Please enable JavaScript
All Books | Page 51 | LitPick Book Reviews
All Books
The Amaranth Enchantment
Synopsis:

When Lucinda Chapdelaine was a small child, her parents left for the royal ball and never returned. Ever since, Lucinda has been stuck in perpetual servitude at her evil aunt's jewelry store. Then, on the very same day, a mysterious visitor and an even more bizarre piece of jewelry both enter the shop, setting in motion a string of twists and turns that will forever alter Lucinda's path.

In this magical story filled with enchanting surprises, Lucinda will dance at the royal ball, fall under the Amaranth Witch's spell, avenge her parents' death, restore justice to a town that does not yet know the corrupt danger around them, and maybe - just maybe - Lucinda might capture the heart of a prince.

Publication Date: 03/15/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Crystal Swan
Suzan Tanner
Synopsis:

No one would suspect that a mysterious adventure could start in a nursing home, but that is precisely what happened to thirteen-year old Leah Ward. Leah wanted to spend time with her friends. The last thing on her mind that fateful day was to go with her mother on a visit to Shady Springs rest home. A reluctant teenager went with her mother and was given an object that would change the way she saw the world forever.

The Crystal Swan is a part mystery and part adventure. It follows the story of a thirteen-year old girl who receives an unusual gift. The gift changes the course of the end of one school year through the beginning of another. Follow along with Leah and discover the mystery of, The Crystal Swan.

Publication Date: 03/15/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Son of the Great River
Hajra Meeks, Elijah Meeks
Synopsis: Saffu is forced to leave his tribe for the land of cities and kings. He befriends an indomitable girl and a boy mercenary serving a cursed emperor in a story of princesses, witchcraft, war, glory, and corruption.
Publication Date: 03/12/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Lucky  Breaks
Matt Phelan, Susan Patron
Synopsis: "Eleven is much more intrepid than only ten."

On the eve of her eleventh birthday, Lucky wants to let loose and become intrepid; she's ready for life to change. But Hard Pan (population 43) drones on like it always has: Lincoln all tied up in knotty matters, Miles newly diagnosed as a genius but as needy as ever, Brigitte running her Café and trying to figure out what it means to be American.

Enter Paloma, tagging along on a visit to Hard Pan with a pack of hungry geologists. She's smart and pretty and fun -- definitely best-friend material. But will Lucky be able to cope with tomato worms, Short Sammy's mysterious box, the potential for disaster when Paloma's parents visit Hard Pan, and Lincoln's fame among knot tyers of the world?

Lucky's intrepidness is put to the test in this satisfying sequel to the Newbery Award-winning The Higher Power of Lucky.
Publication Date: 03/10/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Paisley Hanover Acts Out
Cameron Tuttle
Synopsis: When Pleasant Hill High School sophomore Paisley Hanover becomes disgusted with her school's social hierarchy, she starts writing a newspaper column under the name "Miss UnPleasant," and it shakes things up more than she ever expected.
Publication Date: 03/05/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Just One Wish
Janette Rallison
Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Annika Truman knows about the power of positive thinking. With a little brother who has cancer, it?s all she ever hears about. And in order to help Jeremy, she will go to the ends of the earth (or at least as far as Hollywood) to help him believe he can survive his upcoming surgery.

But Annika?s plan to convince Jeremy that a magic genie will grant him any wish throws her a curveball when he unexpectedly wishes that his television idol would visit him. Annika suddenly fi nds herself in the desperate predicament of getting access to a hunky star actor and convincing him to come home with her. Piece of cake, right?

Janette Rallison?s proven talent for laugh-out-loud humor, teen romance, and deep-hearted storytelling shines in a novel that will have readers laughing and crying at the same time.

Publication Date: 03/05/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Pirates of Crocodile Swamp
Synopsis: A long way from home, Sandy and Jack Casperin escape their abusive father and disappear into Crocodile Swamp, a remote wilderness in the Florida Keys. With nothing but their wits and limited supplies, the boys must learn to fend for themselves as they survive surrounded by snakes, massive crocodiles and a territorial hammerhead shark.

But it is only with the help of newfound friends?a local girl their age, and an old sailor (who might be a real pirate!)? that they can truly escape from their tragic past and make a new life for themselves.

Publication Date: 03/05/09
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Adventure
Truancy Origins
Isamu Fukui
Synopsis:

Fifteen years ago, the Mayor of the Education City was presented with an unwelcome surprise by his superiors: twin six-month-old boys. As the Mayor reluctantly accepted the two babies, he had no way of knowing that they would change the city forever….

Raised in the comfort of the Mayoral mansion, Umasi and Zen are as different as two brothers can be. Umasi is a good student; Zen an indifferent one. They love their adoptive father, but in a city where education is absolute, even he cannot keep them sheltered from the harsh realities of the school system. But when they discover that their father is responsible for their suffering, affection turns to bitterness. Umasi and Zen are thrust onto two diverging paths. One will try to destroy the City. The other will try to stop him.

Publication Date: 03/03/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Hidden City
Michelle West
Synopsis: The Hidden City is the first novel in The House War, a saga of the battle to control the most powerful of the ruling House in the Essalieyan Empire -- House Terafin. But it is also the tale of a remarkable young woman, Jewel Markess. 

An orphan living in the slums of the capital city, Jewel (known as Jay by her friends) scrapes by however she can. But after she steals money from a recluse named Rath, he seeks her out to reclaim what is his. Discovering her under a bridge and deathly ill, he takes her in and nurses her back to health. But once she has recovered, Jay insists she must repay her debt, and Rath finds that he cannot be rid of her. Driven by visions she can't control, Jay begins to rescue other children and bring them into Rath's home.

As Jay forms the group that will become her den, Rath walks a far more dangerous path. After a long-ago betrayal, Rath is estranged from his family, while his sister is The Terafin, head of House Terafin. Rath makes his living by prowling the ruins of the undercity, finding relics of an earlier age and selling them to the highest bidder. But now the demons that once nearly destroyed the Essalieyan Empire are stirring again, reaching out to strike down any who can give warning against them -- like Rath.

Soon, Rath, who treads the ancient ways hidden beneath the slums of Averalaan, and Jay, who is cursed with the untrained talent of a seer, will find themselves targeted by these deadly beings. 
Publication Date: 03/03/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Patient Zero
Jonathan Maberry
Synopsis:

When you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week there's either something wrong with your world or something wrong with your skills... and there's nothing wrong with Joe Ledger's skills. And that's both a good, and a bad thing. It's good because he's a Baltimore detective that has just been secretly recruited by the government to lead a new taskforce created to deal with the problems that Homeland Security can't handle. This rapid response group is called the Department of Military Sciences or the DMS for short. It's bad because his first mission is to help stop a group of terrorists from releasing a dreadful bio-weapon that can turn ordinary people into zombies. The fate of the world hangs in the balance....

Publication Date: 03/03/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Rule of Claw
John Brindley
Synopsis: Ash and her friends live in a future where they are the only human teenagers left, but when Ash is kidnapped and becomes a pawn in a power struggle among the formidable Raptors who captured her, she begins to reconsider her own humanity.
Publication Date: 03/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Fortune's Magic Farm
Suzanne Selfors
Synopsis: Suzanne Selfors is back with another a humorous light-fantasy adventure that is sure to appeal to anyone who has ever dared to dream.

This story takes place in the dark, dank village of Runny Cove. There, orphan Isabelle works her fingers to the bone at the Magnificently Supreme Umbrella Factory, struggling to support herself and her Grandma Maxine. That is, until Isabelle discovers that she has inherited Fortune's Farm, the last place on earth where magic grows. Now Isabelle must use the magic to save the people of Runny Cove without spilling the secret of Fortune's Farm to the world-or worse, to the greedy factory owner, Mr. Supreme, who wants to exploit the magical fruit for his own selfish purposes.
Publication Date: 03/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Skeleton Creek
Patrick Carman
Synopsis: A breakthrough new series from bestselling author Patrick Carman, featuring text and technology in an innovative new way.

Strange things are happening in Skeleton Creek . . . and Ryan and Sarah are trying to get to the heart of it. But after an eerie accident leaves Ryan housebound and forbidden to see Sarah, their investigation takes two tracks: Ryan records everything in his journal, while Sarah uses her videocam to search things out. . .and then email the clips for Ryan to see.

In a new, groundbreaking format, the story is broken into two parts -- Ryan's text in the book, and Sarah's videos on a special website, with links and passwords given throughout the book.
Publication Date: 03/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Pieces of Me
Susan Ouriou, Charlotte Gingras
Synopsis: Mirabelle's art teacher tells her she has talent, but what good is it doing her? Almost fifteen and friendless, Mira is plagued by dark thoughts. Her body seems to be changing daily. Her mother is domineering and half-crazy and her father -- well, he's her ex-father, mostly out of Mira's life and awkward when he's around. Then she meets free-spirited, confident Catherine, a knockout who makes the boys' jaws drop. Not only is Catherine good at art like Mira, she also knows about kissing boys. Mira has never kissed anyone and doesn't understand the hungry way boys are beginning to look at her. Now that Mira's finally found someone she can talk to, her dark thoughts are vanishing. But as her friend encourages her to come out of her shell, Mira finds that her new-found confidence can still be shattered in an instant. Only after Mira faces a betrayal and a tragedy can she begin to put the fragmented pieces of herself together.
Publication Date: 03/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Reckoning
Arvin Short
Synopsis: It is 1954 in small-town Oklahoma and for 14-year-old Albie Stone and his two best friends, their innocent summer vacation revolves around fishing in the creek, afternoons at the local swimming pool and riding their bikes outside of town to explore the dark, hidden crevasses of the nearby caves they've recently discovered. But the caves become more than a simple adventure destination when an elderly, silver-haired Indian man appears almost magically out of nowhere to join them during a weekend campout. The old man befriends and mesmerizes the spellbound youngsters with his captivating campfire stories . . . before quietly disappearing into the summer night! Returning to the caves a few weeks later in hopes of another visit with the Indian they know as Johnny Killbird, the boys are instead swept into a dangerous fight for survival with an escaped murderer who's hiding out in the caves. Albie flees to a secret hideaway in the caves but soon finds himself in a face-to-face confrontation with the heartless convict. The battle in the darkened caves suddenly comes to a shocking conclusion as Albie emerges only to himself swept into the middle of a . . . murder investigation! It's a summer . . . and the fond memories of an old Indian . . . that Albie will never forget!
Publication Date: 03/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Phoenix Wright
Synopsis: TAKE THAT!

Phoenix Wright, ace attorney, has faced down many clever and corrupt prosecutors in the courtroom: Winston Payne, Manfred von Karma and his whip-cracking daughter, Franziska, and Godot. But only one is his true rival: the mysterious Miles Edgeworth. Get ready for these new stories of crime, justice, and courtroom drama!
Publication Date: 02/24/09
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Adventure

Pages



RECENT BOOK REVIEWS