The Haters

TheHaters by Jesse Andrews, 325 pages

“For Wes and his best friend, Corey, jazz camp turns out to be lame. It's pretty much all dudes talking in Jazz Voice. But then they jam with Ash, a charismatic girl with an unusual sound, and the three just click. It's three and a half hours of pure musical magic, and Ash makes a decision: They need to hit the road. Because the road, not summer camp, is where bands get good. Before Wes and Corey know it, they're in Ash's SUV heading south, and The Haters Summer of Hate Tour has begun.” I liked this book and I think that a lot of teens might like it also, if they like books that talk about real life.  I didn’t like the end as much as I liked the rest of the book, mostly because I like my stories more wrapped up than this was, but the ending made sense, even if I wasn’t as pleased with it.

Friend or Foe

Friend or Foe by Patrick Jones, 112 pages

This is definitely a teen book for reluctant readers.  This book has a lot of action packed into a short book and tends to keep the vocabulary fairly simple.  Ian is bitter that his best friend, Orlando, seems to prefer a new friend, Chase, to him.  When the group ends up in a scuffle that ends with the police being called, Orlando is held longer than anyone because he is African American.  Ian sees his chance to get even with Orlando and Chase. He sets up situations to make several people believe that Chase is making bad decisions and to make Orlando think that Chase is spending time with Orlando's girlfriend, Destiny.  I was surprised that everything ended the way that it did.  I'm not sure I would want to read many more books from the Unbarred series, but I will definitely remember them for reluctant readers.

I Heart Band

I Heart Band by Michelle Schusterman
188 Pages
 

This is a story about Holly, who is looking forward to starting 7^th grade.  She and her best friend, Julia, are in advanced band and only a handful of 7^th graders are chosen each year.  She can’t wait for school to start because Julia has been away almost all summer and got to go to band camp.  Unfortunately, Holly’s first day back isn’t as great as she imagined.  First, her brother spilled orange juice all over her, ruining not only her outfit but her backpack as well.  So, second, she was almost late and had to carry her brother’s old Batman backpack.  Third, and worst of all, Julia is hanging out with a new girl, Natasha, whom she met at camp.  Natasha and Julia are acting like best friends and Holly thinks Natasha is stuck-up and conceited.  The story really follows Holly’s life as she navigates 7^th grade with all of the highs and lows.  Although the story is pretty predictable it’s told pretty well and middle school girls will probably like it.