Jon Scieszka. SPACEHEADZ

I adore every single one of  Jon Scieszka's picture books (MATH CURSE, THE TRUE STORY OF THE 3 LITTLE PIGS, ETC). ALL OF THEM!! He's the best! So, when I saw this chapter book of his, I jumped on it instantly. Now I'm sure I had most of you at Jon Scieszka, but for the remaining few, here's the summary:

The book is called Spaceheadz. It's the first day of school for Michael K. and it's not going so well. He's new and he gets grouped with two other very unusual new students. He thinks they're off their rocker and doesn't want to be associated with them. Here are some of the things that he noticed right away:
1. The new girl had eaten half of his only pencil
2. The new boy had just told him they were Spaceheadz from another planet.

It only gets worse as the kids recite commercial jingles throughout the day like: I'm Lovin' it, Just Do it, and Get Ready to RRRRUMBLE!!
They explain to Michael, I'm sorry, I mean their hamster explains to Michael that they are from another planet and they have to recruit 3.4 million earth people to be Spaceheadz or the planet Earth will be turned off. So, you can imagine that Michael was a little flummoxed after hearing this news.
There is another interesting character. Mr. Umber is an agent for AAA (the anti-alien agency) and he's sort of the bad guy, in a fumbling idiot kind of way.

Anyway, you'll love it. AND it's going to be a series! The next one comes out in December. Here's the cover for that:

There are also several awesome websites that go along with the book:

SPHDZ.COM  (go ahead! Sign up to be a Spaceheadz!)**

Anti-Alien Agency (AAA)

And of course, you should check out Jon Scieszka's website here.

**You can get your own Spaceheadz name! Mine is
Instant Margarine-SPHDZ.PH

Lisa Greenwald. MY LIFE IN PINK & GREEN

Lucy Desberg is worried about her family pharmacy. It isn't doing as well as it did in the good old days. Nowadays, people are buying everything at one mega-store, not at a bunch of little stores.While spending her afternoons helping out at the pharmacy, Lucy overhears her mother and grandmother discussing how the pharmacy is in trouble and may have to close down. Lucy can't bear the thought of it closing for good - it's been in their family for generations.

But she doesn't merely worrry, she takes action by implementing new ideas to promote the pharmacy. Her first action happens by accident one Saturday when she saves the homecoming queen's hair on the night of the big dance. Then other teens start coming to Lucy to get their makeup done. Plus, she designs a relaxation room that really catches on with customers. But the biggest act Lucy wants to do to help the pharmacy, she can't do alone. So she enlists her sister to help her. If everything works out, perhaps she really can save her family pharmacy!

This is a fun book that shows girls that they really can make a difference in their lives even at a young age. Lucy is a smart, capable character that I really admire! Lucy's best friend Suny is supportive and a great friend. Suny's brother Yamir is hysterical and quite the character!

I hope to read more from this author. You should check out her fantastic website here. It's really one of the coolest author websites!

Kieran Scott. SHE'S SO DEAD TO US

Ally Ryan had the perfect life. Her parents were wealthy and they lived in an exclusive mansion-filled neighborhood called Orchard Hill. She had a group of close friends that she had grown up with. Then her father caused a huge scandal by nearly bankrupting her friends families with poor investing. Because of the scandal, Ally and her family have to leave suddenly one night. She doesn't even get to say goodbye to her friends.

Cut to two years in the future, Ally's mom gets a job in Orchard Hill, so they move back. It's just Ally and her mom because her father ran off shortly after the scandal. Ally is nervous about her return. She knows what her friends must think of her, but surely they will understand that it was her father, not her, who lost their money.

When Ally gets to town, she makes her way to her old house to take a look and encounters the new occupant, Jake Graydon. He's really cute and seems interested in Ally. However, when Ally's old friends give her the cold shoulder, Jake decides to go along with them.

Will Ally ever fit in again with her old friends, and more importantly, does she even want to now?

This was so much fun! It kept me up reading late at night trying to feverishly get to the end. And let me tell you ~ there better be a sequel!  I loved the little snippets of conversation at the beginning of each chapter. They were gossip of coming events in the chapter. Scott seems to really zero in on exactly what teens are saying and doing. I really enjoy all of her books!

Click here for my reviews of her other books. Here are a few of the covers: