NonFic
Cleopatra – Miller, Ron and Browning, Susan – YA B Cleopatra M
A nice little informative book about the life of Cleopatra, from Chelsea House’s Ancient World Leaders collection. Color illustrations with descriptions break up the text and give more information. Keep this in mind when reports on Ancient Egypt come around again!
Myspace / Our Planet: Change is Possible - MySpace Community with Jeca Taudte, and a Foreword by Tom Anderson (yes, that’s THE Tom, everybody’s ‘friend,’ omnipotent ruler of MySpace-dom)
This is a great little hip book about our ever-changing climate, our planet, and how we can save it. Filled with all sorts of info. about making a difference and living ‘green’: taking care of yourself, social responsibility, driving and car maintenance, school, work, streching your dollar, and extra resources in the back. There’s even a glossary of ‘Eco-Speak,’ a neat feature I think. Really cool. As a MySpace user, I dig the fact that Tom is getting involved and using his influence for good. 
Fiction
Upper Class – Brown, Hobson; Materne, Taylor; Says, Caroline – YA FIC Brown [CAROUSEL]
Another Chick Lit series, on the Carousel. Read about the lives of Laine, Nikki, the new girls at Wellington, an elite boarding school. Laine lives the Connecticut country club life, plays field hockey, and turns heads with her turquoise eyes and blond hair. She is Wellington material. Her new roommate Nikki comes from new money, but the two girls couldn’t be more different. Nikki is a Long Island girl (yeah, give props): loud, a tease, and just doesn’t belong, but she’s an asolute sweetheart. But both girls must learn to get along in their new world and discover a little something about themselves in the process.
Shift – Bradbury, Jennifer – YA FIC Bradbury
“When best friends Chris and Win go on a cross country bicycle trek the summer after graduating and only one returns, the FBI wants to know what happened.” A mystery that is believable and realistic – an engrossing story about loyalty and friendship. It looks to be a real page turner!
Secrets of My Hollywood Life: Family Affairs – Calonita, Jen – YA FIC Calonita
This is the third book in a series (Secrets of My Hollywood Life; Secrets…On Location). In this third installment, Kaitlin Burke is on the set of a television show, Family Affairs, and after ten seasons of the show, she thinks she’s got everything figured out. Until Alexis, the new diva, shows up. Tensions mount as Kaitlin struggles to balance her relationship and her crazy job while trying to keep cool in the presence of this new star power on the set.
The Patron Saint of Butterflies - Galante, Cecilia – YA FIC Galante
Agnes and Honey were both born in Mount Blessing, a religious commune. Mount Blessing has lot of secrets and lots of strict rules. The two girls grow up and grow different from each other. While Agnes wants to become a saint, Honey wants to get far from Mount Blessing, as far as she can. Agnes’ grandmother, Nana Pete, visits, and discovers something that makes her fear for the girls’ safety. She removes them from Mount Blessing, and they each must undergo a journey. Agnes struggles to hold on to a life that isn’t there anymore, while Honey is eager to find a normal life. This is a great debut novel about friendship, faith and healing.
Write Naked – Gould, Peter – YA FIC Gould
Quirky sixteen-year-old Victor is a writer. Victor has heard that ‘you have to be naked to write.’ He doesn’t know whether this means being physically naked, or metaphorically naked, as in letting go of preconcieved notions and connecting with your true self. Victor decides to embark on a journey to write. Naked. He stays in a log cabin in the woods of Vermont, seemingly alone. Enter Rose Anna, a free-spirit who is home-schooled, writes with a fountain pen, and wants to save the planet. This book looks fantastic – raw, authentic, just two souls getting to know each other, connecting with their creativity… an awakening. And here’s something…Victor, as the narrator, never capitalizes the letter i when he’s referring to himself, but Rose Anna does. Hmmm… what does it mean? Anything? Read the book and tell me. If I don’t check it out first!
Angel - McNish, Cliff – YA FIC McNish
This one doesn’t have much of a blurb to skim through, but here’s what the inside jacket says: “Two girls linked by destiny…Stephanie believes in angels. Freya is turning into one. Will they have the courage to face their fears of the unknown?” This is a thought-provoking fantasy about a girl who is obsessed with angels…and a girl who is an angel. This book is labeled as ‘Exceptional Reading and Language Arts Titles for Upper Grades.’
Rogelia’s House of Magic - Martinez Wood, Jamie - YA FIC Martinez Wood
Rogelia Garcia is a wise old crone who knows the magic of her ancestors. Marina is a sweet but spoiled Latina princess who can hear dead people, and one of them is speaking in Spanish, but she doesn’t speak the language. Fern is fiesty and free-spirited and can see auras around people. Xochitl (So-chee) is a wallflower, but can turn invisible when she doesn’t want to deal with things anymore. And since her twin sister just died, she’s probably invisible a lot. When Rogelia gets a job as a maid in Marina’s house, she agrees to teach the girls the ways of the curandera (spiritual healer). Marina and Fern are excited to learn but Xochitl is hesitant…magic has let her down before. But at Rogelia’s House of Magic…anything is possible…
The Viper Within - Mills, Sam – YA FIC Mills
Jon has been looking for a way to restore his faith in things; to find a sense of purpose. Jeremiah introduces him to the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood of the Religion of Hebetheus has a mission. They are to kidnap a terrorist known by the codename of SNAKE. By kidnapping this terrorist, the Brotherhood plans to stop an explosion at St. Sebastian’s Secondary School. Jeremiah overheard conversations, followed the terrorist, and orchestrated her capture. Now it’s just a matter of time until the Brotherhood pounces on their terrorist and brings her into their custody. This is an intense novel, with a thought-provoking look at the power of faith and belief in a reality where nothing is what it seems.
All We Know of Heaven – Mitchard, Jacquelyn – YA FIC Mitchard
Bridget Flannery and Maureen O’Malley are best friends. One moment on an icy road leaves one girl dead, and the other injured and in a coma. Families and friends mourn the loss of heir loved one, only to discover that the girl they are mourning is the one that lived. A case of mistaken identity causes one family to reclaim their daughter as a survivor, while another family must let go when they thought their daughter had been the one who lived. Echoing real life events, similar to the case of Laura VanWyn and Whitney Cerak, this novel is a powerful and moving one; a story about tragedy, loss, healing, hope and love.
Child of Dandelions – Nanji, Shenaaz – YA FIC Nanji
Set in 1972, Uganda, when President Idi Amin ordered all foreign Indians out of their homes. A countdown commences as updates are televised and more and more people are forced to leave. Fifteen-year-old Sabine worries that her family will ahve to leave, too. Her father, a businessman, thinks they will be safe because they are Ugandan citizens. As time goes by, ALL INDIANS are ordered to leave Uganda. Sabine and her family must decide whether to stay and defend their rights or to leave. And what would it be like to have to start over in a new place, a new land?
Artichoke’s Heart – Supplee, Suzanne – YA FIC Supplee
Rosemary Goode is smart, funny and good at what she does. But she is overweight. Her ’secret lovers’ are chocolates stashed under her bed. Her mother and her aunt try to encourage her to lose weight. Soon the whole Southern town in Tennessee is gossiping about Rosemary and her ‘problem.’ Rosemary vows to lose the weight and embarks on a journey that isn’t just about her pants size. Her transformation has less to do with weight and more to do with other valuable insights. “A life-changing, waist-shrinking year is captured with honesty and humor – topped with an extra-large helping of Southern charm – in this enchanting debut by Suzanne Supplee.” (-from inside flap)
Confessions of a Serial Kisser – Van Draanen, Wendelin – YA FIC Van Draanen
“After reading her mother’s secret collection of romance novels during her parent’s difficult separation, seventeen-year-old Evangeline Logan begins a quest for the perfect kiss.” Fans of Flipped will love this one. Evangeline is obsessed with lips, and with kissing! Imagining the perfect kiss, as explained with such color in her mother’s romance novels, she embarks on a quest. Evangeline’s journey prove to be filled with ups and downs, and just as much drama as the novels she reads! This looks like a great beach read; fun, light, and full of smooches.
Hurricane Song: A Novel of New Orleans - Volponi, Paul – YA FIC Volponi
“Twelve-year-old Miles Shaw goes to live with his father, a jazz musician, in New Orleans, and together they survive the horrors of Hurricane Katrina in the Superdome, learning about each other and growing closer through their painful experiences.” Music, hope, and faith collaborate in this novel as the human spirit learns to triumph, even in the face of tragedy.
The Disappeared – Whelan, Gloria – YA FIC Whelan
“Silvia tries to save her brother, Eduardo, after he is captured by the military government in 1970s Argentina.” This novel alters its voice between Eduardo’s and Sylvia’s perspectives as a brother and sister come to terms with what is happening in their war-torn country, under the regime of a power-hungry General.
That’s it for now…and don’t forget about Summer Reading Club! Sign up starts June 30th! More on that later.
This is a first YA book for this NY Times Bestselling author. It looks so good, I can’t wait to read it! 
