Wrecked by E. R. Frank will be published in October. Frank, author of Friction and America, has once again tapped into the teen psyche and created a real page-turner.
Anna is a teen who gets into a car accident where her best friend is hurt badly and another girl is killed. Anna believes that it is her fault, even though there is evidence that the girl who died was drunk and had swerved into Anna’s lane. The book compellingly reveals Anna’s past through her recovery from her accident and her post traumatic stress disorder. I enjoyed the fact that Anna and the other teens in the book were not perfect. They drink, lie and are really alive. Additionally, the adults in the book are complex and vivid. Both of Anna’s parents are wonderfully drawn.
All of this adds up to a book that kids will really enjoy. The book would work for reluctant readers, because the pace is fast and the story is riveting. Recommend this one to teens who enjoy reality-based fiction and they will find great writing too.

The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce is due out in November. I was lucky enough to snag an ARC at ALA.
This novel returns us to the beloved characters of Briar, Daja, Sandry and Tris who have already been featured in two cycles of books by Pierce. The four of them are reunited after their separate travels but they no longer have the same connection, magical and personal, than they did before. They worry that all of the experiences they have had in their travels will change the way that the other three view them, so they shut themselves off from one another.
Sandry, a wealthy noble, needs to visit some land holdings she inherited from her mother in a neighboring land and the other three are sent along as her escort. When they arrive in Namorn, they find a royal court seething with intrigue where the Empress wishes only for Sandry and her friends to remain there forever.
This novel is wonderful filled with great adventure, magic, complex villains, and favorite characters. The settings are vivid and the situations are complicated. Recommend this to teens who have read the first two series and make sure to purchase it where Tamora Pierce’s books are popular. It is sure to be a well-received addition.

A Room on Lorelei Street by Mary E. Pearson (0-8050-7667-0) is glowing, haunting novel about Zoe, the daughter of an alcoholic mother who decides to escape her home by renting a room on Lorelei Street. The room is owned by Opal, a warm eccentric elderly woman who understands Zoe. The book is filled with glorious language that lets the reader sink right into Zoe’s thoughts. The characterizations are vivid and complex, including the alcoholic mother who was once a much more caring woman.
This book was a delicious read that should be recommended to teen girls who enjoy problem novels. But it is more than the average problem novel and will hopefully be awarded something by the Printz committee. It is one of my favorites of the year.

Invisible by Pete Hautman is a taut wire of a book that offers a study of Doug Hanson, a loner seventeen year old obsessed with bridge building. Doug’s best friend Andy lives right next door so that they can chat through the window. Unlike Doug, Andy is a popular football star at school. They are a strange pair but remain best friends.
As the book continues, the reader will see clues that all is not what it seems. A lot of the power of the book comes from slowly realizing what is really going on, so I will not spoil it for you. The reader will see what is coming and feel the powerlessness of being unable to stop it.
Recommend this slim book to kids who enjoy psychological thrillers. This is the sort of teen novel that adults will enjoy as well, demonstrating the power of writing for teens. This book is fast enough moving for reluctant readers, especially boys.

Naughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman is book that is a head-spinning thriller filled with twists and turns. Picture a world where instead of white people being the dominant race, they were the ones with a history of slavery. In this world, white people are treated just as our society treats black people. They are immediately suspect, looked down upon, not credited with achievements, and not allowed in black schools. In this world live Callum and Sephy. Callum is a Naught or white and lives in a shack with his family. Sephy is a Cross or black and lives a priveledged life with her prominent father and family. But the two are drawn together from childhood and soon begin a fledgling relationship.
This book is one that you will not be able to put down after a certain point. It is engrossing, amazing and gripping. The characters of Callum and Sephy are complex and vivid, while the society they live in becomes a character in the book as well. This book is eye opening, offering a unique perspective on racism in the world. Give this to kids who enjoy fast-moving thrillers, but also to those who read science fiction and those who enjoy deep books that will make them think.
This is the first in a series. They are released in England first where the third book has just arrived. So we have a lot to look forward to!

Permanent Rose by Hilary McKay (1-4169-0372-0) is a triumphant return to the Casson family and their bustling, rambling home. This book focuses on nine-year-old Rose, who is desperately waiting for news from Tom, an American boy who they had befriended in the a previous book. But as always, it still features Cassie, Saffy, and Indigo.
Reading a Casson family book is almost like returning home. Though the reader does not know what surprises may be ahead of them, it is immediately comfortable simply to be back with the family.
Recommend the entire series to children who enjoy books set in England and realistic books about children their age. The humor and whimsy of the series will draw them in and they will race through the series to see what happens next to this unique and amazing family.

I have just completed the delightful book, Magyk by Angie Sage (0-06-057732-0) which is the first book in the Septimus Heap series. The book is filled with so many vivid characters, lots of action, and surprises galore. It is the story of the Heap family whose tiny infant was stolen out of his mother’s arms. How that infant is found again is a large part of the story. It is also a story of an infant princess who is given to the Heaps to raise on the same night that their child is taken. It is a story of royalty, magic, power, darkness and light. It is complex and a very fun ride.
The sheer number of pages in the book and the number of characters that the reader meets make this appropriate for good readers who enjoy fantasy books. From strange creatures like Magogs and a boggart to amazing magicians like Marcia and Zelda, the book is filled with wonders. I can’t wait for the second in the series to see what happens next, and I would suspect that young readers will feel the same way.

VOYA’s Perfect Tens are the 2004 books that received a rating of 5Q for literary quality and 5P for popularity. So these are the best of the best for both reading pleasure and writing quality together in a single book.

Witch’s Boy by Michael Gruber is one of my favorites so far this year. From the compelling cover to the imaginative story, I was entranced. When the story begins, it seems a little hum-drum, but read a few more pages and you realize that you are going to see a portrayal of a witch that has never before been seen. A witch with personality and maternal feelings who struggles to show her son her love, but eventually manages to prove many times over the strength of her devotion. And then Lump, the witch’s son, who is spoiled rotten, used by a demon, tortured by humans, and much more must overcome his upbringing and his temperament to discover what his mother has given him.
My favorite part of the book was the witch’s unique take on well-known fairy tales. Wonderfully done!
This is one of those books that you can give to those good pre-teen readers, even though we have it in our YA collection. It has no language and no sex. But the story is deep, dark and follows Lump into adulthood. Push this engrossing story on fantasy lovers, though Lump’s yellow stare from the cover may draw them in as well.