Please enable JavaScript
All Books | Page 86 | LitPick Book Reviews
All Books
A Kid From Southie
Shea, Michael Harmon, Red, John
Synopsis: High school senior Aiden O Connor's life is in turmoil. Bored with school, his growing skill at boxing won t pay the rent when his drunken father leaves, and someone is keeping his mom from finding work in any pub in South Boston. Lured by childhood friend Tommy's promise of easy money, Aiden reluctantly gets mixed up with the Irish mob. Aiden s strong sense of honor makes him a bit too good at his job with the King of the Street, who wants to keep Aiden involved for reasons of his own. Conflicted about nearly everything, Aiden has to decode where his loyalties lie and when he has had enough. Exploding with tough choices and the grit of true crime, A Kid from Southie is the story of one teen s dangerous trip through the temptations of power and the sacrifices that come with it on his way to deciding who he wants to be.
Publication Date: 05/31/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Ugly Tree
Tamara Lyon
Synopsis: Considering Cane Kallevik's rocky start, her life has been normal under the watchful eye of Grandma Betty. When shes not running five miles at a crack, shes riding her bike around the rural farming town of Savage, Illinois and engaging in a secret warfare with her former best friend, Mikayla Atwood. The biggest thorn in her side is Jenny Ryanne Schaeffer, her employer, who Cane has nicknamed Jelly Roll. When Justice Price, Jelly Rolls gorgeous, older nephew rolls into town, Cane is convinced that their age difference is a minor inconvenience. After a disastrous tornado, Cane's house is destroyed, and Grandma Betty is in a coma. Out of necessity, Cane moves in with the Schaeffer family and spends the summer falling in love with Justice, keeping vigil at Grandma Bettys side, fighting with Jelly Roll, walking a fine line between love and hate with Mikayla, and discovering scandalous secrets about Mikaylas mother, Annette. Cane endures a summer of waiting, loving, and longing. In a dramatic conclusion her world literally goes up in flames, but instead of losing everything, she finds exactly what shes looking for in the most unexpected way.
Publication Date: 05/30/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Lucy Dakota: Rocky Mountain Beginnings (Book 1)
Synopsis: Lucy Dakota isn't different from other teens - she is just like them. Lucy has many strengths, she just doesn't realize them. She is smart and kind, organized and tenacious, trusting and a bit naive. At school, she tries desperately to fit in somewhere, anywhere. That leads her to make poor decisions, particularly around boys and friends. She joins various sports teams, she goes out with boys that have no respect for her and she is friends with a girl who bullies her. Then one day our heroine, Lucy Dakota, is invited to explore in the Colorado wilderness. She faces danger around every corner, and discovers her adventurous side. She starts believing in herself and her abilities and learns there is a lot she can do. Join Lucy as she comes to grips with who she is as a young woman and starts loving life and being alive.
Publication Date: 05/25/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Spinning Out
David Stahler
Synopsis: High school senior Frenchy has little ambition beyond hanging out at the smoking rock until his best friend, the ever-witty and conniving Stewart, gets him to try out for Man of la Mancha. To everyone's surprise, the guys are a hit. But when Stewart's antics begin to grow more obsessivehe wears his costume 24/7, freaks out about little details, and displays an incessant hatred of the high-tech windmills outside of townFrenchy worries that there's something deeper going on. Is Stewart spiraling into madness, just like Don Quixote? And can Frenchy battle through his own demons in time to save his friend from self-destruction before it's too late?
Publication Date: 05/25/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Lucy Dakota: Rocky Mountain Beginnings-Book 1
Synopsis: Lucy Dakota isn't different from other teens - she is just like them. Lucy has many strengths, she just doesn't realize them. She is smart and kind, organized and tenacious, trusting and a bit naive. At school, she tries desperately to fit in somewhere, anywhere. That leads her to make poor decisions, particularly around boys and friends. She joins various sports teams, she goes out with boys that have no respect for her and she is friends with a girl who bullies her. Then one day our heroine, Lucy Dakota, is invited to explore in the Colorado wilderness. She faces danger around every corner, and discovers her adventurous side. She starts believing in herself and her abilities and learns there is a lot she can do. Join Lucy as she comes to grips with who she is as a young woman and starts loving life and being alive.
Publication Date: 05/25/11
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Fiction
If I Could Fly
Judith Ortiz Cofer
Synopsis:

Fifteen-year-old Doris is used to taking care of herself. Her musician parents have always spent more time singing in nightclubs than watching after her. But when her ailing mother goes home to Puerto Rico to get well and pursue a singing career there, and her father finds a new girlfriend, Doris is more alone than she's ever been. Disconnected from her family and her best friends, who are intertwined in terrifying relationships with a violent classmate, Doris finds refuge in taking care of homing pigeons on her apartment building's roof. As Doris tries to make sense of it all, she learns that, just like the pigeons, she might have to fly far distances before she finds out where she belongs.

Publication Date: 05/24/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Forever Crush
Debra Moffitt
Synopsis:

When the going gets tough, the tough get ... pink!

Someone wants the Pink Locker Society gone, but Jemma and her BFFs are sticking together.

"Shut down the PLS - or else!" A mysterious someone keeps sending Jemma, Kate, and Piper threatening messages, but they won't stop the Pink Locker Society. They know the girls at their middle school need them. Who else will answer their questions about everything from bras to boys? And, the truth is, Jemma has just (secretly) submitted a question of her own. It's about Forrest, her forever crush. He asked her to be his pretend girlfriend and she said yes! Jemma promised to tell no one the truth about their relationship, but can she keep it from everyone, including her best friend, Kate? Not that Kate seems to have noticed - she's suddenly obsessed with whether people think she's fat. Beautiful Piper doesn't need to worry about that. She just wants to know if Forrest and Jemma have kissed. But does a real kiss with your pretend boyfriend still count?

Publication Date: 05/24/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The A Circuit
Catherine Hapka, Georgina Bloomberg
Synopsis:

The A Circuit is the top of the top when it comes to horse shows. It's a world with its own rules and superprivileged lifestyles. Teens travel the circuit all year, showing horses that cost as much as some homes.

Tommi, Kate, and Zara are all elite competitors on the circuit, but they come from totally different backgrounds. Tommi is a billionaire heiress trying to prove she has real talent (not just deep bank accounts). Kate puts the working in working student-every win has been paid for with hours of cleaning stalls. She's used to the grueling schedule, but Fitz, the barn's resident hot guy, is about to become a major distraction. And then there's Zara. She's the wild child of a famous rockstar, but she's ready to take riding seriously. Can a party girl really change her ways?

Readers who enjoy peeking into the elite world of Gossip Girl or The A-List will feel right at home in this new series with its friendships, drama, and privilege set against the backdrop of competitive horseback riding.

Publication Date: 05/24/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Dragon in the Volcano
John Shroades, Kate Klimo
Synopsis: What do you do when your dragon becomes a 'tween? Worry! And that's exactly what Dragon Keepers Jesse and Daisy do when their dragon, Emmy, outgrows their garage and starts disappearing. Luckily, when she really disappears, she also leaves them a trail of socks, which leads them headlong into a . . . volcano? Yep! And it only gets crazier from there! In this fourth title, author Kate Klimo introduces readers to a whole new world—the Fiery Realm, where dragons can be felled by a squirt of water and fire fairies have started mysteriously disappearing. As always, readers get a full dose of action and imagination in this expanding tale of two kids and a dragon, growing up together. A great boy-girl adventure for readers of How to Train Your Dragon!
Publication Date: 05/24/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Lexie
Julia Denos, Audrey Couloumbis
Synopsis: Ten-year-old Lexie used to love going to the shore. For as long as she can remember, she's spent every summer there with her parents, eating hamburgers, swimming in the ocean, and combing the beach for treasure.  This summer is going to be different though. Lexie's Mom and Daddy are divorced, and for the first time Mom won't be there. To make matters worse, Daddy has a surprise—his new girlfriend, Vicky, and her two sons are coming to stay with them for a week!  Now Lexie has to share her house with perky Vicky, Vicky's moody teenage son Ben, and messy three-year-old Harris. The little beach house just doesn't seem big enough for so many people. Is there still room for Lexie?

In a voice that's sharp, funny, and sincere, Newbery Honor-winning author Audrey Couloumbis tells the story of a girl discovering that if you pay attention, sometimes you can find treasure in the most unlikely places.
Publication Date: 05/24/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Price of Mercy (eBook)
Synopsis: Jarrin Lestrave thought things were bad when he was forced to become a gigolo to a lusty baroness. When she drops him for a new lover, he sneaks into an imperial ball hoping to find a new patroness. Yet when the moment comes, he leaves his mystery lady with nothing more than a kiss. Before the next day has barely begun, Jarrin is condemned for treason, his attempted escape thwarted by the mysterious Twelve. Then he learns his sentence: immortal life as a monster in the service of the emperor for despoiling the woman he left untouched in the garden: Her Imperial Highness Princess Yolandra.
Publication Date: 05/23/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Queen Bee of Bridgeton
Synopsis: When fifteen-year-old Sonya Garrison is accepted into the prestigious Bridgeton Academy, she soon discovers that rich girls are just as dangerous as the thugs in her home of Venton Heights…maybe more so. After catching the eye of the star white basketball player and unwittingly becoming the most popular girl in school, she earns the hatred of the three most ruthless and vindictive girls at Bridgeton. Can she defeat the reigning high school royalty? Or will they succeed in ruining her lifelong dream of becoming a world class dancer?
Publication Date: 05/17/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
I, Dwayne Kleber
James Connor
Synopsis:
Publication Date: 05/12/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Desperate Measures
Laura Summers
Synopsis: Vicky has always felt responsible for her mentally disabled twin sister, Rhianna, and their feisty little brother, Jamie. So when the foster care system threatens to split them up, they all run away together, heading for a distant relative's home. After a difficult journey, they arrive-only to find strangers living there. With nowhere else to go, they hide in a cave, and must survive by their wits. By the end of their adventure, Vicky is surprised to find that the sister she thought she was protecting is the one who saves her.

This touching, funny, fast-paced novel was short listed for the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize. Vicky and Rhianna's engaging dual-perspective narration offers a refreshing view of people with disabilities, and their wild adventure and fierce family bond will resonate with readers.
Publication Date: 05/12/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
How Tia Lola Saved the Summer
Synopsis: Miguel Guzman isn't exactly looking forward to the summer now that his mother has agreed to let the Sword family—a father, his three daughters, and their dog—live with them while they decide whether or not to move to Vermont. Little does Miguel know his aunt has something up her sleeve that just may make this the best summer ever. With her usual flair for creativity and fun, Tía Lola decides to start a summer camp for Miguel, his little sister, and the three Sword girls, complete with magical swords, nighttime treasure hunts, campfires, barbecues, and an end-of-summer surprise!

The warm and funny third book in the Tía Lola Stories is sure to delight young readers and leave them looking forward to their own summer fun!
Publication Date: 05/10/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Tighter
Adele Griffin
Synopsis: When 17-year-old Jamie arrives on the idyllic New England island of Little Bly to work as a summer au pair, she is stunned to learn of the horror that precedes her. Seeking the truth surrounding a young couple's tragic deaths, Jamie discovers that she herself looks shockingly like the dead girl—and that she has a disturbing ability to sense the two ghosts. Why is Jamie's connection to the couple so intense? What really happened last summer at Little Bly? As the secrets of the house wrap tighter and tighter around her, Jamie must navigate the increasingly blurred divide between the worlds of the living and the dead.

Brilliantly plotted, with startling twists, here is a thrilling page-turner from the award-winning Adele Griffin.
Publication Date: 05/10/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction

Pages



RECENT BOOK REVIEWS