Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay

Fifteen-year-old Canadian Ned Marriner accompanies his famous photographer father, Edward, on a shoot at Aix-en-Provence's Saint-Saveur Cathedral while his physician mother, Meghan, braves the civil war zone in Sudan with Doctors Without Borders. As Ned explores the old cathedral, he meets Kate Wenger, a geeky but attractive American girl who's a walking encyclopedia of history. In the ancient baptistry, the pair are surprised by a mysterious, scarred man wielding a knife who warns them away.

Note from Ms. Secord:

This book is being touted as "one of the best" that this author has penned. Has anyone else read another book by this author and can this book be compared to the rest of the White Pine Reads for this year?

“The wide appeal of Ysabel is more powerful because it is achieved by virtue of the book being well-written, not because the book is written to appeal to a big audience. Ysabel is a novel of history so powerful that the past pervades the present in a manner that one might be tempted to call supernatural, were it not rendered with the sort of conviction that forces one to set aside such considerations.”—trashotron.com

"Blending historical fantasy and psychological thriller with a paranormal-powered coming-of-age tale, Ysabel will not only appeal to adult fantasy readers but also to adolescents who have enjoyed authors that feature compelling teen protagonists—such as J. K. Rowling and Christopher Paolini."—Barnesandnoble.com

The Warrior''s Daughter

The Warrior's Daughter by Holly Bennett

Luaine is the daughter of the renowned warrior Cuchulainn, and honor and war have always been a part of her life. She interacts with kings, queens, and great druids thanks to her father's stature, and receives a thorough education. As a young girl she must flee her home with her mother while her father goes off to fight Queen Maeve's vast army. She loses her parents before she's fully become a woman and is married off to old King Conchobor. It's a loveless marriage, and she is forced into hiding after a spurned poet curses her.

Note from Ms. Secord:

How did you feel about the relationship bewtween Luaine and her father? Are there any parallels between a teen/parent relationship of today and that of many years ago?

The Space Between

The Space Between by Don Aker

Almost 18 and still a virgin, Jace has only one thing on his mind. Luckily, he’ll be spending his birthday at a Mexican resort, where beaches draped with golden girls shpuld increase his chance of success. On the other hand, cvacationing with family threatens to kill that bet. The nhe meets Kate, who might be just the person to help him, and Conner, God’s gift to women, who could share some pointers if her weren’t such a jerk. Making “it” happen is harder than Jace realizes when old and new secrets arise.

Note from Ms. Secord:

Did you find the portrayal of Jace to be an accuarate one and is he like teen boys that you know? Jace is described as being both smart and sexually stupid, both telling the truth and hiding lies. Comments?

The Song of Kkahunsha

The Song of Kahunsha by Anosh Irani

Ten-year-old Chamdi, a bright and sensitive boy raised from infancy in a Bombay orphanage, prays to Jesus that he will try not to be sad and imagines a place called Kahunsha, a city where there is no sadness. When the orphanage is to be torn down and the children placed elsewhere, he first cajoles the director to reveal information about his parentage, then runs away in search of his father.

Note from Ms. Secord:

I found this book to be heartwrenching as I pictured poor little Chamdi, forced to beg in the streets of Bombay where he is shown little kindness. Do you think that he would have been better off if Guddi and her brother Sumdi had never found him, and would he survived if not for them?

Keturah and Lord Death

Keturah and Lord Death
At 16, Keturah is a poor peasant girl who constantly ponders her future. She has always been different from the other girls of the village and has unique but unrealized gifts. She has been raised by warm and loving grandparents, experiencing firsthand what a truly happy marriage is all about. The teen is committed to finding a suitable husband so she, too, can be happy but has not yet been successful. All this changes for her the day she follows the legendary hart deep into the forest and becomes lost.

From Ms. Secord:

Although related in the first person, I found that the story to be almost fairy tale like in it's prose and the part about the lemon meringue pie made me laugh, as I really wonder if the origins of that pie started that long ago. The descriptions of the village, the onset of the Plague lend an interesting slant to the story. Did you find the story symbolic at all? And just who was Lord Death? Do YOU know him?
Muy-hah-hah...

Getting to the "Grist" of it by Heather Waldorf

Grist
By Heather Waldorf

Sixteen-year-old aspiring writer Charlie faces a bleak summer in Springdale, Canada. Her widowed father is increasingly preoccupied with his new girlfriend. Her best friend and crush, Sam, has moved to Australia. She has fallen out of favour with her beloved creative-writing teacher, who challenges her to gather the grist of life experiences as fuel for her writing. So she heads for her grandmother's cottage in remote Lake Ringrose, Ontario, hoping to reconnect with the memory of her mother.

Questions to pondure:

What exactly is meant by the word "Grist" in the title?

What did Charlie's teacher mean when he told her that her work had no meat, no substance?

This book is getting rave reviews from all who have read it. What chord did this book strike with you , if any?

The end of the world as we know it by Lesley Choyce

The End Of The World As We Know It

Asked to write something for English class that expresses who he really is, 16-year-old Carson takes pleasure in blistering the page with hate for everything in his life. Stuck in a private school for kids who have repeatedly flunked out elsewhere, Carson knows he's got nowhere lower to sink to. "Flunk Out Academy" is the last resort for Carson and his classmates, in a small town where its deeply troubled students are decidedly unwelcome.

Comment from Ms. Secord
I have a hard time coming up with another book where the main character had so much anger inside! He advantages in his life that a lot of kids wished they had. Do you think Carson's anger was justifiable?