PRINCESS FROM ANOTHER PLANET, DEAD GIRLS DON'T WRITE LETTERS, THE EMPTY MIRROR

Mindy Schanback. PRINCESS FROM ANOTHER PLANET

This is certainly not your ordinary “princess” book. Gracie’s mom is the queen of another planet. Or at least that’s what she says. No one believes her- they only pretend to. All of a sudden Gracie’s mom is getting signals from outerspace about some enemies that have landed on Earth to kill her and her family. Will everyone finally believe her that she is a Queen from another planet? Will Gracie finally accept her true identity? This was fun and different.











Gail Giles. DEAD GIRLS DON’T WRITE LETTERS

If you're looking for something different, this one's for you. After Sunny's sister has been dead for about 6 months, she gets a letter in the mail from her sister, Jazz. Guess what? She isn’t really dead. Jazz shows up at their house a few days later. But there's something about her that doesn't feel right. Is it really Jazz, someone else, or something else all together? Intriguing book. Please come see me after you read it, so we can talk about the ending.




James Lincoln Collier. THE EMPTY MIRROR

Wow, this was a different kind of book. Nick has some unusual dreams in the beginning and feels as though he’s lost something. Then later, while at the pond with his friend, they notice that he no longer has a reflection! Then when crimes start being committed in town, people blame Nick. They swear that they’ve seen him in all these locations where the crimes were committed. But Nick knows he clearly was not at any of those places. Unless he’s going crazy? He isn’t sure. This is quick read, because you won’t put it down until the mystery is solved. At least, I couldn’t.

SEA OF MONSTERS, PRINCESS ACADEMY

Rick Riordan. THE SEA OF MONSTERS

The sequel to THE LIGHTNING THIEF was equally as awesome as its predecessor. I had forgotten how funny the author was. At the beginning of the book, the half-blood camp is in danger. The borders are no longer protected because someone has poisoned Thalia’s tree. The campers must continually fight off monster attacks. Percy discovers he has an unexpected relative, the new quest he must go on involves saving his best friend Grover, as well as saving the camp and perhaps Mount Olympus itself. This was a jam-packed adventure story that also cracked me up!



Shannon Hale. PRINCESS ACADEMY

This is not in any way the "fluffy" book that the title would seem to indicate. This is a wonderful adventure of a small mountain town and its young girls. One day the prince, who lives down in the main town, says that he will choose his princess from the mountain town of Mount Eskel. The main character, feisty 14-year-old Miri, along with all of the other teenage girls must go the Princess Academy to learn what it takes to become a princess & to get ready for a ball where the prince will choose his bride. The girls are schooled by a mean headmistress who severely punishes them. There is a little danger and some magic too. This was a wonderful, highly satisfying book. It completely deserved the Newbery Honor it received.

THE SCHWA WAS HERE, FADE TO BLACK, GHOST STORY

Neal Shusterman. THE SCHWA WAS HERE

This book got so much positive press that I had been wanting to read it for ages. Finally, I got the chance. Anthony, known as "Antsy," gets to know a fellow student named Calvin Schwa. They call him the Schwa. The Schwa is the kind of kid who no one really notices. He seems to appear and disappear before your very eyes. Antsy figures a way to make money off of the Schwa's unusual talent…until they get caught. Their punishment is unusual, but better than getting arrested. I enjoyed this extremely intriguing and fun novel. I literally couldn't put it down and had to finish it in one sitting. It's certainly not your everyday novel. Give it a shot; you'll be pleasantly surprised!



Alex Flinn. FADE TO BLACK

Clinton Cole is accused of something that he swears he didn't really do, but somehow people think he's the type of person to have done it. He has actually harassed the new student in the past, so why couldn’t he have attacked him? A witness places him at the scene…
This is another great one by Alex Flinn. She really has a way of getting into people's heads. You connect with each character, so that you feel like you not only know them, but see their side of the story. This novel brings up some some thoughtful issues that make you wonder what you would do in this type of situation.

Julian Thompson. GHOST STORY

This was a fun, quirky little story about a girl whose only friend turns out to be a ghost! Anna has moved to a small New England town where her parents have bought an old inn. One day a ghost named Roxy shows up in Anna's bathroom. They become friends, since they seem to have a lot in common. Roxy used to work in the inn when she was alive. Roxy has to complete a task before she can move on. This task ends up involving coming to Anna's rescue. This is a lighthearted story that is not at all deep, but enjoyable just the same.

WELCOME TO THE ARK, LISTEN

Stephanie S. Tolan. WELCOME TO THE ARK
This novel is set in the near future in a world full of terrorist attacks and bombings all over the world. Four brilliant kids, who seem to be connected in some way, are chosen to live together in an experimental home. The two doctors who direct the experiment live with them as parental figures. They give the kids access to the Internet to connect with kids all around the world who are similarly gifted. The house where they live is called the Ark. They kids are hoping to find a way to ensure survival in the bleak current state of violence an mayhem in the world. This book had some really cool ideas. I couldn’t believe that Tolan wrote this back before 9/11.





Stephanie S. Tolan. LISTEN

Charley is looking at a boring summer recovering from an accident that injured her leg. Her mother passed away, her friend is away at camp and her father works all the time. Then an encounter with a stray dog changes everything. Charley meet the dog in the woods near her house. He won’t let anyone come near him. She names him Coyote and sets out to tame him. Charley has an amazing summer with the dog and reminiscing about her mother. This was a really heartfelt novel. It is well written and beautiful! (Suitable for readers as young as around 5th grade)

SECRETS OF MY HOLLYWOOD LIFE, FACE VALUE

Jen Calonita. SECRETS OF MY HOLLYWOOD LIFE.


16-year old Kaitlin Burke seems to have it all. She's a successful, famous actress on a weekly TV show. But she's exhausted by the pressures of her fame. She decides to go undercover in an ordinary high school just to be normal for a while. High School turns out to have its own challenges. Kaitlin finds out people don't have to be in the "business" to be mean. This was a fun book! If you ever wanted to know inside information about Hollywood, check this out. It showed me just how many people it actually takes to keep a famous person's life going, and it made me tired! I'll keep my non-famous simple life, thank you.




Catherine Johnson. FACE VALUE

Lauren is discovered by a modeling agency on a school trip to London. Her mother, who passed away just after her birth, was also a model. Her guardian, Nessa, is worried about Lauren and doesn't want her to get caught up in the shallow world of glossy photos. However, Nessa soon finds out that her own past is what they really should be worried about. Nessa and Lauren's mom were friends and their lurid past is catching up with Lauren. This turns into an unexpected, suspenseful and enjoyable book. It's quite different from your everyday young adult book. I think it feels so different because it's based in London. There are lots of words and phrases that are strictly British.

HALF MOON INVESTIGATIONS, I'D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU, BUT...,

Eoin Colfer. HALF MOON INVESTIGATIONS

This is great new book by the author of the popular ARTEMIS FOWL series. It's a funny mystery. Also, it has some interesting twists and turns that readers will enjoy. Fletcher is a 12-year old detective living in a small Irish town. He has an actual official badge he earned from a mail order detective school in Washington D.C. When one of the popular girls calls on him to solve a mystery for her, all sorts of things unravel. This is a funny, great book. Also, the end hints at more to come; this could be a fun new series.

Ally Carter.

I’D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU, BUT THEN I’D HAVE TO KILL YOU.

This was a really unique concept. It's about a private school for girls, but as you find out on the first page-it's a school for girls training to be SPIES! It’s fantastic! A lot of humor, adventure, and regular girl stuff, too! Plus, it's already optioned for a movie by Walt Disney. I hope it really does get filmed; it should be great.

THE LIGHTNING THIEF

Riordan, Rick. THE LIGHTNING THIEF

This was so exciting and really intelligent. For those of you who studied the Greek Gods last year in 7th grade (all of you, I think), you will love this. It is a wonderful way to remember the different Gods. Percy Jackson has always been a little different. Since he gets in trouble a lot, he's gotten kicked out of many different schools. He also has a little trouble with school because of his ADHD and dyslexia. Well, he suddenly finds out why he's so different. He's a demigod. His father, who he thought ran off when he was a child, is actually a god. I won't spoil it by telling you which one; you get to discover for yourself. Anyway, he ends up at a camp for half-bloods (that's what they call themselves), and he makes friends with other half-bloods. He also has been fighting monsters along the way, so he learns crucial skills like swordfighting. This was an amazing book that I really loved. The sequel just came out & I can't wait to get it. Oh just wait until they explain his ADHD & dyslexia-it's so cool. Makes total sense too.

CRACKBACK, RUNNING OUT OF TIME, ESCAPE FROM MEMORY

Coy, John. CRACKBACK

If you like football, you will love this one! Miles is a varsity football player. His team is expected to go to State this year. His dad, his coach, and his best friend are all pushing him Miles to be stronger and faster by any means necessary. He faces some tough decisions. Just how important is football to him? What will he risk? I enjoyed the detailed descriptions of the football games. Great read!

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. RUNNING OUT OF TIME

After hearing Margaret P. Haddix speak at the Teen Book Festival, I've become interested in her other books, besides Among the Hidden. She told us how she came up with the idea to write this book, so I really wanted to read it. It's about a girl named Jessie who lives with her family in the frontier village of Clifton, Indiana in 1840. However, she soon finds out that it is really 1996 everywhere else. Her village was set up for tourists to see through hidden cameras. The only reason her mother tells her the secret is because the children in the village are dying from diphtheria, a disease cured long ago in the modern world. She sends Jessie out to get medicine for the dying kids. Jessie is a little freaked out by the modern world, at first. Plus, she's threatened by the man who was supposed to help her. This was a great mystery from Haddix that I just could not put down!

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. ESCAPE FROM MEMORY

Wow, this was a really cool book! Kira gets hypnotized at her friend's house. Afterwards her friends are baffled by what she has said. Apparently, she spoke another language and has unusual memories of a strange land that she doesn't know anything about. She asks her mom about all of it, but her mom refuses to tell her anything. Then the next day, her mom disappears. Then someone claiming to want to help her shows up at her house to take her to her "homeland." This is a wonderful mystery. Another great one from Haddix!

BORN TO ROCK & EAGER

Korman, Gordon. BORN TO ROCK

This is Korman's newest novel due out around April. I got my hands on an advanced copy and read it right away! Leo is a student who is a member of the Young Republicans with a 4.0 average and full scholarship to Harvard. First, he finds out that his biological father is the lead singer of the most famous punk band from the 80's. Then through a misunderstanding during a test, he gets accused of cheating and loses his scholarship. Perhaps he can ask his rich musician father for college tuition? This was an amusing novel. The characters were wonderful. Another winner for Korman.





Fox, Helen. EAGER

This was great timing. We are right in the middle of our Science Fiction unit. The Bell's family robot-butler, Grumps, has problem with his internal clock. He serves them tomato soup for breakfast, breakfast for dinner and so on. So when a Professor friend asks them to take on a new robot EGR3 (who receives the name Eager) who needs to learn about life from a family, they agree. They figure that Eager can help out Grumps with the time issue, while Grumps can teach Eager a few things too. A whole new brand of robots are released to the world that end up putting lives at risk. Eager is there to lend a hand. This was an adorable book. A great way for someone to ease into Science-Fiction without too much technology or science overload. Just check out the cute cover!