There will be lies by Nick Lake

Even though she's almost 18, Shelby Cooper lives a really sheltered life, she's homeschooled by her mother and only briefly allowed out on her own to visit the library. But she's extremely clever and questioningly sarcastic and it's these strengths that will see her through the extraordinary changes to come. The real world thriller in this story flows beautifully, the dialogue is so real, the writing is so good and the plot has perfect pacing. Then there are the dream sequences, that will blow your mind. For ages 12+.

Published by Bloomsbury USA January 6, 2015

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

The village of Fairfold exists partly in the modern world and partly in the fairy realm. The villagers have found many ways to live with the terrifying "fair folk", placating them with gifts, making bargains and even taking in a changeling child. But when the sleeping fairy prince escapes from his casket in the darkest part of the forest, the boundary lines are redrawn, especially for those who walk in both worlds. Holly Black is a master storyteller and this modern fairytale does not disappoint. For ages 12+.

Published by Little Brown Books for Young Readers

January 13, 2015

Egg & Spoon by Gregory Maguire

Egg & Spoon, is like The Prince and the Pauper on a train, but with girls, in Tsarist Russia. 

It's a reinvention of Baba Yaga as a wisecracking time traveler bound by her own peculiar set of social conventions. (Doctor Who much?)

It's a very Russian tale of tortured intellectuals, hunger and fear.

It's a very Russian tale of imperial pomp and courtly excess in which a Faberge egg can be lost in a treasure room and life sized Matryoshka Dolls can be discarded to float down the Volga and find lives of their own.

It's a cavalcade of Russian myth from Baba Yaga's chicken legged house to the Ice Dragon of the North via The Firebird.

It might also be a parable about global warming and positive action and the redemptive power of kindness.

In short, it is epic in scope, rich in everything, funny, clever and thought provoking.

Just read it, it's extraordinary.

Egg & Spoon is being marketed as a teen book, but there's not much here that an advanced middle grade reader couldn't handle. Although be advised it may put them on the road to Dostoyevsky.

Published by Candlewick September 2014

Conversion by Katherine Howe

A top private high school struggles to keep mysterious and horrible physical symptoms from manifesting in the female students. While outlandish explanations, media frenzy and rumor create a fever pitch in the community, one girl's extra credit assignment about the Salem witch trials is suddenly very meaningful. Not really a book about witchcraft. But definitely a book about the pressures of high school and it's more real than you might imagine.

Published by Putnam July 1, 2014

Review first published in Meet YA@DIESEL newsletter August 2014.

The Secret Box by Whitaker Ringwald

Jax is 12 years old and a bit of a rebel, she's been in trouble for everything from shoplifting a candy bar to creeping backstage at a magic show to find the hole in the stage.

Ethan is her sidekick. He knows he's a sidekick, he calls himself Caution Boy. But he just can't seem to walk away from Jax and her ill advised schemes.

When Jax receives a mysterious box for her birthday from an Aunt she's never even heard of, she has to get it open no matter what. Unfortunately, the box has a special puzzle locking mechanism and apparently there are some other people who want to get their hands on the contents just as desperately as Jax does.

Add in Ethan's truly obnoxious older brother Tyler as a driver and you have all the ingredients for an exciting and funny adventure.

What I loved most about this book is the voice of Jax. She is so reckless and headstrong that you know she'll be leading us somewhere interesting and probably bad. Luckily her voice is tempered by that of fact-loving Ethan, who offers us a respite in tone and pace. 

Great for kids who love to be larger than life and who long for adventure.

Ages 8-10

Published February 25, 2014