in Caribbean and Canada (2011), Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction (2010), Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction, Nominee for Favorite Heroine (2010) ALA Alex Award (2011), Indies Choice Book Award for Fiction (2011), Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Award for Hughes & Hughes Irish Novel of the Year (2010), Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2014), Galaxy National Book Award for WHSmith Paperback of the Year (2011), Trillium Book Award Nominee for English-language (2011) [Honors Information found at Goodreads.com]

Review: Told entirely from the point of view of a five-year-old, Room is about a woman who is kidnapped and kept in a small shack in her kidnapper's backyard. In the years she was held captive she gave birth to her son Jack. Jack spent his whole life knowing nothing but the one room, but when she is afraid that her captor's house would be foreclosed and the shack abandoned she needs to make an attempt at escape that would relie on Jack's bravery to venture into a world he knows nothing about.  

Opinion: A very interesting novel that gave me goosebumps to read. I listened to this on audio and the narration was very well done, with several narrators. The suspense of the escape with very nail-biting, but the entire second half of the novel was just okay, but maybe could have been shortened. Regardless, it's a very good book.

Ideas: I would recommend this to anyone who likes good general fiction reads. Also maybe recommend this book to anyone who likes crime books, even though this is not a crime book it is centered around a crime.

39.) The First Part Last by Angela Johnson

“If the world were really right, humans would live life backward and do the first part last. They'd be all knowing in the beginning and innocent in the end...”

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson (Simon Pulse, 2003)

Genre: Problem Novel, Real Life Fiction, General Fiction, African America, Urban drama

Honors:  Georgia Peach Book Award (2004), Printz Award (2004), Coretta Scott King Award for Author (2004), ALA Teens' Top Ten (2003), ALA's Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults (2004) Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2006) [Honors Information found at Goodreads.com]

Review: Bobby's life changes forever when he finds out Nia, his girlfriend, is pregnant. In this narrative that takes place in both the time after his daughter is born and in the past while Nia was pregnant, the author gives a very real life look at the life of a teenage father. 

Opinion: I listened to this book on audio and I think that the narrator did an absolutely fantastic job. Because I listened to this, I didn't realize it was a Printz winner until I started looking up the information on the honors! When I started I wasn't sure if I would life this book, but I ended up loving it. About a quarter of the way through I knew something had gone wrong with the delivery and it was hard for me to continue on becuase I was so into the characters that the idea that something happened to Nia during delivery was almost too much for me to bear emotionally. I also liked that this is a look at not only teenage fatherhood, but teenage single fatherhood which is a whole other ball game! 

Ideas: I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for books on teen pregnancy, or problem novels, or very realistic teenage life. I would also recommend this book for anyone looking for an African America author or main character. It was so well written, and still very short that I would recommend it very easily to just about anyone.  

38.) Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn

“Life is funny, baby, and that's no joke”

(Cyd Charisse, Book 1)


Genre: General Fiction, Real Life

Honors: None Found

Review: Cyd Charisse is a bit of an unruly teen, or at least so her parent's think. So they send her to live with her biological father in New York City for a few weeks. Perfect timeing since Cyd just broke up with her boyfriend Shrimp. Cyd hasn't seen her birth father since she was a little girl and she doesn't know what to expect. What she finds is an instant bond with her "new" older brother, but a tremulous bond with her "new" older sister, and not much of a bond at all with her father. The whole situations brings Cyd closer to her family she left, and hopes to reconcile with Shrimp.

Opinion: I really liked this book, I love Cyd. I think that she was a very relatable portayal of a teenage girl. She faced serious problems and had to deal with them and she grew throughout the course of the novel, but stayed true to herself at the same time.

Ideas: I would recommend this book to teens who like to read real life situations, no fantasy, or magic, and the romance is real so it can be painful. It was a very easy read and flowed real well so I would pick up another Rachel Cohn book, maybe the sequel to this Shrimp.

37.) Stoner and Spaz by Ron Koertge

Stoner and Spaz by Ron Koertge (Candlewick Press, 2002)
(Stoner & Spaz #1)


Genre: General Fiction, Real life

Honors: Michigan Library Association Thumbs Up! Award Nominee (2003), Georgia Peach Honor Book Award (2004) [Honors Information found at Goodreads.com]

Review: Ben is sixteen and has cerebral palsy. He doesn't have many friends so he spends all his time watching movies. When the notorious stoner-girl shows up during a monster movie marathon at the local theater and starts talking to Ben he is shocked. The two begin an unlikely friendship. With the persistance of Colleen, Ben decides to make a documentary about his high school. He cares for Collen but he sees her going down a dangerous path with drugs and alcohol until she lands in the hospital one day. Out of her recovery a romance forms between the two. 

Opinion: This is almost exactly The Astonishing Adventures of Fan Boy and Goth Girl! It seems like Barry Lyga just moved the interests of the characters a little bit and made his Kyra a bigger bitch. They might not be exactly the same, but they are very similar indeed. I actually like this lot more then Fan Boy and Goth Girl. This book seems to really portray what teens are really like. 

Ideas: I might recommend this to anyone who like stories portraying real teen life. Anyone who liked Rachel Cohn's Gingerbread would probably like this novel, or anyone who liked Fan Boy and Goth Girl. It's not a problem novel because although the character Colleen does have a drug problem it is not the central theme of the story. I would display this as a novel portraying teenage life.

36.) House of Dead Maids by Clare Dunkle

"At no time in my life had I been in greater danger from the elements, and yet if I learned that heaven is such as that night was, I should deem it a joy worth the dying.”

The House of Dead Maids by Clare Dunkle ( Henry Holt and Co, 2010)

Genre: Horror, Historical

Honors: None found

Review: Tabby is a new maid at Seldom House, and becomes a caregiver to the new young master of the mansion. She tries to befriend the boy, but she soon realizes that the mansion is haunted by ghost of previous maids. Her friendship turns to being his protector as she tries to flee with him from the house and the village which is trying to kill them both. 

Opinion: This was the only book that I just grabbed because the cover was very creepy looking. I was desperate for another horror novel. It could have been a lot creepier, but since even the main character was not all that afraid of the ghost they were not very frightening until the end when they continued to haunt her throughout her life. I didn't read the synopsis the entire way through so I didn't know this was supposed to be some sort of prelude to Wuthering Heights which I have never had the chance to read, but when she began discussing her new charges the Brontes it was a pleasant surprise. I would like to know if the Bronte sisters has a maid that told them ghost stories, because that would be a very cool plot point.

Ideas:  I would recommend this to anyone who likes the Bronte sisters or Wuthering Heights. I would also recommend this book to a teen who likes historical fiction, or ghost stories, but this was not really horror as I was hoping. 

35.) The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl

“The best revenge is living well, my dad told me once.”

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl by Barry Lyga (Graphia, 2006)
(The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, #1)

Genre: General Fiction, Real life,


Honors: None found

Review: Fanboy is in hell, or rather, his sophomore year of high school. His mom is pregnant and hormonal, his step-father pretends he doesn't exist, the presents of his real father is practically non-existent, and the bullies at school have made him a favorite target. The only thing he has to look forward to is the small comic book convention coming to a town near him where his comic book creator idol Brian Michael Bendis will be. Fanboy is determined to show him his graphic novel that he has been putting his heart and soul into. Then Fanboy meets Kyra, a girl dressed in goth gear who befriends and makes fun of Fanboy at the same time. He can't decide if she is a friend, or a girlfriend. As the comic book convention draws near Fanboy's life gets more and more complicated with Goth Girl in it.

Opinion: This book was such a total disappointment. Kyra's character and Donnie/ Fanboy's mother were two of the most annoying female characters that I have come across in a long time. There is not rhyme or reason for the way Kyra acts, and the reader never finds out why she lies so much or where she gets the cars from. But I do have to say this about the author, he knows his comic stuff. I really liked all the real comic book information that he put in the book.  I think if he made the Kyra character a little more relatable and less demanding the book would have been more enjoyable.

Ideas: I guess you could give this book to someone who likes comic books, but I'm not sure that they would enjoy it that much. I'm not really sure I would recommend this book to very many people so it's hard to get ideas for it. 

Little Comic Strip written by Barry Lyga

34.) Oblivion

"I wonder, if I come to you, at night, in dreams, in the day, as memories. Do I haunt your hours the way you haunted mine? And I wonder if you see me, when you look at her."

Oblivion by Universal (2013)
(Series, Book #)

Genre: Science Fiction, Action, Movie

Honors: None yet

Review: In the year 2077 Jack Harper remains on Earth after the war with the Scavs have made it unlivable for the rest of humanity. The rest of humanity have boarded ships and moved to Titan, the moon of Saturn. Now only Jack and his partner Victoria remain to oversea massive hydro-energy machines that are converting the Earth's oceans into energy. Jack and Victoria have had their memories erased so that if they are ever captured they cannot give the location of the rest of the human race. But when a spaceship from Earth in the past crash lands and Jack saves the only one to survive he is shocked to find out that he knows her, but can't remember from where. Then, come to find out, the real enemy is not who Jack thought they were. 

Opinion: I really liked this movie. I was a little leery of it because I don't like Tom Cruise as a person, but I must admit that he does well as an actor, particularly in action movies. It was not bad at all, even though parts of it were rather predictable.  

Ideas:A good science fiction action film that you can recommend to anyone who likes that set of parameters, someone like myself.

33.) 21 Jump Street

"We're reviving a canceled undercover police program from the '80s and revamping it for modern times. You see the guys in charge of this stuff lack creativity and are completely out of ideas, so all they do now is recycle shit from the past and expect us all not to notice."

21 Jump Street by Colombia & MGM

Genre: Movies, Comedy


Honors: BMI Film & TV Award: Film Music Award, Golden Trailer Awards: Best Pre-show,
Best Comedy TV Spot, MTV Movie Awards: Best Comedic Performance (nominated), Best Cast (nominated), Best On-Screen Transformation (nominated), Best Fight (nominated), Best Gut-Wrenching Performance (nominated), Best "tool" Music (Won), Teen Choice Awards: Choice Movie: Comedy (Won), Choice Movie: Actor Comedy Channing Tatum (Won), Choice Movie: Actor Comedy Jonah Hill (nominated), Artios Awards: Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Big Budget Comedy Feature (nominated), People's Choice Awards : Favorite Comedy Movie (nominated), Critic's Choice Award: Best Comedy (nominated), Best Actor in a Comedy (nominated)

Review: Jenko and Schmidt despised each other in high school. But when both try to make it as cops they form an unlikely alliance and become friends. They are put on an undercover program (partially as punishment) to act as high school students to uncover a drug operation that is leaving high school kids dead. As they enter high school the two reverse roles from their previous high school lives. Schmidt is now hanging with the popular kinds while Jenko is hanging out with the nerds. 

Opinion: This movie was hilarious! I laughed the whole way through. I couldn't believe that Channing Tatum could be so funny. I put off seeing it because I thought it was going to be stupid, and the idea that it was a remake of a show from the 80s I thought was a stupid idea, but it wasn't a remake it was more of a continuation from that story. 

Ideas: I would recommend this movie to any teen who is looking for a good comedy, even though it is rated R.

32.) The Hobbit

What do you mean? Do you wish me a good morning or do you mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not? Or perhaps you mean to say that you feel good on this particular morning? Or are you simply stating that this is a morning to be a good on? Hm?

The Hobbit  by Warner Bros. (2012)

Genre: Movie, Fantasy

Honors: Academy Award nominations: Best Visual Effects, Best Production Design, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Academy Scientific and Technical Award, Cinema Audio Society Awards: Best Live Action Motion Picture (Nominated), Nine nominations (Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Music) for 39th Saturn Awards, MTV Awards: Best Scared-as-S**t performance (nominated), Best Hero (won).

Review: This is a movie that was based on the book by J.R.R. Tolkien about a hobbit named Bilbo who was quite content living his life in peace, and had no desire whatsoever to lead any kind of adventure. That is until one day a wizard showed up, followed by a group of 13 dwarves. Soon Bilbo finds himself in the mist of danger and battle, and proves himself to not be a hindrance to the rest of the band.  

Opinion: I really liked this movie, I was not a crazy realist when I heard the book was going to be broken into three movies; I knew they were going to have to add a lot of filler to make up for the time. After all the LOTRs was three longer books that made three long movies, so to make one shorter book into three movies was going to be a bit tough of Peter Jackson's part. There were some parts I was unhappy with, like the troll scene, but overall I really liked it. The misty mountain song was in my head for weeks after I saw the movie. 

Ideas: This would be a good movie to recommend to a teen who has read and liked the Hobbit, and/ or who have read and liked the Lord of the Rings movies. Anyone who likes high fantasy really should at least give both the book and the movie a shot.

31.) Fox by Margaret Wild

“Fly Dog, fly! I will be your missing eye, and you will be my wings.”

Fox by Margaret Wild (Turtleback, 2006)

Genre: Picture book, Fable, 


Honors: New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards for Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Literature (2001), Children's Book Council of Australia Awards for Picture Book of the Year (2001), Queensland Premier's Literary Awards for Children's Book Award - Mary Ryan's Award (2001)
[Honors Information found at Goodreads.com]

Review: Dog saves Magpie's life, but Magpie is depressed because her wing is broken and she will never fly again. Dog doesn't understand she says. But Dog explains that he only has one eye so he will help her feel like she's flying if she will help her see Magpie finds happiness in riding on Dog's back But when Fox shows up giving Magpie temptation of going faster Magpie takes it, but when Fox leaves Magpie alone far away she knows what it is truly like to be alone. 

Opinion: A very interesting story, and I loved the artwork. It has a very strong message. 

Ideas:  I might recommend this book to someone who is interested in fables, especially fables that have been written in recent years.

30.) Runaways Volume One by Brian K. Vaughan

“How is it possible that our parents lied to us?"

"Lets see: Santa, the Tooth Fairy,the Easter bunny, um, God. You're the prettiest kid in school. This wont hurt a bit. Your face will freeze like that..."

 Runaways Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan (Marvel, 2006)
(Runaways, Vol. 1)

Genre: Graphic Novel, Teenage Superheros 


Honors: No honors found

Review: Nico, Karolina, Gertrude, Chase, and Molly are fourced to hang out every year while their parents have some sort of meeting. But this time the kids decide to spy on their parents to discover that their parents are some sort of super villians and kill a young girl! So they decide to find more proof and the secrets just keep getting unveiled. Now they must find a safe place to lie low and figure out what to do. The only problem is that their parents now know that they the children know their secrets.

Opinion: I have been meaning to read this for a while so I thought that this was a great chance (like many of the books I read for this assignment actually), I really enjoy Brian K. Vaughan but I am only familiar with his more serious writing and was wondering how he did with teenagers. I really enjoyed the story and can't wait to read more. 

Ideas: I would recommend to anyone who is trying to break into a super hero genre but doesn't know where to start. It's set in the Marvel universe so there is mention of other well known characters like, Captain America, etc.  I might also recommend to someone who isn't into super heroes but isn't against them either.

Individual comic cover

29.) Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon Hale

“WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE: RAPUNZEL For horse thieving, kidnapping, jail breaking, and using her hair in a manner other than nature intended!”

Rapunzel Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale
(Rapunzel Revenge, Book 1)

Genre: Western, Graphic Novel, Fairy Tale Retelling, Series


Honors: No honors mentioned which is too bad

Review: Rapunzel grew up surrounded by a huge wall. Each year she played in the garden she wondered what was beyond the wall and why her mother, Mother Gothel prevented her from viewing the world outside the walls. But finally one day Rapunzel decided to find out. What she discovered was that her Mother was not her real mother at all but a evil dictator who held slaves to do her dirty work such as mine for her. Rapunzel also found her real mother. Mother Gothel recaptured Rapunzel and took her away and trapped her in a tree that she grew to enormous heights using her growing magic. While living in the tree the growing magic effected Rapunzel's hair and it grew to amazing lengths. Using it to escape Rapunzel vowed to save her mother still held captive by Mother Gothel. With the help from an thief named Jack, Rapunzel attempts to free the land and people from the tyranny of Mother Gothel. 

Opinion: I love this book. It was a little younger then I thought it would be, but I don't think that it diminishes the enjoyment of it.  I like the western setting of the Rapunzel story, it was a very intersting and original way to play the fairy tale. The story sets up for more novels in the future.

Ideas: The book is on the shelf for teens in my library so I would recommend to any teen who likes graphic novels, especially girls. Just from it's unique story (set as a western) I would definitely use it for a graphic novel display. I know that my library has trouble keeping this book on their shelf.

One of the panels in the book, the titles crack me up!

28.) Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

“It's like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story.” 

Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (DAW Trade, 2007)
(Kingkiller Chronicles, Book 1)

Genre: Fantasy, Adult Book With Teen Appeal

Honors: ALA Alex Award (2008), The Quill Award for Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror (2007), Sakura Medal for High School Book (2009) [Honors Information found at Goodreads.com]

Review: Told in two timelines Kvothe appears to be a simply inn keeper until demons are found coming closer and closer to his village. This, in conjunction with the appearance of a scribe whose goal is to record historical tales, brings about the truth that he is one of the most powerful magicians in the world. Kvothe decides to give the scribes his entire story taking him all the way back to his childhood, the death of his family, his life living as a beggar child on the street of a big city, and finally joining the University to learn magic in order to tack down and kill the demons that killed his family.

Opinion: The beginning of the story is rather clumsy and confusing. I didn't get into the story until he began telling it to the scribe and taking the reader back to Kvothe's childhood when it gets good.  This portion of the story is good, and perfect for young adults because the character goes from childhood all the way to a teenager. He faces crushes, school teachers, and bullies. The story of his young adult life in unfinished so you have to read the next few books to find out what happens to him to become a great magician and why he is now hiding as a simple inn keeper.

Ideas: Any teen who likes epic fantasy like Robert Jordan or Brandon Sanderson fans would probably like this book. It's definitely appealing to teens because most of the book is about a teen. It's almost like Harry Potter when he goes to The University, so people who are ready to graduate from Harry Potter might like this book.

27.) The Eyre Affair by Jasper FForde

“Governments and fashions come and go but Jane Eyre is for all time.”

The Eyre Affair by Jasper FForde (Penguin Books, 2003)
(Thursday Next, Book 1)

Genre: Adult Fiction that Appeals to Teens, Fantasy, Modern Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction


Honors: Locus Award Nominee for Best Science Fiction Novel (2002), Dilys Award Nominee (2003), ALA Alex Award (2003), Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2006), Locus Poll Award Nominee for Best First Novel (2002)
[Honors Information found at Goodreads.com]

Review: This book is very hard to describe, but in this alternate history Britain is very different and in a long drawn out war against the soviets (?). Thursday Next is a Literary detective in special operations. But when a master criminal threatens many lives Thursday is asked to help. When the Master Criminal then goes after her uncle's invention that can transport people into book for real and change them Thursday must call upon what appears to be some sort of special power she has that she can transport herself into a novel without the help of the machine. She must save Jane Eyre herself.  

Opinion: I honestly have no idea why this book got chosen for an Alex Award. From what I have noticed most Alex Award winners have a young adult or child in the story somewhere but Thursday Next is a middle-age woman who is single and pretty pathetic. I was pretty much completely confused the entire time. I listened to it on audio and the woman narrating it was absolutely horrible, which made it much worse. I was very very disappointed in the entire thing. One of the least enjoyable books I read for this assignment. I don't know why it was so highly rated, and regarded. I almost want to read it again, or read more of it to try and figure out what was so great about it. 

Ideas: The only good thing about the story is that it has many cross genres. It is science-ficiton, fantasy, mystery/detective, with elements of military. I guess is someone was really crazy over Jane Eyre then this would be a good book? Not sure, I don't think would recommend it to anyone honestly.

26.) Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science by John Fleischman

"It will kill him, but it will take another eleven years, six months, and nineteen days to do so."

Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science by John Fleischman (Sandpiper, 2004)

Genre: Non-Fiction, Science, Anatomy

Honors: Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award Nominee (2005) [Honors Information found at Goodreads.com]

Review: When Phineas was 19 he worked in a mine with explosives. In a freak accident the spear like tool that he used with packing the gun powder shot through his skull. He returned to work just weeks later, but was not the same person. Phineas lived for another 11 years. His case became a text book study for the study of the brain. This book goes into detail about how far science has come in brain research. 

Opinion: I was a little worried when I went to the juvenile section to check this book out, I was afraid that it would be too young for teens. In reality it's just the size of the book that makes it look too young. It's almost a picture book size, so I can't imagine a teen wanting to read it because it would look like they were reading a children's picture book. I think they should make a smaller version and release it for teens. 

Ideas: This book has great information about science, the history of science, and anatomy. This would be a good book for anyone interested in non-fiction because it's a very interesting story that is not bogged down with medical terms, and if there are medical terms they are explained. It's pretty gruesome, but pretty cool all the same. 

25.) Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

“Maybe this was how you stayed sane in wartime: a handful of noble deeds amid the chaos. ”

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse, 2009)
(Leviathan, Book 1)

Genre: Science Fiction, Steam Punk, Modern Fantasy

Honors: Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book (2010), An ALA Notable Children's Book for Older Readers (2010), Queensland Premier's Literary Awards Nominee for Young Adult Book Award (2010), Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award Nominee (2011), Goodreads Choice Award for Science Fiction (2009) Aurealis Award for Young Adult Novel (2009), Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2013) [Honors Information found at Goodreads.com]

Review: Deryn Sharp has dreamed of serving in the British Air Service on an animal flying ship. The only thing stopping her is that fact that she is a girl. So she disguises herself as a boy and finds herself serving on the Leviathan one of the largest ships in the service of the British Empire. Prince Aleksander's parents are assassinated setting off a series of events that will lead the world into WWI, the Prince though has the power to stop the war and bring peace if he can safely reclaim the throne. All he has to do is stay alive until then, something that his enemies are trying very hard to prevent. The two young adults stories converge on the slopes of the Swiss Alps where Aleksander and Deryn must help each other, Aleksander with his machines and Deryn with her animal hybrids and together they create a unique bond that can save the world from war, that is if they can survive long enough to do so.

Opinion: One of the best steam punk books I have read, although the underline story is a little cliche I really enjoyed the idea of the Darwinist. I listened to this on audio read by Alan Cummings, and was impressed with the narration, but was having trouble with some of the descriptions and I found out later that the book has illustrations accompanying the story, so this is one I wish I would have read rather then listen to. The story has two sequels already so I think I might read those rather then listen to the audio versions. 

Ideas: Other fans of Westerfeld's work (Uglies, Peeps, etc) might also like to venture into the steam punk world with this book. Also anyone interested in Steam Punk, I think that very few teen authors have done such an steam punk saturated world such as Leviathan. Science Fiction or fantasy fans would probably like this book.

Map on the inside flap.

One of the many illustrations that help you wrap your head around the vivid descriptions in this book. Something you might miss if you listen to the audiobook.