Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Summer lovin'. Combine West Side Story and Grease and you have Perfect Chemistry. Brittany who has it all is smart, beautiful, a good girl and a cheerleader who lives on the rich side of town. Alex who is not expected to even finish high school is gorgeous, tough, and a gang member who lives on the wrong side of town. What gets these two together? For starters they are lab partners in Chemistry, they are both uncomfortable in their own skin and they both experience a love they can not deny, no really I mean it.

Ages: 16 and up.

Comments: Overall, this was probably over the top. But putting that aside, my daughter read it in one night. Give this one to reluctant readers or hopeless romantics. Warning: sex included.

Danger in the Dark: A Houdini & Nate Mystery by Tom Lalicki

Twelve-year-old Nate and his mother live with his father's well to do aunt in NYC. Aunt Alice has a new friend who holds seances so she can have contact with her husband and Nate's father. Mr. Trane the new friend uses these fake seances to turn Aunt Alice against Nate and his mother. His hope is that the Aunt will throw them out so he can steal her money. Speaking of money, Nate is sent to on an errand to collect from a certain man named Houdini who ordered a hat but failed to pay for it. Nate meets Mrs. Houdini and they become instant friends, She invites him and his mother to Houdini's next performance there he befriends Houdini. With Houdini's help and the surprising help of Mr. Winchell, a store employee who despises Nate and his connection to wealth, Mr. Trane is the one who is turned out onto the street.

Ages: 9-12

Comments: A young patron recommended this to me. The last part of the book has edge-of-your-seat action. This series can serve as a historical fiction assignment. The author includes historical information about Houdini and how he spent time "unmasking" fraudulent schemers who preyed on innocent people pretending to be able to have contact with the dearly departed. Captivating!

Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith

Ida Mae Jones, age 18 from Louisiana is an African-American girl with light enough skin to pass as a white girl. She is also a pilot. Her father taught her to fly his dust cropping plane. When she finds an article about recruitment for the WASP (Women Air force Service Pilots) during WWII, she removes her dead father's picture from his pilot license, replaces it with hers and retypes the information and heads to a recruit office. Throughout the book, she struggles with staying true to who she really is and letting nothing stop her from reaching her goal, one she could never obtain if her true identity is revealed. Ida makes lifelong friends during her time in the armed forces and has an opportunity for romance.

Ages: 13 and up

Comments: The books tells how many blacks tried to marry whites to better their chances for a brighter future. I felt afraid at times for Ida who was so brave and who risk so much, her life, her relationship with friends and family to fly planes to help out during the war. Not only was Ida an African-American woman but in general women's abilities to fly were not recognized nor respected. Some of the women in the book really existed. Their place and mark on history adds authenticity and depth to the story. And a story it is, it is a wonderfully told historical fiction.

Found by Haddix (audio)

Found (The Missing, book 1) by Margaret Peterson Haddix. 2008.
Audience: Grades 4-8; ages 10-14
My Rating: 2*s of 5
Summary: When thirteen-year-olds Jonah and Chip, who are both adopted, learn they were discovered on a plane that appeared out of nowhere, full of babies with no adults on board, they realize that they have uncovered a mystery involving time travel and two opposing forces, each trying to repair the fabric of time.
Comments: I finally listened to this book after hearing a lot of buzz about it. Well, I don't feel buzzed by it. The concept is great, but the pacing, dialogue, and *language* dragged it down for me. IMHO Haddix's word choices, especially during dialogue, seem old fashioned to a point that it pulls me from the story and characters. Hearing these outdated choices read aloud was extra enervating! In the genre, Unwind is so incredibly better, but unfortunately for an older audience. But, hey, older kids seem to be liking this book so what do I know?!

Awards: Lone Star list 2010
Read-alikes: Unwind by Shusterman (for teens)

ghostgirl by Tonya Hurley

Charlotte is determined to begin a new school year as a new girl. She wants to not be invisible. And she wants to go to the Fall Dance with football player heart throb, Damen Dylan. She lands Damen as her lab partner in Physics and everything seems to be on track until she chokes on a gummy bear and dies in school. She is sent to Deadiquette school but escapes back to the living because she has unfinished business. She can't really be dead and cross over until she has what she has wanted in life, acceptance and love. The living and the dead collide with imminent disaster. Will Charlotte act to rescue both worlds? Each chapter begins with an epigraph. There is also a box with thoughtful realizations which summarize each chapter. Was not familiar with this... but "Screenwriter Hurley's novel is the first in a much-promoted series based on a character she created online in 2002 (http://www.ghostgirl.com)."

Ages: 13 and up

Comments: I found the treatment of the themes and writing style to be innovative. Lots of dark humor. The stereotypes were in a straight jacket (the popular cheerleader with her "court"who is utterly cruel to the unpopular, the gorgeous unattainable football boy) but I suppose this was necessary to set up of the story.

I Am Scout: The Biography of Harper Lee by Charles J. Shields

Charles J. Shields author of the best seller biography, Mockingbird writes the biography with teens in mind. The biography describes the early relationship of her parents and their marriage, her young life and family in Monroeville Alabama, the writing of Mockingbird, her friendship and work on In Cold Blood with Truman Capote, the making of the movie and her later years. Some things I thought that were interesting are: Her original title for Mockingbird was Atticus. She was so close to her father, she looked up to him and adored him. Her mother unfortunately was mentally ill. Once incident with her mother is the reason why she writes in the book that Scout's mother died when she was age two. In real life, when Nelle (Harper) was two years of age, her mother tried to drown her. Her sisters intervened to save her. She only had one more semester I believe at U of Alabama and she would have completed law school. There are several chapters devoted to her friendship with Truman. Truman always wanted fame, glory, and fortune, Nelle wanted none of that. She worked with him as his "literary assistant' during the interviews and writing of In Cold Blood. She made the acquaintances in the town where the murder happened so Truman could interview them. He never gave her credit for all of the work she did on the book. Heck she even read and edited (with a bum hand) his final manuscript. At one point she threw her Mockingbird manuscript out the window, littering the ground with it! Everyone wants to know why she never wrote a second book. Well now I know and understand why not. I won't give it away in case you decide to read the book.

Ages: 12 and up

Comments: What comes through so well is her personality, her inner struggles with writing the book and how the two are so closely intertwined. I thought the writing of this biography was a little dry at first but later on the pace picks up. I had planned to start reading this while I was in Alabama a few weeks ago but I was finishing up another book. It just would have made for a perfect setting. :)

The Last Knight by Hilari Bell

Summary: Michael Severeson, the son of a nobleman at age eighteen has decided to resurrect knighthood after it has been lost for over two hundred years. He saves a man from going to jail, Fisk and makes him his squire. Off they set to do good in the world. Their first heroic deed is a total disaster. It seems they have rescued a damsel who is not in distress but a murderer. To set things right again, Michael must apologize to the man's brother (she killed her husband) and capture the lady to bring her to her judgement and final punishment. This is not going to be easy for one, Michael, who is too honest and quickly finds himself in impossible binds as his squire stands by shaking his head so to speak. The novel is told in alternating chapters between the two main characters and their points of view. Their pursuit is filled with magic and adventure.

Ages: 12 and up

Comments: I loved the deadpan humor in this book. My quibble with this book is even though you have the alternating chapters between the two main characters, it was hard to distinguish between the two on more than one occasion.