Pandemonium is written by Lauren Oliver.

I’m pushing aside

the memory of my nightmare,

pushing aside thoughts of Alex,

pushing aside thoughts of Hana

and my old school,

push,

push,

push,

like Raven taught me to do.

The old life is dead.

But the old Lena is dead too.

I buried her.

I left her beyond a fence,

behind a wall of smoke and flame.

 Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.

This book is suitable for young adults, ages 12 and older, and may contain mild uses of violence and/or profanity, sexual content and/or mature themes within the context of the story.

Looking for more GGC Book Club book choices for May? We select four great new books offered by Harper Collins Canada each month for each of the age categories below. If it’s on our book club list, then it has already received GGC’s approval based on specific criteria. Each book is also age-rated:

Sparks and Brownies (5-8 year olds)

Brownies and Guides (9-12 year olds), and

books for adults

Why We Broke Up written by Daniel Handler with art by Maira Kalman

Min Green and Ed Slaterton have broken up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. A movie ticket from their first date, a comb from the motel room they shared and every other memento collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship.

Why We Broke Up is honest and sincere as it introduces you to Min and Ed and lets you live through their exhilarating and heartbreaking romance. Min is smart, sharp and devastatingly honest, voicing things we only wish we had the ability to voice.

Pick up the book when you have time to do nothing else, because once you start, you won't want to stop reading. And when you are done - or even when you are half way through and just want to talk, leave us a comment about your thoughts on this fabulous new book.

This book is suitable for young adults, ages 12 and older, and may contain mild uses of violence and/or profanity, sexual content and/or mature themes within the context of the story.

Looking for more GGC Book Club book choices for February? We select four great new books offered by Harper Collins Canada each month for each of the age categories below. If it’s on our book club list, then it has already received GGC’s approval based on specific criteria. Each book is also age-rated:

Sparks and Brownies (5-8 year olds)

Brownies and Guides (9-12 year olds), and

books for adults

Here on the Patrol site, we've been posting reviews of quite a few YA novels through the GGC book club. HarperCollins Canada has been great in providing us with books every month that "appeal" to a "teen" audience.

But what does that mean? That these books don't appeal to an adult audience? 'Cause quite a few of them have been read and thoroughly enjoyed by adults here at the GGC national office. Does it mean that teens don't want to read books for adults? Well, we all know that isn't true at all!

Over at the Grid, they raise the question, "What's the point of YA fiction?" and highlight a great new book (that you just might be seeing here very soon!) What do you think of YA fiction? Do you find the label useful or condescending? Does having the label mean that books for teens aren't as "good" as books for adults? Does YA fiction "appeal" to you? How do you decide what books to read and what books not to read?

Mercy by Rebecca Lim

Waking up on a bus, heading to the small town of Paradise, Mercy doesn’t know whose body and life she is sharing. Nobody knows, and she has to try and live this girl’s life until she leaves, and takes on someone else’s life. Only this time she meets Ryan, whose sister was kidnapped and is presumed dead. Now that another girl has gone missing, Mercy and Ryan have to act fast to find the kidnapper.

This is a great mystery with a fast-paced and intriguing plot. It will leave you guessing at every turn! Also, Mercy is an independent and strong willed girl who can look out for herself – not something we get to see in all YA books, so very welcome when we do get it!

1. Mercy awakes in a strange place, and has to quickly figure out who she is, where she is and who everyone around her is. Have you ever experienced anything like that? When and where? What did you do to get through it?
2. Luc wants Mercy to stay quiet and hidden, just to get from body to body as fast as she can so she can get to him, but Mercy feels compelled to help, or at least not do any damage to, the girls whose lives she lives. Do you think this is the right thing for Mercy to do? Why or why not? Would you get involved?

Looking for more GGC Book Club book choices for January? We select four great new books offered by Harper Collins Canada each month for each of the age categories below. If it’s on our book club list, then it has already received GGC’s approval based on specific criteria. Each book is also age-rated:

Sparks and Brownies (5-8 year olds)

Brownies and Guides (9-12 year olds), and

books for adults

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

What if you knew today was your last day? What if you knew you were going to experience it seven times? This is what happens to Samantha Kingston. For a week this popular high school girl who had it all, relives her last day to not only discover the circumstances surrounding her death also discover, appreciate and understand the people that surround her. She pushes the boundaries of what is right and wrong only to discover what she actually has strong positive values.

If there was ever a book that would represent all the different facets of high school life for a teenage girl – this book is one of them. It’s about the friendships, relationships, betrayals, sexualities, class systems, bullying, depression and suicide, resilience and epiphanies and how all these things can be experienced, understood and changed in just one high school day.  

This book is suitable for young adults, ages 12 and older, and may contain mild uses of violence and/or profanity, sexual content and/or mature themes within the context of the story.

1. While reliving her last day, Samantha Kingston pushes her social boundaries and makes an effort to really get to know and understand people she had ignored or bullied in the past. She discovers the rumours that she helped spread were lies (as rumours generally are) and she realizes that she might have more in common with them than she thought to realize or admit. Think about the people in your school and the rumours that you have heard. What were these rumours? How did it change how you perceived the person(s)? After reading this book, what did you learn about the impact of rumours? What will you do the next time you hear a rumour? What can you do to better get to know somebody before making a personal judgment?
2. Although this book is fictional, it does reflect situations and actions that do happen in high school. This includes bullying and depression. Have you or any of your friends felt depressed or bullied? What did you do? Who did you talk too? Who can you talk too? Who should you talk too? Create a list of people who can help you or your friends or classmates when they are feeling depressed or bullied. Ask an adult that you trust to help you make this list and share it with your friends and/or classmates. If you need more help with tools to deal with depression and/or bullying you can also call Kids Help Phone at 1-800-669-6868 or visit the website at http://www.kidshelpphone.ca/Teens/Home.aspx
3. During this journey of discovery, Samantha also realizes all the things that she truly cared about and uses a few of her repeat days to really show her appreciation. In reality, many people won’t get the chance to realize it’s their last day until is too late. After reading this book, how often are you going to think about the things you appreciate? What will you do to remind yourself of the good things in your life? Take today for example. What do you appreciate today? Who are the people in your life you care about? How are you going to show or tell them that you appreciate them?

Girl Guides have tons of activities that can help you build healthy relationship and compliment what you have learned from this book, such as Girl EMpower and Girls United. If your Units hasn’t participated in these already, ask your Guider more about these two program activities.

Looking for more GGC Book Club book choices for December? We select four great new books offered by Harper Collins Canada each month for each of the age categories below. If it’s on our book club list, then it has already received GGC’s approval based on specific criteria. Each book is also age-rated:

Sparks and Brownies (5-8 year olds)

Brownies and Guides (9-12 year olds), and

books for adults