The Tyrant's Daughter

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough HS, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: August 25, 2014

Review

Laila is thrust into life in exile in the United States after fleeing her unnamed Middle Eastern country with her mother and younger brother (who at age 6 is told he will be King someday) following the assassination of her father and subsequent collapse of his regime. While adjusting to the sudden drop in status, navigating high school (and boys), and life in a Western country, Laila comes to realize that life back home was not as she always believed. Her father was not the benevolent leader she thought him to be and as she learns more about her country she must deal with a shadowy CIA agent and refugees from her country who were opposed to her father. Carleson, a former CIA officer, has written an nuanced and compelling story.

Overall Book Score: excellent

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About the Book

Author:

Carleson, J.C.

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf/Random House

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: realistic fiction

Audience: grades 7-9, grades 10-12

Binding Type: trade edition

Binding Quality: good

ISBN: 9780449809976

Price: 17.99

Faking Normal

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough HS, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: August 25, 2014

Review

As Alexi begins her junior year of high school, it becomes evident that she has suffered some kind of trauma, most likely a sexual assault. She begins her journey of healing with the help of an unlikely friend, Bodee (dismissed by their classmates as the "Kool-aid kid" for his ever-changing hair color), who comes to live with her family after suffering his own tragedy. The author handles this story with great care and touches on some big issues - gender roles, special treatment for athletes, rape culture, and high school friendships and popularity. The story rings true and keeps readers on edge until Alexi's story is finally revealed. The author includes a note at the end encouraging readers to seek help if they are suffering.

Excellent - Cream of the Crop nominee

Overall Book Score: excellent

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About the Book

Author:

Stevens, Courtney C.

Publisher: HarperTeen/ Harper Collins Publishing

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: realistic fiction

Audience: grades 7-9, grades 10-12

Binding Type: trade edition

Binding Quality: good

ISBN: 9780062245380

Price: 17.99

Fake ID

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough HS, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: August 25, 2014

Review

Nick Pearson, aka Tony, has just moved to a new town with yet another new identity because his family is in the witness protection program. While trying to remember his cover story, he must settle into yet another new high school. He falls for the school bully's ex-girlfriend and her brother uncovers a conspiracy that Nick is afraid might involve his own father. This thriller not only covers the usual YA topics - navigating high school, bullies, romance, family dynamics - it also deftly deals with racial tensions (Nick/Tony is African-American; his love interest is Hispanic and they live in a southern town where the Confederate Flag is still flown). Fast-paced and fun-this should appeal to reluctant readers.

Overall Book Score: excellent

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About the Book

Author:

Giles, Lamar

Publisher: Amistad/HarperCollins

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: mystery, realistic fiction

Audience: grades 7-9, grades 10-12

Binding Type: trade edition

Binding Quality: good

ISBN: 9780062121844

Price: 17.99

Rebel

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: August 25, 2014

Review

This sequel to Reboot continues the story of Wren, a legendary reboot, having been dead for 178 minutes, and her boyfriend Callum (22 minutes). Reboots are humans who have died and come back to life as something not-quite-human. The story picks up after Wren and Callum help several reboots escape from their human captors. Tintera effectively employs alternating chapters to tell the story through Wren's and Callum's eyes as they decide whether to join the rebels and attack the humans or strike out on their own. Readers will be able to start here but will more fully enjoy this dystopian world by starting with the first book. (Not cream nominated as this is a sequel).

Overall Book Score: excellent

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About the Book

Author:

Tintera, Amy

Publisher: Harper Teen/Harper Collins Publishers

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: science fiction

Audience: grades 7-9, grades 10-12

Binding Type:

Binding Quality: good

ISBN: 9780062217103

Price: 17.99

Caminar

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: June 10, 2014

Review

This lyrical verse novel set in 1981 tells the haunting story of a boy caught up in the violence in Guatemala (1960-1996). Carlos lives with his "Mama" in a small village and yearns to be a man, even skipping school one day to work in the fields. While out picking mushrooms, his village is attacked. He must quickly learn to fend for himself and heads up the mountain to his grandmother's village. During this walk (caminar=to walk), he meets up with a gang of rebels as they rush to warn his Grandmother. The books is sprinkled with Spanish terms and includes a glossary and Q&A section. This is a book to savor; the story is powerful and the layout add to the enjoyment. Cream contender.

Overall Book Score: excellent

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About the Book

Author:

Brown, Skila

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: historical fiction

Audience: grades 4-6, grades 7-9

Binding Type: trade edition

Binding Quality: good

ISBN: 9780763665166

Price: 15.99

Saving Lucas Biggs

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School, Scarborough, Choose Library District

Review Date: August 25, 2014

Review

The dust jacket caught my eye and I'm glad it did. The magical cover fits this story of time travel and redemption. Margaret O'Malley's family has the ability to travel through time and she feels compelled to do so in order to save her father. With the help of her best friend Charlie and his grandfather, she learns more about the past and they hatch a plan in the present to save her father. The husband-wife author team raise some big issues along the way - fracking, whistle-blowing, mining, labor relations, and the power of social justice. As an added bonus, librarians will appreciate Margaret's and Charlie's love of their public library. Should appeal to students who enjoy fantasy and historical fiction.

Overall Book Score: excellent

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About the Book

Author:

De los Santos, Marisa

Publisher: Harper Collins

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: fantasy, historical fiction

Audience: grades 4-6, grades 7-9, grades 10-12

Binding Type: trade edition

Binding Quality: good

ISBN: 9780062274625

Price: 16.99

Revolution

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: November 11, 2014

Review

Set during the "Freedom Summer"? in Mississippi, the second entry in Wiles' Sixties trilogy tells the story of Sunny - a white girl - as she watches her town react to the Civil Rights Act and Freedom Summer while also coming to terms with having a new stepmother. Alternating chapters tell the story of African-American Ray as he struggles against Jim Crow laws. Described as a "documentary novel,"? Wiles intersperses the fictional stories with snippets of history and biographical information (e.g., Lyndon Johnson). The book is very visual - photographs, posters, and song lyrics are scattered throughout the book. This was such a fun read and so well written, but the binding is absolutely wrong for this series. The book is so lengthy and so visual and the binding is so tight, that this is a difficult book to actually hold and read. It would have worked much better in a larger size to allow for a reduction in the total number of pages. Volume one - Countdown, an ALA Notable Book - was set against the backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Overall Book Score: excellent

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About the Book

Author:

Wiles, Deborah

Publisher: Scholastic

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: historical fiction

Audience: grades 4-6, grades 7-9

Binding Type: trade edition

Binding Quality: poor

ISBN: 9780545106078

Price: 19.99

Surrounded by Sharks

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: November 11, 2014

Review

Having read the dust jacket, I was curious to know how an entire book could be written about a boy pulled out to sea but Northrop managed to do just that. Davey wakes up early while on a family vacation on an island off the Florida Keys. He decides to wade into the ocean but doesn't realize there is a dangerous rip tide until it's too late. Oh, and there are sharks in the water with him. A good middle school adventure/survival story which builds to a very satisfying climax. Should appeal to reluctant readers.

Overall Book Score: very good

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About the Book

Author:

Northrop, Michael

Publisher: Scholastic

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: adventure

Audience: grades 4-6, grades 7-9

Binding Type: trade edition

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9780545615457

Price: 17.99

Beetle Boy

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: November 11, 2014

Review

Charlie Porter is crashing on his girlfriend's sleeper sofa while recuperating from an injury. Through nightmares of larger than life beetles and stilted conversations with his girlfriend he seems to be trying to work out some of his childhood demons. When Charlie was young, his mother left Charlie and his brother with his ne’er-do-well father who moved them into a cramped, run-down apartment. One night in an effort to comfort his father, Charlie told his father a story he learned from his mother about a beetle. Charlie's father published these stories and trotted Charlie ?sometimes dressed in a beetle costume -- around the region to author events billing him as the world's youngest published author." Along the way, Charlie befriended a fellow author, Mrs. M., and ended up living with her for awhile. This is such a sad book with an almost-redemptive ending. Readers of this novel will clearly come to understand the lingering effect of childhood trauma.

Overall Book Score: very good

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About the Book

Author:

Willey, Margaret

Publisher: Carolrhoda

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre:

Audience: grades 7-9, grades 10-12

Binding Type: trade edition

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9781467726399

Price: 17.95

Perfectly Good White Boy

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: November 11, 2014

Review

A very realistic novel, Mesrobian has a knack for portraying teenage boys. Sean, a perfectly average boy, grapples with the usual teen boy angst - girls, high school, family, and life after high school. He spends time hanging with friends, having sex with his girlfriend and then hooking up with her after they break up, developing a strong friendship with a female co-worker who has her own sex/hooking up issues, and dealing with the aftermath and emotions of his parents' divorce which involves an alcoholic father and harsh financial conditions. An excellent coming-of-age story. Probably best for older teens due to all the sex.

Overall Book Score: excellent

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About the Book

Author:

Mesrobian, Carrie

Publisher: Carolrhoda

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: realistic fiction

Audience: grades 10-12

Binding Type: trade edition

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9781467734806

Price: 17.95

Knockout Games

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: December 9, 2014

Review

Erica is the ultimate misfit. She's not only the new student in her high school; she's a white girl in a mostly African-American school. Erica has recently moved to urban St. Louis from suburban Little Rock with her mother after her parents' divorce. With the encouragement of her art teacher, she explores her new world through the video camera her father gave her. Her new friend Destiny (their friendship was forged during detention) invites her to bring her camera and meet her friends. These friends turn out to be gang members who participate in "knockout games." Egged on by their leader (the "knockout king"), the boys choose random people to attack, trying to knock them unconscious. Erica finds herself quickly sucked into life with the gang -- chronicling their "games" with her camera, falling for the "knockout king," and even throwing a punch herself. Readers will not be surprised when the situation spirals out of control and people end up really hurt. Sadly this is based on actual events. In addition to the brutal violence and sad tone, the voice of the girls is a bit off-putting -- Erica starts talking like a gang member almost the minute she starts hanging out with them while Destiny often sounds like a suburban high school student. Near the end of the book, the author switches from first-person to third-person during a pivotal scene but the abrupt shift is more confusing than dramatic.

Overall Book Score: good

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About the Book

Author:

Neri, G.

Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: realistic fiction

Audience: grades 10-12

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9781467732697

Price: 17.95

One Death, Nine Stories

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: December 9, 2014

Review

This is a bittersweet little book created by nine of today's best YA authors -- Rita Williams-Garcia, Ellen Hopkins, A.S. King, Torrey Maldonado, Charles R. Smith, Jr., Nora Raleigh Baskin, Chris Barton, Will Weaver, and Marina Budhos. The book was built on a simple premise: the back cover shows a brief obituary of Kevin Nicholas. Kevin was 19, ran cross-country in high school, attended community college, was survived by his mother and sister, and predeceased by his father. With these few facts, the authors fleshed out the life of Kevin. The editor's afterword discusses the writing process: the first author kicked off the book and each subsequent author then wrote a story. The authors shared their stories and went through revisions that made this more than a collection of stories. The stories all tie together to form a cohesive novelette.

Overall Book Score: excellent

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About the Book

Author:

Aronson (ed.), Marc and Charles R. Smith, Jr.

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: realistic fiction

Audience: grades 10-12

Binding Type: trade edition

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9780763652852

Price: 16.99

Guys Read: True Stories

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: December 9, 2014

Review

The latest entry in (editor) Jon Scieszka's Guys Read series features non-fiction adventure, biographical, and historical essays. From the story of a shipwreck (on the edge of the Sahara desert no less) by Steve Sheinkin to a graphic novel by Nathan Hale to Universe ("Uni-verses") poetry by Douglas Florian, this book has something for every reader -- boys and girls. Features ten excellent, high-interest essays. (Cream of the Crop)

Overall Book Score: excellent

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About the Book

Author:

Scieszka (ed.), Jon

Illustrator: Floca, Brian

Illustration Quality: excellent

Publisher: Walden Pond Press

Book Type: chapter book nonfiction

Genre: adventure, biography / autobiography, graphic novel

Audience: grades 4-6, grades 7-9

Binding Type: trade edition

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9780061963827

Price: 16.99

Hunt for the Bamboo Rat

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: January 12, 2015

Review

Based on a true story, this historical novel is set in the Pacific during World War II. Zenji Watanabe is only 17 when he is recruited to join the United States army as a spy (code name: The Bamboo Rat). Zenji, born in Honolulu to Japanese parents, is the perfect recruit as he speaks fluent English and Japanese and was an excellent junior ROTC student in high school. He is sent to the Philippines just before the attack on Pearl Harbor, is captured by the Japanese, and escapes into the jungle. Includes a glossary of Hawaiian, Ibaloi, and Japanese terms, a bibliography, and a map. Latest installment in the Prisoners of the Empire series.

Cream of the Crop nominee

Overall Book Score: excellent

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About the Book

Author:

Salisbury, Graham

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Wendy Lamb Boooks

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: historical fiction

Audience: grades 7-9,grades 10-12

Binding Type: trade edition

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 978037584266-5

Price: 16.99

People of the Plague

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: January 12, 2015

Review

Another entry in Anderson's Horrors of History series, People of the Plague is a fictionalized account of the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918. Set in Philadelphia against a backdrop of world war, Anderson follows the lives of three children from the tenements of South Philadelphia, seminary students who helped with burials, and Dr. Krusen, head of Philadelphia's health department, as they dealt with the fast-moving epidemic and the massive casualties. The cover might lead readers to think this is non-fiction - perhaps the word "novel"? should be more prominent. Illustrated with black-and-white photos. While this fictionalized account is well-written and well-researched, the lack of bibliography is unfortunate. The author's note does mention sources but the story is so compelling it cries out for a "for further reading" list.

Overall Book Score: very good

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About the Book

Author:

Anderson, T. Neill

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Charlesbridge

Book Type: chapter book nonfiction

Genre:

Audience: grades 4-6,grades 7-9

Binding Type: trade edition

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9781580895187

Price: 16.95

The Walk On: May the Best Quarterback Win....

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: January 12, 2015

Review

This is the first in new series (The Triple Threat) of sports-themed books about freshman Alex Myers. Alex has just moved to suburban Philadelphia after his parents' divorce. He's really good at football and this fact becomes clear to his new teammates and coaches during the first day of tryouts. Alas, Alex is a quarterback and the team already has a star quarterback who just happens to be the coach's son. While the detailed description of the football team's practices and games might be a little tedious for non-fans, the story is interesting with a bit of a mystery thrown in and Alex's character shows growth and maturity. Feinstein ends up with a book offering good life lessons about not making assumptions and that life is often more complicated than you might think.

Overall Book Score: very good

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About the Book

Author:

Feinstein, John

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: mystery

Audience: grades 4-6,grades 7-9

Binding Type: trade edition

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9780385753463

Price: 16.99

Blue Mountain

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: January 12, 2015

Review

This adventure is told from the perspective of a young bighorn sheep named Tuk. As Tuk grows and learns of his herd's ways, he also realizes that humans are encroaching on their territory. Tuk must convince his herd that the blue mountain only he can see is where they must go to make a new home. Tuk leads his herd on a dangerous trip where they must outsmart predators and avoid humans along the way.

Overall Book Score: very good

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About the Book

Author:

Leavitt, Martine

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Margaret Ferguson Books/Farrar Straus Giroux

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: adventure

Audience: grades k-3,grades 4-6,grades 7-9

Binding Type: trade edition

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9780374378646

Price: 15.99

Zorgoochi Intergalactic Pizza: Delivery of Doom

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: January 12, 2015

Review

This humorous sci-fi adventure features thirteen-year-old Luno who helps his parents run the family pizza business (Zorgoochi Intergalactic Pizza). While still learning how to toss pizza dough and wrestle pizza-toppings that also happen to be (live) exotic space creatures, he is tapped to be the summer pizza delivery boy. In his adventures through the galaxy, he makes deliveries to Planet Fungi (a mushroom planet), meets the Mozzarella monks, and searches for the powerful Golden Anchovy all while avoiding the villain Vlactron and his Quantum Pizza minions. The book has great visual appeal with the cartoon-like illustrations. A great hook for reluctant readers but the pace is a tad slow.

Overall Book Score: good

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About the Book

Author:

Yaccarino, Dan

Illustrator: Yaccarino, Dan

Illustration Quality: excellent

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: science fiction

Audience: grades k-3,grades 7-9

Binding Type: trade edition

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9781250008442

Price: 16.99

Sanctum

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: February 22, 2015

Review

This visually appealing supernatural thriller finds Dan, Abby, and Jordan returning to New Hampshire College and the old Brookline Asylum where they stayed the previous summer while attending a pre-college program. They are drawn back to campus after receiving mysterious old-time carnival photographs from one of their summer classmates. Sanctum stands alone but readers will enjoy it more having first read Asylum. Roux includes what she calls "photo illustrations" - some created for the book, some based on archival photographs.

Overall Book Score: very good

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About the Book

Author:

Roux, Madeleine

Illustrator: ,

Illustration Quality: excellent

Publisher: Harper

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: mystery,horror

Audience: grades 10-12

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: very good

ISBN: 9780062220998

Price: 17.99

Monstrous Affections: An Anthology of Beastly Tales

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: February 22, 2015

Review

As the subtitle says, this is a book of short stories about beasts and monsters, and also teens and love. All the usual monsters are here, e.g., vampires, devils, mean girls, and abusive stepfathers. The more unusual beasts include a hill (yes, a hill) and "mercurials." This is a wonderful collection with contributions from some of today's best YA authors (Paolo Bacigalupi, Cassandra Clare, Holly Black, M. T. Anderson, Nathan Ballingrud, Patrick Ness, Sarah Rees Brennan, Nalo Hopkinson, G. Carl Purcell, Dylan Horrocks, Nik Houser, Kathleen Jennings, Kelly Link, Joshua Lewis, and Alice Sola Kim). A book to savor.

Overall Book Score: very good

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About the Book

Author:

Link, Kelly and Gavin J. Grant (editors)

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: fantasy,horror

Audience: grades 10-12

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9780763664732

Price: 22.99

The Life and Times of Benny Alvarez

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: February 22, 2015

Review

A sweet middle school story about Benny, his family, and a boys vs. girls poetry-writing contest. Benny's Mom gently chides him for being negative but Benny has a lot on his mind: his grandfather is recovering from a stroke, his younger brother is emotionally sensitive, and he has a love/hate relationship with classmate/poetry combatant Claudine. Benny and his friends play word games based on a thesaurus ("the book") and form a "Word Warriors" club. As sweet and clever as this book is, I do have a librarian's quibble: I don't like that it seemed perfectly ok for Benny's mom to complain about a book in the school library and have it removed.

Overall Book Score: very good

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About the Book

Author:

Johnson, Peter

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Harper

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: realistic fiction

Audience: grades 4-6,grades 7-9

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: very good

ISBN: 9780062215963

Price: 16.99

Return to Planet Tad

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough HS, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: May 13, 2015

Review

This book takes the form of a blog/diary over the course of one year in the life of Tad as he traverses the end of middle school (8th grade) and the start of high school (9th grade). Readers won't care that it's not quite believable that Tad would actually publicly share all his thoughts through a blog because it's such a fun read with plenty of laugh out loud vignettes. This is the sequel to Planet Tad but readers won't need to start with the first book (but if they like this one, they'll certainly seek the earlier book). Tad is a regular feature in Mad Magazine and the book is full of illustrations not unlike the magazine. Fans of Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid books will enjoy Tad.

Overall Book Score: very good

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About the Book

Author:

Carvell, Tim

Illustrator: Holgate, Doug

Illustration Quality: very good

Publisher: Harper

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre:

Audience: grades 4-6,grades 7-9

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9780062266255

Price: 12.99

Sekret: An Empty Mind is a Safe Mind

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough HS, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: May 13, 2015

Review

Set against the backdrop of the Cold War and the space race between Russia and the US, Sekret is a fast-paced historical thriller with a paranormal storyline. Yulia is living a hardscrabble existence – she's in hiding with her mother and possibly autistic brother and spends her days bartering for goods at the black market. She is captured by the KGB and taken to a remote mansion to be trained to spy for Russia with a small group of teens, all with various psychic abilities. Yulia can read thoughts by touching people and "read" lingering memories on objects. Others can see the future, some can view things remotely, and "scrubbers" can erase memories in others. Yulia is a reluctant participant but the KGB has taken her mother and brother so she feels she has no choice. History buffs will enjoy the mentions of Yuri Gagarin, the Beatles, Khrushchev, and JFK. As with many YA novels, there's even time for a little romance and I predict a sequel.

Overall Book Score: very good

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About the Book

Author:

Smith, Lindsay

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: science fiction,historical fiction

Audience: grades 7-9,grades 10-12

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9781596438927

Price: 17.99

Guys Read: Terrifying Tales

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School / Scarborough Middle School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: November 18, 2015

Review

The sixth offering in Scieszka's popular Guys Read Library of Great Reading series features ten scary stories including entries by Rita Williams-Garcia, R. L. Stine, and a graphic story by Dav Pilkey. An excellent addition to the series which boys -- and girls! -- will enjoy very much.

Overall Book Score: very good

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About the Book

Author:

Scieszka, Jon (ed.)

Illustrator: Grimly, Gris

Illustration Quality: excellent

Publisher: Walden Pond Press (HarperCollins

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: horror

Audience: grades k-3,grades 4-6

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: very good

ISBN: 9780062385581

Price: 16.99

Backlash

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School / Scarborough Middle School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: November 18, 2015

Review

This contemporary story details the fall out after Lara -- a victim of Facebook "catphishing" and bullying -- attempts suicide. The author tells the story from alternating viewpoints which gives readers a little deeper understanding of the characters' motivations. Although the story feels a little like it was "ripped from the headlines" and a little dated (kids today are so over facebook!), the subject matter should provide excellent fodder for discussion as part of anti-bullying and digital citizenship classes.

Overall Book Score: good

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About the Book

Author:

Littman, Sarah Darer

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Scholastic

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: realistic fiction

Audience: grades 7-9,grades 10-12

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: very good

ISBN: 9780545651264

Price: 17.99

Omega City

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School / Scarborough Middle School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: November 18, 2015

Review

This fast-paced middle school sci-fi adventure features Gillian Seagret, her brother, and friends who stumble into a lost underground city and end up being chased by employees of a shady company. They are looking for a long-lasting (100 years) battery supposedly invented by a former NASA scientist. Gillian's father had spent his life studying the creator of the city (and inventor of the elusive battery) only to have his scholarship questioned and his career (and marriage) ruined. Although the premise seems a little far-fetched and the city seems unbelievably large, readers won't notice as the adventures come fast and furious. Share this with readers who enjoyed The City of Ember and Back to the Future. First in a series.

Overall Book Score: good

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About the Book

Author:

Peterfreund, Diana

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Balzer+Bray (HarperCollins)

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: adventure,science fiction

Audience: grades k-3,grades 4-6,grades 7-9

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: very good

ISBN: 9780062310859

Price: 16.99

Challenger Deep

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School / Scarborough Middle School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: November 18, 2015

Review

CREAM OF THE CROP

Neal Shusterman has written a gripping and all-too-real story of a young man's descent into mental illness. Caden Bosch (yes, as in Hieronymus) finds himself increasingly alienated from friends, worrying about the termites in his house, obsessively walking, and worrying that someone at school wants to kill him. All the while he is also hallucinating that he is a crew member on a pirate ship journeying to the deepest part of the ocean. After his parents have him admitted to a psychiatric hospital, his two worlds begin to intersect. The chapters may be brief but readers will find themselves pausing often to reflect on the story. Shusterman's son Brendan Shusterman -- who also dealt with his own mental illness -- drew the illustrations that perfectly complement the story. The book includes a list of organizations that provide assistance to those dealing with mental illness.

Overall Book Score: excellent

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About the Book

Author:

Shusterman, Neal

Illustrator: Shusterman, Brendan

Illustration Quality: excellent

Publisher: HarperTeen

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: realistic fiction

Audience: grades 7-9,grades 10-12

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: very good

ISBN: 9780061134111

Price: 17.99

Solitaire

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough HS/Scarborough MS, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: December 9, 2015

Review

Tori is a high school student in England. She meets Michael, a new student, when they both discover the hacker/prankster Solitaire by following a trail of post-it notes. As Tori slowly spirals into depression, Solitaire's pranks escalate to dangerous levels. Tori increasingly isolates herself from all but her brother -- who struggles with his own emotional issues -- and his boyfriend. All the while, Michael pushes to become her friend. Tori comes to realize that there is a connection between her life and Solitaire's pranks and feels she must take on the task of unmasking and stopping Solitaire. The author -- all of seventeen when she wrote Solitaire! -- captures the authenticity of teen voices and teen angst.

Overall Book Score: good

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About the Book

Author:

Oseman, Alice

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: HarperTeen (HarperCollins)

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: romance,realistic fiction

Audience: grades 7-9,grades 10-12

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: very good

ISBN: 9780062335685

Price: 17.99

The Seventh Most Important Thing

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough HS/Scarborough MS, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: December 9, 2015

Review

The book begins soon after Arthur unexpectedly and violently throws a brick at the head of the Junk Man. Fortunately, the brick hits the Junk Man's arm and Arthur is offered community service with the Junk Man instead of jail time. Arthur spends his Saturday's collecting the "seven most important things," including light bulbs, cardboard, and tin foil for the Junk Man. In performing his community service, Arthur works through some of his issues surrounding his father's death. This is an excellent story with a very satisfying ending that was inspired by the life of the folk artist James Hampton.

CREAM OF THE CROP

Overall Book Score: excellent

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About the Book

Author:

Pearsall, Shelley

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: realistic fiction

Audience: grades 4-6,grades 7-9

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: very good

ISBN: 9780553497281

Price: 16.00

MARTians

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School / Scarborough Middle School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: January 13, 2016

Review

Zoe Zindleman lives in a dystopian world where big box retailers AllMART and Q-MART have all the power. Government is shrinking -- her school is closed abruptly and she and her classmates are declared graduates even though they have more than a year to go, the buses no longer run, and she lives in an abandoned subdivision where most houses are without power and water. On graduation day, she and her fellow students are assigned their roles, including one sent directly to prison. Zoe lands a job at AllMART where she meets her former neighbor MORTimmer. ZERO (her employee nametag name) ends up moving to an abandoned strip mall with MORTimmer and others abruptly left behind. Interspersed with quotes from Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, the tone is surreal and otherworldly. Not a page-turner but definitely a book ripe for discussion.

Overall Book Score: very good

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About the Book

Author:

Woolston, Blythe

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: science fiction

Audience: grades 4-6,grades 7-9,grades 10-12

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9780763677565

Price: 16.99

Unleashed

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School / Scarborough Middle School, S, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: January 13, 2016

Review

Number 7 in Korman's popular Swindle mystery series. Luthor the Doberman, Griffin Bing, Savannah Drysdale and friends are back for another adventure. Griffin is encouraged to enter the Invent-a-Palooza competition because he is expected to win as the son of an inventor. Melissa Dukakis also enters the competition with her "Hover Handler" designed to keep Luthor from chasing the exterminator's truck. When the Hover Handler is stolen and a surly new neighbor shows up, the friends must solve the mystery to save Luthor. Readers will follow the story easily without having read previous entries.

Overall Book Score: good

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About the Book

Author:

Korman, Gordon

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: mystery

Audience: grades 4-6,grades 7-9

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: very good

ISBN: 9780545709354

Price: 16.99

Adventures with Waffles

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School / Scarborough Middle School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: January 13, 2016

Review

A humorous and sweet -- and at times bittersweet -- story of Trille and his best friend Lena who live in a small cove in Norway. Told as a series of vignettes, Trille and Lena adventure and find trouble as they explore their countryside, recreate Noah's ark, and eat Auntie Granny's waffles. Lena, strong-willed and adventurous, comes across as a modern-day Pippi Longstocking. Trille worries that his feelings for Lena are unrequited but the story resolves sweetly in the end. Translated from Norwegian by Guy Puzey.

Overall Book Score: very good

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About the Book

Author:

Parr, Maria

Illustrator: Forrester, Kate

Illustration Quality: very good

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: realistic fiction

Audience: grades k-3,grades 4-6

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9780763672812

Price: 15.99

First Man: Reimaging Matthew Henson

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School / Scarborough Middle School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: January 13, 2016

Review

CREAM A stunning graphic novel, First Man tells the story of Matthew Henson in a mashup of biography and fiction. Henson, an African-American, was part of Robert Peary's expedition that discovered the North Pole but as a black man, he did not receive credit for being first to the Pole until late in life. The Inuits were especially taken with Henson, calling him Mahri Pahluk; Schwartz was inspired by this to intersperse Inuit images throughout the book. The book includes an historical timeline and bibliography. Translated by Laura Watkinson.

Overall Book Score: excellent

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About the Book

Author:

Schwartz, Simon

Illustrator: Schwartz, Simon

Illustration Quality: excellent

Publisher: Graphic Universe

Book Type: picture book fiction

Genre: historical fiction,biography / autobiography,graphic novel

Audience: grades 7-9,grades 10-12

Binding Type: reinforced trade binding

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9781467758420

Price: 31.99

Taking Aim: Power and Pain, Teens and Guns

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School / Scarborough Middle School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: January 13, 2016

Review

Essays by Marc Aronson, Will Weaver, and Chris Crutcher about our culture of guns set the stage for this collection of thought-provoking short stories. Topics range from hunting to war to equipping classroom teachers with guns. The book features stories by the late Walter Dean Myers, Tim Wynne-Jones, Gregory Galloway, Ron Koertge, Alex Flinn, Chris Lynch, Eric Shanower, Francesca Lia Block, Jenny Hubbard, Elizabeth Wein, Edward Averett, Peter Johnson, and Joyce Carol Oates.

Overall Book Score: very good

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About the Book

Author:

Cart, Michael (editor)

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: HarperTeen

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre:

Audience: grades 7-9,grades 10-12

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: good

ISBN: 9780062327352

Price: 17.99

Need

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School / Scarborough Middle School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: January 13, 2016

Review

CREAM Need is an excellent, thought-provoking suspense novel about social media run amok. Kaylee has had a rough year: her younger brother will die without a kidney transplant, her father has left the family and disappeared, and she is an outcast at school and on the outs with her mother for her less than ethical tactics trying to find a kidney donor. Her best friend Nate -- who now wants more than friendship -- encourages her to sign up for the hottest new social network (NEED). At first members are asked to do seemingly innocuous tasks, e.g., get 6 friends to join NEED, in exchange for having their needs (mostly wants) fulfilled. The suspense builds as the tasks network members are asked to do quickly escalate. Kaylee struggles to convince her mother and the police that something is wrong because of her past issues and that just adds to the suspense.

Overall Book Score: excellent

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About the Book

Author:

Charbonneau, Joelle

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: mystery

Audience: grades 7-9,grades 10-12

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9780544416697

Price: 17.99

Juba: A Novel

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School / Scarborough Middle School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: January 13, 2016

Review

CREAM Juba is a fictionalized historical account of the life of William Henry Lane, a free black teen living in the Five Points section of New York City while slavery still existed in the United States. Lane went by the stage name of Master Juba and scrambled to become a professional dancer, not simply a minstrel show performer. He became known as Boz's Juba after a chance encounter with Charles Dickens. Dickens wrote about Juba in his book American Notes and this led to Juba being offered a chance to tour and dance professionally in England. The author'fs widow Constance Myers provides an epilogue about the writing of the book. The book includes much primary source material -- photographs, copies of playbills, and reviews. Published posthumously.

Overall Book Score: excellent

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About the Book

Author:

Myers, Walter Dean

Illustrator: ,

Illustration Quality: excellent

Publisher: Amistad (HarperCollins)

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: historical fiction,biography / autobiography

Audience: grades 4-6,grades 7-9,grades 10-12

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9780062112712

Price: 17.99

Identify and Evaluate Advertising

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School / Scarborough Middle School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: February 10, 2016

Review

This is a useful volume on advertising for middle grade students. Concepts such as branding, bias, and persuasion are clearly explained. The book includes four chapters: an overview, a discussion of how television and print ads work, where ads "pop up" online, and how advertisers use persuasion in their ads. The author has included several photographs of ads and includes questions for students to think about as they read the book. The book includes a glossary, bibliography, and index, and ends with a suggested assignment for students to identify and evaluate advertisements. Part of the Info Wise series, an information literacy/research process collection. Teacher resources are available for download from the publisher's website.

Overall Book Score: good

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About the Book

Author:

Bodden, Valerie

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Lerner Publications

Book Type: chapter book nonfiction

Genre:

Audience: grades 4-6,grades 7-9

Binding Type: library binding

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9781467752268

Price: 30.65

A 52-Hertz Whale

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School / Scarborough Middle School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: May 11, 2016

Review

A delightful epistolary novel told entirely through email correspondence, mostly between James, a high-school student obsessed with whales, and Darren, a recent college grad trying to make it as a documentary filmmaker in Hollywood. James is upset when a whale he follows online separates from his pod so he tries contacting scientists at a marine conservancy. After receiving no response, he emails Darren, who had volunteered in James' middle school resource room. With his girlfriend having recently dumped him, James has time to reply. As readers will easily predict, not only does Darren help James -- advising him on navigating high school, romance, and changing friendships -- James ends up helping Darren just as much, even providing inspiration for a documentary film.

Overall Book Score: excellent

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About the Book

Author:

Sommer, Bill and Natalie Haney Tilghman

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: realistic fiction

Audience: grades 7-9,grades 10-12

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9781467779173

Price: 18.99

The Emperor of Any Place

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School / Scarborough Middle School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: May 11, 2016

Review

Evan finds a mysterious hand-written book in his father's office after his father's sudden death. Evan has never met his grandfather "Griff," so things are tense when Griff arrives to help. The mysterious book was written by a Japanese soldier and a US soldier who were stranded together on an island during WWII. There is some mystery as to Griff's connection to the soldiers. The book alternates between Evan's life and the tale of the stranded soldiers. With just a hint of supernatural elements, this excellent story of family and grief teaches readers that things aren't always what they seem.

Overall Book Score: excellent

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About the Book

Author:

Wynne-Jones, Tim

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: mystery,historical fiction

Audience: grades 7-9,grades 10-12

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9780763669737

Price: 17.99

The Dead I know

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School / Scarborough Middle School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: January 13, 2016

Review

In this psychodrama, Aaron Rowe is clearly struggling -- with nightmares and sleepwalking, the worsening dementia of his "Mam," his difficulty communicating with the living, and his bullying caravan park neighbors. John Barton (the JKB of JKB Funerals) takes Aaron under his wing -- buying him a suit, lending him a tie, and showing him the ropes of retrieving bodies, building coffins, preparing bodies for burial or cremation, and holding services for families. As Aaron learns to trust John, the nightmares begin to loosen their grip. This is a story of loss and love that will stay with readers long after they finish.

Overall Book Score: excellent

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About the Book

Author:

Gardner, Scot

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: realistic fiction

Audience: grades 7-9,grades 10-12

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9780544232747

Price: 17.99

The iPhone that Saved George Washington

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School / Scarborough Middle School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: May 11, 2016

Review

Mel and his two classmates are the "Left Behinds" -- the three students who did not go home from boarding school over the winter holiday break. While on a school trip to watch the reenactment of Washington crossing the Delaware on Christmas Day, he and his friends suddenly find themselves face-to-face with a very dead General Washington in 1776. They must use their knowledge of American History and their wits to put things right and get back to their own year. A silly but fun time travel adventure that leaves the door open to subsequent adventures.

Overall Book Score: good

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About the Book

Author:

Potter, David

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: adventure,science fiction,historical fiction

Audience: grades 4-6,grades 7-9

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: very good

ISBN: 9780385390569

Price: 16.99

Kid Owner

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School / Scarborough Middle School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: January 13, 2016

Review

Improbably, middle-schooler Ryan finds himself the new "kid" owner of the Dallas Cowboys after the sudden death of the father he never knew. Football fans will enjoy reading about Ryan's efforts to get more playing time on his middle school football team and his interactions with Cowboys' coaches and players. The book leads up to an exciting game with a rival team led by Ryan's stepbrother (he never knew existed). Although Ryan lets his celebrity status get the better of him for a while, in the end he realizes who his true friends are and ends up doing the right thing.

Overall Book Score: good

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About the Book

Author:

Green, Tim

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Harper

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: realistic fiction

Audience: grades 4-6,grades 7-9

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9780062293794

Price: 16.99

Abe Lincoln and the Selfie That Saved the Union

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Mt. Ararat Middle School, Topsham, Central Maine Library District

Review Date: January 8, 2017

Review

The second installment in the Left Behinds series finds Mel and his two classmates in Washington City arriving on the eve of the Battle of Gettysburg. They have dinner with the Lincolns in the White House and travel by train to Gettysburg to try to stop the inventor of the "iTime" app from catastrophically changing history. The Left Behinds -- the students did not go home from boarding school during their school holiday -- must use their knowledge of US History and some creative problem-solving to put things right and figure out how to get back to their own time and place. While the premise is a bit far-fetched, the story is fast-paced and the "you were there" style is fun. Includes an excellent bibliography.

Overall Book Score: good

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About the Book

Author:

Potter, David

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: adventure,science fiction,historical fiction

Audience: grades 4-6,grades 7-9

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: very good

ISBN: 9780385390606

Price: 16.99

Defender

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Mt. Ararat Middle School, Topsham, Central Maine Library District

Review Date: January 8, 2017

Review

A gritty mystery set in Toronto. Tyne "Tiny" Greer is hoping her knee injury doesn't spoil her chances of getting to college on a basketball scholarship while helping her Dad with his duties as building superintendent at the "Zoo" -- the high-rise apartment building they live in. Tiny discovers a body in the basement of the Zoo and with her boyfriend "Stick" sets out to solve the mystery of who the person was and how she may or may not have been involved with her family.

Overall Book Score: good

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About the Book

Author:

McNamee, Graham

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: mystery,realistic fiction

Audience: grades 7-9,grades 10-12

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: very good

ISBN: 9780553498950

Price: 17.99