The Body Of Christopher Creed, Carol Plum-Ucci; Volo/Hyperion

“When Christopher Creed, the class freak and whipping boy, suddenly disappears without a trace, everyone speculates on what could have happened to him. Soon fingers begin pointing, and several lives are changed forever.”
Robin’s Note: Carol Plum-Ucci has made a name for herself in writing incredibly tense tales, and she tends to let you decide the answer to a lot of her plots.  This is her first book, and as you try to puzzle through what happened to Creed, the building questions and threats increase the thrill.  If you like her style, I’d also recommend What Happened to Lani Garver? and The She.

Fighting Ruben Wolfe, Markus Zusak; Arthur A. Levine Books

“Partly because of their family’s poor finances and partly to prove themselves, brothers Ruben and Cameron take jobs as fighters and find themselves reacting very differently in the boxing ring.”
Robin’s Note: Markus Zusak got a lot of attention recently for his later book, The Book Thief, but this title was his first and is very different though equally good.  It covers everything from boxing to peer pressure to being brothers, and Zusak has a great ear for how conversations actually sound.  The energy of the book is infectious, even as the consequences of getting into illegal boxing start piling up.

Audrey, Wait!, Robin Benway; Razorbill

“While trying to score a date with her cute co-worker at the Scooper Dooper, sixteen-year-old Audrey gains unwanted fame and celebrity status when her ex-boyfriend, a rock musician, records a breakup song about her that soars to the top of the Billboard charts.”
Robin’s Note: This title has a tiny bit of the fantastic thrown in, as Audrey suddenly becomes famous due to her ex suddenly gaining fame and fortune from writing a song about their break up, but once you get into the actual story, it’s a witty, sharp examination of love, music, commitment, and being true to yourself.  Audrey is far from a doormat, and though her sudden notoriety throws her for a loop, with the help of her best friends and possible new boyfriend, she will take control of her life and story.

Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet, Sherri L. Smith; Delacorte Books For Young Readers

“Disaster strikes when Ana Shen is about to deliver the salutatorian speech at her junior high school graduation, but an even greater crisis looms when her best friend invites a crowd to Ana’s house for dinner, and Ana’s multicultural grandparents must find a way to share a kitchen.”
Robin’s Note:This title is Sherri Smith’s most recent, and features delectable food mixed with family drama, but all of her titles are different and inviting stand alone novels with strong, intelligent teen girls at the core.  I’d very much recommend Lucy the Giant for a different take on needing to be the adult in a family, and the excellent historical novel Flygirl, about a young woman who decides to pass as white in order to become a Women’s Air Service Pilot (or a WASP) during World War II.

The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester At America's Holiest University, Kevin Roose; Grand Central Pub.

“Armed with an open mind and a reporter’s notebook, Roose dives into life at Liberty University with the goal of connecting with his evangelical peers. He experiences their world first-hand, in this hilarious and heartwarming, respectful and thought-provoking chronicle.”
Robin’s Note: Roose, a student at Brown, is upset that when he meets a group of Evangelical college students, he discovers they can barely have a conversation.  He sets out to do a “semester abroad” at Jerry Falwell’s Evangelical Liberty University to try to figure out whether he can find common ground.  This memoir is funny, thoughtful, and above all well-intentioned—Roose is determined to reject the stereotypes he knows he has and attend this college with an open mind.  He grows an enormous amount, encountering the expected and unexpected, and ultimately the friendships he makes are what he gladly takes away from the experience.

The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins; Scholastic Press

“In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss’s skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister’s place.”
Robin’s Note: The Hunger Games has gathered quite a following, and with good reason: this thrill-ride of a book sets its story in a grim post-apocalyptic setting where teens combine in a combination of a glamorous reality TV show and deadly gladitorial combat.  Katniss is a great heroine, but the real story is the inventive threat of the arena, where all the district’s select fighters compete to the death.  Be warned: this title ends on a cliffhanger, and its sequel, Catching Fire, is just as gripping.  This will be a trilogy.

Into The Wild, Sarah Beth Durst; Razorbill

“Having escaped from the Wild and the preordained fairy tale plots it imposes, Rapunzel, along with her daughter Julie Marchen, tries to live a fairly normal life, but when the Wild breaks free and takes over their town, it is Julie who has to prevent everyone from being trapped in the events of a story.”

Robin’s Note: This fast-paced, wild ride spins off of traditional fairy tales by giving them a whole new spin.  Julie, Rapunzel’s courageous daughter, is a great new heroine, unwilling to give up and determined to use her knowledge of the Wild to win back her world.  She’s a reluctant heroine, to begin with, but as she moves forward, she becomes a force to reckon with.  Humor and snappy dialog make the whole adventure fun, and Julie’s “brother”, once Puss-in-Boots, brings in hilarious comic relief.  The sequel, Out of the Wild, is a worthy sequel.  This title is both funny and fast-paced, and the fun of reworking fairy tale characters.