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The Dead Gentleman, by Matthew Cody, is a fun new adventure that suggests other possibilities of what we might not see happening right in front of us in our world, especially in our closets. Tommy Learner is an eleven-year-old orphan who makes his living as a street thief in New York. When he goes for what should be a big money opportunity, he ends up with a seemingly useless metal bird and is thrust into a secret multi-world exploring society of portals, submarines, evil-doers, danger and eventually betrayal. Over one hundred years later, his ghost appears in front of twelve-year-old Jezebel Lemmon warning her ofRead More →

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Seriously, this book tries too hard. It tries to be quirky, it tries to be funny, it tries to connect to 10-14 year old boys who liked Lemony Snicket, play lots of video games, and love karate, it tries to be a vocabulary builder, and it tries to teach the reader about imagination, courage, and thinking outside the box.  In the end it succeeded in making me skim read to the end to find out what happened, and then say incredulously, “seriously?” Perhaps I’m being too harsh.  Chris Raschka is a Caldecott medalist after all.  And there are some funny moments and some curious charactersRead More →

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New York Times bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater has created something wonderful, enchanting, thrilling, and unique in her latest, The Scorpio Races.  It’s hard to say what I like most about this book – its breathtaking scenery and visceral sense of place; the pulse-pounding thrill of the wild horses racing on the beach; the lovingly crafted, superbly detailed characters (human and horse); the fact that it’s a unique blend of romance, action, coming of age, and fantasy that feels so different from most everything else out on the YA market right now; or maybe, simply, the powerful honesty of a book well written, carefully edited, and lovinglyRead More →

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Dandi Daley Mackall’s latest book for young adults, The Silence of Murder, takes the reader along on a slowly unraveling mystery about a beloved coach, murdered in cold blood; a mute, autistic teen, on trial for the crime; and a strong-willed young woman, determined to prove her older brother isn’t a killer.  Sixteen year old Hope is her 18 year old brother Jeremy’s protector, the only person who truly understands him and appreciates his unique way of being in the world.  Since  Jeremy stopped speaking at the age of 9, Hope has made it her mission in life to be the bridge between reserved, autistic, creative Jeremy andRead More →

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A stolen baby throws a mother’s life into madness. A young girl yearns for life outside the house she’s virtually imprisoned in.  Beth Kephart’s latest, You Are My Only, is packed with raw emotion: loss, confusion, heart break, fear, love, and hope.  There’s little by way of literary devices, imagery, flowery language or flourish to mask the bare bones of a powerful story of two young women whose lives seem completely beyond their control.  Emma Rae is nineteen and trapped in a loveless marriage.  Baby is the light of her life, her “only”, and when Baby is stolen from the backyard one bright bluemorning, Emma Rae’sRead More →

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Best-Selling adult suspense author Harlan Coben makes his young adult debut with Shelter (A Mickey Bolitar Novel).  He joins plenty of other high profile adult writers venturing into the waters of children and teen lit, carrying over his signature style, plot twists and turns, and high-stakes scenarios to the next generation.  Like Kathy Reichs, Coben creates a protagonist for his new series who’s related to an already beloved character.  In this series, Mickey is reluctant detective Myron Bolitar’s estranged nephew.   Readers (especially guys) who like a lot of action, fast pacing, economical prose, and surprise plot hooks will get a thrill from Shelter and will eagerly await Mickey’sRead More →

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I have a rule, inspired by Wallace Wallace from Gordon Korman’s No More Dead Dogs, that I don’t read books about dogs.  Even if the dogs don’t die, aren’t abused, or if live the best life you could ever hope for them, I just can’t read books about dogs. They make my heart ache because I always, always fall in love with the dog and no matter what happens to him (or her) I am too emotional to finish. So, what was I thinking when I broke my rule and read Tim Willocks’ children’s debut, Doglands? I have no idea.  A number of times theRead More →

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“I wondered if this was what it was like when the end of the world came. A sudden overturning that made every day like stepping alone into an empty room, everything you longed for, every handhold you used to pull yourself along, vanished.” (Stephen, from The Eleventh Plague)  Much has been made in recent months about the darker bent of YA lit and the growing fascination with end-of-the-world scenarios and dystopias taking over the once sunny, wholesome world of tween/YA lit (was it ever really so?).  So I thought it particularly interesting that the 2 books next in my stack to read were both post-apocalyptic stories: AaronRead More →

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Edward Bloor’s latest, A Plague Year, takes a somber, sobering, yet ultimately hopeful look at the damage caused by meth.  Set in Autumn 2001 in the small coal-mining town of Blackwater PA, A Plague Year is one freshman’s journal of the epidemic that swept through his town, turning people into zombies, thieves, and dead bodies all within a matter of months.  Tom’s always been focused on getting out of his depressing coal mining town, planning an escape to a college in Florida.   But lately something’s not right in Blackwater: it’s always been a run-down town with few prospects for getting ahead, but now crime is on theRead More →