As promised, some last minute book gift ideas for preteens and teenagers. Enjoy!

Fashion

The Tokyo Look Book: Stylish To Spectacular, Goth To Gyaru, Sidewalk To Catwalk - This is a great book for fans of fashion and style. Crammed with full-color photographs of Tokyo’s trendy teens and twenty-somethings captured as they work and play, author Philomena Keet shows us the richly varied fashion scenes that thrive in Tokyo from the “gal” mecca of Shibuya, to the goths and cosplayers who hang out on Jingubashi bridge on Sundays. My only disappointment with this book is that it didn’t feature the thriving Japanese rockabilly and swing scenes. Those cool cats and kittens have the best vintage ’40s and ’50s clothes in the world.

Emotions – Friendship, Grief, Growing Up, and Other (Pre)Teen Angst (Fiction)

Anything But Ordinary – Valerie Hobbs’s YA novel captures a young couple’s search for independence and identity. Winifred and Bernie are two individualists in a romantic relationship with each other. So, they send off for the same college catalogs, promising never to separate.  But Bernie’s mother dies. He drops out of school and goes to work in a tire shop. Winifred’s at the University of California at Santa Barbara growing up. Both have gone through drastic changes. Can they rediscover their true selves and true love?

Fab Girls Guide to Friendship Hardship – This is the first book in a new series from the creators of Discovery Girls magazine featuring Carmen and Dallas Fabrulezziano (the Fab Girls), twins who appear throughout the books to help guide girls through those difficult middle school years.

Fair Has Nothing to Do With It – By Cynthia Cotten for ages nine to 12, this book dramatically shows grief from the viewpoint of a child. Far from being sentimental, the story shows the character as he swings from denial to anger to sorrow, and finally to acceptance. The easy, casual dialogue between the boy and his relative reinforces the idea that his grandfather will always be in the child’s memories. An excellent book for discussion.

How Ya Like Me Now – By Brendan Halpin, this YA (young adult) novel is about finding your place and looking out for your friends. Warning: this book deals with drug addiction (the mom’s).

History

Betsy Ross’s Star – One of the Blast to the Past books by Stacia Deutsch and Rhody Cohon for ages nine to 12. Learn the truth about the creation of the American flag and Betsy Ross.

Holidays

Christine Kringle – This fun Christmas book by Lynn Brittney explores the lives and working practices of the World’s Christmas Gift Bringers and how the daughter of Kriss Kringle of the USA and her friends save Christmas from extinction in England. For more about the book check out the Christine Kringle website.

More Fiction

Into the Ravine – For ages nine to 12, this novel by Richard Scrimger is about two 13-year-olds who take a day trip by themselves. On their way, the boys meet with a series of adventures that are funny at first glance but resonate deeply. They rescue a diabolical dog, confront a hydrophobic gang, and survive a waterfall. They are bombarded by bicycles, hoodwinked by hobos, and bewitched by bikinis. By accident, they crash a funeral, and, by design, they crash a pool party — with tragic results.

Rex Zero and the End of the World – For ages nine to 12, this novel by Tim Wynne-Jones explores the impact of doomsday and the apocalypse  on the imagination of one smart and funny twelve-year-old boy.

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