Lockdown by Walter Dean Myers. Amistad, an imprint of Harper Collins. 2010. Copy borrowed from friend. The Plot: Maurice “Reese” Anderson will be fifteen in a month. For the last twenty-two months, he’s been at the Progress Center for young offenders aged twelve to sixteen. He’s on a special work-release program a few days a [...]
Invisible Things by Jenny Davidson. HarperCollins. 2010. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. Companion to The Explosionist. The Plot: 1938. Sophie Hunter, sixteen, has fled Scotland for Denmark. Had she stayed in Scotland, she would have been forcibly brainwashed to become a perfect secretary for the “good of the country.” Denmark appears to be a safe harbor. She [...]
13 Words by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Maira Kalman. Harper Collins. 2010. Reviewed from F&G from publisher. The Plot: Thirteen words. Bird, despondent, cake, dog…. Oh, just read the book. The Good: It’s Lemony Snicket, so of course it is funny. The humor is directed to an older reader, which is why I’m reviewing it [...]
Wildwing by Emily Whitman. Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. 2010. Review from ARC from publisher. The Plot: Little Pembleton, 1913. Addy Morrow is fifteen and she wants something more out of life than being the town bastard, bullied by mean girls who think they are better than her because they have more money, a [...]
From Cover to Cover (revised edition): Evaluating and Reviewing Children’s Books by Kathleen T. Horning. HarperCollins. 2010. Personal copy. It’s About: Evaluating and reviewing children’s books. Lordy, but subtitles make my job easy. The Good: From Cover to Cover was published in 1997. Thirteen years later, yes, a lot has changed in publishing and children’s [...]
Ascendant by Diana Peterfreund. Harper Teen, an imprint of HarperCollins. 2010. Review ARC provided by publisher. The Plot: When last we left our intrepid unicorn hunter Astrid Llewelyn, she discovered she was a unicorn hunter when her then-boyfriend was attacked by one, got shipped to unicorn hunter school in Rome where she battled many a [...]
Firelight by Sophie Jordan. HarperCollins. 2010. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. The Plot: Jacinda, sixteen, is a draki who broke the rules. A draki isn’t human – not quite. A draki is descended from dragons and has the ability to shift to human form. Flights are limited to night, when humans cannot spot them. Jacinda [...]
You by Charles Benoit. Harper Teen. 2010. Reviewed from ARC from publisher The Plot: You. The Good: You are you. You are Kyle Chase. OK, enough of writing in the style of You! Told in second person, Benoit pulls you into the story, makes the story about you and your choices and your friendships. Your slacking [...]
Rampant by Diana Peterfreund. HarperTeen, an imprint of HarperCollins. 2009. Review copy from publisher. The Plot: Astrid Llewelyn, sixteen, is minding her own business, making out with her cute boyfriend, when they are attacked by killer unicorns. Turns out, all the “you are descended from mighty unicorn hunters” and “unicorns aren’t friendly they are monsters [...]
Stranded by J.T. Dutton. HarperTeen, an imprint of HarperCollins. 2010. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. The Plot: With great reluctance, fifteen year old Kelly Louise and her mother are leaving Des Moines for her mother’s hometown of Heaven, Ohio. Kelly Louise — named for Tina Louise, of Gilligan’s Island fame — tells of being dragged back [...]
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