Please enable JavaScript
All Books | Page 272 | LitPick Book Reviews
All Books
The Myth Hunters
Christopher Golden
Synopsis: In this enthralling new tale from bestselling author Christopher Golden, one man is drawn into a realm just across the veil from our own, where every captivating myth and fairy tale is true, the vanished exist–and every fear is founded….

Yielding to his father's wishes, Oliver Bascombe abandoned his dream of being an actor and joined the family law firm. Now he will marry a lovely young woman bearing the Bascombe stamp of approval. But on the eve of his wedding, a blizzard sweeps in–bringing with it an icy legend who calls into question everything Oliver believes about the world and his place in it….

Pursued by a murderous creature who heeds no boundaries, Jack Frost needs Oliver's help to save both himself and his world–an alternate reality slowly being displaced by our own. To help him, Oliver Bascombe, attorney-at-law, will have to become Oliver Bascombe, adventurer, hero–and hunted. So begins a magnificent journey where he straddles two realities…and where, even amid danger, Oliver finds freedom for the very first time.
Publication Date: 01/31/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Sex Kittens and Horn Dawgs Fall in Love
Synopsis: Meet Felicia, 14-year-old student at the Manhattan Free Children’s School (also known as the Pound). In Felicia's world, she and her best friends, Jess and Kat, like to refer to themselves as the Sex Kittens, and the boys they know as the Horn Dawgs.
Felicia is getting tired of waiting for a Horn Dawg to notice her uniqueness, however. So she devises a project she and the object of her affection, Matthew the Science Brain, can work on together. Felicia is determined to discover the Secret of Love with Matthew while winning both Matthew’s heart and the science fair. But love has other plans.
(Doesn’t it always?)
Publication Date: 01/24/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Fruit Bowl Project
Sarah Durkee
Synopsis: Call it six degrees of separation. The kids in 8th Grade Writer’s Workshop are awestruck when their teacher announces that through her husband’s cousin, she’s met rock superstar Nick Thompson and has invited him to their class. He’s come to talk about writing and he’s even cooler than they imagined. Nick, known for his music as well as his lyrics, tells the kids his secret: A song is just a bowl of fruit–one must figure out how to paint it. Words are to a writer what paint is to a painter. How many ways can one arrange the fruit? An infinite number. There’s style, voice, genre, and much more to consider. Nick gives the kids two weeks to complete the assignment using seven seemingly ordinary elements. Each student must tell an interesting story, reflecting his or her style. And so The Fruit Bowl Project begins. Rap, poetry, monologue, screenplay, haiku, fairy tale–and more.
Publication Date: 01/24/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Wizards of Hastin
Synopsis: This is an epic tale about two mighty warring families who are descendants of King Sudry of Hastin. The forces of evil represent the Telhoths and the forces of good represent the Prols. They use supernatural powers, plots, cunning, bravery and wisdom against each other. Welcome to the world of mysticism and adventure.
Publication Date: 01/23/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Wandering Schoolgirl
Louis C. Gallegos, Gary L. Gallegos
Synopsis: The Wandering Schoolgirl is about a teenage schoolgirl named Breanna Cota, who is persuaded by her sister to attend and cosplay at an anime convention. While there, a stranger transports her to the real anime world to try and save a beautiful princess from an evil curse.
Publication Date: 01/15/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Summer Sleep-Away
ofer aronskind
Synopsis:

Summer Sleep-Away,/i> is a tale of a young boy's first summer going off to sleep-away camp. Far from home, separated from his family and not knowing a soul, Mattie Kleinfeld is scared, homesick and cries himself to sleep. But soon the tears give way to new friends and fantastic adventures. Mattie goes hiking and fishing. He sails and swims and participates in team sports. But it is not the canoe trips or the overnights that set this summer apart; it is not even his first girlfriend. It is a clue that he and his pals stumble upon that leads them to the adventure of a lifetime, to a vast treasure and to a window that sheds light on Mattie's unique background. Mattie's story will engage the imagination of every reader and capture the heart of any adult who was ever a kid.

Publication Date: 01/13/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Outlaw Varjak Paw
S. F. Said, Dave McKean
Synopsis: Having saved the city cats from a fate worse than death, Varjak Paw finds himself the leader of a new gang. But will the pressure take its toll on this brave but sometimes naive cat? Soon the city erupts in an all-out gang war as the evil Sally Bones attempts to control all cats. Horrified and outnumbered, Varjak and the others must fight for their freedom or die trying.
Publication Date: 01/10/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Crushed
Laura McNeal, Tom McNeal
Synopsis: Audrey and her best friends Lea and C.C. have just arrived at Jemison High from the one-room private school where they spent grades six through ten, where they performed Gilbert and Sullivan musicals, where they adored Edith Wharton. They’re a nerdy little trio, so everyone is shocked when the handsome new guy, Wickham Hill, asks Audrey out.
Audrey is soon so smitten that she hardly pays any mind to the vicious underground newspaper at school–or to that strange lurking guy in World Cultures. Before long, it seems everyone at Jemison High is worried about getting crushed–by friends, by enemies, by a mysterious reporter.


From the Hardcover edition.
Publication Date: 01/10/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Chick Lit
Now Starring Vivien Leigh Reid
Sandy Rideout, Yvonne Collins
Synopsis: Moments after arriving in L.A., Vivien Leigh Reid is already questioning her decision to spend another summer with her mother, actress Annika Anderson. Last summer's "family reunion" on a film set in Ireland may have turned out okay, but Annika is still a grade-A diva.
Living in L.A. does have its upside. Leigh is taking classes at one of the city's best acting schools, and she scores a role on a hot TV soap, Diamond Heights. Better yet, her cute Irish boyfriend is coming to visit. But Leigh soon finds that dealing with Annika is easy compared to navigating the shark-infested waters of Hollywood, where even a taste of fame quickly turns a girl's head.
Publication Date: 01/10/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Chick Lit
Return to Quag Keep
Jean Rabe, Andre Norton
Synopsis: Many people might not know that Andre Norton wrote the first novel based in the Dungeons and Dragons Universe. That book was Quag Keep. Now Andre with role-playing icon Jean Rabe has returned to tell a new tale of those magically transported gamers in the fantasy realm that has become all too real for them.
In The Return to Quag Keep these brave adventurers try to unlock the secrets of this magical world and maybe even return home to ours. Filled with classic dungeon crawls, mysterious wizards, and attacking dragons The Return to Quag Keep is a must for all role-playing fans as well as seminal Andre Norton fans.

Publication Date: 01/10/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
Small Steps
Louis Sachar
Synopsis: Two years after being released from Camp Green Lake, Armpit is home in Austin, Texas, trying to turn his life around. But it’s hard when you have a record, and everyone expects the worst from you. The only person who believes in him is Ginny, his 10-year old disabled neighbor. Together, they are learning to take small steps. And he seems to be on the right path, until X-Ray, a buddy from Camp Green Lake, comes up with a get-rich-quick scheme. This leads to a chance encounter with teen pop sensation, Kaira DeLeon, and suddenly his life spins out of control, with only one thing for certain. He’ll never be the same again.

In his first major novel since Holes, critically acclaimed novelist Louis Sachar uses his signature wit combined with a unique blend of adventure and deeply felt characters to explore issues of race, the nature of celebrity, the invisible connections that determine a person’s life, and what it takes to stay on course. Doing the right thing is never a wrong choice–but a small step in the right direction.
Publication Date: 01/10/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Things You Either Hate or Love
Synopsis: Fired from the bakery after a bread-throwing incident, Georgia desperately tries to raise money to go to the Natural Affinity concert and drool over the lead singer, while dealing with her weight, slipping grades, a non-existent boyfriend, and the growing distance between her and her best friend.
Publication Date: 01/01/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Scary Beautiful
Niki Burnham
Synopsis: Chloe Rand's life is great.

She has a serious boyfriend, she's about to start her junior year of high school, and she has a tight group of girlfriends. But when her boyfriend moves across the country and decides the long-distance-relationship thing just isn't for him, Chloe's devastated. Worse, she soon learns that when you're the prettiest girl in school and totally unattached, everyone starts treating you differently. Girls don't trust you, guys aren't sure what to make of you, and everyone assumes you're either spoiled, dumb, or both.

Chloe realizes that she's been living the last few years in a bubble and decides to do something about it. But when she falls for Billy, a total geek, will it make her situation better...or worse?

Scary Beautiful
A Romantic Comedy for every girl who has fallen for the wrong guy
Publication Date: 01/01/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Side Effects
Amy Goldman Koss
Synopsis:
Publication Date: 05/03/25
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Softwire
P. J. Haarsma
Synopsis:
Publication Date: 05/03/25
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Underland
Mary Patterson Thornburg
Synopsis: Pursued by menacing strangers through her small Midwest city, twelve-year-old Alyssha Dodson takes refuge in a mysterious room under a bridge, a place that turns out to be a doorway into another universe. In the country where she then finds herself, Alyssha learns that the pursuit has not ended. A powerful and sinister man, Lord Raf Var Ne, seeks to gain possession of an object she was given years ago by her older brother a few days before he went missing. Told she can't return to her own world, she begins a search for that brother, aided by Lord Raf's charming but impetuous stepson. In the process, the two become involved in a revolutionary conflict. Underland is the story of a girl's coming of age in the midst of an adventure like no other.
Publication Date: 12/28/05
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure

Pages



RECENT BOOK REVIEWS