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In a world where everyone looks like everyone else, no one questions the status quo, technology and all consumer goods are being recycled since there’s nothing new anymore, and the government controls every aspect of its citizens’ lives, there’s virtually no room left for personal expression, uniqueness, or individual freedoms.  Basically, this is the formula for just about every dystopia in recent memory: The Handmaid’s Tale,  The Giver,  1984,  The City of Ember, Maze Runner, Birthmarked,  The Forest of Hands and Teeth,  Matched,  The Hunger Games,  Grace, and the list goes on and on…  The newest entry into this genre is Sara Grant’s Dark Parties, Read More →

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Padma Venkatraman’s newest work for middle grade readers, Island’s End, is both a coming of age story and an homage to a way of life that has almost disappeared in our 21st century world.  Set in the Indian Andaman Islands off the coast of Burma, a fictional tribe of aboriginals exists in harmony with the ebb and flow of the jungle and sea of their home.  Uido has lived her life apart from the modern world and is deeply connected to both the natural world of her island and the spiritual world of her tribe’s belief system and so is called upon to train as the spiritual leaderRead More →

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Will curiosity kill the Cat? A shadowy “Game” played on the fringes of normal society where everyday people gamble for life-changing magical prizes and losers may pay the ultimate price – to 15 year old Cat, it sounds like a kooky pass-time for nerds and dorks who still live with their moms.  Cat’s used to being on her own – her parents died when she was three and she’s grown up fending for herself both because of and despite her aunt’s “parenting” style – and she’s most comfortable on the fringes, observing and being invisible.  But when a crazed, breathless businessman asks for her help hiding fromRead More →

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Debut author Matt Blackstone’s A Scary Scene in a Scary Movie is the second 2011 new release I’ve read dealing with an obsessive compulsive teen.  Released in April, Compuls1on was an unsettling, tension-filled onslaught that made me tired.  A Scary Scene in a Scary Movie approaches this disorder and its effect on sufferers in a more well-rounded, thoughtful, and humane way.  Blackstone’s protagonist, freshman Rene Fowler, is portrayed with a candid, humorous honesty that makes the reader connect with him and his struggles on a deep level, eliciting our compassion at the same time as it brings out the exasperating challenges living with this condition brings. Rene is consumed withRead More →

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Even with all of the “multicultural” young adult novels published every year, there really isn’t much that takes place in Sub-Saharan Africa.  And those stories taking on the plight of the refugees, the disenfranchised, and the desperately poor are even harder to find.  Michael Williams’ recent publication, Now Is the Time for Running, tells the staggering story of a 14 year old boy, Deo, fleeing from Zimbabwe into South Africa seeking safety and a chance at a decent life for himself and his mentally disabled older brother, Innocent.  Inspired in part by Williams’ work with homeless refugee youths in his home country (South Africa) as well asRead More →

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Drew’s a bit of a loner. She has a pet rat, her dead dad’s Book of Lists, an encyclopedic knowledge of cheese from working at her mom’s cheese shop, and a crush on Nick, the surf bum who works behind the counter. It’s the summer before eighth grade and Drew’s days seem like business as usual, until one night after closing time, when she meets a strange boy in the alley named Emmett Crane. Who he is, why he’s there, where the cut on his cheek came from, and his bottomless knowledge of rats are all mysteries Drew will untangle as they are drawn closerRead More →

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Bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater did it again with Forever, the continuing story of Grace and Sam’s love for each other and the sequel to Shiver and Linger.  In Forever, Grace and Sam continue to face hardship and obstacles to their love and Cole and Isabel are also still trying to sort out their feelings for each other.  In this final book of the series, Cole tries to find a cure to stop being a wolf, which causes him to make a big mistake by contacting a friend.  As for Grace, she is still trying to control herself by controlling her wolf.  There’s still a lotRead More →

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Tris & Izzie, a love story by the bestselling author Mette Ivie Harrison, is about a girl named Izzie who accidentally falls in love with this guy named Tris, a new student at school.  Izzie  has a boyfriend but her best friend doesn’t and Izzie worries that her friend feels like a third wheel sometimes.  So Izzie gets it in her head that she should fix her friend up with Tris.   Her plan to get Tris and her best friend to fall in love is by making a love potion.  But, as you can imagine, the plan backfires and Izzie falls in love withRead More →

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Bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s novel Vanish is about Jacinda’s life when she gets back to the pride. After being taken away from the pride by her mother and almost exposing her race’s one kept secret.  In this detailed sequel to Firelight, there are many issues Jacinda  must face: she has to choose between her love for her pride and her true love, Will;  her relationship with Cassian has an unexpected twist because Cassian want something more from Jacinda  than she is willing to give; Jacinda realizes she wants nothing at all but to be herself; Jacinda’s twin sister Tamara has some surprises; and you find out if theRead More →