Please enable JavaScript
All Books | Page 322 | LitPick Book Reviews
All Books
The New York Yankees
Glenn Stout, Matt Christopher
Synopsis: A revised and expanded edition of The New York Yankees: Legendary Sports Teams! The New York Yankees played their first game in the American League in 1903. Since then, they have become the best team in baseball, bar none. Now this action-packed and fact-filled volume brings the Yankee's great history to life. From Babe Ruth's called shot and Lou Gehrig's tearful farewell speech, to Reggie Jackson's three hits on three pitches and Derek Jeter's game-saving catches, classic moments are recounted with such vivid description that readers will swear they can smell the popcorn and hear the crack of the bat. Updated content includes team records and post-season results from 1903 to 2011, as well as lists of Yankees inducted into the Hall of Famers and photos of the most memorable plays and people in Yankee history.

Publication Date: 03/01/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Sports
Claire and the Bakery Thief
Janice Poon, Janice Poon
Synopsis: Claire has moved to the country, where her parents have opened an organic bakery. Although Claire says she'd rather move to Mars, she soon falls in love with her pretty bedroom and their big creaky house. Claire hardly thinks about the city any more after she and her dog, Bongo, discover the natural wonders in the surrounding woods. And Claire has made a "best friend forever" -- the brave and headstrong Jet. To make things just about perfect, the bakery is a success ? so why are her parents always arguing? ("Why do they want a bakery when all they do is argue about it? They should open a bickery instead," writes Claire in her diary.) When Mom suddenly leaves with the Artificial Flavoring Salesman, Claire can't believe it -- why would she run off with that creepy guy? "Operation: Rescue Mom" takes Claire back to the big city with Jet and Bongo. The excitement bubbles over when the friends stumble into a quick-rising plan for global domination through artificial baking. Claire and the Bakery Thief is an irresistible treat for middle readers. And don't miss the recipes in the back!
Publication Date: 03/01/08
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Mystery
Hannah Pritchard
Bonnie Pryor
Synopsis: Upon finding her family murdered by British redcoats, Tories, and Iroquois Indians, Hannah Pritchard begins a long and difficult journey in search of revenge and adventure. The former New York farm girl wants the opportunity to fight the British, and she finds it aboard an American privateer ship during the Revolutionary War. However, Hannah must hide her female identity to be able to work as a cabin boy aboard the Sea Hawk. Follow Hannah s brave story as this teenager discovers a wild life at sea, forges new friendships, and learns the bittersweet taste of revenge.
Publication Date: 03/01/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Hammer
Vance Neudorf
Synopsis: On the eve of his fifteenth birthday, Corvan discovers a mysterious stone hammer that unlocks secrets from his past and opens the door to a strange world filled with dangerous labyrinths, bizarre creatures, and great perils. When his best friend Kate falls under the spell of an evil ruler, Corvan must find the strength to face his fears and risk his life in order to rescue Kate and save a dying world from destruction.
Publication Date: 02/27/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Yozakura Quartet
Suzuhito Yasuda
Synopsis: SUPERTEENS!

Hime is a superheroine. Ao can read minds. Kotoha can conjure up anything with the right word. And Akina . . . well, he’s just a regular guy, surrounded by three supergirls! Together, they protect the town of Sakurashin. But that’s not easy, as the town faces demon dogs and other supernatural threats!
Publication Date: 02/26/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Manga/Graphic Novel
Minima
Machiko Sakurai
Synopsis: LIVING DOLL

What would you do if your favorite toy came to life and became your best friend? Well, that’s just what happens to Ame Oikawa, a shy schoolgirl. Nicori is a super-cute doll with a mind of its own–and a plan to make Ame’s dreams come true!
Publication Date: 02/26/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Manga/Graphic Novel
Grease Monkey
Tim Eldred
Synopsis:

Caught in the crossfire of an interstellar war, our Earth was bombed to flinders--and then repaired. The mysterious alien Benefactors who healed the planet also offered "uplift" to our dolphins and gorillas. The dolphins turned them down. The gorillas said yes. As a result, we're now sharing our world with language-using, tool-making simians. Tensions are inevitable, in both directions, but it's gradually working out.

Decades later, teenage cadet Robin Plotnik has been assigned to Fist of Earth, a defense station high above Earth, keeping watch against further attacks by the interstellar Horde. Robin's a spacecraft mechanic-in-training, apprenticed to Chief "Mac" Gimbensky, a cranky but basically benign gorilla with issues of his own.

Fist of Earth is a challenging place to grow up. Robin and Mac maintain fighter craft for the all-woman "Barbarian Squadron", which constantly competes for prestige with the other squadrons based on Fist of Earth. Robin's trying to romance a young librarian, and he's far from sure he knows what he's doing. Most of all, he's constantly struggling to figure out his moody, mercurial boss.

Then he and his best friend become entangled in a burgeoning scandal over betting on the squadrons' standings. And just when things look like they've hit rock bottom, the worst thing imaginable arrives at Fist of Earth: an efficiency expert from Earth, determined to reorganize Robin's hard-won life, and the whole squadron system, out of existence.

Fresh and engaging, crammed with likeable characters and science-fictional inventiveness, Grease Monkey is like a classic "Heinlein juvenile" in sequential-art mode.

Introduction by Kurt Busiek, author of Astro City

Publication Date: 02/19/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
City of Bones
Cassandra Clare
Synopsis: Discover this first installment of the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series and “prepare to be hooked” (Entertainment Weekly).

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder—much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing—not even a smear of blood—to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare’s ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.
Publication Date: 02/19/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
Fran, The Second Time Around
Amy L. Bernstein
Synopsis: A fresh start. A clean slate. That’s what Mom said as I headed out the door to catch the annoyingly bright and infantile school bus. No one knows you, or anything about you, she said. You can be who you are—whoever you want to be. Now isn’t that just great. I have the privilege of beginning ninth grade, the start of my high school career—or lack of career, more likely—as a complete zero, a nobody. No history, no personality, no best friend. Tracy is out of the picture after, let’s see, eleven years of tried-and-true, best-buds-til-we-die friendship…. Yeah, well, things change in ways you can’t imagine.
Publication Date: 02/18/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Tobbi's Amazing Adventures  in Cloudland
Mark Seliger, Ilya Simakovsky
Synopsis: Trouble! His daydreaming was out of control. But how could Tobbi Sontag resist flying on his newly invented bionic wings or racing his car at 200 miles an hour, or scoring a spectacular basket over the heads of helpless NBA stars. Yet, how could he do anything when for the past three months he has been stuck in a wheelchair? And things were getting worse, much worse! A Voice haunted him, a deep, gruesome Voice; it called for him more and more, even now.... Tobbi s familiar world crumbles around him. I know something is going to happen, but what, what? he asks himself. When the moment comes, however, Tobbi makes a difficult but critical decision and the adventure of his life begins! Tobbi transforms into something else, and a whole new world opens up to him, a whole new life. Welcome to Cloudland! In the mountains of South America thrives an artistic society of sentient clouds. It is led by the enormous Cloud Maker, the owner of the Voice. After many adventures there, Tobbi learns of the grave threat to Cloudland and even the whole Earth; he chooses to join their fight. The Evil Spoiler intends to conquer the skies and drown the world in storms. In his lair inside Gray Mountains he is ready to unleash his gray army and the monstrous Shadow Eater to poison the skies of the world. The War! Tobbi and his chosen troops fail in their desperate, all out assault. Horrifying events unfold and finally only Tobbi is left. He fights alone but he fights for everything he cares for and for everyone he loves. Will he win? Will he be able to get back? Will he get well? Will he lose everything, even his life? You, the reader, will be with him in his final fight against tremendous odds, and win or lose his courage will warm your heart and lift your spirit. This is a book for all ages.
Publication Date: 02/15/08
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Adventure
The Squad: Killer Spirit
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Synopsis: Saying Toby Klein is an unlikely cheerleader is like saying Paris Hilton might be into guys–understatement of the year. But as a Bayport High cheerleader and an undercover government operative, she’s living a life that’s anything but typical. Being on the Squad has its benefits, but just as Toby is getting the hang of protocol and pep rallies, fate kicks things up a notch.
Publication Date: 02/13/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Macbeth
Jo Wheeler, Karen Wenborn, Nigel Dobbyn, Gary Erskine, Jon Haward, Clive Bryant, John McDonald, William Shakespeare
Synopsis: It's 11th century Scotland. Macbeth, Thane of Glamis, is one of King Duncan's greatest war captains. Upon returning from a battle with the rebellious Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth and Banquo encounter three witches, who prophecy that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and then King.
Publication Date: 02/13/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Magic in the Mirrorstone
Synopsis: In this anthology for teen readers, fifteen best-selling and acclaimed authors--including Holly Black, Cecil Castellucci, Cassandra Clare, Eugie Foster, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, and Gregory Frost--weave all-new stories filled with magic. Comic and dark, epic and entertaining, these stories will introduce readers to the new voices of Mirrorstone beside the treasured favorites of Young Adult fantasy.
Publication Date: 02/12/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Squad: Perfect Cover
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Synopsis: Bayport High’s Varsity cheer squad is made up of the hottest of the hot. But this A-list is dangerous in more ways than one. The Squad is actually a cover for the most highly trained group of underage government operatives the United States has ever assembled. They have the perfect cover, because, beyond herkeys and highlights, no one expects anything from a cheerleader.
Publication Date: 02/12/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Prey
Lurlene McDaniel
Synopsis: A teacher is supposed to impart a love of learning and a thirst for knowledge. It’s a bit different with Ms. Lori Settles. All the kids are talking about how hot she is–and she is especially interested in Ryan Piccoli. When she starts giving Ryan extra attention, he’s feeling more than happy–at first. He’s used to being the class clown, but really he’s a loner. One day after school, the friendship with Lori Settles goes farther than he ever expected. She’s his teacher. She’s at least twice his age. Intimacy with a teacher is wrong, yet it feels so good in every way. Soon, Lori is making demands and Ryan begins to feel overwhelmed, but Ryan refuses to even admit anything is going on. Something immoral is going on and before too long the choices made will change lives forever.
Publication Date: 02/12/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
This Life, This Death
Michael P. Graham
Synopsis:

A World War II Ace Seeks Peace -Only to Find a New War

When he resettled in Asturia two years after World War II, former fighter pilot David Bridgeman believed that he had found peace-until the day when he flew out to a remote mountain airport to investigate the unexplained crash of a fellow pilot. There, he makes a terrifying discovery that leads to others-and finally to a plot masterminded by a fugitive secret police officer to seize power at gunpoint. Bridgeman quickly finds himself facing a new war, racing against time to train a squadron of new pilots who do not completely accept him, as the plot to crush Asturia's nascent democracy marches toward execution . . .
Publication Date: 02/11/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction

Pages



RECENT BOOK REVIEWS