I'M GLAD I DID, by Cynthia Weil

The story: JJ Green has just cut a deal with her family of lawyers: working a summer job in the music industry, she must sell and get a song recorded before school starts, or she'll be doomed to join the family business. What she doesn't expect to find is a murder, a scandal, or a summer romance--but especially for the last thing, she'll be glad she did.

June Cleaver's ratings: Language PG; Violence PG; Sexual content PG; Nudity G; Substance abuse PG; Magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; adult themes (murder, interracial relationships in the 60s, fraud) PG.

Liz's comments: Fun story, with a lot going on--plus an interesting look at the music industry back at the dawn of the rock 'n' roll era.

RED MOON RISING, by K.A. Holt

The story: Stranded on a rock in space and trying to grub a living out of the desert, the humans hate and fight the native Kihuut. Nicknamed the Cheese, these aliens kidnap girls, who are never seen again. It's only when Rae and her sister Temple are snatched that the other side of the story comes into view: the settlers' diseases have decimated them, rendered them childless, and ruined their trade. No wondered there's such hatred on both sides. Even more amazing--the Cheese treat women like valuable team members, not like they're fit only for doing housework. After a while, Rae may not even want to go back...but she'll be forced to do so in order to prevent an all-out war. Even then, it might still be too late.

June Cleaver's ratings: Language PG; Violence PG-13; Sexual content G; Nudity G; Substance abuse PG; Magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; adult themes (oppression of women, racism) PG; overall rating PG.

Liz's comments: I liked this one a lot! Rae has a spunky voice and believably comes to see her own peoples' shortsightedness and prejudice, which leads her to make a series of difficult decisions in this sci-fi coming of age novel. A way is left open for a sequel, which is to be hoped for!

SOAR, by Joan Bauer

The story: Jeremiah has always loved baseball, but a heart transplant at age 10 is still keeping him on the sidelines. When he and his dad move to Hillcrest, Ohio, Jeremiah thinks he's going to baseball heaven--but he lands in the middle of a scandal, and finds the team demoralized and fading. Who would ever have expected a nerdy 6th grader to pull them back together and help them claim the biggest win of all?

June Cleaver's ratings: Language G; Violence G; Sexual content G; Nudity G; Substance abuse PG-13 (steroid use among athletes); Magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; adult themes (parental abandonment, chronic ill health, coach pressure to use PEDs) PG; overall rating PG.

Liz's comments: This one will be great for younger readers--say, grades 4-6--who are really into sports. (That would not be me. There was WAY too much baseball in this for my taste, and I'm skeptical that the game is a metaphor for life at large, but boys will still like it. That's the most important part.)

THE GIRL I USED TO BE, by April Henry

The story: When Ariel Benson was three years old, her parents were murdered before her eyes. She was the only witness. Now 17, and using her adopted name of Olivia Reinhart, she returns to the tiny town where the gruesome events took place, determined to find out who did it. Little does she expect that the person is still there, waiting to spring into action if the wrong person every shows up--specifically, the girl Olivia used to be.

June Cleaver's ratings: Language PG; Violence PG-13; Sexual content PG; Nudity G; Substance abuse PG; Magic & the occult G; BLGT content G; adult themes (murder) PG-13; overall rating PG-13.

Liz's comments: As a mystery fan, I'm always pleased to find a good YA story that I can recommend to middle school mystery readers. Although there's a little bit of romance that will skew this one toward girls (and of course, the main character is a girl) even boys will like this, as the emphasis is much more on the mystery and much less on the romance. Plus, it was surprisingly clean in terms of language--really happy about that! I get so tired of books loaded with the "F" bomb for no appreciable reason. This one gets the fourth star just because of that. Good plotting and pacing never hurt either! :)

GOING WILD, by Lisa McMann

The story: When Charlie receives a mysterious bracelet in the mail, she puts it on immediately, not knowing that it's going to give her special powers of healing, strenght, speed, climbing, and echo-location. She also doesn't realize that the bracelet wasn't meant for her, or that the bad guys who developed it are going to want it back. Charlie is just figuring out her new powers when the bad guys come to reclaim their property--but she can't get the bracelet off her arm, and her new friends are sucked in as they try to help her.

June Cleaver's ratings: Language G; Violence PG; Sexual content G; Nudity G; Substance abuse G; Magic & the occult (sci-fi weirdness) PG; adult themes (evil scientists) PG; overall rating PG.

Liz's comments: The author spends a little too much time having Charlie figure out her powers, and the book doesn't really move away from its new-kid-in-town beginning and off into its true sci-fi direction until the last few chapters. There's a total cliff-hanger ending, too--but kids who have kept reading until the interesting stuff happens will be ready for the inevitable sequel when it appears.

THESE VICIOUS MASKS, by Taran Shanker

The story: In Victorian London, a group of people with strange abilities is brought together when Miss Rosamond Wyndham disappears from her family estate and her sister Evelyn goes to London to find her. Rose is being sought by the nefarious Dr. Beck, who is determined to discover the secret of her power to heal. Evelyn find some unexpected allies (and unexpected beaux) in the persons of Nicholas Kent and Sebastian Braddock, not realizing that both of them--and in fact, she herself!--also have unexpected powers that might be of interest to Dr. Beck. It's a lot like the American Revolution: they all need to learn to hang together, or they'll end up hanging separately.

June Cleaver's ratings: Language PG-13; Violence PG-13; Sexual content PG-13; Nudity PG; Substance abuse PG; Magic & the occult PG-13; adult themes (kidnapping, coercion by use of magic) PG; overall rating PG-13.

Liz's comments: I thought this was all right, although if you're looking for an Austin-esque romance novel with magic, Garth Nix's "Newt's Emerald" is a better choice (in my humble opinion, good sirs and madams).

ALL RISE FOR THE HONORABLE PERRY T. COOK, by Leslie Connor

The story: Perry has lived in the Blue River Correctional Facility his entire life, juggling his routines on the inside with his life at school, and always waiting for the day when his mother will be paroled. Enter DA Thomas VanLeer, who's completely sure that prison is no place for a kid--so sure that he pulls Perry out and into foster care at his own home. It doesn't matter that VanLeer is Perry's best friend Zoey's stepdad: his house isn't Perry's home, and Perry's determined to get back to his mom, no matter what it takes.

June Cleaver's ratings: Language PG; Violence G; Sexual content PG; Nudity G; Substance abuse PG; Magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; adult themes (criminal lives) PG; overall rating PG.

Liz's comments: Life in the Blue River facility is pretty much Prison Lite--almost like a retreat, only you don't get to leave on Sunday night--but you never doubt Perry and mom Jessica's love for each other, or the fact that a family is a family, even in jail. Secondary characters are engaging and even though Perry is naive (really bugging his mom for the details of her crime, and then taken aback when he gets them) he's a likable narrator, and his persistence helps him solve not only the mystery of his mom's crime, but the mystery of what's going to happen next. I really liked it.