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 Anyone looking for lessons in courage, determination, ingenuity, and selfless giving should read Diane Stanley’s medieval fantasy, The Cup and the Crown, the second in her series featuring Lady Marguerite, aka Molly.  For her brave loyalty and other acts of fealty, a royal decree has transformed Molly from scullery maid to lady.  But this tough, hard, brash, resilient, and joyful girl who can not embroider, sew, or read poetry struggles to match the conventional definition of lady.  A descendant of the great silversmith and magically gifted William Harrows, Molly possesses her own magical gift of visions and other unharnessed powers. To locate one of herRead More →

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If there was ever a character about whom you could say “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”, it would have to be Harrison Johnson in Tim Green‘s latest, Unstoppable.  Harrison is only 13 years old, but in his short life he’s already faced abusive foster parents, beating and intimidation from his fellow foster kids, a system set up to break him down, and the realization that his own mother will never be able to care for him like  a mother should.  When he catches a break and gets away from his most abusive foster family yet and lands in the loving, peaceful home ofRead More →

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David Levithan‘s latest, Every Day, is an interesting exploration of identity. The 16 year old main character, A, has awoken every day in a different body.  At first, it seemed normal, and only around age 5-6 did the strangeness of A’s life without continuity begin to be bothersome.  After accepting the reality of this existence, A developed coping mechanisms to be able to determine the basic details of the life and body of the day and be able to function without causing too much chaos or change in the host body’s life.   Since A has been a boy and a girl, every race andRead More →

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Readers who like plots that revolve around danger and destiny and who enjoyed the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan will likely find Tera Lynn Childs’ trilogy riveting.  The major difference in the two text sets is the genders of the protagonists and the prominent roles played by mythological monsters—like the manticore, harpies, or Gegenees giant, rather than just gods and goddesses. The second book in Childs’ series, Sweet Shadows, which features Greer, Gretchen, and Grace—the Key Generation—tells the story of the shadow life of the triplet sisters and their mythological legacy.  The diversity of the three girls represents a Pythagorean balance—appropriate for this trinityRead More →

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In Liar & Spy, Newbery Winner Rebecca Stead has crafted another near perfect representation of a child’s struggle with the changes that come with growing up.  Like she did in When You Reach Me, Stead has created a lyrical, poignant, and deeply human story that resonates on multiple levels.  Liar & Spy is full to the brim with realistic emotions, beautifully drawn characters, and a story with which any kid, boy or girl, can connect. Seventh grader Georges doesn’t really have any friends at school, so when he moves into an apartment in Brooklyn and meets 12 year old coffee drinking, self appointed loner andRead More →

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What would you sacrifice for power? For love?  Would you give of yourself – your blood, your energy, your soul – for someone else if you loved them enough? To harness the power of the land, a sacrifice is required. A drop of blood onto the earth brings abundance and growth. A drop of blood into wine or food brings vitality and wellness. A drop of blood is the trade-off to release the magic, tying the giver to the gift, making the circle whole and the magic powerful.  To harness the trust and love of another, a sacrifice is required.  Sharing hopes and dreams bringsRead More →

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After the accident that takes his girlfriend Viv’s life, all that seventeen-year-old Camden Pike sees in life are the holes.  He struggles so much with the emptiness of Viv’s absence that he doesn’t remember how to get out of bed, live his life, or breathe—all of this emotional angst is exacerbated by his workaholic attorney mother and his absent father.  And appointments with his psychologist Dr. Summers aren’t making much progress since Cam is convinced that he has nothing left to live for.  After all, Cam and Viv were living under the philosophy: Who needs football or cheerleading, who needs friends, and who needs popularity whenRead More →

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In The Wondrous Journals of Dr. Wendell Wellington Wiggins Lesley M. M. Blume and illustrator David Foote bring together exploration, action, fantastic creatures and some wry reflections on the human race. Lost for more than 100 years, the detailed journals from one of England’s most famous paleozoologists, Dr. Wendell Wiggins, have finally surfaced for all the world to see.  In 1850, an adventure-hungry young man embarks on an around-the-world journey to: “seek the remains of [the world’s] most ancient creatures, to learn their ways and their fates. In doing so, I hope to learn more about ourselves – and what our own future might look like.Read More →

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Messy is the second novel in the series, Spoiled! written by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan. Maxine McCormack is the young, female protagonist who lives in Los Angeles but has dreams of attending NYU to study in their creative writing apprenticeship program. There is only one itty, bitty problem. Maxine ( also known as Max) does not have enough money to pay for tuition. Her family cannot help her financially and Max’s current job at FU’D is anything but glamorous. Surrounded by teens who are wannabe actors and actresses, Max relies on her only friend Molly to help her find a better paying job. WhileRead More →