Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

Maberry, Jonathan. (2011). Rot & Ruin. NY: Simon & Schuster.
ISBN: 978-1442402331
Awards/Honors: ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults (2011)
Bram Stoker Award Nominee (Novel, 2010)
Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness: Survival, Confidence, Friends, Family, Evil Humans, Orphans
Genre: Horror
Annotation: Tom Imura is a post apocalypse samurai who wields his sword with compassion and vicious accuracy. He and his kid brother, Benny, fight against evil humans, and the zombies that now amble freely.
Summary: This story is set in the future after some unknown catastrophe caused people to re-awaken after death into flesh eating zombies. Chaos ensued, leaving the planet mostly rot and ruin - zombie infested areas outside protected towns. Benny Imura is 15 and looking for a job so his rations don't get cut, just like all his friends. After searching around, he finally agrees to be his older brother's apprentice bounty hunter - for zombies. Benny hates his brother and thinks him a coward for running away when he should have saved their mom from becoming a zombie. What he learns with Tom in the rot and ruin slowly changes this perception. The bounty hunters he used to think were heroes turn out to be evil kidnappers, murderers, and facilitators of an awful place called Game Land. Game Land is where they take the kidnapped children, give them a club or stick, put them in pits with zombies, and gamble on who will win. Tom, Benny, Nix, and the crazy lost girl band together to put an end to Charlie Pink-Eye's band of marauders.
Evaluation: I loved this book. That said, there were some long winded preachy parts and Tom was unbelievable patient with impudent little Benny, but the rest of the book's greatness more than makes up for any minor faults.

Cruise Control by Terry Trueman

Trueman, Terry. (2004). Cruise Control. NY: HarperTeen.
ISBN: 978-0066239606
Bibliographic Usefulness: Anger, Violence, Divorce, Absentee Father, Sports, Disability
Genre: Fiction
Annotation: Paul McDaniel is angry. He's angry at the unfairness of the world; that he should be strong, but his brother has severe cerebral palsy and can't walk or talk. Mostly though, Paul's anger is directed at his father who wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning poem about Shawn after he left the family.
Summary: Paul McDaniel is the best player on his basketball team, gets straight A's, and has a serious anger problem. He lives with his mom, sister, and brother Shawn, who has severe cerebral palsy. Paul, who deeply loves his brother (even though he calls him a "veg"), resents his father for abandoning him and for escaping the day-to-day realities of living with a profoundly disabled family member.
Most of Paul's anger is due to his father's leaving and then using Shawn as a prop for his writing career. Paul, though smart and talented, is filled with a rage that comes out in violent bursts. For example, he pummels a man for almost hitting a girl in a crosswalk, and is quick to anger with those around him. His best friend Tim also has problems with violence and gets thrown in jail for beating up his step-dad for hitting his mom. This shows Paul what could happen to him if he continues with his violent ways. Throughout the story, Paul's reigning question is how he can pursue happiness while his brother is suffering and his mom and sister are stuck caring for him? Paul's conflicts continue until his mom finally tells him the truth about why his father left - she asked him to.
Evaluation: This is a companion title to Stuck in Neutral which is from the perspective of Shawn, the brother with cerebral palsy. I haven't read that one, so feel I missed out a little, especially since Stuck in Neutral is supposedly the better of the two. However, Paul's frustration with his situation and the violent ways he deals with his anger are portrayed well.

Hanging on to Max by Margaret Bechard

Bechard, Margaret. (2003) Hanging on to Max. NY: Simon Pulse.
ISBN: 978-0689862687
Awards/Honors: ALA Best Books for Young Adults (2003)
ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults (2005.04|Read ‘Em & Weep, 2005)
Iowa Teen Award Nominee (2005-2006)
ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (2003)
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year (2002)
Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award Nominee (2005)
Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness: Teen Pregnancy, Teen Father, Adoption, Responsibility
Genre: Fiction
Annotation: When Sam's girlfriend decides she can't handle the responsibility of being a teen mom, Sam steps up. He takes on the role of single father along with that of student, but can he handle giving up his now very complicated life?
Summary: Sam Pettigrew is 17 and a father. When Sam's girlfriend decides she can't handle the responsibility and sacrifice of raising a child, Sam decides to raise Max on his own. All of the sudden he goes from planning college and trying out for the football team to changing diapers and feeding schedules. He also starts going to an alternative high school that provides day care. Here he is surrounded by teen mothers, and one in particular, Claire, that he makes a connection with. Sam, who gets almost no support from his family, gets to compare his situation to that of Claire's, who has help from her mom and sister. The pressure and chaos of his life catches up to him one day when Max has to be rushed to the emergency room for a bad cut on his hand. This makes Sam look at what is best for Max, and for himself, with new eyes. Although Sam loves Max very much, he decides to give him up for adoption.
Evaluation: A quick but interesting read. I found the book emotionally honest and heart wrenching at the same time. This certainly falls under the category of problem novel, but looks at the hard choice of adoption - it is not a neatly tied ending and I like that.

Side Effects by Amy Goldman Koss

Koss, Amy Goldman. (2006). Side Effects. NY: Roaring Brook Press.
ISBN: 978-1596432949
Awards/Honors: ALA Best Books for Young Adults (2007)
Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness: Cancer, Chemotherapy, Death, Friends, Family, Survival
Genre: Fiction
Annotation: Izzy Miller is 15 when she is diagnosed with cancer. While dealing with chemotherapy, scared parents, fake friends, puking, and going bald, Izzy maintains her sardonic sense of humor.
Summary: After recovering from a minor illness, Izzy notices that her glands are still really swollen. A visit to her doctor sets in motion the life changing diagnosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma: cancer. Sent to the Children’s Hospital in L.A., Izzy meets kids with sickle cell, leukemia, lymphoma and other diseases. Koss details Izzy's chemo regimen and the side effects thereof; nausea, hair loss, cold sores, etc. While Izzy deals with her sickness, the people around her also react. Her mother can only cry, her father fixates on remission statistics, and some classmates react with cruelty. Her best friend Kay is angry, but stays by her side and her Aunt Lucy manages to stay level headed through the ordeal. Readers know from the beginning that Izzy is going to live, but we live through this trying (both emotionally and physically) part of life with her.
Evaluation: This is a quick read, but gets to the heart of a serious illness. I did enjoy the banal realness of Izzy, and I say banal because she is just trying to live a normal teen existance but cannot because of things beyond her control. Izzy also uses humor to help alleviate the fear in herself and the fear of those around her.

Alex Van Helsing: Vampire Rising by Jason Henderson

Henderson, Jason. (2010). Alex Van Helsing: Vampire Rising. NY: HarperTeen.
ISBN: 978-0061950995
Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness: Friends, Bullies, Action
Genre: Fantasy
Annotation: Alex Van Helsing, it turns out, is a vampire slayer. At his new boarding school in Switzerland, vampires abound and he is quickly swept up into the battle.
Summary: Alex Van Helsing is 14 and has just started a new school in Switzerland. He got kicked out of his old school and is hoping for a fresh start. However, he is not so lucky. His roommates are bullies and on his first night there manages to accidentally kill a mysterious woman in the woods. The woman did attack him first and she did have huge fangs and she did puff up in smoke after Alex stabbed her with a fallen branch. This is just the beginning of a new life for Alex, but not the fresh start he was hoping for. One night Alex sees his teacher leave on a motorcycle and he follows him to the heart of the forest. Here, Alex
learns the truth about his name and that he truly is a vampire slayer. When two of Alex's friends are kidnapped by the blood sucking fiends, Alex must join forces with the Polidorium, a secret military like group seeking vampires, to save them. Intertwined in the plot are references to Mary Shelley, Lord Byron, John Polidori, and other past writers.
Evaluation: This is a fast and action packed read. None of the characters stand out as incredibly deep or well developed, but none-the-less, a fun read. The addition of some true history (and then the manipulation thereof) of Lord Byron and friends certainly adds to the appeal of the story.