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Zara suspects there’s a guy stalking her. She’s obsessed with phobias and saving the world.   She hasn’t been herself since her stepfather died and her mother has exiled her to frozen Maine to live with her grandmother in the hopes a change of scenery will help her recover. But is that really the reason Zara’s been sent north?  Once in Maine and starting a new school she discovers it’s not a sleepy, backwoods town at all – there are some scary secrets here, some of which are not human and are definately after her blood. Carrie Jones’ Need features suspense, romance and supernatural themes and fans of the Twilight saga willRead More →

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Suzanne LaFleur’s debut novel, Love, Aubrey, will be released in June 2009, and I can’t wait to sell it to our customers.  It is honest, heartbreaking and hopeful and it brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion.  Truly a remarkable debut.  11-year old Aubrey’s little sister and father were killed in a tragic car accident. Her mother, who was driving, and Aubrey survived.  When the novel opens, Aubrey’s mother has slipped so deeply into depression that she has abandoned Aubrey in their Virginia home.  At first Aubrey enjoys the days of eating cheese & crackers and watching TV; but then she runs outRead More →

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Mystery and magic abound in P.W. Catanese’s latest offering, Happenstance Found (The Books of Umber).  A boy awakens in a dark tunnel under a ruined city and realizes that he has no memory and no idea who he is or where he came from. A voice in the darkness hints at his future, and then he is found by 3 adventurers: Lord Umber, Sophie and Oates, and together they escape from the worm in the tunnels and the erupting volcano that buried the city long ago. Once they’ve escaped they return to Umber’s home and there Hap learns how amazing the adventurer Umber really is. Read More →

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Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson have come up with a great stand-along story about a boy who attracts trouble and somehow gets out of it all.  Barry and Pearson stick to their youth target by avoiding offensive language or situations.  I would consider this book good, clean fun.  Science Fair has enough action and movement to keep younger readers interested, but does not dwell too long on any activity.  There are a lot of individual events but everything is resolved clearly in the end.  The characters are fun and enjoyable to follow.  The main character, Toby, amazingly always seems to be getting in trouble. EachRead More →

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In: Middle Grade Reviews, Supernatural & Horror, Supernatural & Horror (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
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I hate cliff-hangers!! Grrr!!  But I am getting ahead of myself… in Skeleton Creek, Patrick Carman’s latest book, we meet best friends Ryan and Sarah right after a terrible accident that has left Ryan house-bound and forbidden from having any contact with Sarah.  They came too close to discovering something scary and sinister that’s happened (or maybe happening) in their small Oregon town, Skeleton Creek.  Separated and alone, Ryan works through his fear & trauma by journaling about what happened that lead to the accident and he communicates secretly with Sarah via emails and online videos.  They know whatever caused the accident is still outRead More →

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In this lyrical novel, Karlijn Stoffels weaves together separate stories about the many forms love can take and how it shapes every human heart. First we meet Mee, a child born to deaf parents whose beautiful singing voice goes unheard and ultimately rejected by his mother. Broken hearted from her rejection and loss, Mee wanders the countryside singing mournful songs at funerals. He gains fame as the “singer of sorrows” as through his music the true life and emotions of the deceased are brought to life for all the listeners to share. We also meet Mitou, a child of despair, who focuses instead on the joys of life and wanders the country bringingRead More →

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Rodman Philbrick’s newest novel for children, The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg is an adventure story set in the thick of the Civil War, full of danger, humor, scrapes & escapes, and scoundrels and kind-hearted characters. Homer’s older brother has been tricked and sold illegally into the Union Army by their ruthless guardian.  Homer runs away from their home in Maine to find his brother and save him from the war.  Along the way, Homer, who has a knack for stretching the truth, meets some period characters: swindlers, a Quaker, slave catchers & a conductor on the Underground railroad, a snake-oil salesman with aRead More →

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This book would make a great serial TV show – the best of Lost, Peter Pan, and other fantasy-adventure stories – find a breath-taking and fast-paced home in Nadia Aguiar’s debut novel, The Lost Island of Tamarind.  One exciting episode after the next, each and every chapater ending with a cliff-hanger or surprise, keep the reader turning page after page. Maya lives at sea with her family – parents who are marine biologists, her annoying brother Simon, and their baby sister Penny.  In a terrible storm, their parents are washed overboard and the children find themselves drifting into a cove of the mysterious and magicalRead More →

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Mari and her brother Jakob have been led away from Hamelin town by the enchanting music of the Pied Piper.  Through a hidden portal in the mountain, they find themselves in a magical wonderland, which is as dangerous as it is beautiful. In her mesmerizing novel, Wild Magic, Cat Weatherhill enriches and expands the age-old story of the Pied Piper.  The story has 3 points of view: Marianna and her disabled brother, Jakob, who can’t keep up with the others and becomes, at least briefly, the only Hamelin child not trapped inside the Hill. And finally Finn, the Piper.  We learn he is half human, half elf, andRead More →