Bewitching Season

By Marissa Doyle

Genre: Fantasy/Historical Fiction

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Persephone (Persy) and Penelope (Pen) Leland are twin girls ready to face their first "coming out" season in pre-Victorian age London, a husband-hunting jaunt that Persy finds particularly nervewracking to contemplate. But these twins are no ordinary girls--they are both able to do magic and have, in fact, been taking magic lessons with their governess for years--a fact they are proud of, but must keep hidden from everyone else. But then, right before they get to London, their governess Ally disappears--supposedly on private business, but both girls and Ally's family get the sense that she was taken somewhere against her will. They trace her whereabouts to Kensington Palace where the queen-to-be, Victoria, lives. But how could they possibly find a way to search the palace? And why would Ally be there in the first place? Add to this mystery Lochnivar, a childhood friend of the family, who Persy finds herself falling firmly in love with. But convinced he may be interested in her twin, Persy casts a love spell and is dismayed to find it actually seems to be working! She doesn't really want Lochnivar to love her against his will--so miserably, she does her best to put him off. While Persy and Pen work through the London season of balls and parties, they also do their best to find Ally and soon discover that when they do, it will put themselves in grave danger as well. Readers who particularly like talk of dresses and outfits will especially be happy with the portions of the book devoted to such chat, while those who enjoy the plot will be interested to see how and where the story ends. With magic and romance in heavy helpings, many a girl will enjoy this book.

Catching Fire

By Suzanne Collins

Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: 4 3/4 stars

This is the second book in the Hunger Games series and we pick up where the first book left off. Now that Peeta and Katniss have won the games, they are living privileged lives in beautiful homes with plenty to eat. But Katniss feels hollow--she has no purpose, no reason to sneak into the woods and hunt, and Peeta will barely look at her after he learned about her pretense of love during the games. And her relationship with Gale is even more confusing--is there romance there or not? Then President Snow pays a call on Katniss to inform her that rebellion has been brewing in the other Districts due to the way she showed up the government during the games. He threatens the lives of everyone she cares about if she can't calm the masses during her and Peeta's victory tour and convince him and the world that she and Peeta are truly in love. Katniss does her best, but is sickened by the government's deathgrip on the people who seem buoyed up by her appearances, even wearing her mockingjay pin symbol themselves. But her best is not enough, and President Snow has another trick up his sleeve--a trick that promises to bring about the end of Katniss and everything she holds dear. Readers MUST have finished The Hunger Games to have a prayer of following this story, but it is well worth everyone's while for this series continues to be brutal, intense, psychological and downright mesmerizing as we follow Katniss down to the cliffhanger of an ending that will have fans panting for book 3.

Change-Up

By John Feinstein
Genre: Sports Story (baseball)
Rating: 4 1/4 stars

Fans of Stevie and Susan Carol, the young sportswriters, will be thrilled to see them return to investigate another mystery at a major sporting event. This time, the pair are at the World Series, covering the Washington Nationals versus the Boston Red Sox. Stevie quickly realizes that Norbert Doyle, a late call up of a minor league pitcher--is a great story and manages to catch an interview with him and his kids before the big news breaks--Norbert is actually going to be a starter in the World Series! In his interview, Doyle mentions that his wife was killed by a drunk driver years ago, but when Stevie and Susan Carol hear a slightly different story, wheels begin to turn in their heads. Then Doyle's son David confides something in Susan Carol that she is not at liberty to repeat and even through Stevie's jealousy, he realizes something isn't quite right about Doyle and his story. Bobby Kelleher, Stevie's mentor, sends him down to Lynchburg, Virginia to dig up the truth of the car accident and as he digs into Doyle's past, the details become more and more confused. What really did happen on the night that Norbert Doyle's wife died, and why is it being covered up? And what should Stevie and Susan Carol do about it? Plenty of baseball fills in the action around this bit of investigative reporting, and readers will be reluctant to put the book down. A good sports read!

By Mick Cochrane

Genre: Sports Story (baseball)

Rating: 4 stars

In this quiet and introspective story, eighth-grader Molly can throw butterflies, otherwise known as the knuckleball pitch. Her father had taught her over long hours in the backyard and Molly loves throwing that pitch. But now, six months after her father has died in a car crash, Molly doesn't know how to fit baseball into her life. She tried playing softball, but it wasn't the same game. Nothing is the same since her father died--her family feels broken and her mother doesn't even seem to try and understand her. Then Molly gets an idea--she decides to try out for the baseball team, which is, of course, full of boys. And as she goes through try outs, Molly finds she has to learn brand new things about the game as well as some brand new things about herself as some of the boys make room for her and others strike out at the lone girl trying out a man's game. If she survives try outs, can baseball heal her heart? With plenty of baseball action, readers will root for Molly to do her best. A book with a lot of the beauty in baseball to it.

Tales of the Madman Underground

By John Barnes

Genre: Realistic

Rating: 4 1/4 stars

Karl Shoemaker goes into the first day of senior year with a goal: Operation Be F---ing Normal. For the first time ever, he wants to get out of the therapy group he has to attend every week and just be a normal kid. Forget about the 4 jobs he works, his alcoholic promiscuous mother, his house filled with a dozen or so cats, his dead father, and the nowhere town of Lightsburg, Ohio. But actually avoiding his best friend Paul, also one of the Madmen (their nickname for the therapy group), is more painful than he would like. Then new girl Marti joins the group and chooses Karl to let her know what is what in Small Town, USA and as he recounts stories of the Madmen, Karl begins to think some things about belonging to the group aren't quite so bad. On these first six days of the new school year, Karl will have more happen to him than might happen to the rest of us in a year, but through it all, Karl realizes there are more important things than just being normal. At times achingly painful and at others rolling on the floor funny, you can't help but like Karl and many (although not all) of his Madmen friends. There's some disturbing issues brought up as well as sex, drugs and smoking for those who don't like that kind of thing. But it is also a fast-moving read that propels itself along to a finish that can't be called happy but it can be called hopeful. Guys will especially like this book, but girls will be glad to have read it, too. Thumbs up!

The Highwayman's Footsteps

By Nicola Morgan

Genre: Historical Fiction/Adventure

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Will is an upperclass teen, never thinking twice about his priveleged life until he runs away from home and steals another's purse to get by. But his life really begins when he is held up by a highwayman. Just when Will thinks he will be killed, the highwayman collapses and Will discovers it is really just a girl, his own age, gravely injured. Almost against his judgement, Will decides to try and care for the girl--partially out of a need to do the right thing and partially out of loneliness for his new situation in life. As Will and Bess become allies and then slowly, friends, Will learns about her history of being the daughter of a highwayman and an innkeeper's daughter, both unjustly killed by redcoats. Will's new life is fraught with danger, as he ends up chased by the redcoats, harboring fugitives, and accepting life as a highwayman himself. There is quite a bit of danger and excitement in this life, and Will spends a great deal of time questioning his old existence and what he didn't know about the lives of the poor and lowborn. This is a quick moving story with likeable characters that those who like some historical fiction will eat up in a few big bites.

Tender Morsels

By Margo Lanagan
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 3 1/2 stars

This well-written retelling of Snow White and Rose Red is filled with flawed and compelling characters that pull the story along. Liga is a 15 year old girl who has been abused by her father and then later, after his death, a gang of town boys. In desperation, Liga manages to create her own heaven--a world that is based on the one she lives in, but without any of the horrible people or "bad" things--a safe place to raise her 2 daughters. But when a dwarf and then a couple of bears who act unnervingly human intrude upon the family over time, the younger daughter, Urdda, realizes other worlds may exist. One day, Urdda's curiousity enables her to push through to the real world. And that signals the beginning of the end of Liga's heaven. But can a family used to heaven exist in the real world? An unwary reader may pick up this book and think it might be a charming retelling of a fairy tale, as so many of them are. But beware! The world that Lanagan creates is filled with brutality, prejuidice, rape, abuse and worse. Be prepared to deal with the heavy issues that infuse the real world and hurt and confuse our beloved characters. A powerful book, but not one for every reader. Try it if you dare!