The Hit, by Melvin Burgess Chicken House, ISBN: 978 0 545 55699 6 Adam and Lizzie were at the concert that started it all — the one where Jimmy Earle died onstage. After taking the drug Death, Jimmy lived one amazing week, but in true Death fashion, he died after his seven days were up. The … [Read more...]
The F***-It List
You've heard of bucket lists... The F***-It List, by Julie Halpern Feiwel & Friends, ISBN: 978 1 250 02565 4 Alex had a crap summer both grieving her dad's death and being mad at her bff Becca, but she's pretty much ready to forgive and make up now that school's back in. She looks for … [Read more...]
Flight of the Valkyries
Think Thor is the only game in town when it comes to Norse myths? Meet the Valkyries. Valkyrie Rising, by Ingrid Paulson Harper Teen, ISBN: 978 0 06202 572 2 Ellie will be spending the summer in Norway with her grandmother and her brother will join them. Yawn. But then it comes out that … [Read more...]
Reading Rainbow (Rowell)
Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor and Park was, last year, a phenomenon, and for very good reason. I loved it. Loved it so. hard. So I was super excited to read her new one not long ago. Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell St. Martin's Griffin, ISBN: 978 1 250 03095 5 Cath is upset and a bit adrift when her … [Read more...]
That One Amazing Night
There have been plenty of movies based on this - the one amazing night that changes things. Or morning, for that matter - Breakfast Club being a perfect example of this. These two books are about just that - how one night's adventures bring some clarity to each of the teens involved. Tag Along, … [Read more...]
Much Music
I love books where music plays a key role, and these two new ones hit all the right notes. Blues for Zoey, by Robert Paul Weston RazorBill, ISBN: 978 014 318328 0 Kaz has never met anyone like Zoey, and he's fascinated right away. With her, her music, her sense of style, everything about … [Read more...]
Creation and Survival
Creating and Survival and major themes in these two new YA novels coming out this month - though the two are very different, they ask some interesting questions about what could be. Vitro, by Jessica Khoury RazorBill, ISBN: 978 1 59514 645 2 When Sophie receives an urgent email asking her … [Read more...]
Ghostly Good
I haven't been much on the whole paranormal thing, but these two new teen books are deliciously good - and full of ghosts and demons. Unbreakable: The Legion, book 1; by Kami Garcia Little, Brown; ISBN: 978 0 316 21017 1 This first book in a new series introduces Kennedy to The Legion, a … [Read more...]
After the War
There are many, many excellent books written about the war experience, about the Holocaust, and even about the children of the Kindertransport - but what about the aftermath of the war? Two new novels for teens introduce something we don't always hear about - what happened after the treaties were … [Read more...]
Safe Away From Here
This year is the 75th anniversary of the Kindertransport, one of the stories of the Second World War that is as sweet as it is bitter. Two new books commemorate the evacuation of young children and introduce this lesser-known piece of history to a new generation of children and teens. Rescuing … [Read more...]