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Dork Diaries

Posted on September 18, 2013 by webmaster

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Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
by Rachel Renee Russell

Fourteen-year-old Nikki J. Maxwell has been awarded a scholarship to a prestigious private middle school as a part of her father’s bug extermination contract. Her angst as she deals with the resident mean girl, her embarrassing parents, her crush on the hot boy, and making new friends are all recorded alongside numerous sketches of her life. Although occasionally amusing, Nikki is not a very likable character. She is shallow and self-centered and fails to show any growth in the book, even as she one-ups popular and cruel MacKenzie in the end.

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In fact, Nikki, who steals her neighbor’s hearing aid and plays pranks on her little sister, is somewhat of a mean girl herself. All the other characters are underdeveloped, including Nikki’s family and her new BFFs, Chloe and Zoey.

Lexile Level	Content Rating	Number of Pages	Genre	Date Published	ISBN Number
510L	Middle School	288	Comedy	2009	1416980063

Market

Posted on September 17, 2013 by webmaster

“Creating a community of avid readers, one video at a time^©“

The Market
by J.M. Steele

After stumbling across the Millbank Social Stock Market, Kate is horrified to discover that out of the 140 girls in her class, she’s ranked a bleak 71. Sure, she’s not drop-dead gorgeous, and her “fashion” choices leave a bit to be desired…but 71?! Determined not to accept her fate as a “junk bond,” she and her best friends quickly set out to make her the fastest rising stock on the Market.

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Armed with a sexy new haircut and killer wardrobe, Kate puts her plan into effect — and the analysts take note. In a matter of weeks, her stock value soars, and “Blue Chip” status is within reach. But what begins as a fun social experiment quickly turns into an obsession, one that threatens to ruin her reputation, friendships, and a chance at first love.

Lexile Level	Content Rating	Number of Pages	Genre	Date Published	ISBN Number
890L	High School	336	Drama	2009	1423100164

Specials

Posted on September 17, 2013 by webmaster

The Specials (The Uglies Trilogy – Book 3)
by Scott Westerfield

Tally Youngblood lives in a futuristic society that acculturates its citizens to believe that they are ugly until age 16 when they’ll undergo an operation that will change them into pleasure-seeking “pretties.” Anticipating this happy transformation, Tally meets Shay, another female ugly, who shares her enjoyment of hover-boarding and risky pranks. But Shay also disdains the false values and programmed conformity of the society and urges Tally to defect with her to the Smoke, a distant settlement of simple-living conscientious objectors. Tally declines, yet when Shay is found missing by the authorities, Tally is coerced by the cruel Dr. Cable to find her and her compatriots –or remain forever “ugly.”

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Tally’s adventuresome spirit helps her locate Shay and the Smoke. It also attracts the eye of David, the aptly named youthful rebel leader to whose attentions Tally warms. However, she knows she is living a lie, for she is a spy who wears an eye-activated locator pendant that threatens to blow the rebels’ cover.

Other Books in the Trilogy

Click here to view The Uglies – Book One

Click here to view The Pretties – Book Two

Lexile Level	Content Rating	Number of Pages	Genre	Date Published	ISBN Number
770L	Middle School	448	Science Fiction	2005	0689865384