Mull, Brandon. (2011). Beyonders: A world without heroes. New York: Aladdin/Simon & Schuster. Eighth grader Jason Walker inexplicably falls into a pool where the zoo's hippo rests and somehow leaves his Colorado home for the parallel world of Lyrian. While all he wants is to go back home, he is nevertheless touched by the plight of the citizens of his new residence. Although they have rebelled mightily in the past against a wicked wizard named Maldor, the wizard remains firmly in control, and resistance has dwindled due to hopelessness and the wizard's cunningness in enlisting others to his own cause. Jason meets up with Galloran, one of the men who came close to defeating Maldor, and Rachel, who came to Lyrian while vacationing with her parents in the West. Galloran informs the two reluctant partners that there is one way to remove Maldor from his control of the kingdom: Collect the syllables of a word that will render him powerless. Jason already has one syllable, and the rest of the book consists of a series of adventures relating to the collection of all of them. Along the way, Jason and Rachel, called "beyonders" because they are not from Lyrian but from some unknown world, encounter an interesting set of villains and make a friend or two. Things move quite quickly in the book, and characters appear and disappear quite quickly, sometimes too quickly for readers to come to care about them. Middle grade readers who enjoy this sort of fantasy will love the description of the places these unlikely heroes go and the odd creatures they encounter. The huge frogs to be found in a swamp near the end of their journey are especially marvelously horrifying. This is the first title in a three-book series.
Favorite Lines:
"Accept as little hospitality from your hosts as you can. Beware gifts from Maldor. He gives gifts to people much as fisherman offer worms to trout" (p. 358).
"Steaming slabs of prime rib, legs of lamb, cuts of ham, heaps of fowl, fillets of fish, rows of sausage, morsels on skewers, and platters of tender shellfish all vied for his attention" (p. 367).
Carman, Patrick. (2011). Skeleton Creek: The raven. New York: Scholastic. The curious and persistent duo, Ryan McCray and Sarah Fincher, are at it again, trying to solve a mystery that might lead them to places they shouldn't be going. This title picks up where Book Three left off with Sarah finishing up her summer film workshop in California and heading back east where her family lives. Ryan, of course, is still in Oregon where he encounters an odd hooded man chopping a tree with a huge axe while he is fishing with his father. As was the case in the earlier book, there are clues that he shares with Sarah that have her essentially taking a haunted house tour across America, this time through a different portion of the country. She heads to Cheyenne, Wyoming; the Spooksville, Triangle where Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma meet; Savannah, Georgia; and then to Baltimore, Maryland, all the while trying to figure out what the message and clues mean and who has left them. When the clues and the artifacts finally come together, the ending is satisfying since there have been literary hints left all along the way. Enterprising readers will enjoy returning to the book and the passwords again and again to spot the clues. As always, it's great fun to shift from the book to the related website eight different times in order to view the video clips posted online and then back to the book again.
Chibbaro, Julie. (2011). Deadly. New York: Atheneum/Simon & Schuster. Medical mysteries intrigue many of us, and this one has much to offer even though most of the mystery is solved during the first half of the book. Prudence Galewski, 16, leaves her vocational school in order to take a job working in the Department of Health and Sanitation in New York City. Her mother is a midwife and has taken her along during some of her deliveries, and her father, who went missing during his military service, had provided her with books and support for her curious mind. Her older brother Ben died as the result of gangrene after a street accident, and Prudence wonders if the family could have helped him if they had known how to do so. Consequently, Prudence has grown up with a keen desire to help her community and an inclination for the medical field despite the fact that few women became doctors in 1906 and 1907 when the story is set. Prudence loves her job and also feels an attraction to her new boss Mr. Soper. He immediately involves her in field work, where she takes notes as they interview individuals in different households who have fallen ill as the result of typhus. After compiling the data, they look for patterns, and eventually focus on an Irish cook, Mary Malone. But Mary herself is not sick; in fact, she even nursed some of those who were sick. Intent on obtaining samples of her blood and feces, Soper engages in some unethical practices and eventually brings Mary to the hospital for testing. The tests show that while she herself is not ill, she is a carrier for typhus, and can't be allowed to cook for others. What happens to her as the result of the investigation and a subsequent hearing provides much food for thought. 
Ray, M. (2011). Falling for Hamlet. New York: Poppy/Little, Brown and Company. Oh, this title is such great fun! Written by an English teacher aware of the need for Shakespeare to be performed instead of being dissected ad nauseam and the universality of the themes in his plays, this version of Hamlet examines the emotions and actions of Ophelia with Hamlet becoming a secondary character. There are literacy licenses taken, and although much of the story stays the same in this contemporary version, Ophelia survives and lives to tell her tale. The author cleverly weaves in the exact words spoken by the Shakespearean characters in this version that will certainly appeal to modern readers. Through text messages, a guest visit on a talk show, transcripts of interviews with the Denmark Department of Investigations as well as newspaper clippings, the life and times of the glamorous Ophelia are described as she relates how her romantic involvement with Hamlet began and how it ended. There is a breathless quality to all this that will attract teens in the throes of their first romance. Ophelia is the daughter of the king of Denmark's trusted advisor and the on-again, off-again girlfriend of the country's prince. Her identity seems to have been lost as her relationship with Hamlet becomes more intense, and the two are followed by photographers and reporters everywhere they go. It's hard to relax and be yourself when even your classmates may try to snap shots of you that can be sold to the press, and Ophelia describes the relentless attention quite well as well as owning up to mistakes made when she relaxed and lost her inhibitions a bit too publicly. It's hard to know what version of the truth to trust when every moment spend with your significant other is reported in great detail, sometimes with slants and twists that distort the truth. Although Ophelia seems at some points to be little more than arm candy to Hamlet, there are moments when she is playful, irrepressible, and independent and signs that she will be able to reclaim her identity and forge her way through life using her talents and strengths. These are real adults and adolescents coping with loss and the hot lights of notoriety and a palace where there are no secrets. 
Burgis, S. (2011). Kat, incorrigible. New York: Atheneum. Twelve-year-old Kat simply doesn't know what has gotten into her family, especially her older sisters. Their strict stepmother has arranged for Elissa to be married off to a wealthy--extremely wealthy--older man who has a blot on his past. Her other sister Angeline has become all too secretive and won't include Kat in anything. Her brother Charles has gambled away the family's fortune, and his debts must be paid in some way, which is why Elissa must make a good financial match. Things might turn out fine for the family if Kat will just stay out of the way. But Kat is hardly one to leave matters in the hands of others, and her investigation of Angeline's room reveals that she has been dabbling in magic. It turns out that Kat has inherited her mother's affinity for magic, and a gold compact of her mother's takes her to a different place whenever she opens it. 
Williams, M. (2011). Now is the time for running. New York: Little, Brown, and Company. This hard-hitting and heart-wrenching story describes the brutality of a government run amok in Zimbabwe. Deo, 15, and his older brother Innocent enjoy the pleasures of life in their village and pass the time with soccer. Deo loves playing the sport while Innocent loves to cheer his brother on. Although Deo is the younger brother, he must watch out for Innocent since the older brother has fits and sometimes becomes angry when the batteries on his radio die. But as the book opens, soldiers representing the government come to the village. As punishment for the results of a recent election and to root out dissidents, they confiscate all the villagers' food. Deo's mother has contacted a church in America which has sent a supply truck filled with nutritious items, which are also confiscated. The soldiers then systematically shoot every single villager. Only by luck do Deo and Innocent escape the bloodbath. With them go a leather pouch that becomes a soccer ball when stuffed with plastic and a Bix-box containing Innocent's treasured objects. The brothers head to town for help, but there is unrest in town as well. A kindly family friend provides money and transportation, and they make their way to the border of South Africa. From there, they manage to hire someone to help them cross a river where just as much danger lies on the river's shores as in the river, and race across a nature preserve to the country's border. the journey is harrowing, and the brothers are in danger for much of the way. After they have settled into a safe routine on a tomato farm, another worker persuades them that there is a better life in the city. But the city's promises turn out to be false, and they stumble upon some men and women who have taken refuge inside a bridge. When the town's attitude toward the ever-growing number of refugees turns hostile, tragedy ensues when the brothers are separated. Deo spirals into a depression that lasts several months and during which he passes the time and erases his memories by sniffing glue and living on the street. A soccer coach happens to see him kicking a soccer ball that falls from his truck invites him to try out for a street soccer team he is assembling. Deo must decide whether to take the hope being offered to him. An Author's Note and information on the actual xenophobia at the heart of the book and Homeless World Cup that inspired the story add to its poignancy. 
Falls, Kat. (2011). Rip Tide. New York: Scholastic. In this action-filled follow-up to the earlier Dark Life, Ty and his friend Gemma find a colony in which all members have died, drown or frozen. Just as they return home to inform the authorities, Ty's parents are kidnapped, and no one seems to be doing anything to rescue them. Ty decides to take matters in his own hand, and the two friends head to Rip Tide, a place where only the hardiest of souls dares to go. Men fight against one another on a sliding platform that tips them into the sea where lamprey eels hook onto their skin and can't be easily removed. This crazy, edgy place seems to hold the only possible clues to the whereabouts of Ty's parents and to the desertion of the township. But Ty is hard-pressed to find allies in his quest, and is stymied by politics, greed, and even Gemma's outlaw brother.