Publications about books for children and young adults
Pinned by Sharon G. Flake Middle School, High School Scholastic 231 pp. 10/12 978-0-545-05718-9 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-545-46984-5 $17.99 Ninth-grader Autumn is great at some things — wrestling, for one; cooking, for another. Reading is not one of her skills, due in part to multiple moves during her early childhood and parents who also don’t [...]
Dodger by Terry Pratchett Middle School Harper/HarperCollins 360 pp. 10/12 978-0-06-200949-4 $17.99 Library ed. 978-0-06-200950-0 $18.89 e-book ed. 978-0-06-219015-4 $9.99 Who would have the skill, the sensibility, and the sass to put Charles Dickens into a novel and then proceed to write that novel in full-octane Dickensian style? Terry Pratchett, of course. Like his namesake [...]
What Came from the Stars by Gary D. Schmidt Middle School Clarion 293 pp. 9/12 978-0-547-61213-3 $16.99 g Schmidt brings high heroic fantasy and contemporary realism together in this novel of a bereaved family. In Plymouth, Massachusetts, Tommy grieves for his mother, who died eight [...]
A Certain October by Angela Johnson High School Simon 158 pp. 8/12 978-0-689-86505-3 $15.99 g e-book ed. 978-1-4424-1726-7 $9.99 At the start of the book, Scotty is an average high school junior living in East Cleveland. She hangs out with friends, makes plans for the homecoming dance, and avoids writing a book report on Anna [...]
Penny and Her Doll by Kevin Henkes; illus. by the author Primary Greenwillow 32 pp. 8/12 978-0-06-208199-5 $12.99 Naming things, whether children, pets, or toys, is serious business, and in this follow-up to Penny and Her Song (rev. 3/12) Henkes doesn’t take that task lightly. Gram sends mouse Penny a doll: “The doll had pink [...]
Rush for the Gold: Mystery at the Olympics by John Feinstein Middle School, High School Knopf 314 pp. 5/12 978-0-375-86963-1 $16.99 Library ed. 978-0-375-96963-8 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-0-375-98455-6 $10.99 Timed to coincide with the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Feinstein’s sixth sports mystery novel again features teen reporters Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson—except that [...]
Boy21 by Matthew Quick High School Little, Brown 252 pp. 3/12 978-0-316-12797-4 $17.99 When Russ moves to decrepit, race-torn, Irish-mob-ruled Bellmont after his parents’ brutal murder, the school’s basketball coach (a family friend) turns to team leader Finley to help him acclimate, but also to convince former-phenom Russ to play ball again; since the tragedy [...]
A Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix Middle School, High School Harper/HarperCollins 337 pp. 5/12 978-0-06-009694-6 $17.99 Library ed. 978-0-06-009695-3 $18.89 g Nix’s gaming-inspired, sci-fi fantasy is a pleasing mix of high-adventure space drama, total bunkum (e.g., “it’s functioning on the tertiary backup level, without a holo…”), and wry, boyish charm. Khemri’s coming-of-age story begins [...]
Summer in the City by Marie-Louise Gay and David Homel; illus. by Marie-Louise Gay Intermediate Groundwood 151 pp. 4/12 978-1-55498-177-9 $15.95 g e-book ed. 978-1-55498-200-4 $15.95 Sixth grade is almost over, summer’s approaching, and Charlie’s parents haven’t revealed the family’s summer plans yet. What great adventure is in store? In the past, they’ve been caught [...]
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein High School Hyperion 337 pp. 5/12 978-1-4231-5219-4 $16.99 g e-book ed. 978-1-4231-5325-2 $16.99 Wein’s exceptional—downright sizzling—abilities as a writer of historical adventure fiction are spectacularly evident in this taut, captivating story of two young women, spy and pilot, during World War II. Wein gives us the story in two [...]
