Fiction
Nancy Farmer’s The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm is a thriller set in Zimbabwe in 2194. A high-powered government official’s over-protected children go on an adventure and end up deeper than they thought. When they disappear, their parents hire a misfit detective agency that always seems to be about half a step behind the kids. This is an interesting look at a potential future where plastic is a highly-prized commodity, but old spirits still do battle. It’s a very exciting book, but at some points, I started to get tired of all the scrapes the kids got into. However,...
After three people receive mysterious letters and a famous painting is stolen, sixth-graders Calder and Petra work together to solve the crime and save the painting. Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet is aimed to younger readers, but don’t let the young characters and big print fool you. It’s a fun puzzle to solve, especially if you’re interested in mysteries, codes, and art. If your younger brother or sister leaves it lying around, sneak it away for a few hours. The illustrations were done by Brett Helquist, who also does the illustrations for the Lemony Snicket books. Scholastic page about Chasing...
What happens when the bad kid from the city moves in with a homeschooling North Carolina family of artists? Jake starts to find out he’s not who he thought he was, and non-artistic E.D. finds out her talents are just as valuable as those of her family. A cute, funny novel that kids under the age of about 13 will love....
Susan Callaway is the overweight daughter of the Wayne High School football coach. She is constantly harassed, especially by Kale Krasner, her main tormentor. When Blake, the quiet kid who works in the library, takes revenge against Kale for other wrongs, Susan ends up getting in trouble along with him. As part of her punishment, she must spend each Wednesday after school in a session with the school counselor, along with five other kids. Of course, those kids include Blake, Kale, a cute athlete, a popular girl, and a tough girl. Throughout the sessions, the kids grudgingly learn to respect...
by Neil Gaiman There is another city in the tunnels under London. Richard Mayhew stumbles into it by chance and finds himself in a world stranger and more dangerous than he imagined. This book wasn’t written specifically for teens, but as the author of the Sandman series, Gaiman is popular with teens....
