Please enable JavaScript
All Books | Page 34 | LitPick Book Reviews
All Books
All In Pieces
Suzanne Young
Synopsis: From New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Young comes a heartrending new novel about a girl struggling to deal with anger issues while taking care of her younger brother with special needs.

“Anger-management issues.”

That’s how they classified Savannah Sutton after she stuck a pencil in her ex-boyfriend’s hand because he mocked her little brother, Evan, for being disabled. That’s why they sent her to Brooks Academy—an alternative high school that’s used as a temporary detention center.

The days at Brooks are miserable, but at home, life is far more bleak. Savvy’s struggling to take care of her brother since her mom left years ago, and her alcoholic dad can’t be bothered. Life with Evan is a constant challenge, but he’s also the most important person in the world to Savvy.

Then there’s Cameron, a new student at Brooks with issues of his own; a guy from a perfect family that Savvy thought only existed on TV. Cameron seems determined to break through every one of the walls Savvy’s built around herself, except if she lets herself trust him, it could make everything she’s worked so hard for fall apart in an instant.

And with her aunt seeking custody of her brother and her ex-boyfriend seeking revenge, Savvy’s fighting to hold all the pieces together. But she’s not sure how much tighter she can be pulled before she breaks completely.
Publication Date: 11/08/16
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Chick Lit
The Lost Property Office
James R. Hannibal
Synopsis: James R. Hannibal presents a thrilling adventure through history, complete with mysteries, secret items, codes, and a touch of magic in this stunning middle grade debut.

Thirteen-year-old Jack Buckles is great at finding things. Not just a missing glove or the other sock, but things normal people have long given up on ever seeing again. If only he could find his father, who has disappeared in London without a trace.

But Jack’s father was not who he claimed to be. It turns out that he was a member of a secret society of detectives that has served the crown for centuries—and membership into the Lost Property Office is Jack’s inheritance.

Now the only way Jack will ever see his father again is if he finds what the nefarious Clockmaker is after: the Ember, which holds a secret that has been kept since the Great Fire of London. Will Jack be able to find the Ember and save his father, or will his talent for finding things fall short?
Publication Date: 11/08/16
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Mystery
The Girl Who Saved Christmas
Synopsis: Girl Who Saved Christmas
Publication Date: 11/03/16
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Fiction
The Diabolic
S. J. Kincaid
Synopsis: “The perfect kind of high-pressure adventure.” —TeenVogue.com
A New York Times bestseller!

Red Queen meets The Hunger Games in this epic novel about what happens when a senator’s daughter is summoned to the galactic court as a hostage, but she’s really the galaxy’s most dangerous weapon in disguise.

A Diabolic is ruthless. A Diabolic is powerful. A Diabolic has a single task: Kill in order to protect the person you’ve been created for.

Nemesis is a Diabolic, a humanoid teenager created to protect a galactic senator’s daughter, Sidonia. The two have grown up side by side, but are in no way sisters. Nemesis is expected to give her life for Sidonia, and she would do so gladly. She would also take as many lives as necessary to keep Sidonia safe.

When the power-mad Emperor learns Sidonia’s father is participating in a rebellion, he summons Sidonia to the Galactic court. She is to serve as a hostage. Now, there is only one way for Nemesis to protect Sidonia. She must become her. Nemesis travels to the court disguised as Sidonia—a killing machine masquerading in a world of corrupt politicians and two-faced senators’ children. It’s a nest of vipers with threats on every side, but Nemesis must keep her true abilities a secret or risk everything.

As the Empire begins to fracture and rebellion looms closer, Nemesis learns there is something more to her than just deadly force. She finds a humanity truer than what she encounters from most humans. Amidst all the danger, action, and intrigue, her humanity just might be the thing that saves her life—and the empire.
Publication Date: 11/01/16
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Adventure
Blowback '07
Brian Meehl
Synopsis:

Clashing teenage twins Arky and Iris have one thing in common: an ancient musical instrument left to them by their mother. When Iris plays the strangely curved woodwind, the trouble begins; Arky's friend, Matt, the school's star quarterback, disappears.

Transported to 1907 and the Carlisle Indian School, Matt is forced to play football for Coach Pop Warner as the Carlisle ''Redmen'' revolutionize Ivy League football. Matt's struggle to ''play his way home'' is complicated when he falls in love with an Indian girl.

Meanwhile, Arky and Iris discover a cache of secrets that might bring Matt back, and lead to the ultimate rescue: their mother, trapped in the past.

Blowback '07 launches a century-spanning trilogy to be continued in Blowback '63 and Blowback '94. Books two and three propel Arky and Iris to the illuminating past, and transform them in ways they never imagined. After all, as their mother once cautioned, ''Every road to the future winds through the past.''

Publication Date: 11/01/16
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Sports
How Fast Can You Run
Harriet Levin Millan
Synopsis: Set across a backdrop of refugee migration that spans East Africa, the US and Australia, How Fast Can You Run's story of "Lost Boy" of Sudan Michael Majok Kuch unfolds with equal measures of inspiration and heartbreak. Five-year-old Majok wakes in the middle of the night to his burning hut and flees from the soldiers torching his village in South Sudan. He gets separated from his mother and begins a ten year journey, trekking through war zones and living in refugee camps, until he receives political asylum to the US. 
Majok, now Michael, is given a new start in the US. Yet his new life mirrors his migrant life as he faces discrimination once again, and ultimately betrayal.
This extraordinary novel, chosen as a 2017 Charter for Compassion Global Read and now a Foreword Review Book of the Year finalist, is in the words of Mukoma Wa Ngugi, "a beautiful and crucial story told by two people, one Sudanese with dreams of independence, the other, an American poet who listens to Michael Majok through her imagination...reminding us that the most human of all activities, the one thing that binds us all, is finding beauty even in impossible situations."
Publication Date: 10/28/16
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
Chatur the Laundry Man
Nayan Soni, Margaret McDonald, Subhash Kommuru
Synopsis: What can a business man, a lazy donkey, and an elephant teach kids about success and friendship? Read along to find out in this playful romp by the award-winning author of The Magic of Friendship!
Chatur the Laundry Man is a funny, lighthearted story with a subtle lesson. Chatur thinks of nothing but growing his business, but his friend Gadhu the donkey keeps telling him to take it easy. When Chatur has a bright idea to get more business, things seem to be going his way but take an unexpected turn. Will Chatur learn that sometimes success takes a little time and patience?
5 Star ... a humorous tale.. illustrations are comical.. highly recommended.. - Readers Favorite Review
.. kids will receive 3 fine messages the value of hard work, what happens when a push for profit supersedes quality of life, and how different approaches to work and play yield very singular results. - Midwest Book Review
Publication Date: 10/28/16
Age Level: 5 - 8
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones
Wendelin Van Draanen
Synopsis: "Lincoln Jones is a loner who prefers to keep his head down and use writing as a way to escape the trials of daily life at his new school. As he and his mother struggle to start over, Lincoln's attempts at invisibility are thwarted by a fellow sixth grader, a girl who shows him that he's got a lot to offer as a friend. Strong characters who value humor, perseverance, and compassion will particularly appeal to readers adapting to middle school." - Seira Wilson, Amazon Editor

A fresh and funny story about a boy learning to become the brave hero of his own life, perfect for fans of Counting by 7s and The Fourteenth Goldfish.
 
My secret life is filled with psychic vampires, wheelchair zombies, chain-rattlin’ ghosts, and a one-eyed cat. But they’re nothing compared to my real-life stalker: a sixth-grade girl named Kandi Kain. . . .
 
Lincoln Jones is always working on the latest story he’s got going in his notebook. Those stories are his refuge. A place where the hero always prevails and the bad guy goes to jail. Real life is messy and complicated, so Lincoln sticks to fiction and keeps to himself. Which works fine until a nosy girl at his new school starts prying into his private business. She wants to know what he’s writing, where he disappears to after school, and why he never talks to anybody. . . .
 
The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones is a terrifically funny and poignant story about a boy finding the courage to get to know the real characters all around him—and to let them know him.


Praise for The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones:

Winner of the Josette Frank Award

"Van Draanen's engaging story is characterized by clever writing, a palpable affection for her characters, and a deep understanding of what's important about life. Readers will love Lincoln Jones."—Kirkus Reviews

"Van Draanen skillfully wraps up her tale, offering a realistically happy ending. A story with a perfect balance of mirth and poignancy." -- School Library Journal

"Lincoln is a delightful narrator." -- Booklist
Publication Date: 10/25/16
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Fiction
Misfortune Annie and the Locomotive Reaper
Synopsis: When Annabelle Fortune, the fastest gunslinger in the wild west, inadvertently stops a stranger from attacking a train -- and he wears a suit that enables him to fly! -- the government believes she's the only one to have witnessed the Locomotive Reaper and survived to tell the tale.

Promising to find out what he can about her missing father, the Director of the Secret Service persuades Annie to swear in. Too soon, her detested nickname re-stakes its claim.

Partnered with Beau Slokam, whose penchant for gambling leads them straight to the Doom Gang, Misfortune Annie guides the smooth-talking Southerner in a chase through the Rockies, with her Cheyenne friend, Wontoa, rounding out their unlikely trio.

When Annie again meets the Locomotive Reaper, his gadgetry proves far more advanced -- and deadly -- than even top scientists could have imagined.
Publication Date: 10/22/16
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
Moon Chosen: A Tale of a New World
Synopsis:

#1 New York Times bestselling author of the House of Night series, P.C. Cast, brings us a new epic fantasy set in a world where humans, their animal allies, and the earth itself has been drastically changed. A world filled with beauty and danger and cruelty…

Mari is an Earth Walker, heir to the unique healing powers of her Clan; but she has cast her duties aside, until she is chosen by a special animal ally, altering her destiny forever. When a deadly attack tears her world apart, Mari reveals the strength of her powers and the forbidden secret of her dual nature as she embarks on a mission to save her people. It is not until Nik, the son of the leader from a rival, dominating clan strays across her path, that Mari experiences something she has never felt before…

Now, darkness is coming, and with it, a force, more terrible and destructive than the world has ever seen, leaving Mari to cast the shadows from the earth. By forming a tumultuous alliance with Nik, she must make herself ready. Ready to save her people. Ready to save herself and Nik. Ready to embrace her true destiny…and obliterate the forces that threaten to destroy them all.

Publication Date: 10/18/16
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
Wraith Queen's Veil
Lou Hoffmann
Synopsis:

Sequel to Key of Behliseth
The Sun Child Chronicles: Book Two

Lucky expected his arrival in Ethra, the world of his birth, to be a happy occasion. Unfortunately, something is awry at the Sisterhold—his home—especially in his mother’s insincere smiles. The Sisterhold is soon immersed in battle plans and magical emergencies, and Lucky’s confidants, like the wizard Thurlock, often disappear. His mother grows more secretive, and even Han Shieth, the warrior uncle Lucky thought he could always depend upon, becomes increasingly aloof.

Hurt, confused, and left to his own devices, Lucky makes unfortunate choices that put him and his friends, L’Aria and Zhevi, in dire peril. With threats around every corner, not even Han is safe from the growing evil. It falls to Lucky—on his own—to find the answers, but he doesn’t even know what questions to ask. Over the course of his journey, clues to Lucky’s destiny are revealed, and his power increases. Armed with knowledge and strength, he sets out to ensure the safety of those he cares about, now and in the future. But his efforts may come too late.

Publication Date: 10/06/16
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
Bunny Slopes
Claudia Rueda
Synopsis: Time to tackle the bunny slope! Shake to help Bunny make it snow, tilt to help Bunny ski down the slope, and turn to help Bunny escape a cliff in his path. Is there any obstacle Bunny can't conquer? Bringing grins and guffaws with each turn of the page, readers will find Claudia Rueda's innovative bookmaking as entertaining as the twists and turns of a ski slope—and as satisfying as a cozy cup of hot cocoa.
Publication Date: 10/04/16
Age Level: 5 - 8
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Gertie's Leap to Greatness
Jillian Tamaki, Kate Beasley
Synopsis:

"Meet the new Ramona Quimby!" -- Entertainment Weekly

Gertie Reece Foy is 100% Not-From-Concentrate awesome. She has a daddy who works on an oil rig, a great-aunt who always finds the lowest prices at the Piggly Wiggly, and two loyal best friends. So when her absent mother decides to move away from their small town, Gertie sets out on her greatest mission yet: becoming the best fifth grader in the universe to show her mother exactly what she'll be leaving behind. There's just one problem: Seat-stealing new girl Mary Sue Spivey wants to be the best fifth grader, too. And there is simply not enough room at the top for the two of them.

From debut author Kate Beasley, and with illustrations by Caldecott Honor artist Jillian Tamaki, comes a classic tale of hope and homecoming that will empty your heart, then fill it back up again--one laugh at a time.

Publication Date: 10/04/16
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Humor
When the Sea Turned To Silver
Synopsis: A New York Times Bestseller A National Book Award FinalistAn IndieBound Bestseller

This breathtaking, full-color illustrated fantasy is inspired by Chinese folklore, and is a companion to the Newbery Honor winner Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.
Pinmei's gentle, loving grandmother always has the most exciting tales for her granddaughter and the other villagers. However, the peace is shattered one night when soldiers of the Emperor arrive and kidnap the storyteller.
Everyone knows that the Emperor wants something called the Luminous Stone That Lights the Night. Determined to have her grandmother returned, Pinmei embarks on a journey to find the Luminous Stone alongside her friend Yishan, a mysterious boy who seems to have his own secrets to hide. Together, the two must face obstacles usually found only in legends to find the Luminous Stone and save Pinmei's grandmother--before it's too late.
A fast-paced adventure that is extraordinarily written and beautifully illustrated, When the Sea Turned to Silver is a masterpiece companion novel to Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and Starry River of the Sky.
Publication Date: 10/04/16
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Fantasy
We Know It Was You
Maggie Thrash
Synopsis: Twin Peaks meets Pretty Little Liars in acclaimed author Maggie Thrash’s new Strange Truth series.

It’s better to know the truth. At least sometimes.

Halfway through Friday night’s football game, beautiful cheerleader Brittany Montague—dressed as the giant Winship Wildcat mascot—hurls herself off a bridge into Atlanta’s surging Chattahoochee River.

Just like that, she’s gone.

Eight days later, Benny Flax and Virginia Leeds will be the only ones who know why.
Publication Date: 10/04/16
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Only Road
Alexandra Diaz
Synopsis: PURA BELPRÉ HONOR BOOK
ALA NOTABLE BOOK

“Powerful and timely.” —Booklist (starred review)
“An important, must-have addition to the growing body of literature with immigrant themes.” —School Library Journal (starred review)

Twelve-year-old Jaime makes the treacherous and life-changing journey from his home in Guatemala to live with his older brother in the United States in this gripping and realistic middle grade novel.

Jaime is sitting on his bed drawing when he hears a scream. Instantly, he knows: Miguel, his cousin and best friend, is dead.

Everyone in Jaime’s small town in Guatemala knows someone who has been killed by the Alphas, a powerful gang that’s known for violence and drug trafficking. Anyone who refuses to work for them is hurt or killed—like Miguel. With Miguel gone, Jaime fears that he is next. There’s only one choice: accompanied by his cousin Ángela, Jaime must flee his home to live with his older brother in New Mexico.

Inspired by true events, The Only Road is an individual story of a boy who feels that leaving his home and risking everything is his only chance for a better life. It is a story of fear and bravery, love and loss, strangers becoming family, and one boy’s treacherous and life-changing journey.
Publication Date: 10/04/16
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Adventure

Pages



RECENT BOOK REVIEWS