Please enable JavaScript
Print | Page 617 | LitPick Book Reviews
Print
Research Virtuoso: How to Find Anything You Need to Know
The Research Virtuoso
Victor Gad, Toronto Public Library
Armed with this lively guidebook, students will be ready to face the often daunting prospect of conducting serious research in the information age. Fully revised, The Research Virtuoso covers all aspects of research: how to decide on a topic, take notes, skim material, evaluate which sources (especially those on the Internet) are most reliable, organize information, and create a bibliography. Readers will also learn how to access a treasure trove of sources they may never have known existed, such as special collections and private libraries. The Research Virtuoso goes on to show how effective research skills will help students succeed not only at school, but also in life: when considering a company to work for or purchasing anything from electronics to a house. Charts, lists, diagrams, and Grab & Go templates clarify and expand the text. An essential tool for every student!

Book Details

The Wizards of Wyrd World 3 (Way-Too-Real Aliens)
The Wizards of Wyrd World
Mike Gorman, Pamela F. Service
Josh Higgins and his sister Maggie have vowed not to use the alien gizmo that lets them visit other worlds. But when Josh's favorite writer comes to town, the temptation is too much. Along with famous author P.L. Cuthbertson, Josh and Maggie prepare to visit the land of Cuthbertson's books: Wyrd World. As soon as the crew arrives, some of Wyrd World's thuggish locals mistake P.L. for a wizard and that's not a good thing. Josh and Maggie begin a rescue mission, sneaking through fortresses and dungeons. But to challenge the planet's evil rulers, they'll have to unite a group of rebels and outcasts who would just as soon fight each other. . . .

Book Details

Sammy Keyes and the Power of Justice Jack
Sammy Keyes and the Power of Justice Jack
Wendelin Van Draanen
"The most winning junior detective ever in teen lit. (Take that, Nancy Drew!)" —Midwest Children's Book ReviewSammy thought she'd seen all the weirdness her town had to offer—and then she met Justice Jack, Santa Martina's very own superhero. Well, really he's just a guy in spandex and a mask who rides around town on a dirt bike, hoping to find some crime to fight.The old folks in town think he's wonderful. So wonderful that they've asked him to track down Sammy's neighbor Mrs. Wedgewood, who seems to have disappeared—along with a lot of other people's cash. Sammy's friends think Justice Jack is funny and cool. Billy Pratt's even auditioning to be his sidekick! But Sammy thinks he's kind of . . . lame. He's more of a showstopper than a crime stopper. And when a real mystery comes along, Sammy finds herself right in the middle of it. . . .The Sammy Keyes mysteries are fast-paced, funny, thoroughly modern, and true whodunits. Each mystery is exciting and dramatic, but it's the drama in Sammy's personal life that keeps readers coming back to see what happens next with her love interest Casey, her soap-star mother, and her mysterious father.

Book Details

Poison Tree
Poison Tree
Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
The rich stew of the author's creations—SingleEarth, vampires, shapeshifters, Tristes, the Bruja Guilds—are at full boil here in the story of two 20-ish young women trying to out run their very different pasts, and figure out where they fit in and who they might become. Each has landed in a more "normal" place, and each wonders if, like a tattoo that can't be covered up, they can ever really fit into "normal."

Book Details

Blood Spirits (Dobrenica)
Blood Spirits
Sherwood Smith
Before last summer, I was just a normal grad student from California, but then I went to Europe to track down my grandmother's family and my life changed forever.Mistaken for Ruli, a runaway princess who, it turned out, was actually my cousin, I was drugged, abducted, and taken to Dobrenica, a tiny and very unusual little kingdom in Eastern Europe.The handsome man who kidnapped me was Alec, Ruli's fiance, the man who was slated to rule Dobrenica. Like so many things in this odd little kingdom, their marriage would have a magical component―for when certain members of two royal lines married at a particular point in time, Dobrenica...vanished.The solution should have been simple, right? Find Ruli and bring her home. Except Ruli didn't want to come home. Alec and Ruli disliked each other, and to complicate matters further, Alec and I...well, I've always been a romantic at heart.In the end we all did the "right thing." Brokenhearted yet resolute, I returned to America, but I just couldn't seem to forget Alec or Dobrenica.But then I learned that though Ruli and Alec had married, Dobrenica was still in our world. Still in my world. The magic had failed, and no one knew why.So back I went, but my trip became even more dangerous than it was the first time. I expected personal conflict and politics, even sword fighting. I was also prepared for Dobrenica's ever-present specters. But I was not prepared for murder, mystery, or the chillingly real presence of the undead.

Book Details

The Impossible Rescue: The True Story of an Amazing Arctic Adventure
The Impossible Rescue
Martin W. Sandler
The dead of an Arctic winter. Whaling ships full of men, stranded in ice. Follow three rescuers in a race against time — and all odds — in this heartpounding true adventure.In 1897, whaling in the Arctic waters off Alaska’s coast was as dangerous as it was lucrative. And in that particular year, winter blasted early, bringing storms and ice packs that caught eight American whale ships and three hundred sailors off guard. Their ships locked in ice, with no means of escape, the whalers had limited provisions on board, and little hope of surviving until warmer temperatures arrived many months later. Here is the incredible story of three men sent by President McKinley to rescue them. The mission? A perilous trek over 1,500 miles of nearly impassable Alaskan terrain, in the bone-chilling months of winter, to secure two herds of reindeer (for food) and find a way to guide them to the whalers before they starve. With the help of photographs and journal entries by one of the rescuers, Martin W. Sandler takes us on every step of their riveting journey, facing raging blizzards, killing cold, injured sled dogs, and setbacks to test the strongest of wills.Back matter includes an epilogue, further information, a time line, source notes, a bibliography, and an index.

Book Details

The Stone Girl
The Stone Girl
Alyssa Sheinmel
She feels like a creature out of a fairy tale; a girl who discovers that her bones are really made out of stone, that her skin is really as thin as glass, that her hair is brittle as straw, that her tears have dried up so that she cries only salt. Maybe that's why it doesn't hurt when she presses hard enough to begin bleeding: it doesn't hurt, because she's not real anymore.Sethie Weiss is hungry, a mean, angry kind of hunger that feels like a piece of glass in her belly. She’s managed to get down to 111 pounds and knows that with a little more hard work—a few more meals skipped, a few more snacks vomited away—she can force the number on the scale even lower. She will work on her body the same way she worked to get her perfect grades, to finish her college applications early, to get her first kiss from Shaw, the boy she loves, the boy who isn’t quite her boyfriend. Sethie will not allow herself one slip, not one bad day, not one break in concentration. Her body is there for her to work on when everything and everyone else—her best friend, her schoolwork, and Shaw—are gone.  From critically acclaimed writer Alyssa B. Sheinmel comes an unflinching and unparalleled portrayal of one girl’s withdrawal, until she is sinking like a stone into her own illness, her own loneliness—her own self.

Book Details

Beautiful Lies
Beautiful Lies
Rachel and Alice are an extremely rare kind of identical twins-so identical that even their aunt and uncle, whom they've lived with since their parents passed away, can't tell them apart. But the sisters are connected in a way that goes well beyond their surfaces: when one experiences pain, the other exhibits the exact same signs of distress. So when one twin mysteriously disappears, the other immediately knows something is wrong-especially when she starts experiencing serious physical traumas, despite the fact that nobody has touched her. As the search commences to find her sister, the twin left behind must rely on their intense bond to uncover the truth. But is there anyone around her she can trust, when everyone could be a suspect? And ultimately, can she even trust herself? Master storyteller Jessica Warman will keep readers guessing when everything they see-and everything they are told-suddenly becomes unreliable in this page-turning literary thriller.

Book Details

It's Not All Black and White: Multiracial Youth Speak Out
It's Not All Black and White
Michael Martchenko, St. Stephen's Community House
Black, white, and everything in between … Through poems, interviews, and short essays, a group of young people tell what it’s like to be biracial, multiracial, or of mixed race. These poignant firsthand accounts reflect the unique and varied voices of the writers, whose backgrounds range from Caribbean, Vietnamese, and Latin American to First Nations, Spanish, and Irish, among others. With devastating honesty, the youth tell what it’s been like to make their way in the world with their roots in many places and in many cultures. Themes include navigating mixed-race relationships, dealing with prejudice and the assumptions people make based on appearances, and working through identity confusion to arrive at a strong and positive sense of self. Readers who share these experiences will find comfort, inspiration, and validation. Those less familiar with the issues will gain important insight and understanding.

Book Details

Pocket Cats: Feline Charm
Pocket Cats: Feline Charm
Kitty Wells, Joanna Harrison
The third Pocket Cat has come to life, and this time the problem that needs solving is in Maddy's ballet class.  Ollie's tingling whiskers tell him that Maddy's best friend is about to give up on ballet, even though she loves it. When Maddy uses her new magic power to boost Rachel's confidence, Rachel lands the star part in the ballet school's big show . . . and Maddy is desperately jealous. On opening night, Rachel needs the cat magic more than ever, but is Maddy strong enough to put her best friend first?

Book Details

Pages



RECENT BOOK REVIEWS