Daughter of Smoke & Bone

by Laini Taylor

Karou lives in Prague, studies art, and tries to fit in to the world as we know it. She knows she's not normal, though. Her hair is blue, she speaks 17 languages, and her family isn't human. They're chimaerae, otherworldly creatures that some might describe as demons. Brimstone, her father figure, sends her on magical errands to collect teeth, but she has no idea why--she just does as she's told. She's happy with the way things are until an encounter with Akiva, an angel, who is so handsome it almost hurts to look at him. When he tries to kill her, she begins to ask questions about her past that Brimstone wishes would remain a mystery.

You almost feel like you're in a dream when you read this book. The language is beautiful, the romance is steamy, and the story is edge-of-your-seat adventure. I want to BE Karou. Would wouldn't want blue hair?

The Paradise Trap

by Catherine Jinks

Marcus is devastated when his mom, Holly, ruins his summer plans by buying a junky old trailer and taking him to her childhood vacation spot, Diamond Beach. When they arrive, Holly runs into Coco, one of her friends from the old days, all grown up and married to a semi-famous inventor, Sterling Huckstepp. They have two kids; Newt, a sassy teen girl, and a younger boy, Edison. Their trailer is full of crazy inventions, including a bumbling robot, Prot, so it’s no big surprise to Edison when the boys find that Marcus’s trailer has a cellar. When Edison opens the cellar door, it leads to a fantastic amusement park, and he doesn’t want to leave. Marcus realizes the cellar creates the personal dream vacation of whomever opens the door, only the vacation never, ever, ends. Enlisting the help of Prot, Newt and the grown-ups takes the action up a notch as they all fight to escape the trap, rescue Holly’s missing childhood crush, and defeat the evil that is trying to destroy them.  Readers will be dying to get lost in this world of dreams, nightmares, and deception. Jinks deftly mixes mild horror with humor to give younger readers a few shivers, and make older readers chuckle. Each dream/nightmare world sheds dramatic, sometimes touching, insight into the character whose hopes and fears created it. Completely absorbing and totally fun.

The Candymakers

by Wendy Mass

Logan, Philip, Daisy, and Miles have all written essays and won a candymaking contest at the Life is Sweet candy factory, but all is not as simple as it seems. Each of the four has his/her own personal reason for competing, and you'll never guess their motivations. The same story, told from the four different points of view of each the participants, reveals more and more with each retelling.

The setting, a Willy-Wonka like factory with its own library, beehive, tropical rainforest, and cafeteria that makes chocolate pizza, is a place any kid (or grown-up!) would love to get lost in. I really enjoyed this sweet mystery!

Song of the Sparrow

by Lisa Ann Sandell

Elaine lives with her father in a world of men--King Arthur's army camp. She sews, and mends, and cooks, and cleans, but loves her life. Handsome Lancelot is her close friend, but her heart also pounds every time he is near. Is it love? Could he possibly love her back? She doesn't get a chance to tell him before he leaves for his latest mission, but vows to herself that she will let him know how she feels when he returns. But he comes back with Gwynivere, who is intended to be King Arthur's new bride. She knows she shouldn't be threatened by this lady in fine clothes, but she sees a look pass between Lancelot and Gwynivere, and realizes there is more to their relationship than meets the eye.

A story told in verse, this is a lovely retelling of Tennyson's The Lady of Shalott. It's a fast read, with a sweet and satisfying ending.

Insurgent

by Veronica Roth

Tris and Tobias have taken refuge with Amity as the war between factions continues. Saying much more might ruin Divergent for those who haven't read it yet, so I'll keep it short. Roth kicks up the energy here, with even more violence than before, and leaves us with a killer of a cliffhanger. A worthy sequel, but not quite as compelling as the first.

Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy

by Tui T. Sutherland

Five dragonets are hatched under a mountain, in the care of a group of rebel dragons, the Talons of Peace. They are key to a prophecy that will end the war raging between the dragon tribes. They clearly have a destiny, but no one is sure about Glory’s role, a beautiful Rainwing. She was not one of the original five, but a replacement for an egg that was cruelly smashed in an attempt by power-hungry dragons to thwart the fulfillment of the prophecy. When Glory’s life is threatened, the dragonets stage a daring escape from the mountain, but are captured by the Skywing queen Scarlet. She forces them to participate in gladiator-like competitions for her amusement. When she tires of watching a particular dragon, each competitor is eventually forced to fight Peril, her champion, whose very touch is made of fire. A fight with Peril is certain death, and she instills fear in all who meet her--all but the Mudwing dragonet Clay. The two develop a cautious and unlikely friendship. As the dragonets fight to survive, and Clays’ relationship with Peril deepens, thrilling secrets of their pasts are revealed. Fully fleshed-out characters have unique personalities influenced by the distinct traits of their tribes. Plot twists and turns abound, and will keep readers cheering for the dragonets to the end. 

Sword Mountain

by Nancy Yi Fan

On Sword Mountain, the social status of birds is based on where they live and the color of their feathers. Baby eaglet Dandelion is a dark-feathered valley bird, indicating low birth. Soon after hatching, she’s attacked by an archaeopteryx, a vicious soldier bird. She narrowly escapes being eaten, but her parents are killed. Fleydur, a once-exiled prince, finds the broken little bird and introduces her to palace life. Her high-born, golden-feathered classmates aren’t that nice to her, except Cloud-Wing, the most handsome and popular eaglet at the palace. But he soon he goes off to a special school to prepare him for battle and she loses her only friend. Luckily, Fleydur, who seem to be back in favor with the Council, adopts Dandelion, and suddenly, she’s a princess! But Dandelion’s not satisfied with her new station in life. It’s not fair that Cloud-Wing gets to learn to fight just because he’s a boy. She eventually gets her chance to fight alongside Cloud-Wing when a thief steals a magic stone and tries to frame Fleydur. Readers who haven’t read the first installments of this series may struggle. New plot lines appear abruptly and fizzle out, and motivations for the characters’ actions aren’t always clear. Cutesy devices, such as changing indefinite pronouns like “everyone” to “everybird” quickly wear thin. While it’s an interesting side note that the author is a freshman at Harvard, it’s not enough to overcome the flaws in this overwritten, underdeveloped tale.