Please enable JavaScript
All Books | Page 70 | LitPick Book Reviews
All Books
Spellbound
Monique N. Peterson
Synopsis: Have you ever wanted someone...you couldn't have? For almost a year, all Bea wanted was for things to go back to the way they were before her best friend left…but when Caid Knight comes into her life, everything changes. Even after Princess Jennipher returns, there is something different about the friendship they once shared as her relationships with fellow housemaids, Kerry and Lucy, begin altering and dwindling. News of a revolt against Crimson Isle’s four monarchies threatens the lives of those closest to her while her own safety becomes the most endangered as she considers leaving the only home she has ever known. As for Caid, her feelings for him are growing stronger with each passing day yet she doesn’t know how he feels about her. Before she can ask, she is told that fate will not allow them to be together, regardless of what she tries to do to be with him. Will she defy this foretelling or surrender herself to it?
Publication Date: 05/03/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Romance
Winesburg, Ohio
Sherwood Anderson
Synopsis: Winesburg, Ohio By Sherwood Anderson
Publication Date: 05/01/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Short Story
Brotherband Chronicles Book 2 The Invaders
Synopsis: From the author of the global phenomenon Ranger's Apprentice!

Hal and the Herons have done the impossible. This group of outsiders has beaten out the strongest, most skilled young warriors in all of Skandia to win the Brotherband competition. But their celebration comes to an abrupt end when the Skandians' most sacred artifact, the Andomal, is stolen--and the Herons are to blame.

To find redemption they must track down the thief Zavac and recover the Andomal. But that means traversing stormy seas, surviving a bitter winter, and battling a group of deadly pirates willing to protect their prize at all costs. Even Brotherband training and the help of Skandia's greatest warrior may not be enough to ensure that Hal and his friends return home with the Andomal--or their lives.

Perfect for fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, T.H. White’s The Sword in the Stone, Christopher Paolini’s Eragon series, and George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire series.
Publication Date: 05/01/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Sprite (Annabelle's Story Part One)
Synopsis: Annabelle Walsh thought she had it all. She was the star of her swim team, had a loving family, a great boyfriend, and to top it off, she’d be starting at UCLA in the fall. One day, she’d be referred to as Dr. Annabelle Walsh. She was living every girl’s dream – until her life was turned upside down. All starting with finding out that she's not just a human, but also a water spirit. Half-human, half-sprite to be exact. Although not just any sprite, Annabelle is prophesied to be the only one who can save both the sprites and mankind. With a mix of current events, anecdotes from Greek mythology, tidbits of folklore, and Leigh’s own imagination, we join Annabelle in her journey to restore order beneath the sea. Each step of the way her mind, body, and soul are pushed to the limit begging the question, how much can one half-human, half-sprite take?
Publication Date: 04/30/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
The Trials and Tribulations of Miss Tilney
Danielle Alexis, Sarah Elkins, David A Doub
Synopsis: Cub Reporter Henrietta Tilney is sent on her first assignment, to interview accused mass murderer Lord Beowulf Harwood. But young Henrietta quickly finds out there is much more to this story and its subject Lord Harwood. Will this plucky young reporter get her story and survive with her life intact?
Publication Date: 04/30/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Vonnegut:  Novels and Stories 1950-1962
Sidney Offit, Kurt Vonnegut
Synopsis: Before winning international fame with Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut was a master of the drugstore paperback and the popular short story. This authoritative collection of his brilliant early work opens with Player Piano (1952), a Metropolis-like parable of breakneck technological innovation and its effect on those it robs of their livelihoods. The Sirens of Titan (1959), the interplanetary adventures of the world’s wealthiest and most despised man, is both a pulp-fiction space opera and a satire on the vanity of human striving. The confessions of a German-American double agent well placed among the Nazi elite, Mother Night (1962) is a cautionary tale with a famous moral: “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.” Here too are six of Vonnegut’s best short stories, gems that display his matchless talent for hilarious invention and caustic social criticism.

A companion volume, Kurt Vonnegut: Novels & Stories 1963–1973, collects Cat’s Cradle; God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater; Slaughterhouse-Five; Breakfast of Champions; and three short stories, including “Welcome to the Monkey House.”

LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation’s literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America’s best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.

Publication Date: 04/26/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
The Mongoliad: Book One
Mark Teppo, Cooper Moo, Nicole Galland, Joseph Brassey, Greg Bear, Erik Bear, Neal Stephenson
Synopsis:

The first novel to be released in The Foreworld Saga, The Mongoliad: Book One, is an epic-within-an-epic, taking place in 13th century. In it, a small band of warriors and mystics raise their swords to save Europe from a bloodthirsty Mongol invasion. Inspired by their leader (an elder of an order of warrior monks), they embark on a perilous journey and uncover the history of hidden knowledge and conflict among powerful secret societies that had been shaping world events for millennia.

But the saga reaches the modern world via a circuitous route. In the late 19th century, Sir Richard F. Burton, an expert on exotic languages and historical swordsmanship, is approached by a mysterious group of English martial arts aficionados about translating a collection of long-lost manuscripts. Burton dies before his work is finished, and his efforts were thought lost until recently rediscovered by a team of amateur archaeologists in the ruins of a mansion in Trieste, Italy. From this collection of arcana, the incredible tale of The Mongoliad was recreated.

Full of high adventure, unforgettable characters, and unflinching battle scenes, The Mongoliad ignites a dangerous quest where willpower and blades are tested and the scope of world-building is redefined.

A note on this edition: The Mongoliad began as a social media experiment, combining serial story-telling with a unique level of interaction between authors and audience during the creative process. Since its original iteration, The Mongoliad has been restructured, edited, and rewritten under the supervision of its authors to create a more cohesive reading experience and will be published as a trilogy of novels. This edition is the definitive edition and is the authors' preferred text.

Publication Date: 04/24/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Signed by Zelda
Kate Feiffer
Synopsis: An aspiring handwriting analyst tracks down her missing neighbor in this caper from the author of The Problem with the Puddles.

More than anything, eleven-year-old Lucy wants to be the world’s most famous handwriting expert. “You can learn a lot about a person through how they write their I’s,” she tells her friend, Pigeon—who just so happens to be a talking bird. When Lucy’s neighbor Zelda goes missing and the only clue is a cryptic handwritten note, Lucy is determined to crack the case using her graphology skills. With some help from Nicky, who lives upstairs, and plenty of advice from Pigeon (who just so happens to be very opinionated), can Lucy decipher the whereabouts of her apartment building’s missing resident?
Publication Date: 04/24/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Mystery
The Emerald Atlas (Books of Beginning)
Synopsis: "A strong . . . new trilogy, invoking just a little Harry Potter and Series of Unfortunate Events along the way."—Realms of Fantasy

Siblings Kate, Michael, and Emma have been in one orphanage after another for the last ten years, passed along like lost baggage.
 
Yet these unwanted children are more remarkable than they could possibly imagine. Ripped from their parents as babies, they are being protected from a horrible evil of devastating power, an evil they know nothing about.
 
Until now.
 
Before long, Kate, Michael, and Emma are on a journey through time to dangerous and secret corners of the world . . . a journey of allies and enemies, of magic and mayhem. And—if an ancient prophesy is true—what they do can change history, and it's up to them to set things right.


"A new Narnia for the tween set."—The New York Times

"[A] fast-paced, fully imagined fantasy."—Publishers Weekly

"Echoes of other popular fantasy series, from "Harry Potter" to the "Narnia" books, are easily found, but debut author Stephens has created a new and appealing read . . ."—School Library Journal, Starred Review
Publication Date: 04/24/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Summoning the Night (An Arcadia Bell Novel)
Synopsis: The second in a not-to-be-missed urban fantasy series about a freewheeling magician who slings drinks at a demon-friendly tiki bar.

MAGICAL TRICKS. DEMONIC TREATS.

After narrowly escaping her fate as a sacrificial scapegoat, Arcadia Bell is back to normal. Or at least as ordinary as life can be for a renegade magician and owner of a tiki bar that caters to Earthbound demons. She’s gearing up for the busiest day of the year—Halloween—when a vengeful kidnapper paralyzes the community. The influential head of the local Hellfire Club taps Cady to track down the fiendish bogeyman, and now that she’s dating red-hot Lon Butler, the Club’s wayward son, she can hardly say no.

Cady and Lon untangle a gruesome thirty-year trail of clues that points to danger for the club members’ children. But locating the person behind the terror will require some metaphysical help from Cady’s loyal bar patrons as well as her potent new Moonchild powers—and she’d better figure it out before the final victim disappears and her own darkest secret becomes her biggest enemy.
Publication Date: 04/24/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Deadly Descendant (A Nikki Glass Novel)
Synopsis: The second novel in a unique and action-packed urban fantasy series from the acclaimed author of the Morgan Kingsley series! 

An ancient evil is unleashed in the modern world— unless one fearless P.I. can hunt it down. . . . Nikki Glass, Immortal Huntress, returns in this new novel in the acclaimed series by Jenna Black.

As a living descendant of Artemis the Huntress, private investigator Nikki Glass knows how to track someone down. But when an Oracle shows up, warning the Descendants about wild dog attacks in Washington, D.C., Nikki is afraid it might be a trap. The Olympians believe the “dogs” are really jackals, controlled by a blood-crazed descendant of the Egyptian death-god Anubis. Whatever. . . . If Nikki hopes to muzzle Dogboy, she’s got to catch him in the act. But when she stakes out a local cemetery, she ends up face-to-snout with a snarling pack of shadow-jackals whose bite is worse than their bark. These hellhounds are deadly—even for an immortal like Nikki. “Dog” spelled backward may be “god,” but that won’t stop Nikki from teaching these old gods some new tricks. Like playing dead.
Publication Date: 04/24/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Ascend (Trylle Trilogy No. 3)
Synopsis:

Amanda Hocking is an indie publishing sensation whose self-published novels have sold millions of copies all over the world. Ascend is the final chapter in her bestselling Trylle trilogy―and you'll never guess how it ends!



Wendy Everly is facing an impossible choice. The only way to save the Trylle from their deadliest enemy is by sacrificing herself. If she doesn't surrender to the Vittra, her people will be thrust into a brutal war against an unbeatable foe. But how can Wendy leave all her friends behind…even if it's the only way to save them?

The stakes have never been higher, because her kingdom isn't the only thing she stands to lose. After falling for both Finn and Loki, she's about to make the ultimate choice…who to love forever. One guy has finally proven to be the love of her life―and now all their lives might be coming to an end.

Everything has been leading to this moment. The future of her entire world rests in her hands―if she's ready to fight for it.

Publication Date: 04/24/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
The Girl in the Park
Mariah Fredericks
Synopsis: When Wendy Geller's body is found in Central Park after the night of a rager, newspaper headlines scream,"Death in the Park: Party Girl Found Strangled." But shy Rain, once Wendy's best friend, knows there was more to Wendy than just "party girl." As she struggles to separate the friend she knew from the tangle of gossip and headlines, Rain becomes determined to discover the truth about the murder. Written in a voice at once immediate, riveting, and utterly convincing, Mariah Frederick's mystery brilliantly exposes the cracks in this exclusive New York City world and the teenagers that move within it.
Publication Date: 04/24/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Mystery
Spirit's Princess (Princesses of Myth)
Synopsis: "Himiko is brave and bold. I love her!" --Tamora Pierce, New York Times bestselling author

Himiko shouldn't have a care in the world. As the only daughter of the most powerful man in the Matsu clan, she has her every need catered to. But Himiko isn't like other girls. She would much rather follow her brothers' path and become a hunter--something clan tradition and her strict father will never allow. And Himiko has a secret: she can commune with the spirit world. The clan's shaman has seen visions of Himiko's future as clan leader and decides to train her in secret. Suddenly Himiko's path doesn’t look pampered—it looks dangerous.

Readers who love strong girl-centric adventures are eating up Esther Friesner's Princesses of Myth books, finding the mash-up of historical fiction and fantasy adventure irresistible!
Publication Date: 04/24/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pure Blood: Time Spirit Trilogy (Volume 3)
Synopsis: It is only a matter of time before Gemma's parents find out she traveled through time to bring Harrison back into existence. The fear of being found out is a heavy weight on her shoulders, but she refuses to give up on everything she's fought for. Harrison is worth the risk. The couple draws closer together as they battle opposing forces from all sides. They stay strong until Gemma's parents welcome an exchange student into their home. Simeon, a gorgeous Californian, is as smooth as coffee and, supposedly, a fellow time spirit. Gemma's parents expect her to take him everywhere and, of course, fall in love with him. After all, he is the boy they have chosen for her. No longer able to sneak off alone, Gemma must watch every step as she waits for the inevitable nightmare to catch up to her. Her parents ultimate goal is to get that last necklace and open the box hidden in their safe. If they do, Gemma knows her entire world will unravel. As the danger mounts, Gemma must decide if she has the courage to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the ones she loves and stop to her parents' destructive plans.
Publication Date: 04/23/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Romance
Beneath the Heavens
Christine O'Neill
Synopsis: They heard about the Miracle Line because they were rich. They took it because they were dying. On a clear Janvius morning, eight passengers from an alternate universe board a luxury train bound for the Everlands, a mysterious island so clean it is said to cure every ailment of the flesh. Under their paranoid, chain-smoking engineer Fritz Carpenter, the passengers embark on a three-day journey to arrive in a utopia beautiful beyond imagination. But things at the Everlands are not as they seem. Each plagued by their personal manias, the new arrivals must figure out why their friends are turning up dead -- not from disease, but murder -- before their fragile lives prematurely unravel.
Publication Date: 04/20/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Mystery

Pages



RECENT BOOK REVIEWS