A Spy in the House

By Y.S. Lee
(YA F Lee)
335 pages 2010 Mystery

In Victorian London, orphan Mary Quinn is rescued from a life of thievery and pickpocketing by Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls. Five years later, she discovers that the Academy is really a cover for a spy organization called The Agency. Her first mission involves acting as a companion for the daughter of a rich merchant whose ships have been sinking at an alarming rate. Is he sabotaging his own ships or is it someone else’s work? Some keen detective work and a little help from an unlikely partner help Mary get to the bottom of her first case. (Grades 6 & up)

Reviewed by Teen Librarian Shelly P.

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The Secret to Lying

By Todd Mitchell
(YA F Mitc)
328 pages 2010 Realistic Fiction

James, fifteen-years-old, goes unnoticed at his old school. When a scholarship opportunity is offered for him to attend a public boarding school for the intellectually gifted, he seizes the opportunity and the chance to reinvent himself. He convinces new friends that he’s lived on the wild side. Slipping into a “punk” persona is seamless until he encounters IMs from ghost44. Demon-filled dreams clash with reality which soon takes control of his life. Does the true James ever reveal himself? (Grades 9 & up)

Reviewed by Teen Librarian Elaine D.

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Hot Pick from TAB - Darkness Creeping: Twenty Twisted Tales

By Neal Shusterman
(YA F Shus)
291 pages 2007 Horror

Pick up this book, and you may want to be safe in bed, or only read it outside in brightest sunshine. Pick up this book, and you will read tales of dark, dark humor, almost all of them with twists at the end. Pick up this book, and you will read about the weirdest ice-cream truck ever, a grandmother who screams at walls and pets dogs who aren’t there,and a not-so-secure security blanket. I picked up this book, and I am still closing my eyes while walking into a room until I switch on the lights at night. Scary but not too intense, with laughter sprinkled throughout, this book will keep you thinking fast, trying to be one step ahead of what happens on the next page—read it, or else!  Grades 6 & up.

Reviewed by TAB member Colleen K.
 
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The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin

By Josh Berk
(YA F Berk)
250 pages 2010 Realistic Fiction

Will Halpin is the new kid at school, which is tough, but being deaf and overweight makes it even more difficult. Luckily, Will is pretty good at reading lips, a skill that eases his adjustment to his first public school, and comes in handy when a classmate is murdered on a field trip. Will and his new friend Devon, another social outcast, investigate the murder, forming an oddball Hardy Boys duo that results in some pretty funny situations. Will has a pretty good sense of humor and he’ll need it to solve this crime. A witty and clever work from first time author Josh Berk. Grades 8 & up.

Reviewed by Teen Librarian Kay G.

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Beautiful Creatures

By Kami Garcia
(YA F Garc)
563 pages 2009 Fantasy

Sixteen-year-old Ethan is used to everything staying the same in his tiny South Carolina town that has changed little since the Civil War. But then Lena moves to town and everything transforms when Ethan finds himself able to communicate with her telepathically. Lena, he learns, is a caster – a person with magical powers – and on her sixteenth birthday it will be determined by a curse if she is a light (good) caster or a dark (bad) caster. Ethan is so intensely connected to Lena that he finds himself risking everything, including his own life, to save her from going dark. Grades 9 & up.

Reviewed by Teen Librarian Sara H.

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