Please enable JavaScript
All Books | Page 369 | LitPick Book Reviews
All Books
Invisible Threads
Maria Dalton, Annie Dalton
Synopsis: Naomi was never going to be like her mother. The crazy highs and underground lows. Naomi was in control. When the time came she would be the perfect mother–nothing like her own.
On the day Carrie-Anne turned 16, she surpassed her. The girl-woman who gave away her own child. Her biological mother. Carrie-Anne got to 16 without making that mistake. That’s what she was, really–a mistake. And now the invisible threads tying her to the past are driving her to find out why and how it happened. After all, if you don’t know where you come from, how can you know where you belong?
But sometimes asking questions is harder than hearing the answers. And sometimes the answers don’t matter at all.
Publication Date: 04/11/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
King Dork
Frank Portman
Synopsis: Tom Henderson (a.k.a. King Dork, Chi-mo, Hender-fag, and Sheepie) is a typical American high school loser until he discovers the book, The Catcher in the Rye, that will change the world as he knows it. When Tom discovers his deceased father’s copy of the Salinger classic, he finds himself in the middle of several interlocking conspiracies and at least half a dozen mysteries involving dead people, naked people, fake people, ESP, blood, a secret code, guitars, monks, witchcraft, the Bible, girls, the Crusades, a devil head, and rock and roll. And it all looks like it’s just the tip of a very odd iceberg of clues that may very well unravel the puzzle of his father’s death and–oddly–reveal the secret to attracting semihot girls.
Being in a band could possibly be the secret to the girl thing–but good luck finding a drummer who can count to four.
Publication Date: 04/11/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Listen!
Stephanie S. Tolan
Synopsis:

Learning to walk again is the easy part.

For twelve-year-old Charley, recovering from the accident that shattered her leg is nowhere near as difficult as facing the solitude of a summer without her best friend and with a father who does nothing, now, but work. Solitude means time to think, time to hear for the first time the awful silence left in her world two years ago by her mother's death.

But the summer holds a surprise for Charley, in the form of a mysterious dog who appears in the woods across the lake from her home. In order to connect with this wild spirit she names Coyote, Charley will have to do more than just walk. She will have to follow Coyote into the heart of her memories: the woods her mother loved so much. And she will have to learn to listen past the silence.

This unsentimental, unforgettable story comes straight from the heart of Newbery Honor author Stephanie S. Tolan. As she describes Charley's difficult emotional and physical journey, she weaves together themes of nature, family, and love into a complex and powerful portrait of recovery.

Publication Date: 04/11/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
I Is Someone Else
PATRICK COOPER
Synopsis: It is 1966, and the times, they are a-changin’. Fifteen-year-old Stephen is on his way to a summer program in France when he meets two glamorous new friends of his older brother, Rob, who has been missing for 18 months. They persuade Stephen to travel to Istanbul with them, to find his brother. And what a world opens up to him: a world of beautiful girls, drug busts, fascinating cultures, fast-moving friendships, and betrayals. As he travels further into Asia, the nature of Stephen’s journey changes: The search for his brother is replaced by an inner exploration, in which he must confront his own past, and his own dark secret.
Publication Date: 04/11/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Riding Out the Storm
Claudia Jones
Synopsis: Fifteen-year-old Emily has never wondered if she's had past lives-she's too busy thinking about the life she's living. Between taking care of her horse Moonie, keeping up with homework, and fending off the school bully who picks on her best friend for being chubby, Emily's got enough on her plate. But after she nearly drowns in the new pool at her middle school, she begins having recurring nightmares that lead her to think that this life may not be her first.

Riding out the Storm is a modern tale that chronicles a young girl's journey into recalling a past-life and how she copes with the outcome. Spiritual and believable, this novel features a charismatic narrator who learns to listen to the signals around her and trust her instincts. Along her journey, Emily finds herself anxious to learn all she can about reincarnation, and she discovers the value of reaching out to not-so-unfamiliar strangers to repair relationships long interrupted.

Publication Date: 04/08/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Just Listen
Sarah Dessen
Synopsis: A New York Times bestseller

To find the truth you’ve got to be willing to hear it.
 
When she’s modeling, Annabel is the picture of perfection.
 
But her real life is far from perfect.
 
Fortunately, she’s got Owen. He’s intense, music-obsessed, and dedicated to always telling the truth.
 
And most of all, he’s determined to make Annabel happy. . .
 
“This is young adult fiction at its best.” —School Library Journal
 
Also by Sarah Dessen:
Along for the Ride
Dreamland
Keeping the Moon
Lock and Key
The Moon and More
Someone Like You
That Summer
This Lullaby
The Truth About Forever
What Happened to Goodbye
Publication Date: 04/06/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Romance
Nothing but the Truth (and a Few White Lies)
Synopsis: Half Asian and half white, Patty Ho has never felt completely home in her skin. When a Chinese fortuneteller foresees a white guy on Patty's horizon, things go from bad to worse in this debut novel by a bright new talent.
Publication Date: 04/05/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Mask of Atreus
A. J. Hartley
Synopsis: When the proprietor of an obscure museum is found dead amidst priceless Greek antiquities--one of which is missing along with the bones of a legendary hero thought to exist only in myth--museum curator Deborah Miller enters into dangerous realm of mystery, murder, and vengeance. Original.
Publication Date: 04/04/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Boys that Bite
Mari Mancusi
Synopsis: Two sisters--as different as the sun and the rain. For one, getting into the Blood Coven is to die for. But for the other, getting out could be lethal...When Sunny McDonald gets dragged to Club Fang by her twin sister Rayne, she doesn't expect to find anything besides a bunch of Goth kids playing at being vampires. But when some guy mistakes Sunny for her dark-side-loving sister and bites her on the neck, she finds out that his fangs are real--and deadly.

Now, Sunny has less than a week to figure out how to reverse the bite, or else she's going to end up as the perpetually undead. And not only will she be a vampire, she'll also be bonded to Magnus--the bloodsucker who bit her--forever. And forever is a really long time...
Publication Date: 04/04/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Romance
Vandal
Michael Simmons
Synopsis: Will is pretty much your average 16-year-old. He does well enough in school, plays in a rock band, chases girls with little success, and has a typical collection of oddball friends...with one significant exception. For as long as he can remember, he has been systematically beaten up--physically, mentally, and emotionally--by his older brother. Taut, gripping and at times mordantly funny, Vandal amply fulfills the promise of Michael Simmons's justly praised first novel, Pool Boy.
Publication Date: 04/04/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Emil and Karl
Jeffrey Shandler, Yankev Glatshteyn
Synopsis: Written in the form of a suspense novel, Emil & Karl draws readers into the dilemma faced by two young boys--one Jewish, the other not--when they suddenly find themselves without homes or families in Vienna on the eve of World War II. A taut, gripping page-turner, it offers a picture of life during the period and the moral challenges faced under Nazism--and a prescient glimpse of the early days of the Holocaust. Written in Yiddish, it is here translated into English for the first time.
Publication Date: 04/04/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
La Linea
Ann Jaramillo
Synopsis:

Miguel's life is just beginning. Or so he thinks. Fifteen-year-old Miguel leaves his rancho deep in Mexico to migrate to California across la linea, the border, in a debut novel from Ann Jaramillo of life-changing, cliff-hanging moments.
But Miguel's carefully laid plans change suddenly when his younger sister Elena stows away and follows him. Together, Miguel and Elena endure hardships and danger on their journey of desperation and desire, loyalty and betrayal. An epilogue, set ten years after the events of the story, shows that you can't always count on dreams--even the ones that come true.
Latino Interest.

Publication Date: 04/04/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Keeper of the Waters
Jenna Solitaire
Synopsis:

My name is Jenna Solitaire―and I am the Keeper of the Boards. I have the Board of Air. And every day, I hear the voice of the Board of Water calling to me. Somehow, I must find it and master its powers--before someone else does...

Having mastered the power of the Board of Air, Jenna travels to Jerusalem to find the Board of Water. She is accompanied by Simon Monk, who seeks the Boards on behalf of the Vatican. Jenna doesn't trust Simon, but he's her only source of information about the Boards. In Jerusalem, Jenna meets Saduj, a local guide who claims to be able to help them find the Board they seek. Simon is suspicious, but Jenna finds herself strangely attracted to Saduj. Jenna must find the Board before it awakens and causes unimaginable destruction. But will she lose her heart―and possibly her life―in the process?

Publication Date: 04/04/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Rules
Cynthia Lord
Synopsis: Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She's spent years trying to teach David the rules-from "a peach is not a funny-looking apple" to "keep your pants on in public"-in order to stop his embarrassing behaviors. But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a paraplegic boy, and Kristi, the next-door friend she's always wished for, it's her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is normal?
Publication Date: 04/01/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Speak Easy
Barry Gibbons
Synopsis: Public speaking is something that many people struggle with and yet these days not only do lots of people want to be able to speak better in front of an audience, often their careers depend on it. In Speak easy, Fortune magazine's ''Turnaround Champ'' Barry Gibbons, draws on his vast experience of speaking in public to help you make your dread of delivering speeches a thing of the past. Who knows, you might even start to enjoy it! Barry is the first one to admit that he's made a mistake or two along the way but these have helped him develop some brilliant ideas to avoid falling into the same trap twice.
Publication Date: 03/31/06
Age Level: Any Age
Genre: Educational
The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck, Robert DeMott
Synopsis: The Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression, a book that galvanized—and sometimes outraged—millions of readers. Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read

First published in 1939, Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression chronicles the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s and tells the story of one Oklahoma farm family, the Joads—driven from their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California. Out of their trials and their repeated collisions against the hard realities of an America divided into Haves and Have-Nots evolves a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision, elemental yet plainspoken, tragic but ultimately stirring in its human dignity. A portrait of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless, of one man’s fierce reaction to injustice, and of one woman’s stoical strength, the novel captures the horrors of the Great Depression and probes into the very nature of equality and justice in America. At once a naturalistic epic, captivity narrative, road novel, and transcendental gospel, Steinbeck’s powerful landmark novel is perhaps the most American of American Classics.

This Penguin Classics edition contains an introduction and notes by Steinbeck scholar Robert Demott.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Publication Date: 03/28/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages



RECENT BOOK REVIEWS