47
4747 is a fourteen-year-old slave living on Corinthian Plantation in 1832. A kind woman has looked after him but he now needs to go live with the other sl…
A Company of Fools
A Company of FoolsA Company of Fools by Deborah Ellis is a beautifully written story about young people confronting the plague in 14th century Europe. The novel il…
A Crack In The Line
A Crack In The LineAleric's life was turned up-side down when his mother was killed in an accident two years ago. His home life has deteriorated and his relationship with…
A Frog Thing
A Frog ThingA Frog Thing is a short illustrated book with an audio CD of the text. It comes from the author of Elison the Elephant, Leo the Lightni…
A Northern Light
A Northern LightIn 1906, Chester Gillette murdered Grace Brown on Big Moose Lake, NY. In 1926, Theodore Dreiser novelized the murder in An American Tragedy. In 1…
A Step From Heaven
A Step From HeavenThis novel for older children and teens tells the story of a girl who moves to the US from Korea. Young Ju is four when she arrives in California with h…
A Wish for Wings That Work
A Wish for Wings That WorkThis short picture book for young children tells the story of Opus the penguin who wishes he could fly. But being a penguin, his wings don’t work.…
Adam Canfield of the Slash
Adam Canfield of the SlashAdam Canfield is the co-editor of the Harris Elementary/ Middle School paper The Slash. He is overworked and needs to prioritize. His co-ed…
After
AfterAfter by Francine Prose is a well-written suspense filled tale about a high school in the aftermath of a shooting at a neighboring high school. Th…
Alice MacLeod, Realist at Last
Alice MacLeod, Realist at LastAlice McLeod is not an average sixteen year old. She has just returned to public high school after being home schooled for years, her wardrobe is based o…
All the Way
All the WayThis little book published in Canada is aimed at young people contemplating the start of their sexual lives. It is nicely designed, with drawings and so…
Among the Hidden
Among the HiddenAmong the Hidden (Shadow Children sequence, Book I) by Margaret Peterson Haddix is a well-written suspense filled tale about a futuristic America…
Among the Impostors
Among the ImpostorsAmong the Impostors (Shadow Children sequence, Book 2) by Margaret Peterson Haddix is a well-written sequel to…
Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging
Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal SnoggingThis book is absolutely brilliant! I laughed until I cried reading the "diary" of fourteen year-old Georgia. While it officially aimed at teens, adults s…
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Annie's Baby
Annie's BabyAnnie is a fourteen-year-old eighth-grader desperate for attention. Unfortunately for her, she grabs the attention of older football player Danny. She…
Arizona Kid
Arizona KidSixteen-year-old Billy is on a train to Tucson to spend the summer with his uncle Wes, who he has never met. Billy has lived a pretty mundane life in Bra…
Assessment and Treatment of Childhood Problems, Second Edition
Assessment and Treatment of Childhood Problems, Second EditionSchroeder and Gordon's second edition of Assessment and Treatment of Childhood Problems is an excellent resource for those clinicians who work wit…
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Away Laughing on a Fast Camel
Away Laughing on a Fast CamelAway Laughing on a Fast Camel is the fifth novel for teens by Louise Rennison that started out with Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging.…
Beating Heart
Beating HeartThere are two main protagonists in Beating Heart. The first is Cora, a teenaged girl who died in the house about a century ago. She writes in po…
Because of Winn-Dixie
Because of Winn-DixieIndia Opal Buloni has recently moved to Naomi, Florida with her father so that he can take over the Open Arms Baptist Church of Naomi. Sh…
Between Mom and Jo
Between Mom and JoNick thinks he's the luckiest kid in the world since he has not one but two moms. He realizes that he's different from other kids but he knows how m…
Big Mouth & Ugly Girl
Big Mouth & Ugly GirlJoyce Carol Oates’ first novel for young adults is about two 16-year-olds in a New Jersey High School, in Rocky River, in the rich sprawling suburb…
Boy Kills Man
Boy Kills ManBoy Kills Man is a brutal hopeless story based upon true events. The story takes place in Medellin, Colombia in modern times, and is about a boy a…
Boy Proof
Boy ProofVictoria an "A" student with a rough exterior considers herself boy proof. She's too smart and too tough for any boy to like her. Vic…
Boys
BoysThis set of stories revolves around the lives of a bunch of schoolboys in 1966, something the author (or the publisher) takes the trouble to inform us of…
Breaking Point
Breaking PointBooks for young adults are starting to struggle with the problem of high school violence and murder, following the tragedy of Columbine. Breaking Poin…
Bronx Masquerade
Bronx MasqueradeWho am I, really? Who do I want to be? How can I get people to accept the real me, once I know who the real me is? These are all questions tackled in Ni…
Catalyst
CatalystIt's no surprise that Kate Malone is so neurotic. Her mother died suddenly from pneumonia when Kate was young and her father is a clergyman. She is…
Caveat Emptor
Caveat EmptorCaveat Emptor: Let the Buyer Beware by Richard Cloutier, Jr. is a supernatural thriller. It is a chilling tale about a dream house turned nightmar…
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Chocolate FactoryRoald Dahl's classic book for children is probably best known these days through its Hollywood adaption,…
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
Charlie and the Great Glass ElevatorExpectations are high when Eric Idle reads a novel by Roald Dahl. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator is the sequel to Charlie and the Chocol…
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Claiming Georgia Tate
Claiming Georgia TateGeorgia Tate Jamison has not had an easy life. Her mama died when she was a baby, and her father proved to be unfit after one vacation spent with him. He…
Claws
ClawsClaws by Will Weaver is a well-written novel about the unraveling of a high school junior's charmed life after he discovers that his father is hav…
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
Confessions of a Teenage Drama QueenIt's every teen's nightmare to be torn from the familiar home, school, and friends that provide the comfort and security of an unchanging landscape that…
Read the full review of Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
Coraline
CoralineCoraline is the story of a young girl who lives in an old house, with typically British parents and some eccentric neighbors. One day when she is…
Country Girl, City Girl
Country Girl, City GirlPhoebe is content to tell her goat fairy tales and fantasize about Michael, the older boy who works on her family's farm. All of these plans change the d…
Cruise Control
Cruise ControlPaul is a high school senior with a perfect life or is it. He has looks, he's athletic and a straight "A" student. But there is one thing in…
Destination Unexpected
Destination UnexpectedIt is said that life is a journey and experience is a teacher, but those who have their eye on the destination often miss the trip. Donald Gallo has amas…
Diva
DivaThis is a book about pain, desire and imperfection. Caitlin discovers not so perfect relationships combined with not so perfect parents can lead to…
Doing It
Doing ItThe British writer Melvin Burgess has written several books for young adults, including Smack, a novel about teenage heroin addicts. Doing It is more light-hearted but equally provocative, telling the stories of the sex lives of three best friends, Dino,…
Doing It
The British writer Melvin Burgess has written several books for young adults, including…
Drawing a Blank
Drawing a BlankCarlton Dunne IV is a character in his own right which the reader will easily identify with. From the elite boarding schools of Connecticut to the…
Ellison the Elephant
Ellison the ElephantEllison the Elephant is a picture book and audio CD for young children. Ellison is a young elephant who can't make a trumpet blast like the other…
Everything on a Waffle
Everything on a WafflePrimrose Squarp denies that she is an orphan, even though her parents were lost at sea during a terrible storm. She is sure that they are still alive. Bu…
Fade to Black
Fade to BlackThis novel focuses on three main characters involved in a hate crime. Alex is the HIV positive victim who was attacked while sitting in his car. Clinton…
Feather Boy
Feather BoyFeather Boy is a wonderful novel for young adults. Robert is 12 years old. He gets picked on at school, and girls are not interested in him at all…
Finding H. F.
Finding H. F.In Morgan, Kentucky, a town the size of a quarter, Heavenly Faith (H.F.) Simms, the young lesbian narrator in Julia Watts' award-winning novel, Finding H…
Firegirl
FiregirlTom is in seventh grade of Catholic School in Connecticut. He's a little overweight and he doesn't talk much in class. His best frien…
Flashcards of My Life
Flashcards of My LifeFlashcards of My Life is a great book, not just for its story (which is a cute, funny one!) but also for the pictures and illustrations.…
Fox
FoxA dog with a missing eye takes a bird to his cave to tend to her burnt wing. But Magpie whispers, “I will never again be able to fly.” Sh…
Freaky Green Eyes
Freaky Green EyesFranky Pierson's family has always been one to envy, famous football player father turned broadcaster whom America adores, his doting wife and their smar…
Friction
FrictionE. R. Frank's novel Friction is a powerful novel for teens and young adults dealing with difficult issues. Alex is a 12-year-old girl who goes to…
George's Marvelous Medicine
George's Marvelous MedicineOne Saturday morning, George's parents leave him with his grandmother. She orders him around and never stops complaining. She tells him he is growing too…
Girls in Pants
Girls in PantsThe girls from the Sisterhood are back for their third summer with the Traveling Pants. Tibby, Lena, Carmen, and Bridget are facing their last summer to…
Girlsource
GirlsourceReminiscent of Our Bodies Our Selves, GirlSource is a book of advice for young women about how to cope with school, work, relationships, se…
GLBTQ
GLBTQGLBTQ is a guide for young people who know or suspect they are not straight. It takes a positive and encouraging attitude toward being gay, lesbi…
Good Girls
Good GirlsThere's a new trend in teen fiction to get more sexually explicit, and most of the books in this genre seem to be badly written (…
Gossip Girl
Gossip GirlWhat is better than being young, rich, pampered, and living in NYC? Being in a position to gossip about those who are! That is the premise behind…
Gotta Get Some Bish Bash Bosh
Gotta Get Some Bish Bash BoshOriginally published in the UK, Gotta Get Some Bish Bash Bosh is a short comic novel for young adults and anglophiles about the trials and tribula…
Granny Torrelli Makes Soup
Granny Torrelli Makes SoupSharon Creech's skills aren't immediately apparent because her writing seems so natural and simple. But in a series of books, she has shown a wonderful…
Guts
GutsGuts is a picture book for children who want to learn more about the human digestive system. It includes photography, color-enhanced imaging, and…
Handbook for Boys
Handbook for BoysWalter Dean Myers is one of the most prominent African-American writers…
Happy Halloween, Li'L Santa
Happy Halloween, Li'L SantaHappy Halloween, Li'l Santa is a graphic novel for children, in the same style as the author's earlier…
Hear Us Out!
Hear Us Out!For me, it was The Coming Out Stories, by Susan J. Wolfe and Julia Penelope Stanley (published by Persephone Press in 1980, for those of you try…
Hitler's Daughter
Hitler's DaughterHitler's Daughter is a gripping story for preteens about human evil and family love. It asks the very challenging question: what would you do when…
Hoot
HootHoot is an entertaining story for young people set in Trace Middle School in Coconut Grove, Florida. Its hero is Roy Eberhardt, who recently arri…
I Saw It Happen
I Saw It HappenThis book is intended for use by a psychologist helping a child that has witnessed a traumatic, violet event. It contains assorted activities ranging fr…
If We Kiss
If We KissCharlie has a major dilemma. Would it be wrong to want to kiss your best friend's boyfriend who may become your step-brother? Charlie has always felt in…
In the Company of Crazies
In the Company of CraziesMia Singer is a talented 13-year-old who often is top of her class. Yet after one of her schoolmates dies in a car accident, she starts getting into tro…
It Happened to Nancy
It Happened to NancyThis is a true story based on the life of a 14-year-old girl who faces her worst nightmare. It begins with Nancy going to a concert with her gaggle (as…
It Was A Dark And Silly Night
It Was A Dark And Silly NightGiven the quality of the work in the previous two Little Lit books, Little Lit…
It's Me!
It's Me!It's Me is a picture book featuring young Patricia, who dresses up as Princess Finula-Lily at first, then as the evil witch Patrooshka, and finall…
Jakarta Missing
Jakarta MissingDakar and her older sister Jakarta have always been best friends. When their parents decide to move to North Dakota, to her mother’s childhood home,…
James and the Giant Peach
James and the Giant PeachJames and the Giant Peach tells the story of James Henry Trotter, an orphan who starts out living with his two horrible aunts. They insult him an…
Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key
Joey Pigza Swallowed the KeyJoey Pigza is so out of control that it’s pretty scary. He is constantly getting into trouble because he gets so revved up. He puts a key on a piece…
Joker
JokerThis is a book about inner struggle, persona and the quest for life's meaning. The book is more palatable for young teens than Shakespeare'…
Jumping the Scratch
Jumping the ScratchJamie is eleven years old and his family is going through a difficult time. His father has left his mother for another woman. His aunt Sapphy…
Keeping the Moon
Keeping the MoonHow can you resist an opening like this? “My name is Nicole Sparks. Welcome to the first day of the worst summer of my life.” Just the…
Knocked Out by My Nunga-Nungas
Knocked Out by My Nunga-NungasIt might be worth explaining the origin of the word in the title of the book: Nunga nungas is what Ellen’s brother and his mates call girls…
Last Call
Last CallLast of the Party Room trilogy, Last Call by Morgan Burke is an exciting murder mystery with twists and turns to keep the reader engaged. The main chara…
Leaping Beauty
Leaping BeautyThe idea of writing twisted versions of fairy tales isn't new, but Gregory Maguire does it well. In this unabridged audiobook he reads his own work, and…
Lemony Snicket
Lemony SnicketThe Unauthorized Autobiography will mainly appeal to those who have already read most of the books in A Series of Unfortunate Events. Even…
Less Than Perfect
Less Than PerfectLess than perfect is a wonderful story about young love, heartache and loss -- coping with life's imperfections and the imperfections in o…
Little Chicago
Little ChicagoLittle Chicago by Adam Rapp is a vivid novel about a sexually abused child. The novel describes the social and psychological impact that sexual a…
Lizzy's Do's and Don'ts
Lizzy's Do's and Don'tsLizzy is always getting into trouble, and her mother is always telling her off. The book is in rhyme: Don't try to reach what's out of reach. Don't bring…
Looking for Bobowicz
Looking for BobowiczLooking for Bobowicz is a wonderful story for children about a boy who calls himself Nick but whose real name is Ivan Itch. His family has just m…
Looking for Normal
Looking for NormalThis is a story told by a 12-year-old girl about the day her father killed her mother. Annie the main character is pulled out of class and told that her…
Love and Sex
Love and SexLove & Sex, ten stories of truth, edited by Michael Cart, is a selection of stories and poems aimed at adolescents and the various circumstanc…
Love That Dog
Love That DogLove That Dog is an unusual and charming book for children by Sharon Creech – it is a collection of poems. In a sense they are fictional poem…
Making the Run
Making the RunMaking the Run by Heather Henson is a well-written story about teenagers facing the end of childhood. It is a fast paced story of two high school soon-to-be graduates, their hopes, their dreams and their aspirations, and how life intervenes. Making the…
Making the Run
Making the Run by Heather Henson is a well-written story about teenagers facing the end of childhood. It is a fast paced story of two high school…
Margaux with an X
Margaux with an XMargaux has been exploited her entire life because of her staggering beauty. Her gift of beauty has caused her to be the grand prize, won by…
MirrorMask
MirrorMaskMirrorMask was originally a film directed by Neil Gaiman's longtime collaborator Dave McKean. The story is a teen girl whose family owns a circus…
Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism
Molly Moon's Incredible Book of HypnotismIt is a surprise to find that Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism is more than just a funny story about an orphan who learns how to hypnotiz…
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More Than a Label
More Than a LabelAlthough I understood and appreciated what author Aisha Muharrar was trying to accomplish in her book More Than a Label, I came away disappointed.…
Mouse's First Valentine
Mouse's First ValentineThis fun picture book for very young readers is very sweet. Minka, little Mouse’s sister, makes a Valentine card. She assembles the materials and put…
My Brain Tumour Adventures
My Brain Tumour AdventuresMy Brain Tumour Adventure is a picture book for children telling the story of a very young boy who is seriously ill. We see him in the hospital be…
My Heartbeat
My HeartbeatEllen is fourteen and she and her rather intellectual family live in New York City. In the fall she starts attending the same private Manhattan hig…
My Perfect Life
My Perfect LifeMy Perfect Life by Dyan Sheldon is the sequel to Confessions of a Teena…
Nastybook
Nastybook43 stories in 183 pages, (or on 3 audio CDs). Each story is of course nasty, twisted and unpleasant. One or two of them are funny, and several may indu…
No Right Turn
No Right TurnJordan's father died three years ago and Jordan still refuses to talk about it with anyone. He has secluded himself from most of his friends. He wants to…
Not As Crazy As I Seem
Not As Crazy As I SeemDevon likes to do things his way. He likes to have his shirts buttoned all the way to the top, while on the hanger in his closet, arranged according to c…
Nothing But the Truth
Nothing But the TruthPatty Ho just wants to go through high school quietly, only being noticed by the love of her life, Mark Scranton. Patty has many issues that make this im…
Olive My Love
Olive My LoveThis little picture book for very young readers shows Olive the reindeer finding a large heart on her doorstep, dropped by her friend Dexter, a flying do…
Olivia
OliviaOlivia is a terrific picture book about Olivia, a piglet. She is full of energy and creativity. She dresses up, sings songs, builds sa…
Olivia Saves the Circus
Olivia Saves the CircusFollowing up on the first Olivia book, Olivia Saves the Circus is e…
On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God
On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex GodThe further confessions are just as good as the original, if not better. Georgia gets…
Read the full review of On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God
Out of Bounds
Out of Bounds"...at the end of the twentieth century, history was turned upside down. The oppressors opened their prison doors and sat down with those they had…
Patrol
PatrolThis picture book combines text by well-known writer Walter Dean Myers and collages by Ann Grifalconi. It tells one soldier’s story of his tim…
Peaches
PeachesMurphy McGowan is always the center of attention and it is usually not for the right reasons. Leeda Cawley-Smith is the center of attention for people th…
Period Pieces
Period PiecesThis is an anthology of stories for 8 -12 year old girls about first experiences of menstruation. Every woman has her own story. My granny was terrifi…
Planet Janet
Planet JanetPlanet Janet is the fictional diary of Janet Bandry, a teen girl in Britain. Very much in the tradition of…
Prince William, Maximilian Minsky & Me
Prince William, Maximilian Minsky & MeNelly Sue Edelmeister is like any other 13-year-old girl who wants to be a cosmologist; she is not very well liked. She is awkward, brilliant and does no…
Read the full review of Prince William, Maximilian Minsky & Me
Princess in Love
Princess in LoveWhat is essential for a princess to live happily ever after? If you answered Prince Charming, you are correct. In Meg Cabot’s third volume, Prin…
Princess in the Spotlight
Princess in the Spotlight"Just when Mia thought she had the whole Princess thing under control…things get out of hand fast!" This is how Meg Cabot's second volume, Prince…
Prisoners Under Glass
Prisoners Under GlassRachel's trip to Venice turns into a nightmare after losing her mother. She has a feeling that things are not right when she goes into a tourist shop. He…
Rainbow Party
Rainbow PartyRainbow Party is a novel for young adults about the sex lives of sophomores at "Harding High." The time frame of most of the novel is j…
Revolting Rhymes & Dirty Beasts
Revolting Rhymes & Dirty BeastsThis wonderful unabridged audiobook brings Roald Dahl’s extremely funny verses to life. One side tells the true story behind fair tales, including J…
Rosy Cole's Memoir Explosion
Rosy Cole's Memoir ExplosionRosy Cole's Memoir Explosion is a short story for young children -- its lead character, Rosy, is 11 years old, and potential readers are probably…
Sabriel
SabrielSabriel by Garth Nix is an entertaining fantasy novel for young people with a strong female protagonist. Young Sabriel is…
Say Yes
Say YesThis novel for young adults tells the story of 12-year-old Casey who lives in New York City with her stepmother Sylvia. Casey is an orphan, and Sylvia is…
Shadows on the Wall
Shadows on the WallShadows on the Wall by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is a well-written suspense filled tale filled with ghosts, gypsies, and dark scary places. It tells th…
Sins of the Fathers
Sins of the FathersDrew, Skitz and Hector have gone to school together since they were six at Blessed Sacrament. They are always helping each other out of trouble. Drew is…
Smack
SmackSmack tells the story of two teens who run away from their homes and become addicted to heroin. It is set in Britain in the mid-1980s, and both t…
Small Avalanches and Other Stories
Small Avalanches and Other StoriesReading Joyce Carol Oates is not light reading. She writes stories that typically involve teenagers, with a darker side of life as her theme. Most of the…
Someone Like You
Someone Like YouSomeone Like You is a well-told tale of a teenaged-girl's junior year, addressing similar themes to…
Something About America
Something About AmericaThese poems by Maria Testa are in the voice of a young teenage girl. Her family is from Kosova, and they same to America when she was five to escape the…
Sophie Pitt-Turnbull Discovers America
Sophie Pitt-Turnbull Discovers AmericaThis short novel for teens tells the story of Sophie, an English sixteen-year-old who spends a summer in Brooklyn. She comes from a rather prim family l…
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Startled by His Furry Shorts
Startled by His Furry ShortsStartled by His Furry Shorts is the seventh in the Georgia Nicoloson series, and it is very much as the same vein as the previous six books. Geor…
Stone Water
Stone Water"The message inside the envelope -- a deeply troubling request disguised as a fable -- can not be ignored. ...whether to act on his grandfather's l…
Surviving Hitler
Surviving HitlerSitting in the auditorium at Etowah High School on February 22, 2002, I, along with the entire 8th grade class, was anxiously awaiting the arrival of Ja…
Targeting Autism
Targeting AutismIn her updated edition of Targeting Autism, Shirley Cohen presents a pragmatic, objective, yet empathic introduction to life with this baffling ga…
Teen Angst? Naaah
Teen Angst? NaaahTeen Angst? Naaah: A Quasi-Autobiography by Ned Vizzini is a hilarious romp through the teen years by someone young enough to still vividly remem…
That Summer
That SummerIn That Summer, 15-year-old Haven does a lot of growing up. This is partly physical – she is already tall and she just keeps on shoot…
The Actual Real Reality of Jennifer James
The Actual Real Reality of Jennifer JamesJennifer James is your average high school geek with one true friend Vickie and a growing crush on school babe Marcus who happens to be dating her nemesi…
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The Amnesia Clinic
The Amnesia ClinicAnthony, who goes by the nickname Anti, befriends the outgoing Fabian when his parents move their family to Ecuador from their native England. Fabian is…
The Artsy Smartsy Club
The Artsy Smartsy ClubAs a fan of The Hoboken Chicken Emergency, I can report that The Artsy Smartsy Club is a worthy member of the series featuring Nick Itch an…
The BFG
The BFGThis wonderful tale of the Big Friendly Giant has lessons about toleration of different people, the battle of good and evil, friendship, and how humans a…
The Big Burn
The Big BurnThe Big Burn is a novel for young adults that tells the true story of a terrible forest fire of 1910 in northern Idaho and western Montana,…
The Buffalo Tree
The Buffalo TreeBuffalo Tree by Adam Rapp is an intense novel about life in a juvenile detention home for boys. The novel describes the day-to-day existence of a…
The Carnivorous Carnival
The Carnivorous CarnivalAs a college philosophy teacher, I am hoping that within a decade I can expect a surge in interest in ethics courses from students who read the enormous…
The Creek
The CreekThe Creek by Jennifer L. Holm is a taut suspense filled coming-of-age novel about a young girl growing into womanhood in a stressful environment.…
The Dating Game
The Dating GameThe Dating Game is a lively novel for teens -- probably teen girls. The basic idea is that three girls living in northern California start a webs…
The Daydreamer
The DaydreamerIn Britain during the 1970s, a new group of poets and writers arose, led by Craig Raine and Ian McEwan. The poets were sometimes referred to as “the…
The Diary of a Killer Cat
The Diary of a Killer CatThis little book for young children should please all cat lovers. Ellie's cat Tuffy brings in a couple of dead birds to the horror of his family,…
The Diary of Pelly D
The Diary of Pelly DV is on a work assignment to rebuild City Five. He has strict orders to turn over any personal belongings he finds in the rubble. He recovers what appear…
The Dulcimer Boy
The Dulcimer BoyThe Dulcimer Boy by Tor Seidler is a strange story. It has a very mystical quality about it. It tells the story of the life that two…
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round ThingsVirginia Shreeves is 15 years old and she lives in New York City. Her mother is an adolescent psychologist, her father is a software executive, her…
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The Ersatz Elevator
The Ersatz ElevatorIn this story, the Baudelaire orphans move back to the city of their happier days before their parents perished in a fire. They become the wards of Esm&#…
The Flight of a Dove
The Flight of a DoveThe Flight of a Dove is a short illustrated child's book about a young child, Betsy, who has autism. It shows how she starts to become different…
The Geography of Girlhood
The Geography of GirlhoodThe Geography of Girlhood is a short novel in verse, about a teen girl who runs away from home with her older boyfriend. Writer Kirsten Smith has…
The Giantess
The GiantessThe Giantess is a beautifully illustrated children’s book about a woman who lives in isolation because of her physical difference from others…
The Great Brain
The Great BrainSet in the early 1900s, The Great Brain is the tale of the Fitzgerald brothers growing up in Utah. The book starts with the narrator, young J.D.,…
The Grim Grotto
The Grim GrottoThe Grim Grotto bodes well for the coming climax of the thirteen books in the Series of Unfortunate Events. It introduces some wonderful n…
The Hookup Artist
The Hookup ArtistLucas is the resident cupid at Thomas Jefferson High School. His matchmaking is well thought out and highly successful. When his best friend Cate need…
The Horse and His Boy
The Horse and His BoyThe Horse and His Boy by C. S. Lewis is the third book of the popular Chronicles of Narnia series. In it, a poor young orphan runs aw…
The Hostile Hospital
The Hostile HospitalThis episode in the Series of Unfortunate Events has two great features. It provides some of the funniest moments of the whole series with the songs of t…
The Last Chance Texaco
The Last Chance TexacoLast Chance Texaco is a story about a girl who finds herself at odds with the world. Until one day, someone believes in her. Lucy Pitt is the m…
The Little Tern
The Little TernThe Little Tern is a picture book for young children about a small bird that loses the ability to fly. He has no physical injury, so the cause mu…
The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs
The Love Curse of the RumbaughsThis is a book of obsession, passion and guilt but yet transcends to a higher level with the innocence of a child loving so strongly that it becomes a cu…
The Men They Will Become
The Men They Will BecomeOne of the upsetting things about good books is that too few people read them. The Men They Will Become is one of those books that al…
The Neil Gaiman Audio Collection
The Neil Gaiman Audio CollectionThis 50-minute CD contains four children's stories by Neil Gaiman, read by the author, plus a short interview by his daughter. It is strange to produce…
The Order of the Poison Oak
The Order of the Poison OakBrent Hartinger may be known to readers for his previous novel Geography Club,…
The Palace of Laughter
The Palace of LaughterMiles Wednesday is the boy that lives in a barrel. He was orphaned as a baby and escaped from the horrible Pinchbucket orphanage so that he can live on h…
The Penultimate Peril
The Penultimate PerilIn book twelve of A Series of Unfortunate Events, the three Baudelaire siblings Violet, Klaus and Sunny continue their sorry adventure of escaping…
The Princess Diaries
The Princess DiariesMost little girls dream about being a princess. For Mia Thermopolis this dream, has not only become a reality, it has become a nightmare. This is the premis…
The Rules of Survival
The Rules of SurvivalIn Nancy Werlin's The Rules of Survival, three children living with their mother live in fear of her sudden anger and cruelty. The boo…
The Sands of Time
The Sands of TimeThis second adventure of Hermux Tantamoq, a watchmaker mouse, is even better than the first,…
The Serious Kiss
The Serious KissI was surprised by how much I enjoyed Mary Hogan's The Serious Kiss. The best moments occur when fourteen-year-old Libby Madrigal explains her co…
The Shakeress
The ShakeressThe Shakeress by Kimberley Heuston is a most engrossing and very educational account of the religious environment of 1830’s New England. This…
The Silly Book
The Silly BookOriginally published in 1961, The Silly Book has not aged. It's simply a silly book, and maybe young children will like it, but it adults are prob…
The Sledding Hill
The Sledding HillBilly Bartholomew is dead, or is he? Eddie Proffit Billy's best friend finds Billy lying on the floor with sheet rock on top of him. Billy's neck is br…
The Slippery Slope
The Slippery SlopeAt 337 pages, The Slippery Slope is the largest yet in the Series of Unfortunate Events, although it is still a long way off from Harry Potter siz…
The Snow Speaks
The Snow SpeaksThis illustrated book for very young children is about the first snowfall of the year. The text is poetic and mystical: “The children know there is…
The Steps
The StepsIn The Steps, 12-year-old Annabel tells the story of her visit to Australia over the Christmas vacation. She and her mother Manhattan on the Upper…
The Thief Lord
The Thief LordThe Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke has been favorably compared to Harry Potter. It is the delightful tale of two orphan boys who runaway from their…
The Twits
The TwitsThis wonderful story of Roald Dahl has been newly released as an unabridged audiobook performed with great panache by Simon Callow (best known in the USA…
The Vile Village
The Vile VillageIt is a great relief to read The Vile Village. There are a number of reasons for this. It is a relief to know that the Baudelaire orphans manage t…
The Virginity Club
The Virginity ClubThis teen novel about high school seniors who form a club as a way to vouch for their virginity is moderately entertaining, and it explores several issue…
The Wish House
The Wish HouseRichard spends a month every summer at the beach with his family. He finds that this summer is going to be different from all of the others when his usua…
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
The Witch of Blackbird PondThe Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare is a heart-warming love story for young adult set amidst the prejudice, hardship, and supe…
Then Again, Maybe I Won't
Then Again, Maybe I Won'tThen Again, Maybe I Won’t was published in 1971, but since it deals with issues that many boys still face today. 13-year-old Tony Miglione li…
Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers
Then He Ate My Boy EntrancersYet another entry in the series of Louise Rennison's comic novels about British teen Georgia Nicholson, Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers is a great d…
They Broke the Law-You Be the Judge
They Broke the Law-You Be the JudgeThomas Jacobs, a former juvenile court judge, takes an interactive approach to teenage crime and the juvenile justice system in They Broke The Law €“…
Things I Have to Tell You
Things I Have to Tell YouNot surprisingly, most of the writing in this companion piece to You Hear Me? is…
Thirsty
ThirstyThirsty occupies similar ground to Buffy the Vampire Slayer: a teen finds that he has supernatural powers but worries that this will interf…
Time Stops for No Mouse
Time Stops for No MouseThis odd mystery story for children features a mouse watchmaker as its main protagonist, in a world populated by other rodents in a variety of jobs. Herm…
Truesight
TruesightJacob lived on a planet called Nova Campi far from Earth. Nova Campi was where the blinders lived. The blinders were people who once inhabited Earth.…
Twisted
TwistedWhile Laurie Halse Anderson is best known for her fiction depicting the emotional lives of American girls, her new young-adult novel Twisted has…
Very Far Away from Anywhere Else
Very Far Away from Anywhere Else"The rule for primates, maybe, is to keep moving on and building nests, one at a time, until they learn to do it right." Owen Thomas G…
Walking on Glass
Walking on GlassBlank verse poems that tell stories for young adults seem to be becoming more popular. It is a difficult genre to master; there's a danger that…
We're Not Monsters
We're Not MonstersWith my teen years in the not too distant past it is hard to believe just how out of control kids have become. In her book, We're Not Mon…
Welcome to the Ark
Welcome to the ArkIn Stephanie S. Tolan's Welcome to the Ark, it is the task of four gifted children to bring peace to a violent world. Outcasts as individuals, the…
Whale Talk
Whale TalkWhale Talk is the story of T.J. Jones, a high school senior near Spokane, Washington. He is intelligent and articulate. He is almost 6’2”…
What Happened
What HappenedThe unnamed narrator of this books describes the night that he and his brother Kyle are out with friends drinking and smoking when they hit a homeless ma…
What Would Joey Do?
What Would Joey Do?It’s hard to imagine that any children really have families as dysfunctional as Joey Pigza’s, except when one thinks about people one knows, an…
When Jeff Comes Home
When Jeff Comes HomeWhen Jeff Comes Home by Catherine Atkins is an interesting novel about the return of a kidnapped boy. Told from the boy’s point of view the…
Where The Kissing Never Stops
Where The Kissing Never StopsWalker's father died a few years ago, and his mother has just taken a job as an exotic dancer to make ends meet. She is not even embarrassed by…
Will You, Won't You?
Will You, Won't You?Some people might say that the worst thing about being a teenager is a nosy interfering mother who reads your diary. Others might complain about being se…
Witch Child
Witch ChildWitch Child by Celia Rees is a most engrossing and very educational account of the impact of witchcraft accusations on an individual and a communi…
Wolf on the Fold
Wolf on the FoldIn the short story collection Wolf on the Fold, Judith Clarke explores the emotional life of an Australian family over the course of seventy years…
Worlds Apart
Worlds Apart13-year old Winnie May lives a comfortable and happy life in Chicago with her parents, medical Doctor Maxwell and stay-at-home mother Colleen. She belong…
Wurst Case Scenario
Wurst Case ScenarioThrough a series of diary entries, author Catherine Clark has quite adeptly created a parallel universe located in America’s heartland where people…
Yoga 4 Teens
Yoga 4 TeensYoga 4 Teens is an instructional DVD for young people. A short introductory section explains how the exercise of yoga can help the turbulent emot…
You Hear Me
You Hear Me"What could have been running through their minds?," we ask about those September 11 hijackers. "Who were they, anyway?," we wonder. Wel…
You Know You Love Me
You Know You Love MeYou Know You Love Me is the second book of the Gossip Girl series. In this installment, Blair Waldorf celebrates her seventeenth birthday,…
Zazoo
ZazooZazoo by Richard Mosher is a bittersweet young adult novel about the long-term effects of war. In this first-person narrative, a young Vietn…