YA Paranormal Pick

Tyger Tyger (A Goblin Wars Book)
by Kersten Hamilton
Clarion Books, 2010
308 pages

Everything was going as planned in Teagan Wylltson's life--she has a dream job at the zoo as part of the primate research team working with Cindy, the zoo's chimp who communicates with Teagan using sign language. Looking forward to college and a great scholarship, Teagan has no time for a boyfriend or any problems in her life. Everything is great until Finn Mac Cumhaill arrives on her doorstep.

Finn is loosely related to Teagan and brings with him all kinds of Irish legends. Goblins, shapeshifters, and shadow creatures begin to arrive at the Wylltson's house. Lucky for Teagan, Finn is the next Mac Camhaill to fight Goblinkind.

This novel is full of Irish legends of goblins, shapeshifters and cat-sidhe. Although goblins may not be a sexy as vampires, they are scary and devious. Hamilton introduces readers to new beings in the paranormal genre. Readers who enjoy a good paranormal read like Shiver or The Forest of Hands and Teeth are likely to enjoy Tyger Tyger, and Finn is just as dreamy-licious as Edward (Twilight).

Girls especially will like the characters of Finn and Teagan.
Recommended grades 7-up. Mild language.

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

Middle School Pick

Crosswire
by Dotti Enderle
Calkins Creek, 2010
142 pages

Historical fiction at its best, this novel delivers the story of drought stricken Texas in 1883. Jesse lives on a small farm with his older brother Ethan and his mom and dad. Life is tough, but the boys don't complain--it's how things are back then--work all day and go to bed dog tired every night. Crops are dying and it's tough keeping enough water for the stock and the family. Everyone is praying for a good rain.

Then when it can't get any worse, wirecutters cut barbed wire fences and use water on private land to water their cattle. Jesse's family wages war against the wirecutters. Every drop of water is precious, and the thieves need to be caught.

Ethan gets in trouble with a gambling debt and steals from the family's savings. He is disowned and kicked out of the family home. A mysterious drifter shows up and gets a job on the farm, but Jesse is suspicious of his intentions--and rightly so.

Enderle has an ear for Texas dialect and her characters come to life through dialog. Jesses says, " That devil sun..."; Ethan says, "Think those scoundrels will come back tonight?"

Quick reading. Reluctant readers will probably have no trouble with this book. Cover has appeal for young readers and Jesse will be a character they like.

Recommended grades 5-8.

FTC Disclaimer: I got this book from another librarian who received it from the publisher. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review.

Dystopian Fiction Pick

Incarceron
by Catherine Fisher
Dial Books, 2010 (orginally published in Britain in 2007)
442 pages

Provocative, compelling, thrilling, dark, dangerous, gritty, and disturbing. This is a book that I dreamt about for a week after reading it. Not a novel that one will soon forget. Although it takes about thirty pages to set up, from there on, the reader will be enveloped in a fantasy world gone wrong. Creatures beyond description haunt Incarceron's walls.

The setting acts as a character in this dystopian fantasy. Incarceron is a prison that was set up to house the worst of all society--it has been sealed up for centuries and has evolved into a living, breathing, thinking entity. Like Hal, the computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey, the prison takes over. It sees all and knows all. No one has ever escaped except one man; one man who has become a legend, a myth, and a fairy tale. Only Sapphique has escaped and knows the way.

Finn is not like the other prisoners; he remembers Outside. He is sworn to his oath brother Keiro and is tied to Gildas, a Sapienti who seeks the Outside. Because Finn sees visions, he is known as a starseer. He even has dreams of Sapphique leading him from Incarceron.

The warden of Incarceron holds the fate of the prison, and his daughter Claudia will marry and become Queen of the realm. That is, until she finds a key that unlocks Incarceron. Claudia and Finn are able to communicate through this key.

On the Outside, life seems perfect, and it is except that there is no freedom. "We are chained hand and foot...enslaved to a static, empty world where men and women can't read, where scientific advances of the ages are the preserve of the rich, where artists and poets are doomed to endless repititions and sterile reworkings of past masterpieces. Nothing is new. New does not exist. Nothing changes, nothing grows, evolves, develops. Time has stopped. Progress is forbidden." (Incarceron, p. 243)

Once Incarceron is threatened, the realm will tremble.

Book Two: Sapphique due out December 2010.

Highly, highly recommended grades 8-up. May not be suitable for younger readers due to violence. No sex, no language.


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

High School Pick

Freefall
by Mindi Scott
Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster), 2010
315 pages

Seth McCoy has an abundance of problems: a mother who isn't at all a mother or authority figure, a brother full of anger, bandmembers who argue all the time, and a ton of guilt and self-hatred for letting his best friend die last summer. Not only that, he's mad at childhood friend Kendall and he's trying to win the favor of a new girl Rosetta who has troubles of her own.

It's amazing how close the edge can be in a freefall. Seth's brother Jared feels betrayed when Seth quits the band in favor of school. Seth finally decides to straighten up and fly right, returning to school and taking extra classes in order to graduate on time. He confronts his own stage fright and joins a new band. Rosetta and Kendall help him see that it was not his fault that Isaac died. Able to grieve and move on, Seth is a victor.

A coming of age novel for the 21st century. Dirty, gripping, and raw, but finally equally uplifting and soaring. Mindi Scott scores with this novel.

Highly recommended grades 9-12.
Not for middle school readers: sex, violence, drugs, alcohol, parties, and language

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher but did not receive any financial compensation for my review of blogpost.

Realistic Fiction

Angela 1
by David A. Bedford
Eloquent Books, 2009.
188 pages.

Angela moves to a new town with her mother and sister after her parents' divorce. Although school is exciting and Angela has no trouble making friends, things aren't as pleasant as they sound. Her history teacher is making waves with some citizens who don't like his teaching methods--they prefer that teachers not have an opinion.

Angela and her friends uncover some suspicious activities being covered up by her principal, too. What happens when teen-agers fight the good fight? Will adults and authorities believe them?

This first novel in a series of three introduces Angela and her friends as activists and moral teens, trying to do the right thing. There is quite a lot going on in this novel; I suspect the follow-up novels will help clarify a few things.


The cover art and style of the book seem quite off-putting to the teen market and the price ($25.50) is steep for many teen buyers and certainly libraries.

Ages 13-up due to "adult" crimes like corruption, mis-use of funds, slander--terms that younger students are not usually familiar with.

FTC Required Disclosure: The author sent me a copy of his book to review. I received no monetary compensation for this review. I would recommend this book more whole-heartedly if it were packaged for the mass-market with a new cover and a better, more affordable, price. In its current format the book looks like a high school reader produced by a textbook company.

The Curse of Deadman's Forest

The Curse of Dead Man’s Forest (book 2, Oracles of Delphi Keep)
By Victoria Laurie
Delacorte Press, 2010
423 pages.

As the forces of evil continue to build, Ian Wigby and his sister Theo try to fulfill the 3,000 year old prophecy that they can save the humanity with the help of four other magically gifted children yet to be revealed. The third child is called the healer and can only be found if the children enter the portal—a time travel portal near their home in Dover, England. But, the stakes are high—the prophecy foretells of Ian’s death if he enters the portal again. The children are sure they can’t stay in Dover and wait for evil forces to find them, but they can’t enter the portal and risk Ian’s death either.

A magic sundial found in the second box reveals the way to solve each riddle.

This series is sure to delight readers of all ages. Anyone who liked Harry Potter, Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief series, and A Series of Unfortunate Events is likely to love this book. Part magic, part Greek mythology, part adventure, this novel sets a break-neck pace for page turners. Suspenseful and satisfying.

Highly recommended ages 10-and up.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher along with book one. I did not receive any monetary compensation for my review or blog posting.

YA Crime Thriller

The Interrogation of Gabriel James
By Charlie Price
Farrar Straus Giroux (fsgteen), 2010
168 pages

Gabriel James is just trying to get on with his life—but two murders and two funerals have the police questioning him. Gabriel knows all the players, and the police want to know what he knows or suspects. Told through a series of interview questions and flashbacks, Gabriel reveals the truth.

How much blame does Gabriel have in what happened? Did his actions cause the murders? The closer he comes to the truth, the more secrets are revealed about his mother’s dark past and his own father.

Sometimes the past is best buried forever. A compelling read, high-paced drama, and each action gets a severe consequence—sometimes more severe than Gabriel can deal with.

Teens who like realistic fiction and police and crime novels are likely to enjoy this one.


Recommended grades 9-up.
Some mature subjects, violence, sexual situations.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this copy from the publisher and did not receive any monetary compensation for my review or blog.

Best New Series

Oracles of Delphi Keep
Victoria Laurie
Delacorte Press, 2009
549 pages

The first in a series of books by a debut author is a magical story of two orphans, a castle and orphanage, an English earl, and the white cliffs of Dover. But it’s much more than that, part adventure, part magical tale, it reminds readers of A Series of Unfortunate Events and The Lightning Thief series (Riordan) with a bit of Harry Potter magic thrown in.
A baby arrives on a dark and stormy night in 1930, carried by a mysterious horseman, and Ian is entrusted to be her older sibling and look after her.

Ian loves adventure and fancies himself a great explorer someday. He dreams of romantic places and amazing discoveries. One day he and Theo are exploring among the cliffs of Dover near the Keep, when Ian discovers a fantastic black box. He unearths it and takes it back to the Keep to try and open it. The box is decorated with strange markings but try as he might, Ian cannot open it.

Ian and Theo uncover a 3,000 year old prophecy and are astonished that their names are written down. They have been called upon to save the world from forces that will be called together to destroy humankind.

Readers who enjoyed Riordan’s The Lightning Thief and the Harry Potter series will love this novel. Rollicking great fun and a real page turner. ‘


Highly, highly recommended. Ages 10 and up.

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

Sci-Fi Thriller

The Gardener
by S.A. Bodeen
R.R. Donnelley and Sons Company, 2010.
232 pages

Following close on the heels of her runaway YA hit novel The Compound, S.A. Bodeen has managed to do it again! She continues to write a taut sci-fi thriller that has technology, genetics, medical ethics, moral issues, and a great story. This page-turner will keep even the most reluctant reader interested. This is a must-read--and would make a great Hollywood movie.

Mason knows there are secrets his mother is keeping from him, but he has no idea how complex the secrets are until the reality explodes in his face. After an accidental encounter with a patient at his mother's workplace, Mason finds himself rescuing the strangely beautiful girl--a girl with no memory and no past. As he gets deeper into the mystery, serious doubts about his own mother's past, including her Master's degree from Duke and her past employment with a large laboratory TroDyn, complicate their own safety.

What Mason finds is unbelievable and will change his life forever. What would you do to save someone?

Highly recommended for all YA collections grades 7 and up.

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

Paranormal Pick

The Haunted (Book two, The Hollow Trilogy)
by Jessica Verday
Simon Pulse (Simon & Shuster), 2010
467 pages

Abbey returns home to Sleepy Hollow after a couple of months at her aunt's farmhouse trying to gather her sanity after the death of her best friend.

Thinking she's safe to return home, Abbey tries to get back to normal and begins to be tutored by her science partner Ben. That's during her waking hours. Her sleep is still tortured by weird dreams of Caspian--another love. He simply won't leave her alone. But that's not the worst of it--Caspian can never be with Abbey because he is already dead--a ghost only Abbey can see. Can she ever be happy stuck between two worlds?

Readers who like a gothic love story will like this one; however, book one, The Hollow, should be read first.

Recommended grades 9-12.

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

Ghostly Pick

Three Quarters Dead
by Richard Peck
Dial Books (Penguin), 2010.
208 pages

Sophomore Kerry Williamson doesn't fit in. She sits alone at the end of a lunch table where three fabulous, popular girls gather for lunch. Kerry eavesdrops on their conversations, longing to be like them. Tanya is the queen of all; she rules the group. She is perfect--from her flawless skin to her long blond tresses.

When Tanya invites Kerry to sit with them, Kerry fells like it's a dream come true and she can't believe her good fortune. She is suddenly living the part of a popular girl, that is...until a terrible accident ruins everything. Time passes. Seasons change. And then out of nowhere...Kerry gets a text message from Tanya.

She's thrilled. Maybe all these months she has been stuck in a bad dream. Three Quarters Dead is a great high school clique novel with a ghoulish twist. Honestly, readers won't be able to put this one down. Anyone who loves a ghost story or a thriller will love this book. Peck is a masterful storyteller.

Highly recommended. Grades 7 and up.
Publishing release: October 26, 2010

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this ARC in a box sent to me from a fellow librarian. I received no monetary compensation for my review.

YA Pick

Gimme A Call
by Sarah Mlynowski
Delacorte Press, 2010
301 pages

What a "novel" idea for a ya novel! In one of the freshest and funniest books of the year, Devorah (Devi) Banks has a real chance to change her past and her future! After dropping her cell phone in the mall fountain, Devi finds it only calls one number--hers. But it isn't calling her today--it's calling her in the past. Senior Devi realizes that she is calling her freshman self.

She's wasted the last three years of high school going steady with Bryan. Now she wants to warn her freshman self to stay away from him. Freshman Devi won't listen and is only convinced when future Devi tells her secrets that no one else could know. Freshman Devi is quite funny, but senior Devi is funny and insightful--or maybe hindsightful--no such word, I know. Of course, she's lived the past three years and can figure out what to do and what not to do to change her future.

When future Devi convinces freshman Devi, their worlds are turned upside down. Great fun!

The cover art seems an odd choice. Unless the intent was "less is more," I would say that the odd use of white space is ineffective. Teens will likely not be drawn to the cover, and that's a shame. They will miss a treasure of a book.

Recommended for ya collections grades 7-12.

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

Graphic Pick

Silverfin: A James Bond Adventure
by Charlie Higson & Kev Walker
Disney (Hyperion Books), 2010 (American publication date)
160 pages (graphic novel)

Beautifully illustrated in full color, the action will keep the pages turning. Young James Bond arrives at Eton for the school year. He is immediately sought to compete in a triathlon with American kid, George Hellebore.

Young James travels to Scotland to see his Uncle Max, who just happened to be a spy--and he warns his nephew against becoming a spy. There's something in the water at Loch Silverfin, and it's up to James to figure out what it is and destroy it. Of course, George Hellebore and his evil father also show up in Scotland.

Readers will love reading about the boy James Bond--when he's young and still vulnerable. Great storytelling and fantastic graphic format. Reluctant readers will be drawn to this books.

Recommended for graphic collections grade 7-up.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from another librarian who receives ARCs from publishers. I was not influnced by this fact and it does not impact this review in any way. I received no monetary compensation for my review.

High School: Mean Girls Pick

The Debs: Love, Lies, and Texas Dips
by Susan McBride
Delacourte Press, 2009
293 pages

Think Mean Girls with a Texas swagger and a Houston drawl. The storyline follows four debutantes as they prepare to be Rosebuds--the creme de la creme of Houston's country club set.

There's Jo Lynn, spoiled, pampered, beautiful, cunning, and two-faced. Jo Lynn--the girl with an eye for designer duds and Vera Wang dresses. Jo Lynn--the girl with the perfect quarterback boyfriend who dreams of quarterbacking at Texas Tech.

There's Mac, the nice girl.

There's Laura, the girl who always has to be second best to Miss Perfect, Jo Lynn.


There's Ginger, granddaughter of one of the staunchest debs in memory. Ginger--who has to maintain the family name.

The drama unfolds as the girls prepare to be presented at the event of Houston society: The Rosebud Ball.

What happens when false rumors are posted on myspace? Will someone have to step down?

Girls who love gossip and drama will love this read. It's like Gossip Girl, Texas style.

As a good ol' Texas girl myself, I enjoyed looking at how the uber-wealthy live.

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL. Recommended for grades 10-12.
Sex, some language, adult situations.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC from a fellow librarian. I received no monetary compensation for this review.

YA Pick

I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want To Be Your Class President
by Josh Lieb
Razorbill (Penguin), 2009.
302 pages

This debut novel for young adults by screenwriter Josh Lieb whose credits include t.v. shows The Simpsons, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and NewsRadio is hilarious! Readers who liked the Wimpy Kid series will probably eat this up.

Oliver is not just your ordinary middle school kid. He really is a genius of unspeakable evil and he really does want to be the class president. He takes $500.00 in bingo winnings and invests in stock--soon he finds himself a billionaire. But, everyone knows a kid can't buy and sell stocks or companies or take over the world until he's at least 18 years old. Oliver finds a "patsy" to act as the head of his company: Sheldrake Industires.


Running for class president proves harder than running a billion dollar corporation. Middle school is not for the faint of heart! Snarky comments and funny illustrations with Oliver's footnotes on almost every page make this book memorable.

Highly recommended grades 6-12. Anyone with a sense of humor should enjoy this book.

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