Haworth, Danette. The Summer of Moonlight Secrets.

Haworth, Danette. The Summer of Moonlight Secrets
Walker & Co 2010 273p 16.99
978-0-8027-9520-5 ms/jr. Fantasy VG

Allie lives with her parents in a once grand hotel in Florida. She and a guest, Chase, discover a girl emerging from the water of the springs. The story will entrance the readers as Allie and Chase discover Tara’s secret. The Meriwether is Allie’s home because her parents run the inn that is situated at Hope Springs. The Antebellum inn is the perfect place for a young girl to explore and discover plenty of secret “hiddey holes”. This fact plus the fact that the upper floors of the inn are not used because of disrepair provide Chase and Allie ample space to hide Tara (the beautiful girl who emerged from the hot springs).
Readers will be amazed when they discover Tara’s secret. Let’s just say, without giving away too much, that Tara seems to have lost her coat. She must retrieve her coat before she can return to her home and friends. The readers will enjoy a series of tense and humorous incidents as the story comes to conclusion.
Fantasy readers will enjoy the in and outs of the story line. This is a very well written book that will relate well to many young readers. It is recommended as a basic book for any upper elementary/middle school library. McNeil, Linda

Harvey, Alyxandra. Hearts at Stake (The Drake Chronicles)

Harvey, Alyxandra Hearts at Stake (The Drake Chronicles)
Walker & Co 2010 250p 9.99
978-0-8027-2047-0 hs Supernatural E-BN

Solange is the first female vampire born to a very powerful vampire family. Legend says that the first female born to a very powerful vampire family will rule the clan but Solange for has no intentions of ruling anything but her own life, thank you very much. However, as her sixteenth birthday draws near offers for her hand in marriage pour in.
With so many brothers, Solange barely has a life! Lucy her best friend has knowledge of the family’s dark secret and has been a part of the family all her life and is willing to fight to defend them. And she might be put to the test as Solange and Nicholas face dangers from outside families wanting to become the next rulers of the clans.
At times funny and romantic this tale will have you at the edge of your seat as you meet the villians and the heroes. The bad guys sometimes turn out to be the good guys and the good guys will sometimes betray the everyone to suit their purposes.
An action backed story full of romance, vampires, fights, confrontations and all kinds of delicious twist and turns. This story will leave wanting to know more about this strong family of vampires and their histories. The good-versus-evil plot will take you on a roller coaster ride until the end and leave you waiting for the next episode. Diaz(1), Magna

Petrucha, Stefan. Split

Petrucha, Stefan. Split
Walker & Co 2010 257p 16.99
978-0-8027-9372-0 hs Conflict VG

Wade leads two distinct lives: computer genius out to save the earth from destruction and slacker singer/song writer who is chased by loan sharks. The action is fast-paced, but the details of particle collider science may turn off some readers. Grades 9+.
Wade is a computer/math genius. He has an obsessive streak that causes him to search for perfection. He is also artistic, writing songs, playing guitar and singing. These personal characteristics collide shortly after his mother dies. His split personality becomes evident as he copes with the pressures in his life. The academically talented preppily dressed Wade works with a high school math and computer teacher to design a computer program that would simulate and check for errors in the research being done at a particle collider facility. Wade believes that the scientists at the research facility have overlooked a fatal flaw in their programming and that the collider will create strangelets that would cause the world to turn into a hot lump of strange matter. Espionage-like actions allow him into the facility to test his sim program. In a parallel universe/mind, Wade is a slacker singer/song writer who performs his material in a seedy bar in a poor area of town. He is shabbily dressed, often unwashed and in hock to loan sharks. Both worlds are inhabited by best friend Anthony and girlfriend Denby. Alternating chapters reveal the dual plot lines which ultimately converge with humor and fast-paced action. Those readers willing to suspend belief will be on the ride of their lives and root for both Wades.
Grades 9 +. Recommended especially for those students who like James Bond type action wrapped up in a tale of split personalities. Grades 9 and up. McNicol,Lois

In a Heart Beat.

Ellsworth, Loretta. In a Heart Beat.

Walker & Co 2010 216p 16.99

978-0-8027-2068-9 ms/jr VG-BN

Told in their separate voices, Eagan, who has died in a figure-skating accident, becomes a heart donor for Amelia, who then begins taking on some aspects of Eagan's personality. Ellsworth, in her author’s note, states that In a Heart Beat started out as therapy, written after the deaths of her mother and a nephew, who was an organ donor. The result of her effort is a heartfelt, honest to goodness, reach for the tissues because you can’t stop crying kind of a book. But rather than focus on the pedestrian “organ donor saves a life” plot, Ellsworth adds a twist with the theory of cellular memory. Cellular memory theorizes that the brain is not the only repository of memory and that other organs may also hold memories. Sixteen year old Eagan, a competitive ice skater, dies in a freak accident. As an organ donor, her heart goes to fourteen- year-old Amelia who has been living with congestive heart failure. Ellsworth brings us straight into the emotional turmoil of Eagan’s unexpected death and Amelia’s reluctance to live through someone else’s death. Eagan and Amelia’s stories are told in alternating chapters, as each deals with the circumstances of death and life. Eagan is athletic, full of life, with a controlling stage mother. Amelia is artistic, sheltered, with a mother who is devoted to her care and well-being. The two couldn’t be more different. Eagan tells her story in flashback, uncovering family secrets and trying to make sense of her complicated relationship with her mother. Amelia describes her recovery from the transplant operation, pleased with her new heart but believes that the heart has changed her in unexpected and unknown ways. She senses Eagan and begins to acquire some of her characteristics and memories. With the help of a friend, she is able to identify Eagan as her donor and feels compelled to contact Eagan’s parents, not knowing that her visit will reconcile Eagan and her mother. Eagan’s memory in her heart, the heart that now is Amelia’s, is the key to the reconciliation. As Eagan notes about Amelia, “We each saved each other.” For her part, Amelia realizes that Eagan wants her to learn to accept her gift of life. Characterization is strong and well-developed and readers relate to both girls on an emotional level. The theory of cellular memory is intriguing and propels the plot. Ellsworth does not play on saccharine emotions but leads readers to consider the possibilities of the power of memory, the importance of organ donation and the unseen angels that watch over us. Zajko, Rosanne

Dirty Little Secrets.

Omololu, C. J. Dirty Little Secrets.
Walker & Co 2010 212p 16.99
978-0-8027-8660-9 jr/sr VG-BN
Lucy’s takes showers in gyms. She hides her mother’s hoarding, so severe that there are only tiny pathways from room to room, rotting food creating foul odors. When her mother dies, Lucy must keep the family secret with disastrous results. Grades 7 up. This book takes place in a two day period with increasing tension building from one chapter to the next. Told with flashbacks, the reader sees Lucy’s mother as a perfectionist who was a child prodigy musician and a successful cancer nurse but now is a hoarder. Lucy has few friends. She cannot invite anyone over to her home. She often must find a gym to take a shower. She is concerned that her clothes will carry the smell of mold and rotting food in her home. Lucy maintains a friendship with a girl at school by carefully inventing lies about why they must always meet in public or at the girlfriend’s home. Lucy is attracted to a boy in her class and meets him for a date. Events radically change Lucy as she arrives home to find her mother has died in one of the narrow passageways that lead from one room to another in their home. Lucy refuses to call 911 fearing negative media attention. She frantically tries to clean house, giving up as she realizes she can’t make a dent in the trash. She finally decides to burn the house down with her dead mother inside to cover up the family secret. The emotional trauma certainly won’t end but the secret will be safe. A sad look at the futility and despair felt by children of mentally ill parents. An afterword gives web sites and information for children of hoarders. Gripping reading for grades 7 and up. McNicol,Lois

The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z.

Messner, Kate. The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z.
Walker & Co 2009 198p 16.99 978-0-8027-9842-8 ms Gianna has only a week to finish her leaf collection for science class. She is looking forward to the big track meet but she won’t be qualified to go if her leaf project isn’t a success. A rival wants to take her place. Zig, a boy in her class and a long time best friend, tries to help with a hike to gather and identify leaves. Gianna has only a week to finish her leaf collection for science class. The assignment was given three weeks ago and Gianna meant to do it but she day dreams, draws pictures and has a lot of other things to do. She is looking forward to the big track meet but she won’t be qualified to go if her leaf project isn’t a success. A rival classmate makes it clear that she would be oh so willing to take Gianna’s place at the track meet. Zig, a very smart boy in her class and a long time best friend, tries to help with a hike to gather and identify leaves. Could this old friend be possibly be turning into boyfriend material? It looks like Gianna is finally making progress on her report but mean girls and family obligations interfere. Her grandmother, who lives with her family, sometimes seems to drift away. Is it dementia, is she day dreaming like her granddaughter? Although this is a school drama there is another layer to the story as some of the other characters such as the mother and grandmother are more fully developed that in many other similar stories. The family business is a funeral home and that too adds an interesting touch. Tatro, Margaret

Warman, Jessica. Breathless.

Warman, Jessica. Breathless.
Walker & Co 2009 311p 16.99 978-0-8027-9849-7 ms/hs Katie loves to swim, in fact it is the only thing that seems to bring calm and meaning into her turbulent home life. But under her popularity at her new boarding school and budding romance, lies a secret that Katie is afraid will tear her newly invented life apart. In this debut novel, Warman establishes herself as a welcome new voice in YA fiction. Katie has a lot on her plate, a schizophrenic older brother who is incarcerated in a prison for the criminally insane, parents who retreat intowork and alcoholism to deal with their problems. When she is sent to a boarding school, she retreats to the one thing that calls her otherwise chaotic life - swimming. She slowly begins to reinvent herself, only to have the secret she so desperately wants to keep (her brother) brought out into the open. Themes of friendship, love and self-worth are woven seemlessly into this coming-of-age, coming-to-grips story that will resonant with older middle school and high school readers. Nominated for 2010 Best Books for Young Adults. Conflict Naismith, Pat

Tayleur, Karen. Chasing Boys.

Tayleur, Karen. Chasing Boys.
Walker & Co 2009 244p 16.99 978-0-8027-9830-5 ms/hs
El must adjust to life without her father, a new school and a raging crush on the cutest boy at school who already has a girlfriend. She tries to keep her feelings under wraps, with the result that she often feels confused and conflicted about her life. This book captures the up-again, down-again moodiness of the typical teenage girl, especially when she is dealing with a life-altering crisis that has recently occurred in her family. The dialogue is realistic, the characters are well defined, and the chapters are short and easy. The end comes as a complete surprise, but it makes sense in retrospect. The book effectively conveys the sense of drama that teens feel regarding their friendships and romances. Kennedy, Carol