Please enable JavaScript
All Books | Page 235 | LitPick Book Reviews
All Books
Kiki Strike: The Empress's Tomb
Synopsis:

What's happening in New York City?
Giant Squirrels.
A Haunted Mansion.
Six fierce friends with fiercer secrets.

Ananka is in danger of being sent to a remote boarding school; Kiki's life (as always) is in danger, Betty seems to have found love in all the wrong places, and Oona….well, Oona's the one in the most serious trouble of all. From Chinatown to Fifth Avenue, whether they are rescuing kidnapped children or resuscitating an ancient Empress at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Irregulars have a knack for finding trouble, and putting it out of its misery.

Publication Date: 10/02/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Charioteer of Delphi
Caroline Lawrence
Synopsis: The Roman Mysteries Book XII A RETURN TO ROME.  Flavia and her friends experience the danger and exhilaration of chariot racing in the circus Maximus. It's September AD 80.  Flavia, Jonathon, Lupus and Nubia are back in Rome to celebrate the Festival of Jupiter at the town house of Senator Cornix.  A famous racehorse has gone missing just days before important events at the Circus Maximus.  With their new companion Scopos, the young charioteer from Delphi, the friends must infiltrate rival facing factions to discover who stole the horse, and why.  Violence, deception, secret identities and a deadly curse are all ingredients in this twelfth installment of the exciting series.
Publication Date: 10/02/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science
Girls That Growl
Mari Mancusi
Synopsis: Rayne McDonald thought getting into the Blood Coven was the hard part. But now there's a new breed of trouble in town...and the former slayer and her vampire boyfriend may be the only ones who can stop it. Now that she's an official vampire and full-fledged member of The Blood Coven, Rayne assumes her vampire slaying days are over. Sure, she doesn't have any vampire powers, thanks to a mutated blood virus, but she and Jareth can go out in the sun, which is a pretty good trade-off. But just when Rayne's starting to enjoy her afterlife, she's contacted by Slayer Inc once again. It seems that a member of her high school's football team has disappeared--and the powers-that-be think the cheerleaders had something to do with it. Now Rayne has to infiltrate the squad before the cheerleaders have a chance to sink their teeth into someone else...
Publication Date: 10/02/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Return of Light
Lisa Falkenstern, Dia Calhoun
Synopsis: A Christmas tree discovers that its destiny is to bring light to the homeless
Publication Date: 10/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Circle the Truth
Pat Schmatz
Synopsis: Eighth-grader Orithian "Rith" Haley discovers another world via the staircase in his house and begins to explore questions about God and the father he never knew, which forever changes his life--and the lives of those around him.
Publication Date: 10/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
Erik J. Macki, Mirjam Pressler
Synopsis: A young woman must come to terms with her grandfather's past in Nazi Germany in this Sydney Taylor Honor Book. Johanna's grandfather founded the largest clothing store in town and built it up with his own hands—at least that's the family legend. But when Johanna travels to Israel on a class project, she finds out that the family of Meta Levin originally owned the store. She learns that her grandfather legally acquired the company during the Nazi regime according to the anti-Semitic laws of the Third Reich. Joanna is worried: her family’s wealth is obviously founded on injustice. Should she keep silent, or can she wake the sleeping dogs? What follows her discovery is an eye-opening fight and marks Johanna's entrance into adulthood as she is left with many questions and her own life to sort out.
Publication Date: 10/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Betwixt
Tara Bray Smith
Synopsis: For three teenagers, dark mystery has always lurked at the corner of the eyes and the edge of sleep. Beautiful Morgan D'Amici wakes in her trailerpark home with dirt and blood under her fingernails. Paintings come alive under Ondine Mason's violet-eyed gaze. Haunted runaway Nix Saint-Michael sees halos of light around people about to die. At a secret summer rave, the three teenagers learn of their true, changeling nature and their uncertain, intertwined destinies. Riveting, unflinching, beautiful, Betwixt shows a magic as complex and challenging as any ordinary truth.
Publication Date: 10/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Lighthouse Land
Adrian McKinty
Synopsis: The start of an epic sci-fi trilogy with an unforgettable hero

In the first book of this series from acclaimed crime fiction writer Adrian McKinty, Jamie O’Neill and his mother set out for a new home on an island off the coast of Ireland, a windswept place inherited from a long-lost relative. It’s a chance to start again after the cancer that took one of Jamie’s arms. But Muck Island is no sanctuary. Many strange surprises await the O’Neills there, the strangest being the one locked in the top of its ancient lighthouse. Discovering it will send Jamie on an interstellar mission that could change the course of his life, and the universe, forever.

Praise for The Lighthouse Land

“McKinty, previously known for adult crime novels, brings an attuned ear for dialogue and a taut pacing to his first YA outing, the launch title in the Lighthouse Trilogy.” —Publishers Weekly

“This thought-provoking sci-fi adventure offers universal appeal, excitement, and a one-of-a-kind hero whose courage and compassion will inspire any reader.” —Children’s Literature

“Few readers will be able to resist . . . teens will enjoy this first book in a planned trilogy.” —VOYA
Publication Date: 10/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Lighthouse War
Adrian McKinty
Synopsis: The heart-pounding sequel to The Lighthouse Land

Jamie O’Neill is back on earth, where no one but his best friend, Ramsay, knows he’s the hero of a great war that saved an alien nation. Now he’s back to being a kid with one arm, no girlfriend, and a band that plays bad songs about intergalactic romance. Then news breaks on the Internet: A space probe has picked up a coded message from far across the galaxy. NASA’s best scientists can’t figure out what it says. Only Jamie and Ramsay realize it’s a message from Altair. They’re needed again.

This thrilling sequel to The Lighthouse Land is packed with even more adventure, battles, and humor than its predecessor, and secures Adrian McKinty’s place as one of science fiction’s most exciting new voices.
Publication Date: 10/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
Escape From Castle Cant
Leah Palmer Preiss, K.P. Bath
Synopsis: The baron's headstrong daughter Pauline's rescue from Castle Cant by her heroic half-sister Lucy was just the beginning of the madcap adventure launched in The Secret of Castle Cant, K.P. Bath's acclaimed debut novel. Now hungry and homeless, they are left to fend for themselves in the war-torn Barony, which is full of danger and bounty hunters. Can the girls escape to the Outlands to fight the corrupt gum trade that claimed their father's life?
Publication Date: 10/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
A Gathering of Gargoyles
Meredith Ann Pierce
Synopsis: Book Two of the Darkangel Trilogy!


Aeriel has broken the spell on the vampiric darkangel known as Irrylath and returned him to his human form, but the White Witch continues to haunt his dreams. To save her love and the world they live in, Aeriel sets off on a quest across the Sea-of-Dust, to solve a mysterious riddle and gather six magical steeds. Pursued by the White Witch and haunted by her six remaining darkangels, the former slave girl seeks out an ancient oracle who may help her find a way to defeat her enemies.
Publication Date: 10/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Sara's Face
Melvin Burgess
Synopsis: Wanting nothing more than to be famous, Sara happily accepts the offer of guidance from rock star Jonathan Heat, but when he offers to pay for her plastic surgery, Sara has to consider his generosity and his proposition for repayment very carefully.
Publication Date: 09/30/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
A  Deadly Distance
Heather Down
Synopsis:

"Startled, Mishbee gasped, frozen with horror. She was staring down the barrel of a musket and was familiar with the sound those weapons made. The young girl knew muskets meant death."

At the beginning of the nineteenth century in Newfoundland, the Beothuks, a First Nations people, have been decimated by disease, and their numbers dwindle further as they are hunted and persecuted relentlessly by European settlers. Young Mishbee, her older sister Oobata, and Oobata’s baby struggle courageously on Exploits Island against tuberculosis, misunderstanding, and prejudice. Mishbee tries to maintain the traditions of her people as she slowly befriends a young settler named John and attempts to bridge the deadly gulf between their two cultures. But has the friendship blossomed too late? Will Mishbee and John be able to show the settlers that the Beothuks arent a threat before they disappear completely?

Publication Date: 09/30/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
X in Flight
Karen Rivers
Synopsis: X in Flight centers on the lives of three intriguing teens. X — short for Xenos — is 17, tough but shy. He’s a decent golfer, but his mother thinks he’s the next Tiger Woods. One night, X is shocked to discover that he can fly. Is he a superhero? An angel? Or just really screwed up? X’s girlfriend, Cat, is pierced, mean, angry — and afraid. Ruby watches them both in silence. X admires her, but Ruby thinks she’s going crazy. Their lives intersect one terrifying night at a school dance, when X’s powers are the only way to save Ruby’s life. Does he believe in himself enough to do it? Dark, deep, and dramatic, X in Flight is a bold departure from the humorous Haley Andromeda series, but it shows Karen Rivers at the height of her powers. Here, she proves her matchless ability to create and understand today's teens and their complicated lives, and to tell intense stories with honesty, humor, and intelligence.
Publication Date: 09/28/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
King of the Lost and Found
Synopsis: Raymond Dunne is in the 10th grade. He can’t change the fact that he’s prone to sneezing, getting nosebleeds, and fainting. He can, however, change the fact that he’s not popular — though it won’t be easy. In this hilarious story about friendship, love, and loyalty, Raymond transforms himself from a lonely geek to the gatekeeper of an underground social club. In the process, he befriends one of the most popular guys in school, sticks up for his fellow nerds, and works up the courage to approach the lovely Janice, his not-so-secret crush. However, with the relentlessly strict principal and the equally vigilant vice-principal hot on his trail, how long will Raymond’s underground club — and his newfound friendships — last? In this quirky, engaging tale, reminiscent of Revenge of the Nerds and the novels of Gordon Korman, John Lekich once again creates a believable young protagonist whose plight readers can empathize with — even as they laugh.
Publication Date: 09/28/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Humor
Demon Envy
Erin Lynn
Synopsis: Levi, a water demon who seems very much like a teenage boy, emerges from a portal in sixteen-year-old Kenzie's bathroom one morning, and while his presence in her life is exasperating at times, he seems to help her fit in with her high school peers. Original.
Publication Date: 09/25/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction

Pages



RECENT BOOK REVIEWS