Tag: first love

Ms. Haigh Reads – Flannery by Lisa Moore

Ms. Haigh

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Flannery by Lisa Moore is a story of love, friendship and struggle.

Flannery Malone is a 16 year old in Newfoundland, living on welfare and helping her free-spirited mother raise her younger brother. But despite her struggles at home, what dominates most of her attention is her love for her childhood best friend Tyrone, but he hardly even acknowledges her existence. So, when they are paired up in entrepreneurship class to create and market an innovative product, making and selling a love potion seems like the obvious choice. But when their love potions seem to start working, everything else starts falling apart.

This story has everything from humour to devastation to romance, so check it out!

Ms. Haigh Reads: The Carnival at Bray

Ms. Haigh

carnival_at_bray_frontcover

The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley is a good read for anyone who has ever dreamed of living in Ireland, or likes a book filled with musical references, as it is set during the height of the Grunge era(think Nirvana).

The story follows 16 year old Maggie Lynch as she’s forced to move from her settled life in Chicago, Illinois to the unknown world of Bray, Ireland (a small seaside town outside of Dublin). The move is prompted by her alcoholic mother’s quickie marriage to an Irishman and though Maggie is none too pleased about the move at first, she she tries to find comfort in her simplified life, despite having no friends. Though she misses her favourite uncle desperately, Ireland officially starts to feel like home when she befriends one of her elderly neighbours and even meets a handsome local boy.

But when an important person in her life dies suddenly, Maggie goes off on a secret journey that is both dangerous and exhilarating. But will there be devastating consequences?

This is an exhilarating read about finding out who you are, learning to grieve, taking risks and falling in love.

Recommendation: Grades 10+

Awards:

  • Top Ten List of 2015 – American Library Association’s top fiction for young adults
  • Chicago Weekly’s Best Books of 2014
  • Michael L. Printz Honor Award Winner
  • 2014 Helen Sheehan YA Book Prize
  • Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2014