Reviews written by Kristie Lowry, Promotions Manager

Sixteen-year-old Leora's dad is dying, but Leora and her mom, Sophie, take comfort in the fact that he'll live on through his book--the story of his life that is told through the tattoos he has acquired to commemorate special moments, deeds, and beliefs. Everyone in their town of Saintstone tattoos...

Lion is not very nice. He bullies the other animals, and they're all afraid to stand up to him. In desperation, they put out a "Help Needed" ad, and hope that some brave soul will come to their rescue for a reward of "100 BUCKS (mostly gazelle)." In response to...

Jerome's hobby is words. He collects them. He classifies them. He loves them. One day, Jerome's collection is scattered, and his well-organized words are in complete disarray--the mayhem this causes results in... poetry. And songs. And a greater realization of the power of words. Even the most simple of words...

Bixby Alexander Tam (AKA Bat) is happy spending time with Thor, the pet skunk kit that his mom has allowed him to nurture, and things are settling into a nice routine that helps Bat feel good about life. Then Bat's older sister, Janie, gets a part in the school play....

CHILDREN OF REFUGE is the second in a series by Margaret Peterson Haddix in which the main characters, Rosi and Edwy, have spent the first twelve years of their lives being fostered in Fredtown (along with the other children of Earth their age and younger) by Freds--a peace-loving community whose...

Rosi is twelve-years-old and she and the other children of Fredtown were taken from an unsafe situation with their birth parents to be raised by Fred-moms and Fred-dads. The Freds don't tell the children that their parents are dead, but Rosi and the other twelve-year-old in the community, Edwy, have...

BELIEVAREXIC is the fictionalized memoir of author JJ Johnson's stay in an eating disorder unit (EDU) in the 80s. The book begins with the fifteen-year-old main character, Jennifer, asking her parents to admit her to the hospital for a disease that they didn't realize she had. Jennifer is taken...

Alice Nightingale is broken. It's been three years since the horrific act that left her under the "spell of twelveness"--a head injury that doctors said would leave her forever twelve-years-old with (as Alice says) "messed up electrics" that cause her to have seizures when she's under too much stress. Alice's...

Kelvin Klosmo's family has moved to a new intergalactic community so that his genius parents can continue their important scientific work. Starting a new school is always hard, but for Kelvin it's going to be especially difficult since his classmates and teachers will all be different species--plus he's expected to...

GAME CHANGE by Joseph Monninger follows its main character Zeb Holloway for one week in his life--and what a week it is. The book opens as Zeb watches T.T. Monroe, the starting quarterback for his high school football team and one of the top five players in the country, get...

WELCOME HOME: AN ANTHOLOGY ON LOVE AND ADOPTION features stories by some of the best voices in YA literature (or at least some of my favorites), and the stories revolve around adoption in all of its forms. Edited by Eric Smith, the collection covers a range of genres, and they're...

JUST FRIENDS by Dyan Sheldon is a sweet YA romantic comedy featuring Josh Shine, a music-loving, ponytailed, chess-playing, short high school student who falls for new girl Jena Capistrano the first time he sees her. By happy coincidence, Jena lives across the street from Josh's long-time friend, Ramona, so Josh...

Aissa is the first-born daughter of the Lady of an island, and as such she should be raised in a life of privilege and learning--destined to be the Lady when Aissa's mother is too old to do the duties that come with the title. But Aissa is born with extra...

HERO ON A BICYCLE by Shirley Hughes is a middle grades novel set in 1944 in Florence, Italy and its surrounding area. The title character, Paolo Crivelli, is a thirteen-year-old boy who sneaks out at night to ride his bike into the city in an effort to escape the boredom...

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a bat in a costume! Pat the bat is a fan of comic books and superheroes, and rather than hanging up-side-down during the day like other bats, Pat decides to create a superhero outfit and become Superbat! When they wake...