Please enable JavaScript
All Books | Page 166 | LitPick Book Reviews
All Books
The Manga Artist's Workbook
Christopher Hart
Synopsis:

Master the basics of the most popular style of cartooning with The Manga Artist's Workbook by Christopher Hart, a bestselling author in the field of art instruction.

You'll learn the fundamental proportions of the manga face and figure, how to draw those large sparkling eyes, and how to create hairstyles and costumes that make each character unique. A sketchbook and art tutorial rolled into one portable journal, this workbook contains tracing paper, blank practice pages, and exercise to help you become a true manga artist.

Publication Date: 10/13/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Educational
Akira
Katsuhiro Otomo
Synopsis: Welcome to Neo-Tokyo, built on the ashes of a Tokyo annihilated by a blast of unknown origin that triggered World War III. The lives of two streetwise teenage friends, Tetsuo and Kaneda, change forever when paranormal abilities begin to waken in Tetsuo, making him a target for a shadowy agency that will stop at nothing to prevent another catastrophe like the one that leveled Tokyo. At the core of the agency’s motivation is a raw, all-consuming fear of an unthinkable, monstrous power known only as Akira.

Katsuhiro Otomo’s stunning science fiction masterpiece is considered by many to be the finest work of graphic fiction ever produced, and Otomo’s brilliant animated film version is regarded worldwide as a classic.

This edition includes a new foreword from the author and a postscript from Dark Horse publisher Mike Richardson!
Publication Date: 10/13/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
A Family Secret
Eric Heuvel, Lorraine T. Miller
Synopsis: While searching his grandmother’s attic for likely items to sell at a yard sale, Jeroen finds a photo album that brings back hard memories for his grandmother, Helena. Helena tells Jeroen for the first time about her experiences during the German occupation of the Netherlands during the Second World War, and mourns the loss of her Jewish best friend, Esther. Helena believes that her own father, a policeman and Nazi sympathizer, delivered Esther to the Nazis and that she died in a concentration camp. But after hearing her story, Jeroen makes a discovery and Helena realizes that her father kept an important secret from her.
Publication Date: 10/13/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Historical Fiction
The Search
Lies Schippers, Lorraine T. Miller, Eric Heuvel, Ruud van der Rol
Synopsis: Esther remembers her own experience of the Holocaust as a Jewish girl living in Amsterdam, and recounts to her grandson Daniel and his friend Jeroen how she escaped from the Nazis and survived by going into hiding in the countryside. Her parents were not so lucky. Esther knows they were sent to a concentration camp and died there, and with Daniel’s help she embarks on a search to discover what happened to them during the last months of their lives. After tracking down an old friend who now lives in Israel, Esther finally learns the shocking story of how her parents met their fates at Auschwitz.
Publication Date: 10/13/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
How To Be A Vampire
Scott Erwert, Amy Gray
Synopsis: Welcome to the world of the undead! A comprehensive guide to the vampire lifestyle satisfies newcomers’ thirst for lore and provides tasteful tips. (Age 12 and up)

For those who join the decadent realm of the vampire, eternal life holds juicy perks — charm and strength, shape-shifting and flying, telepathy and super-powered senses. But then again, one becomes . . . so terribly hungry. Is there an etiquette for feeding without causing a scene? How do you set up your crypt? What supernatural foes will make your blood run colder? In this elegant, edgy resource, the newly immortal will find everything they need to know, including:

* a quiz to determine your true vampire persona
* ways to turn into a vampire — or when a kiss is not just a kiss and why you should take a look at your family tree
* a transformation checklist, including canine teeth and UV sensitivity
* a makeup and fashion guide to looking damned good (or just damned)
* knowing your weaknesses, from garlic, stakes, and sunlight to an obsession with counting
* ten signs that your boyfriend is a vampire, including super coolness (body temperature-wise) and a habit of sleeping in
* a field guide to vampiric variations around the world and through history
Publication Date: 10/13/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Tsubasa Character Guide 2
Synopsis: THE SECRETS OF TSUBASA!

Are you completely obsessed with Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE, the bestselling epic manga by CLAMP? Now explore the magic behind the masterpiece in this official companion to CLAMP’s thrilling fantasy saga. In the second installment of Tsubasa Character Guide , learn more about the people, creatures, worlds, and mysteries featured in volumes 8 through 14–including a cool look at the Tsubasa and xxxHOLiC crossover! Tsubasa Character Guide 2 also includes an interview with CLAMP, games and quizzes, a special fan section, preproduction artwork, a full-color poster, and more! This essential book is perfect for any fan of the Tsubasa anime and manga!
Publication Date: 10/13/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
The Seance
John Harwood
Synopsis: A haunting tale of apparitions, a cursed manor house, and two generations of women determined to discover the truth, by the author of The Ghost Writer Sell the Hall unseen; burn it to the ground and plow the earth with salt, if you will; but never live there . . .” Constance Langton grows up in a household marked by death, her father distant, her mother in perpetual mourning for Constance’s sister, the child she lost.Desperate to coax her mother back to health, Constance takes her to a séance: perhaps she will find comfort from beyond the grave. But the meeting has tragic consequences. Constance is left alone, her only legacy a mysterious bequest that will blight her life.
So begins The Séance, John Harwood’s brilliant second novel, a gripping, dark mystery set in late-Victorian England.
It is a world of apparitions, of disappearances and unnatural phenomena, of betrayal and blackmail and black-hearted villains—and murder. For Constance’s bequest comes in two parts: a house and a mystery. Years before, a family disappeared atWraxford Hall, a decaying mansion in the English countryside with a sinister reputation.Now the Hall belongs to Constance. And she must descend into the darkness at the heart of theWraxford Mystery to find the truth, even at the cost of her life.
Publication Date: 10/12/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Mystery
The Mermaid's Madness
Jim C. Hines
Synopsis: What would happen if a star writer went back to the darker themes of the original fairy tales for plots, and then crossed the Disney princesses with Charlie?s Angels? What he?d end up with is The Mermaid?s Madness?a whole new take on The Little Mermaid. And with Jim C. Hines, of Jig the Goblin fame, penning the tale, you canbet itwon?t be ?Theylived happily ever after.?
Publication Date: 10/06/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Gates
John Connolly
Synopsis: Young Samuel Johnson and his dachshund Boswell are trying to show initiative by trick-or-treating a full three days before Halloween. Which is how they come to witness strange goings-on at 666 Crowley Avenue. The Abernathys don’t mean any harm by their flirtation with the underworld. But when they unknowingly call forth Satan himself, they create a gap in the universe. A gap which holds a pair of enormous gates—the gates to Hell. And there are some pretty terrifying beings determined to get out…?

Can one small boy defeat evil? Can he harness the power of science, faith and love to save the world as we know it??

Bursting with imagination and impossible to put down, The Gates is about the pull between good and evil, physics and fantasy. It is about a quirky and eccentric boy who is impossible not to love, and the unlikely cast of characters who give him the strength to stand up to a demonic power. Like Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, this novel manages to re-create for grownups that magical and scary world of childhood that we’ve all left behind but so love to visit.

Publication Date: 10/06/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Half Broke Horses
Jeannette Walls
Synopsis: Jeannette Walls's The Glass Castle was "nothing short of spectacular" (Entertainment Weekly). Now she brings us the story of her grandmother -- told in a voice so authentic and compelling that the book is destined to become an instant classic.

"Those old cows knew trouble was coming before we did." So begins the story of Lily Casey Smith, in Jeannette Walls's magnificent, true-life novel based on her no-nonsense, resourceful, hard working, and spectacularly compelling grandmother. By age six, Lily was helping her father break horses. At fifteen, she left home to teach in a frontier town -- riding five hundred miles on her pony, all alone, to get to her job. She learned to drive a car ("I loved cars even more than I loved horses. They didn't need to be fed if they weren't working, and they didn't leave big piles of manure all over the place") and fly a plane, and, with her husband, ran a vast ranch in Arizona. She raised two children, one of whom is Jeannette's memorable mother, Rosemary Smith Walls, unforgettably portrayed in The Glass Castle.

Lily survived tornadoes, droughts, floods, the Great Depression, and the most heartbreaking personal tragedy. She bristled at prejudice of all kinds -- against women, Native Americans, and anyone else who didn't fit the mold. Half Broke Horses is Laura Ingalls Wilder for adults, as riveting and dramatic as Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa or Beryl Markham's West with the Night. It will transfix readers everywhere.
Publication Date: 10/06/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Biography
The Circle of Friends: Book IV
Synopsis: A prisoner of guilt for so long... Mike Taylor is the epitome of stability. His family is proud of his academic and athletic achievements at Georgia Tech, and despite the temptations of college life, he has maintained his moral standards. Yet beneath the peaceful surface, Mike is consumed with guilt, fearing condemnation and rejection. A former girlfriend's abortion and the intense love he feels for his roommate's wife constantly remind Mike of his failures. Unable to forget and full of shame, he refuses to forgive himself. When Danielle enters his life, he realizes he can no longer hide the past. Will she be able to reach him or is Mike past the point of redemption? Described as "encouragement personified", Wolfe's five-book Southern-based series portrays love and friendship overcoming all obstacles. Known as "Spunk On A Stick" to her fans, Wolfe is also a professional speaker. Originally from Oregon, she now resides in North Carolina. "With a positive attitude, any goal can be achieved!"
Publication Date: 10/06/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes
W. W. Robson, Arthur Conan Doyle
Synopsis: The last twelve stories written about Holmes and Watson, these tales reflect the disillusioned world of the 1920s in which they were written. Some of the sharpest turns of wit in English literature are contrasted by dark images of psychological tragedy, suicide, and incest in a collection of tales that have haunted generations of readers.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
Publication Date: 10/04/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Mystery
Xoe
Sara C. Roethle
Synopsis: Xoe Meyers had a normal life. So she was stuck going to high school, and she only had a few friends to call her own. She liked her normal life. Things were about to change though, because there's a new guy in her small town, and he is anything but normal. Before Xoe can say, "Werewolf," her best friend's life is in peril, and Xoe's world is turned upside-down. Then, of course, there's Jason. Xoe doesn't trust him as far as she can throw him, and given that he's a vampire, she'd have to be able to catch him first.
Publication Date: 10/03/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
City of Screams
John Brindley
Synopsis: Life already hangs in precarious balance for Phoenix and her family and friends as rebellion bubbles beneath every surface, but when the Adults return, offering desperate acts of salvation, they seem to forget that nature itself is calling the shots. By the author of The Rule of Claw.
Publication Date: 10/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Liar
Justine Larbalestier
Synopsis:

Micah is a liar. That's the one thing she won't lie about. Over the years, she's duped her classmates, her teachers, and even her parents. But when her boyfriend Zach dies under brutal circumstances, Micah sets out to tell the truth. At first the truth comes easily-because it is a lie. Other truths are so unbelievable, so outside the realm of normal, they must be a lie. And the honest truth is buried so deep in Micah's mind even she doesn't know if it's real.

The ultimate unreliable narrator takes readers on a thrill ride in this highly acclaimed novel. Prepare to grasp for truth until the very last page.

"Readers will get chills . . . [and] be guessing and theorizing long after they've finished this gripping story." -Publishers Weekly, starred review

"[Micah's] suspenseful, supernatural tale is engrossing. . . . The chilling story she spins will have readers' hearts racing." -School Library Journal, starred review

"An engrossing story of teenage life on the margins." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Publication Date: 10/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Girl in the Arena
Lise Haines
Synopsis:

During the week, Lyn lives in a big house in Cambridge and hangs out with friends in Harvard Square. But over the weekend, she cheers her father on as he gears up for neo-gladiator competition-a high-profile televised blood sport that rivals the NFL. Lyn's father is the top player in the league, and the paparazzi that have always swarmed him have started to dog Lyn's every move. All this fame comes with another price--Lyn's family lives with the constant presence of violence, uncertainty, and a strict cultural code set by the Gladiator Sports Association. When a skilled young fighter slays Lyn's father, the GSA imposes an unthinkable sentence-Lyn must marry her father's murderer. Though her mother has made a career out of marrying into Glad culture, Lyn is prepared to do whatever it takes to claim her independence. Even if it means going into the arena herself. . . .


Lise Haines' debut novel, a dark satire for our time, is a mesmerizing look at a modern world addicted to violence, fame, and greed-a world eerily close to our own.

Publication Date: 10/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction

Pages



RECENT BOOK REVIEWS