A Snicker of Magic

by Natalie Lloyd

Felicity's mama is a wanderer. She has a hard time staying in one place for very long, so Felicity and her little sister don't get too comfortable anywhere. When they wind up in Midnight Gulch, where mama grew up, Felicity falls in love with the town, where there is a little bit of magic, but there used to be more. She wonders where all the magic has gone, because Felicity carries a little bit of magic around with her. She sees words like auras--they float around a person's head and tell her a bit about what they are thinking or feeling. She's so happy in Midnight Gulch, living with her no-nonsense aunt Cleo, meeting her uncle for the first time, and helping out the town's mysterious benefactor, The Beedle. But mama's already got the travel bug brewing again. Can Felicity settle her mama's heart down enough to finally make a home?

If you like books like Savvy, or A Tangle of Knots, you'll eat this one up, too!

Cold Calls

by Charles Benoit

Three teens, Eric, Shelly, and Fatima only have one thing in common. They're all getting some very disturbing phone calls. The caller demands that they bully another kid at their school. If they don't, the caller claims to be able to reveal their deepest, darkest secret to the world. In order to keep the caller from talking, all three bully another student just as they were told, and end up in an anti-bullying program together. When they realize they're all there for the same reason, they team up to try to solve the mystery of the caller's identity.

It's kind of  far-fetched story, but there are two mysteries, so you have to keep reading. First, you're dying to know what the secrets are that these teens are so desperate to hide, and second, you want to know who's calling and why.

The Amulet of Samarkand

by Jonathan Stroud

Nathaniel is an apprentice to a magician in a sort of magical modern day London. As an apprentice, he's not supposed to perform magic on his own, but he sneaks around and summons a djinni, a very difficult and dangerous task. Half of the story is narrated by Bartimaeus. He's sassy, and funny, and arrogant, but he's been around for thousands of years so he thinks he's entitled. When Nathaniel forces Bartimaeus to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from a very evil magician, they are both launched into an epic adventure.

This is a must for fantasy and Harry Potter fans!

The Perfectionists

by Sara Shepard

I've never read the Pretty Little Liar books, but I am a huge fan of the show, so thought I'd try it out. Not bad--it's very, very, similar to PLL. The cute girls, the high fashion, the hoodies, the burying stuff in the yard. Yep, all there. And she took her time setting up the background of all the characters. It was awhile before I could keep them all straight. I totally enjoyed it, though, in a brainless, I don't have to think while I read this kind of way. Don't expect an ending, though, because there's not any semblance of a conclusion. We'll have to read book two to find out how it ends, apparently.

Note: This will be published in October 2014. I'm guessing it will probably only be at the high schools.

Sasquatch in the Paint

by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Theo's six inch growth spurt the summer before his 8th grade year makes him the tallest kid in school, and a shoo-in for the basketball team. Unfortunately, he's terrible at basketball. He considers himself a nerd, and his main extra-curricular is the "Aca-ympics," a high-pressure academic team event, affectionately dubbed the "Brain Train." After his first basketball game, a heckler, (who turns out to be a cute but weird new girl named Rain) call him Sasquatch, and it sticks. His basketball experiences just get worse and worse, even when he tries to get some practice at park pick-up games. He gets in fight, a mysterious motorcycle guy is picking on Rain and stalking Theo, and Theo's dad is dating again, but trying to hide it. He feels like his life is falling apart, and then, he's accused of stealing. He might get kicked off the basketball team and the Brain Train if he can't set things right.

This is a funny, heartwarming story about basketball, loss, grief, dealing with bullies, and so much more.

Summer of the Mariposas

by Guadalupe Garcia McCall

Five sisters, cinco hermanitas, are swimming where they shouldn't. They love this little spot in the river, though, where the water bubbles up into a little alcove. They've snuck to this spot many times before, but today, there is a body floating in their playground. They are afraid to call the police, for fear of getting in trouble for being there in the first place. They drag him out, find his wallet, and see that he lives across the border in Mexico, very near their abuelita, their father's mother. Their papa, a once popular Tejano singer, has left them with no explanation. This body has given them an excuse to make a journey to Mexico to find their abuelita, and maybe their papa.

Odilia, the oldest, has the first of many mystical encounters with La Llorona, just before they leave. She gives Odilia some cryptic advice and a magical earring, and the girls, dead body in tow, are on their way to Mexico. (La Llorona, by the way, is a famous Mexican folktale. Many others are sprinkled throughout the story, like Chupacabra, etc.)

This is a retelling of The Odyssey, which, to be fair, is not one of my favorite stories in the first place. I found it hard to believe that five little girls would ride to Mexico with a dead body propped up in the car next to them, and while I realize I'm supposed to suspend my disbelief a little bit here, I just couldn't get past it. The story of the sisters and their falling-apart family was the best part of the book, but unfortunately, so much more time was spent on the mystical elements, which just weren't as interesting to me.

Night

by Elie Wiesel

This book has been on my "to read" list for a long time. Outside of Anne's diary, it's the quintessential holocaust story. Weisel jumps right in, spending very little time on occupation, taking us quickly into the story of his transport. He was able to stay with his father during his time in the camps. While this provides him some comfort, it also creates many stressful situations. I found this to be sort of the crux of his story. His never-ending, undying love for his father shapes his entire camp experience. That love influences all of his decisions, whether or not it endangers his own life. At one point during my reading, he almost seemed judgmental of others who did not make the same sacrifices for family, but brings this up himself at the end, and smooths out those rough edges for me as a reader. (Not that I would judge any holocaust survivor for anything, including judging another person, but it was an interesting aspect of the story for me.)

As far as holocaust stories that create a visceral response for me go, I found Diary of a Young Girl, Boy on the Wooden Box, and even The Boy Who Dared much more compelling. Those stories just interested me more. However, Weisel's writing is absolutely beautiful,and his wife's work on the translation is amazing.