The Queen of Kentucky

Whitaker, Alecia. (2012). The queen of Kentucky. New York: Poppy/Little, Brown, and Company.

Inside Out & Back Again

Lai, Thanhha. (2011). Inside out & back again. New York: Harper.

First Day on Earth

Castellucci, Cecil. (2011). First day on Earth. New York: Scholastic.

The Day Before

Schroeder, Lisa. (2011). The day before. New York: Simon Pulse.
Sixteen-year-old Amber's life was almost perfect until a couple of years ago when she discovered that she was accidentally switched with another baby at birth. Now, her birth parents have filed and won a lawsuit that allows them to share custody of Amber. Tomorrow she is supposed to leave her Oregon home to live with her birth parents in Texas for six months. She decides to spend the day at the Oregon Coast Aquarium and at the beach itself. While looking at the exhibits, she meets Cade, a young man with secrets of his own. They spend an extraordinary together, trying to experience the now and not think about the future or the past.

This novel in verse features two interesting teens, a beautiful setting, and all the emotions that surge forth when it seems as though all you may have is one day together.

Family

Ostow, Micol. (2011). Family. New York: Egmont.

Carmen

Myers, Walter Dean. (2011). Carmen. New York: Egmont.

The Queen of Water

Resau, Laura, & Farinango, Maria Virginia. (2011). The queen of water. New York: Delacorte.

Guantanamo Boy

Perera, Anna. (2011). Guantanamo boy. Chicago: Albert Whitman & Company.

Okay for Now

Forever

Stiefvater, Maggie. (2011). Forever. New York: Scholastic.

Sparrow Road

O'Connor, Sheila. (2011). Sparrow Road. New York: Putnam.

No Passengers Beyond This Point

Choldenko, Gennifer. No passengers beyond this point.

The Running Dream

Van Draanen, Wendelin. (2011). The running dream.

Noah Barleywater Runs Away

Boyne, John. (2011). Noah Barleywater runs away.

Close to Famous

Bauer, Joan. (2011). Close to famous. New York: Viking. When ten-year-old Foster McFee and her mother leave Memphis to escape from an abusive boyfriend who impersonates Elvis and delights in denigrating Foster for her poor grades, they end up in a small West Virginia town called Culpepper. The kind couple who towed their car provides a place for them to stay, and they begin to settle down. Despite being unable to read, Foster is an accomplished baker, able to memorize recipes and create scrumptious cupcakes. She heads to Angry Wayne's Bar and Grill to sell her goodies and follows her new friend Macon on his job working for Miss Charleena, an eccentric former actress who has withdrawn from the world for reasons of her own. When the wealthy woman realizes that Foster is unable to read, she offers to tutor her.

Favorite Lines:

“I’d never seen a prison before, unless you count sixth grade” (p. 18).

“I was in my own kind of jail where the gates lock tight, and no matter what, you just can’t get out” (p. 150).

“Knowing you belong is like putting frosting on a cupcake. It totally seals the deal” (p. 225).

The Friendship Doll

Larson, Kirby. (2011). The friendship doll.

Saint Louis Armstrong Beach

Woods, Brenda. (2011). Saint Louis Armstrong Beach. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin. Those of us who lived through Hurricane Katrina and her aftermath in August 2005 know that it's hard to get the details of that catastrophic event right. In this book, Woods comes as close as possible in making readers feel as though they are in New Orleans in the days before and during the hurricane.

Desperate Measures

Summers, Laura. (2011). Desperate measures. New York: Putnam. Life hasn't been easy for twins Vicky and Rhianna, 13, and their younger brother Jamie. Their mother's death and their father's disappearance for long periods of time left the siblings to fend for themselves. Their foster family has had to give them up because of the mother's life-threatening pregnancy, and they decide to head toward their elderly great-aunt's home rather than being separated in foster care. The story alternates from the point of view of Vicky and Rhianna, providing readers with unique perspectives on the events in the story. While Vicky is serious and concerned about the consequences of their actions while also being worried about her brother and sister, Rhianna is more concerned with current conditions, such as how tired or hungry she is, and she resents being bossed by her sister. Clearly, all three youngsters have been affected by the many life-altering events that have occurred recently, and Jamie is prone to bouts of outbursts and impulsive behavior. The journey on which they embark is his idea. But as often happens, their plans do not go as expected, and once they reach their destination, someone else is living in their relative's home. Naturally, they find allies along the way as well as others who seem to bent on cruelty just for the sake of cruelty. It is particularly interesting that they left bullies behind in the schools they attended, and they have brief encounters with bullies in the countryside to which they flee. The author makes it clear that bullies can find the most unlikely reasons to tease others; in the case of Rhianna, it is her learning disability that makes her seem different; in the case of Daniel, the boy who befriends the children, it is his reluctance to fight back or respond to teasing. The book offers readers much to consider regarding human behaviors such as bullying and stealing and also examines what comes after death. Ultimately hopeful, this book allows all of its main characters to grow in subtle ways. Rhianna especially touches the heart with her refusal to believe what she is told about death; instead, she interprets the afterlife in her own fashion.

Favorite Lines:

“I tried to conjure up her face in my mind’s eye, but it was as if some invisible force was rubbing out the details as fast as I tried to remember them. Shocked, I concentrated harder, but all I could see was the vague shape of someone wrapped in warm blankets and huddled in a deck chair” (p. 132).

“All the anger that had been stored up in me for the last two years suddenly ebbed away like the tide on a beach” (p. 207). 

Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots

Across the Great Divide

Wrede, Patricia. (2011). Across the great barrier. New York: Scholastic. This book follows the continuing journey of Eff who lives in an alternative reality form of the Wild West just as settlers are making their way westward to claim land for homesteads. Eff herself is a magic-maker, and while not as adept at magic as her twin brother Lan, she clearly has gifts. Those gifts, however, are something of a mystery to her since she hasn't learned how to harness them.

Cleopatra Confesses

Favorite Line:

“My sisters preen and smile. They probably think they are very beautiful, but to me, they seem false, like painted statues” (p. 17).

Music Was IT

Rubin, Susan Goldman. (2011). Music was IT: Young Leonard Bernstein. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.

Many aspiring musicians will draw inspiration from this biography of Leonard Bernstein, composer, conductor, and pianist. Rubin covers this talented virtuoso's early years, from his birth and growing up years in Boston to his triumph as a conductor at 25 in Carnegie Hall.

A Brief History of Montmaray

Cooper, Michelle. (2009). A brief history of Montmaray. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Favorite Lines:

"She looks like an elderly Ophelia risen from a watery grave—sodden hair straggling over her face, black dress plastered to her body—as she staggers towards the stairs” (p. 253).

“For we carry what we love inside us, always” (p. 293). 

Ruined

Morris, Paula. (2009). Ruined. New York: Point/Scholastic. Rebecca Brown loves living in New York City, and when her father insists that she live in New Orleans with an acquaintance of his while he's working in China, she is understandably upset. Still, she figures it will only be for a few months. She is enrolled in a private school with a social pecking order that leaves newcomers and outsiders to the New Orleans power scene at the botton. Hardly anyone is willing to be friendly to her, and she is alone.

Favorite Lines:

“Her aunt was bedraggled as a patchwork rag doll by the time they found cover in the garage” (p. 10).

“Anton and the others were approaching, swarming up the steps and around the tomb like invading cockroaches” (p. 73).

Dark Parties

Grant, Sara. (2011). Dark parties. New York: Little, Brown. Sixteen-year-old Neva Adams has lived all her life inside a dome that has been created to keep its citizens safe from whatever is outside.

Favorite Line:

“My life has been shaken like a snow dome, but instead of the happy figures and houses being covered with glitter, they have come undone and are floating free, crashing into one another and landing helter-skelter” (p. 61).

Out of Shadows

Wallace, Jason. (2011). Out of shadows. New York: Holiday House. Zimbabwe in the early 1980s is a country in the midst of change. After a war, there is a new president, Robert Mugabe, who seems to offer hope for the nation's black citizens while respecting the claims of its whites. For Robert Jacklin, the family's move from England to this new place means attending a boarding school where many of us classmates are among the most privileged in the country. Robert is desperate to go home to England and begs his mother to help him leave the school, but despite her best intentions, she has troubles of her own. Robert's father experiences white guilt for the country's riches, due in part to white's oppression of blacks in the past as well as theft of their lands and natural resources. On the first day at school, he introduces Robert to Nelson, one of the few black boys at the school, and urges them to befriend one another. The school contains older bullies who take advantage of the younger boys and make their lives difficult. At first, Robert and Nelson stick closely to one another until Robert makes the choice to side with Ivan, the son of a wealthy farmer who hates the blacks and the changes occurring in their country. All the notions of fairness his father has taught him seem to evaporate, and he is increasingly drawn into Ivan's circle and increasingly violent activities. Once Ivan comes under the tutelage of a charismatic teacher who seems to be still fighting the war, Robert watches as his friend grows angrier and angrier. Since the story spans 1983 to 1987, the years of Robert's schooling, it is possible to observe the changes within him as he finally faces the truth about Ivan and about some of his own unsavory choices. As the story builds to its climax, readers will be astonished at how long thoughts of revenge can be allowed to incubate.

One of the most appealing aspects of this book is the narrator's honesty. Robert recognizes his own weakness and the fact that many of his own actions are rooted in fear and a desperate need to survive, and once he realizes that he has reached as far as he is willing to go and takes a stand, his actions seem authentic. My enjoyment of the book was marred by some aspects of the ending, though, which seem all too convenient to be true.

Favorite Lines:

“The cold air tugged sharply that afternoon, but there was something about the day that made us believe summer could return” (p. 175).

Dark Souls

Morris, Paula. (2011). Dark souls. New York: Point/Scholastic. Intent on distracting their teenagers while combining a working vacation, the Tennants embark on a trip to York, England. Sixteen-year-old Miranda sees ghosts, the first one being her best friend Jenna who was killed in a car wreck while her older brother Rob was driving. Rob, too, has been scarred by the experience and becomes claustrophobic in tight places. As the two walk the streets of the historical place, Rob finds a possible romance with a local woman, and Miranda is attracted to a ghostly figure she sees across the alley from her bedroom. She also finds a kindred spirit in the form of Nick whose brother committed suicide years ago. Nick also is able to see ghosts, and Miranda feels as though she can share her feelings and experiences with him in a way that she is no longer able to do with anyone else. But when she realizes that Nick has a connection to their landlord, Lord Poole, she isn't sure how much she can trust her new confidant. As Miranda tries to figure out exactly who Nick is and solve other mysteries that may or may not be related, she gains confidence and takes some ill-advised risks. This is an engaging page-turner that will keep readers guessing right up until the conclusion.

Favorite Line:

“Miranda half expected someone in a long velvet gown to come sweeping out to greet them, and maybe the Brothers Grimm to drop by later for tea” (p. 151).

Flood and Fire

Diamand, Emily. (2011). Flood and fire. New York: Holiday House. The further adventures of Lilly, her friends Lexy and Zeph, and her seacat, Cat take the friends out of the marshes to Cambridge, then to London, and on their way to Scotland.

Raiders' Ransom

Generation Dead

The Eternal Sea

Frazier, Angie. (2011). The eternal sea. New York: Scholastic.  Camille Rowen, 17, bears a weighty responsibility on her shoulders. Having chosen to use an enchanted stone known as Umandu, to bring back to life Oscar, the man she loves, she is haunted by the knowledge that she chose his life over her father's. All of these events and more were described in the previous book, Everlasting. Readers would be advised to check that one out first in order to prevent disorientation as they read The Eternal Sea. But Oscar is determined to head to Egypt in search of the companion stone--and he plans to do without Camille. Determined to figure out what has prompted the changes in Oscar that seem to have left him cold and distant, Camille manages to follow him. Randall Jackson, the man Camille's father selected as her fiance, also meets up with them, and the two try to outdo one another in claiming her affections. Improbably, Camille finds that she is attracted to both men and is unable to choose between them. As she sleeps each night, she doesn't dream of her suitors, though, but of the Forelands and of an icy region where she is attacked by a female wolf. Determined, earthy, and brave, Camille never stops in her determination to reach those lands and save Oscar's soul.

The author has created a decidedly frightening underworld with a sea in which dead folks float about and reach out to grab living humans for their warmth. There are enough puzzles, hieroglyphics, chases, and exotic locales to please lovers of adventure stories. Reader interest is heightened by the difficulty in distinguishing between the good and the bad guys as well as by Camille's romantic vacillation. Give the author plaudits, though, for creating a heroine who doesn't simply pine for love and rely on others to save her, but rather plots her own course.

Favorite Lines:

"The color of the sky wasn't the same the next day. The bleached horizon and the impossibly blue dome had a yellow tinge to it, as if draped with a muslin sheet. Maggie didn't need her napkin and plate hat, and the apples of Camille's cheeks no longer ached from squinting" (p. 265).

Cleopatra's Moon

Shecter, Vicky Alvear. (2011). Cleopatra's moon. New York: Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic. The story of Queen Cleopatra of Egypt has been told and retold many times, but this story, told from the point of view of her daughter, Cleopatra Selene, offers a unique and interesting perspective on the saga.

Want to Go Private?

Littman, Sarah Darer. (2011). Want to go private? New York: Scholastic. Starting high school is often a frightening experience for anyone, but Abby Johnston knows that at least she can count on the friendship of her BFF, Faith. But the two freshmen have only one class together, and Faith is more interested in expanding her circle of friends and getting involved in school activities than Abby is, which results in an ever-increasing distance between the two. Abby turns inward, and becomes deeply involved in an online relationship with Luke who seems to have so much in common with her and to empathize with her feelings about high school. They spend more and more time in private chat rooms, and the allure of this online relationship is so much more attractive for Abby than real life high school where one of the alpha males never remembers her name even while managing to copy her homework. Even though her science lab partner is obviously interested in her, Abby has become too dependent on Luke to pay much attention to him. When she doesn't hear from him for a period of time, she becomes depressed and obsessed with trying to find out why he has stopped their online chats. Although it isn't obvious to Abby, who is sure that they love each other despite their age difference--Luke says he's 27--Luke knows exactly how to manipulate her into taking pictures of sexually provocative poses. As the days pass, Abby spends hours online, neglecting her homework and going without sleep. When a particular low math test score prompts parental punishment, Abby and Luke decide to meet. Abby runs away from home, leaving her friends, parents, and the police to locate her before it's too late. Naturally, Abby is devastated when she learns the truth about Luke, and she must deal with the ugly gossip when she returns to school.

What is particularly chilling about this cautionary tale is the ease with which Luke was able to break down all of Abby's barriers and say all the right things to keep her interested in him. Even though her moodiness, poor grades, and increasing isolation as she spends so much time online are signs that something is wrong, no one recognizes those signs until it is too late to help. Being smart and informed may not be enough for vulnerable teens who need protection from sexual predators who prey on their innocence.  The author provides additional resources for Internet safety in the backmatter. This is an important book to share with teen readers.

Favorite Lines:

“I feel bathed in warmth, like someone’s wrapped me in a snuggly fleece blanket” (p. 91).

“While Luke is watching, like a hawk watching a mouse it’s going to eat for dinner” (p. 103).

“Her words shatter me like a plate-glass window” (p. 259).

The Rites & Wrongs of Janice Wills

Pearson, Joanna. (2011). The rites & wrongs of Janice Wills. New York: Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic. Despite her feelings about the local beauty/talent pageant, Junior Janice Wills decides to enter the contest as part of her anthropological study of adolescents. Janice considers herself unattractive, awkward, and socially inept, and simply doesn't understand the social whirl and pecking order that exists around her. She has friends, but they aren't in the most popular set. In order to understand the behavior of the teens around her--and maybe to find a way to fit in or as a defense mechanism--Janice observes and records her observations about the various groups in her high school, Melva, North Carolina. She creates categories for her classmates such as The Smart Pretty, The Dumb Pretty, The Softball Husky, Hipster Hippie, Formerly Homeschooled, and Beautiful Rich Girl, and describes them in most uncomplimentary ways. I'd have loved to have more development for the members of each of these groups, but she focuses primarily on one group. The book includes Anthropological Observations at the start of each chapter as well as some field notes inside the chapters. Many of those comments are sarcastic and dead-on.

My enjoyment of the book decreased, though, once Janice decides that she will enter the Miss Melva Livermush pageant--a female rite of passage in the town--in order to observe and write about it from an insider's point of view. She doesn't really do so, and seems to actually be giving her best effort to succeed in the pageant. I grew tired of the description of rehearsals of how to walk, putting on makeup and doing the hair, and donning the gowns for the competition, and I wasn't particularly interested in the talent portion of the competition. I longed for the snarkier Janice, and while Janice is probably happier and better adjusted after her pageant experience, things seemed to be wrapped up too neatly for my tastes in the end. Still, any author that can conceive of a term and practice such as"slirting" (basically, flirting with guys who have no chance with you and then acting all surprised when they are attracted, kind of a combination of slumming and flirting) is one to watch in the future.

Favorite Lines:

“I had met Margot the first day of middle school. There, in the lonely, teeming cafeteria, she had smiled and cleared a space for my tray on the lunch table when I, a shipwrecked sailor on the social seas, asked quietly if I could pull up a chair” (p. 9).

“I thought of Ruth Benedict approaching the Pueblo people n New Mexico for the first time. I thought of Margaret Mead and the Dobu in New Guinea. I took a breath and prepared myself: Janice Wills, field anthropologist, about to enter the world of a true Melva High School bash” (p. 93).

My Big Mouth

Hannan, Peter. (2011). My big mouth. New York: Scholastic. Ninth grader Davis Delaware moves to a new school with only a few months left in the academic year. This is a chance for a fresh start. He and his father are still mourning the loss of his mother who died earlier, and in some respects, Davis is relieved to leave behind his old school where he accidentally peed on a girl while heading down the slide, prompting him much teasing and earning him the honor of having a sign posted on his back that reads "Urine Trouble." Maybe he can find a way to blend in and escape notice in his new school. He gains a bit of attention when his lyrics are read aloud in English class, and he becomes known as a budding poet. But when Molly, one of the school's popular ninth graders, catches his eye, he invites her to join a band he is starting with Edwin, a geeky motormouth, things start looking up. Anyone can form a band and play instruments, but not everyone can write song lyrics, after all. The Amazing Dweebs may not make beautiful music together, but they have lots of fun, and Davis and Molly seem to have some chemistry going between them. However, Molly is the girlfriend of the school bully Gerald (the Butcher) Boggs, and Gerald is a jealous boyfriend who is relentless in his torturing of Davis. Everything works out, but there are some surprises along the way, and it turns out that Gerald and Davis have more in common than their affection for Molly. Middle grade readers who enjoyed Diary of a Wimpy Kid in the past will gravitate to this one and enjoy the cartoons of Davis's enemies as well as revenge-fueled and somewhat mean-spirited song lyrics. Just as the first Wimpy Kid had a cheese touch that was to be avoided at all costs, so does this one have a canal filled with all sorts of horrible gunk.

Favorite Lines:

“The rest of the day was more of the same. Lunch: blah. History: ancient blah. Spanish: el blah, la blah, los blahs” (p. 25).

“The sadness was like a bully that got right up in your face” (p. 62).

Pretty Bad Things

Skuse, C. J. (2011). Pretty bad things. New York: Chicken House/Scholastic. Paisley and Beau Argent had their first brush with fame when their mother died, and the six-year-olds were found alive after wandering in the woods for three days. The media christened them the "Wonder Twins," and their story touched the hearts and pockets of many viewers. Ten years later, after a series of talk show appearances staged by their grandmother, Beau continues to fend off bullies at his school who see his bookish nature as equating weakness, and Paisley has run through a series of private schools. The story alternates between the voices of Beau and Paisley, which provides insight into their very different personalities. When Beau happens upon letters from their father, who was incarcerated for a crime and supposedly never contacted his children, Paisley manages to get expelled once again, and returns home to get Beau and some cash. Determined to find their father, whose last address was in Las Vegas, they steal their grandmother's car, and check in to a cheap hotel. Although the haunt the casino area, they fail to find more than a glimpse of the man. Paisley decides to conduct a series of robberies of stores that sell doughnuts, ice cream, candy, and popcorn. At each crime site they leave stickers proclaiming their love for their father. Since they are mounting a two-person crime wave, they rightly assume that the story will hit the airwaves, which is exactly what happens. The twins' activities strike a nerve in many other teens and even adults who regard their behavior as appropriately anarchic and puposeful since they're trying to find their dad. Websites devoted to their story spring up, and Internet users proclaim their undying devoting to Beau. Readers will surely ponder the fleetingness of fame and our seemingly relentless obsessions with people who have no claim to fame other than being famous or being related to someone famous.

Eventually, just when things are looking good for the two, their grandmother shows up and spoils the family reunion. She is painted with a dark brush and given no attributes that elicit any sympathy whatsoever. It is at that point that my enjoyment of the story broke down since she was just so thoroughly wicked and single-minded. When Beau suddenly takes charge, I found it somewhat unbelievable since he had followed the take-charge Paisley all the way. All in all, it's interesting to ponder exactly who or what the pretty bad things alluded to in the title were--Beau and Paisley, the crimes they committed in Vegas, or the abuses they suffered at the hands of their mother and grandmother?

Despite the uneven quality of the book, there is enough here that is fresh and interesting to attract teen readers.

Favorite Lines:

“Naked gold mannequins and snakeskin purses in the windows of Nieman Marcus and Bloomingdales told me I shouldn’t even darken their doorsteps, while Nathan’s Famous and KFC were ready to welcome me with open arteries” (p. 134).

“Beau’s face darkened like a little cloud had appeared above his head” (p. 144).

Ashes, Ashes

Treggiari, Jo. (2011). Ashes, ashes. New York: Scholastic. Sixteen-year-old Lucy is in survival mode on her own in Central Park. It's the end of the world as Lucy knew it, the consequence of floods five years earlier that resulted from changing climate and weather patterns. The floods changed coastlines and submerged many major cities. Then, smallpox and the plague kill off almost the entire population. Lucy's entire family dies, but Lucy is one of the few survivors. Afraid of staying in her New Jersey home alone and wary of the Sweepers and other government agents who seem intent on rounding up the survivors, Lucy has been spending each day looking for food and maintaining her camp. She happens to meet Aidan, another survivor who lives in a commune outside the city, as she is running from a pack of dogs who seem to be tracking her. Their paths don't cross again until a tsunami covers her camp, and she gets out of the area just in the nick of time. Once she arrives at Aidan's camp, she becomes a part of the agrarian society that has been carefully nurtured by an elderly woman, the camp's leader. Each person is expected to work in order to eat, and they plant and harvest tomatoes, beans, and other vegetables, and bake bread. But Lucy is not able to rest for long since the Searchers come to the camp again and again. When she decides to rescue some of the commune's children, she is betrayed, and discovers exactly what it is that makes her so special and the object of all this tracking by men and beasts.

I liked a lot of this dystopian story, particularly the beginning, when Lucy is working so hard just to make it through a day and has forgotten the delights--and difficulties--of social intercourse. I also enjoyed her time in Aidan's camp, but things went downhill fast when she embarks on her journey to the hospital and meets the doctor who is so intent on using her as a lab rat. Dr. Lessing is painted as some kind of mad scientist, and her behavior raises all sorts of ethical issues.

Favorite Lines: 

“And the world mapped in her geography books had changed with a frightening rapidity; continents shifting shape, coastlines altered. San Francisco, Los Angeles, Venice, Thailand, Spain, her beloved Coney Island, Japan, had all but vanished beneath the waves” (p. 2-3).

“The little kids who’d been at the end of her bench were gone. She imagined them bundled in their blankets under tent cover, a tumble of bodies like drowsy puppies” (p. 187).



Wideness & Wonder

Rubin, Susan Goldman. (2011). Wideness & wonder: The life and art of Georgia O'Keeffe. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. Lavishly illustrated with 46 photographs or artworks by the highly original Georgia O'Keeffe, this beautifully written biography will have readers longing to know more about the woman at its center. Rubin uses 17 chapters to describe Georgia's early years, her educational background, and her struggles as an artist. Although she doesn't spend a lot of time examining the life of the artist as a young girl, she chooses to focus on her groundbreaking artwork and her strong connections to the Arizona desert. The author also does not shy away from describing her various romantic relationships and her marriage to photographer Alfred Stieglitz whose photos of her reveal his fascination with her face, her hands, and her form. Although they loved each other, Rubin describes some of the difficulties in the relationship; for instance, Georgia yearned to have a child, and Stieglitz was uninterested in that, claiming that motherhood will distract her from her art. I loved how much detail Rubin provides about the inspirations for O'Keeffe's paintings, the subjects of which ranged from large skyscrapers to flowers to desert scapes to bleached bones to a door in a wall. The book abounds with wonderful anecdotes such as how she just happened to stick a rose into the eye hole of a horse skull in order to answer the door. Ah, inspiration comes in many forms!

The paintings of O'Keeffe have long fascinated me because of how she recognized the beauty in the desert's bleak landscape and used color in such an extraordinary way. This book served to remind me of how original this painter truly was. I also appreciated Rubin's frequent explanation that O'Keeffe craved solitude at times and needed to be alone to work.

Abandon

Cabot, Meg. (2011). Abandon. New York: Point/Scholastic. I absolutely loved the idea of retelling or reimagining the myth of Persephone who must spend part of her days in Hades and part of her days on Earth to appease Mother Nature's wrath at her having been kidnapped and stolen away. However, this title is somewhat disappointing and uneven in its delivery. The author gives her story a modern setting with 17-year-old Pierce Oliviera having moved to the Florida keys with her mother who grew up there. Her father is a wealthy CEO involved with the oil industry. Their relationship was set asunder when Pierce's mother blames her father for the accident that resulted in Pierce's drowning in the family pool. When Pierce drowned, she found herself in Hades and ended up with its ruler who she comes to know as John Hayden. Pierce, 15 at the time, is overwhelmed at the underworld's surroundings and flings hot tea into John's face. The next thing she knows she is alive, having undergone a near-death experience, for which will be what everyone blames her future bizarre behavior. John appears in her life a few more times, just when she seems to be in big trouble.

Pierce's story shifts back and forth in time from present day to her earlier, high school years. The shift actually adds interest to the story, but I found myself unable to understand some of her actions or her personality, and I never quite understood the connections between Pierce and John. It was not so difficult to understand how he would be frustrated at fighting off the Furies who kept punishing him for letting her go but rather hard to accept that keeping someone against her will the first time and kidnapping her the second time could somehow equate love or a healthy relationship. Maybe some of these concerns will be addressed in the next two titles of this planned trilogy, but even so, Pierce seems decidedly on the edge, and not necessarily in a good way. Perhaps also there will be more explanation of the bizarre social order and coffin building that are customary at her new high school. Although I was tempted to do so, I did not abandon this romance. Nevertheless, I have some concerns about this book being a possible model for how to court someone.

Favorite Lines:

"When he saw what I was doing, it was like seeing someone throw back the storm shutters on a house that had been closed up for hurricane season" (p. 38).

"When he finally let go of me, I felt as if my skin might actually be giving off the same shimmery reflection as the pool water" (p. 263).

The Vampire Stalker

Van Diepen, Allison. (2011). The vampire stalker. Point/Scholastic. High school junior Amy Hawthorne is in love with Alexander Banks, a fictional vampire hunter from a series whose popularity rivals that of Harry Potter or the Twilight series. Rabid fans of the series wait in line at bookstores to get their hands on the second book in the series by Elizabeth Howard. Set in 1920s Chicago, the stories Amy relishes center around an Otherworld Chicago where vampire Vigo Skaar has settled, wreaking havoc on the city and preventing technological advances. Alexander Banks is the never-say-die hero who has dedicated his life to killing Vigo. If only the guys who attend her high school were more like the dashing Alexander, then Amy knows she could find someone to love. Unexpectedly, as she walks home from a school dance, she meets someone who looks like and claims to be Alexander. When he shows her scars that could only belong to Alexander, she realizes that somehow he has crossed into her Chicago from his Chicago--and Vigo is somewhere on the city's streets as well. Suddenly, Amy is living in her fantasy world rather than simply writing fan fiction about its characters.

Not surprisingly, Amy and Alexander become close, and she teaches him about the modern world while he continues to try to track down Vigo. But time is running out for them all since the portal through which they crossed from one world into another is about to close. While the personality changes in Amy seem somewhat unbelievable, and there is so much crossing of the portal from Chicago of the past to Chicago of the present that things are likely to become a bit crowded, this is a delightful send-up of authors of these sorts of books, popular book series, fan fiction, fanatic fans, vampires, popular culture, and the club scene. Some of the lines left me chortling in self-recognition. The astonishment expressed by the vampire series' author once she realizes that the world she thought she created actually exists is palpable.

Favorite Lines:

"The thought of being jealous of a character in a book was silly, but I couldn't help it" (p. 4).

"When a person knows they've hurt you, they have trouble looking you in the eye" (p. 205).

The Lovely Shoes

Shreve, Susan. (2011). The lovely shoes. New York: Scholastic. Ninth grader Franny Hall becomes painfully conscious of her limp and her left foot once she enters high school. Suddenly, the little-noticed deformity seems as though it's the only thing that matters, and Franny starts limiting herself and shunning any activity that might bring her notice. After a disastrous Valentine's Day Dance at school in which the tissue padding her smaller shoe somehow slips out and ends up the floor while Franny is dancing with her crush, she takes to her bedroom and refuses to come out. She feels betrayed by her mother who has always encouraged her to take risks and to attend the dance. She also feels betrayed by her cousin Eleanor who ends up with the guy she has wanted. After sulking in her room, writing stories, and sending messages to her younger brother, Franny decides to come out. Her stylish mother decides to write to Italian designer Salvatore Ferragamo to see if he can design attractive shoes for Franny. Touched by her humiliating experience at the dance, he agrees, and Franny and her mother fly to Florence, Italy. The trip changes Franny, and she falls in love with the Italian culture and its citizens. When she returns, she has the promise of new shoes from Ferragamo, but more important, she senses the other possibilities that lie ahead if she's only brave enough and determined enough to reach out for them. No longer does she need to behave as the others around her do, but she is free to make her own choices and her own way.

Based in part on the author's own experiences with polio as a child, this story will inspire teens trying to find their own places in the world without giving up too much of themselves. While the changes that occur in Franny seem a bit too quick, based on such a brief sojourn in another country, they are, nevertheless, noteworthy since change often begins when we see ourselves through the eyes of others or can look at ourselves through a mirror clearly.

Favorite Lines:
"High school seemed like a war zone in which a girl like Franny could be in particular danger" (p. 14).

"Just the sound of their cheerful, chattering voices washed a wave of sadness across her afternoon" (p. 123).

Beauty Queens

Bray, Libba. (2011). Beauty queens. New York: Scholastic.
A plane carrying a group of contestants for the Miss Teen Dream pageant crashes near a deserted island. Only thirteen of the contestants survive, but they are determined to hang on until someone finds and rescues them. At first led by Miss Texas, Taylor Rene Krystal Hawkins, the contestants behave as though rescue is just a couple of days away, and then continue to practice for the pageant and maintain their beauty regime. However, Miss New Hampshire, Adina Greenberg, who entered the contest in order to write an expose, has other ideas, and she enlists the survivors in collecting food, finding a water source, and exploring parts of the island. Before anyone can say the word "empowerment," that's exactly what starts to happen to the lucky thirteen.

Their story of survival is interwoven with individual application forms for the pageant as well as commercials for The Corporation, which sells all those beauty products that everyone just has to have in order to be more attractive. There are footnotes sprinkled throughout the book too, which adds another level of enjoyment to the title. Several of the young women have secrets that come to light as they bond on the island. The island itself is hiding a secret as well, and once Miss Texas stumbles on that secret, she will never be the same. In this mash-up of our fascination, er, obsession, with celebrities, beauty pageants, reality shows, and with nods to Mean Girls and Lord of the Flies, the author takes aim at popular culture in her own satirical style.

While I must confess that I enjoyed the book before the arrival of the pirates--themselves also a part of a reality television show--more than after they arrive and certainly more than when evil dictator MoMo or beauty pageant guru Ladybird are introduced as part of the plot. That over-the-top aspect disappointed me as well as the rather long ending scene which spells out the girls' future while they're all dancing in celebration. The subplot did nothing for me, actually detracting from my enjoyment of watching the teen dreams fend for themselves and become friends rather than rivals.

Bray has the gift of making her readers laugh at her lines while actually laughing at themselves and their own antics, beliefs, suppositions or even buying habits. This one is not for the faint-hearted or insecure, for sure.  The cover is awesome too!

Favorite Lines:

“Hi. I’m Heather Heather, and I’m famous but I can’t remember what I’m famous for. It doesn’t matter, because now I’m famous for my crazy-awesome figure—made possible by Breast in Show, the plastic surgery center where you can build your perfect body” (p. 211).

The Painted Boy

DeLint, Charles. (2010). The painted boy. New York: Viking. For reasons he doesn't quite understand, James (Jay) Li travels to a desert Arizona town, leaving behind his family in Chicago. His grandmother, who is head of the Dragon Clan, has worked on his physical and emotional training and kept him from having friends in preparation for this trip that will help him fulfill his destiny. An amiable teen with the ability to communicate with animals and other members of the nearby animal clans, Jay also bears a huge dragon tattoo that covers his back and appeared when he was eleven. Although he knows some of the expectations that have been placed on his shoulders, he is unsure exactly how he will meet those expectations. Jay quickly realizes that the town is in trouble, chiefly due to the gangbangers who deal drugs and tout a violent lifestyle. They are led by the feared El Tigre who brokers a truce with Jay. Jay agrees since he has had no experience in calling forth his dragon nature. But the unnecessary death of the drummer of Malo Malo, a local band whose members are friends of a woman who has befriended him awakens the dragon nature, shocking Jay and all those around him. Unless Jay can find a way to tame that nature and use it carefully, he will be punished by other members of the Dragon Clan.

Despite its desert setting, the author takes readers into a place where animal spirits are active and offer advice that may help or hinder someone on a quest. This is engaging urban fantasy that will keep fans turning the pages as quickly as they possibly can. The evolution of the characters, especially Jay, seemed natural and carefully delineated although the villains remained fairly one-dimensional and static throughout the tale.

Favorite Lines: "No, this world was real. It was just a different kind of real" (p. 198).

Bird in a Box

Pinkney, Andrea Davis. (2011). Bird in a box. New York: Little, Brown. Although there are three 12-year-olds at the center of this story,  there is also an important adult who brings them all together without realizing it. In some respects, his story is as important as the children's, and they have quite a lot in common with their hero, boxer Joe Louis. Otis, Willie, and Hibernia are alike in a lot of ways although it might not seem so at first. Although their circumstances may differ, they are all dealing with loss while holding on to dreams they have shared with no one else, and they are fighters. Their lives eventually intersect over the course of this book as they form bonds among themselves but also with those around them, expanding the concept of what family means.  As they follow the career of Louis as he tries to claim the heavyweight boxing crown, his wins and losses almost seem to mirror their own, and if Joe can become the first African-American heavyweight boxing champion against all odds, why, maybe their dreams can come true as well.

Pinkney makes readers feel as though they are sitting in the same room with Otis, Willie, and Hibernia, ears pressed up against the radio, listening as their Joe makes his stand. I loved how influential this iconic athlete was, and how the men, women, and children who followed him drew inspiration from his courage and determination so that his large victory gave rise to their own smaller ones. What a beautiful story filled with heaping doses of unexpected cruelty sweetened by tender moments!

Your Friend in Fashion, Abby Shapiro

Axelrod, Amy. (2011). Your friend in fashion, Abby Shapiro. New York: Holiday House. There are just two things 11-year-old Abby wants in 1959: a bra to fit her growing body and a Barbie doll. Since her mother refuses to pay for either one, Abby decides to earn the money for herself. She already spends her free time sketching clothing designs for her best friend's Barbie and an imagined makeover for her teacher, making it natural that she decides to share her designs with someone a little more famous, someone with an eye for fashion. Consequently, the precocious youngster writes Jacqueline Kennedy, the wife of one of the two Massachusetts Senators. Her letters are chatty and describe her excitement about fashion, her worries about her extended family, her home and school, and her curiosity about Jackie's childhood, and they also contain designs for dresses that she imagines Jackie wearing. But Jackie never replies although Abby keeps coming up with designs. During this time, her extended family experiences several changes, brought about by the tension between her parents and by her aunt's bossy nature. As Abby comes to age, she realizes that the adults in her life love her despite the secrets they have kept and the mistakes they have made.

There are so many things happening in this book, which would be a nice companion to Deborah Wiles's Countdown. The author captures a slice of Americana when JFK decided to run for President, as the Civil Rights Movement was just getting started, while the space race was heating up, and when every girl longed to have a Barbie. If I have a criticism of this book, it would be that the author tries to include too many social issues and political events as the book's backdrop without providing motivation for how the characters are involved in those events. There are loose ends about some important characters left hanging while other loose ends are tied up all too neatly and conveniently. Still, this book provides plenty of laugh out loud moments such as the scene in which Abby and her best friend Anna Marie are trying to make over a Barbie to look like Jackie or when Abby tries to purchase her first foundation garment by herself. I loved the chatty, personal nature of the letters Abby writes to Jackie, filled as they are with a child's confidence that this busy adult will find the time to reply. The inclusion of paper dolls created by the author as a young girl add to the book's authentic nature.

Favorite Lines:

“This is so easy. I take a few facts that are true and mix them with a few that aren’t true. My story comes out as smooth as can be. My bowl of lies has no clumps on the bottom like the rubbery ones in Mummy’s Jello-O” (p. 132).

“Mummy leaves the dining room in a huff and goes downstairs. She’s angry about everything. It’s not just about my father anymore. It’s like she’s got a big, roaring bonfire inside her belly and another log gets tossed on the pile each time you annoy her or if she reads something in the newspaper about civil rights” (p. 152).

Possum Summer

Blom, Jen K. (2011). Possum summer. Illus. by Omar Rayyan. New York: Holiday House. Let me just confess right here that I am a sucker for animal stories. Although I am often left unmoved by sad movies, the deaths of animals affect me strongly. Consequently, I've been known to cry over Big Red, Old Yeller, Where the Red Fern Grows, Marley, and Dewey, all memorable dogs, cats or books with dogs that moved me to tears and left me sobbing, unable to finish the book until I got myself or my emotions under control. Add to that list this wonderful offering about a girl, a cattle dog, and a possum. Left to her own devices on the family's Oklahoma farm while her mother works and her father serves in Iraq, P stumbles upon a baby possum, orphaned when her father's cattle dog Blackie killed its mother. She decides to raise it with the help of her friend Mart. This necessitates her confiscating one of her sister's bras and rigging it into a pouch where the baby possum can hide under her shirt while she attends school.

Desperate for some sort of connection, P goes against her father's wishes by trying to train Blackie and make him into a pet rather than a working dog. In his eyes, pets are frivolous, and P knows he will never allow her to keep the possum she names Ike after her grandfather. While her father recovers from his war wounds and keeps the family at a distance, writing terse letters rather than making phone calls, P does her best to keep everything on the farm humming. She checks on the cattle, tends the hens, and weeds the garden. As time grows near for her father's homecoming, she knows she must free Ike. But that's easier said than done since the two have bonded, and Ike finds his way back to P every time.
But P's carelessness causes a tragedy that she will never forget, and she can't bear to lose Ike as well.

The author has created a strong, independent character in P, an 11-year-old determined to do things her way but also to earn the respect of her father, goals that sometimes seem in conflict. I would have liked to have known more about her mother and her father who are almost absent in the story. The other characters are all secondary to P and Ike, and I missed them both when the story ended.

Favorite Lines:

"My little possum stirred, raising his nose to sniff in Mart's direction. I was pretty sure the reason Mart's eyes widened was because he was secretly falling in love with my new baby. He took a step back, and I wondered if I was right or not" (p. 15).

Hurricane Dancers

Engle, Margarita. (2011). Hurricane dancers: The first Caribbean pirate shipwreck. New York: Henry Holt. This free verse novel tells the tale of a pirate, his slave, and a hostage. As she has done so successfully in her previous work, Engle brings history to life and gives voice to her characters as she describes their desperation, their hatred, and their passions. In this story she tells about the early period of exploration during the sixteenth century when a pirate captain named Bernardino de Talavero runs a cruel slave ship and uses one of his slaves, Quebrado, to translate for him when he deals with the Islanders. Quebrado can barely remember a time when he was free since he has been traded from one pirate ship to another for years. His name comes from his cultural heritage and the awareness that he is half islander and half outsider, given that his mother spoke the Taíno Indian language and his father spoke Spanish. When the winds of a hurricane cause the pirate ship to sink, the sea reminds the humans of its great power and its utter lack of regard toward who its victims are. While most of the crew do not survive, Quebrado does, managing to make his way to safety. His rescuers treat him well, and in an ironic twist of fate, it is Quebrado who decides the fate of those who treated him so cruelly. This is a swashbuckling adventure tale, but it is also one that explores freedom, forgiveness, and love.

Engle continues to bring little known historical moments to light and to life as she carefully crafts exactly the story she wants to tell.

Dark Goddess: A Devil's Kiss Novel

Chadda, Sarwat. (2011). Dark goddess: A devil's kiss novel. New York: Hyperion. It's just another day in the neighborhood for 15-year-old Billi SanGreal--just a little werewolf fighting and saving of a girl desperately wanted by the Polenitsy. They're a group of werewolf warrior women--yes, fierce ones--who believe the girl Billi has rescued just might be the Spring Child that their Baba Yaga needs to restore herself. In this depiction of Baba Yaga, she is seen as something of an Earth Mother with strong bonds to the condition of Earth, so strong that she has been recovering from the havoc wreaked by a meteor. Legend has it that Baba Yaga will be able to regain her strength through the sacrifice of the Spring Child. But if she becomes strong again, she is likely to wipe out the entire human race. After all, humans haven't done a very good job of taking care of their home. It's up to Billi and the Knights Templar to save the day if they can. As they race through London and on to Russia where much of the action takes place, Billi is keenly aware of how little time remains before the sacrifice will take place. This second installment in the Devil's Kiss series is packed with action, a determined heroine, and the descendant of one of the Russian tzars as well as mention of Rasputin.  I was particularly impressed with the way the author wove a tapestry of the paranormal, legends, and lore alongside a keen awareness of the green movement and the perils of the nuclear age with more than a touch of feminism. Although Billi accepts help when she needs it, she also enjoys kicking butt herself when it comes to fighting on the side of good.  This one, like the first title in this series, left me wanting more.

Favorite Lines:

"Chernobyl had been the site of the worst nuclear disaster in history. Back in the 1980s, a nuclear reactor had exploded and launched a huge radioactive cloud over most of south Russia and Ukraine. Tens of thousans of people had been evacuated overnight, taking only what they could carry. They'd never returned. It seemed like ancient history, but the town itself looked as though it could have been emptied yesterday. The cars, the buildings, the parks, and gardens all remained. Not demolished, as they would have been in a war--just empty. Only the humans had left" (p. 328).

Devil's Kiss

Chadda, Sarwat. (2009). Devil's kiss. New York: Hyperion.  Billi SanGreal has always known she isn't like the other youngsters in her town. She has no time to socialize or shop at the mall. Instead, she spends her time training as a warrior. Her father, Arthur, is one of the leaders of a band charged with waging a battle against all that is considered unholy--vampires, werewolves, and that sort of thing. The Knights Templar, to whom Billi owes allegiance, rely on their weapons, hours of punishing physical training that leaves them bruised, and the fact that they are on the side of right to aid them in their constant battle.

Billi rarely receives affection from her father, and she isn't sure what the point of all this fighting really is. Sometimes, the battles seem pointless to her, and she'd rather succumb to more earthy pleasures such as choosing between her childhood friend Kay (with his psychic abilities) or Mike (with his charm and ability to understand her the way no one else can do). In the end Billi makes difficult choices.

The fast pace of this book and its interesting heroine kept me turning the pages as fast as possible and left me sad to leave Billi's world. This title provided food for the mind and for the heart and left me pondering a lot of possibilities raised by the author.

Favorite Line:

"He was tall with raptor's eyes, slanted and amber almost, half hidden under unkempt black hair" (p. 73).

Morpheus Road: The Black

MacHale, D. J. (2011). Morpheus Road:The Black. New York: Aladdin/Simon & Schuster. Best friends Marsh and Cooper have a falling out over something silly, and Cooper heads to his family's cabin on the lake. While he is there, staring at the stars in the dark, he dies after a boat plows into his small craft. Coop doesn't go straight to Heaven or Hell, though, but somehow exists in a world that hovers on the edge of both, and he is able to live in what is known as "the black" where dead folks spend time atoning for the mistakes they made when they were on Earth. Coop meets his grandfather and a troubled girl with a fiery past as he tries to find his way through this new world. He also can return to the world of the living although communicating with them is not so easy. Somewhat oddly enough, what follows is a fast-paced battle against evil and a most-unsympathetic villain who has been waiting for a chance to seize control of the world. Is Coop the only one that stands in his way? Male readers will relish the fighting scenes and bloody battles, complete with soldiers from many of the wars that have been fought since the beginning of time. Because this book is told from Coop's point of view, it will be helpful to read the first title, Morpheus Road: The White before starting this one.

Although in the beginning I was not particularly enamored with Coop due to his cavalier attitude toward others and his arrogance about himself, I can see how this sort of character would appeal to many readers who might find themselves living vicariously through his adventures and antics. I grew tired of all the fighting scenes and dishonesty on the part of Damon near the end of the book. I wanted to see more depth to him as well as many of the other characters, who seemed rather one-dimensional.
Favorite Lines:

"I'm not naive to think that just because you're an adult you can do no wrong. The older you get the more you realize that the people you idolized as a kid are as human as everybody else. But finding out that the wonderful wizard with all the answers is nothing more than a befuddled man hiding behind a curtain isn't easy to accept" (p. 294).