The Silver Bowl

by Diane Stanley

Adventure, magic, subtle romance, betrayal, and monstrous curses take this book far beyond the typical scullery-maid-makes-good tale. Peasant girl Molly sometimes sees things before they happen, a fine enough reason for her unloving and poverty-stricken father to get rid of her. At age seven, she is abandoned at the door of Dethemere Castle, and luckily finds work in the kitchen. After years of hard labor, “Gentleman Servant” Thomas takes her under his wing, promoting her to silver polisher, where she is tasked with shining the most beautiful, intricately designed bowl she has ever seen. The minute she touches the bowl, she is filled with intense warmth, and see visions of the demise of the royal family. The rumors of a curse are true. It’s becoming more and more powerful, and only she can stop it from destroying the royals. Stanley blends historical fiction and fantasy seamlessly, and her clear, rich language envelopes and transports. Molly’s relationships with the handsome prince and the kind-hearted stable boy are textured and layered with emotion and dutiful devotion. Her no-nonsense attitude is balanced by her big heart and a sweet, sharp sense of humor, making her a heroine readers will relate to and cheer for to the satisfying end. This book will be published in June.

Matched

by Ally Condie

In Cassia's world, the Society controls everything. Clothes are brown and plain, food is delivered in specified portions at specified times. Your spouse is chosen for you. Everyone dies at age 80. Only 100 pieces of art and 100 poems from throughout time have been deemed worthy of keeping. The Officials keep a tight reign on the people.

When Cassia's childhood friend is chosen as her match, she's elated, until a glitch in the system reveals to her that another boy, Ky, could also have been her match. This revelation, along with some contraband poetry given to her by her grandfather, make Cassia start to question. And in the Society, asking questions is the worst thing you can do.

There has been so much hype about this book that I couldn't wait to read it, and I did really enjoy it. Good story, well written, and I'll read the sequel, Crossed, which comes out in November. I have to be honest, though. I was hoping Matched might be the next series that can compare to Hunger Games, but alas, I'm still waiting...

If I Stay

by Gayle Forman

Mia is a daughter, a sister, a girlfriend, a cellist bound for Julliard, until a terrible car accident changes everything. Her body is comatose, lying in a bed in the ICU, but her spirit is there, watching. Listening. What if most of the people you love in life are gone? What if you'll never be the same? Would you want to leave? Or would you stay?

This is a high school title, so you'll have to go to the bookstore or public library to get it, but it's worth the trip. A total tearjerker, in the best kind of way--there's not a single cheesy moment. You'll want to curl up in a ball and cry for Mia, but you'll also feel uplifted and hopeful by the end.

The Quicksilver Faire

by Gillian Summers

Goblins, unicorns, fairies, elves, dwarves, dragons, dryads, talking cats, and evil jesters are just a few of the characters/creatures that make up the cast in this sequel to Shadows of the Redwood. Keelie, half human, half elf, is charged with helping the elves and the fairies resolve their differences in the Fairy High Court. She’s accompanied on this journey into a Canadian forest by her boyfriend, Sean, and her frenemy, Elia, a pregnant elf. Herne, the ruler of the dark fae, has just lost his love of over 500 years, and competes with Sean for Keelie’s affections. This is one of the multiple plot lines that cloud the story, but none, unfortunately, come to any real resolution. Really didn't like this one at all.

Chasing Brooklyn

by Lisa Schroeder

Brooklyn loses her boyfriend Lucca in a terrible car accident. A year later, she's still grieving. Then Gabe, the boy who was driving the car when Lucca died, committs suicide. Gabe begins haunting her, and at the same time Lucca starts haunting his brother Nico. Lucca is begging Nico to help Brooklyn, to save her, but Nico has no idea she's being haunted, and no idea what Lucca wants her to save him from. Nico's a runner, and tries to help Brooklyn the only way he knows how--by asking her to train with him for a triathlon. As they train they grow closer...and closer. But how far are either of them willing to go to lose their ghosts?

We read this in 7th grade Book Club, and everyone really enjoyed it. It's a novel in verse, so it's a short, easy read, and we all want to read everything else she's written now!

Fat Cat

by Robin Brande

Cat decides, for her science project, to go back to the time of the hominims, or cave people. She really, really wants to win the science fair. Her ex-best friend Matt is competing against her, and she can't stand to lose to him. She decides to use herself as an experiment, and go back, as close as possible, to eating and living as cave people did. No processed food, no technology, no cars except in case of emergency. An added benefit? Cat, a junk food junkie, begins to lose weight. She feels better, and guys start noticing her. So why isn't she happy? Why is she still thinking about Matt? And why does she hate him so much anyway?

This book is by the same author who wrote Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature, a story I really love, and I love this one, too. The love story will keep you guessing, and the experiment will almost make you want to give up fast food!

Girl, Stolen

by April Henry

While Cheyenne waits in the car for her stepmother to get her medicine for her pneumonia, someone jumps in and drives the car away. He doesn't realize she's there, but when he does, it's too late for him to go back. She's sick, she's been kidnapped, and...she's blind. The kidnapper, Griffin, is a young man who only wanted to steal the car to impress his criminal father. He's horrified at what he's done, and hopes that they'll be able to let Cheyenne go. But when Griffin's father realizes who Cheyenne's father is, all hope is lost, and Cheyenne has to try to find her way out of this.

Scary, scary! Cheyenne's predicament is unimaginable, and really, so is Griffin's. An interesting insight into the world of the blind, and a great mystery.

Tuck Everlasting

by Natalie Babbitt

When Winnie comes across a young man sipping from a stream in the woods behind her home, she's immediately fascinated by him. She wants to drink from the stream, too, but he panics when she tries, and does everything he can to try and stop her. Soon the rest of his family arrives, and they carry her off against her will to their cabin. She knows she should be afraid of these "kidnappers," but somehow she feels right at home. They explain to her that the stream has powers. Drinking from it makes you live forever. Of course, there's also an evil man looking for the stream, willing to go to any lengths to profit from its magic. Can Winnie and the Tucks protect the stream? And will Winnie decide to drink its waters?

I first read this book when I was in elementary school, and must have read it ten times while I was growing up. It was definitely one of my favorite books of all time. After re-reading it as a grown-up, I discovered it still is! What a beautiful, timeless story.

You

by Charles Benoit

15 year old Kyle is "you." Literally. He's called "you" through the whole book. It's weird, but it works. You, the reader, see through Kyle's eyes. You're a "hoodie." An outcast at your high school. When you find a wallet in the hallway and pick it up, just to look at it, you get jumped by a football player with a heightened sense of entitlement. Three days of suspension, then more anger and outcast behavior from you. You meet the new kid in the library, who is strangely fascinating. Maybe he'll be your friend. Maybe he won't. Either way, this isn't going to be good.

You is a super fast read. The suspense is killer. Loved it.

I am Number Four

by Pittacus Lore

John Smith looks like your average teenager, but he's really an alien from the planet Lorien. When he was young, the evil Mogadorians destroyed Lorien, and only nine children, along with their guardians/mentors, escaped. They are numbered, and can only be killed in order. The Mogadorians are relentless, and when John realizes number three has been killed, he knows he's going to have to be extra careful about hiding his whereabouts. But he's just moved to Ohio, and made a friend, and there's this really pretty girl...

This novel has a fun, adventure-filled plot, but the writing is only so-so. It's been made into a movie, and is in theaters now. I haven't seen it, but I suspect this might be a rare case of the movie actually being better than the book.

A Wreath for Emmett Till

by Marilyn Nelson

Emmett Till had a problem with stuttering. When he was young, his mother taught him to whistle when he got nervous and wanted to slow down his speech. In 1955, he took a trip to the south from his home in Chicago, and was accused of whistling at a white woman. He was abducted, brutally beaten, and murdered. When his body was returned home, his mother insisted on an open casket, so the world could see what racism did to her baby. The white men were taken to trial, but acquitted of the crime. They bragged openly about the murder for the rest of their lives.

This is a short, powerful book of sonnets, written in a Heroic Crown, which means the last poem is a poem made of the first line of all the other poems in the book. Invest 15 minutes in this little book. It will touch your heart.

Smells Like Treasure

by Suzanne Selfors

Homer Winslow Pudding, nephew of the late, great treasure hunter Drake Pudding, received, upon his uncle’s untimely demise, a dog named Dog and a gold membership coin for L.O.S.T., a secret treasure hunting organization. When a letter from L.O.S.T. arrives, stating simply, “Your time has come,” Homer can’t wait to get started. His membership in L.O.S.T. will help finance his search for the treasure of legendary pirate Rumpold Smeller, and Dog will get to use his secret skill—smelling treasure, which is the only thing he can, in fact, smell. Unfortunately, attempting to claim his seat in L.O.S.T. turns out to be more difficult than he imagined. His one-time friend, Lorelei, stole the membership coin in 2010’s Smells Like Dog, and now she’s back, claiming Drake actually bequeathed the coin to her. She demands that L.O.S.T. let her challenge Homer for the seat, and alas, the bylaws support her request. What follows is a funny, suspenseful, adventure that stretches the borders of the imagination. A heartwarming and quirky cast of characters add to the fun. Rumpold Smeller’s tale is woven throughout Homer’s, a story within a story with its own delightful surprise ending. Homer and Dog are a strange, silly, and loveable duo.

This one isn't published yet. It will be out in May!

City of Bones

by Cassandra Clare

One night Clary witnesses a murder, and the next her mother disappears. All at once her world is turned upside down as she discovers she's a Shadowhunter, which means she's able to see and kill demons. She's got to find her mother, and the Mortal Cup, a magical item that can turn humans into Shadowhunters, and only her mother knows where that is. There's also a pretty intense (and somewhat creepy) love triangle going on. The magical, arrogant, Jace, who does little but insult her, and her very sweet, very human friend Simon, both hoping to win Clary's heart.

This is an epic tale, with pretty much every magical creature you can think of thrown into the mix. The Mortal Instruments series has a very devoted following, and lots of people love it. I just don't happen to be one of them. Maybe I'm just over supernatural romances right now, so if you're not, give it a try!