Mates, Dates and Cosmic Kisses by Cathy Hopkins

Izzie has met the boy of her dreams, but why doesn't he call her? She spends her time waiting, wondering, and checking her horoscope. Luckily she has Nesta and Lucy, her two best friends, to get her through her boy troubles. The three girls are Londoners, and this is just one of many books about them. It's breezy and fun to read, and full of girl power (in the end). While not nearly as hilarious as Louise Rennison's Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging series, it's a good read for girls who want to read about what it's like to start dating and worrying about boys. It doesn't seem to matter what order you read these books in—the stories stand alone.

The Kayla Chronicles by Sherri Winston

Kayla is a strong, intelligent African American girl interested in journalism and feminism. She’s also a gymnast and dancer, but she lives in the shadow of her best friend, Rosalie. Rosalie comes up with an idea to expose the sexist nature of the Lady Lions, the prestigious high school dance team at the girls’ new private school. Kayla will try out for the team and presumably won’t be selected because of her small chest. Then Kayla can expose this scandal by writing about it for her school journalism class. The problem for Kayla is that she discovers that she really wants to be a Lady Lion, and then she does make the team. Now Rosalie feels betrayed and Kayla is trying to juggle her feminist side with her new Lady Lion persona. Kayla is the narrator and the book is full of her own trendy slang (such as stankalicious and crunktacular). Kayla also deals with family problems, some physical encounters with a new boyfriend, and big problems with Rosalie. The concept is good and her character is fresh, but the use of slang and feminist quotes was sometimes overwhelming to the point of pulling me out of the story. I think the author’s desire to portray strong, feminist African American girls overshadows the plot of the story at times. Nevertheless, it’s a worthwhile book that will appeal to girls trying to find a place in the world.

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Jonah and his neighbor Chip are 13 years old when they start getting mysterious letters in the mail. The first letter says, “You are one of the missing.” It turns out that both boys were adopted as infants and they begin to wonder if that is why they are getting the letters. With a little investigation they find the name of an FBI agent who may know something, and in a hostile meeting with him they acquire a list of names of “witnesses” and “survivors.” They have no idea what they are dealing with, but they begin making phone calls. Things quickly get serious and mysterious and they suspect they are involved in something sinister that may involve time travel. I don’t want to go into anymore detail here and ruin any surprises, but I will say that this book is obviously a set up for a series that will take a group of 36 kids on an array of adventures throughout history. Haddix has an interesting idea here, but I’m afraid it may be too far-fetched to work. It certainly leaves the reader hanging at the end and waiting for a sequel, which some readers will like and some will not.

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd

This is a good mystery told by an interesting narrator. Two siblings living in London are visited by a cousin they hardly know, Salim. They take him to The London Eye, the huge observation wheel that tourists ride in to see the view of the city. Someone gives Salim a free ticket, he hops into the capsule with a group of other people, and 30 minutes later, when the ride is over, he is not among those who emerge from the ride. Days pass and there is no sign of him. How can a person simply disappear into thin air? Salim’s mother is frantic and the police are baffled. Ted and Kat make a list of theories and do some investigating on their own. They seem to be completely stuck until Ted, who has Asperger’s Syndrome and thinks differently than other people, puts some clues together and realizes what happened to Salim. Then the race is on to save his life. The clues are all there, but I sure didn’t solve the mystery on my own. Recommended for anyone who likes a good mystery.

The Compound by S.A. Bodeen

The premise of this book is fascinating. A billionaire obsessed with nuclear weapons builds a huge underground compound to protect his family in the event of an attack. At an unexpected time disaster strikes and the family rushes to The Compound to spend the next 15 years before it’s safe to come out. In the confusion two family members, Grandma and Eddy, are left in the outside world, presumably to die. Mom, Dad, two sisters, and Eddy’s twin brother, Eli, have now been living underground for six years. It’s depressing and stressful, and things aren’t all going as planned, but at least they are alive. The big twist is when you find out that the billionaire father may be not only brilliant, but completely insane. The details of The Compound and how they planned to survive for 15 years are pretty interesting. I also liked the development of Eli, the self-absorbed twin who doesn’t care about his sisters, who steps it up and becomes a stronger, more caring person. Some details were not well developed (like what they planned to do with “The Supplements”) but I think middle schoolers will enjoy this book for it’s strong characters and terrifying, suspenseful situation.