Classic Reads for Pre-teens and Teens – some old, some new

This is a list of classic books, both old and new or “instant classics” for the younger set. Some are suitable for reading aloud (esp. the ones marked as best for 4-8 yr olds), and all are suitable for most ages over 8. Even older teens might like the ones marked for younger readers. Because these are “classics,” the age boundaries are more for reading/comprehension level, rather than a guide to content, with some noted exceptions. You will most likely see one or more of your favorites on this list – if not, they may be on Part II, or Part III or I simply forgot them. As I was compiling this list, I had forgotten how many of these books I owned as a child (and still have!), and how many I had bought for my girls. Feel free to leave a comment or a “post” in the Meebo box (that one is private for my eyes only) if there are books that were your favorites that you’d like to share.

They make a fine library for any young teen, including boys. Although they may not have the patience at first glance for the “classics,” (how many middle school guys would sit down and read Little Men? <grin> ), there are plenty here to interest them – books on war, dogs, wolves, adventure, etc. Classics are often a great way to get reluctant readers going, as they have stood the test of time. If you have a “reluctant” reader, try to “vet” the books ahead of time to see if the writing style is not too cumbersome, or is at a level suitable for your reader. There is nothing more frustrating and will turn off a child to reading faster than a book that’s too difficult, either in content, vocabulary, or writing style. Also, consider reading aloud, even to teens – they love the time and attention, and it gives you an excuse to reread an old favorite, or find a new one. I did it with both my girls. I still read occasionally to my 14 yr old, although my health prevented me from doing it every night, so it fell away somewhat.

I invite you to look through the list, and find some that might make suitable reading or read-a-loud stories to share. What I did find sad was that although many of these classics are still in print, it was hard to find a book description or review on Amazon, my main source for such material. They seem to think that classics don’t need a description – but many are either unfamiliar to some people, or they can’t recall the age group, or thy may just need a refresher.

Also, check the editions to make sure they are not audio books or abridged versions, unless you want an abridged edition – many of the “older age” classics are available in various age editions. Some of the greatest classics are available in reprints of the original, or as beautiful new editions, with gorgeous illustrations, in hardcover, and even boxed sets. Some of the classic series are also available in boxed sets. If there are more than one book to a series, I tried not to cover those, or too many books by a single author, with a few exceptions of those that are perennially popular. As usual, this list is my own, and as such, is arbitrary in choices, but I tried to include a wide variety.

I’ll start with my all-time favorite (next to Anne of Green Gables of course…)

Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan

Ages 9-12. “Grade 3-6-Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan (Scholastic, pap. 1986) is an exciting, suspenseful tale of Norwegian children and their contributions to protecting their town’s gold during the German occupation in 1940. Convinced that the Germans will try to steal their town’s considerable wealth of gold bouillon from the banks, the townsmen decide that it must be removed. Since a group of adults can’t remove the gold without the Germans finding out, the townsmen develop a daring plan involving the children. In teams, the children will carry the bouillon on their sleds down to the river where one of the townsmen will load them onto his ship to take to the United States. Various problems arise as the children begin to carry out this plan, but they are resolved. ” Library Journal

This book was one of my favorites as a teen – I found copies and gave them to both my daughters, to make sure the tradition continues.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

Ages 9-12. “After reading this book, I guarantee that you will never visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art (or any wonderful, old cavern of a museum) without sneaking into the bathrooms to look for Claudia and her brother Jamie. They’re standing on the toilets, still, hiding until the museum closes and their adventure begins. Such is the impact of timeless novels . . . they never leave us. E. L. Konigsburg won the 1967 Newbery Medal for this tale of how Claudia and her brother run away to the museum in order to teach their parents a lesson. Little do they know that mystery awaits!” Amazon

Secret Agents Four by Donald J. Sobol

Ages 9-12. “Donald J. Sobol, author of the beloved Encyclopedia Brown series, weaves a wonderfully funny and entertaining mystery in Secret Agents Four. With his characteristic wit and elegant, compact prose, Sobol takes the reader on a adventurous journey with four wacky “secret agents” who are trying to save Miami from a terrible fate. I loved this book as a kid. Re-reading it as an adult convinced me that Sobol’s work is as current and enjoyable as any fiction for young readers available today. If you love adventure and mystery, this book is for you.” Amazon Customer Review

Escape from Warsaw (Original title: The Silver Sword) by Ian Serraillier

Ages 9-12. “This little book is based on a true story, and it’s one of the most exciting and amazing stories to emerge out of the heartbreak of World War II. It’s an incredible narrative about one family’s tragedy and redemption, and the lives that they touch along the way. The will to live and survive, among even the youngest children in the family, is incredibly moving and inspiring. I read this story nearly 30 years ago when I was not yet a teen, and it stayed with me. I’ve read it often since and shared it with many friends, including a few Poles who found it very touching and encouraging…a great source of national pride. At times, the story will take your breath away. I would give it more stars if I could…it’s that good.” Amazon Customer Review

The Black Stallion by Walter Farley

Ages 9-12. “Although the copy sitting on my shelf is the dog-eared Scholastic version of my youth, not this new edition, I feel that every child who has ever looked at a horse with wonder, seen it as a thing of beauty and nobility, or dreamed of having a horse of his or her own, should read this excellent series, beginning with this very book.

A fascinating and fantastical story of sea rescue, perseverance, and courage, as well as a peek into the world of horse racing half a century ago, these stories, despite being written in 1941, have a timeless quality that will always capture the heart of any adventurer.” Amazon Customer Review

National Velvet by Enid Bagnold

Ages 9-12. “The timeless story of spirited Velvet Brown and her beloved horse has thrilled generations of readers. And now the republication of this classic story in a fresh, up-to-date package will charm confirmed fans while captivating new ones. Fourteen-year-old Velvet is determined to turn her untamed horse into a champion and personally ride him to victory in the world’s greatest steeplechase, the Grand National.” B0ok Description

Heidi by Johanna Spyri

Ages 6-10. “Johanna Spyri’s classic story of a young orphan sent to live with her grumpy grandfather in the Swiss Alps is retold in it’s entirety in this beautifully bound hardcover edition. Heidi has charmed and intrigued readers since it’s original publication in 1880. Much more than a children’s story, the narrative is also a lesson on the precarious nature of freedom, a luxury too often taken for granted. Heidi almost loses her liberty as she is ripped away from the tranquility of the mountains to tend to a sick cousin in the city. Happily, all’s well that ends well, and the reader is left with only warm, fuzzy thoughts. Spryi’s story will never grow wearisome–and this is a very appealing edition.” Amazon

This version is an abridged one – the original is for older, more mature readers.

The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling

Ages 9-12. “No child should be allowed to grow up without reading The Jungle Books. Published in 1894 and 1895, the stories crackle with as much life and intensity as ever. Rudyard Kipling pours fuel on childhood fantasies with his tales of Mowgli, lost in the jungles of India as a child and adopted into a family of wolves. Mowgli is brought up on a diet of Jungle Law, loyalty, and fresh meat from the kill. Regular adventures with his friends and enemies among the Jungle-People–cobras, panthers, bears, and tigers–hone this man-cub’s strength and cleverness and whet every reader’s imagination. Mowgli’s story is interspersed with other tales of the jungle, such as “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi,” lending depth and diversity to our understanding of Kipling’s India. In much the same way Mowgli is carried away by the Bandar-log monkeys, young readers will be caught up by the stories, swinging from page to page, breathless, thrilled, and terrified. (Ages 9 to 12)” Amazon

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Ages 12 and up. “Gr 7 Up-The archetypal sea-faring adventure story is given another rousing and dramatic rendition in this quickly paced abridged entry in Hodder’s top-flight Classic Collection series. The critical plot and subplot threads have been beautifully retained, and all the classic lines like “shiver me timbers” have been included.” School Library Journal

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

Ages 4-8 (as a read-a-loud). “All children, except one, grow up.” Thus begins a great classic of children’s literature that we all remember as magical. What we tend to forget, because the tale of Peter Pan and Neverland has been so relentlessly boiled down, hashed up, and coated in saccharine, is that J.M. Barrie’s original version is also witty, sophisticated, and delightfully odd. The Darling children, Wendy, John, and Michael, live a very proper middle-class life in Edwardian London, but they also happen to have a Newfoundland for a nurse. The text is full of such throwaway gems as “Mrs. Darling first heard of Peter Pan when she was tidying up her children’s minds,” and is peppered with deliberately obscure vocabulary including “embonpoint,” “quietus,” and “pluperfect.” Lest we forget, it was written in 1904, a relatively innocent age in which a plot about abducted children must have seemed more safely fanciful. Also, perhaps, it was an age that expected more of its children’s books, for Peter Pan has a suppleness, lightness, and intelligence that are “literary” in the best sense. In a typical exchange with the dastardly Captain Hook, Peter Pan describes himself as “youth… joy… a little bird that has broken out of the egg,” and the author interjects: “This, of course, was nonsense; but it was proof to the unhappy Hook that Peter did not know in the least who or what he was, which is the very pinnacle of good form.” A book for adult readers-aloud to revel in–and it just might teach young listeners to fly. (Ages 5 and older).” Amazon

The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss

Ages 10 and up. “One of the world’s best-loved stories of shipwreck and survival, The Swiss Family Robinson portrays a family’s struggle to create a new life for themselves on a strange and fantastic tropical island. Blown off course by a raging storm, the family—a Swiss pastor, his wife, their four young sons, plus two dogs and a shipload of livestock—must rely on one another in order to adapt to their needs the natural wonders of their exotic new home. Inspired by Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, this classic story of invention and adventure has fired the imaginations of readers since it first appeared in 1812. Freely translated over the years, with major sections excised and new subplots added, the novel is published here in its original English translation, fully restored for a new generation of readers.” Book Description

Oliver Twist (A Stepping Stone Book Classic) by Charles Dickens

Ages 4-8. “Oliver Twist is a desperate orphan. A gang of thieves takes him in and teaches him to steal, but then he is caught. What will become of poor Oliver Twist? Kids can find out in this easy-to-read chapter book adaptation of the Dickens classic.” Book Description

NOTE: Many of the older classics are available in abridged or rewritten versions for various ages, thus heightening awareness of great literature from an early age. I recommend reading to the kids books that they will read in high school or as an adult. Or play a game of Children’s Authors version of the old card game - “The Children’s Authors Card Game features 13 writers who have touched children’s imaginations through their delightful books. Rule card included. Authors include: Dr. Seuss,,A. A. Milne, Meindert Dejong, Rudyard Kipling, Hans Christian Anderson, Lewis Carroll, Charles Perrault, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Brothers Grimm, Joel Chandler Harris, Issac Bashevis Singer, Beatrix Potter, J. M. Barrie.”

Playing this game introduced us to some of the authors on this list like Singer, Harris, and Dejong.

Oliver Twist (Penguin Classics) by Charles Dickens and Philip Horne

Ages Y/A and adult. “Novel by Charles Dickens, published serially from 1837 to 1839 in Bentley’s Miscellany and in a three-volume book in 1838. The novel was the first of the author’s works to depict realistically the impoverished London underworld and to illustrate his belief that poverty leads to crime. Written shortly after adoption of the Poor Law of 1834, which halted government payments to the poor unless they entered workhouses, Oliver Twist used the tale of a friendless child, the foundling Oliver Twist, as a vehicle for social criticism. While the novel is Victorian in its emotional appeal, it is decidedly unsentimental in its depiction of poverty and the criminal underworld, especially in its portrayal of the cruel Bill Sikes, who kills his kindly girlfriend Nancy for helping Oliver and who is himself accidentally hung by his own rope.” Merriam Webster Encyclopedia of Literature

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Ages 9 and up. “Sparkling with mischief, jumping with youthful adventure, Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer is one of the most splendid re-creations of childhood in all of literature. It is a lighthearted romp, full of humor and warmth. It shares with its sequel, Huckleberry Finn, not only a set of unforgettable characters–Tom, Huck, Aunt Polly and others–but a profound understanding of humanity as well. Through such hilarious scenes as the famous fence-whitewashing incident, Twain gives a portrait–perceptive yet tender–of a humanity rendered foolish by his own aspirations and obsessions. Written as much for adults as for young boys and girls, Tom Sawyer is the work of a master storyteller performing in his shirt sleeves, using his best talents to everyone’s delight.” Book Description

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

Ages 9-12 and up. “A horse is a horse of course unless of course the horse is Black Beauty. Animal-loving children have been devoted to Black Beauty throughout this century, and no doubt will continue through the next. Although Anna Sewell’s classic paints a clear picture of turn-of-the-century London, its message is universal and timeless: animals will serve humans well if they are treated with consideration and kindness.

Black Beauty tells the story of the horse’s own long and varied life, from a well-born colt in a pleasant meadow to an elegant carriage horse for a gentleman to a painfully overworked cab horse. Throughout, Sewell rails–in a gentle, 19th-century way–against animal maltreatment. Young readers will follow Black Beauty’s fortunes, good and bad, with gentle masters as well as cruel. Children can easily make the leap from horse-human relationships to human-human relationships, and begin to understand how their own consideration of others may be a benefit to all. (Ages 9 to 12).” Amazon

Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge

Ages 6 and up. “Set against a backdrop of frozen canals in a winter wonderland, the year’s most exciting event in a little Dutch village is about to take place. But will Hans Brinker and his sister Gretel, with their hand-carved wooden skates, be able to compete against their well-trained young friends who own fine steel blades?” Book Description

“HANS BRINKER was my best boyhood dream. Could I, if I tried terribly hard, become somebody like him? What a shame that hardly anybody knows Hans Brinker anymore. I am delighted that he is being brought back to life.” Lewis Smedes, Fuller Theological Seminary

The Moffats by Eleanor Estes

Ages 9-12. “Who else but a member of the Moffat family could, during kindergarten recess, accidentally hitch a ride out of town on a boxcar? Or wind up trapped in the breadbox outside the delicatessen store? Or kindly offer to escort the Salvation Army man to his destination–only to accidentally bump him out of his own horse-drawn wagon? The Moffats is a paradigm of old-fashioned family fun. Four children and a hard-working widowed mother live together on New Dollar Street in the village of Cranbury. Their seemingly quiet lives are studded with almost daily unexpected adventures, with droll results.

This charming book has been making readers smile for over half a century. It reflects a gentler era, when the jolly chief of police had time to sit on the curb to hear a little girl’s “crimes” and a little boy’s escapade on a train was not cause for media panic, just a simple redirecting by the agreeable engineer. Eleanor Estes, author of the Newbery Honor book The Hundred Dresses, and Caldecott medalist Louis Slobodkin (Many Moons) make a lovely team in this story of benign humor and sweet times. (Ages 8 to 12).” Amazon

Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls

Ages 12 and up. “Jay Berry Lee is happy until the summer he is 14 years old and discovers monkeys living in the creek bottoms near his parents’ homestead. Set in the late 1800s, Summer of the Monkeys traces the boy’s adventures as he attempts to capture 29 monkeys that have (it turns out) escaped from the circus. With somewhat dubious help from his grandfather, and over the objections of his mother, Jay goes about discovering that monkeys are much smarter and harder to catch than he thought possible. Woven into this story is a second theme about his physically disabled sister and the family’s attempts to find money for an operation. As funny and touching as Wilson Rawls’s Where the Red Fern Grows, this book will appeal to the young reader who has always wished for the freedom to run wild through the woods with nothing more pressing to do than find another rabbit hole–or escaped monkey. (Ages 12 and older).” Amazon

Hurry Home, Candy by Meindert Dejong

Ages 9-12. “The dog was lost. He had no name, and no one to love him. He has only the silent, empty countryside, and a few crumbs and bare bones he could pick up. He had only himself, and he was afraid. Along the way, the little dog found a few friends, people who gave him shelter for a while, but always he moved on — until he found a place he could call home forever.” Book Description

The Wheel on the School by Meindert Dejong

Ages 9-12. “Grade 4-7-This 1955 Newbery Award-winner by Meindert Dejojng, set in a small Dutch fishing village, tells the story of a young girl and her simple composition about the storks that build their nests in neighboring villages. When the children wonder why the storks don’t nest in their village, the stage is set for a dramatic challenge against all odds.” Amazon

Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer

Ages 9-12. “The story takes place in New York City in the 1890s, during the year of 10-year-old Lucinda’s “orphanage.” That’s Lucinda’s term for her situation when her parents go to Italy and leave her in the care of Miss Peters and Miss Nettie. Lucinda, enjoying her freedom, explores the city on roller skates and makes friends wherever she goes. She reads Shakespeare with her uncle, puts on her own production of The Tempest, creates a magical Christmas for a little girl from an impoverished family, helps a family protect their fruit stand from attacks by rowdy boys, and has picnics in a vacant lot , among other adventures.” School Library Journal

All-of-a-kind Family by Sydney Taylor

Ages 9-12. “There’s something to be said for a book that makes you wish you’d been part of a poor immigrant family living in New York’s upper east side on the eve of World War I. Sydney Taylor’s time-honored classic does just that. Life is rich for the five mischievous girls in the family. They find adventure in visiting the library, going to market with Mama, even dusting the front room. Young readers who have never shared a bedroom with four siblings, with no television in sight, will vicariously experience the simple, old-fashioned pleasures of talk, make-believe, and pilfered penny candy. The family’s Jewish faith strengthens their ties to each other, while providing still more excitement and opportunity for mischief. Readers unfamiliar with Judaism will learn with the girls during each beautifully depicted holiday. This lively family, subject of four more “all-of-a- kind” books, is full of unique characters, all deftly illustrated by Helen John. Taylor based the stories on her own childhood family, and the true-life quality of her writing gives this classic its page-turning appeal. (Ages 9 to 12)” Amazon

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

Ages 9-12. “”It seems to me that almost everything is a waste of time,” Milo laments. “[T]here’s nothing for me to do, nowhere I’d care to go, and hardly anything worth seeing.” This bored, bored young protagonist who can’t see the point to anything is knocked out of his glum humdrum by the sudden and curious appearance of a tollbooth in his bedroom. Since Milo has absolutely nothing better to do, he dusts off his toy car, pays the toll, and drives through. What ensues is a journey of mythic proportions, during which Milo encounters countless odd characters who are anything but dull.

Norton Juster received (and continues to receive) enormous praise for this original, witty, and oftentimes hilarious novel, first published in 1961. In an introductory “Appreciation” written by Maurice Sendak for the 35th anniversary edition, he states, “The Phantom Tollbooth leaps, soars, and abounds in right notes all over the place, as any proper masterpiece must.” Indeed.

As Milo heads toward Dictionopolis he meets with the Whether Man (“for after all it’s more important to know whether there will be weather than what the weather will be”), passes through The Doldrums (populated by Lethargarians), and picks up a watchdog named Tock (who has a giant alarm clock for a body). The brilliant satire and double entendre intensifies in the Word Market, where after a brief scuffle with Officer Short Shrift, Milo and Tock set off toward the Mountains of Ignorance to rescue the twin Princesses, Rhyme and Reason. Anyone with an appreciation for language, irony, or Alice in Wonderland-style adventure will adore this book for years on end. Amazon

” I read [The Phantom Tollbooth] first when I was 10. I still have the book report I wrote, which began ‘This is the best book ever.’” Anna Quindlen, The New York Times
“A classic… Humorous, full of warmth and real invention.” The New Yorker

This is a great one to sneak in some learning, especially math. It explains things in a clever, funny way.

The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden

Ages 9-12. “One night, the sounds of New York City–the rumbling of subway trains, thrumming of automobile tires, hooting of horns, howling of brakes, and the babbling of voices–is interrupted by a sound that even Tucker Mouse, a jaded inhabitant of Times Square, has never heard before. Mario, the son of Mama and Papa Bellini, proprietors of the subway-station newsstand, had only heard the sound once. What was this new, strangely musical chirping? None other than the mellifluous leg-rubbing of the somewhat disoriented Chester Cricket from Connecticut. Attracted by the irresistible smell of liverwurst, Chester had foolishly jumped into the picnic basket of some unsuspecting New Yorkers on a junket to the country. Despite the insect’s wurst intentions, he ends up in a pile of dirt in Times Square.

Mario is elated to find Chester. He begs his parents to let him keep the shiny insect in the newsstand, assuring his bug-fearing mother that crickets are harmless, maybe even good luck. What ensues is an altogether captivating spin on the city mouse/country mouse story, as Chester adjusts to the bustle of the big city. Despite the cricket’s comfortable matchbox bed (with Kleenex sheets); the fancy, seven-tiered pagoda cricket cage from Sai Fong’s novelty shop; tasty mulberry leaves; the jolly company of Tucker Mouse and Harry Cat; and even his new-found fame as “the most famous musician in New York City,” Chester begins to miss his peaceful life in the Connecticut countryside. The Cricket in Times Square–a Newbery Award runner-up in 1961–is charmingly illustrated by the well-loved Garth Williams, and the tiniest details of this elegantly spun, vividly told, surprisingly suspenseful tale will stick with children for years and years. Make sure this classic sits on the shelf of your favorite child, right next to The Wind in the Willows. (Ages 9 to 12).” Amazon

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Ages 9-12. “Everyone in town thinks Meg is volatile and dull-witted and that her younger brother Charles Wallace is dumb. People are also saying that their father has run off and left their brilliant scientist mother. Spurred on by these rumors, Meg and Charles Wallace, along with their new friend Calvin, embark on a perilous quest through space to find their father. In doing so they must travel behind the shadow of an evil power that is darkening the cosmos, one planet at a time.

Young people who have trouble finding their place in the world will connect with the “misfit” characters in this provocative story. This is no superhero tale, nor is it science fiction, although it shares elements of both. The travelers must rely on their individual and collective strengths, delving deep into their characters to find answers.

A classic since 1962, Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time is sophisticated in concept yet warm in tone, with mystery and love coursing through its pages. Meg’s shattering yet ultimately freeing discovery that her father is not omnipotent provides a satisfying coming-of-age element. Readers will feel a sense of power as they travel with these three children, challenging concepts of time, space, and the power of good over evil. (Ages 9 to 12)” Amazon

Many Waters by Madeleine L’Engle

Ages 9-12. “We’ve all done it. In the frigid depths of winter we’ve wished we could be magically transported to someplace warm and sunny. But most people don’t have genius parents who just happen to be working on a scientific experiment with time travel at the moment of our wish. Sandy and Dennys Murry, the “normal” boys in a family of geniuses, suddenly find themselves trudging through a blazing-hot desert, seeking a far-off oasis for shade. Their desperate wandering brings them face-to-face with history–biblical history. Soon they’re feeling right at home with Noah and his family. Even so, the urgent question is, how will Sandy and Dennys get back to their own place and time before the floods–the many waters–come? As they begin to cross the invisible border into adulthood, the twins must confront their ability to resist temptation and embrace integrity.

In Many Waters, Madeleine L’Engle continues the Murry family saga, which includes A Wrinkle in Time; A Wind in the Door; and A Swiftly Tilting Planet, which won the American Book Award. L’Engle’s mystical mix of science fiction and fantasy, time and space travel, history, morals, religion, and culture once again urges her many adoring readers to stretch their minds and hearts to understand why the world is the way it is. (Ages 9 and older)” Amazon

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

Ages 8-12. “Ages 8-12. Thirty-two years before it was made into a movie, Harriet the Spy was a groundbreaking book: its unflinchingly honest portrayal of childhood problems and emotions changed children’s literature forever. Happily, it has neither dated nor become obsolete and remains one of the best children’s novels ever written. The fascinating story is about an intensely curious and intelligent girl, who literally spies on people and writes about them in her secret notebook, trying to make sense of life’s absurdities. When her classmates find her notebook and read her painfully blunt comments about them, Harriet finds herself a lonely outcast. Fitzhugh’s writing is astonishingly vivid, real and engaging, and Harriet, by no means a typical, loveable heroine, is one of literature’s most unforgettable characters. School Library Journal wrote, “a tour de force… bursts with life.” The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books called it “a very, very funny story.” And The Chicago Tribune raved, “brilliantly written… a superb portrait of an extraordinary child.” Amazon

Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney

Ages 4-8. “This is one of the seminal books of American children’s fiction. First published in 1881, eleven more volumes followed in the Pepper series, making Harriet Mulford Stone Lathrop internationally famous (as Margaret Sidney.) The series still enjoys wide readership today. It’s the story of how the Peppers cope with poverty and difficulty, always with courage and cheer, after the death of Mr. Pepper.” AudioFile

“The Peppers’ good spirits, their love for each other, and their pleasure in simple homemade fun still charms me…. I wish them a long and happy life of at least another hundred years.” Betsy Byars

Aesop’s Fables by Aesop

Ages 4-8 and up. “Beautifully designed, this lush, oversize volume showcases Pinkney’s (The Ugly Duckling) artistry in grand style. There’s a king’s ransom worth of material here, as Pinkney serves up more than 60 of the ancient Greek slave-philosopher’s fables. Aesop’s wisdom spills across the pages as freely as Pinkney’s glorious watercolors, alight with the many creatures who people the tales, from fiddling grasshoppers and diligent ants to wily foxes, clever crows, brave mice and grateful lions. Each of the vigorous retellings concludes with the kind of succinct moral that centuries of readers have come to expect (e.g., “Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched”; “You are judged by the company you keep”). And whether the homilies concern a wolf in sheep’s clothing or sour grapes, the timeless virtues resonate as freshly as the day they were minted. Pinkney brings his considerable talent to bear on everything from thumbnail animal portraits to sweeping full-page vistas of hearth and woodlands, and his detail, delicacy of line and subtle palette create an elegant foil for the simple parables. If there’s room on the shelf for only one picture book version of Aesop, this could be it. All ages.” Publishers Weekly

The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

Ages 12 and up. “Fighting off a pack of starving wolves, wrestling alligators in the swamp, romping with bear cubs, drawing off the venom of a giant rattlesnake bite with the heart of a fresh-killed deer–it’s all in a day’s work for the Baxter family of the Florida scrublands. But young Jody Baxter is not content with these electrifying escapades, or even with the cozy comfort of home with Pa and Ma. He wants a pet, a friend with whom he can share his quiet cogitations and his corn pone. Jody gets his pet, a frisky fawn he calls Flag, but that’s not all. With Flag comes a year of life lessons, frolicking times, and achingly hard decisions. This powerful book is as compelling now as when it was written over 60 years ago. Read simply as a naturalist study of the Florida interior, it fascinates and entices. Add the heart-stopping adventure and heart-wrenching human elements, and this is a classic well worth its Pulitzer Prize. Earthy dialect and homespun wisdom season the story, giving it a unique and unforgettable flavor, and N.C. Wyeth’s warm, soft illustrations capture an era of rough subsistence and sweet survival. (Ages 12 and older).” Amazon

Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter

Ages 9-12. “Pollyanna’s eternal optimism has made her one of the most beloved characters in American literature. First published in 1913, her story spawned the formation of “Glad” clubs all over the country, devoted to playing Pollyanna’s famous game. Pollyanna has since sold over one million copies, been translated into several languages, and has become both a Broadway play and a Disney motion picture.” Book Description

“When orphaned, eleven-year-old Pollyanna comes to live with austere and wealthy Aunt Polly, her philosophy of gladness brings happiness to her aunt and other unhappy members of the community.” Card catalog description

This is an old-fashioned one, but I recall it fondly.

My Friend Flicka by Mary O’hara

Ages 9-12. “Suddenly Ken heard the sound of horses coming near the house and started up so quickly that the leg of his chair tangled with the leg of the table and he went sprawling on the floor, then scrambled up and over to the window. . . . Ken leaned out the window as far as he could to see the last of them as they went down the Green, just jog-trotting . . .

“Ken . . . what are you doing?”

He scurried back to the table and made it true before he answered, “I’m doing my arithmetic.”

It seems Ken can’t do anything right. He loses saddle blankets and breaks reins . . . but then comes the worst news yet: a report card so bad that he has to repeat a grade. How can you tame the dreamy mind of a boy who stares out of the window instead of taking an exam? Enter Flicka, the chestnut filly with a wild spirit. Over the course of one magical summer, both will learn the meaning of responsibility, courage, and, ultimately, friendship.” Book Description

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

Ages 9-12. “Every kid thinks about running away at one point or another; few get farther than the end of the block. Young Sam Gribley gets to the end of the block and keeps going–all the way to the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. There he sets up house in a huge hollowed-out tree, with a falcon and a weasel for companions and his wits as his tool for survival. In a spellbinding, touching, funny account, Sam learns to live off the land, and grows up a little in the process. Blizzards, hunters, loneliness, and fear all battle to drive Sam back to city life. But his desire for freedom, independence, and adventure is stronger. No reader will be immune to the compulsion to go right out and start whittling fishhooks and befriending raccoons.

Jean Craighead George, author of more than 80 children’s books, including the Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves, created another prizewinner with My Side of the Mountain–a Newbery Honor Book, an ALA Notable Book, and a Hans Christian Andersen Award Honor Book. Astonishingly, she wrote its sequel, On the Far Side of the Mountain, 30 years later, and a decade after that penned the final book in the trilogy, Frightful’s Mountain, told from the falcon’s point of view. George has no doubt shaped generations of young readers with her outdoor adventures of the mind and spirit. (Ages 9 to 12). Amazon

Frightful’s Mountain by Jean Craighead Craighead George

Ages 9-12. “Fans of Jean Craighead George’s My Side of the Mountain (a Newbery Honor Book) and On the Far Side of the Mountain will be delighted to return to upstate New York’s Catskill Mountains for the conclusion of her trilogy, which appears 40 years after the first title’s publication in 1959. Written because a young fan asked, “What happened to Frightful?” this volume tells how Sam Gribley’s peregrine falcon–that’s Frightful–has to make her own way in the world after Sam is forced to release her. Although told in the third person, the story is developed entirely from the bird’s point of view. George’s narrative follows the falcon through a series of dangerous adventures (involving DDT, electricity lines, and unscrupulous bird traders, to name a few) as she learns to depend on her own instincts. The environmental message is slightly heavy-handed, but it’s wrapped in an enjoyable story from a much loved and astoundingly prolific author. You don’t need to have read the earlier books to make sense of this one, though it may help. (Ages 9 and older).” Amazon

Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

Ages 9-12. “Miyax, like many adolescents, is torn. But unlike most, her choices may determine whether she lives or dies. At 13, an orphan, and unhappily married, Miyax runs away from her husband’s parents’ home, hoping to reach San Francisco and her pen pal. But she becomes lost in the vast Alaskan tundra, with no food, no shelter, and no idea which is the way to safety. Now, more than ever, she must look hard at who she really is. Is she Miyax, Eskimo girl of the old ways? Or is she Julie (her “gussak”-white people-name), the modernized teenager who must mock the traditional customs? And when a pack of wolves begins to accept her into their community, Miyax must learn to think like a wolf as well. If she trusts her Eskimo instincts, will she stand a chance of surviving? John Schoenherr’s line drawings suggest rather than tell about the compelling experiences of a girl searching for answers in a bleak landscape that at first glance would seem to hold nothing. Fans of Jean Craighead George’s stunning, Newberry Medal-winning coming-of-age story won’t want to miss Julie (1994) and Julie’s Wolf Pack (1998). (Ages 10 and older)” Amazon

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Ages 9 and up. “At birth, Ella is inadvertently cursed by an imprudent fairy named Lucinda, who bestows on her the “gift” of obedience. Anything anyone tells her to do, Ella must obey. Another girl might have been cowed by this affliction, but not feisty Ella: “Instead of making me docile, Lucinda’s curse made a rebel of me. Or perhaps I was that way naturally.” When her beloved mother dies, leaving her in the care of a mostly absent and avaricious father, and later, a loathsome stepmother and two treacherous stepsisters, Ella’s life and well-being seem in grave peril. But her intelligence and saucy nature keep her in good stead as she sets out on a quest for freedom and self-discovery, trying to track down Lucinda to undo the curse, fending off ogres, befriending elves, and falling in love with a prince along the way. Yes, there is a pumpkin coach, a glass slipper, and a happily ever after, but this is the most remarkable, delightful, and profound version of Cinderella you’ve ever read.

Gail Carson Levine’s examination of traditional female roles in fairy tales takes some satisfying twists and deviations from the original. Ella is bound by obedience against her will, and takes matters in her own hands with ambition and verve. Her relationship with the prince is balanced and based on humor and mutual respect; in fact, it is she who ultimately rescues him. Ella Enchanted has won many well-deserved awards, including a Newbery Honor. (Ages 9 to 14).” Amazon

This was a fun one to read aloud – I enjoyed the book – a great new independent Cinderella!

The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards

Ages 9-12. “What on earth is a Whangdoodle? A “fanciful creature of undefined nature,” it was also once the wisest, kindest, most fun-loving living thing in the world–until people stopped believing in it. When that lack of faith became widespread, the last of the really great Whangdoodles created a special land full of extraordinary creatures: furry Flukes, the sly High-Behind Splintercat, and the wonderful Whiffle Bird. But when an open-minded professor–the one adult who still believes in the Whangdoodle–joins forces with three children with active imaginations, they become an unstoppable team on a fantastic and sometimes terrifying journey to Whangdoodleland.

Readers who have explored Narnia, Oz, or Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory will be thrilled at this new destination–a marvelous land that will inspire and stimulate creative and scientific minds. And who better to expose young readers to new ways of seeing, smelling, and hearing than Julie (Andrews) Edwards of Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music fame? Her lively and clever style pulls readers along effortlessly; she, like the professor, is one grownup who can teach children never to close their minds to possibility. (Ages 9 to 12).” Amazon

My daughters loved Julie Andrews books – what could be better than a book by Mary Poppins? They also loved her “Mandy.”

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Ages 9-12. “The story starts out simply enough: Jess Aarons wants to be the fastest boy in the fifth grade–he wants it so bad he can taste it. He’s been practicing all summer, running in the fields around his farmhouse until he collapses in a sweat. Then a tomboy named Leslie Burke moves into the farmhouse next door and changes his life forever. Not only does Leslie not look or act like any girls Jess knows, but she also turns out to be the fastest runner in the fifth grade. After getting over the shock and humiliation of being beaten by a girl, Jess begins to think Leslie might be okay.

Despite their superficial differences, it’s clear that Jess and Leslie are soul mates. The two create a secret kingdom in the woods named Terabithia, where the only way to get into the castle is by swinging out over a gully on an enchanted rope. Here they reign as king and queen, fighting off imaginary giants and the walking dead, sharing stories and dreams, and plotting against the schoolmates who tease them. Jess and Leslie find solace in the sanctuary of Terabithia until a tragedy strikes and the two are separated forever. In a style that is both plain and powerful, Katherine Paterson’s characters will stir your heart and put a lump in your throat.” Amazon

The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg

Ages 9-12. “A powerhouse sixth-grade Academic Bowl team from Epiphany Middle School; the art of calligraphy; the retirees of Century Village, Florida; a genius dog named Ginger; and a holiday production of “Annie” all figure heavily in the latest book by E. L. Konigsburg, who has produced a Newbery Medal-winning children’s tale to rival her classic From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, which won the Newbery Medal almost 30 years ago. The new book centers around a group of four brilliant, shy 12-year-olds and the tea party they have each Saturday morning. Konigsburg’s wacky erudition and her knack for offbeat characters make this a funny and endearing story of friendship.” Amazon Review

This is one I found from the Children’s Author’s Game (see Part II).

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

Ages 9-12. “Imagine coming upon a fountain of youth in a forest. To live forever–isn’t that everyone’s ideal? For the Tuck family, eternal life is a reality, but their reaction to their fate is surprising. Award winner Natalie Babbitt (Knee-Knock Rise, The Search for Delicious) outdoes herself in this sensitive, moving adventure in which 10-year-old Winnie Foster is kidnapped, finds herself helping a murderer out of jail, and is eventually offered the ultimate gift–but doesn’t know whether to accept it. Babbitt asks profound questions about the meaning of life and death, and leaves the reader with a greater appreciation for the perfect cycle of nature. Intense and powerful, exciting and poignant, Tuck Everlasting will last forever–in the reader’s imagination. An ALA Notable Book. (Ages 9 to 12)” Amazon

Up a Road Slowly by Irene Hunt

Ages 9 and up. “The Newbery Award-winning novel from the author of Across Five Aprils and No Promises in the Wind comes her most beloved story of a girl’s coming of age.” Book Description

“After her mother’s death, Julie goes to live with Aunt Cordelia, a spinster schoolteacher, where she experiences many emotions and changes as she grows from seven to eighteen.” Card catalog description

This one I still remember well – I loved it as a teen. It stayed with me for many a year.

Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen

Ages 9-12. “Grade 3-5–Virginia Sorensen’s 1957 Newbery Award winner (Harcourt, 1956) is [a] loving family saga about Marley, brother Joe, their parents, and their friends. When Marley’s father returns home from World War II a broken man physically and spiritually, her mother decides that the family needs to leave the city for an extended visit to Grandma’s house in the country. The tale [is of] of a year in the life of this family as the father slowly regains his strength and confidence. The year is filled with small miracles from the first spring blossoms to the healing of their beloved neighbor, Mr. Chris. So many children today have parents who are part of the war effort overseas that this somewhat old-fashioned, half-century old story is still relevant for youngsters today.” School Library Journal

Plain Girl by Virginia Sorensen

Ages 9-12. “An Amish girl, Esther feels like “one black bird against the sky” in her plain clothes. So when she’s forced to attend public school she’s terrified. She fears the new world she must enter, fears the way she sticks out next to other kids, and–most of all–fears she may do what her brother did: run away and join the sinful but great wide world she’s only just discovering.” Book Description

This is another book I read as an older teen – a quiet little book, about acceptance.

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

Ages 9-12. “Scott O’Dell won the Newbery Medal for Island of the Blue Dolphins in 1961, and in 1976 the Children’s Literature Association named this riveting story one of the 10 best American children’s books of the past 200 years. O’Dell was inspired by the real-life story of a 12-year-old American Indian girl, Karana. The author based his book on the life of this remarkable young woman who, during the evacuation of Ghalas-at (an island off the coast of California), jumped ship to stay with her young brother who had been abandoned on the island. He died shortly thereafter, and Karana fended for herself on the island for 18 years.

O’Dell tells the miraculous story of how Karana forages on land and in the ocean, clothes herself (in a green-cormorant skirt and an otter cape on special occasions), and secures shelter. Perhaps even more startlingly, she finds strength and serenity living alone on the island. This beautiful edition of Island of the Blue Dolphins is enriched with 12 full-page watercolor paintings by Ted Lewin, illustrator of more than 100 children’s books, including Ali, Child of the Desert. A gripping story of battling wild dogs and sea elephants, this simply told, suspenseful tale of survival is also an uplifting adventure of the spirit. (Ages 9 to 12)” Amazon

Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink

Ages 9-12. “At age 11, Caddie Woodlawn is the despair of her mother and the pride of her father: a clock-fixing tomboy running wild in the woods of Wisconsin. In 1864, this is a bit much for her Boston-bred mother to bear, but Caddie and her brothers are happy with the status quo. Written in 1935 about Carol Ryrie Brink’s grandmother’s childhood, the adventures of Caddie and her brothers are still exciting over 60 years later. With each chapter comes another ever-more exciting adventure: a midnight gallop on her horse across a frozen river to warn her American Indian friends of the white men’s plan to attack; a prairie fire approaching the school house; and a letter from England that may change the family’s life forever. This Newbery Medal-winning book bursts at the seams with Caddie’s irrepressible spirit. In spite of her mother’s misgivings, Caddie is a perfect role model for any girl–or boy, for that matter. She’s big-hearted, she’s brave, and she’s mechanically inclined! (Ages 9 to 12)” Amazon

Another of my perennial favorites – this is a funnier version of the Little House series – sort of a Tom sawyer for girls.

Baby Island by Carol Ryrie Brink

Ages 9-12. “Twelve-year-old Mary Wallace and her ten-year-old sister Jean survive the wreck of an ocean liner on its way to Australia and manage to make it to a seemingly deserted island in a lifeboat with four babies.” Card Catalog Description

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

Ages 9-12. “MacLachlan, author of Unclaimed Treasures, has written an affecting tale for children. In the late 19th century a widowed midwestern farmer with two children–Anna and Caleb–advertises for a wife. When Sarah arrives she is homesick for Maine, especially for the ocean which she misses greatly. The children fear that she will not stay, and when she goes off to town alone, young Caleb–whose mother died during childbirth–is stricken with the fear that she has gone for good. But she returns with colored pencils to illustrate for them the beauty of Maine, and to explain that, though she misses her home, “the truth of it is I would miss you more.” The tale gently explores themes of abandonment, loss and love.” Amazon

A great, quiet book about the strength within.

Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes

Ages 8-12. “Meet Ginger Pye, the smartest dog you’ll ever know. Jerry Pye and his sister, Rachel, feel pretty smart themselves for buying Ginger. It was the best dollar they ever spent. Ginger steals everybody’s heart . . . until someone steals him!” Book Description

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

Ages 10 and up. “This story of a tragically injured young silversmith who ends up hip-deep in the American Revolution is inspiring, exciting, and sad. Winner of the prestigious Newbery Award in 1944, Esther Forbes’s story has lasted these 50-plus years by including adventure, loss, courage, and history in a wonderfully written, very dramatic package. It’s probably not great for little guys but mature 11-year-olds or older will find it a great adventure.” Amazon

Moccasin Trail by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Ages 9-12. “A pioneer boy, brought up by Crow Indians, is reunited with his family and attempts to orient himself in the white man’s culture.” Card Catalog Description

Although many of these books have been made into movies, I purposefully left those off for now – I will do a matching list later. But I wanted to focus on the books, and encourage kids to read, rather than just watch the movie version. Enjoy! Part II and III, and At The Movies for Classic Kids coming soon…

From My Daughter’s Bookshelf – More Books for Pre-teens and Teens

Here are some books from my younger daughter’s bookshelf that are books that we bought, liking the plot and/or the author. Although many of these have not yet been read (TBR pile), they are ones that even I find interesting (which is why I bought them!). A number of them are by well known adult mystery/fantasy/science fiction authors. It’s nice to see that trend. So enjoy another batch!

Time Cat by Lloyd Alexander

Ages 9-12. “Grade 3-6-Jason has always thought that his cat Gareth could talk if he wanted to, so when Gareth speaks to him he is not surprised. On finding that Gareth does not have nine lives but does have the ability to visit nine different times and places, Jason eagerly asks to go with him. Together they travel to Ancient Egypt, Roman Britain, pre-Christian Ireland, Imperial Japan, Renaissance Italy, 16th century Peru, late 16th century Isle of Man, 17th century Germany, and America at the beginning of the Revolutionary War. In each place they help someone, often rulers having problems with corrupt or evil officials. They meet St. Patrick, help Leonardo DaVinci convince his father that he should be an artist, witness the beginning of Manx cats, learn about Incan civilization, are nearly burned as witches in Germany, and participate in the opening battle of the American Revolution. Listeners learn much about history and the position of cats in various societies along the way. Originally published in 1963, Time Cat (Puffin, pap. 1996) is an early novel by Lloyd Alexander and less successful than much of his later work. Jason is not a fully developed character, but more of a device for enabling readers/listeners to see each time period through his eyes. Both the opening and closing chapters leave many unanswered questions and seem merely a frame for getting Jason and Gareth in and out of their time travels. However, young cat fanciers and fantasy readers will enjoy the story. Ron Keith reads the story well with an expressive voice, good pacing, and emphasis. Technical quality is excellent. The episodic nature of the book lends itself to audio, and it is equally suitable for both individual and group listening. The historic overview the story provides is especially appropriate for this year when many schools and libraries are looking at the past in preparation for the millennium.” School Library Journal

Lloyd Alexander is the best-selling author of the Black Cauldron series (covered here before).

Skellig by David Almond (Whitbread Award’s 1998 Children’s Book of the Year)

Ages 9-12. “British novelist Almond makes a triumphant debut in the field of children’s literature with prose that is at once eerie, magical and poignant. Broken down into 46 succinct, eloquent chapters, the story begins in medias res with narrator Michael recounting his discovery of a mysterious stranger living in an old shed on the rundown property the boy’s family has just purchased: “He was lying there in the darkness behind the tea chests, in the dust and dirt. It was as if he’d been there forever…. I’d soon begin to see the truth about him, that there’d never been another creature like him in the world.” With that first description of Skellig, the author creates a tantalizing tension between the dank and dusty here-and-now and an aura of other-worldliness that permeates the rest of the novel. The magnetism of Skellig’s ethereal world grows markedly stronger when Michael, brushing his hand across Skellig’s back, detects what appears to be a pair of wings. Soon after Michael’s discovery in the shed, he meets his new neighbor, Mina, a home-schooled girl with a passion for William Blake’s poetry and an imagination as large as her vast knowledge of birds. Unable to take his mind off Skellig, Michael is temporarily distracted from other pressing concerns about his new surroundings, his gravely ill baby sister and his parents. Determined to nurse Skellig back to health, Michael enlists Mina’s help. Besides providing Skellig with more comfortable accommodations and nourishing food, the two children offer him companionship. In response, Skellig undergoes a remarkable metamorphosis that profoundly affects the narrator’s (and audience members’) first impression of the curious creature, and opens the way to an examination of the subtle line between life and death. The author adroitly interconnects the threads of the story, Michael’s difficult adjustment to a new neighborhood, his growing friendship with Mina, the baby’s decline, to Skellig, whose history and reason for being are open to readers’ interpretations. Although some foreshadowing suggests that Skellig has been sent to Earth on a grim mission, the dark, almost gothic tone of the story brightens dramatically as Michael’s loving, life-affirming spirit begins to work miracles. Ages 8-12.” Publishers Weekly

The Book Without Words: ATale of Medieval Magic by Avi

Ages 9-12. “Grade 5-8 At the dawning of the Middle Ages, Thorston, an old alchemist, works feverishly to create gold and to dose himself with a concoction that will enable him to live forever. The key to his success lies in a mysterious book with blank pages that can only be read by desperate, green-eyed people. Master Bashcroft, enforcer of law and order for the city, desires Thorston’s secrets for himself. Brother Wilfrid, a priest with green eyes, knows the dangers of the book and seeks to retrieve it. To this mix add Odo, a talking raven, and Sybil, a poor orphan girl whom Thorston has taken in as his servant, and you have an intriguing tale in which goodness ultimately triumphs. Avi’s compelling language creates a dreary foreboding, a grim backdrop against which the characters work out their fate. The old city always seems enshrouded in nasty fog and disgusting odors. Thorston keeps consuming part of his life-giving formula and repeatedly appears to die before resuscitating as a younger person. This, plus the fact that after each “death” Sybil and the others bury him, only to have him tromp up the basement steps covered in grime, will surely keep readers turning pages. Odo’s cleverness and cynicism make him a likable character, while Sybil’s innate goodness will endear her to readers. Clearly this is a story with a message, a true fable. Thoughtful readers will devour its absorbing plot and humorous elements, and learn a “useful truth” along the way.” School Library Journal

Crispin : The Cross of Lead by Avi (2003 Newbery Award winner)

Ages 9-12. “Set in 14th-century England, Avi’s (The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle) 50th book begins with a funeral, that of a village outcast whose past is shrouded in mystery and whose adolescent son is known only as “Asta’s son.” Mired in grief for his mother, the boy learns his given name, Crispin, from the village priest, although his presumably dead father’s identity remains obscure. The words etched on his mother’s treasured lead cross may provide some clue, but the priest is murdered before he can tell the illiterate lad what they say. Worse, Crispin is fingered for the murder by the manor steward, who declares him a “wolf’s head” wanted dead or alive, preferably dead. Crispin flees, and falls in with a traveling juggler. “I have no name,” Crispin tells Bear, whose rough manners and appearance mask a tender heart. “No home, no kin, no place in this world.” How the boy learns his true identity (he’s the bastard son of the lord of the manor) and finds his place in the world makes for a rattling fine yarn. Avi’s plot is engineered for maximum thrills, with twists, turns and treachery aplenty, but it’s the compellingly drawn relationship between Crispin and Bear that provides the heart of this story. A page turner to delight Avi’s fans, it will leave readers hoping for a sequel. Ages 8-12.” Publishers Weekly

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett

Ages 9-12. “In the classic tradition of E.L. Konigsburg’s From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, debut author Blue Balliett introduces readers to another pair of precocious kids on an artful quest full of patterns, puzzles, and the power of blue M&Ms. Eleven year old Petra and Calder may be in the same sixth grade class, but they barely know each other. It’s only after a near collision during a museum field trip that they discover their shared worship of art, their teacher Ms. Hussey, and the blue candy that doesn’t melt in your hands. Their burgeoning friendship is strengthened when a creative thief steals a valuable Vermeer painting en route to Chicago, their home town. When the thief leaves a trail of public clues via the newspaper, Petra and Calder decide to try and recover the painting themselves. But tracking down the Vermeer isn’t easy, as Calder and Petra try to figure out what a set of pentominos (mathematical puzzle pieces), a mysterious book about unexplainable phenomena and a suddenly very nervous Ms. Hussey have to do with a centuries old artwork. When the thief ups the ante by declaring that he or she may very well destroy the painting, the two friends know they have to make the pieces of the puzzle fit before it’s too late!

Already being heralded as The DaVinci Code for kids, Chasing Vermeer will have middle grade readers scrutinizing art books as they try to solve the mystery along with Calder and Petra. In an added bonus, artist Brett Helquist has also hidden a secret pentomino message in several of the book’s illustrations for readers to decode. An auspicious and wonderfully satisfying debut that will leave no young detective clueless.” Amazon Reviews

The House With a Clock In Its Walls by John Bellairs

Ages 9 -12. “Lewis always dreamed of living in an old house full of secret passageways, hidden rooms, and big marble fireplaces. And suddenly, after the death of his parents, he finds himself in just such a mansion–his Uncle Jonathan’s. When he discovers that his big friendly uncle is also a wizard, Lewis has a hard time keeping himself from jumping up and down in his seat. Unfortunately, what Lewis doesn’t bank on is the fact that the previous owner of the mansion was also a wizard–but an evil one who has placed a tick-tocking clock somewhere in the bowels of the house, marking off the minutes until the end of the world. And when Lewis accidentally awakens the dead on Halloween night, the clock only ticks louder and faster. Doomsday draws near–unless Lewis can stop the clock!

This is a deliciously chilling tale, with healthy doses of humor and compassion thrown in for good measure. Edward Gorey’s unmistakable pen and ink style (as seen in many picture books, including The Shrinking of Treehorn and Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats) perfectly complements John Bellairs’s wry, touching story of a lonely boy, his quirky uncle, and the ghost of mansions past. (Ages 9 to 12).” Amazon Reviews

The Revenge Of The Shadow King (Grey Griffins #1) by Derek Benz and J.S. Lewis

Ages 9-12. “Grade 5-8-Sixth-grader Max Sumner and his three best friends, Harley, Natalia, and Ernie, refer to themselves as the Grey Griffins. They enjoy sharing a fantasy role-play game called Round Table with elderly Iver Iverson, the proprietor of Avalon, Minnesota’s Shoppe of Antiquities. It is played with odd-shaped dice and cards that depict a variety of fantastic creatures and characters-spriggans, garden faeries, goblins, and more. Iver takes the game very seriously, and the Grey Griffins learn they must do the same once Max accidentally releases a spriggan, a shape-shifting faerie, from a magical book he finds in his grandmother’s attic. The game fades into the background as other characters from the cards start appearing around Avalon-the Black Witch Morgan LaFey, the Slayer goblin, and many others. The four friends realize that it is up to them to save the world as they learn, bit by bit, that Max is probably a descendant of King Arthur and the Knights Templar. Iver and many of the other adults in their lives are there to guide him in accepting his legacy, or, in some cases, to prevent him from doing so. Stilted dialogue and stereotypical cartoonlike characters abound as this plot-driven fantasy races to a predictable ending with plenty of room for multiple sequels. The action is gross and violent in the same way that Darren Shan’s Cirque du Freak books (Little, Brown) are, and will appeal to the same readers.” School Library Journal

Summerland by Michael Chabon

Ages 9-12. “In his debut novel for young readers, Pulitzer Prize winner Chabon (The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay) hits a high-flying home run, creating a vivid fantasy where baseball is king. Following the death of his mother, 11-year-old Ethan Feld and his father, a designer of lighter-than-air-dirigibles move to Clam Island, Wash. The island is known for its almost constant rain, save for an area on its westernmost tip called Summerland by the locals which “knew a June, July and August that were perfectly dry and sunshiny.” In Summerland, Ethan struggles to play baseball for the Ruth’s Fluff and Fold Roosters, with dismal results. But here, too, a mystical baseball scout recruits Ethan and escorts him through a gateway to a series of interconnected worlds that are home to magical creatures called ferishers and an evil, shape-changing overlord called Coyote. Ethan and two of his fellow teammates soon accept a mission to save these other worlds (plus the one they live in) from ultimate destruction at Coyote’s hand. When his father’s well-being is also threatened, Ethan’s quest becomes all the more urgent. To succeed, Ethan and his friends must find a way to beat giants, ferishers and others in a series of games where striking out truly has apocalyptic implications. Chabon unspools an elaborate yarn in a style that frequently crackles with color and surprise. He occasionally addresses readers directly, imbuing his tale with the aura of something that has been passed down through the ages. Impressively, the author takes a contemporary smalltown setting and weaves in baseball history, folklore and environmental themes, to both challenge and entertain readers. Images of the icy Winterlands and beasts like the werefox and Taffy the motherly Sasquatch recall C.S. Lewis’s Narnia and some of Philip Pullman’s creations in His Dark Materials. Devotees of the genre and of America’s pastime will find much to cheer here. All ages.” Publishers Weekly

Half-Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer

Ages Y/A “Grade 4-7-Diminutive Fletcher Moon may not be the most popular 12-year-old in his Irish town but he’s proud-maybe a little too proud-of the badge that he constantly flashes to let everyone know that he’s an online graduate of a private detective academy in Washington, DC. The other kids admit that Fletcher, aka Half Moon, has solved several tough cases at Saint Jerome’s Elementary and Middle School, so they come to him when they have a problem. But when super all-in-pink girly-girl April Devereux hires him to find a lock of a pop star’s hair that she claims was stolen by one of the Sharkeys-a family of well-known criminals-everything starts going wrong for Fletcher. His precious badge is taken, he finds a single huge footprint at every crime scene, and he’s picked up by the local police for arson when the Devereux playhouse burns down. When Fletcher goes on the run, who becomes his number-one ally? Young Red Sharkey. A typically funny Colfer offering without the mania of the Artemis Fowl series (Hyperion), the story wittily delivers the message that some people aren’t-for good or ill-who they appear to be. Kids who enjoy comic mysteries will have a great time with Half Moon, and the conclusion drops plenty of hints that this could become a series.” School Library Journal

The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer (Golden Duck Awards, Eleanor Cameron Award for Middle Grades)

Ages 9-14. “Grade 6 Up A suspenseful, cautionary science fiction tale. In a future dystopia, cities have become for-profit businesses. Orphanages are not exempt from the struggle to make money, and at the Clarissa Frayne Institute for Parentally Challenged Boys, kids are forced to endure product testing and frequently end up injured as a result. With orphans facing an average life expectancy of 15, 14-year-old Cosmo Hill knows that he is on borrowed time. Unfortunately, his escape attempt nearly proves fatal. While he’s lying there dying, a small, hairless blue creature lands on his chest and begins to feed. He is rescued by the Supernaturalists, a motley crew of young people who have dedicated their lives to destroying the Parasites, which feed on the essence of the living. Cosmo joins the group as a Spotter, someone who can actually see the creatures and thus destroy them. However, facts soon emerge that cause the Supernaturalists to question everything they believe in. Is it possible that the Parasites don’t feed off of the energy of dying people, but remove pain? Are they actually beneficial to society? The plot’s twists and turns will keep readers totally engrossed until the last page. Colfer’s futuristic world seems plausible; his characters have strengths, flaws, and histories that account for their points of view. The ending is satisfying yet open to the possibility of a sequel. For anyone who loves science fiction, or just an engrossing story, this novel is a must-read.” School Library Journal

The Boggart by Susan Cooper

Ages 9-12. “Grade 4-7– The Volnik family inherits a rundown old castle on an island off Scotland and visits their new property. After returning home, 12-year-old Emily and 10-year-old Jessup notice strange things happening. Their detective work eventually discloses the cause–a mischievous boggart has accidentally become trapped in a piece of furniture the family shipped home to Canada. Unfortunately, no adults believe them. The children claim innocence on Halloween night as pieces of furniture fly through the air and a bucket of water soaks their mother. Eventually, the boggart’s pranks begin to cause serious problems; he becomes intrigued with the power of electricity, and causes a traffic accident that lands Emily in the hospital. Finally, he learns to communicate with the children by computer, causing the message– “I want to go to my own country”–to appear in Gaelic on Jessup’s screen. When he gets trapped in a black hole in a computer space-adventure game, the youngsters devise a daring, risky, and ultimately successful plan to help the boggart return home. The novel is fleshed out with numerous, vividly realized secondary characters, including various actors at the Chervil Playhouse, where Mr. Volnik is artistic director, as well as the novel’s true villain, Dr. Stigmore, a psychiatrist and a parapsychology scholar who insists that Emily is a troubled adolescent in need of hospitalization. The intelligently thought-out clash between the ancient folkloric creature and modern science guarantees a wide audience. A lively story, compelling from first page to last, and a good bet for a read-aloud.” School Library Journal

Both Sides of Time by Caroline Cooney

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Ages Y/A. “Though narrated in the stylized, spine-tingling voice that has become a Cooney trademark, this tale of time travel and romance lacks the momentum of the author’s best work (The Face on the Milk Carton; Driver’s Ed). While her decidedly unromantic boyfriend tinkers with a car engine, Annie wanders through the soon-to-be-demolished Stratton mansion, longing for a more gracious way of life. Suddenly she “falls through” 100 years-landing in 1895 just in time to witness (albeit hazily) a murder. The first person Annie meets is Hiram “Strat” Stratton, slated to inherit both the mansion and the family fortune if he marries his plain but sweet and devoted cousin Harriett. Annie and Strat fall head over heels in love, thus reproducing in the 19th century a triangle loosely similar to the situation created by Annie’s father, who, unbeknownst to Annie’s mother, is conducting an affair with a co-worker. Along with the murder, the various affairs of the heart provide fodder for almost requisite musings on the position of women then and now. Constrained by the novel’s black-and-white approach, the truly intriguing social issues raised here never acquire real urgency. Ages 12-up.” Publishers Weekly

For All Time by Caroline Cooney

Ages Y/A. “The time-travel series that began with Both Sides of Time adds another breathlessly romantic whirl through the centuries. Experienced time-traveler and 20th-century high-schooler Annie ventures into New York City to see an exhibit of Egyptian art in which she hopes to find a photograph of Strat, her lost 19th-century love. With any luck, seeing Strat’s image will magically jolt Annie back through time. The jolting works a bit too well: instead of stopping in Strat’s era, Annie journeys all the way to ancient Egypt, where she is taken in (a la Moses in the bulrushes) by the pious yet independent-minded Renifer. Meanwhile, back in the 19th century, feisty Camilla Mateusz disguises herself as a young man and goes to work for a private detective. Assigned to hunt down Strat on behalf of his evil father, Camilla ends up in Egypt, at the dig where Strat works as a photographer. Narrated in the author’s characteristically breezily, intimate style, a series of swoopy, swoony plot twists links the various characters and time periods. Although the flap copy indicates that this installation will conclude the series, its end (featuring Annie’s nascent relationship with Strat’s great-grandnephew) certainly doesn’t rule out a sequel. Ages 12-up.” School Library Journal

This is actually the fourth book in the series, the others being Out of Time, and Both Sides of Time.

David Brin’s Out of Time: Tiger in Sky by Sheila Finch

Ages 9-12. “In the world of comets far out on the Oort Cloud, impossible for adults to teleport to in the year 2345, children can become heroes. An entire space station run by teens and children, tracking and deflecting wayward comments, is beseiged by a strange alien life form called Thogs. Though these cute little one-celled furry balls are harmless singly, they reproduce rapidly and combine to be deadly to electronics and humans. Readers will side with Jerry, 15, and Nan, 14, abducted from our time to help in this emergency unrecognized as dangerous by the children running the space station. Jerry with his scientific mind and Nan with her practical leadership must use their wits and their reasoning to draw logical conclusions, make quick decisions, judge character and think up creative solutions to combat the Thogs, with the help of a saber-tooth tiger imported from extinction, and their vast, talking computer library. I like best the line: “Thanks, Library. You’ve given me a lot to think about.” Indeed. True in all times.” Amazon Customer Review

David Brin, a well-known science fiction author, has created a framework for this Y/A series. The first volume, which we don’t have is Yanked! by Nancy Kress, and this one is followed by Game of Worlds by Roger MacBride Allen. This is one of the few true series by adult science fiction authors.

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Ages Y/A. “In Just Ella, Margaret Peterson Haddix puts a spin on the traditional tale of the glass slippers. In her version, Ella (sans “Cinder”) finds her own way to the ball (there was no fairy godmother, despite the rumors) and wins the heart of the prince. But now she is finding that life at the palace as Prince Charming’s betrothed is not as great as she thought it was going to be. In fact, it’s downright boring for a self-reliant and active girl to do needlework all day or listen to instructions on court etiquette from the strict and cold Madame Bisset. Worst of all, Ella is beginning to suspect that Charming’s beautiful blue eyes and golden hair are attached to a head with nothing in it. Her young tutor Jed, however, talks with her about serious things that really matter. Ella finally gets up the courage to announce to Charming that she doesn’t want to go through with the wedding, but when she finds herself locked in the dungeon she realizes it’s not that easy to walk away from a politically arranged marriage. In the end, as in all good fairy tales, our heroine and hero do manage to live happily ever after–but with a twist.

Fairy tale retellings are an entrancing form of young adult fiction, as they add psychological insight and turn events around for a surprising contemporary angle. Teens who enjoy this delightful revamping of an age-old story may also enjoy Donna Jo Napoli’s Spinners and Zel or the Newbery Honor book Ella Enchanted, by Gail Levine.” Amazon Reviews

Time Stops for No Mouse (Hermux Tantamoq Adventure) by Micheel Hoeye

Ages 9-12. “It’s impossible not to like Hermux Tantamoq, the watchmaking mouse. He relaxes in a flannel shirt printed with pictures of cheeses from around the world, he has a caged pet ladybug named Terfle, he writes endearing thank-you letters to the universe each night, and he has a big heart–a heart that aches for the fearless aviatrix Ms. Linka Perflinger, who unexpectedly visits his shop requesting an emergency rush repair of her wristwatch. Little does he know that this brief rendezvous with the jaunty adventuress will change his life forever. When a week goes by without word from her, he doesn’t know whether to be worried or angry. He drafts a slightly unpleasant, then desperate, then not-too-sweet, not-too-sour letter to her and awaits her response. Nothing. Even nasty encounters with his neighbor (the horribly garish and affected cosmetics tycoon Tucka Mertslin) and pleasant interludes with his artist friend Mirrin don’t distract him from his new heart-quickening obsession.

His worst fears start to cement when a yellow-eyed, thin-lipped, sharp-tongued rat comes to his shop and says with a dreadful smile, “I’ve come for Linka Perflinger’s watch.” Hermux isn’t about to fork over his beloved’s watch without a claim check, and ends up following the rat… all the way to Linka’s house! And, what’s this? Is she being kidnapped? The plot thickens as Hermux boldly enters her apartment (what has gotten into him?) and discovers a mysterious letter from Teulabonari and an overturned spicy-smelling plant. As he says to his ladybug that night, “This is the beginning of a new career for me. Either as a detective or a jailbird. Only time will tell. If it turns out to be the latter I will be asking you for hints on decorating my cage.” Soon he begins to make a connection with these strange clues and the cosmetics mogul Tucka, who pulls him into her scheme to create eternal youth in a bottle (to be taken internally).

Suffice it to say that gentle Hermux gets in way over his head with his detective work and proceeds to have fur-raising encounters involving spies, thieves, killers, betrayal, the Fountain of Youth, snakes, calliopes, and dramatic rescue attempts. Throughout it all, however, Hermux continues to thank the world at large: “Thank you for corner grocers. For sandwiches and honey fizz. For scary news and narrow escapes and trolleys and shopping bags. Thank you for loyal pets and bold adventurers (and adventuresses).” Readers will be disarmed by Hermux’s earnest, inquisitive nature and zeal for life–and thoroughly engaged by the suspenseful action adventure. Highly recommended! (Ages 10 to adult). Amazon Reviews

Phoenix Rising by Karen Hesse

Ages 9-12. “Grade 6-9-A Vermont sheep farm seems an unlikely place to worry about radiation and its effects. However, Nyle Sumner, 13, and her grandmother are completely surrounded by the grotesque results of an accident at a nuclear-power plant. Because of the accident, Nyle’s cousin Bethany has radiation poisoning. Then Gran does the unthinkable: she takes in two fugitives who were exposed to the worst of the radiation, Miriam Trent and her son, Ezra, who is also sick with the poisoning. They stay in the back bedroom, the room marked by the death of Nyle’s mother and grandfather. Now it seems likely that it will be the place that Ezra dies too. The bleak setting of this book serves as a backdrop for the sensitive interaction among the main characters. Gran quietly acts on her principles, Nyle overcomes her own feelings to help Ezra, and her best friend, Muncie, forgives past wrongs for the sake of friendship. The characters overcome adversity, not through heroic deeds of epic proportions, but through simple acts of kindness. The message is poignant, but not overpowering. Hesse has displayed considerable skill in creating a contemporary tale of hope and love rising, like a phoenix, from destruction and despair.” School Library Journal

Kokopelli’s Flute by Will Hobbs

Ages 9-12. “Grade 5-8? This unique and compelling fantasy/adventure is set in northern New Mexico. The mood is created immediately as Tepary Jones, 13, sets out to view a total eclipse of the full moon from the ruins of a cliff dwelling near his family’s farm, but the quiet mystery of the Ancient Ones is shattered by illegal pothunters. Tep finds an eagle-bone flute they leave behind, and his adventures become complicated by a magic older than the ruins. He finds himself changing into a bushy-tailed woodrat each night, which both hinders and helps him to find the pothunters; develop drought-resistant seeds with his father; and save his mother from the hantavirus, a disease thought to be contracted from rodent droppings. Both parents are scientists and have encouraged their son to enjoy and respect nature, and to help preserve the variety of life on earth as well as the beauties of the past. They are both fully developed individuals who capture and hold readers’ interest. Even Dusty, the dog, has a rare personality. Hobbs vividly evokes the Four Corners region and blends fantasy with fact so smoothly that the resulting mix can be consumed without question. Subplots flow together naturally, and ancient stories and sensibilities become one with modern lives. Outstanding characters, plot, mood, and setting combine in this satisfying and memorable book.” School Library Journal

Indigo by Alice Hoffman

Ges 9-12. “Fans of Alice Hoffman’s first novella for children, Aquamarine, will be thrilled to discover Indigo, another watery tale that blends fantasy with reality in a surprising coming-of-age quest. Thirteen-year-old Martha and her best friends, brothers nicknamed Trout and Eel for their fishy tendencies and webbed fingers and toes, long to escape from their dull, dry town. Their ambivalent feelings about running away, though, are reinforced when a fierce storm interrupts their journey and helps them begin to answer their questions about who they are “at the deepest core”–and who they will become. Unfortunately, there’s not enough time for Hoffman to develop her characters here, and an implausibly pat denouement may leave the reader wishing the book were longer–or shorter–but the elements of friendship, loss, and hope will come through for those who take it for the parable it is. (Ages 10 to 14). Amazon Reviews

Castaways of the Flying Dutchman by Brian Jacques

Ages 9-12. “Fans of the Redwall series eager to sink their teeth into the latest adventure from Brian Jacques will be surprised to find that the cover of Castaways of the Flying Dutchman belies the contents of this fine mystery novel. A handsome young lad, sporting a billowing, ripped shirt, gazes off into the distance, while behind him a ship founders on an eerily tempestuous sea. It’s true, the first (brief) section of the book does tell the tale of a stowaway orphan on the legendary, ill-fated ship, the Flying Dutchman. And that’s as swashbuckling a story as they come. But as soon as the boy and his newly adopted dog are tossed into the sea during a ferocious storm, the book takes a sharp turn. Ben and his dog, Ned, given eternal life by a sympathetic angel, now set out to “bring confidence and sympathy, help others to change their fate.” Two centuries later, they arrive in the village of Chapelvale, which is filled with quirky, affectionate citizens, who immediately welcome the mysterious but kindhearted and brave boy and his dog. The impending destruction of their village by the blustering, bloated Obadiah Smithers, an industrial speculator, propels Ben and his new friends into a thrilling search for a solution, involving ancient Byzantine gold chalices, mysterious coded messages, and some fierce tete-a-tetes with hired bullies. Illustrator Ian Schoenherr’s intriguing line drawings at the beginning of each chapter hint at the upcoming clues to the mystery. Redwall fans be warned: you’ll find no warrior mice here. But readers will find a satisfying story that never leaves a doubt as to the ability of good to triumph over evil. (Ages 9 to 12).” School Library Journal

A Tale of Time City by Diana Wynne Jones

Ages 9-12. “Grade 6 Up. High-spirited time travel fantasy that is sure to delight its readers. When 11-year-old Vivian Smith is evacuated from London in 1939, she expects to end up in the peaceful British countryside. Instead she is kidnapped by two youthful time travellers who mistake her for the “Time Lady” and whisk her off to Time City, a richly imagined alternative world which exists in time but not in history. Time City observers, Viv learns, have reason to believe that the Time Lady, the wife of the founder of Time Citya mysterious Merlin figureis at large in history and is busily altering it, thereby endangering not only the historical world but Time City itself. If Vivian is to return to her own world and time, it will be necessary for her to help her kidnappers foil the Time Lady first. That almost nothingwhether person or incidentis precisely what it appears to be at first encounter both complicates Vivian’s task and delights readers. This ability to surprise has become a Diana Wynne Jones signature, as have her unflagging inventiveness and almost uncanny ability to create imaginary worlds of resounding reality, a capacity based in part on her attention to detail and in part on her capacity to create believable and sympathetic characters. All of these gifts are in abundant evidence in A Tale of Time City which is, accordingly, absolutely first-rate entertainment. And to her fans, this will be one of the few things about her new book which will come as no surprise!” School Library Journal

Woman in the Wall by Patrice Kindl (an ALA Best Book for Young Adults)

Ages Y/A. “Anna is more than shy. She is nearly invisible. Most of the time her mother and sisters don’t see, hear, or pay attention to her. At seven, terrified of the prospect of school, Anna retreats within their enormous Victorian house, and builds a house of her own: passageways and hidden rooms become her world. As the years go by, her family forgets she ever existed. Then a mysterious note is thrust through a crack in the wall, and Anna must decide whether or not to come out of hiding. Her life may seem like a fantasy – but there is nothing more real.” Book description

“Kindl, who brought readers an unforgettable, offbeat protaganoist in her first book, does it again in this not-quite -fantasy…How Anna finds herself and her family again is a tour de force of extraordinary drma and wicked humor.” Kirkus Reviews, pointer review

School Library Journal gave this a somewhat poor review, but it’s obvious others didn’t agree, based on the reviews and awards.

Shipwreck (Island, Book 1) by Gordon Korman

Ages 9-12. “Being on a sailboat in the warm waters of the Pacific with a bunch of kids the same age could sound like a vacation dream come true. However, when this month-long trip is part of a strict program called Charting a New Course, and each participant–or inmate–is there for disciplinary problems, things don’t look quite as rosy. And then, of course, when a big storm strikes, and the captain and first mate disappear, and the boat seems to be sinking… the whole idea becomes less and less appealing. Still, for Luke, Will, Lyssa, J.J., Ian, and Charla, this is the way the cards have been dealt, and whatever problems they may have with each other, however much they don’t want to be there, it’s time to start working together to save their own lives.

The first book of Gordon Korman’s exciting new trilogy introduces readers to the six troubled kids who will become unwitting partners in their desperate bid for survival. A steely captain and a gruff first mate who calls every boy “Archie” and every girl “Veronica” keep order and attempt to turn their charges into young sailors–an effort that may pay off more than any of them ever anticipate. A hint of menace permeates Shipwreck, along with humor, angst, and mystery. Readers won’t want to miss the continuation of the riveting saga in books 2 and 3, Survival and Escape. (Ages 9 to 13).” Amazon Reviews

The Capture (Guardians of Ga’Hoole, Book 1) by Kathryn Lasky

Ages 9-12. “Grade 4-8-At the beginning of this new series, a young Barn Owl named Soren lives peacefully with his family, participating in rituals like the First Meat ceremony, and enjoying legends about the Guardians of Ga’Hoole, knightly owls “who would rise each night into the blackness and perform noble deeds.” After he falls from his nest, his idyllic world transforms into one of confusion and danger, as he is captured by evil chick-snatching owls and taken to the St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls. Soren and his new friend Gylfie work to develop strategies for withstanding “moon blinking” (brainwashing), while secretly striving to learn how to fly. The legends of Ga’Hoole help them to survive, and they are able to escape to find their families and warn the world about the dangers of St. Aegolius. While the owls have human characteristics, such as Soren’s determination and Gylfie’s creative ideas, their actions and culture reflect Lasky’s research into owl behaviors and species. The story’s fast pace, menacing bad guys, and flashes of humor make this a good choice for reluctant readers, while the underlying message about the power of legends provides a unifying element and gives strong appeal for fantasy fans.” Amazon Reviews

Gifts (Annals of the Western Shore) by Ursula K. LeGuin

Ages Y/A. “Gifts, in the context of Le Guin’s newest novel, inspire fear more often than gratitude. But this book is a gift in the purest sense, as the renowned fantasist’s admirers have waited 14 years since the release of Tehanu (1990) for another full-length young adult novel. Providing an intriguing counterpoint to the epic third-person voice of Le Guin’s Earthsea novels, this quieter, more intimate tale is narrated by its central character, Orrec. Born into a feud-riven community where the balance of power depends on inherited, extrasensory “gifts,” Orrec’s gift of Unmaking (which is wielded at a glance and is as fearsome as it sounds) manifests late and strangely, forcing him to don a blindfold to protect those he loves from his dire abilities. The blindfold becomes a source of escalating tension between Orrec and his stern father, and its eventual removal serves as a powerful metaphor for the transition from dependent youngster to self-possessed, questioning young adult. Although intriguing as a coming-of-age allegory, Orrec’s story is also rich in the earthy magic and intelligent plot twists that made the Earthsea novels classics. One would expect nothing less from the author whose contributions to literature have earned her a World Fantasy Award, a Nebula Award, and, most recently, a Margaret Edwards Award for lifetime achievement.” Booklist starred review

LeGuin is one of the top fantasy writers in the genre and it is nice to see a quality book, not a throw-away for teens, come from her pen. One could only wish there were more who followed her example.

The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine

Ages 9-12. “After stealing the hearts of middle-grade girls with her delightful Newbery Honor-winning Cinderella retelling, Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine here creates a fairy tale of her own and gives it a characteristic grrrl-power twist. Twelve-year-old Addie admires her older sister Meryl, who aspires to rid the kingdom of Bamarre of gryphons, specters, and ogres. Addie, on the other hand, is fearful even of spiders and depends on Meryl for courage and protection. Waving her sword Bloodbiter, the older girl declaims in the garden from the heroic epic of Drualt to a thrilled audience of Addie, their governess, and the young sorcerer Rhys. But when Meryl falls ill with the dreaded Gray Death, Addie must gather her courage and set off alone on a quest to find the cure and save her beloved sister. Addie takes the seven-league boots and magic spyglass left to her by her mother and the enchanted tablecloth and cloak given to her by Rhys–along with a shy declaration of his love. She prevails in encounters with tricky specters (spiders too) and outwits a wickedly personable dragon in adventures touched with romance and a bittersweet ending. Young fans of princess stories will gobble this one up. (Ages 10 to 14).” Amazon Reviews

The Merchant of Death (Pendragon Series #1) by D.J. MacHale

Ages 10 and UP. “In Pendragon: The Merchant of Death, D.J. MacHale, the creator of several popular television series and Afterschool Specials, transplants the Pendragon name from Arthurian legend to modern-day junior high school. Fourteen- year-old Bobby Pendragon has it all; he’s smart, popular, and a star basketball player in quiet Stony Brook, Connecticut. But a visit from Uncle Press soon topples all of that as Bobby learns that he is a Traveler, someone who can ride “flumes” through time and space. Bobby lands in Denduron, a medieval world where the gentle Milago are enslaved by the Bedoowan, and it’s Bobby’s job to free them. He reluctantly teams up with Loor–a girl his age from the warrior-territory of Zadaa–and other Travelers, recounting his adventures in journals that are magically transported back to his friends Mark and Courtney in Stony Brook. These first-person journals at times feel contrived–they’re riddled with terms like “coolio” and “bizarro” and gnarly descriptions of vile sights and smells–but the book’s thumping story soon scrubs away all such concern. The Merchant of Death keeps the pages flipping with steady action and near-constant mortal peril for its heroes, promising that both this and future volumes in the Pendragon series should be eagerly devoured. (Ages 10 and older). Amazon Reviews

Cut by Patricia McCormick

Ages Y/A. “Burdened with the pressure of believing she is responsible for her brother’s illness, 15-year-old Callie begins a course of self-destruction that leads to her being admitted to Sea Pines, a psychiatric hospital the “guests” refer to as Sick Minds. Although initially she refuses to speak, her individual and group therapy sessions trigger memories and insights. Slowly, she begins emerging from her miserable silence, ultimately understanding the role her dysfunctional family played in her brother’s health crisis.

Patricia McCormick’s first novel is authentic and deeply moving. Callie suffers from a less familiar teen problem–she cuts herself to relieve her inner frustrations and guilt. The hope and hard-won progress that comes at the conclusion of the novel is believable and heartening for any teen reader who feels alone in her (or his) angst. Along with Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak and E.L. Konigsburg’s Silent to the Bone, McCormick’s Cut expertly tackles an unusual response to harrowing adolescent trouble. (Ages 14 and older).” Amazon Reviews

Saffy’s Angel by Hilary McKay

Ages 9-12. “McKay’s (The Exiles; Dog Friday) sparkling novel once again introduces an eccentric, entirely engaging British family whose members readers will immediately embrace. The Casson parents, both artists delightfully distracted Eve paints in her backyard shed and comically distant Bill spends weekdays painting in his London studio named their children from a paint color chart: Caddy (for Cadmium), Indigo and Rose. All but Saffron, “so fierce and alone,” who learns at the start of the story that she is actually the Italian-born daughter of Eve’s twin sister, who died in a car crash when Saffy was three. Eve explains that Grandfather had been visiting Saffy and Saffy’s mother in Siena at the time of the accident, and delivered the girl to the Cassons, who adopted her. Now elderly and catatonic after two heart attacks, beloved Grandfather sits in silence when he visits the family, as the children hover around him, endearingly sharing news of their lives. When Grandfather dies, “They felt as if they had lost a battle they might have won if only they had tried a bit harder.”The man leaves something to each of the children: Caddy receives his crumbling cottage on a cliff in Wales; Indigo his aged Bentley (which Bill dismisses as an “absolute wreck”); Rose his remaining cash (L144). Attached to the will by a rusty pin is a note scrawled in a shaky hand, “For Saffron. Her angel in the garden. The stone angel.” As McKay shapes an intriguing plot around Saffy’s angel, the Cassons’ capricious capers and understated, droll dialogue will keep readers chuckling. Especially entertaining subplots include: reckless Caddy’s driving lessons with her patient instructor (who fabricates a girlfriend to keep his flirtatious student in check), aspiring polar explorer Indigo’s sessions sitting on his bedroom windowsill, hoping to cure his vertigo, and Rose’s efforts to create works of art using such unlikely materials as “the entire contents of the refrigerator” and the pound coins that constitute her inheritance. An unlikely friendship with Sarah (“the wheelchair girl”), a neighbor, brings out another side of Saffy as the two attempt to find her angel in Siena, and Saffy makes all kinds of discoveries, including her love for the Cassons. The author blends a generous heaping of humor and joy with a dose of pain in a memorable portrait of a vastly human family.The only disappointment for readers may be that McKay’s affecting conclusion arrives too soon. They’ll close this book hoping for the Casson clan’s swift return. Ages 8-12.” Publishers Weekly

Standing Up to Mr. O. by Claudia Mills

Ages 9-12. “Grade 5-7-Seventh-grader Maggie McIntosh is a good student and loves biology class. She especially loves the teacher, Mr. O’Neill. She feels she can talk to Mr. O. about anything, except her reluctance to do dissections in class. The other kids don’t seem to mind killing worms, but Maggie feels it is wrong. When she takes a stand and refuses to do the dissection, Jake, a good-looking troublemaker, is her only ally. Later, her lab partner stands by her when he feels that her anti-dissection essay should have won a prize and Mr. O. was one of the judges. Maggie’s inner struggle is well drawn as she attempts to articulate her beliefs and what she is willing to fight for. Her pain in disappointing, and possibly alienating, her favorite teacher is believable. Her arguments with her friends provide other viewpoints in a natural way without any didacticism. The tension is maintained until Maggie and Jake are caught “rescuing” the frogs that are next to undergo dissection. Maggie’s fight to follow her conscience will hold readers, and her growth as a person will be applauded even when she makes mistakes. Her interest in Jake forces Maggie to make other decisions, all of which help her define her beliefs. A thought-provoking book.” School Library Journal

War Horse by Micahel Morpurgo

Like Morpurgo’s Private Peaceful (2004), this searing World War I novel reveals the unspeakable slaughter of soldiers on all sides fighting against people who are just like them. The story is told by an English farm horse, Joey, and, as in Cynthia Kadahota’s Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam (2007), the first-person narrative blends the animal’s physical experience with what men say. On the farm, Joey has close ties to Albert, who is too young to join up when his dad first sells Joey to the army. Charging into battle under machine-gun fire, Joey is captured by the Germans, who train him to haul ambulances and guns. His reunion with Albert in battle is sentimental and contrived, but the viewpoint brings close the fury of the thundering guns, the confusion, and the kindness of enemies who come together in No Man’s Land to save the wounded horse. Joey’s ability to understand the language wherever he is–England, France, Germany–reinforces the novel’s antiwar message, and the terse details speak eloquently about peace.” School Library Journal

This book my youngest daughter, who loves animals, stopped half-way through. She was devastated by the picture of war and the horse that was painted. I eventually talked her into finishing it, on the grounds that she needed to due the horse justice, and she did. It turned out she loved it, although she still finds it sad – even though the ending turned out fine. We have an old battered paperback. It’s nice to see that there is a new hardcover edition – it deserves it!

Sirena by Donna Jo Napoli

Ages 12 and up. “Donna Jo Napoli thoughtfully and poetically reexamined the story of Hansel and Gretel from the witch’s point of view in The Magic Circle. Here, she retells the Greek myth of the Sirens, whose sweet, beckoning singing caused countless shipwrecks. But did the Sirens (who Napoli imagines as mermaids) really mean for the sailors to perish? Or were these sultry singers cursed themselves? In Napoli’s tale, because they are half-human, the 10 Sirens are doomed to lead short mortal lives–unless they can convince men to become their mates. But after witnessing a shipwreck in which the survivors kill one of her sisters, 17-year-old Sirena decides she would rather lose her chance at eternal life than trick a human into loving her. She vows to live alone on “an island where the first rays of sun bring sight to blind eyes…. I am going there to find new sight. I will wipe from my brain the sights I have seen and start over.” Little does she know that due to a jealous goddess, a sea-serpent bite, and a dead hero, a man will come to her island and love her for herself, not just her song. Sirena is the perfect teenage heroine–questioning authority and falling in love no matter what the consequences. In creating this beautiful story, Napoli brings mythology alive for today’s young adults. (Ages 12 to 15). Amazon Reviews

The Deadly Curse of Toco-Rey (The Cooper Kids Adventure Series #6) by Frank Peretti

Ages 9-12. “Lila and Jay Cooper have joined their dad on a mission to the jungles of Central America, where a group of American treasure hunters have already become the victims of the deadly curse of Toco-Rey. Before Dr. Cooper can solve the mystery, his children are kidnapped and his integrity is put to the test. What price will he pay to get his children back? Is the treasure in the burial tomb of Kachi-Tochetin really worth more than gold? Follow the Coopers as they explore unknown ruins, plunge through dangerous jungles, face hostile natives, and battle ancient evil forces. Will their courage and faith in God bring them through? Book description

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (winner of the Newberry Medal, the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award, and an ALA notable Book)

Ages 9-12. “One fateful day, sixteen people gather for the reading of Samuel W. Westing’s will. To their surprise, the will turns out to be a contest, challenging the heirs to find out who among them is Westing’s murderer. Forging ahead, through blizzrds, burgalries, and bombings, the game is on. Only two people hold all the clues. One of them is a Westing heir. The other is you!” Book description

“A supersharp mystery…Confoundingly clever, and very funny.” Booklist, starred review.

Downsiders by Neal Shusterman

Ages 12 and up. “Meticulous 14-year-old Lindsay isn’t exactly thrilled about moving to the chaos that she believes is New York City. Her flighty “career college student” mom, now divorced, has dumped her on her city engineer dad, “a man who lived his life twenty minutes behind schedule and in a perpetual state of apology.” Lindsay is certain that nothing better awaits her than prep school boredom and constant battles with her evil stepbrother Todd. But she is wrong. Quite by accident, Lindsay discovers an unusual boy named Talon who resides in a secret city beneath New York–a kind of underground Oz called the Downside. Talon and Lindsey are fascinated by the differences in their dual worlds and soon grow equally fascinated with each other. But when Lindsay’s dad’s construction project hits a snag that reveals the Downside, it is not only the blooming relationship that hangs in the balance, but the entire future of the Downside as well.

Downsiders is both funny and compelling. But while Lindsay and Talon’s observations of their distinct environments is humorous (Talon compares Lindsay’s French braid to a “gator’s tail” and, despite Talon’s explanation that “time is of low importance,” Lindsay still thinks it’s strange that Talon wears his watch around his ankle), Neal Shusterman also uses their relationship to illustrate how much a particular culture both shapes our identity and affects how we view people from backgrounds other than our own. This call to look beneath the surface is cleverly and subtly woven through an original story with broad appeal. (Ages 10 to 16).” School Library Journal

“History and urban folklore are wittily combined in this well-wrought fantasy, centering on an alternative society that thrives undisturbed in the subterranean recesses of New York City.” Publishers Weekly

Sasquatch by Roland Smith

Ages 9-12. “Grade 5-8. When Dylan accompanies his father to a meeting of the Bigfoot International society, he’s sure that it’s just another of Dad’s odd hobbies. Soon after, his father joins the society’s sinister leader in an expedition to hunt down a Sasquatch specimen, and Dylan decides to go along. He hooks up with an old hermit who seems to be familiar with the area and the legend. When it appears that someone is following the old man, Dylan begins to suspect that his companion may be hiding a mysterious past. In addition, evidence that the Sasquatch may be more than a legend begins to accumulate and Dylan realizes he must prevent the society from killing them. With an exciting climax set amid a Mount Saint-Helens eruption, this fast-moving, suspenseful story provides lots of action and appeal.” School Library Journal

Cayman Gold: Lost Treasure of Devils Grotto (Harbor Lights Series) (A MacGregor Family Adventure) by Richard Trout

Ages 9-12 and up. “Thrust into a race for lost Spanish treasure, four teenagers rely on their courage and scuba diving skills to survive. Sinister international forces plot to destroy a natural barrier reef in order to stake a claim to gold doubloons and Colombian emeralds hidden for nearly four hundred years.

Amid the exotic waters and beaches of the Cayman Islands, this tale conveys an exciting mix of pirates, strange and timeless creatures of the sea, and the hospitable peoples of the Caribbean. Fast boats, mini-subs, undersea scooters, hurricanes, and even teen romance accentuate the fast tempo of this techno-thriller, the first in a series.

The MacGregor family’s respect for life and the sanctity of the environment, along with their thirst for adventure, drive the teens through a series of challenging and surprising events. Along with page-turning excitement, Cayman Gold delivers gentle doses of history and geography along the way.” Book description.

Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief by Wendelin Van Draanen (Winner of the 1999 Edgar Award for Best Children’s Msytery)

Ages 9-12. “Look out Harriet the Spy! Here comes Sammy Keyes, a resourceful, brave, too-curious-for-her-own-good young sleuth who gets into trouble with her grandmother’s binoculars. Sammy was just killing time when she looked across the avenue with the binoculars. She certainly didn’t imagine that she would see a thief in the act of stealing something from one of the rooms at the Heavenly Hotel. The worst part is that the thief saw Sammy spying! And what did “smart” Sammy do then? She waved at the thief! Now Sammy is in loads of trouble. Can she solve the mystery of the hotel thief before the thief finds her and before the police discover that she has been living illegally with her grandmother? (Oh, don’t ask–it’s just another stressful situation in this young detective’s life.) Teens of all ages, shapes, and persuasions (especially reluctant readers) will adore Sammy and her crazy adventures. She is much more than a brilliant detective: Sammy Keyes, who is curious in all the right ways, is the sort of person you’d love to have as a friend.” Amazon Reviews

Double Helix by Nancy Werlin (an Edgar Ward Winner and ALA Best Book for Young Adults, School Library Journal Starred Review, and Publisher’s Weekly Starred Review).

Ages Y/A. “Grade 9 Up–Eli Samuels’ mother is dying of Huntington’s Disease and he is aware that it might be in his own future. Yet his father seems certain Eli does not have the fateful genetic marker and maintains a secretive silence. An excellent science student, Eli is hired to work at the famed Dr. Quincy Wyatt’s lab, foregoing college and defying his father. In some way, Wyatt is tied to Eli’s parents and to their genetic mystery. Thus Nancy Werlin has set the stage for a suspenseful thriller whose seamless boundary between science and fiction keeps listeners totally involved (Dial, 2004)… Teens interested in science will be caught up in the intrigue as Eli pieces together clues and redefines himself and his relationships with both his father and girlfriend. His sexual relationship with Viv is apparent although not a major part of the story. The themes of genetic engineering and bioethics will interest teens and appeal to the same audience as Ann Halam’s Dr. Franklin’s Island (Random, 2002) although Werlin’s plot is much more believable.” School Library Journal

The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn

Ages Y/A. “Grade 6 Up – It’s 2025, and the thing to do on your 17th birthday is to get a bar code tattoo, which is used for everything from driver’s licenses to shopping. Kayla, almost 17, resists because she hates the idea of being labeled. Then the tattoos begin to drive people to commit suicide, Kayla’s father among them, and she soon finds out that the markings contain detailed information about their bearers, including their genetic code. When the government, controlled by a corporation called Global-1, makes the tattoo mandatory, Kayla joins a teen resistance movement and falls for a gorgeous guy, unaware that he’s a double agent. She discovers she has some psychic ability and has confusing visions of future events. Forced to run away after being implicated in her mother’s accidental death, she eventually joins other resisters hiding in the Adirondack Mountains, finds romance with an old friend, and learns to harness her psychic powers to fight Global-1 and fulfill her visions. Like M. T. Anderson’s Feed (Candlewick, 2002), this novel examines issues of individuality versus conformity and individual freedom versus governmental control. Because it also deals with the ethics of enhanced genetics and cloning, it tries to cover too much territory and relies too heavily on coincidence and far-fetched plotting. Stick with Feed.” School Library Journal

Growing Wings by Laurel Winter

Ages 9-12. “When 11-year-old Linnet discovers she is growing wings, her bewilderment is confounded by her mother’s obvious distress. As it turns out, her mother also grew wings on the cusp of adolescence, only to have them cut off by her mother. Linnet’s life seems to speed up rapidly after her shocking discovery; she soon finds herself alone on her estranged grandmother’s doorstep, and shortly thereafter, at a type of secret residence for winged people like herself. As she tries to adapt to a life she never expected, Linnet struggles with desires common to anyone who has ever wanted desperately to fit in, while simultaneously seeking to embrace uniqueness.

This unusual novel will strike a chord with young readers who long to both blend in and stand out. Linnet is a sensitive, strong, fallible girl, easy to relate to (in spite of her unusual physical traits). Her adventures as she tries to learn how to fly (just having wings isn’t enough–it takes hard work and practice), make friends, find her mother, and, with her winged community, avoid being noticed by the media, make for an entirely new kind of science fiction-fantasy story–one that soars.” Amazon Reviews

Dealing with Dragons: The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Book One by Patricia C. Wrede

Ages 9-12. “Cimorene, princess of Linderwall, is a classic tomboy heroine with classic tomboy strengths–all of which are perceived by those around her as defects: “As for the girl’s disposition–well, when people were being polite, they said she was strong-minded. When they were angry or annoyed with her, they said she was as stubborn as a pig.” Cimorene, tired of etiquette and embroidery, runs away from home and finds herself in a nest of dragons. Now, in Cimorene’s world–a world cleverly built by author Patricia C. Wrede on the shifting sands of myriad fairy tales–princesses are forever being captured by dragons. The difference here is that Cimorene goes willingly. She would rather keep house for the dragon Kazul than be bored in her parents’ castle. With her quick wit and her stubborn courage, Cimorene saves the mostly kind dragons from a wicked plot hatched by the local wizards, and worms her way into the hearts of young girls everywhere.

While the characters are sometimes simplistically drawn, adults and children will have fun tracing the sources of the various fairy tales Wrede plunders for her story. Dealing with Dragons is the first book in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, and most young readers will want to devour the entire series. (Ages 10 and older).” Amazon Reviews

Armageddon Summer by Jane Yolen and Bruce Coville

Ages Y/A. “On the heels of Paula Danziger and Ann Martin’s P.S. Longer Letter Later (Children’s Forecasts, Feb. 16) comes another novel (on a very different subject) co-written by a pair of popular YA authors. The two alternating narrators, Marina and Jed, are both children of religious fanatics, so-called Believers who dedicate themselves to the Reverend Beelson. The Believers have brought their families to the top of a mountain to prepare for the end of the world, only two weeks away, according to Beelson. Marina and Jed are instantly attracted to each other, even though Marina believes the world really will end and Jed thinks the whole thing is a hoax. Their different points of view?and occasional interleaved “memos” from FBI agents, excerpts from sermons, etc., yield a multidimensional description of cult dynamics and dangers. As Beelson predicts, there is a type of Armageddon on July 27, 2000 (Marina’s 14th birthday), but, as Marina sadly concludes, it is one “made by man. Not by God.” Yolen’s and Coville’s styles and narrative voices, though different, complement each other well, so that both protagonists emerge with the same depth and the action builds smoothly and steadily. Providing action, romance and a provocative message, this novel could well get teens talking. Ages 12-up.” Publishers Weekly

This is the end of part on of our teenage bookshelf. Another one will be forthcoming. Many of these books have others in the series, so if you like one, check out for more by the same author in that series, or just other ones. Read, have fun, enjoy!

Teen Reads 2 – A collection of newer books from the most popular genres

Here is Part II of the Teen Reads post.  The same “conditons” apply as are in the earlier post (see Teen Reads – A Collection of newer books from the most popular genres).  There’s a lot of stuff here I wouldn’t mind reading, if my budget allowed, or our library had a better collection.  Y/A – teen is sadly lacking.  Something as a parent you should check out – and is it’s like ours, get involved with your local Friends of the library and see what can be done about it – it’s important to keep those kids reading : )

Maximum Ride : The Angel Experiment (Teen’Top Ten’ Awards) by James Patterson

 

 Y/A.  “Grade 7 Up–A group of genetically enhanced kids who can fly and have other unique talents are on the run from part-human, part-wolf predators called Erasers in this exciting SF thriller that’s not wholly original but is still a compelling read. Max, 14, and her adopted family–Fang and Iggy, both 13, Nudge, 11, Gazzy, 8, and Angel, 6–were all created as experiments in a lab called the School. Jeb, a sympathetic scientist, helped them escape and, since then, they’ve been living on their own. The Erasers have orders to kill them so the world will never find out they exist. Max’s old childhood friend, Ari, now an Eraser leader, tracks them down, kidnaps Angel, and transports her back to the School to live like a lab rat again. The youngsters are forced to use their special talents to rescue her as they attempt to learn about their pasts and their destinies. The novel ends with the promise that this journey will continue in the sequel. As with Patterson’s adult mystery thrillers, in-depth characterization is secondary to the fast-moving plot. The narrative alternates between Max’s first-person point-of-view and that of the others in the third person, but readers don’t get to know Max very well. The only major flaw is that the children sound like adults most of the time. This novel is reminiscent of David Lubar’s Hidden Talents (Tor, 1999) and Ann Halam’s Dr. Franklin’s Island (Random, 2002).  School Library Journal  www.jamespatterson.com

Maximum Ride Book #2: School’s Out – Forever by James Patterson

Y/A.  “The winged children series: These books are wonderful for ages 13+. A 50 year old young man got me addicted to this series as well as James Patterson’s many other books. The story takes you through the trials of living in our world and being drastically different. From the school run by scientists, to the children they meet in their travels, the love and innocence of the young, versus the jaded and curious at any cost adults. Take the ride, read the series. You won’t want to put the book down til you’ve read each and every page of all the series and want for the next book to hurry up and be available.

Thank you James Patterson for an escape from my reality. Reads much better than any of the crap on tv today. Except of course for the “Women’s Murder Club” Kudos!!!”  Amazon Customer Review

Maximum Ride #3: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson

Y/A.  “The end is near . . . or is it? So reads the tagline of Book 3 of the Maximum Ride series, suggesting that Patterson’s best-selling series for YAs may expand beyond the trilogy originally planned—news that will be greeted enthusiastically by fans of its 14-year-old heroine. Slated for extermination by their scientist creators, rebel-mutant Max and other members of her flock, all of whom possess bird DNA and functioning wings, are on the lam again, their mission to save the world from a eugenics plot. Affection for the dauntless characters and misadventures that build on universal yearnings about sprouting wings and taking flight will hold readers.”  Booklist 

The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh

 ”Jack Perdu, a ninth grade classics prodigy, lives his with father on the Yale University campus. Smart and introverted, Jack spends most of his time alone, his nose buried in a book. But one winter evening, a near-fatal accident changes Jack’s life forever. His father sends him to see a mysterious doctor in New York City–a place Jack hasn’t visited since his mother died there eight years ago. In Grand Central Terminal, he meets Euri, a girl who offers to show him the train station’s hidden places–the ones only true urban explorers really know about. Eight flights below the train station, however, Jack discovers more than just hidden tracks and mysterious staircases. He has stumbled upon New York’s ghostly underworld. This, Jack believes, is his chance to see his mother again. But as secrets about Euri’s past are revealed, so are the true reasons for Jack’s visit to the underworld.Masterfully told, The Night Tourist weaves Classical mythology together with New York’s secret history and modern-day landscape to create a magical adventure, full of unexpected twists and page-turning action.”  Amazon

Austenland: A Novel by Shannon Hale

Adult, Y/A.  “Adult/High School—Thirty-three-year-old Jane Hayes, who has a fairly serious addiction to the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice, inherits a trip to Pembrook Park, Kent, England, the location of a resort where guests dress, talk, think, and act in ways that Jane Austen would approve. Refusing to lie about her age, even on vacation in a place right out of Austen’s England, Jane finds herself quickly overcoming the obsession with Mr. Darcy that may very well have jeopardized her 13 “relationships” over the years. Left to walk in last to dinner, mildly obsessed with one of the hotel’s gardeners, and annoyed by another guest’s overeager attempts to bag a man, Jane is eager to return to Manhattan. Then she decides to give it all one more chance, since Great-Aunt Carolyn did see fit to pay for the entire vacation. Hale does a lovely job with the tale of a single woman who would appreciate a genuine shot at love. The book is well written, quite readable, and the myriad characters, especially those working at the resort, are quirkily funny. Given the immense popularity of Jane Austen’s novels among teen girls, this book definitely has cross-over appeal.”  School Libray Journal

The Red Queen’s Daughter by Jacqueline Kolosov

Y/A.  “I approached this book with some hesitation, but found that I could not put it down after the first chapter!
This book would be a wonderful gift for any young girl (or woman). The heroine must learn to think on her feet, analyze situations and problems, and be politically correct at the same time. Other virtues in the book are personal responsibility, compassion and accountability.  I really enjoyed reading about this time period as well. I had never previously heard of Kathrine Parr or her daughter, and this was a wonderful education.  Kolosov has created a marvelously detailed universe with very well rounded and believable characters. The plot is nicely paced and continues to pick up steam as the book progresses.  I highly recommend this book – its fun, intelligent, witty and most important – magical.”  Amazon Customer Review

Companions of the Night by Vivian Vande Velde

Y/A.  “Grade 6-10?Kerry Nowicki, 16, never dreamed that vampires lived in her little town of Brockport, New York, let alone that she would become involved with a handsome one named Ethan. When she makes a late-night trip back to the laundromat to retrieve her little brother’s stuffed bear, she interrupts the murderous plans of a vigilante committee that claims Ethan is one of the undead. Kerry tries to help him, so they assume that she is a vampire, too. When the two young people escape, Kerry’s brother and father are kidnapped in retaliation, and a complicated game of cat-and-mouse follows. During the often harrowing experiences that follow, Kerry proves to be an intelligent, level-headed young woman. She recognizes the danger of her attraction to Ethan, but knows that she must trust him to help find her family. Ethan maintains the cunning and duplicity that readers might expect from a vampire. The plot is lively and intriguing, with an unexpected twist at the end. Readers might be tempted to compare this novel to Annette Curtis Klause’s The Silver Kiss (Delacorte, 1990), since many of the elements are similar. But the heroine of that story acts from a different motivation, making the books much different in terms of plot, theme, and tone. Companions of the Night should attract a loyal following of its own.?”  School Library Journal

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Y/A.  “Grade 8 Up–Seventeen-year-old Kristina Snow is introduced to crank on a trip to visit her wayward father. Caught up in a fast-paced, frightening, and unfamiliar world, she morphs into “Bree” after she “shakes hands with the monster.” Her fearless, risk-taking alter ego grows stronger, “convincing me to be someone I never dreamed I’d want to be.” When Kristina goes home, things don’t return to normal. Although she tries to reconnect with her mother and her former life as a good student, her drug use soon takes over, leaving her “starving for speed” and for boys who will soon leave her scarred and pregnant. Hopkins writes in free-verse poems that paint painfully sharp images of Kristina/Bree and those around her, detailing how powerful the “monster” can be. The poems are masterpieces of word, shape, and pacing, compelling readers on to the next chapter in Kristina’s spiraling world. This is a topical page-turner and a stunning portrayal of a teen’s loss of direction and realistically uncertain future.  School Library Journal

Glass by Ellen Hopkins

Mature Y/A.  “Grade 9 Up—Kristina Snow was a 17-year-old with high grades and a loving family. In Crank (S & S, 2004), one summer in California with a meth-addicted boyfriend destroys her life. Addicted, she’s raped, and goes back home to Reno pregnant. Glass picks up a year later. She lives with her mother and works at a 7–11. Depressed about her post-baby figure, she goes back on speed to lose weight. Her mother kicks her out and gains custody of the baby. She continues to spiral to the last page, which sets readers up for a third novel. Glass is even more terrifying than Crank in its utter hopelessness; meth’s power is permanent and Kristina is an addict whether she uses or not. Though her recount of events in the first book is dry and self-indulgent, the pace snowballs as soon as she takes her first toke of rock meth, and one desperate, horrifying measure or decision follows another. Like Crank, this title is written in verse, but certainly not poetry. Hopkins’s writing is smooth and incisive, but her fondness for seemingly random forms is distracting and adds little to the power of the narrative. Minor characters are flat, and Kristina’s overblown self-pity elicits little empathy. The author tries but fails to present meth itself as a character; her descriptions of “the monster” are precious and overwritten. Kristina’s story is terrible, and even when she’s high, the narrative voice and mood are sobering. Teens, including reluctant readers, may appreciate the spare style and realism of Kristina’s unhappy second chapter.”  School Library Journal 

Hawksong: The Kiesha’ra: Volume One by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes 

 

Y/A.  “Grade 7-10-In this engaging fantasy, Danica Shardae is an avian shapeshifter. She is a princess of her people who, like the birds they become, is reserved and disciplined, yet full of passion. Her people have been at war with the serpiente, a people who shapeshift into serpent forms, for so many years that no one remembers how it all started. The hatred and bloodshed have taken a heavy toll on both sides, and Danica and Zane Cobriana, a prince among the serpiente, are determined to stop it, at any cost. He is the last of his line as is Danica and so he proposes that the avian and serpiente royalty meet at a neutral place and seek mediation to end the war. The mediator proposal-that Danica and Zane marry-is so crazy and repugnant a plan that both parties leave immediately. The young people, however, consider it in spite of the apparent lunacy, for it would mean an end to the fighting. But can they pull it off? And can they keep the dissenters among them from destroying this shred of a chance for peace? This book takes the Romeo and Juliet angle to new heights and is dealt with in a completely original way. It’s a love story and a plea for peace, and an intriguing look at a world that is teeming with tension and danger and beauty. Atwater-Rhodes has created a stunning adventure that draws readers in and leaves them begging for more.”  School Library Journal

Wyvernhail: The Kiesha’ra: Volume Five by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Y/A.  “HAI HAS ALWAYS been an outsider. With a falcon mother and a deceased cobra father, she is considered a mongrel by most, an ally by some, and a friend by few. Hai’s broken falcon wings are a painful reminder of the life she once led on the island of Ahnmik. And here in Wyvern’s Court, the avian and serpiente royal family keep their distance, refusing to acknowledge her cobra bloodline. They know that Hai’s magic is so volatile, she can barely control it, and images of the past and future threaten to overwhelm her.

When Hai’s cousin, Oliza Shardae Cobriana, abdicates the throne of Wyvern’s Court, Hai has visions only of destruction: the serpiente king Salem, dying in her arms; the dutiful guard, Nicias, unable to save a generation of children; and Wyvern’s Court engulfed in flames.

Now Hai will do anything to protect her new home – even if it means betraying the very people who need her most.”  Amazon

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

Y/A. “*Starred Review* Contemporary realism, set askew, is the silver streak of Zevin, whose Elsewhere (2005) depicted a teen’s experiences in the afterlife. This equally sensitive, joyful novel, her second for YAs, tackles the slippery nature of human identity, deceptively tucked within a plot familiar from TV soaps. After high-school junior Naomi conks her head, she can’t remember anything that happened since sixth grade. She is by turns mystified and startled by evidence of her present life, from the birth-control pills in her bedside table to her parents’ astonishing, rancorous split. Eventually, the memories return, leaving Naomi questioning the basis of a new, intense romance, and wondering which of her two lives, present or former, represents her most authentic self. The amnesia device could have been more convincingly played, but Zevin writes revealingly about emotions and relationships. Especially vivid is the Hepburn-Tracy bond Naomi shares with yearbook co-chief Will, whom she wounds with her lurching self-reinvention even as she discovers deeper feelings: “I had thought the way I felt about Will was just a room, but it had turned out to be a mansion.” Pulled by the heart-bruising love story, readers will pause to contemplate irresistible questions: If the past were a blank slate, what would you become? Does the search for one’s truest identity necessarily mean rejecting all that has gone before?  Publishers Weekly

Beastly by Alex Flinn

Y/A.  “I am a beast.

A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright—a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.

You think I’m talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It’s no deformity, no disease. And I’ll stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I’ll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.  Amazon

To Catch A Pirate by Jade Parker

Y/A.  “Adventure on the high seas has never been so thrilling…especially when the treasure at stake is one girl’s heart. When sixteen-year-old Annalisa Townsend’s ship is set upon by pirates in search of her father’s treasure, one of the crew, James Sterling, discovers her in the hold. When he moves to take her necklace, she begs him not to, as it is all she has left of her mother. He accepts a kiss in exchange for the necklace. A fair trade, m’lady, he tells her afterward, before disappearing. A year later, with a forged letter of marque, Annalisa is intent on hunting down the pirates and reclaiming the treasure they stole. But when she finally catches up with the wretched James Sterling and the young pirate becomes her captive, she discovers she’s in danger of him stealing something far more valuable this time: her heart.”  Amazon 

The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison

Teen.  “Grade 7 Up—In the kingdom of Kendel, anyone caught talking with the animals or practicing animal magic is put to death, so Prince George learns early on to deny that part of his identity. He does everything for the sake of the kingdom, even if it means agreeing to an arranged marriage with Princess Beatrice from the neighboring kingdom of Sarrey. But Beatrice has a striking and unusual relationship with her hound, Marit, and George finds himself drawn to the pair, and to that part of himself that he has ignored for too long. He is faced with many decisions, including how to help his dying father, and how to free Beatrice and her hound. The story is interrupted at times with philosophizing, hints at the princess’s secrets, and related mythology that might prove frustrating for unsophisticated readers. Strong characterizations can’t make up for the uneven plot, and most readers are unlikely to stick with this lengthy tale.”  School Library Journal

Nobody’s Princess by Esther Friesner

Teen.  “Helen of Sparta is a feisty, beautiful young princess who is doted upon by her family, even though her determination to be independent and hunt and fight like her brothers creates various awkward, even dangerous situations for everyone. Using the mythical character of Helen of Troy as inspiration, Friesner focuses on Helen’s youth, before she became “the face that launched a thousand ships.” In an epilogue, Friesner discusses the historical facts and classical texts that she drew from to imagine Helen’s childhood. The resulting novel is a fascinating portrait of a spoiled child who uses her wily ways and privileges to learn how to use a sword, track and kill game, ride a horse, and bargain for a slave’s freedom. Along the way, Friesner skillfully exposes larger issues of women’s rights, human bondage, and individual destiny. It’s a rollicking good story all the way to the abrupt conclusion, which will leave readers crying out for a sequel.  Booklist

Song Of The Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell

Y/A.  “This lyrical novel in verse tells the tale of fiery, sixteen-year-old Elaine of Ascolat—who will one day be known, in poems and paintings, as “The Lady of Shalott”. As the daughter of a soldier in Arthur’s army, Elaine has only one other girl companion: Arthur’s sister, the mysterious, magical Morgan. But Elaine hesitates to tell Morgan her deepest secret: that she is falling for the dashing Lancelot, Arthur’s secondin- command. But when yet another girl—the beautiful, cold Gwynivere—joins their ranks, and catches Lancelot’s eye, Elaine knows she must do something about her growing feelings of jealousy and rivalry. But as the army advances toward the land that will become Camelot, can Elaine, and the world she has always known, survive the birth of a kingdom?  Amazon

A Song for Summer by Eva Ibbotson

Y/A.  “Ellen, the lovely heroine of this romantic novel, is raised in London by a suffragist mother and aunts but rejects the liberated life. After graduating from a culinary school, she takes a job in Austria at a run-down boarding school for neglected rich children and transforms it with her beauty, hard work, and good cooking. Like Ellen, all the characters are pleasantly drawn if exaggerated stereotypes: Ellen’s love interest, Marek, the school handyman, is really a brilliant composer hiding out from the Nazis; the scullery maid is beautiful and saintly; and all the children are budding geniuses. When the war intervenes, Ellen returns to England to build a sanctuary for her friends and other refugees; eventually she and Marek are reunited, and love conquers all. Ibbotson, who grew up in Austria and fled the Nazis herself, provides rich details of prewar life in Vienna and the alpine countryside. Her prose is like a Linzertorte, well constructed but awfully sweet. Still, this is a lively read. Recommended for popular fiction collections.  School Library Journal

The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotson

Y/A.  “For nineteen-year-old Harriet Morton, life in 1912 Cambridge is as dry and dull as a biscuit. Her stuffy father and her opressive aunt Louisa allow her only one outlet: ballet. When a Russian ballet master comes to class searching for dancers to fill the corps of his ballet company before their South American tour, Harriet’s world changes. Defying her father’s wishes and narrowly escaping the clutches of the man who wishes to marry her, Harriet sneaks off to join the ballet on their journey to the Amazon. There, in the wild, lush jungle, they perform Swan Lake in grand opera houses for the wealthy and culture-deprived rubber barons, and Harriet meets Rom Verney, the handsome and mysterious British exile who owns the most ornate opera house. Utterly enchanted by both the exotic surroundings and by Rom’s affections, Harriet is swept away by her new life, completely unaware that her father and would-be finacé have begun to track her down. . . .   Amazon

A Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotson

Y/A.  “For nineteen-year-old Harriet Morton, life in 1912 Cambridge is as dry and dull as a biscuit. Her stuffy father and her opressive aunt Louisa allow her only one outlet: ballet. When a Russian ballet master comes to class searching for dancers to fill the corps of his ballet company before their South American tour, Harriet’s world changes. Defying her father’s wishes and narrowly escaping the clutches of the man who wishes to marry her, Harriet sneaks off to join the ballet on their journey to the Amazon. There, in the wild, lush jungle, they perform Swan Lake in grand opera houses for the wealthy and culture-deprived rubber barons, and Harriet meets Rom Verney, the handsome and mysterious British exile who owns the most ornate opera house. Utterly enchanted by both the exotic surroundings and by Rom’s affections, Harriet is swept away by her new life, completely unaware that her father and would-be finacé have begun to track her down. . . .  Amazon

A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson

Y/A.  ” After the Russian revolution turns her world topsy-turvy, Anna, a young Russian countess, has no choice but to flee to England. Penniless, Anna hides her aristocratic background and takes a job as servant in the household of the esteemed Westerholme family, armed only with an outdated housekeeping manual and sheer determination. Desperate to keep her past a secret, Anna is nearly overwhelmed by her new duties—not to mention her instant attraction to Rupert, the handsome Earl of Westerholme. to make matters worse, Rupert appears to be falling for her as well. As their attraction grows stronger, Anna finds it more and more difficult to keep her most dearly held secrets from unraveling. And then there’s the small matter of Rupert’s beautiful and nasty fiancée. . . .  Amazon.  As I recall, this and most if not all of Ibbotson’s books are reprints of older editions.  This is long time favorite of these type of books.

Before Midnight: A Retelling of “Cinderella” (Once Upon a Time) by Cameron Dokey

Teen/Y/A.  “Grade 6–10—Here are answers to the age-old questions that have plagued so many for so long: What was Cinderella’s father thinking? And where was he while his new wife and the stepsisters had their way with her? Not only does Dokey deal with these issues, but she also turns the oft-told story on its head in many unexpected, intriguing, and satisfying ways. When Cendrillon’s mother dies after giving birth to her, her father, Etienne de Brabant, blames his newborn daughter. Wishing never to see her again, he disappears from her life for the next 15 years. The fairy godmother in the original tale here is simply the wise housekeeper who delivers Cendrillon and raises her. The stepmother is not wicked, just understandably unhappy at being forced to marry Etienne, who uproots her from her life at court and sends her off to live at his remote estate without even telling her that he has a daughter. The stepsisters are differentiated, dimensional characters as well. In fact, the entire book is filled with strong women who exert their influence on a fairy-tale world and—delightfully—with sensitive and clever young men who recognize their worth. This expanded Cinderella story is a fine addition to the canon including Gail Carson Levine’s Ella Enchanted (HarperCollins, 1997), Donna Jo Napoli’s Bound (S & S, 2004), and Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Just Ella (S & S, 1999).  School Library Journal

Beauty Sleep: A Retelling of “Sleeping Beauty (Once Upon a Time) by Cameron Dokey

Teen, Y/A.  “The Princess Aurore has had an unusual childhood. Cursed at birth, Aurore is fated to prick her finger at the age of sixteen and sleep for one hundred years — until a prince awakens her with a kiss. So, to protect her, Aurore’s loving parents forbid any task requiring a needle.

Unable to sew or embroider like most little princesses, Aurore instead explores the castle grounds and beyond, where her warmth and generosity soon endear her to the townspeople. their devotion to the spirited princess grows as she does.

On her sixteenth birthday, Aurore learns that the impending curse will harm not only her, but the entire kingdom as well. Unwilling to cause suffering, she will embark on a quest to end the evil magic. The princess’s bravery will be rewarded as she finds adventure, enchantment, a handsome prince, and ultimately her destiny.”  Amazon

Golden: A Retelling of “Rapunzel” (Once Upon a Time) by Cameron Dokey

Teen, Y/A.  “Before Rapunzel’s birth, her mother made a dangerous deal with the sorceress Melisande: If she could not love newborn Rapunzel just as she appeared, she would surrender the child to Melisande. When Rapunzel was born completely bald and without hope of ever growing hair, her horrified mother sent her away with the sorceress to an uncertain future.

After sixteen years of raising Rapunzel as her own child, Melisande reveals that she has another daughter, Rue, who was cursed by a wizard years ago and needs Rapunzel’s help. Rue and Rapunzel have precisely “two nights and the day that falls between” to break the enchantment. But bitterness and envy come between the girls, and if they fail to work together, Rue will remain cursed…forever.”  Amazon

The Storyteller’s Daughter: A Retelling of “The Arabian Nights” (Once Upon a Time) by Cameron Dokey

Teen, Y/A.  “In a faraway kingdom, a king has been betrayed. Deeply hurt and bitterly angry, he vows never to be deceived again. Unfortunately, the king’s plan to protect himself will endanger all of the realm’s young women, unless one of them will volunteer to marry the king — and surrender her life.

To everyone’s relief and horror, one young woman steps forward. The daughter of a legendary storyteller, Shahrazad believes it is her destiny to accept this risk and sacrifice herself.

On the night of her wedding to the king, Shahrazad begins to weave a tale. Fascinated, the king lets her live night after night. Just when Shahrazad dares to believe that she has found a way to keep her life — and an unexpected love — a treacherous plot will disrupt her plan. Now she can only hope that love is strong enough to save her.  Amazon

The Rose Bride: A Retelling of “The White Bride and the Black Bride (Once Upon a Time) by Nancy Holder

Teen, Y/A.  “When Rose’s mother dies, her only comfort is the exquisite rose garden her mother left behind. The purple blossoms serve as an assurance of her mother’s love. But Rose is dealt a second blow when her father dies and his greedy widow, Ombrine, and her daughter, Desirée, move in and take over the manor in true Cinderella fashion.

Fate has been cruel to Ombrine and Desirée, too. So despite their harsh ways, Rose has compassion. But these feelings are bitterly tested when, in a rage, Ombrine tears out the garden. Rose nearly gives up all hope — until a chance meeting with the king. Happiness might be within her reach, but first she must prevail over Ombrine. And then she must determine if she has the courage to love.  Amazon

Water Song: A Retelling of “The Frog Prince (Once Upon a Time) by Suzanne Weyn

Teen.  “Grade 5 Up—Setting this retelling of “The Frog Prince” in World War I Belgium is an interesting idea that didn’t work out very well. Emma, a British citizen, is stranded on her family’s estate after her mother is killed by a bomb. Their home is requisitioned as a garrison for the German army. To compound her trauma, her fiancé has broken off their engagement and, in a fit of pique, Emma throws the golden ball-shaped locket with his photo into the well—an action she immediately regrets. When she tries to retrieve it, she discovers an American who’s been fighting with British forces hiding in the water in an attempt to counter the effects of a gas attack. He’s a good swimmer, his skin is blistered, and his eyes are bulging and swollen from the gas. As soon as he is able to see Emma, he wants her to kiss him. Readers are meant to understand that he is the frog prince. All that might plausibly be worked into a satisfying historical novel cum fantasy, but when Weyn overburdens the narrative with the “frog’s” complicated Louisiana mixed-race backstory involving Natchez magic, a history as a runaway, a stint in the merchant marines, and more, the narrative sinks under the weight. In this case, less would be more.  School Library Journal

The Crimson Thread: A Retelling of “Rumpelstilskin (Once Upon a Time) by Suzanne Weyn

 

Teen, Y/A.  Available 6/28/2008.  Amazon

Snow: A Retelling of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (Once Upon a Time) by Tracy Lynn

Teen, Y/A  “The Duchess Jessica’s childhood began with a tragedy: her mother’s death. Her father, heartbroken at the loss of his beloved wife, could not bear to raise the child. Largely ignored, Jessica spent the first eleven years of her life running free on the family estate, cared for only by the servants.

Then her father decides to remarry, bringing an end to Jessica’s independence. At first her new stepmother just seems overly strict. But as Jessica grows into a beautiful young woman, it becomes clear that her stepmother is also wildly — and murderously — jealous of her.

Jessica escapes to London. Going by the name Snow to hide from her family, she falls in love with an odd band of outcasts who accept her into their makeshift family. But when her stepmother appears in the city, repentant and seeking her forgiveness, Jessica will have to decide whom to trust…with her life.”  Amazon

Midnight Pearls: A Retelling of “The Little Mermaid (Once Upon a Time) by Debbie Viguié

Teen, Y/A.  “In a quiet fishing village seventeen years ago, one lone fisherman rescued a child from the sea. He and his wife raised the girl, Pearl, as their own daughter, never allowing themselves to wonder long about where she came from — or notice her silver hair, usually pale skin, and wide, dark blue eyes.

Pearl grows from a mysterious child into an unusual young woman, not always welcomed in the village. As all the other girls her age find husbands, she has only one friend to ease her loneliness. One very special, secret companion: Prince James.

But their friendship is shaken when trouble erupts in the kingdom — a conspiracy against the royal family combines with an evil enchantment from beneath the sea. Now, just when Pearl and James need each other most, bewitching magic and hints about Pearl’s past threaten to tear them apart…forever.”  Amazon

The Faerie Path by Frewin Jones

Teen.  “Grade 6 Up—On the day before her 16th birthday, Anita’s life starts to change. She has a vision of flying, receives a mysterious and magical book as a present, and travels from modern-day London to the world of Faerie. She discovers that her boyfriend, Evan, is really Edric, servant of the scheming faerie lord Gabriel Drake, and that he has been sent to bring her home. Anita is really Princess Tania, the seventh and youngest daughter of King Oberon, and she has been lost for centuries after experimenting with her power to travel between worlds. Anita/Tania comes to accept her true identity and the joy she has brought to her father and his realm. However, all is not well in Faerie. Queen Titania has disappeared, and Gabriel Drake is somehow involved with her loss. He claims to love Tania and wants to marry her, but is actually interested only in her magical power. While the conclusion resolves Tania’s immediate problems, there is ample room for a sequel. This fairy tale meets “Princess Diaries” clearly shows Anita/Tania’s confusion about her identity. She is a strong character, and her sisters and their varied powers and personalities are also well drawn. The teens’ romance, foreshadowed by their starring roles in their school’s production of Romeo and Juliet in this world, develops as the story progresses, and frequent quotes from and allusions to the play add depth to the story.”  School Library Journal

The Night Dance (Once Upon a Time) by Suzanne Weyn

Y/A.  “Grade 8 Up–This light, entertaining tale combines the Arthurian legend of the Lady of the Lake, Grimms Twelve Dancing Princesses, and elements of romance novels. After Sir Ethans wife, Vivienne, disappears, he vows that no one shall leave him again. He builds an enormous manor that keeps his 12 daughters from the outside world. A crack in a wall is discovered by the youngest, Rowena, and provides a long-desired escape route. At the battle of Camlan, King Arthur is mortally wounded and his knight Bedivere swears that he will honor his sovereigns final request to return Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake (Vivienne). On his journey, he battles the evil Morgan le Fey to protect the sword and meets a monk who sends him in Rowenas direction. They meet in the woods as the young woman discovers her power of second sight when she finds Viviennes scrying bowl with a woman trapped in it, pleading for help. While searching for answers, Rowena and her sisters discover underground tunnels filled with music. Each night they go there to explore but the sorceress le Fey follows them and casts a spell to make sure they do not find their mother. What follows is fairly predictable and everyone lives happily ever after. Though not as substantive as Robin McKinleys Beauty (HarperCollins, 1978) or Donna Jo Napolis The Magic Circle (Dutton, 1993), this story will be enjoyed by readers who like romance novels and fairy-tale retellings.”  School Library Journal

Spirited (Once Upon a Time) by Nancy Holder

Y/A.  “War. Rage. Magic. Love.

In May 1756 war is formally declared between the British and the French. During this highly dangerous time, Isabella Sevens is travelling with her father to the British stronghold Fort William Henry.

In the forest, Wusamequin, the young and handsome medicine man, looks to avenge the death of his wife and child at the hands of British soldiers. When Wusamequin spots Isabella and her father, he alerts his warriors to capture them. But Wusamequin is quite taken with how bravely Isabella battles. He orders the warriors to spare her and her tfather, and they are dragged back to their village. However, many members of the Mohican tribe still want them to be killed. In a desperate plea to Wusamequin, Isabella vows to stay as his hostage if he lets her father go.  Amazon

Sunlight and Shadow (Once Upon a Time) by Cameron Dokey

Teen.  “Grade 6 Up–A reworking of the Mozart opera “The Magic Flute.” On her 16th birthday, Mina, the daughter of Pamina, the Queen of the Night, and Sarastro, the Mage of the Day, is to be taken to live with the father she hardly knows until he can choose a suitable husband for her. When he arrives early to sweep her away, Pamina seeks revenge by enlisting Lapin, a local boy, to play his enchanted bells and call Mina’s true love to her. Tern, a prince, hears the bells and, unable to resist their call, arrives with his magic flute, with which he is able to play the music of his heart. Mina and Tern fall in love, and an angry Sarastro sets a deadly trial for Tern to complete in order to have his daughter’s hand. Mina, refusing to stand by and have her life decided for her, accompanies Tern so that they may face the challenge together. The telling alternates among four points of view: Mina, Tern, Lapin, and Gayna, an orphan girl whom Sarastro has raised and who mostly gives readers insight into his way of thinking. The setting is otherworldly but the voices are modern, making it easy for teens to relate to the narrators. The strong female characters and the blend of fantasy and romance make this a great light read.”  School Library Journal 

Keturah And Lord Death by Martine Leavitt

Y/A.  “Starred Review. Grade 7 Up–At 16, Keturah is a poor peasant girl who constantly ponders her future. She has always been different from the other girls of the village and has unique but unrealized gifts. She has been raised by warm and loving grandparents, experiencing firsthand what a truly happy marriage is all about. The teen is committed to finding a suitable husband so she, too, can be happy but has not yet been successful. All this changes for her the day she follows the legendary hart deep into the forest and becomes lost. After three days of wandering aimlessly, she knows that she is about to die. Keturah is surprised to discover that Death is a strong, handsome lord to whom she immediately feels connected. Despite the fact that she is afraid, she challenges Lord Death, which is something he is not used to. She uses her storytelling skills to make him grant her a reprieve for one day. She spins a story of a love so pure that even Death cannot destroy it. He allows her to live another day on the condition that she come to him with an ending to the story and her true love. Keturah continues to delay the inevitable but in doing so learns much about herself and what she is truly capable of achieving. Along the way she also discovers that her true love was there beside her all along. This is a dark, but uplifting story combining elements of fantasy as well as romance. It has a gripping plot, strong characters, and a surprise ending that will intrigue readers.”  School Library Journal

Nobody’s Princess by Esther Friesner

Y/A.  “Helen of Sparta is a feisty, beautiful young princess who is doted upon by her family, even though her determination to be independent and hunt and fight like her brothers creates various awkward, even dangerous situations for everyone. Using the mythical character of Helen of Troy as inspiration, Friesner focuses on Helen’s youth, before she became “the face that launched a thousand ships.” In an epilogue, Friesner discusses the historical facts and classical texts that she drew from to imagine Helen’s childhood. The resulting novel is a fascinating portrait of a spoiled child who uses her wily ways and privileges to learn how to use a sword, track and kill game, ride a horse, and bargain for a slave’s freedom. Along the way, Friesner skillfully exposes larger issues of women’s rights, human bondage, and individual destiny. It’s a rollicking good story all the way to the abrupt conclusion, which will leave readers crying out for a sequel.  Booklist

Nobody’s Prize by Esther Friesner

 

Y/A.  “In this rousing sequel to Nobody’s Princess, young Helen of Sparta is not about to be left behind when her older brothers head off to join the quest for the Golden Fleece. Accompanied by her friend Milo, and disguised as a boy herself, Helen sets out to join the crew of heroes aboard the massive ship known as The Argo. Helen quickly faces all sorts of danger. Not only does she have to avoid her brothers’ detection, but a devastatingly handsome boy catches her eye, Hercules falls in love with her boy-self, there are battles to be faced, as well as a terrifying murderous princess and the start of her period. And that’s only the beginning! With her beauty blossoming, Helen’s journey takes her beyond the mythology of the Golden Fleece to Athens, where her very future as Queen of Sparta is threatened.”  Amazon 

Hush: An Irish Princess’ Tale by Donna Jo Napoli

Y/A.  “Melkorka is a princess, the first daughter of a magnificent kingdom in mediæval Ireland — but all of this is lost the day she is kidnapped and taken aboard a marauding slave ship. Thrown into a world that she has never known, alongside people that her former country’s laws regarded as less than human, Melkorka is forced to learn quickly how to survive. Taking a vow of silence, however, she finds herself an object of fascination to her captors and masters, and soon realizes that any power, no matter how little, can make a difference.

Based on an ancient Icelandic saga, award-winning author Donna Jo Napoli has crafted a heartbreaking story of a young girl who must learn to forget all that she knows and carve out a place for herself in a new world — all without speaking a word.”  Amazon

The Lost Queen: Book Two of The Faerie Path by Frewin Jones

Y/A  “Tania is a princess of Faerie.

And now she must return to the Mortal World.

Once upon a time, Tania was an ordinary girl. But then she was swept into another world, where she was the long-lost princess of the elegant and magical court of Faerie, and only she could save the court from great peril.

Now Tania—and her true love, Edric—will go back to the Mortal Realm to seek Queen Titania, lost hundreds of years ago while searching for Tania.

Their return leads to struggles with Tania’s much-loved mortal parents and friends as she and Edric try to conceal their secret. But much more serious dangers lurk: The sinister Lord Drake is not yet defeated, they are pursued by dark supernatural forces, and Tania’s two worlds are about to collide in amazing and frightening ways she never could have anticipated.”  Amazon

Dragon’s Keep by Janet Lee Carey

Y/A.  “Starred Review. Grade 6–10—Nonstop action may keep readers glued to this page-turner, but strong writing and character development are what will make it linger in their memories long after they’ve finished it. Princess Rosalind Pendragon is meant to fulfill a 600-year-old prophecy from Merlin that she will restore her family’s good name and end a war. Rosalind was born with one dragon talon, which is a fearful secret known only to the teen and her mother. It is kept hidden by the golden gloves that Rosalind is never without, and over the years, the queen tries desperately to find a cure for the curse. When Rosalind reveals her claw to Lord Faul, a dragon that has been terrorizing the island, her destiny is set in motion. Taken by him to be nursemaid to his motherless children, she learns of her dragon blood and of her mother’s treachery. Rosalind and the dragons are bound together in a complex relationship that, in the end, helps her fulfill the prophecy. Her heroic journey comes full circle, and she finds internal peace as well as peace for her people. While the story has roots in traditional fairy tales and legends, the author has crafted something new and magical, and unexpected plot twists will surprise readers throughout. Lord Faul and Rosalind, whose personality is a fantastic combination of Joan of Arc, Briar Rose, and Patricia Wrede’s Princess Cimarron, develop so well as characters that readers will be touched by them. Devotees of fantasy adventure stories will certainly find treasure here.”  School Library Journal

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

Y/A.  “With a quote from The Age of Innocence as an epigraph and an enthusiastic blurb from the creator of Gossip Girl on its back cover, this lavishly produced debut makes no secret of its twin influences. The story opens in 1899 with the funeral of Elizabeth Holland, a well-bred beauty said to have plunged to her death in the Hudson River. The narrative then travels back several weeks, tracing the relationships and events that have led to the somber assembly. This tangled web includes not one but two sets of star-crossed lovers; an upstairs/downstairs romance; a scheming social climber; a bitter servant girl; and oodles of money, all set in a Edith Wharton via Hollywood vision of Old New York. The dialogue has its clunky moments, and the plot twist that drives the tale is telegraphed from the very start, but readers caught up in the fancy dress intrigue are unlikely to mind much: it’s all part of the dishy fun. Needless to say, the ending paves the way for at least one sequel. Ages 14-up.  Publishers Weekly

Bloom by Elizabeth Scott

Y/A.  “Grade 9 Up—In a style reminiscent of the work of Sarah Dessen and Deb Caletti, Scott tells the story of Lauren, a not-so-popular high school junior who is dating the secretly celibate most popular boy in school. Without warning, Evan, the loner son of her distant father’s former live-in girlfriend, returns to town and stirs up confusing emotions for Lauren, who once believed that a popular boyfriend was all she needed to secure happiness. Soon, she invents extra band-practice time as an excuse to avoid her boyfriend, her super-stressed best friend, and her empty house, and spends more time with the decidedly not celibate Evan. While the setup is fairly standard fare for YA romances, Lauren’s inner conflict over her affair with Evan, and the various lies surrounding it, rings true, and the novel has enough drama to keep readers interested.”  School Library Journal

Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary “Jacky” Faber, Ship’s Boy (Bloody Jack Adventures) by L. A. Meyer

Teen  “Grade 6-8-With the plague running rampant in London in 1797, Mary’s parents and sister are soon counted among the dead. Left alone and penniless, the eight-year-old is taken in by a gang of orphans and learns survival skills. However, when their leader is killed, Mary decides to try her luck elsewhere. She strips the dead body, cuts her hair, renames herself Jack Faber, and is soon employed as a ship’s boy on the HMS Dolphin. When the vessel sees its first skirmish with a pirate ship, her bravery saves her friend Jaimy and earns her the nickname “Bloody Jack.” Told by Mary/Jack in an uneven dialect that sometimes doesn’t ring true, the story weaves details of life aboard the Dolphin. Readers see how she changes her disguise based on her own physical changes and handles the “call of nature,” her first experiences with maturation, and the dangers to boys from unscrupulous crew members. The protagonist’s vocabulary, her appearance and demeanor, and her desire to be one of the boys and do everything they do without complaint complete the deception. This story also shows a welcome slant to this genre with an honorable, albeit strict Captain, and ship’s mates who are willing and able teachers. If readers are looking for a rousing, swashbuckling tale of pirates and adventures on the high seas, this title falls short. However, it is a good story of a brave ship’s “boy” with natural leadership abilities and a sense of fair play and humanity.  School Library Journal

Mississippi Jack: Being an Account of the Further Waterborne dventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman, Fine Lady, and Lily of the West (Bloody Jack Adventures) by L. A. Meyer

Y/A.  “The intrepid Jacky Faber, having once again eluded British authorities, heads west, hoping that no one will recognize her in the wilds of America. There she tricks the tall-tale hero Mike Fink out of his flatboat, equips it as a floating casino-showboat, and heads south to New Orleans, battling murderous bandits, British soldiers, and other scoundrels along the way. Will Jacky’s carelessness and impulsive actions ultimately cause her beloved Jaimy to be left in her wake?

Bold, daring, and downright fun, Jacky Faber proves once again that with resilience and can-do spirit, she can wiggle out of any scrape . . . well, almost.  Amazon  The Fifth book in the series

He’s With Me (I Heart Bikinis) by Tamara Summers

Y/A.  “Lexie’s longtime crush on Jake has never gone anywhere. But when teen-queen Bree sets her sights on Jake, he has to come up with a way to turn her down…without incurring the wrath of the most popular girl in school. A plan is hatched: Lexie can pretend to be Jake’s girlfriend. But Lexie has never had a real boyfriend, let alone a pretend one! Can she manage to convince everyone she’s Jake’s girlfriend and then convince Jake that they’re meant to be…for real?”  Amazon 

So Inn Love by Catherine Clark

Y/A.  “Reservations? Yes. A couple. Like: Is Hayden really as interested in me as I am in him? And is my roommate right—should I “beware of hookups”?

Confirmation? Doubtful. Oh, I’m sorry, I thought you said “commitment.”

Special Requests? Let me get through this summer without being fired and heartbroken.

Let me fall in love this summer.

Let me be part of the inn crowd.”  Amazon

The Swan Maiden by Heather Tomlinson

Teen, Y/A.  “When Dashti, a maid, and Lady Saren, her mistress, are shut in a tower for seven years for Saren’s refusal to marry a man she despises, the two prepare for a very long and dark imprisonment.

As food runs low and the days go from broiling hot to freezing cold, it is all Dashti can do to keep them fed and comfortable. But the arrival outside the tower of Saren’s two suitors—one welcome, and the other decidedly less so—brings both hope and great danger, and Dashti must make the desperate choices of a girl whose life is worth more than she knows.

With Shannon Hale’s lyrical language, this forgotten but classic fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm is reimagined and reset on the central Asian steppes; it is a completely unique retelling filled with adventure and romance, drama and disguise.”  Amazon

The Boyfriend League by Rachel Hawthorne

Y/A.  “The Ragland Rattlers

$1 Night

$1 baseball cap with home team logo
$1 program
$1 hot dogs
$1 drinks
$1 popcorn

But how much to get the hot pitcher to notice you exist?”  Amazon

Uninvited by Amanda Marrone

Y/A.  “When rejection comes back to bite you… Jordan’s life sucks. Her boyfriend, Michael, dumped her, slept his way through half the student body, and then killed himself. But now, somehow, he appears at her window every night, begging her to let him in.

Jordan can’t understand why he wants her, but she feels her resistance wearing down. After all, her life — once a broken record of boring parties, meaningless hookups, and friends she couldn’t relate to — now consists of her drinking alone in her room as she waits for the sun to go down.

Michael needs to be invited in before he can enter. All Jordan has to do is say the words….”  Amazon 

Two-way Street by Lauren Barnholdt

Y/A.  “there are two sides to every breakup.

This is Jordan and Courtney, totally in love. Sure, they were an unlikely high school couple. But they clicked; it worked. They’re even going to the same college, and driving cross-country together for orientation.

Then Jordan dumps Courtney — for a girl he met on the Internet.

It’s too late to change plans, so the road trip is on. Courtney’s heartbroken, but figures she can tough it out for a few days. La la la — this is Courtney pretending not to care.

But in a strange twist, Jordan cares. A lot.

Turns out, he’s got a secret or two that he’s not telling Courtney. And it has everything to do with why they broke up, why they can’t get back together, and how, in spite of it all, this couple is destined for each other.”  Amazon

Kissing Snowflakes by Abby Sher

Y/A.  “The picturesque montain ski lodge is the perfect place to spend winter break…if you have a boyfriend! Otherwise, that cozy leather couch in front of the crackling fire looks a lot less inviting. Good thing that there are lots of cute, blond, sweater-wearing ski instructors around to choose from….

This fun, sweet tale of holiday romance on the slopes is the perfect wintertime read!”  Amazon 

A Year In Europe: Three Novels by Rachel Hawthorne

 

Y/A.  “MEET THE GIRLS of A Year in Europe, a collection of three interconnecting novels about the adventures of traveling abroad.

Robin: Her junior year abroad in London takes a surprising turn when she falls for British hottie Kit.

Dana: Paris is the City of Love, and Dana’s on a mission to find a gorgeous French boyfriend.

Carrie: She’s crazy about Antonio, her Italian dream guy. If Carrie tells him the truth about her American heritage, she might lose him forever.

A Year in Europe. Three unforgettable stories. One unforgettable journey.”  Amazon

Model Spy (The Specialists) by Shannon Greenland

Y/A.  “Teen genius Kelly James is in a lot of hot water. A whiz with computers, she agreed to help her college RA, David, uncover some top-secret information. After all, she doesn’t have many friends and David has always been nice to her. it doesn’t hurt that he’s supercute and irresistible, too. All she has to do is hack into the government’s main computer system. but a few hours later, her whole life changes. she is caught and taken in for questioning, only this isn’t your run-of-the-mill arrest. rather than serve a juvenile detention sentence, she accepts the option to change her name and enlist in a secret government spy agency that trains teen agents to go undercover. As if that wasn’t overwhelming enough, she discovers that David works for this agency as well! And before she even begins to understand what is going on, she’s sent on her first mission as an undercover model. And who better to partner with than David himself!”  Amazon 

Down to the Wire (The Specialists) by Shannon Greenland

Y/A.  “GiGi is back, this time teaming up with electronics specialist Frankie, aka Wirenut, for their next mission. Wirenut has an uncanny knack for breaking into the highest-level security systems that stump even the experts. Which is precisely why he was recruited by the Specialists. So when wealthy entrepreneur Octavias Zorba hires the Specialists to recover a stolen neurotoxin, the head of the Specialists is sure that Wirenut is perfect for the job. But there’s a catch. The computer-coded hints that will lead to the neurotoxin are hidden in a few precious artifacts. And when these hints are found, there is limited time to get them decoded or they will disappear forever. But as GiGi and Wirenut begin their mission, they suddenly find themselves on a fast-paced hunt for the criminal, with time quickly running out….”  Amazon 

The Winning Element (The Specialists) by Shannon Greenland

Y/A  “With two successful missions behind her, GiGi is feeling confident and comfortable with the Specialists. Unfortunately, things are about to change. TL has informed her that a notorious chemical smuggler was personally responsible for the death of both her mother and father. The government has been trying to track him down for years, to no avail. Enter the Specialists, and this time, GiGi’s in charge of the mission. Only there’s a catch—the success of the mission depends on many things, including Beaker’s chemical expertise. And Beaker is the last person GiGi wants to deal with. When the mission deems it necessary to go to Florida, Beaker is ready. But when her cover has to be a cheerleader at the national cheerleading competition, Goth-girl Beaker is not too pleased. With personality conflicts, mission challenges, and the demanding schedule of the cheerleading competition, it’s difficult for Beaker and GiGi to focus on the task at hand. Can they put all things aside and find the smuggler, or will their window of opportunity be shut forever?”  Amazon.  Available 4/25/08.

Snowed In by Rachel Hawthorne

Y/A.  “Well, apparently I live here now—my mom just bought the place. And named it after me, Ashleigh, which was nice. But did she know how cold it is here??

Um, it’s a tiny island with not much to do, unless you really like sleigh rides. But I gotta say there are quite a few hot guys on this cold island . . .”  Amazon

The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the ImmortalNicholas Flamel by Michael Scott

Teen.  “Starred Review. Grade 6-9 – Scott uses a gigantic canvas for this riveting fantasy. The well-worn theme of saving the world from the forces of evil gets a fresh look here as he incorporates ancient myth and legend and sets it firmly, pitch-perfect, in present-day California. At the emotional center of the tale are contemporary 15-year-old twins, Josh and Sophie, who, it turns out, are potentially powerful magicians. They are spoken of in a prophecy appearing in the ancient Book of Abraham the Mage, all but two pages of which have been stolen by evil John Dee, alchemist and magician. The pursuit of the twins and Flamel by Dee and his allies to get the missing pages constitutes the book’s central plot. Amid all this exhilarating action, Scott keeps his sights on the small details of character and dialogue and provides evocative descriptions of people, mythical beings, and places. He uses as his starting point the figures of the historical alchemist Nicholas Flamel and his wife, who have found the secret of immortality, along with mythical beings, including the terrifying Scottish crow-goddess, the Morrigan; the three-faced Greek Hekate; the powerful Egyptian cat-goddess, Bastet; and Scathach, a legendary Irish woman warrior and vegetarian vampire. While there is plenty here to send readers rushing to their encyclopedias of mythology and alchemy, those who read the book at face value will simply be caught up in the enthralling story. A fabulous read.”  School Library Journal 

The Magician (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel) by Michael Scott

Teen.  “After fleeing Ojai, Nicholas, Sophie, Josh, and Scatty emerge in Paris, the City of Lights. Home for Nicholas Flamel. Only this homecoming is anything but sweet. Perenell is still locked up back in Alcatraz and Paris is teeming with enemies. Nicollo Machiavelli, immortal author and celebrated art collector, is working for Dee. He’s after them, and time is running out for Nicholas and Perenell. For every day spent without the Book of Abraham the Mage, they age one year—their magic becoming weaker and their bodies more frail. For Flamel, the Prophesy is becoming more and more clear.

It’s time for Sophie to learn the second elemental magic: Fire Magic. And there’s only one man who can teach it to her: Flamel’s old student, the Comte de Saint-Germain—alchemist, magician, and rock star. Josh and Sophie Newman are the world’s only hope—if they don’t turn on each other first.”  Amazon

A War of Gifts: An Ender Story by Orson Scott Card

Adult, Y/A.  “Set in a war-torn future, this novella moves from the series hero to Zeck, son of an abusive fundamentalist preacher. His phenomenal abilities for memorization and judging a situation make him an ideal candidate for the International Fleet’s Battle School, an academy that trains boys to be brilliant military leaders in an ongoing interstellar war. Despite his mental aptitudes, Zeck proves an unwilling pupil when he refuses to participate in battle simulations, claiming them to be against his religion. These beliefs make Zeck a pariah within the school, pushing him to cry foul when he sees two Dutch students quietly celebrate Christmas–or Sinterklaas Day–by exchanging satirical poems. This kicks off a cultural revolt, pitting students of different religions against one another and against the school in the name of religious freedom. Ender himself plays a small but pivotal role by confronting Zeck and forcing him to deal with the dark issues of his past. Sci-fi purists may be let down by the lack of technology and big-scale military drama that Card is often associated with, but readers looking for a short tale dealing with issues of cultural conflict, religious freedom, and personal discovery will have much to enjoy. Card’s well-imagined characters take this story to places that are both moving and satisfying.”  School Library Journal

Gentlemen of the Road: A Tale of Adventure by Michael Chabon, illus. by Gary Gianni.

  

Adult, Y/A.  “Set more than 1000 years ago, this tale of “Jews with Swords” follows two swindlers, Frankish physician Zelikman and giant African Amram, on their adventures. The young, recently orphaned and dethroned prince known as Filaq is traveling under duress to his grandfather’s house with his guardian when they come across Zelikman and Amram. When the guardian is murdered by pursuers, these two endeavor to complete his task and collect the reward for Filaq’s safe delivery. The prince is later kidnapped by a usurper’s followers, and Amram and Zelikman, along with a cast of soldiers, thieves, religious men, and merchants, set their sights on his rescue and restoration. The Kingdom of Arran and the little-known Khazar Empire, despite the historical distance, ring true, and Chabon clearly describes the sights, sounds, and smells of the region. Gianni’s illustrations help convey the setting and characters clearly. Through these characters’ travels, the author introduces numerous unfamiliar topics (rabbinates, shatranj, and ancient Middle Eastern politics, to name a few) and leaves readers both satisfied and eager to learn more. Although the vocabulary may challenge some teens, the story moves at a rapid pace and is full of surprises. It is sure to find a wide readership among those with an interest in Jewish history or swashbuckling adventure.”  School Library Journal

The Secret Between Us by Barbara Delinsky 

 

Adult, Y/A.  “Secrets, responsibilities, truths, lies, and justice are some of the issues woven into this story, which begins with Deborah Monroe and her daughter, Grace, driving home in the rain. They are arguing and Grace is at the wheel when out of nowhere a man appears and she hits him. Deborah immediately decides to take responsibility for the accident and sends Grace running home. Being a doctor, she quickly checks for vitals and waits for the police and EMTs. When they arrive, Dr. Monroe answers all their questions and, although she never really lies, she does neglect to tell the sheriff that it was Grace who was driving. Her lies continue as she lets the entire close-knit community and her family believe that she was responsible for the accident. Grace suffers for her mother’s well-intended lie, and circumstances become more complicated when the victim is identified as her history teacher. As the investigation gets underway, it is discovered that Mr. McKenna’s life wasn’t all it appeared to be. As the story continues, readers meet more people whose lives and secrets are exposed. This novel will have teens considering their own moral compass and asking just how honest, dishonest, and secretive anyone can be.”  School Library Journal

Gardens of Water: A Novel by Alan Drew

 

Adult, Y/A.  “Set in a small town outside Istanbul after the 1999 earthquake, this remarkable debut novel chronicles the complex relationships within and between American and Kurdish families. United by the illicit romance of Dylan, 17, and Irem, 15, two families cope with the losses presented by the quake and the challenges created by their cultural differences. Dylan’s father is one of the Christian Americans providing aid in the camp where Irem’s family has taken refuge. Her father, Sinan, must spend hours away from home working to support his family while also fighting to preserve their values amid incompatible cultural influences. As the relationship between Dylan and Irem develops, Sinan’s inner struggle between love and honor escalates, causing him to make a devastating decision that will end in tragedy for both families. The power and brilliance of this book lie in the skillfully crafted levels of the plot. Readers will find themselves engaged in Sinan’s fight to hold his family together while empathizing with Irem’s desire to redefine herself outside of her conservative Muslim heritage. At the same time, they will be engrossed in the emerging romance while also questioning the motives of the American aid workers in the camp. Sophisticated teens will be further rewarded with the exploration of changing cultural, political, and religious boundaries. This novel will generate a variety of interesting classroom and book club discussions.”  School Library Journal

Patrimony: A Pip & Flinx Adventure (Pip & Adventure Novels) by Alan Dean Foster 

 

Adult, Y/A.  “When a dying enemy gaspingly tells Flinx where his father might be found, the young space adventurer is unable to resist the chance to learn about his parentage. Flinx and his empathetic minidragon take a break from their quest to save the Commonwealth and travel to the planet of Gestalt. Under the pretense of doing sociological research on its inhabitants, Flinx gains information about a hermit who fits the criteria he has set for his father, known to have been part of a group experimenting in eugenics. When his skimmer and native Tlel guide are shot out of the sky and Flinx is stranded alone in the wilderness, he realizes that he must not only survive the bitter cold of an unknown planet, but also escape the bounty hunter out to collect the price on his head. Equal parts space opera, survival adventure, and bildungsroman, Patrimony is an exciting adventure that takes place in an interesting world. The setting and its inhabitants are fully realized: the Tlel, like most of the creatures on Gestalt, sense the electrical currents of everything around them and have no sense of smell; the plant life has its own defenses; various animals attack in surprising ways. While knowledge of the series would be helpful, this title stands fairly well on its own. Teens will relate to the protagonist and be engrossed in this fast-moving story.”  School Library Journal.  Last of a long series.

The Blooding of Jack Absolute by C.C. Humphreys

 

Adult, Y/A.  “This prequel to Humphreys’s Revolutionary War adventure Jack Absolute thrills as it broadens the background of the titular character. The novel opens with a young Jack living in rural England under the heel of his cruel cousin Craster and drunken Uncle Duncan. The somewhat accidental death of Duncan puts him in conflict with the local magistrate until his long-absent parents return and save him from punishment. His family then moves to London, where Jack schemes his way through high and low society, pretending to be a poet, developing underhanded moneymaking plots, and falling in love with every pretty girl he meets. He’s caught mid-dalliance with the alluring mistress of Lord Melbury, and he escapes only when his father kills the man in a duel. To avoid more trouble, Jack joins the military and ships out to Canada to fight in the Battle of Quebec. That explosive introduction to the Americas is just the beginning, though, as the protagonist encounters suspicious Indian tribes and gets lost in the winter wilds of the north with Craster. While Jack is not yet the brilliant spy of the earlier book, readers see glimmers of his skills. He is rash and brash, but also funny and charming. History buffs will find the historical details fairly accurate, but that’s not the point of this raucous tale. It’s best just to sit back and enjoy the wild, colorful adventures of a young man as he connives his way into adulthood.”  School Library Journal

Chasing Windmills by Catherine Ryan Hyde 

 

Adult/High School.  “Hyde’s coming-of-age novel is a reimagining of the classic tale of star-crossed lovers–intentionally reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story, but fresh and new as well. Sebastian, 17, and Maria, 24, meet while riding New York’s subway trains ’til the wee hours of the morning. He’s a sheltered homeschooler who sneaks out of the apartment after his controlling father takes his nightly sleeping pill. She’s a mother of two who’s afraid to tell her abusive husband that she’s lost her night-shift job. There’s also a fairy godmother–Delilah is a wise old woman who introduces Sebastian to the delights of pizza and DVDs and counsels him on love and the ways of the world. Sebastian and Maria alternate as narrators; short chapters make for a page-turning read and the distinct voices are sweet, soul-baring, and honest. Hyde writes evocatively of the visceral nature of first love. Her characters are well developed, and she describes settings (New York City, a cross-country bus trip, the Mojave Desert) economically but effectively. The ending is realistic and satisfying. Chasing Windmills will appeal to teens who enjoy realistic fiction and a good story about relationships.”  School Library Journal

Dead Man’s Hand: Crime Fiction at the Poker Table by Otto Penzler

 

Adult, Y/A.  “The mainstream popularity of poker and the intrigue of mystery and crime will ensure demand for this anthology. However, poker enthusiasts may be less satisfied than mystery fans, who will be attracted by such authors as Laura Lippman, Michael Connelly, and Alexander McCall Smith. Stories vary with respect to the depth to which the game is the central theme, but what they all have in common is their accessibility to readers who are not seasoned players. Mystery aficionados will enjoy John Lescroart’s “A Friendly Little Game,” in which the repressed memories of a father’s death lead to new clues in an old crime. Other stories, including Rupert Holmes’s “The Monks of the Abbey Victoria” and Jeffrey Deaver’s “Bump,” use poker as the façade to cover up larger crimes. Teens will be particularly attracted to the tales that portray young adult protagonists. In Joyce Carol Oates’s “Strip Poker,” a teen finds herself in a potentially dangerous poker game, only to turn the tables on her would-be attackers. Christopher Coake’s “Pitch Black” depicts the lengths to which fear and anger can take a teenage musician, and Sue DeNymme’s “Poker and Shooter” is a common yet chilling story of the popular crowd preying on less-fortunate students. Despite the variation in both quality and suspense, teens will find this volume more accessible, plausible, and entertaining than other recently published poker collections, such as Pete Hautman’s Full House.”  School Library Journal

Teen Reads – A collection of newer books from the most popular genres

Below is a collection of some of the teen books out there.  I have not read these, although we have some, and most look interesting.  There are some current popular themes:  vampires, werewolves, fantasy and historical. 

Parents should watch what their teens are reading.  Many of these books are not suitable for the younger teens, although my 14 year old tells me many of the vampire or romance ones are being read by her 8th grade classmates, and even she says they are not appropriate.  And she has been brought up in an atmosphere of trust and some restrictions – if you aren’t sure – then ask.  We keep an eye on, for some part, what movies our kids are watching (although I am shocked at what some of my 14 year old’s friends are allowed to watch, like Saw!)  But too many parents are leaving the book choices in the hands of their younger teens and they are choosing what the high schoolers read, and therefore not necessarily appropriate, depending on your views.

Since many of the searches that have found my posts on teen reads are about “clean” reads, I can see this is a concern for some parents.  Use your judgement – these listed here are for the older set, at least 8th grade, some older.  Anything labelled Y/A is high school, or older high school.  If in doubt, check http://www.schoollibraryjounral.com ( I tried to use as many reviews from SLJ as I could) and check the plot, parental boards, Amazon, and your school’s librarian.  But be aware that many school librarians do not have advanced training in library science, and simply say what the kids are checking out, when asked about books. 

Helping teens choose books to read is an important task – it helps mold their character, shape their development, and steer them into areas of reading that may become life-long interests.  I know I read a lot of Science Fiction as a child, and Historical Romances, and while the authors have changed, and I’ve given up on Romance for now, the interests have followed me through to age 50.  So help them choose wisely – a book that interests them, and slightly (emphasis on slightly) challenges them will help their reading skills, and since reading is a component of just about every academic area, their other classes as well, and far into the future of jobs and life.   The challenge should be slight, since a book that’s too difficult will turn them off, as will one that’s too easy, unless it’s a favorite, and a book that doesn’t challenge them but is at the right level is okay, but there will be no growth, so make a mix – some favorites or easier ones for fun, some at their level that they might enjoy, and some that challenge them a little so their reading skills continue to grow.

This advice comes from my own reading experiences, raising two reading daughters, volunteering/working in libraries most of my life, and working on a Master’s of Education in Reading before going to law school instead.  And be sure and spend some time reading out-loud to your teen – they’ll love the time with you, and maybe you can help them enjoy some books they might not otherwise.  And they’ll learn valuable listening skills.  If you come across a word that they may not understand, don’t interrupt the flow, but simply say in a quick aside a simpler term for that word, and continue on.  I’ve found this method works best – it doesn’t interrupt the story’s flow, and makes it less pedagogical to them, which helps prevent the bonds forming from slipping into that parental role – this is a time to be friends, sharing a book.

Books with just Amazon after the description are most likely from the publihser.  When there is no editorial review, I used a customer review.  All books are at least a *4 customer rating.  When in doubt I used Y/A, or if the plot/age of the heroine demanded it, Mature Y/A, meaning adult.

Teen (Ages 12 and up)

Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1) by Stephenie Meyer

Y/A.  “Starred Review. Grade 9 Up–Headstrong, sun-loving, 17-year-old Bella declines her mom’s invitation to move to Florida, and instead reluctantly opts to move to her dad’s cabin in the dreary, rainy town of Forks, WA. She becomes intrigued with Edward Cullen, a distant, stylish, and disarmingly handsome senior, who is also a vampire. When he reveals that his specific clan hunts wildlife instead of humans, Bella deduces that she is safe from his blood-sucking instincts and therefore free to fall hopelessly in love with him. The feeling is mutual, and the resulting volatile romance smolders as they attempt to hide Edward’s identity from her family and the rest of the school. Meyer adds an eerie new twist to the mismatched, star-crossed lovers theme: predator falls for prey, human falls for vampire. This tension strips away any pretense readers may have about the everyday teen romance novel, and kissing, touching, and talking take on an entirely new meaning when one small mistake could be life-threatening. Bella and Edward’s struggle to make their relationship work becomes a struggle for survival, especially when vampires from an outside clan infiltrate the Cullen territory and head straight for her. As a result, the novel’s danger-factor skyrockets as the excitement of secret love and hushed affection morphs into a terrifying race to stay alive. Realistic, subtle, succinct, and easy to follow, Twilight will have readers dying to sink their teeth into it.”  School Library Journal

New Moon (Twilight, Book 2) by Stephenie Meyer

Y/A.  “Grade 9 Up–Recovered from the vampire attack that hospitalized her in the conclusion of Twilight (Little, Brown, 2005), Bella celebrates her birthday with her boyfriend Edward and his family, a unique clan of vampires that has sworn off human blood. But the celebration abruptly ends when the teen accidentally cuts her arm on broken glass. The sight and smell of her blood trickling away forces the Cullen family to retreat lest they be tempted to make a meal of her. After all is mended, Edward, realizing the danger that he and his family create for Bella, sees no option for her safety but to leave. Mourning his departure, she slips into a downward spiral of depression that penetrates and lingers over her every step. Vampire fans will appreciate the subsequently dour mood that permeates the novel, and it’s not until Bella befriends Jacob, a sophomore from her school with a penchant for motorcycles, that both the pace and her disposition begin to take off. Their adventures are wild, dare-devilish, and teeter on the brink of romance, but memories of Edward pervade Bella’s emotions, and soon their fun quickly morphs into danger, especially when she uncovers the true identities of Jacob and his pack of friends. Less streamlined than Twilight yet just as exciting, New Moon will more than feed the bloodthirsty hankerings of fans of the first volume and leave them breathless for the third.”  School Library Journal

Eclipse (Twilight, Book 3) by Stephenie Meyer

Y/A.  “Readers captivated by Twilight and New Moon will eagerly devour Eclipse, the much anticipated third book in Stephenie Meyer’s riveting vampire love saga. As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob–knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?”  Amazon 

City of Bones (Mortal Instruments) by Cassandra Clare

Y/A.  “Grade 8 Up–When Clary Fray witnesses three tattoo-covered teenagers murder another teen, she is unable to prove the crime because the victim disappears right in front of her eyes, and no one else can see the killers. She learns that the teens are Shadowhunters (humans who hunt and kill demons), and Clary, a mundie (i.e., mundane human), should not be able to see them either. Shortly after this discovery, her mother, Jocelyn, an erstwhile Shadowhunter, is kidnapped. Jocelyn is the only person who knows the whereabouts of The Mortal Cup, a dangerous magical item that turns humans into Shadowhunters. Clary must find the cup and keep it from a renegade sector of Shadowhunters bent on eliminating all nonhumans, including benevolent werewolves and friendly vampires. Amid motorcycles powered by demon energies, a telepathic brotherhood of archivists, and other moments of great urban fantasy, the story gets sidetracked by cutesy touches, like the toasted bat sandwich on the menu of an otherworldly restaurant. The characters are sporadically characterized and tend toward behavior that is both predictable and slightly repellent–Clary finds out who her real father is about 200 pages after readers will have it figured out. Despite the narrative flaws, this version of New York, full of Buffyesque teens who are trying to save the world, is entertaining and will have fantasy readers anxiously awaiting the next book in the series.”  School Library Journal

City of Ashes (Mortal Instruments) by Cassandra Clare

Y/A.  “Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what’s normal when you’re a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who’s becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn’t ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary’s only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City’s Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.”  Amazon

Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz

Y/A.  “Grade 9 Up–De la Cruz has revamped traditional vampire lore in this story featuring a group of attractive, privileged Manhattan teens who attend a prestigious private school. Schuyler Van Alen, 15, the last of the line in a distinguished family, is being raised by her distant and forbidding grandmother. Schuyler, her friend Oliver, and their new friend Dylan are treated like outsiders by the clique of popular, athletic, and beautiful teens made up of Mimi Force, her twin brother, and her best friend. What they have in common is the fact that they are all Blue Bloods, or vampires. They don’t realize that they aren’t normal until they reach age 15. Then the symptoms manifest themselves and they begin to crave raw meat, have nightmares about events in history, and get prominent blue veins in their arms. Their immortality and way of life are threatened after Blue Blood teens start getting murdered by a splinter group called the Silver Bloods. This novel constantly name-drops and is full of product placements, drinking, drugs, nonexplicit sex, and superficial characterizations, but the intriguing plot will keep teens reading. De la Cruz’s explanation for the disappearance of the Colony of Roanoke is unique and the idea that models don’t gain weight because they are Blue Bloods rather than anorexic is unusual.”  School Library Journal

Masquerade by Melissa De La Cruz

Y/A.  “I picked up Masquerade after finishing Blue Bloods, Melissa de la Cruz’s first novel about the vampires aka Blue Bloods. This second effort follows-up where the first ended…the young Blue Blood, Schuyler Van Alen goes to Venice in search of her grandfather, Lawrence Van Alen whom she believes can help solve the mystery of the Silver Bloods, a deviant branch of vampires intent on destroying young Blue Bloods. Back in Manhattan, preparations are in full-swing for the Four Hundred Ball, the elite event for vampires only. We are re-introduced to familiar characters such as Jack and Mimi Force, the immortal twins, Bliss Llewellyn, Oliver Perry [Schuyler's conduit], and some new ones like Kingsley Martin, the new boy. I thought this was a better plotted novel than the first…there’s more intrigue, and also a lot more elaboration on what makes the Blue Bloods tick, i.e. their abilities, the training that goes into the young Blue Bloods, their weaknesses and of course the partial unravelling of the mystery of the Sivler Bloods. Schuyler Van Alen’s character is more well-defined here, and her relationships with Oliver and Jack are explored in more depth in this novel though with no real resolution. There is a lot more that needs to be explained, and I guess that’s to be found in the third novel, Revelations, which I am eagerly anticipating.”  Amazon Customer Review

A Great and Terrible Beauty (The Gemma Doy…by Libba Bray

Y/A.  “Grade 9 Up–Libba Bray’s new Gothic tale of a Victorian girls school with a deadly secret is brought to life in Josephine Bailey’s nuanced reading. At 16, Gemma must leave the only home she’s known–colonial India–when her mother kills herself under bizarre circumstances and Gemma is both confused and intrigued by the details. Although she longed to see London while her family lived abroad, Gemma is disappointed to find that she’s being packed off to finishing school there. At school, she stands up to the very circle of girls who seem to hold the most power, while also dealing with weird hallucinations and the furtive presence of the young man she first saw in Bombay on the day of her mother’s death. The school and its administration hold fast to a secret about the class of 1871, which passed through it nearly a quarter century before Gemma’s stay. As friendships develop between Gemma and three of the other students, and several of her teachers reveal interesting personal sides of themselves, the plot and the reader both tug the audience into the creepy depths beneath a cave on the school grounds. There the living girls find a pleasurable world populated by goddess figures–and Gemma’s dead mother. How all this ultimately connects with that mysterious class of 1871 will delight Gothic fans and inspire those new to the genre to taste such classic writers in it as Daphne du Maurier. The audiobook is further enhanced with an afterword spoken by the author–a young Texas woman who describes how she researched the background details she needed to realize a story set in a place and time so far from her own daily experiences. Highly recommended for all collections serving high school students.”  School Library Journal

Rebel Angels (The Gemma Doyle Trilogy)by Libba Bray

Y/A.  “Grade 8 Up–At the end of A Great and Terrible Beauty (Delacorte, 2003), Gemma Doyle was determined to rebuild the Order and find and destroy Circe. Now the teen finds that she must do one more thing–find the Temple and bind the magic she released into the realms when she destroyed the runes. Her task will not be easy; Kartik and the Rakshana have their own plans, which threaten her; a mysterious new teacher may be Circe; and Christmas in London challenges the careful facades that Gemma and her friends Ann and Felicity have built. Dark things are stirring within the realms, including a possibly corrupted Pippa, and the only guides are Gemma’s horrifying visions of three girls and the gibberish of a girl confined to Bedlam. Like the first volume, this is a remarkable fantasy steeped in Victorian sensibility; even as the girls fight to bind the magic, they are seduced by London society and the temptation to be proper young ladies. Gemma and her friends are pitch perfect as young women in a world poised for change, uncertain of their places. In many ways, this volume surpasses the first. The writing never falters, and the revelations (such as Felicity’s childhood of abuse, discreetly revealed) only strengthen the characters. Clever foreshadowing abounds, and clues to the mystery of Circe may have readers thinking they have figured everything out; they will still be surprised. This volume does not stand alone; however, any collection that doesn’t already have the first should just get both volumes.”  School Library Journal

The Sweet Far Thing (The Gemma Doyle Trilogy) by Libba Bray

Y/A.  “It has been a year of change since Gemma Doyle arrived at the foreboding Spence Academy. Her mother murdered, her father a laudanum addict, Gemma has relied on an unsuspected strength and has discovered an ability to travel to an enchanted world called the realms, where dark magic runs wild. Despite certain peril, Gemma has bound the magic to herself and forged unlikely new alliances. Now, as Gemma approaches her London debut, the time has come to test these bonds.

The Order – the mysterious group her mother was once part of – is grappling for control of the realms, as is the Rakshana. Spence’s burned East Wing is being rebuilt, but why now? Gemma and her friends see Pippa, but she is not the same. And their friendship faces its gravest trial as Gemma must decide once and for all what role she is meant for.”  Amazon

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

Y/A.  “Melissa Marr adds elegantly to the sub-genre of Urban Faery with this enticing, well-researched fantasy for teens. Wicked Lovely takes place in modern-day Huntsdale, a small city south of Pittsburgh whose name evokes the Wild Hunt of mythology. High school junior Aislinn and her grandmother have followed strict rules all their lives to hide their ability to see faeries because faeries don’t like it when mortals can see them, and faeries can be very cruel. Only the strongest faeries can withstand iron, however, so Aislinn prefers the city with its steel girders and bridges. She takes refuge with Seth, her would-be lover, who lives in a set of old train carriages.

But now Aislinn is being stalked by two of the faeries who are able to take on human form and are not deterred by steel. What do they want from her?

One is Keenan, the Summer King, who has been looking for his Queen for nine centuries, bound by the rules and rituals that govern his quest. The other is Donia, a victim of those rules, consigned to the role of Winter Girl when she failed Keenan’s test, yet still in love with him. Certain that Aislinn is the woman he must marry, Keenan shows up as a charismatic new student at her high school, unaware that she sees his true form. He’s determined to court her and is puzzled by her rebuffs. Suddenly, none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe is working anymore, but things aren’t going as Keenan expects either. Both will have to change, make startling compromises and enlist surprising allies if they want to break free from the wicked game that has ensnared them.

Their greatest challenge will be to avoid the fatal traps laid by Keenan’s mother, the Winter Queen. She will lose her power if Keenan finds his mate, and she will do anything to stop this. Unfortunately, she’s a little too over the top to be totally threatening, a campy version of Hans Christian Andersen’s Snow Queen — part Disney witch, part Endora in “Bewitched.” But this didn’t stop me from devouring the book.

Marr creates a fully realized world that conveys the details and the politics of faery life. The suspense remains taut, as the point of view shifts between Aislinn, Keenan and Donia, allowing the reader to develop sympathy for all of them. Marr’s lyrical language and sensual imagery capture both the confused emotions and the physicality of adolescence.

The romantic scenes are delicious. The fantasy of being pursued by two young men is alluring in itself, but when one is a pierced and tattooed sexy outsider and the other is a blindingly beautiful King of Faery, how much better can it get? Halfway through the book, I knew which characters I wanted to end up together, and that made me read greedily on. Readers will beg for a sequel.”  Washington Post’s Book World

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Adult, Mature Y/A.  “The author of the Twilight series of # 1 bestsellers delivers her brilliant first novel for adults: a gripping story of love and betrayal in a future with the fate of humanity at stake. Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.Wanderer, the invading “soul” who has been given Melanie’s body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn’t expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.Melanie fills Wanderer’s thoughts with visions of the man Melanie loves-Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body’s desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she’s never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love.Featuring what may be the first love triangle involving only two bodies, THE HOST is a riveting and unforgettable novel that will bring a vast new readership to one of the most compelling writers of our time.”  Amazon

Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Y/A.  “Grade 8 Up–Orphaned at 13, Quince Morris, now 17, has been living with her Uncle Davidson and managing the family’s restaurant. Her best friend and the love of her life, Kieran, is a werewolf in training who can not fully control the monster in him. As a result he will not return her affection for fear of the harm he could do to her. Within weeks of the grand reopening of the new vampire-themed restaurant, chaos breaks out. The chef is brutally murdered werewolf style, thus making Kieran a possible suspect. Quince has a month to transform the newly hired chef, Brad, into Sanguini’s vampire extraordinaire and at the same time deal with the fact that Kieran is abandoning her to join his own wolfpack and that Brad is making advances. Readers will be tantalized by this dark, romantic, and disturbing fantasy of vampires, werewolves, and a strong no-nonsense heroine. Fans of Stephenie Meyer and Annette Curtis Klause will eat it up.”  School Library Journal

Vampire Kisses (Vampire Kisses)by Ellen Schreiber

Teen.  “Grade 7 Up  – Raven, 16, doesn’t fit in at school or home. This goth-girl is obsessed with vampires and when a new family moves into the old town mansion, she is convinced that the son, Alexander, is a vampire. The story swirls around and through sibling rivalry, peer relationships, friendships, and love. Raven is a feisty protagonist with a quick wit and a real sense of self. She defends herself and her friends, often besting her peers with humor and a quick tongue. As her connection with Alexander deepens, she comes to understand her family better. It is through his shadowy character that readers are kept off balance. Schreiber weaves a tale that is more about acceptance and friendship than about vampire behavior and culture, and sustains a tone that draws readers to the characters rather than to horrific plot developments that would keep them reading. There is far less intensity than in Annette Curtis Klause’s Silver Kiss (Laurel-Leaf, 1992) and less moodiness than that found in Amelia Atwater-Rhodes’s Midnight Predator (2002) and Shattered Mirror (2001, both Delacorte). While the ending isn’t tied up in a neat and pretty bow, it fits the style and tone. All in all, a good read for those who want a vampire love story without the gore.”  School Library Journal

Vampire Kisses 2: Kissing Coffins by Ellen Schreiber

Teen.  “Grade 7 Up–This sequel to Vampire Kisses (HarperCollins, 2003) continues the love story between Goth-girl Raven and her vampire boyfriend. As this book opens, Alexander has left town and Raven decides she must hunt him down. She finds out that he is probably in a nearby town and it just so happens that she has an aunt who lives there AND it’s spring break AND her parents allow her to visit without any real explanation AND Raven’s aunt is extremely gullible so that Raven can sneak around and do what she needs to do. After Alexander is located and comes back to town, his evil nemesis, Jagger, decides to get revenge by biting Raven. Goofy high jinks ensue. Every step that the protagonist and her cohorts take is predictable, right up to the cliff-hanger ending. Schreiber’s sense of time is extremely skewed and the mentions of bands like the Smiths (Goth fare in the mid- to late ’80s) make readers question when the book is actually set until they happen upon mentions of Slipknot and Good Charlotte. Goth girls would certainly be attracted to the book based on the photo on the cover, but only middle school Goth wannabes who are closet Sweet Valley High readers will actually finish the book. Raven is far too saccharine and has no sulky-fierce Goth appeal, and the love story falls flat.”  School Library Journal

Vampire Kisses: Blood Relatives, Volume I…by Ellen Schreiber

Teen.  Manga Version of the Vampire Kisses line.  “The absolute last thing goth-girl Raven and her vampire boyfriend, Alexander, need is another hitch in their nighttime-only romance—but dark trouble hovers on the horizon when Raven and Alexander discover four freshly dug graves filled with empty coffins. When a crew of sketchy vampires takes up residence in Dullsville’s lonely graveyard, Alexander finds this motley bunch led by his very own blood-sucking cousin, Claude Sterling. Shocking! Claude and his creepy crew can only spell out more problems for the pair, especially when Raven finds them in daylight in the very last place she could ever imagine. What could Claude and his invaders be doing—or searching for—in Dullsville?”  Amazon

Marked (House of Night, Book 1) by PC Cast and Kristin Cast

Y/A.  “Grade 9 Up—In 16-year-old Zoey Redbird’s world, vampyres not only exist but are also tolerated by humans. Those whom the creatures “mark” as special enter the House of Night school where they will either become vampyres themselves, or, if their body rejects the change, die. To Zoey, being marked is truly a blessing, though she’s scared at first. She has never fit into the human world and has always felt she is destined for something else. Her grandmother, a descendant of the Cherokee, has always supported her emotionally, and it is she who takes the girl to her new school. But even there the teen stands apart from the others. Her mark from the Goddess Nyx is a special one, showing that her powers are very strong for one so young. At the House of Night, Zoey finds true friendship, loyalty, and romance as well as mistrust and deception. She realizes that all is not right in the vampyre world and that the problems she thought she left behind exist there as well. Readers will identify with many of the characters, especially the protagonist. The story moves quickly (a little too quickly at the end) and purposely leaves many unresolved issues. A good choice for those libraries serving fans of the occult, but be aware that the book contains some suggestive language and sex.”  School Library Journal

Betrayed (House of Night, Book 2) by PC Cast and Kristin Cast

Y/A.  “Fledgling vampyre Zoey Redbird has managed to settle in at the House of Night.She’s come to terms with the vast powers the vampyre goddess, Nyx, has given her, and is getting a handle on being the new Leader of the Dark Daughters. Best of all, Zoey finally feels like she belongs–like she really fits in. She actually has a boyfriend…or two. Then the unthinkable happens: Human teenagers are being killed, and all the evidence points to the House of Night. While danger stalks the humans from Zoey’s old life, she begins to realize that the very powers that make her so unique might also threaten those she loves. Then, when she needs her new friends the most, death strikes the House of Night, and Zoey must find the courage to face a betrayal that could break her heart, her soul, and jeopardize the very fabric of her world.”  Amazon

“The trials of growing up are presented in the new and original context of a vampire society, and they’re woven into a thoroughly entertaining story….This promises to be a highly addictive series.”
–Romantic Times (four and a half stars)

A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb

Y/A.  “Grade 9 Up–Helen died 130 years ago as a young woman. Unable to enter heaven because of a sense of guilt she carried at death, she has been silent and invisible but conscious and sociable across the generations. Her spirit has been sustained by its attachment to one living human host after another, including a poet and, most recently, a high-school English teacher. While she sits through his class one day, she becomes aware of James and he–unlike the mortals all around them–is aware of her as well. James, who also died years earlier, inhabits the body of a contemporary teen, Billy. James and Helen fall in love, he shows her how to inhabit the body of a person whose spirit has died but who still lives and breathes, and the two begin to unfold the mysteries of their own pasts and those of their adolescent hosts. Jenny, whose body Helen now uses, is the only child of strict religious parents who controlled her beyond what her spirit could endure. Billy’s spirit left his body after a string of tragedies resulting from drug abuse and domestic violence. James and Helen court in both modern and old-fashioned ways; here is a novel in which explicit sex is far from gratuitous or formulaic. Whitcomb writes with a grace that befits Helen’s more modulated world while depicting contemporary society with sharp insight. In the subgenre of dead-narrator tales, this book shows the engaging possibilities of immortality–complete with a twist at the end that wholly satisfies.”  School Library Journal

Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale by Holly Black

Mature Y/A.  “Tripping the dark fantastic with newcomer Black means pixie dust may very well include blood spatter, sharp thorns and bits of broken glass. At the center of this edgy novel is Kaye Fierch, a 16-year-old “Asian blonde” who spends most of her time taking care of a would-be rock star mom. When her mom’s latest boyfriend turns homicidal, they return to Gram’s house at the New Jersey shore, where Kaye hooks up with childhood friend Janet and her gay brother, Corny Stone. Stark images ripple through the third-person narrative, offering clues to Kaye’s internal state (e.g., “She loved the serene brutality of the ocean”). A covert sexual overture from Janet’s boyfriend precedes Kaye’s nighttime encounter at the edge of the woods, where she meets and rescues Roiben, a mysterious Black Knight with silver hair. Throughout, the author subtly connects Kaye’s awakening sexual feelings in the real world and Roiben’s sudden appearances. Kaye soon discovers that she is a changeling-and that her one-time “imaginary” faerie playmates want her to pretend to be a human, so they can use her as the Tithe (“the sacrifice of a beautiful and talented mortal”) to earn their freedom for seven years. The author’s Bosch-like descriptions of the Unseelie Court, with its Rackham-on-acid denizens, and the exquisite faeries haunt as well as charm. When fate intervenes, sudden tragedy teaches Kaye about the high cost of straddling the faerie and human worlds (and sets the stage for a possible sequel). A gripping read. Ages 12-up.”  School Library Journal.   My 14 year old daughter says she has friends who are reading this and she doesn’t think it’s approriate for the middle school range.  It won the Hugo Award.

Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie by Holly Black

Mature Y/A.  “Grade 9 Up—Val Russell runs away from home after discovering her mom and her boyfriend making out. In New York, she meets two eccentric, homeless teens who take her to their hideout in the subway tunnels where Dave’s older brother runs an underground operation dealing potions to faeries. Lolli introduces her to the land of Faerie by shooting up an otherworldly substance called Never (named after Edgar Allan Poe’s “Nevermore” from The Raven). Val and Lolli are caught by Ravus, the powerful troll they work for. After enduring his rage and bargaining for Lolli’s life in true Beauty and the Beast fashion, Val is bound to Ravus for indefinite servitude and falls in love with him. In Holly Black’s dark fantasy (S & S, 2005), filled with twists and turns, her vivid portrayal of the homeless teenagers is harsh, realistic, and apt. Narrator Renee Raudman’s excellent voice-overs bring the characters to life, and listeners will relate to the teens. School libraries considering purchasing this book should be aware that there is strong language, sex, violence, and rampant drug and alcohol use. A unique mixture of fairy tales, urban stories, and fantasy, this title will fly off the library shelf. For public libraries, Valiant is a must for fans of Black’s Tithe (S & S, 2002).”  School Library Journal

Ironside: A Modern Faery’s Tale by Holly Black

Mature Y/A.  “Finding your place in the world is no picnic at the best of times, but pixie changeling Kaye finds it tougher than most. And no wonder: her boyfriend has been crowned king of the Unseelie Court and her best friend suffers from a faery’s curse. In this follow-up to Black’s previous two books about the urban fey, Kaye and her gay friend Corny (from Tithe, 2003) meet brothers Luis and Dave (from Valiant, 2005), and the teens are caught in the middle of a clash between the rival faery courts. As characters struggle to shape their identities, quintessential coming-of-age themes are as skillfully interwoven as in the earlier adventures, as are seductive contradictions: faeries who cannot lie nonetheless find ways to connive and betray, loyalty and love are wielded as weapons, and ethereal beauty often masks cruelty of the ugliest sort. The chilling game of wits culminates in a satisfying conclusion to this dark, edgy fantasy, a must-purchase for Black’s many devoted fans.”  Booklist

The Last Knight (Knight and Rogue) by Hilari Bell

“Grade 8–10—Longing for adventure, 18-year-old Sir Michael declares himself a knight errant (although the book has a medieval-era setting, no one has heard of such a thing in many years and the idea often gets him laughed at). Fisk, 17, is his indebted and unwilling squire. After rescuing Lady Ceciel from her prison tower, they learn that she is not a damsel in distress, but rather an accused murderess. Their attempts to bring her to justice result in her comeuppance and in the teens’ tightly forged friendship that will clearly lead to further adventures. The novel is brimming with saved-by-a-hair escapades and fast-paced realistic action, told alternately from each teen’s point of view. Their world is filled with “magica,” a gift that allows its possessor to perform extraordinary tasks. In fact, while Michael and Fisk’s bravery and wits frame their approach to the problems they incur, it is magica that enables them to escape their would-be dire fate. Nevertheless, the underlying messages could not be more real: the importance of truth, the value of friendship, and the need for staying true to oneself. Delivered skillfully, these ideas are sure to leave their mark on readers. Unusual and invented vocabulary is employed throughout. Like Bell’s The Goblin Wood(2003) and The Wizard Test(2005, both HarperCollins), this well-created fantasy is a great read with worthwhile moral issues pertinent to its intended audience.  School Library Journal

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

Y/A.  “When Dashti, a maid, and Lady Saren, her mistress, are shut in a tower for seven years for Saren’s refusal to marry a man she despises, the two prepare for a very long and dark imprisonment. 

As food runs low and the days go from broiling hot to freezing cold, it is all Dashti can do to keep them fed and comfortable. But the arrival outside the tower of Saren’s two suitors—one welcome, and the other decidedly less so—brings both hope and great danger, and Dashti must make the desperate choices of a girl whose life is worth more than she knows.

With Shannon Hale’s lyrical language, this forgotten but classic fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm is reimagined and reset on the central Asian steppes; it is a completely unique retelling filled with adventure and romance, drama and disguise.”  Amazon

Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause

Y/A.  “Characterizing the adolescent experience as monstrous is not exactly a new idea. M.T. Anderson’s woefully confused teen vampire in Thirsty and Jean Thesman’s reluctant young witch in The Other Ones serve as excellent examples of this metaphor set to fiction. But no one really captures how our hormones make us howl as well as Annette Curtis Klause. Blood and Chocolate chronicles the longings and passions of one Vivian Gandillon, teenage werewolf. Her pack family, recently burned out of their West Virginia home by suspicious neighbors, has resettled in a sleepy Maryland suburb. At her new school, Viv quickly falls for sensitive heartthrob Aiden, a human–or “meat-boy,” as her pack calls him. Soon she is trying to tame her undomesticated desires to match his more civilized sensibilities. “He was gentle. She hadn’t expected that. Kisses to her were a tight clutch, teeth, and tongue… His eyes were shy beneath his dark lashes, and his lips curved with delight and desire–desire he wouldn’t force on her… he was different.” But Vivian’s animal ardor cannot be stilled, and she must decide if she should keep Aiden in the dark about her true nature or invite him to take a walk on her wild side.

Klause poetically describes the violence and sensuality of the pack lifestyle, creating a hot-blooded heroine who puts the most outrageous riot grrrls to shame. Blood and Chocolate is a masterpiece of adolescent angst wrapped in wolf’s clothing, and its lovely, sensuous taste is sure to be sweet on the teenage tongue. (Ages 13 and older).”  School Library Journal.  This is one my 14 yr old has seen her friends reading.

Jinx by Meg Cabot

Y/A.  “Grade 7 Up—Jean Honeychurch is so unlucky that even her family calls her Jinx. To escape an unpleasant situation with a boy who refuses to let her end their relationship, Jinx moves from Iowa to Manhattan to live with her aunt and her family in their swanky Upper East Side townhouse. It’s no surprise that the klutzy, small-town 16-year-old doesn’t fit in with über-chic cousin Tory and her friends, and she definitely doesn’t share their fondness for drugs and alcohol. Tory, who has been practicing witchcraft for some time, soon realizes that Jinx also has the gift and invites her cousin to join her coven. But Jinx knows the dangers of playing with magic and refuses. Tory sees Jinx’s snub as a threat and plots against her. Though she wants to leave magic behind, Jinx must learn to harness the mysterious powers that are her birthright before Tory does too much damage. Cabot creates believable conflict and avoids being too fantastical, as Tory’s mental instability is more dangerous than her Wiccan powers. In the vein of Avalon High (2006) and “The Mediator” series (both HarperCollins), the author delivers her signature blend of romance and wit, successfully combining upper-crust chick-lit and a tad of the supernatural into an entertaining potion that is sure to please her fans and draw in new readers.”  School Library Journal

Peeps by Scott Westerfeld

Y/A.  “Starred Review. Grade 9 Up–Vampire stories are a staple of the publishing industry. They are usually romantic and sexy, steeped in a dreamy magic. Peeps is none of those–well, maybe a little sexy. Nineteen-year-old Cal, a Texas transplant, lost his virginity–and a lot more–when he first arrived in New York City. He became a parasite-positive, or peep–he prefers not to use the v-word. Now he works for the Night Watch, a secret branch of city government dedicated to tracking others of his kind. Unlike the rare natural carriers like Cal, who has acquired night vision, superhuman strength, and a craving for lots of protein, most peeps are insane cannibals lurking in darkness. But now the teen has found the young woman who infected him–and learns that something worse than peeps is threatening the city, and he is on the front lines. Cal’s voice is genuine–he’s a little geeky, as evidenced by the intermittent discussions on parasites, and he laces a dry humor through this immensely reasonable biological vampire story. The evocation of NYC is exactly right, so that even the most fantastic elements of the plot feel believable. Much of the story is concerned with Cal’s detective work and growing relationship with Lace, his Major Revelation Incident (he tells her his secret); toward the end, the action picks up in a race to reveal the horrors to come. This innovative and original vampire story, full of engaging characters and just enough horror without any gore, will appeal to a wide audience.”  School Library Journal

The Last Days by Scott Westerfeld

Y/A  “Starred Review. Grade 8 Up–The names of rock bands are used for chapter titles in this intriguing, fast-paced sequel to Peeps (Penguin, 2005), and music permeates the novel. While mysterious, dark happenings have taken over New York City’s hot, humid summer (black water bubbling from faucets and hydrants, and rats congregating in packs on city streets), Moz, an aspiring guitarist, and his closest associate, Zahler, search for promising musicians to complete their sound. One night, as Moz tries to save a vintage 1975 Fender Stratocaster as it is inexplicably thrown out of an apartment window, he meets Pearl, an attractive and slightly off-center musical genius. With the help of Zahler, they recruit a street drummer named Alana Ray, and Pearl convinces her talented singer friend Minerva, who is recuperating from a serious illness that appears to have left her with a strange desire for human blood, to join them. Moz and Pearl work through power issues as they become closer. And as the danger to New York City begins to escalate, the band’s evolving music and especially the energized singing of Minerva–both described in great detail–play a central role in calling up the deadly forces and ultimately helping to defeat them. The dialogue is crisp and clear and alternately funny and biting. While it will help to read Peeps first, this novel stands on its own. It’s a real winner.”  School Library Journal

Scarlet Moon by Debbie Viguié

Y/A.  “The True Face of Love

Ruth’s grandmother lives in the forest, banished there for the “evil” that the townsfolk believed she practiced. But if studying the stars, learning about nature, and dreaming of flying is evil, then Ruth is guilty of it too. Whenever Ruth took food and supplies to her grandmother, she would sit with the old woman for hours, listening and learning.

When she wasn’t in the woods, Ruth was learning the trade of her father, a blacksmith, now that her brother would never return from the Crusades.

Amidst those dark days, a new man enters Ruth’s life. William is a noble with a hot temper and a bad name, and he makes her shiver. But the young man is prey to his heritage, a curse placed on his family ages ago, and each male of the family has strange blood running in his veins. Now Ruth must come face-to-face with his destiny at Grandma’s house.”  Amazon

Glass Houses (The Morganville Vampires, Book 1) by Rachel Caine

Y/A.  “From the author of the popular Weather Warden series. Welcome to Morganville, Texas.

Just don’t stay out after dark.

College freshman Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation, where the popular girls never let her forget just where she ranks in the school’s social scene: somewhere less than zero.

When Claire heads off-campus, the imposing old house where she finds a room may not be much better. Her new roommates don’t show many signs of life. But they’ll have Claire’s back when the town’s deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood.”  Amazon 

The Dead Girls’ Dance (The Morganville Vampires, Book 2) by Rachel Caine

Y/A.  “Claire has her share of challenges. Like being a genius in a school that favors beauty over brains; homicidal girls in her dorm, and finding out that her college town is overrun with the living dead. On the up side, she has a new boyfriend with a vampire-hunting dad. But when a local fraternity throws the Dead Girls’ Dance, hell is really going to break loose.”  Amazon

Midnight Alley (The Morganville Vampires, Book 3) by Rachel Caine

Y/A.  “Claire Danvers’s college town may be run by vampires but a truce between the living and the dead made things relatively safe. For a while. Now people are turning up dead, a psycho is stalking her, and an ancient bloodsucker has proposed private mentoring. To what end, Claire will find out. And it’s giving night school a whole new meaning.”  Amazon

Ill Wind (Weather Warden, Book 1) by Rachel Caine

Mature Y/A.  “Joanne Baldwin is a weather warden, who can control the weather and keep it from being more chaotic and destructive than it already is. She is on the run, though, for she is accused of killing a senior warden, which she did, sort of: a thread of corruption runs through some of the most powerful wardens, one of which put a Demon Mark on her and then died. Her only hope now is to get a djinn from her old friend Lewis, who stole three of them^B from the council of the wardens many years ago. As she runs, she picks up a hitchhiker who knows things an ordinary person wouldn’t, and who offers help. With djinns and other wardens, including those sent to arrest her, all giving her conflicting information, Joanne never quite knows whom to trust in this romantic escapist romp rife with danger, excitement, and even classic cars.”  Booklist

Heat Stroke (Weather Warden, Book 2) by Rachel Caine

Mature Y/A.  “Mistaken for a murderer, Weather Warden Joanne Baldwin is hunted down and killed by her colleagues. Reborn as a Djinn, she senses something sinister entering earth’s atmosphere-something that makes tomorrow’s forecast look deadly.”  Amazon 

Magic Bites (Kate Daniels Series, Book 1) by Ilona Andrews

Mature Y/A.  “Kate Daniels lives in a world in which magic fluctuations are an everyday occurrence. In fact, she makes her living off of these disruptions. However, her world is turned upside down when a vampire delivers a message about her guardian. Kate agrees to work for the Order to avenge the death of her guardian and soon finds herself in the midst of an ongoing conflict between the two major supernatural groups, the People and the Pack. Kate is in for some unpleasant surprises as she delves deeply into Atlanta’s magical world.

MAGIC BITES is what urban fantasy is all about! Ilona Andrews has written a tale that is not for the faint of heart as she is not afraid to take risks. There is little, if any, romance in this tale and the gore level is high. However, it is the phenomenal world building that makes MAGIC BITES such a success. Ilona Andrews takes a darker approach to vampires and shape shifters and the complexity of her world is astounding.

Kate Daniels is a great lead female character. She is the ultimate action heroine as she charges right into the thick of things. She is a bit brusque at times but Ilona Andrews does an excellent job at making Kate likeable in spite of her attitude. There is also a bit of a mystery surrounding Kate as tantalizing hints are dropped throughout the novel.

MAGIC BITES is a welcome entry to the urban fantasy genre. It is easy to forget that this is a first novel by Ilona Andrews as the tale is so well done. I can’t wait for the sequel as MAGIC BITES is easily recommended! “  Amazon Customer Review

Urban Shaman (The Walker Papers, Book 1) by C.E. Murphy

 

Mature Y/A.  “Joanne Walker has three days to learn to use her shamanic powers and save the world from the unleashed Wild Hunt.

No worries. No pressure. Nevermind the lack of sleep, the perplexing new talent for healing from fatal wounds, or the cryptic, talking coyote who appears in her dreams.

And if all that’s not bad enough, in the three years Joanne’s been a cop, she’s never seen a dead body — but she’s just come across her second in three days.

It’s been a bitch of a week. And it isn’t over yet.”  Amazon

Staying Dead (Retrievers, Book 1) by Laura Anne Gilman

Mature Y/A.  “Manhattan’s night life just got weirder . . .

It starts as a simple job — but simple jobs, when you’re dealing with the magical world, often end up anything but.

As a Retriever, Wren Valere specializes in finding things gone missing — and then bringing them back, no questions asked. Normally her job is stimulating, challenging and only a little bit dangerous. But every once in a while . . .

Case in point: A cornerstone containing a spell is stolen and there’s a magical complication. (Isn’t there always?) Wren’s unique abilities aren’t enough to lay this particular case to rest, so she turns to some friends: a demon (minor), a mage who has lost his mind, and a few others, including Sergei, her business partner (and maybe a bit more?).

Sometimes what a woman has to do to get the job done is enough to give even Wren nightmares . . . “  Amazon

Greywalker (Greywalker, Book 1) by Kat Richardson

Mature Y/A.  “PI Harper Blaine sees a strange shift in clientele in Richardson’s dizzy urban fantasy debut. After being dead for two minutes as a result of a clobbering by an angry perp, Harper discovers icky side effects complicate her Seattle life in unexpected ways—she sees ghosts and attracts otherworldly business as she pops in and out of a shadowy overlapping world. Harper seeks the assistance of Ben Danziger, self-proclaimed “ghost guy” and linguistics professor, and his wife, Mara, a witty Irish witch. They educate Harper on the Grey, “a place between our world and the next.” Harper tries to maintain a normal life, dating a sexy antiques expert while battling wits with Seattle’s vampire king, but being a Greywalker means she can only “pass for human.” Fast-paced fun, this first novel will captivate fans of Charmed, Buffy and Charlaine Harris (Definitely Dead).”  Booklist 

The Scent of Shadows (Sign of the Zodiac, Book 1) by Vicki Pettersson

Mature Y/A.  “Despite its romance pedigree (Kim Harrison and Charlaine Harris contribute advance praise), this moody, fast-paced debut falls into the growing “dark fantasy” category, which blends fantasy, comic book superheroism and paranormal romance, but holds no promise of a happily-ever-after. The book’s heroine, Joanna Archer, has spent the years following a brutal attack learning martial arts and trolling Sin City, Nev., for trouble. On the eve of her 25th birthday, she finds it in the form of a peculiar date who looks like a gaunt banker one moment and like hell spawn the next. Joanna fights her way out of his grasp, but her close encounter is only the beginning. Before long, she finds herself caught up in a world where a superhuman few—the Light—fight evil from the Shadow realm, a world in which she’s recognized as the “Kairos,” a prophesied warrior made up of both Shadow and Light who’s destined to help Light prevail. Pettersson centers her story around the signs of the Zodiac, putting an imaginative spin on a familiar setup. Though graphic scenes (in which tongues are severed, heads ripped off, etc.) will repel some readers, others will embrace Pettersson’s enduring, tough-as-nails heroine and anticipate gleefully the next volume, due in April.”  Publishers Weekly

The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause

Teen.  “Zoe is 16 and facing bereavement: her mother is dying of cancer, and her father seems to be excluding her from her mother’s hospital bedside. No one dares speak to Zoe about the family tragedy, and she is isolated by grief, anger and fear. Then she meets the alluring, enigmatic Simon (“His eyes were dark, full of wilderness and stars”), who has an uncanny ability to recognize her feelings. After a series of nocturnal meetings, Zoe learns that Simon is a vampire kept alive by his thirst to avenge the death of his own mother three centuries ago. Drawn to him by an empathy charged with both longing and fear, Zoe agrees to participate in a dangerous scheme to trap Simon’s mother’s supernatural killer. The two emerge from their encounter able to mourn and acknowledge their losses. First-novelist Klause is excessively ambitious in her juggling of genres and themes; as a result, her suspense is uneven, her love story inadequately rooted and her resolution just a bit pat. Nevertheless, the use of the vampire figure to exorcise Zoe’s complex feelings and often striking prose attest to an intelligent and original eye. Ages 14-up.”  Publishers Weekly 

Midnighters #1: The Secret Hour (Midnighters) by Scott Westerfeld

Teen.  “Grade 6-10–Moving when you’re in high school is difficult enough, especially when your parents can’t seem to hold their own lives together and your younger sister is being more obnoxious than usual. However, for 15-year-old Jessica Day, these concerns pale when bizarre things start to happen and she discovers that she now has unwanted magical powers. Part science fiction, part horror story, this novel is the first in a series about the midnighters, a select group of individuals whose birth at the stroke of midnight gives them the special ability to move about in a mysterious 25th hour. As Jessica takes her place among these extraordinary teens, she must battle the increasingly dangerous slithers and other darklings that have suddenly become more violent and aggressive. The story is exciting and the writing compelling. Gaps in the account will not bother readers, who will be totally absorbed by the paranormal elements as well as the intriguing characters, and who will be eagerly awaiting the next book.”  School Library Journal

Midnighters #2: Touching Darkness (Midnigh…by Scott Westerfeld

Teen.  “In the town of Bixby, anyone born at midnight has access to a secret hour. The hour is also inhabited by dark creatures that prey on man. The first volume ended as one young midnighter discovers her midnighter power as a Lightbringer. It is now two weeks later. Now that the Midnighters have a powerful new weapon to use against the darklings trouble arises from a completely different direction.

Midnighter talents can be used for more than just the battle against the darklings. They can also be used to detect patterns in the Blue Time. These patterns detect a null spot in town that hides a secret. A secret that has worked very hard to remain hidden and something inside the null area is toying with the group’s Mindcaster. Discovering what is inside the null area also reveals more about the town of Bixby and its history with the Secret Hour. Now the Midnighters learn their true destinies and why they seem to be the only Midnighters.

This volume is rich in revelation. National trends had a different affect in Bixby due to its unique situation. This use of history meshed with the series framework works very well. The revelations go a long way to solidifying the series premises. I will not reveal any of these revelations as that would take away a lot of the fun of this volume. If you liked the first book and want more then will find plenty of it in this second volume of the trilogy. Check it out.”  Amazon Customer Review

Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy, Book 1) by Richelle Mead

Mature Y/A.  “After two years on the run, best friends Rose, half-human/half-vampire, and Lissa, a mortal vampire princess, are caught and returned to St. Vladimir’s Academy. Up until then, Rose had kept Lissa safe from her enemies; school, however, brings both girls additional challenges and responsibilities. How they handle peer pressure, nasty gossip, new relationships, and anonymous threats may mean life or death. Likable narrator Rose hides doubts about her friend behind a tough exterior; orphan Lissa, while coping with difficult emotional issues such as depression and survivor’s guilt, uses her emerging gifts for good. Mead’s absorbing, debut YA novel, the first in a new series, blends intricately detailed fantasy with a contemporary setting, teen-relevant issues, and a diverse, if sometimes sterotyped, cast of supporting characters. Occasional steamy sex and a scattering of vulgar language demand mature readers, but teens able to handle the edgy elements will speed through this vamp story and anticipate the next installment.”  Booklist

The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle by L. J. Smith

Y/A.  “Elena: the golden girl, the leader, the one who can have any boy she wants.

Stefan: brooding and mysterious, he seems to be the only one who can resist Elena, even as he struggles to protect her from the horrors that haunt his past.

Damon: sexy, dangerous, and driven by an urge for revenge against Stefan, the brother who betrayed him. Determined to have Elena, he’d kill to possess her.

Collected here in one volume for the first time, volumes one and two of The Vampire Diaries, the tale of two vampire brothers and the beautiful girl torn between them.”  Amazon  http://www.ljanesmith.net

The Vampire Diaries: The Fury and Dark Reunion by L. J. Smith

Y/A.  “Elena: transformed, the golden girl has become what she once feared and desired.

Stefan: tormented by losing Elena, he’s determined to end his feud with Damon once and for all—whatever the cost. But slowly he begins to realize that his brother is not his only enemy.

Damon: at last, he possesses Elena. But will his thirst for revenge against Stefan poison his triumph? Or can they come together to face one final battle?

Collected here in one edition are the third and fourth volumes of The Vampire Diaries, a riveting conclusion to the tale of two vampire brothers and the beautiful girl torn between them.”  Amazon

Latest Teen Reads – newest ones for the younger teen/pre-teen

The following books are not ones that I or my daughters have read yet.  Some are in our TBR (To Be Read) pile, and some we don’t have yet due to a sadly limited book budget – if I could, I’d run out and get them all!  If you are worried about “clean” books, I suggest you run the books through http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com, which gives more details about suitability.   Or check out http://cleanreads.blogspot.com/, 1/31/08 post.  As for the rest, I used Amazon’s age range, which is not always accurate, in my estimation.  Check the story line, and read the reviews on Amazon if you’re not sure.   Since we haven’t read these, there are no guarantees, but then there never are in the book world – one person’s favorite will be another’s throwaway.  Many of these are suitable for both boys and girls, depending on their tastes.  Just enjoy!

Tunnels (Book 1) by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams

Ages 9-12.  “14-year-old Will Burrows has little in common with his strange, dysfunctional family. In fact, the only bond he shares with his eccentric father is a passion for archaeological excavation. So when his dad mysteriously vanishes, Will is compelled to dig up the truth behind his disappearance. He unearths the unbelievable: a subterranean society that time forgot. “The Colony” has existed unchanged for a century, but it’s no benign time capsule of a bygone era. Because the Colony is ruled by a merciless overclass, the Styx. Will must free his father–is he also about to ignite a revolution?”  Amazon Reviews

The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull

Ages 9-12.  “What if there were a place where you could get magical candy? Moon rocks that made you feel weightless. Jawbreakers that made you unbreakable. Or candy that gave animals temporary human intelligence and communication skills. (Imagine what your pet would say!) Four young friends, Nate, Summer, Trevor, and Pigeon, are befriended by Belinda White, the owner of a new candy shop on Main Street. However, the gray-haired, grandmotherly Mrs. White is not an ordinary candy maker. Her confections have magical side effects. Purposefully, she invites the kids on a special mission to retrieve a hidden talisman under Mt. Diablo Elementary School. However, Mrs. White is not the only magician in town in search of the ancient artifact rumored to be a fountain of youth. She is aware that Mr. Stott, the not-so-ordinary ice cream truck driver, has a few tricks of his own.”

The Black Book of Secrets by F.E. Higgins

Ages 9-12.  “A boy arrives at a remote village in the dead of night. His name is Ludlow Fitch—and he is running from a most terrible past. What he is about to learn is that in this village is the life he has dreamed of—a safe place to live, and a job, as the assistant to a mysterious pawnbroker who trades people’s deepest, darkest secrets for cash. Ludlow’s job is to neatly transcribe the confessions in an ancient leather-bound tome: THE BLACK BOOK OF SECRETS.

Ludlow yearns to trust his mentor, who refuses to disclose any information on his past experiences or future intentions. What the pawnbroker does not know is, in a town brimming with secrets, the most troubling may be held by his new apprentice.”

“Higgins, framing her book as texts discovered in a hallowed wooden leg, expertly sustains the audience’s curiosity, revealing just enough information to keep readers riveted.  And for all the grisly details, the novel gets at important themes about self-determination and trust. Original and engrossing.” – Publishers Weekly starred review

The Hound of Rowan: Book One of The Tapestry by Henry H. Neff

Ages 9-12.  “MAX MCDANIELS LIVES a quiet life in the suburbs of Chicago, until the day he stumbles upon a mysterious Celtic tapestry. Many strange people are interested in Max and his tapestry. His discovery leads him to Rowan Academy, a secret school where great things await him.

But dark things are waiting, too. When Max learns that priceless artworks and gifted children are disappearing, he finds himself in the crossfire of an ancient struggle between good and evil. To survive, he’ll have to rely on a network of agents and mystics, the genius of his roommate, and the frightening power awakening within him.”

100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson

Ages 9-12.  “This book is for fiction and fantasy buffs of all ages and it was all but impossible to put down. You will easily get wrapped up in the frightening world presented by Lorey in this book. These days there is no shortage of books that involve fantasy, magic, and adventure; however Lorey’s combination of those three genres works well. Nightmare Academy also brings a shockingly refreshing amount of originality to the idea of a school for “talented” children, resulting in a resounding triumph for any post-Harry Potter series. I found it very enjoyable.”  Customer Review, smurf82 

Darkside (Book 1) (Darkside) by Tom Becker

Ages 9-12.  “Jonathan Starling’s home has been attacked, his dad is in an asylum, he’s running for his life, and there’s nowhere to hide. Jonathan has stumbled upon London’s greatest secret: Darkside. Incredibly dangerous and unimaginably exciting, Darkside is the creepiest place Jonathan has ever seen. It’s a world of nightmares and secrets, where fear and evil rule, and Jonathan has to find a way out….

Since Tom Becker learned to hold a pen, he wanted to become a writer. In fact, when he was five years old, he wrote in a notebook that it was his dream was to be an author. Tom studied History at Oxford University and was inspired by the otherworldly atmosphere of this academic institution. He used to spend long days studying and reading in the University library, but now he spends long days writing.”

Airman by Eoin Colfer

“I love the Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, Book 1) series and Half Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer, so I was excited to pick up this book and delve into a story of adventure in the great blue yonder. What I didn’t expect was how enraptured I would become by this book, especially after reading the first chapter that made me roll my eyes with its campiness.

Conor Broekhart was born to fly, or more accurately, he was born flying. From his legendary birth in a hot air balloon to his heroic feat saving the princess from a deadly fire by turning a flag into a parachute, Conor has always looked to the skies for inspiration. But when his tutor and king are both killed in a plot to take over the government, Conor spends the next two years in prison, thinking his father has turned his back on him and his love blames him for the death of her father the king.

After nearly loosing himself in the inhumane conditions of the prison mines, Conor finds escape drawing designs for flying machines on his cell walls. His plans finally take flight ex machina in the form of a balloon that carries him to safety. Conor must then decide if he will turn his back on those who abandoned him or stand against the evils that threaten the freedom of his nation.

It was like reading The Count of Monte Cristo (Penguin Classics), The Princess Bride: S Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure and an H.G. Wells novel all in one. It had all of the elements of a great adventure novel in a very contemporary writing style. It made me laugh, it broke my heart, and it left me wanting more. I absolutely adore this book and hope that Colfer continues to write adventure novels.

This book is for a slightly older audience than Colfer’s usual readers because of its complex themes and sometimes violent overtones, but it is still an appropriate book for advanced middle grade readers, high school students or adventurers of any age.”  Amazon Customer Review

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

Ages 9-12.  “For centuries mystical creatures of all description were gathered into a hidden refuge called Fablehaven to prevent their extinction. The sanctuary survives today as one of the last strongholds of true magic. Enchanting? Absolutely. Exciting? You bet. Safe? Well, actually, quite the opposite.

Kendra and her brother, Seth, have no idea that their grandfather is the current caretaker of Fablehaven. Inside the gated woods, ancient laws keep relative order among greedy trolls, mischievous satyrs, plotting witches, spiteful imps, and jealous fairies. However, when the rules get broken — Seth is a bit too curious and reckless for his own good — powerful forces of evil are unleashed, and Kendra and her brother face the greatest challenge of their lives. To save their family, Fablehaven, and perhaps even the world, Kendra and Seth must find the courage to do what they fear most.”

Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull

Ages 9-12.  “At the end of the school year, Kendra and her brother, Seth, find themselves racing back to Fablehaven, a refuge for mythical and magical creatures. Grandpa Sorenson, the caretaker, invites three specialists- a potion master, a magical relics collector, and a mystical creature trapper- to help protect the property from the Society of the Evening Star, an ancient organization determined to infiltrate the preserve and steal a hidden artifact of great power. Time is running out. The Evening Star is storming the gates. If the artifact falls into the wrong hands, it could mean the downfall of other preserves and possibly the world. Will Kendra learn to use her fairy gifts in time? Will Seth stay out of trouble? Can they overcome paralyzing fear? Find out in book 2 of this bestselling series.”

Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague by Brandon Mull

Available 4/21/08

Starcross: A Stirring Adventure of Spies, Time Travel and Curious Hats by Philip Reeve

Ages 9-12.  “Art, Myrtle and their mother accept the kind invitation of a holiday to an up-and-coming asteroid resort. But they set out with visions of rest and relaxation only to be sucked into a dastardly plot involving spies, time travel, and mind-altering clothing! Before their adventures are out, they’ll sail an aether-ship amid asteroid-strewn seas, dodge demonic puppets, and learn wisdom from an unlikely ally: the Moobs! With faster-than-light plot twists and enough tongue-in-cheek vim and vigor to keep a galaxy in laughter, this dynamic sequel to Larklight is a tour de force of the most intergalactic kind.”

Alfred Kropp: The Thirteenth Skull (Alfred Kropp #3) by Rick Yancey

Ages 9-12.  “First Alfred Kropp lost—and found—the legendary sword Excalibur. Then he defeated King Paimon, arguably the nastiest of the demons to escape when the Seals of Solomon were stolen. What could be left? Plenty, it turns out.  Not only is someone out to kill Alfred, but the very people who have sworn to protect him are now trying to use him for deadly means: creating a superhuman army. Trust and betrayal will clash in terrifying ways as Alfred struggles to hold his enemies at bay, even as he learns the full scope of OIPEPs plans for him.”

Grimpow: The Invisible Road by Rafael Abalos

Ages 9-12.  “GRIMPOW HAD NO idea who the dead man was, but hidden in his leather bag was a treasure that would change his life forever. Ruby and
emerald encrusted daggers, silver coins, jewels, and a letter with a golden seal depicting a snake swallowing its own tail. And clutched in the man’s firm grip – a stone. A stone that will shape Grimpow’s destiny. For when he holds it, strange things begin to happen. Visions of places he’s never been fill his mind and he’s able to read the strange language in the letter, a message meant for someone else entirely.

So begins Grimpow’s journey with the stone – a centuries-long journey that has driven sane men crazy, turned peaceful men violent, and made strong men powerless. No man has ever unlocked its secrets. But no boy has ever tried. “

The Seems: The Glitch in Sleep (The Seems) by John Hulme

Ages 9-12.  “Twelve-year-old Becker Drane has definitely got the coolest job of any seventh grader in Highland Park, New Jersey. He works as a Fixer for The Seems. From the Department of Weather to the Department of Sleep, The Seems is a secret organization that makes sure our world keeps running—and more importantly, sticks to The Plan that’s been made for it. But The Plan, and The Seems for that matter, would be nothing without the people in it, and that’s where Becker Drane comes in. When a Glitch is reported in the Department of Sleep, Becker is dispatched to Fix it, but he’s not so sure this is a routine mission. Could the Bed Bugs, who are behind our Worst Nightmares, be responsible for the problems? Or maybe it’s The Tide, an underground organization bent on destroying The Seems?  No matter what, Becker’s in for quite an adventure, and it’ll take all his training, a little luck, and the coolest Tools™ known in (or out of) the Seems to Fix the problem.”

Brisingr (Inheritance, Book 3) by Christopher Paolini

Available 9/20/08

Snakehead (Alex Rider Adventure) by Anthony Horowitz

Ages 9-12.  “What goes up must come down, and when we last saw Alex Rider, he was as up as can be—in outer space. When he crash lands off the coast of Australia, the Australian Secret Service recruits him to infiltrate one of the ruthless gangs operating across South East Asia. Known as snakeheads, the gangs smuggle drugs, weapons, and worst of all, people. Alex accepts the assignment, in part for the chance to work with his godfather and learn more about his parents. What he uncovers, however, is a secret that will make this his darkest and most dangerous mission yet . . . and that his old nemesis, Scorpia, is anything but out of his life.

From the slums of Bangkok to the Australian Outback to the middle of the Timor Sea, Snakehead is Alex Rider’s most action-packed adventure yet.”

The Lighthouse Land (The Lighthouse Trilogy) by Adrian McKinty

 

Ages 9-12. SF!  ”In the first book of this series from acclaimed crime fiction writer Adrian McKinty, Jamie O’Neill and his mother set out for a new home on an island off the coast of Ireland, a windswept place inherited from a long-lost relative. It’s a chance to start again after the cancer that took one of Jamie’s arms. But Muck Island is no sanctuary. Many strange surprises await the O’Neills there, the strangest being the one locked in the top of its ancient lighthouse. Discovering it will send Jamie on an interstellar mission that could change the course of his life, and the universe, forever.”

“McKinty, previously known for adult crime novels, brings an attuned ear for dialogue and a taut pacing to his first YA outing, the launch title in the Lighthouse Trilogy.” —Publishers Weekly

“This thought-provoking sci-fi adventure offers universal appeal, excitement, and a one-of-a-kind hero whose courage and compassion will inspire any reader.” —Children’s Literature

The Lighthouse War: The Lighthouse Trilogy Book 2) by Adrian McKinty

Ages 9-12.  SF! “Jamie O’Neill is back on earth, where no one but his best friend, Ramsay, knows he’s the hero of a great war that saved an alien nation. Now he’s back to being a kid with one arm, no girlfriend, and a band that plays bad songs about intergalactic romance. Then news breaks on the Internet: A space probe has picked up a coded message from far across the galaxy. NASA’s best scientists can’t figure out what it says. Only Jamie and Ramsay realize it’s a message from Altair. They’re needed again.

This thrilling sequel to The Lighthouse Land is packed with even more adventure, battles, and humor than its predecessor, and secures Adrian McKinty’s place as one of science fiction’s most exciting new voices.”

Amulet, Book One: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi

Ages 9-12.  Graphic Novel.  “After the tragic death of their father, Emily and Navin move with their mother to the home of her deceased great-grandfather, but the strange house proves to be dangerous. Before long, a sinister creature lures the kids’ mom through a door in the basement. Em and Navin, desperate not to lose her, follow her into an underground world inhabited by demons, robots, and talking animals.

Eventually, they enlist the help of a small mechanical rabbit named Miskit. Together with Miskit, they face the most terrifying monster of all, and Em finally has the chance to save someone she loves.”

Stoneheart (The Stoneheart Trilogy) by Charlie Fletcher

Ages 9-12.  “On a school trip to the Natural History Museum in London, a 12-year-old loner named George is banished for something he didn’t do. Angry, he lashes out and breaks off a dragon’s head carved onto the wall of the museum. Next thing he knows, a pterodactyl carving comes to life and begins to chase him. From Gunner, a walking, talking statue, George learns that he has entered another layer of reality, and that his arrival has started a new war between good spits (statues that are imbued with a soullike essence by their inspired makers) and evil taints (soulless carvings). With the advice of various spits, and the companionship of a girl named Edie, George seeks answers from two Sphinx statues, whose enigmatic clues lead the pair into a terrifying adventure. Creatively building on the plentiful gargoyles and other creepy stonework of its urban setting, this lengthy novel, the first in a planned trilogy, will draw capable readers for its suspenseful chase scenes, scary creatures, and highly original premise.”  Booklist 

H.I.V.E.: Higher Institute of Villainous Education by Mark Walden

Ages 9-12.  “Otto Malpense may only be thirteen years old, but so far he has managed to run the orphanage where he lives, and he has come up with a plan clever enough to trick the most powerful man in the country. He is the perfect candidate to become the world’s next supervillain.  That is why he ends up at H.I.V.E., handpicked to become a member of the incoming class. The students have been kidnapped and brought to a secluded island inside a seemingly active volcano, where the school has resided for decades. All the kids are elite; they are the most athletic, the most technically advanced, and the smartest in the country. Inside the cavernous marble rooms, floodlit hangars, and steel doors, the students are enrolled in Villainy Studies and Stealth and Evasion 101.

But what Otto soon comes to realize is that this is a six-year program, and leaving is not an option.

With the help of his new friends: an athletic martial-arts expert; a world-famous, beautiful diamond thief; and a spunky computer genius — the only other people who seem to want to leave — can Otto achieve what has never been done before and break out of H.I.V.E.”

The Case of the Missing Marquess: An Enola Holmes Mystery by Nancy Springer

“When Enola Holmes, sister to the detective Sherlock Holmes, discovers her mother has disappeared, she quickly embarks on a journey to London in search of her. But nothing can prepare her for what awaits. Because when she arrives, she finds herself involved in the kidnapping of a young marquess, fleeing murderous villains, and trying to elude her shrewd older brothers—all while attempting to piece together clues to her mother’s strange disappearance. Amid all the mayhem, will Enola be able to decode the necessary clues and find her mother? “

The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets: An Enola Holmes Mystery by Nancy Springer

Ages 9-12.  “Everyone knows Dr. Watson is Sherlock Holmes’ right-hand man—so when he goes missing, it’s a shock. Even Sherlock hasn’t, well, the slightest clue as to where he could be. Enola is intrigued, but weary; she’s still hiding from her older brothers—and getting involved could be disastrous.

But when a bizarre bouquet shows up at the Watson residence, full of convolvulus, hawthorn, and white poppies, Enola must act. She dons her most discerning disguise yet to find the sender—and quickly, for Enola knows the blossoms symbolize death!

Hold your breath because Enola’s about to take it away. The stakes are higher and the mystery deeper than ever before in the third installment of this Edgar-award nominated, critically acclaimed series”

The Case of the Left-Handed Lady: An Enola Holmes Mystery by Nancy Springer

Ages 9-12.  “Grade 5–9—Fourteen-year-old Enola Holmes is intelligent, sassy, and a woman before her time, living incognito in Victorian London and working as a Perditorian. She is on the run from her famous older brothers, Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes, who feel she belongs in a boarding school learning to be a lady. Using various aliases, disguises, and ciphers, Enola is on the case to find the missing teenage daughter of Sir Eustance Austair while trying to elude “capture” by her siblings. She finds herself in the back alleys of London, using her wits to locate the missing Lady Cecily while also trying to keep herself out of mortal peril. Though readers’ interest will be piqued by the references to Enola’s first adventure, The Case of the Missing Marquess (Philomel, 2006), this title stands alone. Fans of Blue Balliet’s Chasing Vermeer (2004) and The Wright 3 (2006, both Scholastic) and Ellen Raskin’s The Westing Game (Dutton, 1978) will surely enjoy the suspense and the fresh voice of this young sleuth.”  School Library Journal

The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer

 

Ages 9-12.  “Jack was eleven when the berserkers loomed out of the fog and nabbed him. “It seems that things are stirring across the water,” the Bard had warned. “Ships are being built, swords are being forged.” “Is that bad?” Jack had asked, for his Saxon village had never before seen berserkers. “Of course. People don’t make ships and swords unless they intend to use them.”  The year is A.D. 793. In the next months, Jack and his little sister, Lucy, are enslaved by Olaf One-Brow and his fierce young shipmate, Thorgil. With a crow named Bold Heart for mysterious company, they are swept up into an adventure-quest that follows in the spirit of The Lord of the Rings.

Other threats include a willful mother Dragon, a giant spider, and a troll-boar with a surprising personality — to say nothing of Ivar the Boneless and his wife, Queen Frith, a shape-shifting half-troll, and several eight foot tall, orange-haired, full-time trolls. But in stories by award-winner Nancy Farmer, appearances do deceive. She has never told a richer, funnier tale, nor offered more timeless encouragement to young seekers than ‘Just say no to pillaging.’”

The Land of the Silver Apples by Nancy Farmer

 

“THE CHILDREN FROM THE SEA OF TROLLS BRAVE THEIR WORST NIGHTMARES — UNDERGROUND.

Jack is amazed to have caused an earthquake. He is thirteen, after all, and only a bard-in-training. But his sister, Lucy, has been stolen by the Lady of the Lake; stolen a second time in her young life, as he learns to his terror. Caught between belief in the old gods and Christianity (790 AD, Britain), Jack calls upon his ash wood staff to subdue a passel of unruly monks, and, for his daring, ends up in a knucker hole. It is unforgettable — for the boy and for readers — as are the magical reappearance of the berserker Thorgil from a burial by moss; new characters Pega, a slave girl from Jack’s village, and the eager-to-marry-her Bugaboo (a hobgoblin king); kelpies; yarthkins; and elves (not the enchanted sprites one would expect but the fallen angels of legend). Rarely does a sequel enlarge so brilliantly the world of the first story. Look for the conclusion in The Islands of the Blessed in 2009.”

Day Of The Djinn Warriors (Children Of The Lamp) by P.b. Kerr

Agses 9-12.  “Djinn twins John and Philippa are off on another whirlwind adventure that takes them around the globe and into unknown worlds. And it’s a race against time as they attempt to rescue their mother from her fate as the Blue Djinn of Babylon. An aging curse has been placed on their father and if the twins are gone too long, he’ll rapidly become an old man. Meanwhile, museums all over the world are reporting robberies of valuable jade from their collections, as well as bizarre hauntings.

As the twins and their friends travel around the globe on their rescue mission, they notice that something very strange is happening: An evil force has awakened the terracotta warriors created by an ancient Chinese emperor, and someone with very bad intentions has cast a spell possessing the soldiers with wicked spirits. And now, the very fate of the world hangs in the balance. Can the twins stop the mysterious terracotta warriors, rescue their parents, AND save the world before it’s too late?  Readers will devour this exciting fourth installment from master storyteller P. B. Kerr, and they won’t want to put this book down until the very last page.”  See earlier post “Great Reads for Teens and Preteens” for the first book.

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Ages 9-12.  “Starred Review. Grade 5–9—After Reynie Muldoon responds to an advertisement recruiting “gifted children looking for special opportunities,” he finds himself in a world of mystery and adventure. The 11-year-old orphan is one of four children to complete a series of challenging and creative tasks, and he, Kate, Constance, and Sticky become the Mysterious Benedict Society. After being trained by Mr. Benedict and his assistants, the four travel to an isolated school where children are being trained by a criminal mastermind to participate in his schemes to take over the world. The young investigators need to use their special talents and abilities in order to discover Mr. Curtain’s secrets, and their only chance to defeat him is through working together. Readers will challenge their own abilities as they work with the Society members to solve clues and put together the pieces of Mr. Curtain’s plan. In spite of a variety of coincidences, Stewart’s unusual characters, threatening villains, and dramatic plot twists will grab and hold readers’ attention. Fans of Roald Dahl or Blue Balliett will find a familiar blend of kid power, clues, and adventure in Society, though its length may daunt reluctant or less-secure readers. Underlying themes about the power of media messages and the value of education add to this book’s appeal, and a happy ending with hints of more adventures to come make this first-time author one to remember.”

The Time Travelers (The Gideon Trilogy) by Linda Buckley-Archer

Ages 9-12.  “Previously published as GIDEON THE CUTPURSE:  1763 – Gideon Seymour, thief and gentleman, hides from the villainous Tar Man. Suddenly the sky peels away like fabric and from the gaping hole fall two curious-looking children. Peter Schock and Kate Dyer have fallen straight from the twenty-first century, thanks to an experiment with an antigravity machine. Before Gideon and the children have a chance to gather their wits, the Tar Man takes off with the machine — and Peter and Kate’s only chance of getting home. Soon Gideon, Peter, and Kate are swept into a journey through eighteenth-century London and form a bond that, they hope, will stand strong in the face of unfathomable treachery.”

The Time Thief (The Gideon Trilogy) by Linda Buckley-Archer

Ages 9-12.  “What happens when a seventeenth-century bad guy has twenty-first-century technology?  An accident with an antigravity machine catapulted Peter Schock and Kate Dyer back to 1763. A bungled rescue attempt leaves Peter stranded in the eighteenth century while a terrifying villain, the Tar Man, takes his place and explodes onto twenty-first-century London. Concerned about the potentially catastrophic effects of time travel, the NASA scientists responsible for the situation question whether it is right to rescue Peter. Kate decides to take matters into her own hands, but things don’t go as planned. Soon the physical effects of time travel begin to have a disturbing effect on her. Meanwhile, in our century, the Tar Man wreaks havoc in a city whose police force is powerless to stop him.Set against a backdrop of contemporary London and revolutionary France, The Time Thief is the sequel to the acclaimed The Time Travelers.”

The Last Apprentice (Revenge of the Witch) by Joseph Delaney

Ages 10-14.  ““I was going to learn how to protect farms and villages from things that go bump in the night. Dealing with ghouls, boggarts, and all manner of wicked beasties would be all in a day’s work. That’s what the Spook did, and I was going to be his apprentice.” Twelve-year-old Thomas Ward, as the seventh son of a seventh son, has no inheritance and is bored with farm work, and even though his new job will mean the superstitious villagers will forever shun him, he is eager to go off to adventure with the tall, hooded man he calls the Spook. His mother, a magical person herself, approves, and the Spook’s teaching is strict but kind. But when Tom has only learned enough to be able to control their house-boggart, he is tricked by Alice, the young daughter of a witch family, into inadvertently releasing and then killing Mother Malkin, a witch the Spook has imprisoned in a pit. This is no polite wicca-type witch, but a snuffling, slime-trailing, cannibalistic creature reminiscent of Tolkien’s nasgils. The story of Tom’s escape from the reincarnated witch’s hideous revenge is full of horrible details, as Alice helps, and then once again betrays him. This well-crafted novel marks an auspicious start for an exciting and fast series for young teens. (Ages 10-14)”  Amazon

The Last Apprentice: Curse of the Bane by Joseph Delaney

Ages 10-14.  “Grade 5–8—Young Tom Ward finds himself taking on more dangerous villains in the second book (Greenwillow, 2006) in Joseph Delaney’s series. Six months into his apprenticeship to the monster hunter, aka the Spook, Tom is wrangling boggarts, ghosts, and witches. When he and the Spook are compelled to journey to Priestown for the Spook’s brother’s funeral, frightful situations develop. The sadistic Quisator is present, seeking to capture and kill the Spook. Alice, Tom’s good witch friend, is among those already rounded up for a gruesome mass burning at the stake. How can Tom save Alice when his master recommends leaving her to her fate? Could the Spook’s attitude reflect a regretful past love affair with a witch? Meanwhile, a more fearsome creature is bound to the catacombs under the Priestown cathedral. The Bane is a shape-shifting spirit who sucks blood and controls minds. It’s up to Tom to outwit the Bane before it infiltrates his mind and inflicts its preferred method of execution, squashing victims flat. Christopher Evan Welch skillfully juggles voices, most notably conveying the Spook’s irascibility and Tom’s earnestness. Yet it is the Bane that takes center stage with its echoing hiss and eerie, Yoda-like syntax. The violence and villains here are not for the faint of heart.”  School Library Journal

The Last Apprentice: Night of the Soul Stealers by Joseph Delaney

Ages 9-12.  “It’s going to be a long, hard, cruel winter. And there couldn’t be a worse place to spend it than up on Anglezarke.

Thomas Ward is the apprentice for the local Spook, who captures witches and drives away ghosts. As the weather gets colder and the nights draw in, the Spook receives an unexpected visitor. Tom doesn’t know who the stranger is or what he wants, but the Spook suddenly decides it’s time to travel to his winter house, Anglezarke. Tom has heard it will be a bleak, forbidding place, and that menacing creatures are starting to stir somewhere on the moors nearby.

Can anything prepare Tom for what he finds there? What if the rumors about the evil beast called the Golgoth are true? And how much danger will Tom be in if the secrets the Spook has been trying to hide from the world are revealed?”

The Last Apprentice: Attack of the Fiend by Joseph Delaney

“”I see your future clearly. Your master will be dead, and you will be alone. It would be better if you had never been born.’

Thomas Ward is the apprentice for the local Spook, who banishes boggarts and drives away ghosts. But now a new danger is threatening Tom’s world: the witches are rising and the three most powerful clans are uniting in order to conjure an unimaginable evil. Tom and the Spook set out to stop the witches before they unleash the demon. But when Tom finds himself on his own, he wonders if he has the courage and cunning to defeat the most powerful enemy he has ever encountered.”

The Coming of Dragons: The Darkest Age I by A.J. Lake

Ages 9-12.  “Edmund, a king’s son in disguise, and Elspeth, a sea captain’s tomboy daughter, are the only two survivors of a terrible shipwreck. They just want to go home, but fate has other plans as they are drawn into the fight against an evil warlord terrorizing their homeland. Accompanied by a mysterious minstrel and haunted by magical powers they did not seek, Edmund and Elspeth journey across a savage land of wild boars, fierce rogue knights, and black magic. Fantasy fans will devour this dramatic tale of mystery, wonder, and the power of friendship.”

“This is an extraordinary adventure. Swordplay, guns, helicopters, fast cars and a striking conclusion make for a headlong, interesting read for teenagers.”  CurledUpKids.com

The Palace of Laughter: The Wednesday Tales No.1 by Jon Berkeley 

 

“Grade 4-7–When the mysterious Circus Oscuro arrives in the dead of night, Miles Wednesday, a runaway orphan living in a barrel, is the only person in the town of Larde to witness the event. Later that same night, he is approached by a tiger who claims he can smell the circus in Miles. Thus begins a chain of events that introduces the boy to a winged waif named Little, a captive of the circus’s sinister ringmaster. Upon Little’s escape, the two set out to rescue her friend from the Palace of Laughter, which seems to be far more dangerous and horrible than the name implies. Berkeley’s first foray into writing is mostly successful; the story is filled with captivating and ingenious descriptive passages. While the author’s habit of introducing Miles at the beginning of nearly every chapter (with definitions such as clean-shirted and cat-surrounded and dawn-chilled and hungry) does tend to get stale, the lively plot and colorful supporting cast are enough to hold readers’ attention. Try displaying this book alongside classic whimsical tales such as Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth (Knopf, 1961) or the work of Roald Dahl to create interest.”  School Library Journal

The Tiger’s Egg: The Wednesday Tales No. 2 by Jon Berkeley

Ages 9-12.  “When the Circus Bolsillo lands in Larde, orphan Miles Wednesday and his angel-friend Little join its wondrous and chaotic show. They soon fall in with Doctor Tau-Tau, a mysterious and bumbling fortune-teller who once knew Miles’s parents and claims Miles’s father is very much alive. Miles sets out in secret with Doctor Tau-Tau, but to his surprise the search for his father quickly turns into a hunt for a much coveted and powerful Tiger’s Egg—a stone fabled to contain the soul of a tiger. No one knows its true whereabouts, and as Miles and Little begin to puzzle the bits together, they uncover its curious connection to Miles’s parents. Could the Egg be the key to the secrets of Miles’s own past?

Jon Berkeley’s second novel in The Wednesday Tales continues the fantastical and often comical story of Miles Wednesday, as he sets forth on another strange adventure in pursuit of the truth.”

To Catch a Mermaid by Suzanne Selfors

Ages 9-12.  “When the unlikely hero of Selfors’s assured debut, a luckless sixth grader named Boomerang Boom Broom, inadvertently brings home a baby mermaid instead of cheap seafood from the fish market for dinner, he sets off a madcap chain of events that turns his house bright pink, transforms his bathroom into a tropical beach replete with banana tree and monkey, puts his little sister Mertyle’s life in grave danger, and miraculously heals his dysfunctional family from the sudden and bizarre loss of his mother. The baby mermaid, the ill-tempered antithesis of Disney’s Princess Ariel with razor-sharp teeth and green-seaweed hair, possesses powerful magic that, at first, makes Mertyle’s unwitting wishes come true; but the merbaby also brings with it a deadly curse that soon afflicts Boom’s sister in the form of a bizarre white fungus. With time running out, can Boom find a cure for his fuzz-covered sibling? Featuring some outlandishly funny characters (among them the villainous, big-butted principal Mrs. Prunewallop and Halvor, the family cook who models himself on Erik the Red), Selfors’s adventure also subtly explores serious themes like grief, adversity and misfortune. In a nutshell—or, more fittingly, a conch shell—her nimble fantasy is about Boom’s journey of self-discovery and the feeling that comes from achieving a seemingly unreachable goal. A few unresolved plot threads, notably to do with the mother, point to a sequel. Ages 8-12.”  Publishers Weekly

The Misadventures of Maude March by Audrey Couloumbis

Ages 9-12.  “Eleven-year-old Sallie March is a whip-smart tomboy and voracious reader of Western adventure novels. When she and her sister Maude escape their self-serving guardians for the wilds of the frontier, they begin an adventure the likes of which Sallie has only read about. This time however, the “wanted woman” isn’t a dime-novel villian, it’s Sallie’s very own sister! What follows is not the lies the papers printed, but the honest-to-goodness truth of how two sisters went from being orphans to being outlaws—and lived to tell the tale!”

Maude March on the Run! (Maude March) by Audrey Couloumbis

Ages 9-12.  “Grade 5–7—The excitement of the Wild West comes to life in this action-packed sequel to The Misadventures of Maude March (Random, 2005). Orphans Sallie, 12, and Maude, 16, continue their adventures, again traveling west in search of their Uncle Arlen and a place they can call home. Maude is unjustly accused of being a horse thief, bank robber, and murderer, and the two girls and their companion, Joe Harden, barely manage to stay one step ahead of the law as they dash across desert and prairie. Joe is a charmingly hapless con man, and the interaction among these three characters provides lots of humor, especially when Maude’s fame produces a bunch of copycat outlaws. Sallie’s voice as the “wise innocent” with plenty of colorful language is just right as she sees through the hypocrisy of a delicious array of eccentric characters and repeatedly saves the day for her companions. Descriptive details about medical practices, terrain, railroads, food, towns, forts, etc., are woven seamlessly into the lively story and provide a real feel for the flavor of the Old West and life on the trail. There are a few too many annoying references to unexplained characters and events from the earlier book, but they may encourage readers to go back and catch up with the girls’ previous exploits. A satisfying sequel.”  Publisher’s Weekly

The Name of this Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch

Ages 9-12.  “Warning: this description has not been authorized by Pseudonymous Bosch.As much as he’d love to sing the praises of his book (he is very vain), he wouldn’t want you to hear about his brave 11-year old heroes, Cass and Max-Ernest.Or about how a mysterious box of vials, the Symphony of Smells, sends them on the trail of a magician who has vanished under strange (and stinky) circumstances.And he certainly wouldn’t want you to know about the hair-raising adventures that follow and the nefarious villains they face.You see, not only is the name of this book secret, the story inside is, too.For it concerns a secret.A Big Secret.”

“In enormous lettering the first page warns: “Do not read beyond this page!” The reason? The book contains a secret so nefarious as to be dangerous even to innocent page-turners daring enough to venture forth. The first few chapters present a tricky little exercise in metafiction in which the story about a secret is revealed as being itself too secret to tell, a ploy sure to tickle more puzzlesome readers. But then the intrusive narrator, who is equal parts snarky and delightful, strikes a deal and deigns to tell the story with fake names in Your Hometown, as long as you agree to “forget everything you read as soon as you read it.” Then follows a not terribly shocking story wherein two intrepid kids uncover a mysterious society bent on immortality, which gets them in and out of all manner of trouble. While some may be disappointed that there is no mind-bending secret at the bottom of it all as promised, most junior Da Vinci Coders will likely be having too much fun to notice.” 

Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R. L. LaFevers

Ages 9-12.  “*Starred Review* “You’d be surprised by how many things come into the museum loaded with curses–bad ones,” says 11-year-old Theodosia, whose parents run London’s Museum of Legends and Antiquities. The twentieth century has just begun, and Theodosia’s mum, an archaeologist, has recently returned from Egypt with crates of artifacts. Only Theodosia can feel the objects’ dark magic, which, after consulting ancient texts, she has learned to remove. Then a sacred amulet disappears, and during her search, Theodosia stumbles into a terrifying battle between international secret societies. Readers won’t look to this thrilling adventure for subtle characterizations (most fit squarely into good and evil camps) or neat end-knots in the sprawling plot’s many threads. It’s the delicious, precise, and atmospheric details (nicely extended in Tanaka’s few, stylized illustrations) that will capture and hold readers, from the contents of Theodosia’s curse-removing kit to descriptions of the museum after hours, when Theodosia sleeps in a sarcophagus to ward off the curses of “disgruntled dead things.” Kids who feel overlooked by their own distracted parents may feel a tug of recognition as Theodosia yearns for attention, and those interested in archaeology will be drawn to the story’s questions about the ownership and responsible treatment of ancient artifacts. A sure bet for Harry Potter fans as well as Joan Aiken’s and Eva Ibbotson’s readers. This imaginative, supernatural mystery will find word-of-mouth popularity.”  Booklist

Peter and the Secret of Rundoon (The Starcatchers) by Ridley Pearson

Ages 9-12.  “Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson have reinvented Peter Pan, the Lost Boys, and Captain Hook so well that a generation from now no one might remember where J. M. Barrie’s original creation ended and theirs began. So far, the two have written three incredibly fat and action-packed volumes of Peter’s adventures with the “starstuff,” the magical fallen stars that gave him his power and – in effect – rendered him immortal, though as a boy doomed never to grow up.

Along the way, Barry and Pearson have also brought a multitude of other parts of the legend to life and to center stage. At present, they’ve authored two short novels on other characters in Peter’s worldscape.

Peter and the Secret of Rundoon finishes off the trilogy Barry and Pearson set out to write and fans of the series are already feeling the loss. The two authors succeed brilliantly in bringing their books to cinematic life within the pages. The pacing of all three books proceeds at breakneck speed.”  Amazon Customer Review 

The Snow Spider (Magician Trilogy) by Jenny Nimmo

  

Ages 9-12.  “On Gwyn’s 9th birthday, his grandmother tells him he may be a magician, like his Welsh ancestors. She gives him five gifts to help him–a brooch, a piece of dried seaweed, a tin whistle, a scarf, and a broken toy horse. One blustery day, unsure what to do with his newfound magic, Gwyn throws the brooch to the wind and receives a silvery snow spider in return. Will he be able to use this special spider to bring his missing sister, Bethan, home? THE SNOW SPIDER spins an icy, sparkly web of mystical intrigue that sets the stage for the next two books in this outstanding trilogy!”

The Secret Country (Eidolon Chronicles) by Jane Johnson

Ages 9-12.  “Grade 4-7-When a talking cat convinces Ben to purchase it from Mr. Dodds’s Pet Emporium, the boy has no idea what adventures await him. Except for his one green and one brown eye, Ben seems a perfectly normal child with two sisters, a journalist father, and a mysteriously ailing mother. After a unicorn turns up at a cricket match and a wood-sprite appears in his garden, Ben finds himself enmeshed in the fate of Eidolon, the Secret Country. As each chapter unfolds, the mythic significance of seemingly ordinary events and characters deepens. Mr. Dodds, who is kidnapping creatures such as selkies and dragons from Eidolon, turns out to be a supremely evil figure from ancient legend, with Ben’s Awful Uncle Aleister as his partner in crime. Wishing to help the displaced, sickened creatures return home, Ben finds the wild road that leads there and eventually goes himself. Looking through his green eye, he sees a once-beautiful magical world now corrupted and dying. He learns that his mother was queen of the Secret Country, and that he, as its prince, must try to save it from Mr. Dodds’s usurpation. This readable, accessible fantasy, with its likable and all-too-human young hero, is reminiscent of C. S. Lewis’s Narnia stories (HarperCollins). The writing is smooth and clear, and the action flows quickly, enlivened by touches of humor. Black-and-white cartoon sketches head each chapter. The wide-open ending presages a sequel.”  Booklist

The Last Apprentice: Night of the Soul Stealers by Joseph Delaney

Ages 9-12.  “It’s going to be a long, hard, cruel winter. And there couldn’t be a worse place to spend it than up on Anglezarke.

Thomas Ward is the apprentice for the local Spook, who captures witches and drives away ghosts. As the weather gets colder and the nights draw in, the Spook receives an unexpected visitor. Tom doesn’t know who the stranger is or what he wants, but the Spook suddenly decides it’s time to travel to his winter house, Anglezarke. Tom has heard it will be a bleak, forbidding place, and that menacing creatures are starting to stir somewhere on the moors nearby.

Can anything prepare Tom for what he finds there? What if the rumors about the evil beast called the Golgoth are true? And how much danger will Tom be in if the secrets the Spook has been trying to hide from the world are revealed?”

100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson 

 

Ages 9-12.  “Twelve-year-old Henry York wakes up one night to find bits of plaster in his hair. Two knobs have broken through the wall above his bed and one of them is slowly turning . . .Henry scrapes the plaster off the wall and discovers cupboards of all different sizes and shapes. Through one he can hear the sound of falling rain. Through another he sees a glowing room–with a man pacing back and forth! Henry soon understands that these are not just cupboards, but portals to other worlds.”

“100 Cupboards is the first book of a new fantasy adventure, written in the best world-hopping tradition and reinvented in N. D. Wilson’s inimitable style.”  Amazon

Hope these prove to be as enjoyable as they sound….