Hot Pick From TAB - Battlestations Midway

Video game
Platform: Xbox 360
ESRB Rating: T (teen)

Battlestations Midway is a strategy game set in the Pacific theater of war. The game presents the strategy of selecting various air and naval units that you command to move, attack, and defend. However, the game is appealing because it allows the player to command a specific unit with which to wreak havoc on your enemies, while your massive army carries out your orders. Although the graphics are dated and some of the missions are frustrating, this is definitely a battle worth fighting. I rate it four out of five stars.

reviewed by TAB member Tom R.

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The Juvie Three

By Gordon Korman

(YA F Korm)
249 pages 2008 Realistic Fiction

Gecko Fosse, Terence Florian, and Arjay Moran. A car thief, a gang member, and a murderer. All three teens are serving time in juvie until social worker Doug Healy selects them to participate in an experimental halfway house. But in a scuffle with the boys, Healy is badly hurt and loses his memory. Desperate to avoid returning to juvie, Gecko, Terence, and Arjay must come up with a plan that covers for Healy and keeps them looking squeaky clean or their second chance at a normal life will be their last. Three bad kids have never looked so good! (Grades 9 & up)

reviewed by Teen Librarian Kay G.

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The Squad: Perfect Cover

By Jennifer Lynn Barnes

(YA F Barn)
275 pages 2008 Chick Lit

Computer hacker and combat-boot-wearing sophomore Toby is suspicious when she’s recruited to join the elite squad in her new preppie exclusive school. She realizes the new “friends” are not brainless but secret government operatives who use the cheerleading guise as their cover. Who would ever suspect a group of blondes? (Grades 7 & up)

reviewed by Teen Librarian Elaine D.

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Hot Pick From TAB - Marie Antoinette

Directed by: Sofia Coppola

(DVD General Mari)
2006 Period Drama
Rated: PG-13

Marie Antoinette, starring Kirsten Dunst, is not only educational but also enjoyable to watch. Although people may be drawn away from a historical title, the film is lavishly constructed to portray the bountiful lifestyle of Marie Antoinette. This standard of living is a must see to contrast the royalty in France during the 18th century with the lower classes. I give it four out of five stars.

reviewed by TAB member Saniya K.

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Hot Pick from TAB - Heaven Looks a lot Like the Mall

By Wendy Mass

(YA F Mass)

251 pages 2007 Realistic/Fantasy

This book, like so many of those by Wendy Mass, takes the reader through an incredible life experience. In it, the narrator gets knocked into a coma because she didn't duck in time when she saw a dodge ball heading her way. She feels herself floating up, up, and away, and thinks she's in Heaven, even though she wasn't so sure she was heading that way. The funny thing is, though, Heaven looks a lot like the mall! This great book goes forward and backward in time, but is a fairly straightforward flashback, and is pretty amusing, too. I highly recommend that you take this book for a ride...up the escalators. I give it a rating of four out of five stars. (Grades 7 & up)

reviewed by TAB member Colleen K.

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The Hunger Games

By Suzanne Collins

(YA F Coll)

374 pages 2008 Science Fiction

Sixteen-year-old Katniss lives with her mother and younger sister in a future where food is scarce and the government has total control. Every year, one boy and one girl are chosen from each of the twelve districts to compete in the Hunger Games, a brutal fight for survival where the last one standing wins. When Katniss' younger sister is picked, she volunteers to take her place, but soon discovers that in order to survive, she must weigh her growing friendships against her instincts. (Grades 6 & up)

reviewed by Teen Librarian Shelly P.

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