A Novel That Makes a Difference: Shine

Shine
by Lauren Myracle
Amulet, 2011
384 pages

Due May 2011

Passionate, powerful, and poignant, this novel will cause a cacophony in libraries, book stores, blogs, and hopefully, even forward-thinking classrooms. Myracle leaves her girl/chick-lit earlier novels behind her, and steps to the center stage with this complex and grim read.

Shine is a gritty novel that will stick with readers making them uncomfortable and even angry, but it is also a novel that will cause discussion/debate on a number of issues: poverty, ignorance, illegal drug use, alcoholism, hatred, race relations, gay/lesbian/transgender issues, brutality, bullying, and the human capacity to forgive.

Cat Robinson is a sixteen year old girl growing up in the backwoods of rural America where the Internet/I-phones and laptops are non-existent. Cat has to go to the next town by bus to use a computer at the public library. People who live in Black Creek, North Carolina, are for the most part poor and uneducated. Most drop out in high school; in fact, only Cat and two others are going on to their senior year. Many jobs have been lost in the town and people turn to alcohol and meth for relief. Teen boys work peddling meth for the local meth cooker Wally.

It is in these hills that Cat's best friend Patrick is brutally attacked, bludgeoned and left for dead. The sheriff calls it a hate crime since Patrick is known to be gay. Cat knows better; she knows that the sheriff isn't looking for the guilty person. The official report says Patrick was probably hurt by college kids who stopped at the convenience store where he works. Cat goes from a shrinking violet to a determined and strong girl who fights for what's right.

As Cat uncovers clues, readers will be saddened and disgusted by this picture of Americana--a town where dreams are best left not dreamed and the future only looks brighter through the bottom of a bottle or the haze of meth.

This book will be widely read among teens who read authors David Levithan and Alex Sanchez. Shine is a novel that will stand the test of time. It is The Outsiders of the 21st Century.

In the end, the reader is left with a feeling of optimism as the guilty person is found and Patrick turns the corner. Cat and Patrick find it within themselves to forgive and continue to heal.

Highly, highly recommended for high school collections.
Warning: too mature for middle school. Sex, language, violence, gay issues, drugs, mature content.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review.

Sci-Fi Pick: Human .4

Human.4
by Mike A. Lancaster
Egmont, 2011
240 pages

On sale: March 8, 2011

Terrific, mind-blowing, rocking, and a solid page-turner,
this is the best sci-fi thriller to come around in a long time. Lancaster has it right! The book is left for analog or "old-fashioned" people to read now that humans have been updated. A box of old cassette tapes is found and the story of what happened to humanity is told by Kyle Straker.

Everything is going along fine in his rural English village until the talent show. It is then that Kyle and three others are hypnotized by his friend Danny. When they wake from their "trance," everyone has changed, except them. It is as if time stands still. They try to find radio or t.v. stations, but there is no one. The people at the talent show are suspended in time. No one moves.

As Kyle and Lilly try to sort things out, the people "wake up," except they're different. They look the same, but they're not, they've been upgraded. Only a few humans skipped the upgrade: those who were hypnotized, those in comas, those too sick or mentally ill and a few others.

What if no one in the world can see you? Or hear you? The Humans.4 have just become obsolete; this book is published so that humans.4 will know that "We.Remember.You."

Don't miss this read!



Highly, highly recommended for sci-fi and thriller readers grades 7-up.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

Middle/High School Pick

Heist Society
Ally Carter
Hyperion Books, 2010
287 pages

Heist Society is the most fun a book can be--filled with witty dialog, smart sleight of hand, white collar crime, high dollar art theft, international globe-trotting, secret identities, fake passports, breaking into a fortess to steal an art collection, and quiet romantic moments, Carter delivers a gem of a ya novel.

When you come from a family of thieves, it's easy to follow in their footsteps. Kat Bishop and hottie guy friend Hale have to find stolen paintings for an Italian mobster before he puts a hit on Kat's art thief father. Her father is innocent, surprisingly enough, but it's up to Kat to clear his name. There's only one way to do it--find the art, steal it back and return it to the mobster.

Each section is set in another part of the world: Las Vegas, Italy, Paris, New York. The smart dialog between Kat, Hale, Uncle Eddie and cousin Gabrielle use terms like Fallen Angel, Drawbridge, Dog in a Bar--scams used by thieves to gain entry into their marks. Readers will relish the world in which Kat travels and her exciting adventures.

This is one teen caper that delivers! Not to be missed. Must read and a real page turner! The cover will captivate most readers--smart cover choice!

Highly, highly recommended for grades 7-up

FTC Required Disclaimer: I purchased this book for the library. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review.

Chick Pick: The Darlings Are Forever

The Darlings Are Forever
Melissa Kantor
Hyperion, 2011
352 pages

Three best friends since elementary school now face new challenges as they each venture off to a new high school in New York City. Victoria is the under-achiever in her family. Though brilliant in classes, Victoria is shy and unassuming--unlike her popular sister Emily who attends Princeton and is involved in their father's campaign to run for Congress. When popular kids focus on Victoria, she finds out they really don't want to be her friend, they just want to get closer to her father's campaign.

Then there's Jane who attends the School of Performing Art and dreams of the stage. Finally, there is Natalya, the daughter of immigrants from Moscow, Russia. Natalya's parents are working class and she is almost ashamed to be in a school where many of the students are quite wealthy.

Girls who love a friendship novel will like this read. There is drama when the girls attend a teen party and are caught by shutterbugs who post their pictures on Facebook. The girls argue and nearly lose their friendship, but then remember that "the Darlings are forever!"

Other reviews reommend grade 8 and up; however, I recommend grade 9-up. Condoms are mentioned and quite a lengthy description is given on how to put one on; also, an under-age drinking party is described.
No blatant sex or language.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

Chick Pick: Will Work for Prom Dress

Will Work for Prom Dress
by Aimee Ferris
Egmont, 2011
272 pages

Available February 8, 2011

Just in time for Valentine's Day, this sweetheart of a book will have girls clamoring for a copy. When Quigley and her best friend Anne are fired from a frozen pizza packing plant, they are worried about making enough money to buy their prom dresses. Anne, the over-enthusiastic and adventuresome one, finds them work in a dinner theater--all Quigley has to do is act like a dead body! Their next gig is modeling for a design class. That's where Quigley meets Zander, the uber-hot clothing designer.

The girls have some wacky adventures at their part-time jobs and even wackier ones with part-time boyfriends.

That's only one part of the book--there is a deeper story going on here. Quigley is a typical under-achiever. Not sure of herself or her goals, other than she would like to have a career in art somehow, she manages to muddle through the months leading up to the prom. Quigley is really into art and photography--so much so that she enters a huge show. When her art is chosen as the best, she has her pick of art programs. The underdog comes from behind and wins! Not only that, she gets the guy!

This novel has great character and great heart. For readers who are tired of dark and brooding vampires or ravenous beasts, Will Work for Prom Dress is ray of sunshine. Girls who enjoyed The Cupcake Queen, The Teashop Girls, Coffeehouse Angel, or books by Dessen will probably love this one.

Recommended grade 9-up. Mature grade 8 girls will probably enjoy this one, too.

Some sexual innuendo--no sex.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review.

Chick Pick: The Cupcake Queen

The Cupcake Queen
by Heather Hepler
Dutton Children's Books (Penguin Young Readers Group, 2009
242 pages

The best cute ya novel for girls this year!

Quirky, clumsy Penny Lane (her parents loved the Beatles) finds herself eons away from her New York City upbringing when her mother decides to "find herself" and moves them to Nowheresville, USA known as Hog's Hollow. It's bad enough to live in a small, picturesque town known for its pork products, it's worse to have to work in a cupcake shop decorating minature cakes for the town's wealthy and snobbish gentry. When Penny crosses paths with local mean girl Charity (who is soooo totally misnamed!) sparks fly and other kids laugh.

Penny finds friends with blue haired outcast Tally and a cute boy named Marcus and his even cuter dog Sam-- who runs into her--literally--on the beach. Penny is hopelessly lost in her new surroundings and she hates it! Only when her father and mother decide to really call it quits and DIVORCE, does Penny realize that the place she's at might not be the place she hates.

The Cupcake Queen is charming, quirky, light, and cute and girls who liked The Teashop Girls and Coffeehouse Angel are sure to love this novel.

Recommended grade 7-up.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I purchased this book for the middle school library. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review.

Fantasy Pick: Reckless

Reckless
by Cornelia Funke
Little Brown, 2010
394 pages

Funke has the unique talent of taking fairy tale creatures not really known by the American reading public and making them a part of our literary past. From men who become precious stones and warriors known as goyl to a fox who turns into a human girl, Reckless contains a myriad of fantasy creatures. Jacob Reckless sees a strange mirror in his father's study. He longs for his father who vanished mysteriously some years ago. Jacob walks through the mirror into another world. Only when his younger brother follows him and is cursed by a dark fairy, is Jacob ready to give up his adventures in the fairy tale world.

Jacob, Clara, and Will travel across dangerous territory inhabited by witches, dwarfs, evil goyl, and fairies. Every forrest is a danger, every tree a weapon. Readers will lose themselves in this fantasy world. Layer upon layer is well-developed and vividly told.

Recommended for fantasy collections grade 7-up.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I purchased this book for the middle school library. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review.

Chick Pick: The False Princess

The False Princess
by Eilis O'Neal
Egmont, 2011
336 pages

Nalia is the princess of Thorvaldor--heir to the throne and the only daughter of the King and Queen. After her sixteenth birthday, Nalia's world is torn apart. The only parents she's ever known tell her that she is a false pretender to the throne--a peasant's baby they raised as their own, secreting the rightful princess, their daughter, away in the countryside for her safety. Nalia is stripped of her title, her home, her parents, even her name--she is now Sinda, a penniless orphan who has a distant aunt who agrees to take her in. Sinda is not meant for the peasant life. She has been tutored in languages and court manners, not cleaning and cooking over an open fire. She is homesick for the palace and her friend Keirnan.


Away from the palace and the spell that wizards put over her, Sinda realizes that she has some powers of her own. She travels back to Thorvaldor to seek out training to help her use her new abilities. It is there that a wise--if befuddled--wizard named Philantha takes her in and trains her to use her magic. Sinda and Keirnan discover that the princess Nalia may also be a fake. Who is the true princess? Where is she? And why would someone try to fool the King and Queen? It is up to Sinda and Keirnan to save the kingdom.

The False Princess has mystery, romance, intrigue, suspense, evil, treachery, magic--everything a reader could want. Readers who enjoy a mystery mixed with romance will love The False Princess.

Highly, highly recommended grades 7-up.

Book will be released January 25, 2011.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the book from the publisher. I did not receive any monetary compensation for my review.

Dystopian Pick: Drought

Drought
by Pam Bachorz
Egmont, 2011
400 pages

Following on the heels of her success with Candor, Bachorz enters a new and frightening world--a world that time forgot, or at least appears to have forgotten. Ruby and her mother live with a small group of Congregants who have settled in the woods. Here they are able to practice their religion without interference; however, their day-to-day existence is decided by Darwin West, an evil man who beats them into subservience and forces them to work and live in conditions few could survive. The Congregants have a secret weapon--when Ruby realizes her blood has the power to save, she begins putting drops of her own blood in the community's water supply. Not only does her blood have the power to sustain them, it has the power to make them have long lives--some of the Congregants have been in the woods over 200 years.

When a young overseer appears to have feelings of sympathy for her group, Ruby dreams of escape. Will she be able to leave her mother and all that she has ever known for the unknown? Will she be able to leave the Congregants without her life-saving blood?

Deeply moving and greatly disturbing, this novel will leave an impression. Like Lowrey's The Giver, Drought brings up ethical and moral questions and skirts religious beliefs held by the community of followers. Readers will be talking about Drought for days, maybe even months after reading it. Unlike her first novel, Drought is not just a young adult novel--it is one that may make it into the "Required Reading Lists" at the high school level.

I read Drought and thought about it for two weeks before reviewing it. I had to let the story sink in and think about its complexity. While appearing to be a ya novel, it is so much more.

Highly recommended grades 9-12. Mature readers at grade 8 may attempt this book, but they may not realize the provocative theme and symbolism. Violence.


Available January 25, 2011.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review.

YA Thriller/Romance: Nightshade

Nightshade
by Andrea Cremer
Philomel (Penguin), 2010
528 pages

Calla's life has been planned for her since before her own birth. That's the way it is in the pack. Sworn to protect each other and the sacred sites for the Keepers, Calla is part of a pack of wolves/humans whose existence is solely for the benefit of the Keepers--magical beings older than humanity itself. Calla prepares to become a lifemate for the alpha male Ren, but a chance meeting on the mountain with a human boy changes all that.

When Calla breaks the highest of laws by saving the human from a bear attack, she allows him to see her change from wolf to girl. She hopes she never sees him again, but when he shows up at her high school, she is forced to face her feelings.

Shay wants to know Calla better but her pack has other ideas. Calla and Shay begin to dig into the mysteries of the Keepers and find that all the old laws are wrong. As they rebel, they risk everything to be together. The book ends in a cliffhanger, opening the door for the sequel: Wolfsbane due out July 26, 2011.

Paranormal romance readers who enjoyed the Twilight series and Shiver and Linger will be panting to get their hands on Wolfsbane (book 2).

Highly recommended grades 9-12. Some more mature grade 8 readers will be okay with this novel. Warning #1: two wolves are gay--although they face prejudice in the pack and the larger world, there is NOT any mention of sex. Warning #2: At one point, Calla must shed her fancy gown, and Shay is astonished to see she is not wearing a bra--but it does NOT mention anything sexual.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I purchased this book for my library. Other reviews mentioned grade 8-up. I would recommend it for grade 8 with CAUTION.

High School: The Attitude Girl

The Attitude Girl
by Mila Bernadkin
Five Star Publications, Inc., 2009
321 pages

The character of Vicky will resonate among high school readers--many of whom share the same trials and tribulations--it's not easy being a teen-ager. Vicky has an attitude, but she thinks it's great. It takes attitude to get through your parents' divorce and your mother losing her job in tough times. Vicky's mom is in no hurry to find another job; she's just trying to "find" herself. Not only does Vicky have to deal with problems at home, she has a whole set of pressures at school, too.

Peer pressure, teen drinking, parties, the need to be popular and stand out, bullying, teen sex, coming of age, teen suicide, maturity, forgiveness, and death are all topics in this coming-of-age story.

Readers who like a good story with lots of meat will like this one. Teens who read Lurlene McDaniel will probably like The Attitude Girl.

The Attitude Girl has received numerous literary awards including 1st Place Winner in the Authors Association Annual Literary Awards (Arizona).

Recommended grades 10-12. Mature subject matter.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the author. I did not receive any monetary compensation for my review. These facts did in no way influence this review.

High School Pick: Clockwork Angel

Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, Book One)
by Cassandra Clare
McElderry Books, 2010
496 pages

Cassandra Clare just keeps getting it right! Fresh off great success with her best-selling series The Mortal Instruments (City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass), Clare begins the back story with the prequel: Clockwork Angel.


Set in Victorian England and beautifully imagined, Clockwork Angel is a richly constructed fantasy novel which stands among the best fantasy of our time. Clare is on par with writers like J.K. Rowling and J.R.R. Tolkien.

When sixteen year old Tessa Gray arrives by steamship in London to meet her brother, she is met instead by two creepy women from a dark, gloomy mansion. Only when they show her a letter handwritten by her brother does she agree to accompany them to their lair. Tessa becomes their prisoner. They teach her to use her unknown powers to shape shift. Unbeknowst to Tessa, she was born with powers to become anyone or anything. This quality, or gift, makes her highly valuable to the mysterious and terrible Magister. The Dark Sisters tell Tessa that they are to deliver her to this evil man, but Tessa is grabbed and spirited away by two young men who tell her they are Shadowhunters, trained warriors with special gifts who fight Downworlders like vampires and warlocks to save humans.

Tessa yearns to find her brother and fears for his life. The Shadowhunters agree to help her find him, if she will use her shapeshifting powers to help them infiltrate a vampire clan. Tessa finds herself torn--does she love the dark and brooding Shadowhunter who saved her from the Sisters? Or does she truly hate him?

Readers who like otherworldly novels with paranormal creatures and just the right amount of love interest will LOVE Clockwork Angel. It should appeal broadly to both male and female readers--both the male and female characters are well-developed and have admirable traits. It is hard to say who is more likeable: Will, the Shadowhunter, or Tessa, the shapeshifter.

Highly, highly recommended. Grades 8-up. Some violence (it is vampires, after all).

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the novel from the publisher. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review. I had this novel for about four months before I started reading it. I was somewhat put off by the cover which I found didn't draw me in as a reader. Once I read the first few pages, I was hooked. Don't let ya readers walk past this novel because of the cover. Tell them to give it a chance.

Spooky Pick: The Secret of Laurel Oaks

The Secret of Laurel Oaks
by Lois Ruby
Tom Doherty Associates, 2010
274 pages

Thirteen year old Lila has been hearing and seeing strange things ever since family friend and Jemez pueblo member Roberto died. Now that she and her family are visiting Laurel Oaks, a haunted plantation in Louisiana, Lila sees and hears far more than she wants to. When the ghost of a slavegirl named Daphne appears to her and asks Lila for help, Lila knows that she can't pretend she doesn't see the spirits.

Daphne hasn't been able to pass on to the other side, whatever or wherever it may be. Something is keeping her at Laurel Oaks. She has been hanging around the plantation for two centuries, trying to get someone to see or hear her, and finally Lila shows up and seems to have the powers. Daphne didn't poison the Judge's wife and daughters, but she may know who did. Daphne has been trusted by the Judge's wife to pass on her porceline bebes, figurines that were treasured by the wife, and Daphne wants Lila to find them.

Can the mystery be solved? Will the treasure ever be found? Will Daphne's name be cleared after all these years? And what about Lila--will she forever be at the spirits' beck and call?

Chapters are told in turn by Lila in the present and Daphne in the past--during the slave days of the South. Daphne tells of a life in the big house and learning hoodoo from Birdie--a slave woman gifted in spells, witchcraft, and the healing arts. The author weaves a story rich with superstitions and folklore brought from Africa and practiced among slaves in the South.

Readers who like ghost stories or mysteries will like this novel. Spooky and satisfying, the setting of Laurel Oaks and the creepy Louisiana backwoods and swamps make this novel come alive.

Recommended grades 6-8.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I bought this book for my library. I received no monetary compensation for my review.

Fairy Tale Fun Pick

Half Upon a Time
by James Riley
Aladdin (Simon & Schuster), 2010
385 pages

A cute take-off on well-known fairy tales, this novel is sure to please young readers. Jack is pushed into rescuing a princess--any princess-- and when he meets May who happens to fall into his world--she is wearing a t-shirt that says "Punk Princess." Jack, of course, thinks she's the real thing and goes about kissing her to wake her up from her "sleep."

May wants nothing to do with this princess thing, but soon realizes she is totally out of her element. In Jack's world, there are dragons, and evil queens, and giants. Trolls, magic, and talking animals, legends and lore and much, much more. And then there's this beanstalk and Jack's missing father.

May and Jack set out to rescue her grandmother who has been kidnapped. Jack realizes that May is the granddaughter of no other than the famous queen Snow White. They enlist the help of a real prince along the way.

The three run into all kinds of storybook trouble and May needs Jack's help to find her truth.

Masterful storytelling will keep the pages turning long into the night. Readers will delight with the stories they know and the ones that are a little twisted. Even children who have only seen the Disney movies are sure to enjoy Half Upon a Time.

Highly recommended grades 4-7

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review. (my apologies for an earlier typo that read Adaddin instead of Aladdin for publisher).