Beastly by Alex Flinn

Ever since the Iowa Teen Award nominees for 2011-2012 came out, Alex Flinn's Beastly has been hard to find in the library.  Although, it might also have something to do with the recently released major motion picture based on the book starring some exciting young actors including Mary-Kate Olsen...

Flinn gives readers a modern-day retelling of the classic story of Beauty and the Beast set in New York City and featuring a group of high school students.  Kyle Kingsbury is popular, rich, and perfect looking until one day a witch casts a spell on him turning him into a hideous beast.  She tells him that the only way to reverse the curse is to get a girl to fall in love with him despite his looks.  However, his appearance makes it difficult to meet anybody or leave the house and his father has exiled him to a sheltered apartment in Brooklyn.

The book stays true to the original story while putting a contemporary spin on the classic tale. Readers will be captivated by the twists and turns the story takes.  Try and read this book before you see the movie!

Girls in Sports: Boost by Kathy Mackel and "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen

 I recently read two really great books whose main characters were female athletes.  The first one, The Running Dream, is about a star track athlete who has to have her leg amputated after her school bus crashes on the way home from a track meet.  When the story opens it seems like Jessica will never be happy again because she will not be able to do what she loves, run.  However, through the support of her family and friends she begins to recover and realize that she may be able to run again.  Jessica's story is truly inspiring (I even cried a couple of times) and is a great read for track season!

The second book is Boost by Kathy Mackel and is one of the Iowa Teen Award Nominees for 2011-2012.  This story features Savvy who is 6 foot 2 inches tall, and a little uncomfortable being so tall, but very comfortable playing basketball.  She is only 13, but makes it onto a highly selective basketball team with girls who are much older.  However, somehow she gets accused of using steroids and has to figure out who planted the pills in her gym bag if she wants to clear her reputation.  This one has a surprise twist at the end and if you love basketball I think you will find this book to be a really exciting read!