READ BETWEEN THE LINES by Jo Knowles

I'm so honored to be part of the READ BETWEEN THE LINES ARC Tour!  Thanks, Jo Knowles, for trusting me with your fabulous book.


Knowles' previous books JUMPING OFF SWINGS and LIVING WITH JACKIE CHAN have been very popular in my classroom so I'm thrilled to be able to let my students know she will have a new book coming out in March of 2015.


READ BETWEEN THE LINES is filled with an intriguing group of characters.  Their lives are artfully woven together, and their stories will draw readers into and through the book.  Each chapter allows the reader step into the life of a featured character.  The sense that their experiences and lives will be connected is present from the start.  The simple, yet crude gesture of an extended middle finger becomes a symbol that helps connect these small town personalities.


As the stories evolve, readers meet the cheerleader, the popular athlete, the closeted gay teen, the misunderstood teacher, the father and son, just to name a few.  Judgments are made, lines are crossed, hearts are broken, and tempers flair.  One thing that becomes crystal clear is that no one can know what lives in the mind of one's fellow man.  No matter how hard we try or how much we imagine, the hidden thoughts of others remain a private, hidden world.  Knowles deftly intertwines the lives of her characters and makes us care about them, making READ BETWEEN THE LINES a fascinating read.


Over the next several months this book will be in the hands of very capable reviewers.  Watch for their wise words on blogs, Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, and more; then look for your own copy of READ BETWEEN THE LINES at your favorite bookstore in March 2015.

THE BOY IN THE BLACK SUIT by Jason Reynolds

I was soooo excited to win an ARC of THE BOY IN THE BLACK SUIT when I attended the ConTroll YA author conference in Adrian, Michigan.  I didn't even know Jason Reynolds had a new book due for release in January until I saw it lying there on the giveaway table.  My students and I really enjoyed WHEN I WAS THE GREATEST so when my ticket was drawn, I knew just what I wanted.


Matt is starting his senior year a bit late.  The delay is because his mother just died.  He and his father are trying to get used to her absence, but it won't be easy.  She was the glue that held the family together.  Matt misses her steady presence and the fun times they had when she was teaching him to cook.  His father, a recovering alcoholic, needs her inspiration to stay sober. 


When Matt is offered a job at a neighbor's funeral home, he tentatively accepts the offer not sure of what to expect.  Will he have to touch and dead bodies?  Exactly what does working in a funeral home entail?


Soon Matt is wearing a black suit while he sets up chairs, organizes after-funeral dinners, and even acts as a pallbearer on occasion.  Oddly enough, what he enjoys the most is sitting in on the funerals and watching the mourners.  Seeing them grieve helps him deal with his own sadness. 


An accident that critically injures his father and an attractive girl named Love add additional complications for Matt to handle.  Readers will be drawn to Matt's likeable nature immediately and marvel at his ability to carry on as he deals with his grief.  His determination to move on but not forget the woman who influenced him is admirable.


If you haven't discovered author Jason Reynolds yet, be sure to check out THE BOY IN THE BLACK SUIT as well as his earlier book, WHEN I WAS THE GREATEST.

WELCOME TO DARK HOUSE by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Nightmare Elf's e-Newsletter reads "NIGHTMARES BE GONE CONTEST."  According to the rules, if you write about your worst nightmare (one thousand words or less), you just might win a chance to meet a famous movie director and get a sneak peek at his latest horror film. 


That's the contest eighteen year old Ivy Jensen entered.  She wants to win the awesome prize, not to meet the famous director, but because of the promise associated with the contest - the promise that your terrible nightmare would disappear.  Ivy hasn't even seen a Justin Blake movie, but she has a nightmare that plagues her sleep and even haunts her every waking moment.  When she learns about the contest, she enters hoping that winning will free her from the horror she experienced back when she was twelve.


Seven teens have entered the contest each hoping for something different.  A few are like Ivy, hoping to be rid of their nightmares, while others have different dreams for the weekend at the Dark House.  Most are true movie fans and meeting Justin Blake and some of his famous characters are worth whatever it takes.  At least that's what they think as the weekend begins.


When they discover the weekend entertainment includes an amusement park and real life reenactments of their horrible nightmares, winning doesn't seem to matter anymore.  A graveyard, vicious black eels, and the disappearance of one of the contestants are just the beginning for Ivy and the others.  Can she survive and will it be worth the peace she hopes to find?


Author Laurie Faria Stolarz is well-known for her BLUE IS FOR NIGHTMARE series, BLEED, and PROJECT 17.  Her latest, WELCOME TO THE DARK HOUSE, is sure to please her loyal fans and win her many new ones.  Told through the alternating voices of the teen contest winners, Stolarz takes readers into the frightened minds of characters whose nightmares will remind us of some of our very own fears.  Get your hands on a copy today, but be sure to sleep with the light on when you finish reading.

RUMBLE by Ellen Hopkins

As a longtime fan of Ellen Hopkins, I've always chosen IDENTICAL as my favorite book by the well-known YA author.  I now have a new favorite, RUMBLE.  Personally, I think it is her best yet.


Life has a habit of letting down Matthew Turner.  He may be a senior with decent grades, and he may have a hot girlfriend, but just about everything else in his life is a mess.  When his younger brother committed suicide, Matthew's fragile faith in any possibility of a higher power was hopelessly crushed.  Since his brother's death, Matthew has witnessed his parents' lives implode.  His mother is drinking but still clings to her religion.  His father, always more dedicated to the high school team he coaches than his family, has rekindled a love affair with a former girl friend. 


Just when Matthew needs the love and support of his own girl friend, she is withdrawing from their relationship and focusing on a new youth pastor hired at her church.  Matthew's therapist tries to provide helpful advice, but Matthew is just going through the motions. 


When a bold girl named Alexa offers to listen and also admits that she hopes he will leave Hayden for her, Matthew begins to rely on her friendship and is surprised to find himself physically attracted to her as well.  Maybe her freshness is just what he needs to be able to come to terms with his brother's death and his broken family.  Whether or not he buys into the ideas of religion, faith, and prayer, he must find some way to forgive himself and the others who have let him down.


Hopkins explores many topics in her latest release.  RUMBLE examines the role of spirituality, sexuality, and morality, as well as the politics and cold hard facts that rule much of our lives.  RUMBLE will please her many fans and no doubt earn her many new ones.

HIT by Lorie Ann Grover

Release date: October 7, 2014


Life can change in an instant.  One moment on a rain morning changes everything for Sarah and Haddings. 


Sarah, a senior in high school with a full-ride scholarship at her fingertips, heads to catch the bus.  A poem is tucked in her pocket expressing her true feelings to a young college student practice teaching in her poetry class.  When that poem slips to the ground, she steps off the curb to retrieve it and she is struck by an oncoming car.


Friends and family follow Sarah to the hospital as she fights for her life.  The police investigate the accident and question the driver who happens to be the young man Sarah's poem addresses.  Haddings tells the police he didn't see Sarah in the rain, but he must come to terms with the fact that he had taken his eyes off the road for a moment and may have ended the life of a truly gifted student. 


HIT takes readers into the minds of Sarah and Haddings as they deal with the tragic results of the accident.  Sarah's parents and friends sit by her side as she undergoes surgery and grapples with her injuries.  Haddings struggles to decide his best course of action after the accident.  Should he face Sarah and her parents and apologize or should he stay away and give them time to heal?


Lorie Ann Grover's newest book HIT deals with forgiveness and recovery.  When a trusted someone makes a horrible mistake should they be forgiven or forgotten?  Grover takes her readers on an emotional journey in which two people must come to terms with a shared tragedy and figure out how best to carry on. 

DEMON DERBY by Carrie Harris

Casey has always liked to kick ass.  Her hobbies are skateboarding, freerunning, and martial arts.  She has devoted her life to taking risks and making her mark. Unfortunately, instead of becoming renown for her accomplishments in one of her chosen sports, she has become known as the girl who survived cancer.


Having won her battle with leukemia, Casey is ready to resume normal life and reconnecting with her dare devil friends.  Not being at her peak physically is causing some tension as she attempts to rejoin the gang.  When a few of her stunts fall short of the mark, everyone rushes to her rescue, cautions that maybe she isn't ready, and some even question if she should be participating at all.


Upon her return to the dojo, Casey connects with Darcy.  Never really close before, Darcy's excitement about Casey's return is encouraging.  As they chat, Darcy mentions the upcoming tryouts for a local roller derby team.  She begs Casey to join her in trying to nab the two openings on the team.  Darcy sees it as her chance to get back her edge and becomes excited about the prospect of reinventing her rough and tumble life.


As tryouts get underway, Casey is not surprised by how difficult it is physically, but she is concerned about the negative attitude several of the team members have toward her efforts to make the team.  Maybe it has something to do with the incredibly attractive coach named Michael and his obvious interest in her.  She wants to become a part of the group for the thrill of skating, but a powerful attraction to Michael also has her inspired to make the team.  Michael becomes even more attentive after Casey has an unusual encounter with a strange man outside the practice facility.  It is evident that some power beyond Casey's comprehension is at work pulling the two of them together.


Author Carrie Harris's snarky, sarcastic tone is perfect for this fast-paced paranormal adventure.  Although the paranormal nature of the piece has Casey battling demons, she is also fighting the very real fears of overprotective friends and family, as well as her own fears that she didn't deserve to beat a disease that usually claims the lives of so many.  The experience of reading DEMON DERBY has me eager to check out Carrie Harris's other books soon.

FAT BOY VS THE CHEERLEADERS by Geoff Herbach

With a nickname like Chunk, you can imagine what life is like for Gabe Johnson.  Gabe's weight problem began when his mother left.  His father sunk into a deep depression, and Gabe's life began to revolve around watching TV and eating junk food with his dad in an attempt to keep him from giving up.  Gabe packed on the pounds, his father continued to mope, and his mother didn't even call or write.


The only thing that keeps Gabe going is playing his trombone in the Minnekota Lake High School band.  The band director Mr. Shaver has influenced a lot of kids like Gabe, in other words, the geeks of MLHS.  The marching band is a huge success thanks to proceeds from the pop machine located in the school cafeteria.  Gabe is one of the pop machine's biggest supporters which doesn't exactly help his weight problem.  A minimum of four Code Red Mountain Dews is what gets him through the day.


When Gabe and his fellow band members see the sign on the pop machine announcing that the money raised will now be going to support the cheerleaders' dance team, they can't believe it.  Who made that decision?  The next announcement angers them even more - no money means no marching band camp!


Gabe suddenly finds himself thrust into the role of leader as he organizes a protest to reinstate funding for the band and come to the aid of the band director who is arrested for drunk driving after learning that his program is may be cut.  Can Gabe help the band and at the same time deal with a depressed father, a health conscious/workout freak of a grandfather, and the fact that he just might be in love with the school's only Goth girl?


Author Geoff Herbach, known for his STUPID FAST series, has created another great teen character.  FAT BOY VS THE CHEERLEADERS is the perfect read for teens who love to root for the underdog and have a laugh or two at the same time.

HOW IT WENT DOWN by Kekla Magoon

Review ARC courtesy of NetGalley.com
Release date: October 2014


It is a case of violence in the hood.  A would-be teen gang member is shot and killed as he leaves a neighborhood store.  Did he have a gun or was it a Snickers candy bar clutched in his hand?


Tariq didn't have the best reputation, but that doesn't excuse the tragedy that ended his life.  He was running an errand for his mother and was shot leaving the store.  When a white man with a gun observed a black teen in a hoodie running from the store with the store owner hot on his heels, the white man opened fire and fatally shot Tariq.  What no one stopped to investigate was that the shop owner was simply trying to get Tariq's attention because he had forgotten to pick up his change.


HOW IT WENT DOWN by Kekla Magoon is proof that every witness has a different view of the event and every person has a different opinion about the victim.  The story records the nine days following Tariq's death.  Multiple points of view are presented taking readers into life on the streets of Tariq's neighborhood.  The emotional impact on Tariq's mother, grandmother, sister, and best friend are only a few of the many voices present in the novel.  Both friends and enemies as well as random participants in the events surrounding Tariq's death share their thoughts and reactions to the violence that is an unfortunate part of their daily routines.


Similar to recent real life events, HOW IT WENT DOWN definitely speaks to the racism, inner city violence, and how justice  is viewed by many today. 

TO THIS DAY: For the Bullied and Beautiful by Shane Koyczan

Review ARC courtesy of NetGalley.com
Release date: September 2014


Maybe some of you readers have already witnessed this amazing piece of material.  Author and poet Shane Koyczan first performed TO THIS DAY as a spoken word poem on stage.  From there it became a hit on You Tube, first as a recording of his performance and later as a video highlighted by the work of visual artists.  Now TO THIS DAY can be found in book form complete with Koyczan's poem, art from select graphic artists, and a detailed background of the history of the piece and the message Koyczan hopes to convey to the world about bullying.


TO THIS DAY expresses the conflicting feelings of an individual growing up in a vicious, intolerant world.  Whether suffering emotional or physical attacks, the victim of bullying struggles with how to carry on as each day presents what feels like insurmountable challenges.  As Koyczan explains, "Sticks and stones may hurt your bones, but words can never hurt you," are words that offer empty comfort to a child facing torment from his peers.  The power of the bully is overwhelming for those under attack.


Koyczan hopes his poem will speak to victims, perpetrators, and bystanders alike.  The power of his words combined with eye-catching and emotional artwork should ensure that his message touches anyone who turns the pages of this brilliant piece.  Those who have suffered at the hands of a bully will no doubt be able to see themselves at some point in the poem, and hopefully, rejoice that Shane Koyczan has been able to present their feelings for the world to see.

ZOM-B CLANS by Darren Shan

What's next for B?  When readers left her last, she had just begun battling the Klanners whose goal wasn't just to attack the zombies, but mostly to eliminate anyone who didn't fit their racist views. 


It would seem that with the world overrun with zombies anyone still alive would ban together no matter their race or ethnic background.  B and her fellow Angels are shocked to realize that these Ku Klux Klan crazies are intent on destroying the living or the dead if they represent some minority.  B thought she left those prejudices behind when she escaped her racist father.


To complicate matters, Dan-Dan has returned.  The fat man dressed in the sailor costume is guilty of killing children, and all B wants to do is rip him to pieces, but instead she finds she must protect him if there is any chance that she can rescue her best friend Vinyl and other Angels being held captive by the Owl Man.


The action and excitement continue as B takes daring chances in her attempt to return control of the world to the living.  Fans of Darren Shan's ZOM-B series won't have to wait long for book #8, ZOM-B FAMILY, due for release in October.

WICKEDPEDIA by Chris Van Etten

WICKEDPEDIA by Chris Van Etten is the perfect murder mystery for summer beach reading.  Complete with high school gossip, a touch of humor, and some gruesome killing, it will grab readers and keep them in a choke hold until the end.


Cole is battling Winnie for valedictorian, and to make matters worse, Winnie is his ex-girlfriend.  He hasn't truly gotten over their breakup, and he certainly isn't a fan of her new boyfriend and soccer star, Josh. 


When Cole's friend Gavin suggests a way to embarrass and maybe even sideline Josh, Cole is all in.  Using Wikipedia is a shortcut their teachers frown upon, and when they discover Josh uses it regularly, they decide to do a bit of editing to "help" Josh with his research for an upcoming speech. 


Everything works just as they plan and Josh suffers publicly.  But, when Cole and Gavin get a bit more creative on Wikipedia, events begin to spiral out of control.  What started out as a joke is now ending in death and disfigurement caused by someone who is obviously watching their every move.


Author Chris Van Etten provides plenty of intense action and intrigue in WICKEDPEDIA.  Get your hands on a copy today.

SAY WHAT YOU WILL by Cammie McGovern

I have a number of reactions to report with this review of SAY WHAT YOU WILL by Cammie McGovern.


1) I discovered it while browsing the new releases at the bookstore.  Really glad I selected it!
2) As I read it, I was pleasantly surprised to identify it as a romance that might appeal to some guy readers.
3) Although I was usually one jump ahead in the plot, there were still enough twists to keep me up all night turning pages.


Amy, a victim of cerebral palsy (CP), is headed into her senior year of high school.  She walks with the aid of a walker and speaks with the help of a computerized device called a Pathway.  Through the years she has had adult aides to help her get to classes and deal with the physical requirements of her condition.  She was used to eating her "special" lunch in a staff lunchroom and having the ever present adult act as a go-between to communicate with students and staff.  Amy may have needed individualized assistance for some things but not with her classwork.  Amy found schoolwork a breeze, and as a result, her mother was busy planning her final year of high school and the application process for all the colleges she hoped her daughter could attend.


For her final year in high school, Amy had one request.  She was tired of spending the majority of her time with adults.  It was clear to her that her fellow students were not inspired toward friendship due to the constant presence of her "teacherlike" helpers.  Amy worked long and hard to convince her parents that she wanted to have peer helpers for her senior year.  She made her case successfully, and through an application and interview process, her mother selected four of Amy's fellow classmates to act as her helpers and hopefully her new friends.


Chloe, Sarah, Sanjay, and Matthew were the chosen four.  Helping Amy would be a paid position and also count toward community service credit for the year.  As the experiment started, Amy found Matthew to be the strangest fit.  The other three went about their tasks willingly, but sometimes left Amy behind making it seem like they viewed the companionship as merely a job.  Matthew was attentive, and Amy quickly decided he had the potential to be a real friend and maybe more, but his own odd tics and behavior had her convinced that he had serious problems of his own.


Readers of SAY WHAT YOU WILL receive story insight from both Amy and Matthew as the POV's of both characters are strongly present.  Amy is dealing with her physical disabilities and her domineering mother, while Matthew quietly suffers with OCD tendencies that have increased in recent years since his parents' divorce and his mother's decline into depression.  Having the balance of Matthew's voice alongside Amy's is what may make this a successful read for both male and female teens.  I will definitely be book talking it with that in mind.


This is the first YA effort for author Cammie McGovern.  A must read as far as I'm concerned, and I am eager to see what she has to offer next.

CALL ME BY MY NAME by John Ed Bradley

Football in Louisana is almost a religion, and it wasn't any different in the 1970's.  Something was different in the 70's though.  As a southern state, Louisana still wasn't fully on board with desegregation.  Rodney Boulet and his twin sister Angie grew up in a small town where mixing blacks and whites still wasn't an accepted idea.


Rodney met Tater Henry on the baseball field when the two played Little League.  When Tater, a young black player, boldly stepped on the field, not everyone was thrilled.  Tater had solid skills though and earned the reluctant respect of both coaches and players. 


As the years passed, Tater and Rodney became true friends.  When they weren't playing baseball, they were perfecting their skills at other sports, even swimming when Rodney and Angie could sneak Tater into the city pool where blacks were still not allowed to swim.  When it came time to start high school, blacks were beginning to attend the local public high school.  Although, many white families sent their children to private schools to avoid desegregation, Rodney and Angie's parents weren't able to afford the necessary tuition.  But, Rodney was excited to start high school with his now best friend Tater by his side.  He knew their athletic talents would score them sure spots on the football team. 


 As expected, the team's coaches and players didn't give Tater a warm welcome, but once his speed and quick thinking became evident, he became a valuable member on the field.  Rodney didn't really notice Tater's skin color anymore, and the two began a great partnership on the football field.


One thing did change as time passed.  Rodney's sister Angie was falling in love.  It was one thing to have someone black as his best friend, but Rodney wasn't sure how he felt about his sister having a black boyfriend.  He knew for sure that their father wasn't happy about it, and others frequently made their feelings clear as well.


Author John Ed Bradley brings the football action alive and at the same time clearly reveals the racial tension in the South in the early 1970's.  Both teen and adult readers will appreciate the struggles of the main characters to form lasting friendships and at the same time deal with the conflicting emotions brought on by the times.

WHEN MR. DOG BITES by Brian Conaghan

Let me explain a couple reasons why I bought this book.  #1 - The title and cover are great!  #2 - When the jacket blurb mentioned that the main character has Tourette's, I was hooked.  I am currently working on writing a book with a teen in our public library writers' group, and our main character has Tourette's.  I figured I had better pick up this book to see if our idea had already been done or if we have a chance to do it even better.  (Wishful thinking, of course.)  Here's a brief review and a little commentary about our idea compared to author Brian Conaghan's.


Dylan Mint is sixteen.  "Mr. Dog" represents the uncontrollable urge to let his Tourette's take over his thoughts and actions.  If Mr. Dog has his way, Dylan's tenuous control over his outbursts is destroyed.  At that point he is not responsible for what comes out of his mouth.  Anyone close enough to hear him yell will witness every curse word imaginable and then some. 

Dylan and his best friend Amir (diagnosed on the autism spectrum) go through their days trying to be as normal as possible.  Their biggest desire is to do normal sixteen year old things in normal sixteen year old ways.  During a routine doctor visit, Dylan hears his mother and his doctor whispering.  He believes they are discussing the fact that he has less than a year to live.  He immediately begins to create a list of the things he wants to do before croaks or as he says, "cacks." 


Knowing he has a limited time, his to do list includes only three items.  First and foremost, he wants to sleep with the only hot girl that goes to his special school.  He hopes to get some help from Amir, but all the time he spends protecting his friend from vicious bullies and trying to get to the bottom of his mother's strange behavior, threatens to prevent him from achieving his goal.


WHEN MR. DOG BITES is nothing like the novel my fellow writer and I are trying to draft.  Although our protagonists may share the same syndrome, the focus is much different.  One thing I gained from reading WMDB is a better understanding of Tourette's.  Dylan's case seems pretty severe which causes his thinking and behavior to veer wildly off course.  This often became distracting.  My writing partner and I have already discussed that our character will have had some success in controlling his impulses through therapy, medication, and diet.  After reading Dylan's story, I believe Tourette's will need to play a secondary role in our novel with the plot driving the action instead.  Now for the hard work - finding time to continue our writing.

FORGET ME by K. A. Harrington

Ebook review copy courtesy of FirstToRead.com


Morgan has only known Flynn for a few months, but she thinks she may be in love.  He is dark and quiet, and she hasn't really introduced him to many people since he'd rather just hang out quietly with her.  Disaster strikes the night that a black SUV roars out of the darkness killing Flynn and then speeding off into the night.


There is no closure for Morgan.  Flynn's body is apparently claimed by his family and taken away for a service and burial, and Morgan isn't invited.  Determined to solve the mystery of Flynn's terrible death, Morgan takes the suggestion of a friend and posts her one and only picture of him on a social media site.  The mystery only deepens when the picture leads to information about a young man known as Evan.  Could they actually be the same person?  Morgan aims to find out.


Morgan's search is complicated when her parents begin acting strangely.  Both of them lost their jobs when the major industry in River's End closed due to a series of heart attack deaths related to one of the company's products.  Now they always seem to be whispering in the next room about some secret only to lapse into an uncomfortable silence when Morgan enters the room.  Morgan knows they are hiding something so she is forced to search for answers about Flynn on her own.


Should she arrange a meeting with Flynn's lookalike who lives in the neighboring town?  Perhaps returning to the abandoned amusement park where she met Flynn will reveal some answers.  All Morgan knows is she will never find peace until she knows who Flynn really was and why the black SUV ended his life so abruptly.


Author K. A. Harrington combines one plot twist after another to create a suspenseful novel that fills in a much needed gap in YA literature.  Mysteries are few and far between for teens, and Harrington's FORGET ME is perfect for readers searching for offerings in this genre.

FAT ANGIE by e. E. Charlton-Trujillo

Angie lives in Dryfalls, Ohio.  She and her family are well-known in town and even beyond because her sister, a local basketball star turned soldier, has disappeared in Afghanistan.  Everyone assumes her sister will not be coming home, but Angie refuses to give up.  If she never sees her sister again, Angie is pretty sure her own life will be over.


Having lost her sister is not Angie's only struggle.  She is overweight which makes her a target for every bully in town.  Her own mother also has issues with Angie's weight and spends most of her time avoiding her remaining daughter.  Tension is thick between her mother and also her adopted brother Wang who is having his own difficulties dealing with their missing sibling.


When a new girl named KC Romance walks into Angie's life, amazing things begin to happen.  KC doesn't seem to care about Angie's physical appearance.  She lets Angie know that she thinks there is much more to her than what people see on the outside.  The confidence that Angie gains might be just what she needs to survive her family tragedy, but there is more to KC Romance than meets the eye.


Author e. E. Charlton-Trujillo has created a resilient character in Angie, one who will inspire readers to battle against the odds and fight back.  Angie's journey is not an easy one, but with determination and the support of people who believe in her, she is able to carry on.

GASP by Lisa McMann

In CRASH Jules saved Sawyer from being killed by a truck headed toward his family's restaurant.  Then in BANG she and Sawyer saved the lives of students about to be killed in a school shooting.  Now one of the survivors of the school attack is having visions similar to those Jules and Sawyer experienced just before the tragedies they prevented.


They learn about Tori's visions and step in to help, but they are too late to stop the deaths of several people due to carbon monoxide poisoning.  When she contacts them again with a new vision, Jules and Sawyer are determined to succeed in stopping another tragic event.  This time it appears to involve a Lake Michigan ferry transporting an innocent crowd of people from Wisconsin to Michigan.  If they can just figure out the clues, they may be able to save the lives of many.


In the midst of decoding Tori's vision, Jules and her family are the victim of a freak fire that destroys her family's restaurant and home.  Although they lose everything and are devastated at the prospect of starting over, the fire seems to have been just the jolt that Jules's father needed to recover from his depression and take charge of his family and business.


GASP is the third and final book in the Visions series by Lisa McMann.  Jules and Sawyer's stories will entertain and keep readers on the edge of their seats as well as illustrate that tragedy often uncovers unexpected hope and courage. 

A TIME TO DANCE by Padma Venkatraman

Dancing means everything to Veda.  Her mother wants her to focus on her studies and become an engineer some day, but the traditional Indian dance known as Bharatanatyam is all Veda thinks about. 


When Veda succeeds in winning a dance competition, she believes her dreams for the future have just begun.  Riding home from the competition, tragedy strikes.  There is an accident and Veda's lower right leg is injured beyond repair.  When she regains consciousness in the hospital, she learns her leg has been amputated below the knee.  Now she believes her life is over.


An American doctor takes Veda's case and promises he can create a prosthetic leg that will have her dancing once again.  After physical therapy and learning to adjust to her new leg, Veda finds herself back in the beginner's dance class.  The only thing that keeps her going is a handsome young dancer named Govinda.  He believes in her and is determined to see her dance with more than just skill.  Veda is challenged to take her dance to an emotional level she never thought possible.


Author Padma Venkatraman tells Veda's inspiring story and fills it with the mystic and tradition of India.  Written in verse, A TIME TO DANCE celebrates the art of dance as well as the resilience and passion of the human spirit.

I KILL THE MOCKINGBIRD by Paul Acampora

Three friends attempt to honor their deceased teacher by encouraging people to read the famous classic TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.  Unhappy that their new English teacher is assigning a huge list for summer reading, Lucy, Elena, and Michael can think only about Fat Bob and his promise to make their only summer reading requirement TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.  The book is already a favorite of Lucy's, and together they vow to make others aware of this excellent book.


They decide to use the economic concept of supply and demand to get people interested in the book.  If it appears that the book is difficult to buy in bookstores or borrow from libraries, it could increase demand.  The idea is not to take or steal the books, but rather to put them where they are least likely to be found.  Visiting bookstores and libraries they creatively re-shelve Harper Lee's classic so customers looking for copies believe they are not available.


Using Facebook, Twitter, and other online forums, they begin a campaign using reverse psychology, telling people that the book is not worth reading.  They also spread around flyers and posters with their original logo and the phrase "I kill the mockingbird."  News travels quickly and their plan takes off.


Even though Lucy's father suspects their involvement in this crazy scheme, the three friends keep their lips sealed and work carefully to stay above the law.  There are some amazing results and a wide variety of reactions that leave the kids wondering if their decision was the right one.


Author Paul Acampora has created an extremely unique story and tribute to a favorite novel of many readers.  Scattered throughout the book he also name drops the titles of many other classic favorites as readers follow the adventures of three very creative book lovers.  I KILL THE MOCKINGBIRD is a must read.

NO PLACE by Todd Strasser

It's Dan's senior year.  He has a hot girl friend and his pitching talents have earned him a scholarship to Rice University.  Everything seems to be headed in the right direction for him except for that both his parents are out of work.   With the downturn of the economy, his mother lost her job as a stockbroker, and his father's job organizing activities for inner city youth was eliminated.  Now they are losing their home.


Dan is forced to pack up his belongs and join his parents as they move into his uncle's house.  Instead of having his own room, he is sleeping in the rec room surrounded by a pool table and his cousins' toys.  Things at the house are tense.  Uncle Ron makes it clear that he doesn't think his brother-in-law, Dan's dad, is trying his hardest to find a job.  The already uncomfortable situation reaches a boiling point when Dan's dad borrows Uncle Ron's golf clubs without asking. 


It is time to move on, but the only option left is a tent city called Dignityville that has been erected in one of the city's park areas.  Dan can't believe he will be spending the rest of his senior year living in a tent and sharing meals in a communal dining tent.  Relationship problems with his girl friend, his father's suspicious activities, and pressure to stay in shape and pitch well at an upcoming fall tournament may prove to be more than Dan can handle.  To complicate matters, it appears that some opponents of Dignityville are willing to use violence to make their feelings known.


Author Todd Strasser has done it again.  He takes on the challenge of making teen readers aware of homelessness and the lack of class equality in our country.  NO PLACE educates readers about a growing social issue and also entertains with a bit of mystery and intrigue.