Being Dead by Vivian Vande Velde

"My brother, Kevin, may or may not have come back from the dead for any one of several contradictory reasons, depending on which one of my relatives you assume is most reasonable. Personally, I wouldn't consider any of us particularly reliable."

Being Dead is a collection of nine short stories dealing with, well, being dead. All nine are ghost tales...several of them chilling, several sad, several are told from an unique point of view. Brenda's getting phone calls from a disconnected phone line. Emily's having an unearthly romance. And Marjorie won't stop dancing. Fans of spooky tales will love, love, LOVE this collection!

Learn more at HCL, Barnes and Noble, and here.

SLJ recommends grades 7 & up.

Girl, 15, Charming but Insane by Sue Limb

"Whizzer, however, pounced. He put his arm round her and stuck his tongue down her throat. Jess was disgusted. He tasted of cigarettes. And Ben might be watching from somewhere nearby. She struggled slightly. It was hard to make a polite excuse while a guy's tongue was down your throat. Jane Austen's heroines didn't have to put up with this kind of thing."

It's a story as old as time...or at least as old as Pride and Prejudice. Girl meets boy. Girl obsesses about boy. Girl makes complete silly git out of self in front of said boy. Girl never notices the whole time that the right boy has been waiting patiently the whole time. And so it is with Jess. She's 15, fixated, and funneeeeee! In addition to the boy problems, Jess' Grandmother has moved into her bedroom, her mum's gone mad, and then there was the minestrone soup incident. Jess is the Bridget Jones of her generation.

When you finish with this book, go on to read Girl, Nearly 16, Absolute Torture and Girl Going on 17, Pants on Fire.

Learn more at HCL, Barnes and Noble, and here.

SLJ recommeds grade 7 to 10.

I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

"At 7:46, Marv gets out of the car and stands there. "Good luck" I say. God, I can hear his heart from inside the cab. It's a wonder it isn't bludgeoning the poor guy to death. He stands there. Three minutes. He crosses the road. Two attempts. The yard is different. First go--a surprise."

Ed Kennedy is the epitome of average--a classic example of a slacker--until the day of the bank robbery. After becoming an unwitting hometown hero that day, Ed begins receiving cryptic "messages" that he must deliver. Although the messages are all meant for other people, each one has an effect on our hero. Set in Australia, I am the Messenger is a story about change told with humor and truth.

Learn more at HCL, Amazon, and here.

SLJ recommends grades 9 & up.