This book wasn’t nearly as wonderful and hilarious as I was led to believe. Since I’m probably the last person to read this book, I won’t spend a lot of time talking about the plot. It was an interesting look at four girls’ friendships and what they go through during their first summer apart.

Carmen was my favorite character. I thought what her dad did to her was inexcusable and she had the right to be furious. He totally betrayed her. I can’t even remember the other characters’ names.

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, the end was worth every minute.

The readers of this book might skew a bit young, but this book definitely tackles issues that are interesting to older readers. I especially love the juxtaposition of futuristic worries with spirit myths of the past.

A review by a New York 6th Grader
A review by another novelist
A review by a Washington girl
St. Charles (IL) public library says if you like this book, you’ll love the books on their list.

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 Vermeer
A review from Kidsreads.com
Chasing Vermeer to become a movie (warning, if you’re on a slow connection or not using Firefox, it’s an about.com page= lots of popups!)
A gifted education teacher’s page of games based on Chasing Vermeer. (This one’s targeted more to teachers.)
See who else is reading this on All Consuming

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.

Robert Cormier’s masterpiece about a boy on a desperate journey to find his father and unlock his past. Things are not what they seem in this novel.

Ella of Frell has been given the gift of obedience by a well-meaning fairy Godmother. She would like nothing more than to be rid of the gift, especially when her classmates learn they can tell her to do anything and she’ll have to do it.

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 each other as people.

Ender was created to save the world. As a young child, he’s selected for a coveted position in Battle School, where he trains to defeat an enemy that is not what he thinks it is.

by Celia Rees
Mary is a witch who escapes from England after her grandmother is hung for witchcraft. She hides among a group of pious Puritans coming to America to start a new life, but eventually her community begins to suspect her true nature.

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.