Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson

Having just returned from Disney World and just hosting Ridley Pearson at my school, I can't help but be excited about The Kingdom Keepers series. Five middle schoolers who get modeled for hologram characters at the Magic Kingdom find themselves waking up at night in the park in the form of holograms. An old man named Wayne tells them that the evil witches and villains in the park are trying to take control and the only way to stop them is to solve Walt Disney's old puzzle called the Stonecutter's Quill. The action takes the kids into Disney rides at night where Small World dolls swim after them, audio animatronic pirates chase them, and the witch Maleficent is on their trail. Don't look to this book for in-depth characterization—that's not the point. But the action and the inside scoop on Disney rides and tunnels and behind the scenes secrets make it irresistible to Disney fans. And Ridley Pearson is a fascinating speaker with great stories and advice about becoming a writer.

Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz

I love that Anthony Horowitz can take Alex Rider and put him in situation after situation in which he must save the world and eight times I have come back to read the next story. He keeps coming up with new villains and new plots that only our favorite teenage spy can overcome. This time Alex finds out that a wealthy philanthropist is using genetically modified wheat to release a poison that will kill thousands, maybe millions of people in Kenya. His motive is to collect millions of dollars in donations then disappear with the money. Alex survives near-death disasters at least four times in the course of this book while MI6 and other authorities bumble around and his guardian anxiously awaits his return. Crocodile Tears doesn't break any new ground but it is every bit as fun as the other Alex Rider books. And now there is just one more book to go in this series guaranteed to captivate middle school boys.

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Nailer is a teenager trying to survive in a cruel future world. He lives on the Gulf Coast in the wake of environmental destruction. Beached oil tankers just offshore provide a living for desperate children who scavenge them for wires and copper and anything else they can sell. Just when Nailer thinks he has made a lucky strike by finding a newly beached luxury ship he finds a half dead girl on board. His choice to keep her alive leads him toward the possibility of new opportunities but also great danger. This dystopian adventure moves at a fast pace and navigates the reader through a depressing and dark future—one in which the divide between rich and poor seems insurmountable. The theme of loyalty shapes Nailer and those around him. I did not connect with this book as much as I did with Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeiffer or Unwind by Neal Shusterman but it has gotten a lot of acclaim and certainly is entertaining and thought provoking. Fans of dystopian novels will definitely want to read this.

Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson

This is the sequel to Chains and the story begins several months after Isabel and Curzon escape from New York City. This time Curzon is the narrator and he and Isabel have separated—she to go south to find her sister and he to join the Continental Army. Curzon thinks joining the army will guarantee him food and shelter for the winter but unfortunately this is the winter that the army spends in absolute misery at Valley Forge. In the beginning I felt like the book was a vehicle for describing the awful conditions the soldiers faced at Valley Forge. But the plot picked up when Curzon and Isabel are reunited (now both back in bondage) and begin once again to plan an escape. By the end I was fully engaged in Curzon and Isabel's story and also thinking about the contradictions inherent in the founding of our country. A must-read for those who read and enjoyed Chains.

Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

Imagine what it would be like if almost everyone in the world suddenly went blind. What would happen to society? Could human beings survive? Then add to this scenario a new breed of plant that can pull up its roots, move around, and kill people with a deadly whip-like stinger. That's the premise of this sci fi classic written in 1951. It sounds almost ridiculous but I could not put this book down. The main character, Bill, has his sight spared because he happened to have bandages over his eyes during the meteor shower that blinds most of the human race. He wakes to a strangely quiet world where no cars, buses, trucks or airplanes are operating and where people are staggering around trying to acquire food. He quickly realizes that nothing will ever be the same and that it will be pointless to try to save the lives of all the newly blinded people. He finds a handful of other people who were not blinded and together they must figure out how the human race can continue. I recommend this book to kids or adults who like to ponder what the future could bring.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

I confess that I had a lot of trouble getting into this story. I listened to the audiobook and at first it was hard to follow some of the language about Clankers and Darwinists and boffins. But it did turn out to be a really good book with some extremely cool technological ideas. It is the dawn of World War I and, as in real life, the Archduke Ferdinand is murdered, which sets all of Europe on the course toward war. In this fantasy world the Archduke has a son named Alek, whose advisors try to whisk him off to safety in nearby Switzerland. They travel in a Stormwalker—a huge walking armored vehicle created by the Clankers (the German-Austrian-Hungarian faction of the war). Meanwhile, in England a young girl named Daryn is disguising herself as a boy in order to enlist in the British air force. She gets a position on the Leviathan—a huge airship made of genetically modified creatures. (The British are Darwinists and they can manipulate DNA in amazing ways.) The crews of the Leviathan and the Stormwalker meet in the mountains of Switzerland and the lines between enemies and allies blur as Alek and Daryn form a tentative friendship. The story was good and the world of Clankers and Darwinists was also pretty fascinating. If you like this kind of story (often called steampunk) you should also try Airborn by Kenneth Oppel and Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve.

Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr

Deanna lives in a small town and she feels trapped by her reputation. As an eighth grader her father caught her in the backseat of a car with Tommy, a teenage boy. Since then her father and everyone else think of her as promiscuous. Now Deanna is 17 years old and she's trying to break out of that stereotype. Deanna must deal with family, friends, and her new job as she tries to make the emotional journey toward a new self.

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

I will start by saying that this book deals with sexual abuse and while it is not graphic, it is intended for mature readers. It's a chilling look at the life of a girl who was kidnapped at age 5 by a sexual predator. She is now 15 years old and has endured 5 years of physical and emotional abuse. She lives in fear of her captor, Ray, who keeps her in line by threatening to kill her family if she disobeys him in any way. Ray calls her Alice, and has told her that the last "Alice" he kidnapped was killed when she was 15 years old. Ray is trying to keep Alice childlike by depriving her of food and dressing her in girl's clothing, but she is maturing and he is thinking about finding a new girl. Even worse, he wants Alice to help him find the new girl and train her to what Ray wants her to do. As I said, it's not a happy topic but it's well-written and will be very engrossing for some readers.

Seer of Shadows by Avi

Fourteen-year-old Horace Carpantine, an apprentice to a photographer, does not believe in ghosts but that doesn't stop a ghost from finding him. His employer, Mr. Middleditch, involves Horace in a "spirit photo" scam. It is Horace's job to take photographs of pictures of a dead girl named Eleanora. These photos will then be superimposed into a photo of the dead girl's grieving guardian. To Horace's surprise, his photos contain real pictures of Eleanora's ghost and his photos seem to be drawing her back into the world to take revenge on the guardians who killed her. With the help of a servant girl named Pegg, Horace now must try to stop the revenge-set ghost from committing murder. Readers who like history and spooky stories will like this book. Recommended for 4th-6th grade readers.

Matched by Ally Condie

It is Cassia's 17th birthday and the Society holds a banquet to let her know who her match is. Miraculously, her match is her best friend Xander, who she has known all her life. Cassia is thrilled until she sees a fleeting image of another boy on her data card. Could he be her real match? He is Ky, an introverted orphan from the outer provinces whom she also has known for several years. For the first time in her life Cassie starts to have doubts about the Society and the lack of choice it gives its citizens. Before her grandfather dies at his scheduled time on his 80th birthday he slips her an illegal poem that begins "Do not go gentle into that good night." Cassia can't get these words out of her head and she slowly begins a relationship with the forbidden Ky. Ally Condie has created an interesting Society, with obvious parallels to The Giver and other dystopian literature. What makes this story unique is the focus on relationships and poetry and Cassia's slow awakening to the possibilities of a different life. My disappointment with the book is that the ending is unresolved. The author is planning a trilogy, but I would have preferred more resolution in this first volume. Recommend this to readers from 7th through 12th grades—especially fans of romance.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Two kids from the Chicago suburbs meet in downtown Chicago. Both are having a bad night and both are named Will Grayson. The first Will Grayson is not gay but is best friends with Tiny Cooper, "the world's largest person who is really, really gay, and also the world's gayest person who is really, really large." The second Will Grayson is gay and struggling with depression and a friend who has betrayed him. The characters come together in their struggles for identity and it all comes to a head the night of Tiny Cooper's big musical extravaganza. It's hard to explain this book except to say that it's brilliantly written by two outstanding writers for teens and it manages to be both hilarious and poignant at the same time. If you like John Green you will certainly want to read his latest book. Recommended for high school and up.

Sent by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Sent is the first sequel to Found, in which a group of adopted children find out that they share a mysterious past. Spoiler alert: stop reading now if you don't want to know what happens in Found. The children are all historical children who either died or went missing and were taken by time travelers who intended to save their lives. But now time is messed up and the kids need to go back and repair time. Jonah, Katherine, Chip and Alex land in 1483 London where Chip and Alex turn out to be the imprisoned princes Edward and Richard. They slip into their real identities—sort of— and Jonah and Katherine try to figure out how to keep them from being killed without messing up time too much. The actual explanation and functioning of time travel aren't well developed but the plot and the characters are strong and readers will learn (along with the characters) about British history. A fun and action-packed sci fi book appropriate for 5th-8th graders.

Skinned by Robin Wasserman

What makes a person a person? If your brain is scanned and uploaded to a computer and placed in a man-made body are you real? Popular Lia Kahn has a fatal accident--but in the future those with money can essentially have their brains transplanted into bodies that will never feel pain or die. Lia feels like herself--she has all of her memories and feelings and she has learned to control her new body. But she is unable to return to her old life. Even her best friends and family see her as a "skinner" or a "mech" and as much as they pretend things are the same Lia realizes that her previous life is over. Her only choice seems to be to join up with other "mech heads" who are taking full advantage of their new invincible status. It's an intriguing concept (and ultimately a pretty depressing concept). I enjoyed the book but I did not feel as connected to Lia as I would have liked to. She was a selfish, mean character before the accident and after the accident I don't think she had the emotional depth that a teenager who had lost everything would have had. It joins a growing list of books dealing with how far science can go to save a human life, including Eva by Peter Dickinson, Airhead by Meg Cabot, and The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson (a much better book with more ethical questions raised). By the way, this book has some mature content and I recommend it for 9th-12th grade readers.

Zoobreak by Gordon Korman

Zoobreak is the sequel to Swindle, a book which was a very pleasant surprise for me. I was expecting a book about a dog or baseball and in reality it was a crime novel with 6th grade criminals. Well, Zoobreak is much the same, but for some reason I was not as enthralled in this story. The same cast is back—Griffin, the "man with the plan" and his group of friends are rescuing animals from a floating zoo where Savannah's pet monkey is being kept illegally. They decide to steal all 40 animals and then they must hide them from their parents, the police, and the evil owner of the floating zoo. This book has the same appeal as Swindle so I'm not sure why this one didn't pull me in. I guess there were so many implausible holes in the plot this time that I just couldn't stop thinking about them. Maybe I was just in a bad mood, though. If you liked Swindle you will probably also like Zoobreak. And Gordon Korman is awesome so you can never go wrong with his books.

Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham

This is the first children's book written by a hugely popular author of legal thrillers for adults. Theodore Boone is not your typical 8th grader—he's the son of two lawyers and he has his own "law office" and he knows every judge and bailiff in town. He's fascinated by the murder trial that is going on in his small town. A guilty man is about to be set free when Theo finds out about a witness to the crime that could change everything. But the witness is afraid to come forward and Theo must decide what to do. I liked all the courtroom drama but there weren't enough twists and turns to keep the plot moving forward and there was no surprise ending, either. It was an enjoyable read and I think some kids will like it but I think it could have been better, especially coming from a great writer like John Grisham.