The latest reviews of fiction and nonfiction titles--including novels, historical fiction, and curriculum related content--for middle school and high school audiences from School Library Journal.
Grades 5 & Up 02/01/2010
Fiction ABLEY, Mark . Camp Fossil Eyes: Digging for the Origins of Words . illus. by Kathryn Adams. 131p. bibliog. further reading. glossary. index. CIP. Annick , dist. by Firefly. 2009. Tr $19.95. ISBN 978-1-55451-181-5 ; pap. $12.95. ISBN 978-1-55451-180-8 . LC C2009-901207-3. Gr 4–7—Alex, 13, and his sister, Jill, 15, are spending several weeks at Camp Fossil Eyes, which special...
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Grades 5 & Up 01/01/2010
Fiction ANHALT, Ariela . Freefall . 250p. CIP. Harcourt . Jan. 2010. Tr $17. ISBN 978-0-15-206567-6 . LC 2009018936. Gr 9 Up—Devastated since his father's suicide, milquetoast Luke Prescott lets Briar Academy's golden boy, Hayden Applegate, dictate their friendship. Luke echoes Hayden's superior attitude and enables his poor treatment of others.
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Grades 5 & Up 12/01/2009
Fiction ALLEN, Justin . Year of the Horse . 320p. Overlook . 2009. pap. $12.95. ISBN 978-1-59020-273-9 . LC number unavailable. Gr 9 Up—A Western adventure swollen with minor incidents and bits of devilish sorcery occasionally spliced in, this novel lacks cohesion, historical imagination, or fantasy flair.
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Grades 5 & Up 11/01/2009
Fiction AMATEAU, Gigi . A Certain Strain of Peculiar . 261p. Candlewick . 2009. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-3009-6 . LC 2008935295. Gr 6–9—Overhearing a group of boys comparing her to worse-than-disgusting girls, Mary Harold, 13, feels another panic attack coming on. It seems easier to change her entire life rather than endure more days of being the outcast.
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Grades 5 & Up 10/01/2009
Fiction AVI . Murder at Midnight . 272p. Scholastic . 2009. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-08090-3 . LC 2009003214. Gr 4–8—In the Renaissance kingdom of Pergamontio, Italy, young servant Fabrizio's master, a stage magician, is charged with plotting treason against the king and dealing with demons.
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The Biggest Losers Brian Kenney, Editor-in-Chief - 10/01/2009
Dear Cushing Academy Parents: Soon, your child will have access to one of the most innovative secondary school libraries in the country. Over half-a-million dollars are being invested to transform your library into an interactive learning center with monitors providing news feeds, state-of-the-art computing, a cyber-cafe (with a $12,000 cappuccino machine!), and much more.
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Grades 5 & Up 09/01/2009
Fiction ALEXANDER, Jill S. The Sweetheart of Prosper County . 224p. CIP. Feiwel & Friends . Sept. 2009. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-312-54856-8 . LC 2008034757. Gr 8 Up—Fifteen-year-old Austin Gray has not had an easy life. Her father died one rainy Christmas Eve when his car skidded off a bridge into a lake.
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2009 National Book Awards On the red carpet with nominees in the Young People's Literature category.
Photos by Rocco Staino.
SLJ Covers 2009 A bigger and better view of SLJ's covers from 2009
BookExpo America 2009: SLJ's Day of Dialog School Library Journal held a Day of Dialog in conjunction with the annual BookExpo America on May 28, 2009 at the Brooklyn Public Library. Full story: bit.ly/1a0G7o
Rockin’, Rollin’ and Ridin’ with Rebecca Frezza & Big Truck. CD. 23 min. Prod. by Big Truck Music. Dist. by CDBaby.com. 2009. $8.99.
Gr 1-5–A veteran of Noggin Channel and PBS Kids, Frezza created these eight exceptional rock ‘n roll songs for elementary grade children who are too old for Raffi, but not old enough for adult pop music.
Friends and colleagues of the late Effie Lee Morris may enjoy this photo of the children's librarian, which Nicholas Glass, founder and executive director of Teachingbooks.net, recently found on his computer. It was taken at the 2009 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, and features (from left) Ashley Bryan, Christopher Myers, and Morris, also an advocate for children's literature and library service to youngsters with impaired vision, who died of cancer on November 10, 2009.
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Rockin’, Rollin’ and Ridin’ with Rebecca Frezza & Big Truck. CD. 23 min. Prod. by Big Truck Music. Dist. by CDBaby.com. 2009. $8.99. 
