WHAT!? We're Moving? -- Books About Moving

Check out the following teen books featuring stories about moving . . . .

Abandon by Meg Cabot

A near-death experience, a horrible incident at school, and a move from Connecticut to Florida have turned seventeen-year-old Pierce's life upside-down, but when she needs him most John Hayden is always there, helping but reminding her of her visit to the Underworld.

My Life with the Walter Boys by Ali Novak

Devastated when her parents are killed in a car accident, sixteen-year old Jackie moves from New York City to Colorado to live with her mother's best friend, who has twelve children, including two boys who start to show an interest in Jackie that goes beyond brotherly.

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

Fifteen-year-old Ruby Milliken leaves her best friend, her boyfriend, her aunt, and her mother's grave in Boston and reluctantly flies to Los Angeles to live with her father, a famous movie star who divorced her mother before Ruby was born.

Revived by Cat Patrick

Having been brought back from the dead repeatedly by a top-secret government super drug called Revive, and forced to move so the public does not learn the truth, fifteen-year-old Daisy meets people worth living for and begins to question the heavy-handedgovernment controls she has dealt with for eleven years.

More Books --

The Cemetery Boys by Aidan Thomas

The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe

The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes 

Hello Now by Jenny Valentine

The Missing Season by Gillian French

There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee
We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen-Fernlund

April Is National Poetry Month

This month, we celebrate our love of language in poetry.  A growing genre is novels written in verse.  So here are some of my favorite Novels in Verse for teens . . . .

Coaltown Jesus by Ron Koertge
Praying for help after the sudden death of his brother, Walker is astonished by the appearance of an irreverent Jesus in his bedroom who imparts unexpected strength and comfort while helping him understand some of life's biggest questions.

One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones
Fifteen-year-old Ruby Milliken leaves her best friend, her boyfriend, her aunt, and her mother's grave in Boston and reluctantly flies to Los Angeles to live with her father, a famous movie star who divorced her mother before Ruby was born.

Keesha's House by Helen Frost
Seven teens facing such problems as pregnancy, closeted homosexuality, and abuse each describe in poetic forms what caused them to leave home and where they found home again.

Cold Skin by Steven Herrick
In a rural Australian coal mining town shortly after World War II, teenaged Eddie makes a startling discovery when he investigates the murder of a local high school girl.


More Teen Novels in Verse --
The Brimstone Journals by Ronald Koertge
Burned by Ellen Hopkins
By the River by Steven Herrick
Crossing Stones by Helen Frost
Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses by Ronald Koertge
Nothing by Robin Friedman
October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard by Leslea Newman
Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham
The Taking of Room 113: A Hostage Drama in Poems by Mel Glenn
Three Rivers Rising: A Novel of the Johnstown Flood by Jame Richards
Walking on Glass by Alma Fullerton
What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones
Wicked Girls: A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials by Stephanie Hemphill
The Wolf by Steven Herrick

Check these books on display at the Arnold Branch through April 25, 2015.

Pure Poetry: Novels in Verse

April is celebrated as National Poetry Month.  In celebration, pick up a teen book written in verse . . .

The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick
A coming of age novel in verse about sixteen-year-old Billy who runs away from his alcoholic father, lives in an abandoned freight train, falls in love with a rich girl, and ultimately learns the meaning of family.

One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones
Fifteen-year-old Ruby Milliken leaves her best friend, her boyfriend, her aunt, and her mother's grave in Boston and reluctantly flies to Los Angeles to live with her father, a famous movie star who divorced her mother before Ruby was born.

The Brimstone Journals by Ronald Koertge
In a series of short interconnected poems, students at a high school nicknamed Brimstone reveal the violence existing and growing in their lives.

Three Rivers Rising: A Novel of the Johnstown Flood by Jame Richards
Sixteen-year-old Celestia is a wealthy member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, where she meets and falls in love with Peter, a hired hand who lives in the valley below, and by the time of the torrential rains that lead to the disastrous Johnstown flood of 1889, she has been disowned by her family and is staying with him in Johnstown. Includes an author's note and historical timeline.