Pie by Sarah Weeks

Pie by Sarah Weeks
183 pages

Warm, heartfelt, funny book. Alice's beloved Aunt Polly passes away, along with her secret to making the best pie crust in the nation. Instead of leaving the recipe to her niece, as everyone thought she would, she left it to her cantankerous cat, Lardo. Now Lardo is missing, the pie shop has been ransacked, and Alice and her friend can only think that someone will go to no ends to get their paws on that recipe. At the beginning of each chapter there are pie recipes...so much wish I knew how to bake!

Missing on Superstition Mountain by Elise Broach

Missing on Superstition Mountain by Elise Broach
262 pages

Fun mystery for younger readers.

The Girl in the Park by Mariah Fredericks

The Girl in the Park by Mariah Fredericks
217 pages

Not a bad teen mystery, though I wonder if they will figure out the murderer as quickly as I did.

Wendy is dead, found in the park. Rain knows that Wendy wasn't a good person all the time. She went after the girls who shunned her in a brutal way...by going after their boyfriends. But Wendy still deserves justice. Rain must overcome her embarrassment that comes with speech impediment to truly speak up for her friend.

Rebel Fire by Andrew Lane

Rebel Fire by Andrew Lane
343 pages

Good read, but I didn't enjoy it near as much as I did the first one.

The Night She Disappeared by April Henry

The Night She Disappeared by April Henry
229 pages

Gabie delivers pizzas in her mini cooper. And when Drew takes the order that night, the man asks for the girl who drives the mini. But at Kayla's request, the two girls had switched shifts. So Kayla is the one making the delivery...and the one who gets kidnapped. And Gabie doesn't believe the police for a second when they tell her that she wasn't the target, and she cannot stop thinking that whoever has taken Kayla is still out there looking for her.

So Yesterday by Scott Westerfield



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So Yesterday by Scott Westerfield
223 pages

Another Westerfield novel to fall in love with.

The Dying Breath by Alane Ferguson



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The Dying Breath by Alane Ferguson
234 pages

I was a little skeptical about how great a forensic mystery for teens could be, but The Dying Breath very much impressed me.

The Red Thread by Roderick Townley

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The Red Thread by Roderick Townley

294 pages

Sixteen-year-old Dana is having serious nightmares. Her disturbing dreams, as well as her times it feels she has slipped away from reality, as prompted her to see a therapist. But as they dive deeper into her treatment, Dana learns that her dreams stem from nightmarish memories from a previous life. A life in which, at first, she believes herself to be murdered. But who could it be? Her school enemy, Gianna? Her little brother, Ben? Her boyfriend, Chase? Dana must go farther and deeper than she ever wanted to if she is ever able to put an end to her nightmares for good.

Just to put it out there, I do not believe in reincarnation AT ALL, so this was pretty much a fantasy read for me. I loved the concept of the story line, even if I found some parts hard to swallow. I don't get why the people that were wrapped up in her past life necessarily had to be people that were in her life in present day. Is that a reincarnation belief, that you repeat your lives twisted with the same people over and over again? But it was a fast paced mystery, action driven plot, not a lot of details or character development, which I definitely appreciated.

Grand & Humble by Brent Hartinger



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Grand & Humble by Brent Hartinger
212 pages

Fascinating read. Harlan is having premonitions of his own death, and he tries to avoid whatever may lead to that outcome, while slowing losing his grip on reality. Manny is having nightmares that shake his world even when he is awake. Can't say too much more on the book without giving away the twist ending. But this is definitely a worthwhile read.

Theodore Boone, The Abduction by John Grisham

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Theodore Boone, The Abduction by John Grisham

217 pages

Seriously, I like Theo Boone. I like his parents. I like his friends. I like the fact that, at times, he doesn't really know what he is doing. Exciting, suspenseful mystery for the middle kiddos. Love it, and I really hope there is more to come.

Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs

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Mark Twain Nominee

Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs

294 pages

Henry the Hippo, the fun and lovable mascot for FunJungle, a zoo and theme park, is dead. Belly up in his swim tank. Twelve-year-old Teddy Fitzroy doesn't think that all the facts are adding up, so he begins his own investigation, learning that Henry is actually anything buy fun and lovable. In fact, so many people had a reason to hate Henry that the suspect list keeps growing and growing. But how does a twelve year old get to the bottom of the things when the adults don't believe a word he is saying? I think young readers will love this one...danger, a little bit of romance, and a whole lot of the kid being the one that was right all along. loved it!

The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby

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Mark Twain Nominee

The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby

391 pages

So far, out of all of the award books I have read, this by far is my favorite! Giuseppe, Frederick, and Hannah, are three very determined kiddos, ready to get out of there present lives, and move on to better things. Hannah is a determined hotel maid, who has given up her childhood to help care for her sick father, her mother, and two little sisters. Giuseppe is a young busker, who plays violin for coins on the street, hoping to make enough to avoid the violent wrath of his padrone...he secretly hoards his few precious extra coins to buy passage back to his Italian homeland. Frederick is an orphan who is apprenticed out to a clockmaker...secretly in the basement of the clock shop he quietly builds his own clockwork man, an automaton that will award him journeyman in his field so that he may one day open his own shop.

I think what I loved about this book is that everyone makes huge mistakes constantly. They are constantly doing the wrong thing, and having to make things right. Nothing is smooth for these kids, but they keep trying. There stories weave themselves together, until finally they meet and work together to make all of their dreams a reality. Loved this book! Will definitely be recommending this to the library kids.



Theodore Boone Kid Lawyer by John Grisham

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Truman Award Nominee

Theodore Boone Kid Lawyer by John Grisham

263 pages

Very impressed with this book. I was a huge Grisham fan before I became addicted to juvenile and teen reads. This did not let me down at all. Theo is a likeable character who seeminly handles everything in stride. But when he has too much on his plate, he has equally likeable characters to back him up.

Blank Confession by Pete Hautman

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Blank Confession by Pete Hautman

170 pages

Shayne walks into a police station and confesses to a murder. He tells a long story, alternating view points with Mikey, the dorky kinda kid who always wears a suit even to school. The suspense builds throughout the book, leaving the reader with several ideas on who the victim might be.

Gentlemen by Michael Northrop



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Gentlemen by Michael Northrop
234 pages

Micheal and his friends are you typical blow off school, lazy slacker, probably going to end up in juvie, group. But when their friend turns up missing, and the English teacher tosses out hints that his body may have been stuffed into the barrel on display for the class, they band together to convince that teacher to admit to what they have done. When Bones takes it way too far, they must decide what is more important, their friendship, or their freedom.
Quick read that really left me wondering what would Micheal's life be like after the fact.

The Hunt for the Seventh by Christine Morton-Shaw

The Hunt for the Seventh by Christine Morton-Shaw

273 pages

Back into my suspense/scary mode. This was pretty good...Jim, along with his sister Sal, and their father, move to Minerva Hall. Dad has taken a head gardening job to help put their lives back together after Mom passed away. Until dead kiddos start appearing to Jim, begging him to find the seventh. A long time summer solstice mystery pops up, with a Minerva heir dying tragically, a total of 6 have died, and Jim is on the hunt for the seventh. 

(from jacket cover)

A haunted mansion. Six Dead Children.

A garden of statues.

With every step he takes around the carefully manicured grounds of Minerva Hall, Jim is haunted by the ghosts of children, long dead, whom no one else can see. Urging him to "find the Seventh," the children leave him cryptic clues pointing to a devastating ancient prophecy that only he can stop from being fulfilled.

Jim befriends another boy-Einstein, who lives at the Hall. Einstein is autistic and very, very smart. If anyone can help Jim find the Seventh, perhaps he can-Einstein clearly knows more than he is saying. At the same time, the dead children seem to be leaving Jim some sort of macabre treasure trail.

If Jim deons't figure out the clues, innocent people will die. But how can Jim find the answers while the dangers of the Hall grow ever more threatening? And even if he can, the reall question is-is Jim already too late?