2012-2013 Georgia Peach Award Books

1. 2012-2013 Georgia Peach Award Books

2. Anna and the French Kissby Stephanie Perkins Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Tienne St. Claire: perfect, Parisian, and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he’s taken, and Anna might be too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

3. Between Shades of Grayby RutaSepetys In 1941, fifteen-year-old Lina, her mother, and brother are pulled from their Lithuanian home by Soviet guards and sent to Siberia, where her father is sentenced to death in a prison camp while she fights for her life, vowing to honor her family and the thousands like hers by burying her story in a jar on Lithuanian soil.

4. Divergentby Veronica Roth In a future Chicago, sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all.

5. The False Princessby Eilis O’Neal For sixteen years, Nalia has been raised as the princess of Thorvaldor, but one day she learns that her real name is Sinda and that she is part of a complicated plot that would change the future of her country forever.

6. Glowby Amy Kathleen Ryan If a violent battle destroyed the only world you’ve ever known, would you be brave enough to save who was left? Part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space, 15 year old Waverly and her boyfriend Kieran will be pioneers of New Earth. Everyone expects them to marry young and have children. But Waverly is also intrigued by Seth. Waverly and Kieran find themselves separated by war and both responsible for leading dangerous missions, with no room for decisions of the heart.

7. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacksby Rebecca Skloot The children and husband of Henrietta Lacks, who, twenty years after her death from cervical cancer in 1951, learned doctors and researchers took cells from her cervix without consent which were used to create the immortal cell line known as the HeLa cell. This book provides an overview of Henrietta's life; and explores issues of experimentation on African-Americans and bioethics.

8. Jumpby Elisa Carbone Sixteen-year-old P.K. has taken an impulsive jump from her restrictive life with her family into a life of total adventure: running away to go rock climbing out west with a guy she barely knows. At first everything's amazing. But then she starts to learn more about her companion and she's not sure she likes what she hears. When the cops finally catch up to them, with an arrest warrant, P.K. has to decide whom to believe: this amazing guy whom she trusts with her life or the cops, who want her to believe that he may take her life.

9. The Mockingbirdsby Daisy Whitney Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way--the Themis Way. So when Alex is date raped during her junior year, she has two options: stay silent and hope someone helps her, or enlist the Mockingbirds--a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of their fellow peers.

10. Name of the Starby Maureen Johnson Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London to start a new life at a London boarding school. The same day a series of brutal murders beaks out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.“Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with only. Rory as a witness. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

11. Notes from the Blenderby Cook, Trish & Halpin, Brendan Declan, a fan of Finnish death metal, violent video games, and Internet porn, dreams of getting to know beautiful gymnast Neilly Foster, not realizing his dearest wish is about to come true because his dad is going to marry Neilly's mother.

12. Now is the Time for Runningby Michael Williams Deo and his friends play soccer in the dusty fields of Zimbabwe, cheered on by Deo's mentally disabled older brother, Innocent. It is a day like any other . . . until the soldiers arrive and Deo and Innocent are forced to run for their lives. Along the way, they face the prejudice and poverty that await refugees everywhere, and must rely on the kindness of people they meet to make it through. When tragedy strikes, Deo's love of soccer is all he has left.

13. Please Ignore Vera Dietzby A. S. King Vera’s spent her whole life secretly in love with her best friend, Charlie Kahn. And over the years she’s kept a lot of his secrets. Even after he betrayed her. Even after he ruined everything.So when Charlie dies in dark circumstances, Vera knows a lot more than anyone—the kids at school, his family, even the police. But will she emerge to clear his name? Does she even want to?

14. Ready Player Oneby Ernest Cline In 2044, the world is a bleak place, but luckily, OASIS, a virtual online utopia. In OASIS, people can play, go to school, earn money, and meet avatars. Wade Watts dreams of finding three keys left behind by James Halliday, the creator of OASIS. Whoever finds the keys will inherit Halliday’s fortune. There are real dangers in OASIS. Can Wade root out enough knowledge about the 1980s to figure out the mystery? Can he survive the real world death threats on his quest?

15. The Running Dreamby Wendelin Van Draanen Jessica thinks her life is over when she loses a leg in a car accident. She's not comforted by the news that she'll be able to walk with the help of a prosthetic leg. Who cares about walking when you live to run?As she struggles to cope with crutches and a first cyborg-like prosthetic, Jessica feels oddly both in the spotlight and invisible. People who don't know what to say, act like she's not there. Which she could handle better if she weren't now keenly aware that she'd done the same thing herself to a girl with CP named Rosa. A girl who is going to tutor her through all the math she's missed. A girl who sees right into the heart of her.

16. The Sky is Everywhereby Jandy Nelson Lennie plays second clarinet in the school orchestra and has always happily been second fiddle to her charismatic older sister, Bailey. Then Bailey dies suddenly, and Lennie is left at sea without her anchor. Overcome by emotion, Lennie soon finds herself torn between two boys: Bailey's boyfriend, Toby, and Joe, the charming and musically gifted new boy in town. While Toby can't see her without seeing Bailey and Joe sees her only for herself, each offers Lennie something she desperately needs. But ultimately, it's up to Lennie to find her own way toward what she really needs-without Bailey.

17. Stickby Andrew Smith Fourteen-year-old Stark McClellan (nicknamed Stick because he’s tall and thin) is bullied for being “deformed” – he was born with only one ear. His older brother Bosten is always there to defend Stick. But the boys can’t defend one another from their abusive parents. When Stick realizes Bosten is gay, he knows that to survive his father's anger, Bosten must leave home. Stick has to find his brother, or he will never feel whole again. In his search, he will encounter good people, bad people, and people who are simply indifferent to kids from the wrong side of the tracks. But he never loses hope of finding love – and his brother.

18. Stupid Fastby Geoff Herbach I AM NOT STUPID FUNNY.I AM STUPID FAST. My name is Felton Reinstein, which is not a fast name. But last November, my voice finally dropped and I grew all this hair and then I got stupid fast. Fast like a donkey. Zing Now they want me, the guy they used to call Squirrel Nut, to try out for the football team. With the jocks. But will that fix my mom? Make my brother stop dressing like a pirate? Most important, will it get me girls -especially Aleah? So I train. And I run. And I sneak off to Aleah's house in the night. But deep down I know I can't run forever. And I wonder what will happen when I finally have to stop

19. This Girl is Differentby JJ Johnson Evie is different. Not just her upbringing-though that's certainly been unusual-but also her mindset. She's smart, independent, confident, opinionated, and ready to take on a new challenge: The Institution of School. It doesn't take this homeschooled kid long to discover that high school is a whole new world. It's a social minefield, and Evie finds herself confronting new problems at every turn, failing to follow or even understand the rules, and proposing solutions that aren't welcome or accepted. Not one to sit idly by, Evie sets out to make big changes. The movement she starts takes off, but before she realizes what's happening, her plan spirals out of control, forcing her to come to terms with a world she is only just beginning to comprehend.

20. What Can’t Waitby Ashley Hope Perez "Another day finished, gracias a Dios." Seventeen-year-old Marisa's mother has been saying this for as long as Marisa can remember. Her parents came to Houston from Mexico. They work hard, and they expect Marisa to help her familia. An ordinary life--marrying a neighborhood guy, working, having babies--ought to be good enough for her. Marisa hears something else from her calc teacher. She should study harder, ace the AP test, and get into engineering school in Austin. Some days, it all seems possible. On others, she's not even sure what she wants. When her life at home becomes unbearable, Marisa seeks comfort elsewhere--and suddenly neither her best friend nor boyfriend can get through to her. Caught between the expectations of two different worlds, Marisa isn't sure what she wants--other than a life where she doesn't end each day thanking God it's over. But some things just can't wait...

21. What Comes Afterby Steve Watkins After her veterinarian dad dies, sixteen-year-old Iris Wight must leave her beloved Maine to live on a North Carolina farm with her hardbitten aunt and a cousin she barely knows. Iris, a vegetarian and animal lover, clashes with Aunt Sue, who mistreats the livestock, spends Iris’s inheritance, and thinks nothing of striking Iris for the smallest offense. When Iris sets two young goats free to save them from slaughter an enraged Aunt Sue orders her brutish son, Book, to beat Iris senseless. That lands Book and his mother in jail. Sent to live with an offbeat foster family and their "dooking" ferrets, Iris must find a way to take care of the animals back at the farm, even if it means confronting Aunt Sue.

22. Sources: • Book jacket images from Destiny library catalog and alibris.com • Descriptions from book jackets and from goodreads.com Compiled by Cheryl Youse, Media Specialist Colquitt County High School, Moultrie, Georgia