memoirs of a teenage amnesiac - Book for November 16, 2010

This week's Book of the Week is memoirs of a teenage amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin. Awarded with a School Library Journal's best book of the year award in 2007, it is a refreshing look at high school life.

Naomi Porter falls down the front steps of her high school and hits her head. She wakes up and has no memory of anything after the 6th grade. She finds that she is going out with the most popular boy in school, sits at the "cool" table at lunch, and is mean to her mother. However, she doesn't know why.

Having partial amnesia gives her a chance to reevaluate her life, her friends, her choices. It's a great book to read, and through Naomi, you might have a chance to think about your life. If your past were a blank slate, what would you become?

WHS Book of the Week #2 - November 12, 2009

The second WHS book of the week is the curious incident of the dog in the night-time by mark haddon. This novel debuted in 2004 and won numerous awards and merits. The story begins with the death of a neighbor's poodle and the 15-year-old boy who finds him and wants to solve the "crime." What is unique about this 15-year-old narrator of the story is that he is autistic.

"My name is Christopher John Francis Boone. I know all the countries

of the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7057."

Christopher hates to be touched, loves to do math problems in his head, and wants to solve the mystery of the dog at night-time. It is a heart-warming look into the mind of an autistic boy who "find people confusing. "

Although Christopher insists that "This will not be a funny book. I cannot tell jokes because I do not understand them, " the book contains numerous laugh-out-loud moments and very touching humor.

Join Michael and Joseph Chapman, Ms. Turcotte, and me as lovers of this book. Are there others of you out there. Post your comments!

DonorBoy

The first book of the week for Wiscasset High School Library is Donorboy by Brendan Halpin. This book has been the winner of many awards including Best Books for Young Adults, Alex Award, and Booklist Editor's Best Book of 2005.

Donorboy is written in "epistolary" style (there's a word for you SAT takers!) which means that the story is told through journal entries, letters, and, in this case, e-mails and instant messages. It is a lively,funny, touching, and entertaining novel, mixing comedy and tragedy.

Rosalind has 2 mommies, who die in a car accident involving turduckens. In their will, they give custody of Rosalind to Sean, Rosalind's biological father who she promptly nicknames, "Donorboy."

Donorboy is a comic, compelling readable novel about how these two people learn to converse and cook and communicate on their way to becoming a family. Told mostly in Rosalind's voice (through her grief journal entries, e-mails and texts to family and friends), the reader will find her darkly funny, sarcastic, a little cynical, but extremely likeable. But, beware, she uses an uncensored teen's colorful vocabulary - so don't read this one if some four-letter words offend you !