Big Mouth & Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates. HarperTempest, 2002. 266 pages.

A wonderful tale of two unlikely friends told in two voices: Big Mouth-- a fairly popular boy, good student, make-em laugh type boy who impulsively jokes about a bombing his high school and finds himself in serious trouble and Ugly Girl-- the sharp witted, plain faced, big boned and friendless loner who stands up for a boy she barely knows because it is the right thing to do. Matt and Ursula become friends-not quickly or easily-- but when the entire town turns on Matt and his whole world collapses, Ursula, who is used to being ostracized and is very strong-- but not happy-- about it, becomes his only and his true friend. Two teens who struggle with friendships and family issues and social pressures and real danger. Oates is a master storyteller and her characters are well thought out and nuanced. we care about every imperfect one. i really liked the book, a quick read with lots of place for conversation about society, rumors, true friends, schools, police, families, and feelings. i will say that the end seemed a little rushed and too neatly tied up, but this is still a great book and a good choice for middle and high school aged.

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman. GP Putnam's Sons, 2010. 325 pages.

Lonely teenager and avid Grimm Fairy Tale enthusiast, Elizabeth, finds herself working at a special object repository-- library-- along with several other teens, including one of the coolest kids at school. The library has a mysterious and magical collection of Grimm Fairy Tale items that are being stolen and may be used for dark purposes. For me, the book started well and Schulman definitely paints a great physical setting -- NYC, the library and the different rooms, the gothic feel, etc. but the characters are the usual teen things-- and the story does not have enough to do with Grimm fairy tales to hold my interest-- while i thought Elizabeth had promise, the others were typical teen types-- and as for elizabeth, i found my self wondering how she went from hating to loving one teen and why she was attracted to him in the first place. started with promise but i lost intersest-- still, i am an adult and i will see if i have a 5th grader who might like it-- and , perhaps, give me a better perspective of what is appealing about it. Althought the premise was clever and the beginning had promise, i found myself disappointed and fought to finish it. Ah well -- you can't llike everything.

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia. Amistad, 2010. 218 Pages

Hunger (Riders of the Apocalypse) by Jackie Morse Kessler. Graphia, 2010. 180 pages.

Doodlebug; A Novel in Doodles by Karen Romano Young. Feiwel and Friends, NY, 2010.

Doreen and her family are relocating from LA to San Fransciso--and Doreen is nervous and blames herself. She had big problems in her last school--didn't want to take her ADHD meds, made some bad decisions and got expelled--and wants to reinvent her self for a fresh start in SF. Doreen decides to journal in DOODLES to help her cope with these big changes for herself and her entire family. Written entirely in DOODLES--Doodlebug is fast paced- frenetic even- and full of fun and drama and all things wonderful and compelling-- I loved it so did every girl i offered it to. Romano clearly remembers what it is like to be a kid, to make mistakes, to want a clean slate, to reinvent yourself as the person you want to be-- all her characters and observations are spot on. The Art is the story--they are inseparable- Fresh and fun-- a great journal/diary book that will lead to many future Doodlebugs. YES!

Big Nate: In A Class By Himself by Lincoln Peirce. Harper, 2010. 224 pages.

Nate is a funny and over confident middle schooler who manages to break the school record by receiving a detention for every period in one school day. Along the way we meet different school characters-- teachers and principals, friends and enemies-- who keep the story moving quickly and the mood funny and light. Some very funny words and cartoons-- Big Nate and all the other books in the series are sure to be very popular with kids 8 and up. Very Diary of a Wimpy Kid-ish, but this is a lesser product in terms of writing and style --no subtly here--and i agree with the reviewer who observed that adults and kids both love Diary of a Wimpy Kid but Big Nate is only for kids. And the kids will LOVE him.

NIght Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger. Abrams. 2010

While walking alone, late one night, Alexandra comes across a bookmobile, manned by a weird little librarian and full of all the books and ephemera that she, herself, has ever read. She is fascinated and forgets the time as she revisits her past-- books and journals, magazines and cereal boxes. When the sun rises the librarian tells her she must leave. She is now fascinated, even consumed with the bookmobile--it changes her life. She seeks and finds the bookmoble several more times in her life-- her life forever changed, as she reads to build her collection. Night Bookmobile, which always has a Twilight Zonish quality to it, takes a very dark- though not unanticipated-turn that is still very disturbing. A thought provoking story.