Gayle Forman's follow up to Just One Day (Dutton, 2012), Just One Year, succeeds in telling the story of love lost and found. We've all heard stories about big lottery winners going through the money quickly and ending up broke, but there's an interesting twist to the story in Spoils—a deal with the devil. Fans of David Klass will not be disappointed with Grandmaster, which takes readers inside the high-stress world of competitive chess. Caminar, Skila Brown's debut novel visits Guatemala during its 1980s civil war. Told in verse, the book examines trust, loyalty, and family ties. FORMAN, Gayle. Just One Year. Dutton. 2013. Tr. $17.99. ISBN 9780525425922. Gr 9 Up—When Willem de Ruiter wakes up in the hospital, he can barely remember how he ended up there. Even worse, he can barely remember her: Lulu. They met on a train, and spent the best day of his life together. Except, her name isn't Lulu. In fact, he doesn't know her real name—or anything about her. All that's left of her is an expensive gold watch, and flashes of memories. Willem has spent the past three years making women just that, memories, but something about Lulu is different. He wants to find her again, to get rid of the feeling of being lost. In his search for her, he ends up going to India, to a mother he hasn't seen in years. In the year following Just One Day, Willem finds that he needs to find himself before he can find Lulu. Gayle Forman's follow up to Just One Day had a lot to live up to. I adored Allyson's story, and hoped Willem's would be just as compelling—and it didn't disappoint. Willem, in Just One Day, is a mysterious character without much of a back story. In Just One Year, readers get to experience his troubled past. The novels, together, are great tellings of what it means to find oneself, and to find love through that. I loved its expansion of Willem's story, and the follow up and closure we are able to get with his personal story, as well as his story with Allyson. Overall, Just One Year was a great, interesting read.—Destiny B. age 16 STEIN, Tammar. Spoils. Random. Dec. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780375870620. Gr 8-12—When Leni’s family won the lottery, they thought all their problems would be solved. With a huge house, fancy appliances, and a chance for each family member to fulfill his or her dreams, everything seems perfect—except it’s not. With extravagant and irresponsible spending habits, Leni’s parents are soon left in deep debt, and her brother has become a slob with a dim future. The only hope seems to lie in Leni’s trust fund, which will soon be available for spending on Leni’s eighteenth birthday. However, Leni soon discovers the unthinkable when her sister Natasha returns from a trip incredibly distressed—the family won the lottery because Natasha made a deal with the devil. Now, Leni must deal with the consequences, as she is charged not only by her sister, but also by the archangel Michael to right the wrong that has been done. With time running out, Leni must choose between bailing out her parents and fixing her sister’s sinful mistake. At first, I was incredibly underwhelmed by Spoils by Tammar Stein. I thought that it was very slow and boring at first, and it seemed like the plot points were just haphazardly thrown together. As I reached the middle of the book, I began to like it a lot more. While there were still many characters I disliked and plot points that I did not think were fully developed, the book also contained likeable characters and a skillful writing style that utilized subtlety, dialogue, and description artfully. Spoils is definitely not one of the best books that I have ever read, but I did enjoy it, and am interested to see what else Stein has to offer.—Kayla T. age 17 KLASS, David. Grandmaster. FSG. February 2014. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780374327712. Gr 8 Up—Chess is not just a game; it is war, a battle between two minds. Daniel Pratzer, a freshman on the school chess team, will soon realize this in an upcoming parent-child tournament. Daniel is a complete beginner in chess, a patzer. Imagine his surprise when he and his father are chosen to compete in this competition. Thinking his father has never moved a chess piece in his life, imagine Daniel's bigger surprise when he discovers his father is no novice. No, his father was and still is a grandmaster, but the extreme pressure of the game pushed him to quit. Breaking his vow to never play chess again, Daniel's father agrees to compete in the tournament, but can he handle the pressure? Or will he break apart when matched against an old rival? For Daniel, this is his chance to prove himself a worthy chess player, but is it worth it? Amid the intense competition of chess, Daniel and his father share heartwarming father-son moments, and there's even romance in the air. This chess tournament will change everything for Daniel and his father, but can they survive the pressure? Since I viewed chess as a nerdy pastime for the awkward, smart, or old person, I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did, if at all. Now that I've read about the somewhat darker side of competitive chess, I find the game much more interesting and even fun. However, the book didn't focus on chess entirely—the story focused more on Daniel's relationship with his father and Daniel’s love life. Also, I've always loved the underdog, always have and always will. Daniel is the typical, unpopular kid that isn't really good at anything, an underdog. Like most low self-esteem teenagers, Daniel doubts his ability because he just doesn't believe in himself, and I could relate to that, which made the story even better for me. Although the plot was really simple and even a bit predictable, I enjoyed reading the book, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a simple, quick read.—Vy M., age 15 BROWN, Skila. Caminar. Candlewick. March 2014. Tr. $15.99. ISBN 9780763665166. Gr 6-10—Caminar is a novel in verse that takes place in Guatemala in the year 1981, in the fictional village of Chopán which Carlos and his mom live in. One day soldiers come into his village and warn them about Communist rebels. After the soldiers left the village, they find one of Carlos’ neighbors hanging on a tree by his neck. Carlos' mother fears they will come back and destroy the village. Carlos is forced by his mother to run to his grandmother's village, on top of the mountain far away. Along the way he meets these so-called Communists rebels. You will have to read the book if you want to find out what happens to Carlos. Overall I thought this book was okay. I liked how it was a quick read. I didn't like how it was written in a poetic form and not in prose. I felt that there was not enough detail in the story. If this was written in prose, I feel that the book would have had more description. This book would not be good for readers who are detail oriented because it simply is not descriptive enough. The type of reader I would recommend this book to is people with busy schedules that don't have much time to spend reading.—Harris D., age 14