Uglies
In Tally's world, a 16th birthday brings an operation, transforming one from a repellent Ugly to an attractive Pretty. Turning Pretty is all Tally has ever wanted. Her friend Shay would rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally must make a terrible choice. Original.
The Spellman Files
Publisher Weekly Review: Cracking the case can get complicated and outrageously wacky when a family of detectives is involved, but Lutz has a blast doing it in her delicious debut. Isabel "Izzy" Spellman, a San Francisco PI who began working for Spellman Investigations at age 12, could easily pass as Buffy or Veronica Mars's wiser […]
The Terror
Library Journal Review: Starred Review. Though Simmons is best known for his convoluted sf novels Hyperion, Ilium, and Olympos, his new work shows that he's also capable of writing a direct and compelling narrative. For the most part, it's a straightforward sea story following the difficulties of the dwindling remains of Sir John Franklin's failed […]
Babylon's Ark : the Incredible Wartime Rescue of the Baghdad Zoo
Publisher Weekly Review: Anthony, a South African conservationist and recipient of the U.N.'s Earth Day award, details how, through a series of complex maneuvers, he entered Iraq after the American invasion and led the fight to save what was left of the Baghdad Zoo. Most of the animals were killed by war and looting; the […]
The Book of Air and Shadows
Ron Charles – The Washington Post: What follows is a wild story of double-crossings, forgeries, kidnappings and murders that's engrossing even when it's ridiculous. (At one point, the code secret is tattooed on a beautiful woman's thigh — so handy.) We've got Russian mobsters, Jewish gangsters, Nazi thieves, international models and currency traders, oh my. […]
Who Lives In an Alligator Hole?
Kirkus Reviews Rockwell's latest Let's Read and Find Out introduces readers to alligators and the role they play in their habitat. While she also addresses the positive and negative ways people have had an impact on the alligator population over the years, her focus is on alligator holes-places where alligators have thrashed through the damp […]
Snow Is My Favorite and My Best
School Library Journal Review: PreS-Gr 2?Charlie and Lola return in another engaging story that perfectly captures a child's anticipation of the first snow of winter. Big brother Charlie takes his sister out to frolic in a world that has all gone extremely white! Lola and their friends make snow angels, go sledding, and build a […]
Sandcastles
Library Journal: Rice's (Summer of Roses) latest novel, the theme of which is truth telling, revolves around the Sullivan family, torn apart but struggling to reconnect. John Sullivan is a rugged artist in the style of Andy Goldsworthy; his nature-based sculptures ("sandcastles") are temporary, preserved in photographs. Having spent six years in prison for a […]
Flotsam
School Library Journal Review: Starred Review. K-Gr 4?A wave deposits an old-fashioned contraption at the feet of an inquisitive young beachcomber. It???s a ??Melville underwater camera,?? and the excited boy quickly develops the film he finds inside. The photos are amazing: a windup fish, with intricate gears and screwed-on panels, appears in a school with […]
The Doubtful Guest
Presented to the library by Sandra Taylor in honor of the birth of Edward Gorey February 22, 1925. Boston Herald: Impossible to resist.