A Mango-Shaped Space (by Wendy Mass) May 9, 2008
Mia is not your typical 13-year old. For her, sounds have colors, even textures. For example, her cat Mango make a noise the same color as the fruit. Until now, Mia’s managed to hide her unusual sensitivity, but now she’s failing math and her colors are getting in the way. That’s when Mia learns she has a special condition called Synesthesia. Now Mia feels special, excited as learns more and more about her unique way of perceiving the world. She uses the internet to research synesthesia and connect with other people like her, people who are different. She withdraws from her old friends and her family until Mango is struck down with a sudden illness. Mia realizes that her condition is only part of who she is and growing up isn’t always about being special.
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Sam Jones is a skater. Not the kind that puts on frilly outfits and slides around on the ice - Sam’s a 15 year old, trainer-wearing, Tony-Hawk-wanna-be skateboarder. When a skater “slams” he wipes out, “eats concrete” - you get the idea. Sam Jones is a decent enough skater that he hardly ever slams - until he gets his girlfriend pregnant. Sam talks about his problems with his Tony Hawk poster and, sometimes, Tony talks back. As crazy as this seems, Sam’s conversations with Tony have almost always helped him work out his problems … until now. Sam doesn’t know what to do, he’s scared. This time, Tony’s poster decides to show Sam the future, the good and the bad. Sam has to decide whether he’s going to get up from this slam and keep on working on the tricks life throws at him, or whether he is going to walk away a quitter.
Frankie, known affectionately as Bunny to her family, is going back to school. Starting her sophomore at Alabaster Prep and now out of the shadow of her older sister, Frankie has a chance to shine. When she catches the eye of Matt, a popular senior, Frankie’s year is off to a dreamy start. But Frankie finds out that her new beau is a member of the all-male secret society “The Loyal Order of the Bassett Hounds” - a club her very own father (and successful school alumnus) tries to keep secret from her. Frustrated and feeling left-out, Frankie turns the tables on the Loyal Order and soon has them carrying out her orders, though they have no idea who she really is.
As this exciting epic continues, Will and Evenlynn are separated as they struggle to find a way home from Skandia. Kidnapped by a group of scouting Temujai, Evenlynn learns of a plot to invade first Skandia, then her beloved Araluen. As Will searches for his friend, he encounters old friends.
Tiffany Aching wants to be a witch. She’s sick of hear innocent old grannies are forever being bad-mouthed or boiled in fairy tales, and she has no use for those swooning princesses or thick-headed princes. She’s not sure Tiffany is a good name for a witch, but she is quite a sensible girl. When her sticky little brother Wentworth is kidnapped by the fairy queen, Tiffany decides to get him back. Armed with a frying pan (fairies hate iron) and a talking toad, she sets off to find her little brother.
Where is the Welsh town of Manod? Just ask Dylan, resident and only boy in the entire town. His parents own the only gas station, which his mum dreams of turning in to a café, and his best friends are his two pet chickens. Life is quiet and boring until a mysterious BMW, Nissan X-Trail and two vans appear in the night and drive up the mountain. The vehicles are carrying precious paintings fro m the flooded National Gallery in London which are to be stored in Manod’s defunct mine.
Cadel Piggot is a genius. By the age of 7, his adoptive parents begin sending him to a psychiatrist after some illegal computer hacking. After his psychiatrist advises him simply “Next time, don’t get caught next”, Cadel learns that his biological father is an infamous and brilliant crook, currently in a high security prison. Moreover, by time he turns 13, his father is bankrolling the Axis Institute for World Domination, where Cadel can take useful classes like embezzlement, disguises and forgery.
Meet Anthony, the average middle child in an average Italian Catholic family in average Brooklyn, NY. While his older brother Frankie is a straight-A student, and his younger sister, Christina is just plain adorable, “Antsy” manages to fly along under the family radar. Then, from out of no where, comes Calvin Schwa. Although Calvin is in his science class, Antsy simply can’t remember ever seeing him before. No one seems to remember The Schwa, not even his own mother who left him at the grocery store. Antsy and Calvin test this “Schwa Effect” and, on a dare and a bet, try breaking into the apartment of Mr. Crawley, the local grouch. Caught in the act, Antsy and Calvin become Old Man Crawley’s slaves, forced to walk his fourteen dogs. As he performs his penance, Anthony begins to see the different ways people can disappear before our very eyes, but how love and friendship can bring them back.
Nick just wants to impress his girlfriend, Jen. With very little money and barely any free time, Nick thinks he has found a way to keep his beautiful, wealthy, and talented athlete girlfriend. A cell phone is the answer! After months of saving up his hard-earned money, Nick goes to a phone store in a crummy part of town. Once there, he simply wants the cheapest and most basic phone. The phone Nick ends up with is definitely cheap, but is anything but basic! For starters, the phone has no caller id (that’s why it is so cheap!). You might think, “So what.” Well if you started getting very strange calls from someone claiming to be from hell, caller id becomes very important. Oh, did I forget to mention that the phone is also used. Day and night, Nick starts receiving calls from demanding, disturbing strangers. He knows he should get rid of this bizarre phone, but without it he will lose his girlfriend. Swiftly Nick gets sucked into an evil plot of murder and betrayal by Fleck, the man from hell on the other end of the phone. In the end, Nick assists this fiend in escaping from hell. With gruesome detail, William Sleator (the author), describes the condition Fleck arrives in from hell — not pretty! Once loose from hell, Fleck coerces Nick into assisting him in a plot to murder his cousin, Rusty, who is stealing his sister, Lola’s inheritance. How has such a good kid like Nick turned into a thief, con artist, and murderer? Will Nick be able to send these people back where they belong or will he be joining them in HELL! Part mystery, part adventure, part science fiction, Hell Phone will make you start wondering what devilish things could happen on your cell phone?
Bobby never guessed that at the age of sixteen he would be taking care of an infant. But that is exactly what happened when the love of his life, Nia, dies soon after the baby is born. Not only does Bobby loose Nia, he also looses his freedom, his time hanging out with the guys, and he has lost his very own childhood to become a daddy. Bobby has the idealistic view that, “I’ve lost Nia, so I’m going to raise this baby.” This is a very noble sentiment until the reality of raising a baby alone sets in. Now it is just Feather and him. She needs him so completely which is scary, but he knows that he loves her more than anything in the world. Just like going to school, raising Feather will be a learning experience and a challenge will worth the struggle.A is for Adore, how I feel about you
