THE CADET OF TILDOR, by Alex Liddell

The story: Cadet Renee de Winter knows she faces expulsion from the Academy if she can't improve her fighting skills. But the events swirling around her make that difficult: treason, attempted coup, and the arrival of the one man whose approval she values more than anyone else's. Is she willing to abandon longtime friends and even family in order to make the cut and succeed in a man's world of espionage and war?

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

Liz's comments: Plenty of bad language and violence in this one, but considering the context (a warrior academy where it's survival of the fittest) it would be more surprising not to have that kind of content. There are good messages about standing by your friends and trying to choose what's right amid a chaos of choices, plus plenty of action and mystery. Give this one to anyone who's a fan of Cinda Williams Chima's "Seven Realms" series. I liked it a lot!

WILL IN SCARLET, by Matthew Cody

The story: One moment, Will is the son of a nobleman and heir to the castle. The next, his uncle is murdered, his mother flees into hiding, and Will is nearly killed in an ambush. He survives to swear revenge on the man responsible for all these misfortunes: Sir Guy of Gisborne, traitor to the crown and his uncle's killer. Surprisingly, when Will finds himself hiding out with a band of outlaws, he finds there may be more honor among thieves than among the nobles of his own class. Take Rob the Drunk, for example...but you may know him better as Robin Hood...

June Cleaver's ratings: Language PG-13; nudity, PG; sexual content, G; violence PG-13; substance abuse PG; magic & the occult, G; GLBT content, G; adult themes, PG; overall rating PG-13.

Liz's comments: two thumbs up for a fresh look at the Robin Hood story, told from the viewpoint of young Will Shackley, who during the course of the story becomes the Will Scarlet of legend. There's a lot going on in this book, with enough of the Robin Hood legend left at the end to make a sequel. Excellent! Give this one to any kid who likes The Ranger's Apprentice series.

FAR, FAR AWAY, by Tom McNeal

The story: For as long as he can remember, Jeremy has had a ghost keeping him company--not a scary ghost, but in fact the ghost of Jacob Grimm: collector of folk tales from long ago, and someone who can at least tell him a story if things get boring. Which they do in Jeremy's small town--at least, until a practical joke leads a killer to look for revenge, and someone starts channeling the witch in Hansel and Gretl. Watch out! If things seem too good to be true, they probably are.

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

Liz's comments: What starts out as a deceptively simple story about a boy and his ghostly companion turns rather dark and gruesome as you learn how fairy tales used to end--not always with "happily ever after"--in fact, sometimes with rat poison and starvation. There is proof, however, that being well-grounded in literary classics can eventually pay off!

The story: there are lots of choices you can make to help yourself survive as a member of a colony on the surface of Mars. Choose wisely, and you'll end up a hero, on your way back home to Earth with bragging rights. Mess up, and you'll find yourself stranded. Or dead. What will happen in YOUR worst-case scenario?

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

Liz's opinion: I thought this was pretty engaging--enough so that I went through and followed several of the scenarios through to the end. More than one ended up with "you" dead on the surface of the planet, or just having a ho-hum existence during your time there. Make all the right choices, though, and you end up a hero. The mission handbook at the back is full of information that helps readers make good choices so they don't end up dead TOO often...but even if they do, they can always back it up and go a different way. Good for boys, or anyone who's not so bound by linear thinking that they just HAVE to read a book straight through! There are several others in the series, including Everest, Amazon, and Deadly Seas.

OTIS DOODA: STRANGE BUT TRUE, by Ellen Potter

The story: Otis Dooda and his "hillbilly" family have just moved to the 35th floor of Tidwell Towers in New York City, and immediately, strange things start happening. He meets a guy with a miniature pony disguised as a dog that randomly lets off massive fart bombs. He's immediately cursed by Potted Plant Guy, who predicts he's going to break all his bones by the full moon. And it happens! Luckily, though...it doesn't hurt at all. Read this story and prepare to laugh out loud!

June Cleaver’s ratings: Language PG (for farts and poo and that kind of stuff); Nudity G; Sexual Content G; Violence G; Substance Abuse G; Magic & the Occult G; GLBT Content G; Adult Themes G; overall rating G.

Liz's comments: Okay, so it's kind of a stretch to say this one is for 3-6; Otis is probably a 4th grader at best. But the book is just so funny that even older kids will like it. I did, and I'm way older than any kid!

CHARLIE JOE JACKSON'S GUIDE TO NOT READING, by Tommy Greenwald

The story: Charlie Joe Jackson is determined to finish middle school with a perfect record of never having read a book. He has a sweet arrangement with his buddy Jake—Charlie Joe buys the ice cream, and Jake does the reading and summarizing. Even though he’s bright, and no one else can figure out what the deal is, Charlie Joe is committed to NOT reading. Until...the lies and excuses start catching up with him, and he finally gets outed: in the middle of the school dance! Even worse, the girl he’s always liked starts going out with his best friend...and it’s all his fault. Now what’s he going to do? The easy thing would be to just break down and read the book...but Charlie Joe has his honor to uphold, and that would be taking the easy way out.

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

Liz's comments: I really like this book! Charlie Joe is a fun, engaging narrator, and the story itself truly reads like it’s being told by a bright non-reader—Greenwald has the MS voice down cold. Charlie Joe’s tips for not reading are funny and actually have some good points. Add into that the usual ins-and-outs of MS drama, and you have a fun story that also, oddly, features a happy family dynamic that’s refreshing. Two thumbs up! (And to pay his debt to society, Charlie Joe doesn’t end up reading after all—he ends up WRITING a book, which you’ve just finished. He emerges triumphant! Nice.)

ARE YOU EXPERIENCED? by Jordan Sonnenblick

The story: Rich Barber has never been able to figure out what's up with his dad--why he's so cold, aloof, and rigid. When dad busts him for playing guitar at a protest, Rich retaliates by breaking into a locked guitar case and discovering the guitar Jimi Hendrix played at Woodstock--and when he plays the funky chord for which Jimi was famous, Rich finds himself transported back to 1969 and Woodstock. What he sees and does there will not only change his life forever, but it might change his futures--and the futures of everyone else in his family, too...dead or alive.

June Cleaver’s ratings: Language R; Nudity PG; Sexual Content R; Violence ; Substance Abuse R; Magic & the Occult PG; GLBT Content G; Adult Themes PG-13 (drug use and abuse, including death by overdose); overall rating R.

Liz's comments: Jordan Sonnenblick moves firmly into the realm of YA with this novel, with its Woodstock-based themes of "make love, not war", along with plenty of questionable language, people running off into the woods to have off-page sex, and an older brother's death by overdose. For those expecting a follow-up to "After Ever After" and the other books in that sort-of series, you're in for some unexpected moments. You could really tell that Jordan Sonnenblick was a fan of Woodstock and all the musicians there. The book even makes you want to go look up Jimi Hendrix's "Star-Spangled Banner" solo on Youtube...but the problem is that readers who are expecting a certain kind of book from this author will find themselves feeling somewhat betrayed. I found the book depressing in spite of the ray-of-hope bit at the end, and thought it was really better suited for a high-school audience, notwithstanding the 7-up rating from SLJ.