Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R.L. LaFevers

A combination of Nancy Drew and Indiana Jones, Theodosia Throckmorton is in big trouble. Theo’s parents run a museum of ancient artifacts, and only Theo can see the dark curses that surround the many ancient items. Unbeknown to her family, Theo spends a lot of her time trying to dispel the curses that threaten to harm those that enter the museum. When Theo’s mother returns from her latest archaeological dig bearing the Heart of Egypt—a legendary amulet belonging to an ancient tomb—Theo learns that it comes inscribed with a curse so black and vile that it threatens to crumble the British Empire and possibly destroy the world. Intent on returning the malevolent artifact to its rightful place, Theo devises a daring plan to put things right. But even with the help of her younger brother, a wily street urchin, and the secret society known as the Brotherhood of the Chosen Keepers, it won’t be easy….she quickly finds herself pursued down dark alleys, across an ocean, through the bustling crowds of Cairo, and straight into the heart of an ancient mystery. Theo will have to call upon everything she’s ever learned in order to prevent the rising chaos from destroying her country—and herself! (this booktalk is a compilation of reviews, the jacket annotation, and information from the website http://www.theodosiathrockmorton.com/read-an-excerpt/)

Gilda Joyce Series by Jennifer Allison

Start with this introduction from the website: (http://www.gildajoyce.com/)

Dear friend:

My name is Gilda Joyce, and I’m a psychic investigator.

Perhaps you find this hard to believe. After all, if you saw me in the hallway at school, you’d probably assume that I’m an ordinary teenager who lives in Michigan with her widowed mother and annoying older brother. (“True,” you’d think, “this girl is attractive, with an iconoclastic fashion sense. Still — she’s probably just an ordinary kid who’s trying to look interesting.”)

The truth, dear reader, is that encounters with the spooky, the creepy, the hair-raising, and (occasionally) the ridiculous have an uncanny way of seeking me out. Partly because of this, I’ve been studying my Master Psychic’s Handbook and working hard to develop my psychic skills…

Gilda Joyce is one of my favorite young investigators. She’s intrepid, spunky, prone to wearing outrageous costumes and is always ready to solve a new paranormal mystery. This comic mystery series is one of the best yet. I often shivering and laughing at the same time. I can’t get enough of Gilda.

Then follow with a paraphrasing of one of the book summaries from the site. I especially like the one for Ladies of the Lake:

If you think a school for girls is simply a place to wear ribbons in your hair and expose your dimpled knees, you’ve never been to Our Lady of Sorrows.
When Gilda first entered this exclusive private school on scholarship, she was all set to tie my hair in a ponytail, get a fake tan, and write my homework assignments in pink gel ink.
What she didn’t expect was the ominous warning: “Keep your voice down around the dead.”
She didn’t expect the ghost of a drowned girl to wander the hallways.
She certainly didn’t expect to make the most chilling discovery of all: the secret of the Ladies of the Lake.

Bull Rider

Bull Rider by Suzanne Morgan Williams

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
One of the only books I’ve read for kids that deals with the war in Iraq and the devastating impact the return of a wounded soldier can have on a family. An important topic explored in a mediocre book…
Cam O’Mara lives in a small town in Nevada and spends his time helping out on the family ranch and skateboarding. When his older brother returns home from fighting in the Iraq war badly injured, Cam becomes drawn to bull riding. Cams confusion over his feelings towards his brother and the war are balanced with exciting details about bull riding…

View all my reviews.

The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural by Patricia McKissack

When it is neither day nor night, when shadows lurk before darkness falls. This time, when almost anything can happen, is known as the dark thirty. You don’t want to find yourself alone during the dark thirty. For no one will believe you if you tell them what you saw. Did you actually see it? Those 30 minutes between day and night can be bewitching. It’s best to spend this eerie yet magical time with friends-sharing stories. Stories about the strange things that people have seen, stories about the supernatural. A man killed by the Klan returns to seek justice. A train that brings death if you hear its whistle. A man that can see the future sees a fiery demise for his family. The stories in this collection of spine tingling tales are inspired by African American history. They will make you shiver… They will make you wonder… And they are perfect for sharing during that time when anything can happen, during… The Dark Thirty.

The Corps of the Bare-Boned Plane by Holly Horvath

When an accident leaves teenage cousins Meline and Jocelyn parentless they are sent to live with their unknown and eccentric Uncle Marten on a private Island that has a tragic past of it’s own. Quirky characters and outlandish situations weave a story that is as humorous as it is bizarre. It’s a story about the possibility –and impossibility of new beginnings and the truths that make us who we are.

Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles

Caleb Becker has spent the past year in juvenile detention. His crime? A hit and run while drunk driving. His Victim? Maggie Armstrong– who happened to be his twin sister’s best friend and also his next door neighbor.

It’s a year after the accident-Caleb has been released from lock up and Maggie is still learning how to walk again.

Two people, bonded together by tragedy, shunned by the rest of the world… What happens when the very person who hurt you becomes the only person you can trust?

Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkes

*Notes on my categorization for the appropriate age levels for this book:

As always, the final decision about “appropriate age level” is hard to generalize…it ultimately depends on the reader. Although SLJ gave this book a 9+ recommendation for “mild cursing and some sexual scenes” I feel comfortable recommending it to several of my older middle school readers(7th and 8th graders) who have read/are reading The Gossip Girls, The Boyfriend List, and TTYL.

The Great Interactive Dream Machine, by Richard Peck

Josh Lewis’ best friend, techno-nerd Aaron Zimmer, has turned his computer into a wish-granting machine. The formula is not quite right however, and they repeatedly find themselves subject to the wishes of those that surround them. When it is the wishes of a snotty poodle, a boy crazy sister, and the oldest, meanest woman in New York City that are responsible for transporting you through space and time you never know where you will end up. Aaron and Josh must find a way to return to current space and time, fix the machine, avoid the bullies whose underwear they stole, and catch the Watcher, who has been tracking their every move...

Looking for JJ by Anne Cassidy

Seventeen-year-old Alice Tully is finally starting to feel comfortable. She has a boyfriend, a job, a place to live with a kindly woman, and plans to attend college. But things haven’t always been so peaceful for her—in fact, Alice hasn’t always been Alice. Six years before, her name was Jennifer Jones, and she was convicted for murdering her best friend. The British press had been fascinated by her story and now that she has been released they want to find out where she is, and who she has become. Alice isn’t sure what she has become, or what she deserves. Does she deserve to be happy after what she did? As Alice tries to protect her new identity her past comes back to haunt her. Looking for JJ by Anne Cassidy is a gripping and thought provoking thriller about who we are and what we can become.

*Librarians should be aware that there is some discussion of sex within the book.  Alice contemplates losing her virginity with her boyfriend and some passages describe their physical relationship. It is never gratuitous or too graphic but it is present.

My Mother The Cheerleader by Robert Sharenow

Louise Collins is 13 years old when she is yanked out of school to protest desegregation in New Orleans. Instead of going to class, Louise spends her days helping out around the boardinghouse her mother runs. Her mother, Pauline, spends her days participating in protests down at the school. Pauline is one of the Cheerleaders, a group of women who lead the crowd in hate filled chants as 6 year old Ruby Bridges walks up the steps to the school every morning.. But Louise doesn’t really mind not going to school, and she doesn’t think much about the fact that her mother spends her mornings heckling a 6 year old girl.

“Looking back people tend to think that there were two sides of the line on the segregation issue in the Ninth Ward, but there weren’t, at least not where I lived. Not at the beginning, anyway. Just about everyone in the Ninth Ward believed in segregation, including the Negroes, It was one of those things that you assumed everyone agreed on or you didn’t think that much about. I was in the latter category. I never thought to think any other way.” (pg 53-54)

But when Morgan Miller, a man with a mysterious past comes to town everything Louise knows about her mother, her world, and herself changes—forever. An unflinching look at hate, violence, and courage—My Mother the Cheerleader is a tour de force that shows just how slow, confusing and dangerous change can be.

Jade Green by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Recently orphaned Judith is sent to live with her Uncle outside of Charleston in South Carolina with only one instruction-she is not to bring anything that is green. While she finds the request a bit odd she is thankful that her Uncle is taking her in and leaves everything that contains the color green behind. Everything that is, except for a green silk picture frame that her mother had given her. Buried deep in her trunk Judith is sure that the picture frame won’t offend anyone—after all, no one will even know she has it. But then weird things begin to happen around the house. Unexplainable things. Frightening things.  As she tries to figure out what is going on, Judith learns about the houses horrid past and that she is not the first person to come and stay with her uncle, and his last guest… did not leave the house alive.