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How to Use the Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers Blog

Students, teachers, parents, and coaches who have read a book may comment on it. All comments must be approved by the blog moderator before being published on the web. After a comment has been submitted, it may take up to 24 hours for the comment to be available on the blog. Comments that are not considered appropriate will not be published.

Comments should be substantial. You may talk about whether you liked or disliked the book, but please give some details to support your opinion. Was the book a genre (historical fiction, realistic, or fantasy) that you particularly like or dislike? Were the characters or plot unrealistic? How does this book compare with others by the same author? You may also comment on a previous comment. You may sign your comment with your first name only, or you may make up a name and an email address. You may include the name of your school. For your security, do not include any other information that could be used to identify you. No comment that belittles another commentator, uses inappropriate language, reveals personal information, or is off topic will be approved by the moderator.

To make a comment on a book, click on the comment link (under the book description beneath the red line below the post). You may compose your comment in the box and must enter a name and an email address. Again, the name and address may be fictional. When you finish writing, type in the letters to verify your comment (this helps prevent spam from appearing in the blog). Check back in a day or so and you will find your comment on the web!

If you are interested in the Georgia Book Award Nominees for elementary and middle school students, take a look at the Georgia Children's Book Award Nominees 2007-2008 - a blog for elementary and middle school students moderated by "Bookworm" Mary Nevil, Media Specialist from DeKalb County Schools.

As Simple As Snow by Gregory Galloway

After his eccentric girlfriend mysteriously disappears, a young man must unravel the puzzle she left behind in her cryptic, riddle-filled letters and in the obituaries she created for every living person in town.

Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel--a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.

Bucking the Sarge by Christopher Paul Curtis

Deeply involved in his cold and manipulative mother's shady business dealings in Flint, Michigan, fourteen-year-old Luther keeps a sense of humor while running the Happy Neighbor Group Home For Men, all the while dreaming of going to college and becoming a philosopher.

Code Orange by Caroline Cooney

While conducting research for a school paper on smallpox, Mitty finds an envelope containing 100-year-old smallpox scabs and fears that he has infected himself and all of New York City.

Dead Connection by Charlie Price

He talks to the dead. The dead talk to him. Nikki is the cheerleader missing (presumed murdered) for months. Murray is the loner who talks to the dead residents of the town graveyard—and maybe hears Nikki's voice calling him. Six narrators—including Murray, the cop, the troubled witness, and perpetrator—drive this fast-paced thriller to a dramatic climax.

Everlost by Neal Shusterman

When Nick and Allie are killed in a car crash, they end up in Everlost, or limbo for lost souls. although Nick is satisfied, Allie will stop at nothing--even skinjacking--to break free.

I’d Tell You But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

 As a sophomore at a secret spy school and the daughter of a former CIA operative, Cammie is sheltered from "normal teenage life" until she meets a local boy while on a class surveillance mission.

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Thirteen-year-old Anna, conceived specifically to provide blood and bone marrow for her sister Kate who was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia at the age of two, decides to sue her parents for control of her body when her mother wants her to donate a kidney to Kate.

Peeps by Scott Westerfeld

Cal Thompson is a carrier of a parasite that causes vampirism, and must hunt down all of the girlfriends he has unknowingly infected. Apart from the cravings for rare meat and enforced celibacy, life is okay--until a hip, cute journalism student intensifies Cal's yearnings for companionship.

Raiders Night by Robert Lipsyte

Matt Rydeck, co-captain of his high school football team, endures a traumatic season as he witnesses the attack of a rookie player by teammates and grapples with his own use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Runaways, Volume 1 by Brian Vaughan

A group of six young friends, having discovered their parents are all secretly super-powered villains, run away from home and embark on a series of adventures, fueled by their desire to thwart their legacy of evil.

Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood

As a Chicano boy living in the unglamorous town of Hollywood, New Mexico, and a member of the graduating class of 1969, Sammy Santos faces the challenges of "gringo" racism, unpopular dress codes, the Vietnam War, barrio violence, and poverty.

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar

Scott Hudson chronicles the ups and downs of his eventful freshman year in high school, as he joins the newspaper, works as a stage manager for the spring play, learns a lot from his outstanding English teacher, tries to help a student who attempts suicide, is beaten up because of a girl, and goes to the spring dance. Along the way, he discovers that his mother is pregnant, and he writes a series of insightful letters to his soon-to-be sibling.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

The author recalls her life growing up in a dysfunctional family with an alcohol father and distant mother and describes how she and her siblings had to fend for themselves until they finally found the resources and will to leave home.

The Goodness Gene by Sonia Levitin

As son of the Compassionate Director of the Dominion of the Americas, Will, along with his twin brother Berk, has been groomed for leadership in a society that values genetic fitness, but he encounters information which causes him to question that society as well as his own identity. 

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

The summer following her father's death, Macy plans to work at the library and wait for her brainy boyfriend to return from camp, but instead she goes to work at a catering business where she makes new friends and finally faces her grief.  

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

Tiffany, a young witch-to-be in the land of Discworld, teams up with the Wee Free Men, a clan of six-inch-high blue toughs, to rescue her baby brother and ward off a sinister invasion from Fairyland.

The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty

Three female students from Ashbury High write to three male students from rival Brookfield High as part of a pen pal program, leading to romance, humiliation, revenge plots, and war between the schools.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

When seventeen-year-old Bella leaves Phoenix to live with her father in Forks, Washington, she meets an exquisitely handsome boy at school for whom she feels an overwhelming attraction and who she comes to realize is not wholly human.  

What Happened to Cass McBride? by Gail Giles

After his brother commits suicide, Kyle Kirby kidnaps and buries alive Cass, the girl he holds responsible. Chapters alternate between the first-person voices of Kyle and Cass and the third-person perspective of police detective Ben. Kyle's wrath, Cass's terror, and Ben's urgency are palpable, as is the horrifying claustrophobia, in this unnerving thriller.