The story: Max is a geeky kid, picked on by bullies. Who would ever have guessed that he's the descendant of the greatest sorcerer ever known in the Magrus? Princess the Destroyer is a bad unicorn, and one of two magical creatures who can cross between Magrus (the magical realm) and Techrus (the human realm). Evil magician Rezormoor wants to be able to cross in order to find the Codex of Infinite Knowability (a book containing the 13 Prime Spells that will enable him to control everything). Princess is good to go on this quest because she's already eaten every human being in the Magrus--and the only thing that stands between her, Rezormoor, and ultimate domination is the dorky kid with the glasses. But there may be more to Max than it seems! Stuck with the carnivorous unicorn on his trail, Max must find the courage to save himself, his friends, and the entire human race...

June Cleaver’s ratings: Language PG; Nudity G; Sexual Content G; Violence PG-13; Substance Abuse PG; Magic & the Occult PG-13; GLBT Content G; Adult Themes G; overall rating PG-13.

Liz's comments: There are some very funny moments in this book, which alternates between Max's story in the Techrus and Princess/Rezormoor's stories in the Magrus. The magical realm is a kind of mashup of 80s video games and Dungeons & Dragons...not a bad thing if you know what's up with those, but rather confusing if you don't. If a kid is willing to think about the magical part of things, he'll be fine--but if you're looking for self-explanatory, this is not the right book.

SASQUATCH IN THE PAINT, by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld

The story: Theo has turned into a giant overnight, and Coach has recruited him for the basketball team. But being tall isn't the same as being coordinated, and Theo is a mess on the court. Worse, all the hours he spends practicing is taking away from his time on the science team, where his geeky best friends hang out. What should he do? Hang with the homeys and stay a geek forever--especially now that the cute new girl turns out to be a brain too? Or should he head for the bright lights and popularity that come with being an athlete?

June Cleaver’s ratings: Language PG; Nudity G; Sexual Content G; Violence PG; Substance Abuse G; Magic & the Occult G; GLBT Content G; Adult Themes PG (death of a parent); overall rating PG.

Liz's comments: Since I'm generally not a fan of sports fiction (underdog team comes from behind and--surprise--wins!) I got more than I expected here. There was a lot more going on than just the game, and Theo does quite a bit of growing up and even soul-searching. His friends are interesting individuals, and he comes to some sound conclusions that might seem surprising to some. Give this to a kid who only wants to read about sports, and he might come out with a new interest in mysteries or buddy fiction!

PRE-PUB REVIEW: Blind by Rachel DeWoskin

At 416 pages, this novel is a lot longer than most YA offerings.  Sometimes, as with Harry Potter, the extra pages are not an obstacle, but in this case, some editing was badly needed.  Blind tries to cover too much ground for one novel.  Emma has a horrible accident which blinds her.  She is whiny, any of us would be.  She goes to a special school, learns how to be more independent, returns to her own school and is mainstreamed.  She explains about Braille and ways of dealing with being blind.  She has a crush, several actually, she and her best friend fight and makeup multiple times.  One of the girls in her small town commits suicide, she helps another blind girl who is younger than herself…and the list goes on.  Blind lacks focus and while it has occasionally interesting passages, it could have used some major cutting.  There are just too many subplots and things going on.  Although the main story arc is about Emma coming to terms with her blindness, there are so many distractors and side trips along the way that the reader is begging for her to just get on with it already.  The Silver family is big, six daughters and one son, and likeable.  Emma is a fully realized character with flaws that the reader can relate to.  The problem is the lack of tightness in the narrative.  It is too meandering.  There are things that happen that seem to not have any point, for example, when Emma and best friend Logan have a dust up over Logan dating Emma’s long time crush, it just kind of goes away.  It might have been a turning point of some kind, but really, Zach (said crush) could have easily been left out of the story. 

I wanted to like this one, really.  It is serviceable, and if you have a population for whom this might have added appeal, it may be a good purchase, but I don’t think there will be a long hold list.

This book will be published in August 2014

June’s Rating System:  Language—R a few F-bombs;  Nudity—PG; Sexual Content—PG13;  GLBT Content—PG  There is some discussion that Claire, the girl who committed suicide, did so because she was a lesbian.  This is another subplot that just tries too hard.  It doesn’t go anywhere and there is no real meaningful resolution.  It is as if she had to stick one more thing into an already overstuffed novel—gotta be sure and hit the GLBT checkbox!  Violence—G;  Substance Abuse—PG some smoking and drinking by underage teens as well as some adults.  Adult Themes—G  

Robin’s Comments:  Although Viking recommends this for 12 and up, I would not recommend it for students under grade 9 due to the language and some of the situations in the novel. 

ONE CAME HOME, by Amy Timberlake

The story: Georgie's sister has disappeared. Bits and pieces of a body wearing Agatha's best dress have turned up, and a funeral is held--but George refuses to believe her sister is dead. Armed with her trusty Springfield single-shot rifle, Georgie decides to beg, borrow (or steal) a horse and follow Agatha's trail, which also happens to be the path taken by the 1871 nesting of passenger pigeons in Wisconsin, the biggest ever recorded. Goerogie expects to find her sister, but what she doesn't expect is mayhem, crime, possible murder...or the help of the handsomest guy in town.

June Cleaver’s ratings: Language PG; Nudity G; Sexual Content G; Violence PG-13; Substance Abuse PG; Magic & the Occult G; GLBT Content G; Adult Themes (Murder, crime)PG; overall rating PG.

Liz's comments: This story has three great things going for it: first, it's a mystery, always good; second, it's historical fiction about something most Americans know nothing about; and finally, it has a feisty, funny 13-year-old heroine determined to make things right with her sister, even if she has to use a gun to do it. Two thumbs up for "One Came Home"!

SUMMER OF THE MARIPOSAS, by Guadalupe Garcia McCall

The story: Odilia and her four sisters are swimming in the Rio Grande when they bump into...a corpse. They know they need to return the man's body to his family, but he comes from across the border in Mexico. How will the girls ever get across? It's going to take more than just "borrowing" a car and driving south--it's going to take some serious magic.

June Cleaver’s ratings: Language G; Nudity G; Sexual Content G; Violence PG-13; Substance Abuse PG; Magic & the Occult PG-13; GLBT Content G; Adult Themes (abandonment & death) PG; overall rating PG.

Liz's comments: this is a charming but rather strange mash-up of contemporary teen fiction and fantasy. Figures from Mexican folklore/fantasy feature prominently here, as both La Llorona and the Aztec goddess Tonantzin come to the girls' aid on a regular basis. An interesting glimpse into a strangely foreign culture, but those uneasy with scary occult characters like the warlock, lechuzas (kind of a vicious, steel-clawed vulture-owl)and chupacabras may want to be careful.

COLIN FISCHER, by Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz

The story: Freshman Colin Fischer has Asperger's syndrome, which means most people think he's weird--and that some people go out of their way to bully him. He keeps notebooks detailing all the facts he finds interesting in his life--so when someone brings a gun to school and one of his tormentors gets blamed, Colin knows Wayne is innocent. He sets out to prove it, but why? So Wayne will quit bugging him? Nope. Just because Colin wants to know. But Colin soon finds out that knowing too much can get you into a lot of trouble…and maybe even get you killed.

ASK MY MOOD RING HOW I FEEL, by Diana Lopez

The story: Chia just got some terrible news: her mother has cancer, and now everything she had planned for her 8th grade year doesn’t seem that important anymore. She makes a promesa (a kind of deal with God)and now she has to find 500 people to sponsor her in the Race for the Cure. She doesn't want to talk about it to her friends…but it turns out she’s going to need her friends more than ever before this is all over!

POISON, by Bridget ZInn

The story: Master Potion-maker Kyra is on the run. She's just tried to kill princess Ariana (who also happens to be her best friend)--but somehow her usually perfect aim failed, and she missed. Now, along with trying to evade the King's guards, she's also got to keep a hand on her tracking pig, keep the local witches and criminals from guessing her true powers, and--most annoying of all--try to keep one step ahead of Fred, the handsomest guy (and best cook) she's met in a long time. Can she do it? One wrong step would be her last!

PRE-PUB REVIEW Panic by Lauren Oliver

High school graduates in Carp, New York have an unusual tradition.  Each summer the recently matriculated seniors have the opportunity to participate in a Fear Factor style “game” in which the winner (and there can be only one) takes home a pot of cash collected from students throughout the year.  The game is run by judges selected secretly, who are also paid highly from the pot.  But Panic is not all fun and eating gross stuff.  Dangerous challenges are the norm and unlike Fear Factor, there are no harnesses or ambulances standing by in case of an emergency;  more than one person has met his end during the yearly festivities.  Heather, Dodge, Bishop, and Nathalie are all involved in this year’s Panic for various reasons.  Dodge is playing for revenge—his sister is paralyzed from a car crash during the final round (named “Joust”) of Panic.  Nathalie and Heather want to get out of Carp, and Bishop wants to keep Heather from getting hurt.  As teens are eliminated, the challenges escalate in the run up to the Joust.  Meanwhile, Heather’s home life with her drug addicted mother is falling apart.  Who will win?  Will our heroine survive?  Will she finally realize that she is in love with Bishop?  For the answers to these and other questions, read Panic.

This title will work for fans of reality TV or realistic fiction.  The main characters are flawed, but sympathetic, and there is the suspense of the game to keep the reader turning or swiping pages.  
This book is set to be out on March 4, 2014.

June Cleaver’s Rating:  Language—R the f-bombs fly and that is not all;  Nudity—PG13;  Sexual Content—R;  GLBT Content—PG;  Violence—R  in one of the individual challenges for Panic, Russian Roulette is involved;  Substance Abuse—PG13;  Magic & Occult—G;  Adult Themes—Adolescent boys do have thoughts and in this book, those thoughts are explained.  There is also the matter of Panic which includes violence and risky behavior; Overall—R. 

Robin’s Comments:  I would not recommend this to students under grade 9, due to subject matter.  The novel is very entertaining and there is some character growth.  Mostly the adults are absent, but there are actually some nice, caring ones sort of on the periphery of the story.  This would make an interesting discussion for a teen reading group.  Several themes would bear talking about:  reality shows and what they have done/are doing to society; what people are willing to do (have always been—150 years ago teens might have been involved in a duel) for the sake of money and/or respect;  what substance abuse does to families—what are some appropriate responses if you suspect someone needs help;  what does it mean to love someone—is it a “feeling”  or is it an action?  I could go on, but you get it.

SCHOOL SPIRITS, by Rachel Hawkins

The story: Izzy comes from a family that hunts paranormal creatures. She's never been to school, never had a date, never even had a friend. But all that changes when her older sister disappears, and the trail leads to tiny Ideal, Mississippi. Izzy goes undercover at the local high school and finds (surprisingly) friends and even a super-nice kind-of boyfriend...as well as (not surprisingly) a hate-filled ghost who wants revenge on the whole town where she died 100 years ago. Will Izzy have to spill the family secrets just to keep her friends safe?

THE BOY ON THE WOODEN BOX, by Leon Leyson

The story: Lieb Lejzon was the youngest person on Schindler's List. This is Lieb's story--growing up in Narewka, his family's migration to Krakow, the worsening of conditions for Jews before the war and their confinement in the ghetto when the Nazis took over. Lieb's father had come to work for Oskar Schindler as a machinist; Schindler, a manufacturer of enamelware and other war materiel in Poland during World War II, eventually saved the lives of 1,200 Jews by claiming that they were highly skilled workers, vital to the war effort. These "highly skilled" workers included Lieb, who at age 13-14, had to stand on a wooden box to be able to reach his tasks on the line. The workers found themselves hungry and homeless at the end of the war, but nonetheless alive--all due to the efforts of Oscar Schindler. The book also details Lejzon's (American name Leon Leyson) immigration to and life in America up to his death in 2013.