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Between 2005 and 2007, author James Patterson gave away more than $600,000 to promote literacy through his annual PageTurner Awards. But when he noticed that his own elementary school-age son had become a reluctant reader, he decided that there had to be another way to get children excited about reading. October marked the soft launch of his newest PageTurner project, ReadKiddoRead.com, which replaces the awards.  Read more at http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6631120.html?nid=2788 Posted by CoriRead More →

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Simone Elkeles’ latest novel, Perfect Chemistry, is loosely based on a suburb near her home where 2 distinct neighborhoods share a high school.  In this novel, a perfect teenager, Brittany, with a perfect life expects a perfect senior year.  Things aren’t going to work out that way, however, when her chemistry partner is none other than the toughest Latino gang-banger in school, Alex Fuentes.  Immediately Brittany and Alex clash, as do the 2 distinct worlds that are forced to co-exist at this suburban Chicago high school. What happens throughout their senior year is that Brittany and Alex both come to realize that the other isRead More →

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The best stories, and the best authors, in my opinion, show you the true human experience underlying an issue, situation, or place & time.  Julia Alvarez’s latest novel for young people, Return to Sender, is just such a story by just such an author. After Tyler’s father is injured in a tractor accident, his family is forced to hire migrant Mexican workers to help save their Vermont dairy farm.  Tyler isn’t sure what to make of this situation and of these workers and their daughters.  The Mexican family lives in constant fear of being discovered by the authorities and sent back to the poverty theyRead More →

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In: Middle Grade Reviews, Supernatural & Horror, Supernatural & Horror (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
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Zara suspects there’s a guy stalking her. She’s obsessed with phobias and saving the world.   She hasn’t been herself since her stepfather died and her mother has exiled her to frozen Maine to live with her grandmother in the hopes a change of scenery will help her recover. But is that really the reason Zara’s been sent north?  Once in Maine and starting a new school she discovers it’s not a sleepy, backwoods town at all – there are some scary secrets here, some of which are not human and are definately after her blood. Carrie Jones’ Need features suspense, romance and supernatural themes and fans of the Twilight saga willRead More →

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Read Patrick Carman’s interview in PW Children’s online magazine about Skeleton Creek http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6629554.html?nid=2788  Check out the Skeleton Creek websites:  http://www.scholastic.com/skeletoncreek/ and http://www.skeletoncreekisreal.com/ for some more scary fun! Posted by CoriRead More →

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Suzanne LaFleur’s debut novel, Love, Aubrey, will be released in June 2009, and I can’t wait to sell it to our customers.  It is honest, heartbreaking and hopeful and it brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion.  Truly a remarkable debut.  11-year old Aubrey’s little sister and father were killed in a tragic car accident. Her mother, who was driving, and Aubrey survived.  When the novel opens, Aubrey’s mother has slipped so deeply into depression that she has abandoned Aubrey in their Virginia home.  At first Aubrey enjoys the days of eating cheese & crackers and watching TV; but then she runs outRead More →

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Mystery and magic abound in P.W. Catanese’s latest offering, Happenstance Found (The Books of Umber).  A boy awakens in a dark tunnel under a ruined city and realizes that he has no memory and no idea who he is or where he came from. A voice in the darkness hints at his future, and then he is found by 3 adventurers: Lord Umber, Sophie and Oates, and together they escape from the worm in the tunnels and the erupting volcano that buried the city long ago. Once they’ve escaped they return to Umber’s home and there Hap learns how amazing the adventurer Umber really is. Read More →