The Steps Across the Water

by Adam Gopnik

Summary: Rose has an embarrassing little speech impediment, switching around the beginnings of words. Sometimes she calls her home, New York City, "U Nork" instead. During a trip to Central Park with her father and brother (Oliver, from 2005's The King in the Window), she sees mysterious steps across the water, but no one believes her. Soon after, a "classmate," Louis, reveals to Rose that the steps are real and lead to U Nork, a flip-side New York City where, believe it or not, the pace is even faster and the people are ruder. Louis has been assigned to watch Rose, because she is special to the people of U Nork. Its citizens are in trouble, and it's Rose's face they've been seeing in the sky as the only one who can save them. The rip-roaring plot is laced with original and fantastical characters, who fully enjoy 30-second lunches shot into their mouths with cannons and use giant pigeons as a taxi service. Gopnik's writing is sharp and smart, and U Nork is an exciting place. Young readers will cheer for Rose and her friends with more than an occasional chuckle along the way. Bruce McCall's illustrations were unavailable at the time of review.

My thoughts: This book isn't published yet. I'll get a picture of the cover up as soon as it's available! This is a funny, weird, little fantasy. It definitely won't be for everyone, but I think a few of you will love it, especially if you're a fan of books like Gregor the Overlander!

Living Dead Girl

by Elizabeth Scott

Summary: Alice's name isn't really Alice. As a young girl, she was kidnapped from a school field trip by a man named Ray. She has been his prisoner for so long, that even though he allows her to roam free during the day, she doesn't attempt to escape. She is convinced that he will harm her family if she ever leaves. As Alice grows older, Ray begins to look for a younger girl to replace her. He wants her to help him. She knows this might mean her own death, and is certainly not going to be good for the new girl.

My thoughts: Shudder. This is a horribly sad story made even more sad by the knowledge that, while a rare event, things like this do sometimes happen. Definitely a high school book. I liked Norma Fox Mazer's The Missing Girl much better.

The King Commands

by Meg Burden

Summary: In this rousing, romantic sequel to Northlander, Southling Ellin Fisher is adjusting well to life in the Northlands palace. The new king Alaric and his brothers have welcomed her as a sister and changed the cruel laws that once oppressed the Southlings. Life is full of swordplay, stables, and budding romances, until the nightmares begin that reconnect Ellin to fellow Southling Lev, imprisoned for killing the king a year earlier. Ellin is a Healer, and shares mental connections with some people, so Lev’s nightmares are also hers. She is drawn to the prison in a dangerous effort to help Lev recover from a terrible illness and stop the dreams, which angers Alaric (with whom she is hopelessly in love), and gets her temporarily exiled. Ellin’s adventures are engaging, and there are enough twists and turns to keep readers hooked. However, the real gem is seeing Ellin mature as a character as she faces competition from a beautiful foreign princess, which eventually turns to friendship. Lots of romance intrigues (the princes are a hot-blooded bunch), but the final outcome is impossible to predict. Book Two of the Tales of the Borderlands successfully continues the series and sets up for the next installment, but easily stands alone as plenty of background information is seamlessly integrated into this new tale.

My thoughts: This is another book that I reviewed for School Library Journal. When I opened the package, I groaned. Not only is the cover really cheesy, the plot not really my thing, and it's a sequel to a book I haven't read! But this is actually a really great story! If you liked Graceling, try the Tales of the Borderlands series! (Just do your best to ignore the weird cover!)

Guardian of the Dead

by Karen Healey

Summary: Strange things are happening around Ellie Spencer's New Zealand boarding school. One of which is the fact that she seems to have fallen in love with a fairy. But not just any fairy. He's part of an ancient race, and Ellie finds herself pitted against some of them in a fight for her life.

My thoughts: There was so much buzz about this book I was thrilled to get an advanced copy of it. Sadly, it just never really clicked for me. I enjoyed how the author incorporated the legends of the New Zealand Maori, but other than that, it was just another supernatural romance. Lots of people disagree with me, though, so if you want to check it out, hit the public library! This one's high school only!

Somebody Everybody Listens To

by Suzanne Supplee

Summary: Retta Jones is kind of a big deal in her small Tennessee home town. She's the girl with a big voice, who can sound like just about anyone--Dolly Parton, Faith Hill...you name it, she can sing it just like they do. When she graduates high school, and after a particularly irritating incident at her dead-end waitressing job, she decides try her luck in Nashville. With her grumpy aunt's beat up car, a cell phone courtesy of her best friend, some holey jeans, and her guitar, Retta learns the hard way what life is like on Music Row, and in the process learns how to be herself.

My thoughts: Supplee (also the author of Artichoke's Heart) is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Her female characters have such fresh, strong voices, and her story lines are realistic and believable. I don't get emotionally involved or invested in books as often as I wish. Supplee completely sucks me in.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

by John Green and David Levithan

Summary: Two boys, both named Will Grayson, are on a collision course. Neither knows the other exists, but they are about to enter each others' lives in a very big way. The first Will, written by John Green, is your average suburban teenager, with a hilarious best friend named Tiny Cooper who is anything but Tiny. The other Will Grayson, written by David Levithan in all lowercase (so you can tell them apart) is totally emo and completely confused about life. When the two meet in the unlikeliest of ways, it causes a chain of events both hilarious and touching.

My thoughts: I always love John Green! When your English teacher talks about "voice," this is the non-boring version of what she means. If you've ever read anything by Green before, you know right away this is the part he wrote. Will Grayson is a young adult novel, but won't be on middle school shelves. If you're an eighth grader, check it out next year at your high school, or hit the public library this summer!

The Hard Kind of Promise

by Gina Willner-Pardo

Summary: Sarah has always found Marjorie’s odd behavior entertaining and charming. She never questioned their promise, made at age five, to be best friends forever. Not until 7th grade, when Marjorie’s smelly lunches, love of old movies, and insistence that Sarah play a big blue alien for her film production project cause Sarah to start to pull away. When she overhears, from a bathroom stall, a classmate call her a loser for hanging out with Marjorie, she begins actively pursuing new friendships with girls in her choir class. These girls are classic seventh-grade snarky, yet somehow also endearing. Sarah awkwardly tries to include Marjorie, who refuses to fall into anyone’s idea of normal, while simultaneously trying to be popular and become her own person. Sarah’s emotional turmoil and guilt over the changing of the friendship is painfully and realistically portrayed, but gentle humor (Marjorie shows up to Cotillion proudly sporting a 120 year old “vintage” gown) keeps the story light. A sensitively drawn and satisfying conclusion will have girls nodding their heads with understanding as Sarah struggles with the promise she made years ago. A heart-warming story about the unexpected lessons life teaches, through the eyes of a girl experiencing it for the very first time.

My thoughts: This is not normally the kind of book I would pick up on my own, but since I reviewed this one for a library magazine, I had to read it. I'm so glad I did! This is such a sweet story! It's not published yet, so watch for it when it comes out next month!