The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste

Corinne lives on a Caribbean island with her father, the other people in her village believe in evil spirits called Jumbies who live in the forest, but Corrine doesn't think they're real. At least she doesn't until she meets them. This book uses Haitian folklore to weave a really great fairytale coming of age story, laced with horror and peril, but ultimately about the power of one young woman. 

For ages 10-12.

Published by Algonquin Young Readers April 28, 2015

Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee

It's 1849 and a small group of young cowboys are on the Oregon trail heading to the gold fields. They encounter all the terrors and trials you would expect, but two of them are also keeping a huge secret and they're on the run from the law. It's not often you find a YA western, even less often when the protagonists are two female outlaws. This is a fast, fun read packed with historical detail and adventure with a touch of romance to keep you guessing.

Published by G P Putnams March 17, 2015

Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton

A Seeker is a warrior, trained from childhood to protect the weak and uphold justice. Quin, her boyfriend John and her best friend Shinobu are proud of their honorable legacy and are ready to take their Oath. But when they learn the truth of what they have been trained for, neither Quin nor Shinobu are able to carry out their gruesome duties. Meanwhile, John reveals ulterior motives he's been harboring ever since he was a small boy.

This book builds slowly, really immersing the reader in the characters, their sense of duty and the nuances of the secrets they all carry. Then it explodes into a full on visceral adventure story, with time travel, futuristic cities and ancient traditions. There are some terrifying characters here, drawn with the kind of complexity that makes a bad guy really great to read. There's also a character that many readers will identify with, a fixed point in time, an observer, with more power than she realizes.

Seeker is the first of a trilogy and when you finish reading it, you definitely want more.

Published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers, February 10, 2015

Messenger of Fear by Michael Grant

A teenage girl wakes up in a desolate and unfamiliar place where she's met by a boy her age, he explains that he is The Messenger of Fear and she is his apprentice. He won't answer her questions or help her remember who she is, he only shows her the deeds of the wicked and demands her help to punish them. Messenger of Fear is exactly the sort of twisted psycho-horror we expect from Michael Grant. It's disturbing and oddly satisfying with some really inventive plot twists. For ages 12+ with strong stomachs.

Published by Harper Collins, September 23, 2015

Honey by Sarah Weeks

10 year old Melody lives with her father in a small town in Indiana, one day she overhear's her Dad talking on the phone to someone he calls "Honey". Melody suddenly realizes that her Dad might have a girlfriend, so she enlists the help of her best friend Nick to find out Honey's true identity. Her search leads her to the local beauty salon and some wild speculation. Meanwhile, Mo is a dog who just moved into the beauty salon with his owner, but there's something very familiar about one little girl who keeps visiting. 

A charming and heartwarming book about family secrets and a dog's enduring love. For ages 8-10.

Published by Scholastic January 27, 2015

This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Jubilee Chase is a soldier on the war torn planet of Avon, her job is to keep the rebels from destabilizing the terraforming process. Flynn is one of those rebels, he just wants to stay alive while his people dream of self determination. Thrown together and deeply mistrustful of one another, these two uncover an unbelievable secret that could kill everyone on the planet. 

In this follow up to These Broken Stars, we find ourselves on a different planet, with different characters, until the Laroux corporation rears it's ugly head again. Sexy, military sci-fi (yes, those can go together). For ages 12+.

Published by Disney Hyperion December 23rd, 2014

Balance Keepers: The Fires of Calderon by Lindsay Cummings

11 year old Albert thinks he's going to have a boring Summer in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. He isn't expecting a super intelligent dog to lead him through the woods, into a steampunk cave and then to a rollercoaster which takes him and some new friends to a magical academy deep within the earth. 

Yes, this is basically the plot of Harry Potter, but there is a lot of invention here. Some wonderful new magical creatures, family connections between the students and teachers and a clever way to link the magical and real worlds. A fun new magical adventure series starts here.

Published by Katherine Tegan Books September 23, 2014

Floating Boy and the Girl Who Couldn't Fly by P T Jones

Maria is at a tedious family party when a strange 15 year old boy runs through the backyard, climbs a tree and then floats into the sky. The next day, her baby brother starts floating too, Maria knows she has to find the stranger and get some answers. But it's not as simple as that, there's also a kidnapped little brother, a rapidly spreading plague, a little romance, death defying feats of stupidity and some serious snark. 

I have never read a book like this before. This strange story is worth going off the beaten track for.

Published by ChiTeen November 1, 2014

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

Twin siblings, one boy and one girl, each have half the story of a family tragedy which has left them emotionally distant from one another. We hear this story at different times in their lives. Noah is 13 years old, but Jude is 16. Their voices are authentic and raw with loss and fear. Noah and Jude are both artist's and it's their development as artists that leads to their eventual reconnection and redemption. In the meantime, their artistic sensibilities allow us to see things with their strangely altered perceptions.

This book is an incredible work of magical realism with a strong emphasis on nascent sexuality and a plot that you will never fully foresee.

A truly beautiful book for teenagers.

Published by Penguin September 16, 2014

Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes

Anika Dragomir is a pretty confident teen and she's number two in school popularity, standing right behind Becky Vilhauer, who is totally evil. Slowly but surely Anika breaks away from Becky, by overturning a rumor and dating an unpopular guy she starts a train of events that ends in both triumph and tragedy.

Anika is one of the best characters I've ever read in a YA book. She is completely off-hand about so many outrageous things, not least that she feeds her McJob boss ground up Valium to mellow him out during her shift. And yet, she's far from shallow or stupid. Anika's voice is hilarious and really sweeps you up in the plot. Then the plot makes you think.

There's an author note at the start of the book which says:

"This is a novel based on my ninth-grade year of junior high. I wrote this story because I wish I could go back in time and give this message to myself."

Which also makes you think. 

For Ages 12+

Published by HarperTeen, September 2, 2014

Into the Grey by Celine Kiernan

Pat and Dom are 16 year old twins in Ireland in 1974. When their senile grandmother burns down the family home they are forced to relocate to the seaside holiday cottage they used to rent for a week every summer. But the house is not the same as they remember, it's rundown, creepy and the boys and their young sister suffer from horrific nightmares. Then one night their nightmares become hideously real and one of the twins is lost in the grey. His brother must unravel family history and supernatural mysteries to bring his brother back.

Into the Grey is a literary ghost story which is extremely creepy without being sensationalist. The characters are well rounded and believable. I particularly loved that the elderly grandmother's dementia is an important plot device.

This is not an easy book, it's really scary and the historical context may require some additional research. But it is absolutely worth it.

Published by Candlewick August 26, 2014

The Young World by Chris Weitz

A mysterious sickness has wiped out anyone not in the midst of puberty and it continues to kill people as they reach the age of 18. A tribe of teens living in Washington Square think they may have found a clue to the cause of the sickness and five key members set out from the safety of the square to investigate.

Of course, this is just to set the scene for a roadtrip through post-apocalyptic New York. It's all here, the tech cult who live in the library, the hippy kids ominous neverending drum circle, a gang of misogynistic jocks who seem to run the town and the smart black kids who actually do. It's like all the cliques of high school went truly tribal.

This is not a new plot, there are references to Lord of the Flies throughout and there are many parts that remind me of Gone by Michael Grant. But what I love about The Young World is that it is so simple. Weitz has limited himself to the least possible number of survivors (there are no adults, but also no little kids), each tribe has a really simple set of rules and the journey of discovery allows us to see all of them. It's pure and simple. 

Of course if you're looking for some deep truths or a satisfying end, you're looking in the wrong place. This is fast, violent, a little disturbing and strangely fun. 

Published by Little Brown Books July 27, 2014

Life on Mars by Jennifer Brown

Arty comes from a family of space nuts his Dad is an astronomer, his full name is Arcturus, even his younger sister used to love Space Camp, before she became obsessed with Cheer squad. His own personal obsession is finding life on Mars. He has a signaling system that uses a powerful torch and mirrors and he sends signals to Mars every night from the roof above his room. So far Arty hasn't received any messages from Mars. Although he and his friends think maybe their new neighbor is a zombie.

Everything is thrown into chaos when Arty's family has to suddenly move to Las Vegas and Arty meets that scary neighbor face to face.

There are many things to love about this surprisingly realistic book. The characters are great, funny, truthful and sometimes ugly, but always very real. The book is peppered with scientific facts, but because the characters are so rich and their voices so distinct it never feels like encyclopedia definitions have been shoehorned into the text. The plot is tender and funny and also sad.

But my favorite thing about Life on Mars is that there are no traditional happy endings, although we close the book with a sense of hope.

For age 8-12

Published by Bloomsbury August 5, 2014

Pills and Starships by Lydia Millet

 It's the near future, past the "Tipping Point" when global warming can no longer be reversed. Seventeen year old Nat's parents have elected to die to ease the carbon footprint of mankind. They've bought a contract which allows a corporation to manage their death during one Final Week of luxury in Hawaii. Nat takes the mood altering pharmaceuticals on offer and mocks the meaningless language used by their resident therapist. But her hacker brother Sam has been doing some research and he has a different plan.

Gorgeous, literary sci-fi, in which our decaying world is fully realized and not too far from reality. It is a very bleak vision, but one with a hopeful ending. Definitely a book for independent thinkers. 

For ages 12+

Published by Akashic Books June 10, 2014

Review first published in Meet YA@DIESEL newsletter, July 2014

Big Bad Bubble by Adam Rubin

There are some pretty scary looking monsters in this book. But appearances can be deceptive. No matter how frightening these creatures might be, there is something that scares them. Something round, light, shiny and terrifying. Bubbles.

Everyone gets scared sometimes, but if you really investigate what scares you, it might not be so bad after all.

For ages 3-6

Published by Clarion Books May 6, 2014

Have You Seen My Dragon? by Steve Light

We are searching for a lost dragon in New York. Where could he be hiding? Maybe in the water? Or on the rooftops? Maybe he's at the playground or helping to deliver packages in a tall building? 

This is a beautiful counting book. Each illustration is in black and white except for the things we are counting. So the boats, birds or packages jump of the page and are easy to find, unlike that dragon who is often well hidden. There is so much to share and see in this book, more than just counting from 1 to 20. And my favorite part is that the illustrations are printed on thick matt paper, which is asking to be colored in.

For ages 3-5

Published by Candlewick Books, April 8 2014

The Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang

Somewhere on the West coast of America in the 1940s Hank's family own a store in Chinatown. Hank's mother is depressed, America was not all she dreamed it would be when she was a girl in China. Strangely, his mother finds a new lease of life only after she is rescued from a bank heist by a superhero called The Anchor of Justice. Hank finds himself the recipient of his mother's new found energies as she tries to turn him into the first Asian American superhero. Will her crazy ideas ever work? Can Hank become a superhero on his own terms? Or does his quiet father hold the key to The Green Turtle's destiny after all. 

Inspired by a short lived wartime comic book about possibly the first Asian American superhero, this graphic novel packs an historical, visual and emotional punch. 

For ages 12+

Published by First Second July 15, 2014

Pigsticks and Harold by Alex Milway

Pigsticks comes from a distinguished line of successful Pig ancestors and he thinks it must be time for him to make his mark. He declares that he will be an explorer, only he doesn't want to carry the bags. Enter Harold an unsuspecting Hamster who is persuaded to join Pigsticks in this difficult and dangerous expedition. Harold is promised cake, otherwise he wouldn't agree to come. 

This is a truly delightful story for beginning readers. The humor is extremely dry and in places just plain silly, with some great visual jokes provided by the cartoonish illustrations. But the plot is sweet enough that it will appeal to parents too. 

In the end this is a funny book about two real characters. Pigsticks is spectacularly confident and utterly incompetent. Harold is stalwart and easily bribed. I would like to see more adventures with this mismatched duo.

Age 6-10

Published May 27, 2014 by Candlewick Press

The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier

When we meet Molly and her younger brother Kip they looking for work in the Victorian English Countryside. Molly is 14 years old and the driving force behind their search. She knows the truth about what happened to their parents, but she's not ready to share that with Kip. 

They find work with The Windsor family, even though the local people are superstitious about the sourwoods surrounding the Windsor's home. The Windsor's seem sickly, the house is in disrepair and money is tight. There is something evil in the house and it wants to give you your heart's desire.

When I picked up this book, I was expecting a fairy story. What I got was a terrifying fairy tale in the true Grimm tradition. The writing is as twisty as a tree root, pulling the reader through many emotions toward an exciting and satisfying ending. 

Not every kid is going to love this book, but I can imagine that it will be very meaningful for some people. 

For ages 11+ (one of those rare books that effectively stand on the cusp between middle grade and teen)

Published May 20, 2014 by Amulet Books

The Art of Secrets by James Klise

Saba Khan is a good student, a fierce tennis player and a creature of habit, but her life is destroyed when her family's home is the target of an arson attack. The family are unharmed, but the fire leaves them with nothing. The community at Saba's exclusive Chicago school pull together to help her family by organizing a fundraising auction. Events take a turn for the truly strange when a highly valued work of outsider art is found, donated and stolen in the run up to the auction.


The Art of Secrets is told in the voices of the main protagonists, so we read diary excerpts, emails, text messages and press interviews as we put the story together and assemble the clues. And there are plenty of mysteries to solve here; who burned down the Khan's home. Where did the paintings go? Why is the class president suddenly so interested in Saba? And what is the Principal up to?



A clever young adult mystery from the award winning author of Love Drugged. The story is fun with plenty of surprises and an emphasis on the theme of the Outsider, in art, in school and in life.

Published April 22, 2014 by Algonquin Books