Shug by Jenny Han (248 pages)
Shug is about a girl who is starting Junior High School and is finding out that she has her first crush. Her mom is an alcoholic and her dad is never home. She has an older sister, Celia, and Shug thinks that she is beautiful. Everything is going pretty good until she has to start tutoring Jack, a guy who picks on her all the time. A dance is coming up and she doesn’t want to go even though her mom wants her to. At the dance, she overhears her crush say something about her that is devastating. Jack ends up in a fight with her crush, leaving Shug to decide who she really likes.
Review by Mariah E.
Cecilia is a young girl who has always been told that she is the true princess. But her country is in a war so she has to stay hidden. Her nanny decides it’s not safe for her to stay in the little village anymore. She and her best friend Harper travel to the palace to redeem her true crown. But when she gets there she discovers that she is not the only one who has been told she is the true princess. There are 11 other girls who think the same. Which one is the real one? Will she ever redeem her crown?
This novel in poetry format details the series of boys that Sophie dates in order to find Mr. Right. She tends to fall head over heels about any boy that gives her attention, but there is one in particular that she dreams about - but she can never tell anyone about her dreams because he is considered the class “nerd.” When she attends the Halloween dance, a mysterious masked boy dances with her and thus becomes her newest obsession. Who is the mystery boy? Will she ever reveal her secret crush to her friends - or would she be committing a social no-no that she couldn’t overcome?
Logan is hiding a horrible secret. His family has moved to another part of town to try to get away from all the gossiping about him. Even with the move, he is still being bullied and harrassed by the other boys at school and in Scouts, and is constantly called severe names. Logan doesn’t talk to anyone. His parents try to make him talk with a pyschiatrist, but Logan still closes everyone off. The only activity he gets involved with is the school play, and he’s pretty proud of it, but he still keeps his secret. His secret is so terrifying and disturbing that he refuses to admit it, but how long will he be able to hold it in?
When thirteen-year-old Col finds out his older brother, Mungo, is in trouble with the law (again!), he helps him out by giving him an alibi. Col always covers for Mungo and thinks it’s pretty funny when he gets away with things. One day, Col is out by the loch and witnesses a young boy heading out onto the thin ice. He thinks the boy is pretty dumb and decides to rob him while he’s out on the loch. Then, the ice breaks and the boy falls through. Without thinking, Col rushes over to help him, saving the boy’s life but nearly drowning himself. Now, the town proclaims him a hero, but Col isn’t sure how to handle such positive attention for once. Mungo doesn’t like it either, and when Col finds out Mungo’s dirty secret, he must decide whether family loyalty is more important than honesty.
