Moon Over Manifest

 Vanderpool, C. Moon over Manifest. (2010). New York: Random House.

Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Armed only with a few possessions and her list of universals, Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was.
Having heard stories about Manifest, Abilene is disappointed to find that it’s just a dried-up, worn-out old town. But her disappointment quickly turns to excitement when she discovers a hidden cigar box full of mementos, including some old letters that mention a spy known as the Rattler. These mysterious letters send Abilene and her new friends, Lettie and Ruthanne, on an honest-to-goodness spy hunt, even though they are warned to “Leave Well Enough Alone.”

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl

Lyga, B. The astonishing adventures of fanboy and goth girl. (2007). New York: Houghton Mifflin.

 

Fanboy and Goth Girl are both self-proclaimed outsiders.Fanboy started out being a self-proclaimed outsider due to the taunts he received when he was younger, but throughout the story he tries to make connections with some of the people in his school, even if those connections are in his mind. When he first “lost” Cal as a friend to the jocks, Fanboy met Kyra who filled that void. Then later in the novel Fanboy makes the statement, “Is this how it’s going to be, then? I get back Cal only to lose Kyra?...Why should I be doomed to having a single friend?” (Lyga, 277) Later as Fanboy was going to the party with Cal, he realized that the repartee in the car made him more of the group than an outcast as “the pecking order doesn’t just peck me. Cool.”  (Lyga, 255) Kyra on the other hand seems to be consistent in her behavior to push people away with either the way she dresses to the shock value behavior displayed at the comic book convention.

 

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Ryan, C. The forest of hands and teeth. (2010). New York: Random House.

In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?