Nemesis

by Brendan Reichs

Every other year, on her birthday, Min is murdered by a man in a black suit. It's always a horrible, painful death, but each time, she wakes up unscathed. She takes crazy pills, goes to therapy, and tries to overcome the fact that no one seems to believe this is really happening to her. But then she realizes that she might not be the only one suffering from this strange experience. As she digs deeper, she begins to uncover long-buried secrets that might get her killed. For real this time.

This is a fast-paced thriller with lots going for it. You'll really want to know what's going on with Black Suit. Min is a fun character--much more believable than a lot of female protagonists in this type of YA fiction these days.

Long Way Down

by Jason Reynolds

Will's brother Shawn has just been murdered. He thinks he knows who did it, so he gets his own gun, steels himself to do what needs to be done (revenge is the rule in his neighborhood), and gets on an elevator. As the car goes down, he's joined by people he once knew. When they were alive. Each visitor clues him in to something he didn't know about his family, his neighborhood, himself.

I'm late to the Jason Reynolds party. I know, I know. And now I know what all the hype is about. Beautifully written text and a compelling story with a timely message. What's not to love?

I listened to this on Overdrive, and Mr. Reynolds himself provides the narration. He has a beautiful voice--I highly recommend the audio version.

One of Us is Lying

by Karen McManus

An unlikely matchup of high school kids all get detention on the same day for the same infraction--having cell phones in their backpacks. Simon, who runs a tell-all app that exposes the darkest secrets of his classmates, ends up dead. It has to be someone who was in the room, so who has the most to hide?

This was a pretty fun read, with a decent amount of twists and turns. I had a hard time differentiating the voices of the characters at times, though. And even though I'm not so great at figuring out mysteries, I knew who the killer was long before the reveal. Still, I think the intended audience will love all the high school drama.

The Whydah: A Pirate Ship Feared, Wrecked & Found

by Martin W. Sandler

I'm sort of obsessed with Cape Cod. So when I saw the Dallas Museum of Art had a $5 lecture last month about the recovery of the Whydah off the coast of Provincetown, I had to go check it out. It was amazing. THE VERY NEXT DAY, someone turned in this book at our library, and it ended up in my hands. (I guess I forgot about buying it!) Of course, I had to read it! The guy who did the talk at the DMA, Chris Macort, is even in some of the pictures!

I can't wait to share this with you guys next year when
you come to check out nonfiction. The Whydah (pronounced wid-dah), originally a slave ship, had already dropped off its human cargo and traded it for jewelry, gold, and more, before Black Sam Bellamy captured it. Then he proceeded to load it up with all sorts of goodies from other vessels. Then he stupidly trusted a guy that he had recently captured to lead them to safety in a storm, and ended up at the bottom of the ocean. Sandler gives us lots of info on pirate culture and breaks up some common myths. The last third of the book is about the recovery and conservation efforts, which are fascinating. (JFK Jr. was on the first dive team in the 80's!)

Informational, interesting, and a great length for middle school history buffs.

Aru Shah and the End of Time

by Roshani Chokshi

Aru Shah is a little sassy. When her mother tells her never to light the lamp in the Hall of Ancient Indian Art and Culture where they both work, Aru, of course, doesn't listen. She's determined to impress some jerks from her middle school, but accidentally awakens the Sleeper, which could be the end of the world as we know it. Oops! Apparently she is the reincarnation of one of the legendary Pandava brothers, and it's up to her and her (previously unbeknownst to her) sister Mini to, well, save the world. Chokshi has taken Hindu mythology and added her own brand of humor and charm to create this winning middle grade mystery.

Dreaming Dangerous

by Lauren DeStefano

Every night, Plum dreams with her three best friends. They live at Brassmere Academy, which is basically an orphanage for children with extra special abilities. As their dreams begin to get weird, and Artem, one of Plum's friends and dream partners, disappears, she begins to realize that Brassmere Academy, and the people who run it, may not be what they seem.

This is a short little book. You could easily read it cover to cover in an  hour or two. The writing is lovely, but the story is just okay.

Darkdeep

by Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs

I was able to get an advanced copy of this book--it doesn't even have a real cover yet! Early buzz is calling this Goonies meets Stranger Things, and that's a pretty good description, as those shows are clearly part of the story's inspiration. However, Darkdeep is original enough to nod to those children of the 80's and still maintain its own original storyline. A la Goonies, there's a bully who kicks off the chain of events. Mean dude Logan intentionally crashes Nico's drone off the edge of a cliff into Still Cove, a notoriously spooky place. When Nico goes after it, he stumbles upon a weird abandoned houseboat, with a swirling, dark pool of water below deck. The kids soon realize that the pool has secret--one that could destroy their entire town if they can't figure out how to stop it.

You guys will LOVE the nonstop action. The cliffhanger ending will absolutely drive readers crazy as they wait for the next installment.