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Juvenile Fiction | Page 107 | LitPick Book Reviews
Juvenile Fiction
Karma Girl (Bigtime)
Karma Girl
Jennifer Estep
Fed up because of her cheating superhero ex-fiancé, intrepid reporter Carmen Cole has made her mission in life to reveal the true identities of the nation's caped crusaders and their archvillains, but her quest could land her in more trouble than even Striker, the sexiest superhero in Bigtime, New York, can get her out of. Original.

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Summer Ball
Summer Ball
Mike Lupica
The sequel to the #1 New York Times bestseller Travel Team!When you’re the smallest kid playing a big man’s game, the challenges never stop—especially when your name is Danny Walker. Leading your travel team to the national championship may seem like a dream come true, but for Danny, being at the top just means the competition tries that much harder to knock him off. Now Danny’s leaving Middletown for the summer and heading to Right Way basketball camp, where he’s out of his element and maybe out of his league. The country’s best ballers are in attendance, and Danny will need to raise his game if he wants to match up. But it won’t be easy. Old rivals and new battles leave Danny wondering if he really has what it takes to stand tall.“Lupica is at his best when he puts the reader right in the center of the action on the court. His game descriptions are fast, accurate, and exciting. Young sports-fiction fans will eat this up.” –Booklist  “Sports fans will relish the on-court action, expertly rendered in Lupica's taut prose. This worthy sequel to Travel Team should earn a wide audience.” –School Library Journal “Lupica knows his basketball and knows how to spin a page-turner of a story. Those who enjoyed the first installment of Danny's story will be thrilled to read a sequel, and even those middle school readers who are not huge sports fans will want to cheer for Danny Walker, who proves that determination can be a whole lot bigger than height.” –VOYA

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How Ya Like Me Now
How Ya Like Me Now
Brendan Halpin
Since his dad died, Eddie's mom has spent all her time getting high on OxyContin, leaving Eddie to take care of himself. When Eddie's mom goes into rehab and his aunt and uncle take him away to Boston, everything changes. His new school, which he attends with his cousin Alex, is experimental: there's a CEO instead of a principal, classes are held in an office building, and the students, all sporting business-casual looks, are the only urban kids Eddie has ever seen outside of a rap video. As for Alex, it's bad enough that he has to share his bedroom with Eddie, but his parents are on his case about including his quiet cousin in his social life as well. Alex wants to do the right thing, but between talking to girls, playing video games, thinking about girls, laughing with his friends, and looking at girls, when is he supposed to find time to help Eddie and "work up to his potential" in school? Two boys find that they have a lot to learn from each other in this touching, funny novel about finding your place and looking out for your friends.

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Gentle's Holler (Maggie Valley Novels)
Gentle's Holler
Kerry Madden
The sixties may have come to other parts of North Carolina, but with Mama pregnant again, Daddy struggling to find work, and nine siblings underfoot, nobody in the holler has much time for modern-day notions. Especially not twelve-year-old Livy Two, aspiring songwriter and self-appointed guardian of little sister Gentle, whose eyes “don't work so good yet.” Even after a doctor confirms her fears, Livy Two is determined to make the best of Gentle's situation and sets out to transform the family's scrappy dachshund into a genuine Seeing Eye dog. But when tragedy strikes, can Livy Two continue to stay strong for her family?

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Louisiana's Song (Maggie Valley Novels)
Louisiana's Song
Kerry Madden
Livy Two is happy that Daddy is finally out of his coma, but the befuddled man who comes home is not the daddy the Weems family once knew. He forgets their names, he wanders off—he won’t even touch his beloved banjo. Set in Appalachia in 1963, this heartwarming, and heart-wrenching, follow-up to Gentle’s Holler is narrated by the irrepressible Livy Two, and traces the ups and downs of her large mountain family. Shy and awkward 11-year-old Louise (Louisiana) becomes the reluctant hero as she develops a talent for painting, takes care of Daddy, and shows a surprised Livy Two that sometimes the quietest sibling turns out to be the strongest.

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Hitler's Canary
Hitler's Canary
Sandi Toksvig
"My brother stood up so quickly he almost knocked Mama over. 'Why aren't you doing something? Do you know what the British are calling us? Hitler's canary! I've heard it on the radio, on the BBC. They say he has us in a cage and we just sit and sing any tune he wants.'"Bamse's family are theater people. They don't get involved in politics. "it had nothing to do with us," Bamse tells us. Yet now he must decide: should he take his father's advice and not stir up trouble? Or should he follow his brother into the Resistance and take part in the most demanding role of his life?

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The Ghost in Allie's Pool
The Ghost in Allie's Pool
Sari Bodi
Eighth-grader Allie Toth is visited by the ghost of a woman who committed suicide during the voyage of the Mayflower, while at the same time her best friend Marissa has dropped her for a more popular crowd. Includes facts about Dorothy May Bradford and other Mayflower passengers.Eighth-grader Allie Toth is visited by the ghost of a woman who committed suicide during the voyage of the Mayflower, while at the same time her best friend Marissa has dropped her for a more popular crowd.

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Holdup (Deborah Brodie Books)
Holdup
Terri Fields
Always caution, Joe has never even gotten so much as an after-school detention. So how is it that this Saturday night, he's at Burger Heaven, waving a loaded gun, yelling at the teen workers to get down on the floor NOW? Dylan has always succeeded at his twisted plans--until this Saturday, this robbery, where everything has gone wrong. And now, surrounded by police outside Burger Heaven, Dylan's life will never be the same--and neither will the lives of his hostages. Holdup--a novel with nine unforgettable points of view, in four astonishing parts--will leave the reader wondering about luck and life's strange surprises.

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Baboon: A Novel
Baboon
Kevin Loring, David Jones
Fourteen-year-old Gerry Copeland has mixed feelings about flying back to his parents’ research camp in the African savanna. While his biologist mom and dad study baboon behavior, he’ll be thinking about the video arcade and restaurants back in the city. Suddenly, their small plane’s engine stutters and dies. They go down hard. Gerry wakes up thinking a baboon has broken his fall. He’s shocked to realize the furry arm is his own. Somehow, he’s become one of the beasts his parents are studying. Gerry’s only chance is to stay with the baboon troop. His parents don’t recognize him and he begins to lose hope he’ll ever be human again. His final, desperate bid to turn back means giving up the animal family he’s come to care about for the human family where he truly belongs. Baboon is the riveting story of one teenager’s journey into the heart of the baboon world, where he confronts terrifying attacks by predators and humans, threatening behavior within the troop, and the day-to-day struggle to survive.

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Dream Factory
Dream Factory
Heather Hepler, Brad Barkley
When the Disney World character actors go on strike, teens are hired as replacements. Ella is assigned the role of Cinderella simply because the shoes fit. And every afternoon at three o?clock she gets married to Prince Charming. A perfect dream come true?except Ella doesn?t believe in dreams anymore. Meanwhile, Luke is one of the fur characters (Dale, the chipmunk), and his girlfriend, Cassie, plays his counterpart, Chip. Cassie is perfect in every way, so why does Luke want to be with Cinderella? Then Luke and Ella are brought together during a scavenger hunt, and as they uncover the Magic Kingdom?s hidden treasures, they discover an undeniable magic between them. Perhaps dreams really can come true after all?

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