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!

The Edge on the Sword

By Rebecca Tingle

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

In this excellent bit of medieval history set in the 800's in Great Britain, 15 year old Aethelflaed is the daughter of the West Saxon King Alfred. She is happy living her quiet life becoming educated in the scriptorium by the priests and slipping away with her brother Edward to the woods. Then she is dismayed to discover her father has bethrothed her to the Mercian leader, Ethelred. She is even more unhappy to discover that a man has been sent to watch her every move to protect her from those who might oppose the union--a Mercian man named Red who wears the bonds of slavery. Disgruntled, Flaed begins to experiment with ways to slip away from her careful guard, even as she begins to like him. But her stubborn bid for a moment alone comes at a cost--one day when she does manage to elude Red, Flaed is abducted by some men awaiting just this opportunity. After Red rescues her, a decision is reached. Flaed must learn how to protect herself and how to lead, however reluctantly she may wish for these skills. There are many exciting scenes in this novel, and readers will be pleased to discover that Aethelflaed not only was a real person, but one of the most famous female leaders remembered from that period. Thumbs up for an excellent piece of historical fiction.

Intensely Alice

By Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Rating: 3 3/4 stars

This is the 23rd book about Alice McKinley, and we've been able to grow with her and her friends Elizabeth and Pamela since they were all in 6th grade together. Now it is the summer before Alice's senior year in high school and her friends are all engaged in typical summer activities. They hang at Mark's pool, work their summer jobs, and spend time with family. Alice looks forward to her cousin Carol's wedding in Chicago with the added attraction that she can go visit her boyfriend Patrick at the University of Chicago where he is taking summer classes. Alice is both excited and nervous about the prospect of sleeping over--will this finally be the time she and Patrick will be able to get intimate? Along with her trip to Chicago, Alice volunteers in a soup kitchen for a week, gets escorted home by the police, has deep discussions about God and religion, gets to apartment-sit for her brother Lester and by book's end, has something so huge happen to her entire group of friends that things may well be changed forever. Alice fans will gobble this volume up and be waiting to find out how her senior year progresses in the next addition to the series.

Bloodline

By Katy Moran
Genre: Historical Fiction/Adventure
Rating: 4 stars

Set in early 7th century Britain, Essa is devastated when his father, a traveling singer, leaves him behind in a small village. Since his mother is dead, Essa is raised by the head of the village, Hild, and soon becomes absorbed into the rhythm of life there. He does have one special skill--the ability to get inside of an animal and see what it sees, hear what it hears. Then when he reaches the age of 14, everything changes. War is coming, and his small village could well be crushed under its inexorable path. Essa becomes the man of Egric, one of the local princes, who asks him to spy on the nearby Mercian camp. But while on his mission, Essa is caught--luckily by Wulf, the son of the savage Mercian king Penda, who remembers Essa from childhood days. Essa is unexpectedly reunited with his father Cai, also there spying, and is sent on a task with Wulf to bring back his bride. Essa knows what he needs to do to stop Penda, but can he bring himself to become a killer? This journey will reveal more to Essa about himself, his true heritage and the path he wants to take in life. Essa's story is compelling and filled with violence, loyalty and friendship. Readers who enjoy their adventures immersed in history will love this story.