Upstate - Kalisha Buckhanon

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Buckhanon, Kalisha. Upstate. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2005. $19.95 Hardback (247p) ISBN:9780312332686.

Recommended for ages 14+.

Upstate is told through letters. The letters of seventeen-year-old Antonio from jail, the boy who has been accused of a violent crime that could potentially lead to a lifetime behind bars. And the letters of sixteen-year-old Natasha from her home in the Harlem hood, the girl who loves Antonio and promises to stick by him no matter what. The letters tell of the passionate relationship these two share and provide background into life in the hood.  Though the couple’s writing the reader is given an intimate view into the hopes and dreams of both Antonio and Natasha. These letters cover a span of nine years and detail the growth of each character. The result is a heartbreaking and utterly unforgettable tale.

Awards/Honors

ALA Alex Award Winner - 2006
YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults - 2006
Audie Award Winner Literary Fiction - 2006
YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults Hard Knock Life - 2010

Here is an excerpt from the audiobook:

Almost Perfect - Brian Katcher

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Katcher, Brian. Almost Perfect. New York: Delacorte Press, 2009. $9.99 Paperback (368p) ISBN: 9780385736657.

Recommended for ages 14 & up.

Logan Witherspoon has just begun his senior year at high school. Life should be exciting and full of promise. But his cheating long-term girlfriend has dumped him, and his friends are tired of hearing about it. His sister is away at college and his mother is always working to make ends meet.  Logan is feeling depressed and alone. That is until a new girl enters his biology class. Sage Hendricks is everything Logan every wanted in a girl – funny, witty, and cute. The two awkwardly get to know one another and soon discover they have feelings for each other. Everything falls apart when Sage confides in Logan her deepest secret - that she is physically a boy. Logan is enraged and storms off. What will his friends and family think if Sage’s secret is made public? It doesn’t take long for confusion to set in as Logan realizes that he deeply misses Sage’s friendship. Yet in order for their friendship to succeed Logan must accept Sage for who she is and come to terms with Almost Perfect.

Awards/Honors
ALA Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature Award - 2011
YALSA Best Books for Young Adults - 2010
ALA Rainbow Book List -2010
YALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults - 2013

Things Not Seen - Andrew Clements

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Clements, Andrew. Things Not Seen. New York: Puffin Books, 2002. $6.99 Paperback (251p) ISBN: 9780142400760.

Recommended for ages 10-14.

Have you ever felt as if you were invisible? As the only child of two working parents fifteen-year-old Bobby Phillips has felt this way plenty of times. When he wakes up one morning truly invisible he realizes exactly what this word means. While his family attempts to figure out how this happened, Bobby is forced to keep his situation a secret and stay secluded. At first skipping school and being invisible is fun but the loneliness soon gets to him so Bobby sneaks out one day to the library. Here he finally finds someone he can talk to. Alicia is blind and to her Bobby seems perfectly normal. The pair become quick friends and Bobby ends up sharing his secret with her. Perhaps together they can discover how to make Bobby visible again. But they must hurry as time is running out. The police have shown up at Bobby’s home, questioning his absence from school and they are not buying his mom’s story. Will Bobby be able to reverse his condition before his parents are sent to jail? Or will he remain unseen for the rest of his life?

Awards/Honors
YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults List - 2003
ALA Schneider Family Book Award for Teen - 2004
Young Hoosier Middle Grade Book Nominee - 2004-2005

Other titles in this series 

Cover art from indiebound.org

Cover art from indiebound.org

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