Cute illustrated tale of a retired movie star German Shepherd, a showgirl poodle, and a tough coyote called Antwan who engages in a kidnapping caper with Miss Betty, to boost Buddy’s self-esteem. Smart talking animals and a Leonard style caper driven plot work well in this tale for all ages.

Re Jana’s family left the marshes to the derision of their neighbors who thought them foolish to go to the desert in search of a city springing up around the building of a huge ship. Along with her father, and her mother who was paralyzed by a stoke and can communicate only with the fluttering of one eyelid, they travel with a Rrattika guide and his young son. Her mother is the one who was adamant about leaving the marshes but when they arrive at the place the Builder is quite ineptly building his great ship they discover that the Builder and all his people are the despised Rrattika nomads. While her father finds employment as foreman for the Builder’s youngest son, Ham, who is in charge of the woodworking facets of the project, Re Jana finds a hidden well of pure water and massages and grooms the Builder’s sons. She discovers that the enormous ark they are building will not save all from the coming devastation of the world promised by the Builder’s god. This lyrical novelization of the Noah’s ark tale is so sensuously told one can smell the scented oils Re Jana applies in her ministrations as well as the stench of the ark following the flood. This powerful novel demonstrates the strength of young adult publishing at this particular moment in time as there is no reason that this could not have been published as an adult book and in fact will be published in paperback as an adult book by Berkley and is being published as an adult book in Australia.

This knock-your-socks-off, rip-roaring-adventure from a master storyteller continues the story of former thief, fourteen-year-old Jack Morgan who teamed up in a symbiotic relationship with Draycos, a dragon-like warrior-poet in Dragon and Thief. This self-contained story stands alone but is such fun that readers will definitely want to read its predecessor. Trying to find leads that may help them save the refugee fleet coming from Draycos’s planet, Jack infiltrates a mercenary organization as a raw recruit and ends up in the middle of a war. The combination of high-tech adventure and the philosophy and moral stands of Draycos give it wide appeal. Recently I was asked if anyone was still writing the kind of grand space adventure like Heinlein’s juveniles or Andre Norton’s tales that enticed so many people into science fiction fandom. Now I have the answer and it is a resounding yes! Zahn rocks! 

Luther’s life in Flint, Michigan is filled with work but he thinks it is well worth it as by his calculation he has earned close to a hundred thousand dollars and he is not even out of middle school yet (to tell you the truth I’m rather puzzled at how such a smart 15 year-old and the intelligent girl of his dreams are still in middle school). His mother owns group homes and slum housing. She is also the Friendly Neighbor Loan business who will send one of her minions after you with violence in mind if you don’t keep up with her exorbitant interest. When Luther was 13 his mom got him a driver’s license that “proves” he is 18, gave him an $85,000.00 bus to dive, and put him in charge of a group home for mentally incompetent adult men. He gets the clients up in the morning, medicates, cleans, and shaves them, drops them off at the program they attend during the day, then goes to school where he is striving to win a third consecutive gold medal in the science fair. His stiffest competition is Shayla Patrick, the girl he has adored since kindergarten. Luther, and most everyone else, calls his mom “the Sarge.” Everything is her way or the highway. She was once a school teacher but decided to aim for a life of extreme wealth, not caring who she has to cheat to get there. Curtis is terrific at creating memorable characters and Luther, Sparky, Shayla, and Chester X will not soon be forgotten. While the reader gets a view of the ugly underbelly of life in Flint, Curtis focuses on what is good and wonderful there. While I loved The Watsons Go to Birmingham and Bud, Not Buddy I’ve always been waiting for Mr. Curtis to write a book for teen readers, not just a children’s book that was so great that teens would read it. This is the book I was waiting for. 

Francesca Spinelli, an Italian-Australian high school junior is not happy to be starting into a new school where she is one of 30 girls in school with 750 guys who are not in favor of this breach of the masculinity of their school. Meanwhile at home, Mia, Francesca’s college lecturer mom has sunken into a severe depression leaving Francesca, her little brother Luca, and their father “Bob the Builder” in a curious limbo-like existence. Gradually at school Francesca becomes friends with the three other girls who had also attended St. Stella’s and with others in the school. Some quirky friends and an unresolved romance add interest to this emotional tale of a girl trying to come of age while her family seems to be expiring. Terrific writing and well realized characters makes this one of the best books of the year. 

I have to learn to stop reading books that are the first in a trilogy until all the books are published. Robinson's gripping tale of the near future, as global warming takes humanity into the very real possibility of extinction is replete with believable science and peopled with wonderful characters. The cast is rather large and and sometimes a little confusing but it is obvious that they all play an integral role in the story to be played out in the next two books. Anna Quibler, works for NSF and is not only a good scientist, she is also a genuinely good person. Her husband Charlie, a congressional staffer, works on science policy bills while also being a full-time hands on dad to their two young sons. Frank Venderwal on loan to NSF for a year from UCSD is very closed off and the only thing that makes him real is his penchant for climbing which comes in handy later on when he meets a fascinating woman in a stuck elevator and begins to come into his own. Meanwhile outside San Diego a start up biotech company may be making some important breakthroughs, and a curious delegation of monks from a drowning island country have rented office space in the building where Anna works. This convoluted (in a very good way) tale of science, politics, and the environment is terrifying. It is obvious that this trilogy is a major contribution to sf literature of this decade. Not to be missed. A rock solid novel.

Leah “Weez” Weiczynkowski has just nailed another step on the lifelong goal she has worn written on her shirt for every soccer game since she was in seventh grade - IWBTBWSPITW (I will be the best women's soccer player in the world). She’s just been named one of twenty players to the Olympic Development team for her region. It’s the summer before her senior year and she will be going off the the Olympic Training Center for a soccer camp that will put her in the view of the coaches of every major university soccer program in the country. Her dad, a restauranteur who has always chauffeured her to her games and practices no matter how far from their northern Michigan home finally arrives late to pick her up and gives her the news that shatters her life. He has pancreatic cancer and will probably be dead in three months. This five hanky book is not maudlin but is a realistic and sincere look at life while losing one’s beloved father. A skillfully done debut novel.

Twelve-year-old Midge is not at all happy that her mother, who is going on tour with her orchestra, is sending her to stay with her uncle and cousins for the summer at the old family farm. When Midge arrives she discovers she is pretty much on her own, her uncle is nice enough but his children won’t be arriving from their mother’s for a while. Exploring Mill Farm, Midge discovers a small winged horse pinned under the rake of a tractor in an abandoned pig barn. Extricating Pegs by the clever use of a jack, she does her best to tend his wounds and clean him up. Meanwhile in the royal wood, the assorted tribes of the Various, the little people, faeries, pixies, naiads, those mythical beings not believed in, are having a grand council to decide what do because Pegs disappeared while trying to find them a place they can survive. There is so much here - a tree house, cousins, an evil cat, murderous Ickri archers, a valiant Ickri drummer called Woodpecker, the beautiful courageous daughter of one of the underground tribes, possible destruction of the wood, an inept faerie queen, the photo of a great-great aunt who knew the Various but was judged to be addled because of her claims and a climactic battle. Augarde’s use of language is a delight and readers will be pleased to know that his English usage and spelling has not been Americanized. While it seems obvious this was written for those terrific elementary school age readers, like all great fantasy it will also appeal to teens and adults.