Book of the Week May 19, 2008

Prince Caspian
written by C.S. Lewis

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-8-Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensey, the heroes and heroines from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, return in this fourth installment of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series. The four children are transported from an English train station to an island in the world of Narnia. Though Narnia has been at peace since the children left, it is now under the control of Wicked King Mirax. The youngsters, along with Aslan the great lion, must help young Prince Caspian restore Narnia's glorious past. This full-cast dramatization adheres closely to the book's text. Actor Paul Scofield is the "storyteller," and other British actors read the character parts. The production features sound effects and background music, and is a more complete version of the story than the BBC audio production (Bantam Doubleday, 1998). Children familiar with the series will enjoy this impressive production.
Shauna Yusko, King County Library System, Bellevue, WA

Book of the Week May 12, 2008

Dream Factory
by Brad Barkley & Heather Hepler

When the character actors at Disney World go on strike, the teens hired as replacements learn that it isn’t exactly the Happiest Place on Earth. Ella gets to be Cinderella, simply because the shoe fits. It should be a dream come true, but Ella no longer believes in dreams. Luke is a fur character, Dale the chipmunk. Chip is played by his girlfriend, Cassie, who is perfect in every way. Why, then, does Luke find himself more drawn to imperfect things like the theme park’s Phantom? A team-building scavenger hunt brings Luke and Ella together. As they uncover the Magic Kingdom’s treasures, they discover an undeniable magic between them.

Book of the Week April 21, 2008

The Poison Apples
Lily Archer

Alice, Reena, and Molly meet at an elite boarding school in rural Massachusetts. It takes them a while to realize that they've all landed there primarily because of their wicked stepmothers, but once discovered, this fact binds them in friendship and their shared desire to exact revenge on the new women in their lives during Thanksgiving break. Because readers see them only from the girls' viewpoints, the insensitivity and self-absorption of their stepmothers are stupendously exaggerated—as is the cluelessness of their fathers. This does provide ample scope for humor, however, and allows the girls to have changes of heart as their perceptions mature a tad. Not essential, but good fun.—Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY

Book of the Week March 9-23, 2008

Thirteen Reasons Why
by: Jay Asher

Clay Jenkins returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers 13 cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker—his classmate and crush—who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he’ll find out how he made the list.

Through Hannah and Clay’s dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.

Book of the Week March 3, 2008

The Off Season
Written by Catherine Murdock

This sequel to Murdock's Dairy Queen (Houghton, 2006) catches readers up with narrator D.J. Schwenk as she hits her stride in her junior year of high school. She's playing linebacker for her high school football team, hanging out with Brian (the rival high school's quarterback), earning passing grades, and pulling her weight on her family's struggling dairy farm. But "a whole herd of trouble" is coming her way. First, D.J. and, by extension, Brian become the unwitting subjects of a People magazine article. Then D.J. suffers a shoulder injury that threatens her sports career, her gay best friend runs away with an older girlfriend, and D.J. notices that Brian isn't too keen on being seen with her in public. These problems are all put into perspective when D.J.'s older brother, Win, suffers a serious spinal-cord injury during a college football game. D.J. stays by his side in the hospital, a task made even tougher by Win's refusal to communicate, and accompanies him to rehab in Minnesota. There's no too-tidy ending here; readers gain a sense of the wait-and-see and grueling nature of physical rehabilitation. Though not as laugh-out-loud funny as the earlier title, The Off Season depicts a believably maturing D.J., a young woman whose character shines through even as she struggles to find her voice. Readers will root for her at every tragicomic turn, and will hope to hear from her again in future novels.—Amy Pickett, Ridley High School, Folsom, PA

Book of the Week Feb 18, 2008

The Driver: My Dangerous Pursuit of Speed and Truth in the Outlaw Racing World
by: Alexander Roy

On his deathbed, Alex Roy's father dropped tantalizing hints about the notorious Cannonball Run of the 1970s, the utterly illegal high-speed nonstop race from New York to L.A. that was nothing at all like the one portrayed in the Burt Reynolds movie.

Inspired by his father's dying words, and against the advice of his loyal, lifelong friends, Roy enters the mysterious world of road rallies and underground races—trying both to find himself and to locate The Driver, the anonymous organizer of the world's ultimate secret race—neither of which may exist. But in order to get noticed by The Driver, Roy must first become a force to be reckoned with.

In this riveting memoir, Roy straps you into his highly modified BMW M5 and takes you on a terrifying 120 mph lap of Manhattan (his version of the French cult film Rendezvous), then tackles the Gumball 3000 and the Bullrun—the two most infamous road rallies in the world. He creates a character for himself and his car, Polizei Autobahn Interceptor, and they stick out among the Lamborghinis and Ferraris driven by millionaire playboys, software moguls, Arab princes, movie stars, leggy Czech supermodels, gear-heads, and tech whizzes. Out of the hundred-plus rally drivers, a select few—Alex Roy among them—compete as if these are full-on honestto-god road races, traveling from London to Morocco, from Budapest to Rome, from San Francisco to Miami at speeds approaching 200 mph.

With his M5 armed with amyriad of radar detectors, laser jammers, and police scanners, and his trunk crammed with a variety of fake uniforms, the obsessively prepared Roy evades arrest at almost every turn, wreaking havoc on his fiercest rivals, and gaining the admiration of police forces around the globe.

But his rise to the top of the rally-driving world ultimately proves hollow, until he meets a young film producer documenting the obscure post–Cannonball Run races and the holy grail of cross-country racing—the N.Y.-to-L.A. speed record of thirty-two hours and seven minutes set back in 1983. Can that time even be approached today, much less beaten? As Roy reveals in The Driver, there are reasons why no one has tried in twenty-four years. But should he try? Can he do it?

Full of hilarious, sexy, and shocking stories from a life lived at the right-hand edge of the speedometer, The Driver offers a never-before-told insider's account of the fast, dangerous, and unbelievable society that has long been offlimits to most of us. Filled with insane driving and Roy's quixotic quest to win both for his late father and for himself, The Driver is the tale of one man's insatiable drive beyond life in the fast lane.

About the Author
Alexander Roy has been driving in international road rallies since 2003. He finished first in the 2006 Gumball 3000. With his shaved head and ability to outthink his fellow rally participants, he is known as the Dr. Evil of the road rally scene. Roy is coproducing and will also be featured in the upcoming movie 32 Hours, 7 Minutes about the legendary fastest drive from New York to L.A. in 1983. When he is not on the road, he lives in New York City. The Driver is his first book.

Book of the Week Feb 11, 2008

The Melting of Maggie Bean by Tricia Rayburn

Maggie Bean's having a tough year. Since her dad lost his job he spends more time watching TV than talking to his family, and her mom's totally stressed about money. So Maggie focuses on what she does best: keeping up her straight-A average and eating chocolate.

Lots and lots of chocolate.

But everything changes when Maggie gets a chance to try out for the synchronized swim team. Becoming a Water Wing has always been Maggie's dream -- who wouldn't want to have an instant circle of friends and wear that cute silver bathing suit? As a Water Wing, maybe she'll start believing she's more than just a socially awkward bookworm. Maybe people will see past the extra weight she's recently gained to the funny, cool girl hiding underneath. And maybe, just maybe, Peter Applewood will finally notice her.

It all depends on Maggie Bean, who thinks she knows who she is, but is about to find out for sure.

Book of the Week Feb 4, 2008

The Chaos Code by Justin Richards

Matt Stribling is stuck spending another vacation with his brilliant, yet scatterbrained archaeologist father. His dad’s house is often a mess, so when Matt arrives to find the place turned upside down and his father missing, he’s not immediately worried. But a cryptic message and some strange sandy footprints quickly persuade Matt that all is not right. With the help of some unusual family friends, Matt discovers that his father had been searching for an ancient code, one rumored to have brought down the Mayans, and maybe even the fabled civilization of Atlantis. Now in the hands of a madman using high tech computers to decipher it, the code is being readied for new and sinister uses. Matt and his friend, Robin, will traverse the globe, battling terrifying sand creatures and mercenaries alike in their efforts to stop the chaos code from being fully reactivated—and dooming the modern world to a catastrophe not seen since the days of Atlantis.

Book of the Week - Jan 28, 2008

I Am Rembrandt's Daughter by Lynn Cullen


With her mother dead of the plague, and her beloved brother newly married and moved away, Cornelia van Rijn finds herself without a friend or confidante—save her difficult father. Out of favor with Amsterdam’s elite, and considered brash and unreasonable by his patrons, Rembrandt van Rijn, once revered, is now teetering on the brink of madness. Cornelia alone must care for him, though she herself is haunted by secrets and scandal. Her only happiness comes in chance meetings with Carel, the son of a wealthy shipping magnate whose passion for art stirs Cornelia. And then there is Neel, her father’s last remaining pupil, whose steadfast devotion to Rembrandt both baffles and touches her. Based on historical fact, and filled with family dramas and a love triangle that would make Jane Austen proud, I Am Rembrandt’s Daughter is a powerful account of a young woman’s struggle to come of age within the shadow of one of the world’s most brilliant and complicated artists.