The latest reviews of fiction and nonfiction titles--including novels, historical fiction, and curriculum related content--for middle school and high school audiences from School Library Journal. en-us http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/community/Grade+5+and+Up/47067.html?nid=3257 2009 Reed Business Information. Subject to its http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/info/260304.html Terms of Use. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:05:45 MST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6704269.html?nid=3257 Fiction AMATEAU, Gigi . A Certain Strain of Peculiar . 261p. Candlewick . 2009. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-3009-6 . LC 2008935295. Gr 6–9—Overhearing a group of boys comparing her to worse-than-disgusting girls, Mary Harold, 13, feels another panic attack coming on. It seems easier to change her entire life rather than endure more days of being the outcast. Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6699225.html?nid=3257 Fiction AVI . Murder at Midnight . 272p. Scholastic . 2009. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-08090-3 . LC 2009003214. Gr 4–8—In the Renaissance kingdom of Pergamontio, Italy, young servant Fabrizio's master, a stage magician, is charged with plotting treason against the king and dealing with demons. Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6699099.html?nid=3257 Dear Cushing Academy Parents: Soon, your child will have access to one of the most innovative secondary school libraries in the country. Over half-a-million dollars are being invested to transform your library into an interactive learning center with monitors providing news feeds, state-of-the-art computing, a cyber-cafe (with a $12,000 cappuccino machine!), and much more. Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6685844.html?nid=3257 Fiction ALEXANDER, Jill S. The Sweetheart of Prosper County . 224p. CIP. Feiwel & Friends . Sept. 2009. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-312-54856-8 . LC 2008034757. Gr 8 Up—Fifteen-year-old Austin Gray has not had an easy life. Her father died one rainy Christmas Eve when his car skidded off a bridge into a lake. Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6674059.html?nid=3257 Fiction ABBOTT, Ellen Jensen . Watersmeet . 341p. CIP. Marshall Cavendish . 2009. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-7614-5536-3 . LC 2008000315. Gr 6–10—From birth Abisina has been an outcast because she doesn't have light skin, blond hair, and blue eyes. Only her mother's status as Vranille's only healer has saved the 14-year-old from being abandoned outside the village walls, prey to centaur... Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6668068.html?nid=3257 Fiction BARNES, John . Tales of the Madman Underground: (An Historical Romance 1973) 532p. Viking 2009. Tr $18.99. ISBN 978-0-670-06081-8 . LC number unavailable. Gr 9 Up–Karl Shoemaker, in group therapy at school since fourth grade, turns a new leaf on the first day of senior year, 1973. His goal is to be normal and avoid therapy while still keeping his friends, who are all part of t... Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6661051.html?nid=3257 Fiction ABBOTT, Hailey . Summer Girls . 272p. Scholastic/Point . 2009. pap. $8.99. ISBN 978-0-545-10268-1 . LC number unavailable. Gr 9 Up—Like Summer Boys (Scholastic, 2004), this is a fun seasonal read. Jessica, Greer, and Lara couldn't be farther apart in style and personality. Jessica is the good-girl athlete hoping to replicate the wonderful summer days she spent with her older cous... Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6654849.html?nid=3257 Fiction ABRAHAMS, Peter . Reality Check . 336p. HarperTeen/Laura Geringer Bks. May 2009. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-122766-0 ; PLB $17.89. ISBN 978-0-06-122767-7 . LC 2008022593. Gr 9 Up—Set in Little Bend, CO, and North Dover, VT, Abrahams's novel follows Cody, 16, who sustains a serious knee injury that leaves him on the bench during the most important recruiting year in his high school... Fri, 01 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6648613.html?nid=3257 Fiction ANDERSON, Jodi Lynn . Love and Peaches . 243p. HarperTeen . 2008. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-073311-7 ; PLB $17.89. ISBN 978-0-06-073312-4 . LC number unavailable. Gr 8 Up—In this conclusion to the series that began in Peaches (HarperCollins, 2005), the author delights once again with more friendship, love, and, of course, peaches. Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6641311.html?nid=3257 Fiction AKSOMITIS, Linda . Longhorns and Outlaws . 185p. CIP. Coteau . 2008. pap. $8.95. ISBN 978-1-55050-378-4 . LC C2008-904969-1. Gr 4–6—This novel gets off to a bumpy start and barely regains its balance as the story progresses. Orphaned in the Galveston hurricane of 1900, 12-year-old Lucas and his older brother, Gil, go from their Dutch enclave in Texas to Billings, MT, to see... Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6633079.html?nid=3257 Fiction ABDEL-FATTAH, Randa . Ten Things I Hate About Me . 297p. CIP. Scholastic/Orchard . 2009. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-545-05055-5 . LC 2008013667. Gr 7 Up—Lebanese-Australian Jamilah has two lives. At school she is blond-haired, blue-eyed (thanks to contact lenses) Jamie. At home she is Jamilah, a rebellious, but dutiful, daughter of a strict, widowed father. Sun, 01 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6625218.html?nid=3257 Fiction AGELL, Charlotte . Shift . 230p. CIP. Holt/Christy Ottaviano Bks. 2008. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-0-8050-7810-7 . LC 2007046942. Gr 7–9—Adrian Havoc, 15, lives in an urban hotbox in the partially post-nuclear United Christian States, where the end of the world is nigh. He meets Lenora, a beautiful zookeeper on a mission to deliver a favorite penguin to colder waters. Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6618442.html?nid=3257 Fiction AIN, Beth Levine . The Revolution of Sabine . 214p. CIP. Candlewick . 2008. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-7363-3396-7 . LC 2007022121. Gr 6–9—Sabine Durand, 16, knows that she should be preoccupied with balls, attending the opera, and attracting a suitable match. But lately she's had other things on her mind—things like free will, the ability to make choices and determine th... Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6611757.html?nid=3257 Fiction ADAMS, John Joseph , ed. Seeds of Change: Nine Science Fiction Writers Envision Moments When Our World Could Be Reborn . 240p. Prime . 2008. Tr $19.95. ISBN 978-0-8095-7310-3 . LC number unavailable. Gr 11 Up—For this collection, each author was asked to write a story about a paradigm shift, a turning point when the world changes. Sat, 01 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6601437.html?nid=3257 Fiction AGUIAR, Nadia . The Lost Island of Tamarind . Bk. 1. 448p. (The Book of Tamarind Series). Feiwel & Friends . Oct. 2008. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-0-312-38029-8 . LC number unavailable. Gr 5–8—Maya, 13; her younger brother, Simon; and baby Penny are left adrift and alone on the ship on which they live after their marine-scientist parents go overboard during a mighty storm. Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6590833.html?nid=3257 Fiction AALIYAH . Maid Machinegun . tr. from Japanese by Anastasia Moreno. illus. by Suzuhito Yasuda. 185p. glossary. CIP. Del Rey . 2008. pap. $9.95. ISBN 978-0-345-50253-7 . LC 2008000467. Gr 9 Up—While there are a few illustrations at the beginning of the book and a two-page "comicalized" passage at the end, most of this book is a straightforward novel. Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6583436.html?nid=3257 Fiction ALTEBRANDO, Tara . What Happens Here . 242p. MTV . 2008. pap. $9.95. ISBN 978-1-4165-4111-0 . LC number unavailable. Gr 9–11—Living in Vegas, high school juniors Chloe and Lindsay are surrounded by imitations of the world's greatest places. They've always been like sisters and they plan to travel the world when they're older. Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6574354.html?nid=3257 Fiction ALEXANDER, Alma . Spellspam . Bk. 2. 437p. (Worldweavers Series). CIP. HarperCollins/Eos . 2008. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-083958-1 ; PLB $18.89. ISBN 978-0-06-083959-8 . LC 2007008618. Gr 7 Up—In Gift of the Unmage (Eos, 2007), Thea Winthrop, a double seventh who had shown no supernatural ability, learns how to use computers to weave worlds where she can use her magical power. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6566226.html?nid=3257 Fiction AMATEAU, Gigi . Chancey of the Maury River . 256p. Candlewick . 2008. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-3439-1 . LC 2007027961. Gr 4–8—On the night that Chancey is born, a comet streaks across the sky, a sign that a horse of great beauty and wisdom has been born. However, it seems unlikely that the Appaloosa will fulfill this prophecy. Sun, 01 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6556475.html?nid=3257 Fiction ÁBALOS, Rafael . Grimpow: The Invisible Road . tr. from Spanish by Noël Baca Castex. 493p. glossary. CIP. Delacorte . 2007. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-385-73374-8 ; PLB $20.99. ISBN 978-0-385-90389-9 . LC 2006031830. Gr 6–8—When a 14th-century peasant boy stumbles onto a mysterious corpse, his life is inexorably altered. Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 EST