Book Bite: "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson

"Slush is frozen over. People say that winter lasts forever, but it's because they obsess over the thermometer. North in the mountains, the maple syrup is trickling. Brave geese punch through the thin ice left on the lake. Underground, pale seeds roll over in their sleep. Starting to get restless. Starting to dream green."

- Speak (1999) by Laurie Halse Anderson

Book Bite: "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson

“Cold and silence. Nothing quieter than snow. The sky screams to deliver it, a hundred banshees flying on the edge of the blizzard. But once the snow covers the ground, it hushes as still as my heart.” 

- Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (1999)

Book Bite: "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson

The snow drifts into our zombie mouths crawling with grease and curses and tobacco flakes and cavities and boyfriend/girlfriend juice, the stain of lies. For one moment we are not failed tests and broken condoms and cheating on essays; we are crayons and lunch boxes and swinging so high our sneakers punch holes in the clouds. For one breath everything feels better.

Then it melts.

The bus drivers rev their engines and the ice cloud shatters. Everyone shuffles forward. They don't know what just happened. They can't remember.

- Wintergirls (2009) by Laurie Halse Anderson

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The Vow by Jessica Martinez	Mo is not only eighteen-year-old Annie's best friend, he is the one who helps her cope with the loss of her older sister, so when he learns he must leave Kentucky and return to Jordan with his family, Annie suggests a shocking alternative.
The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine	When the passive strategy she has always adopted proves injurious to her heart's goals, ordinary girl Wren inadvertently saves the life of expelled lacrosse player Grayson and embarks on an awkward romance that compels both to start over.
World After by Susan Ee	In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world. When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken. Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans, where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go. Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?
The Third Lie's the Charm by Lisa & Laura Roecker	Third book in The Liar Society series. To avenge her best friend's death, Kate must put her relationship with Liam on hold to infiltrate the Sisterhood, a secret society at Pemberly Brown Academy.
The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean by David Almond	Trapped in his bedroom by a father who fills his mind with mysterious tales and warnings, Billy Dean goes outside for the first time when his father disappears, and he discovers his abilities to heal the living and contact the dead.
Swagger by Carl Deuker	High school senior point guard Jonas Dolan is on the fast track to a basketball career until an unthinkable choice puts his future on the line.
Daylighters  by Rachel Caine	While Morganville, Texas, is often a troubled town, Claire Danvers and her friends are looking forward to coming home. But the Morganville they return to isn't the one they know; it's become a different place--a deadly one. Something drastic has happened in Morganville while Claire and her friends were away. The town looks cleaner and happier than they've ever seen it before, but when their incoming group is arrested and separated-vampires from humans-they realize that the changes definitely aren't for the better.
Killer of Enemies by Joseph Bruchac	In a world that has barely survived an apocalypse that leaves it with pre-twentieth century technology, Lozen is a monster hunter for four tyrants who are holding her family hostage.
Firebrand  by Antony John	Second book in the Elemental series. In a dystopian United States, the colonists of Roanoke Island must find safety at the mysterious Fort Sumter, but as they get further from their home, their elemental powers begin to fade.
The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson	Hayley Kincaid and her father move back to their hometown to try a 'normal' life, but the horrors he saw in the war threaten to destroy their lives.