The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey

I love a good book trailer (who doesn't really). And what really caught me about this book was the book trailer, well there are actually four of them, and they are all amazing. This is another book I heard about at a conference I went to and had to get from my bestie at the high school library. It was recommended for high school at the conference and I didn't want to buy it and then not be able to put it in my collection. And, you know, moratorium on buying my own books because it "isn't in our budget."
Anyway, I had just finished Winger and I was ready for some non-realistic fiction that wouldn't want to make me bawl my eyes out. The Fifth Wave just looked so good. The cover is great, the book trailers are even better, and you know what, the book does NOT disappoint. I love a good heroine, and Cassie is a great heroine. What is the fifth wave, you may ask? Well, aliens have taken over our world. They have destroyed humans in waves. In the first wave, humans no longer have electronics. No phones, stoves, refrigerators or Ipads. The second wave destroys the coast. Then the plague breaks out, killing millions of people. During the fourth wave even more humans are killed. Cassie has lost her mother and father and her brother has been taken away from her, and now she will stop at nothing to get him back. But Cassie can't do it alone.
Then Evan Walker saves her, but in a world where no one should be trusted, why would Cassie ever trust Evan?
For fans of any dystopia literature, start salivating. This book has action, survival, and romance. And, guess what? When I did my last order from Amazon, I forgot to order this book. Noooooooo! However, I quickly rectified the situation and it is now sitting in my cart. Along with a couple more copies of The Fault in Our Stars because now all the students have seen the movie trailer, which is super amazing as well.



And just because my students are also salivating over this as well:

Winger by Andrew Smith

I have this weird obsession with John Green and his amazingness as a writer and overall human being, and I love me some realistic fiction more than I love a glass of wine at night (okay, let's not get crazy here), but I do like it a lot. So, when I saw Winger on my recommendations list from Amazon, and I read the amazing reviews posted, I had to get my hands on a copy. One problem, it isn't exactly a middle school book (according to School Library Journal and Booklist), and I have been banned from buying any more books off Amazon. Yes, my husband put a moratorium on buying any books; I am a librarian after all. I however, know people in high places and by high places, I mean my friendly high school librarian who will inter-office me any YA book I want. After making said request, two days later I had Winger in my hands.
Winger is told from the point of view of Ryan Dean, a fourteen year old genius Junior at a boarding school.  He is also in a little bit of trouble because of some hacking he had done the year before and is now rooming in the "special dorms" with the school's meanest and dumbest boy in school. However, both are teammates on the rugby team, so hopefully his life will be spared before the first semester ends and he can get back to the regular dorms. I know you are now asking yourself, "what does a fourteen year old boy think about over the course of an entire book?" And the answer is sex. He thinks about sex a lot; like how Annie, the only girl he truly has eyes for, wants to kiss him; how Annie's friend has a hot mustachey type hotness about her (nothing a little wax couldn't take care of), or how Annie's mom is definitely hot. I laughed out loud at all his sex thoughts and especially one scene with a school nurse that nurtures poor Ryan back to health. I laughed so hard that I had to read it out loud to Jim, who promptly responded with, "Yep, that's about right."
Ryan Dean is lovable and sweet and becomes friends with the most unlikely people. It not only made me laugh, but I cried and couldn't stop crying for a few days after. I have decided that this book definitely has its place in my library. I can already name a few boys and girls who would find this book and never want to let it go, much like I felt when I had to re-inter-office it back to the high school. In a time where Dystopia and Action are the genres of choice, Winger has this undeniably necessary place on any teens bookshelf, and sorry Jim, but I may have already ordered my own personal copy.