Fat Cat by Robin Brande

That’s when I knew what I should do. I knew if I made this my project, I’d really have to take it seriously. I couldn’t back out. I couldn’t cheat. This would be for a grade and for the science fair, so I’d have to do it for real. Once I committed to it– once I wrote my idea on a piece of paper this afternoon and turned it in alongside everyone else’s research topics–I’d have no choice but to take it all the way.
Mr. Fizer said he wants big ideas. He wants us to be creative and to really push ourselves. He wants us to throw ourselves into our projects, mind and body and soul.
Well, you can’t get more committed than this.
“I’m going to do it,” I told Amanda. “I’m going to become prehistoric.” (11)

Junior Catherine Locke (known as Fat Cat to some of her classmates) is turning herself into a test subject for her science fair project. She’s determined that she will report on the results of living as a cave woman would have, which means no technology, no candy, no processed food, and no transportation (except for emergencies of course). Her friend Amanda thinks she’s crazy, especially considering all the honors and AP classes Cat is already taking. It doesn’t help matters that Amanda enlists her to help save the local vegetarian restaurant where Amanda does Poetry Night every month. After recovering from the initial caffine withdrawls, things go well for Cat until her quickly slimming body garners some unwanted attention, especially from ex-friend Matt. Will Cat be able to win the science fair and beat Matt once and for all, paying him back for the horrible thing he did a few years ago? You'll just have to read Fat Cat by Robin Brande to find out.

Tales of the Cryptids by Kelly Milner Halls, Rick Spears, and Roxyanne Young

Cryptozoology is one big word that is easily decoded. "Crypto" comes from a Greek word meaning "hidden or covered," and "zoology" is the study of animal life. So, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, cryptozoology is the study of and searching for legendary animals--called cryptids-- to find out if there's any possibility that these mysterious animals people say they've seen really exist. [...] And every once in a while, a determined cryptozoologist makes a discovery that knocks the doubtful experts on their ears: proof that one of the legends really does exist. (4)

Kelley Milner Halls, Rick Spears, and Roxyanne Young set out to showcase the science behind the legends and lore of creatures like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster. While you might be familiar with these, have you ever heard of the Coelacanth, which was supposed to be extinct a million years ago, or the Giant Squid found near Japan that can grow more than 40 feet long? Is the Loch Ness Monster's cousin hanging out in Lake Champlain in New York? Tales of the Cryptids breaks down the fact from the fiction, and relates new finds from this century about the possibility of these creatures actually existing.

AMY

Secret Subway by Martin Sandler

He was ready to begin. But in order to do so he would have to do something that no one in the world had ever done. Not only would he have to build a subway that would so impress city and state officials, the public, and the press that they would forgive his deception, but he would have to do it without anyone finding out about it until it was completed. The nation's first subway was about to be built in secret! (49)

In the late 1860s, New York was known as having "the biggest, the fastest, the most, the tallest, the greatest!" But New York was also the busiest and most crowded, with thousands of people, horses, and vehicles on the streets every day. Alfred Ely Beach, a young inventor, was intent on fixing the city he loved and called home. He had an idea of moving people underground, which many took to mean in the dank, dark, and dreary. Those who saw the potential in the project were corrupt by greed and above ground taxi services. That is when Beach decided to tunnel under the busy city streets in secret. Secret Subway by Martin W. Sandler tells the fascinating tale of one man's mission and the people who fought against it.

AMY

Oggie Cooder: Party Animal by Sarah Weeks

“You’re joking, right?” said Hannah. “You didn’t really invite Oggie Cooder to your party, did you?”
Donnica reached into her pocket and pulled out her pink lip gloss.
“I invited him,” she said, pausing for a minute to slowly run the shiny gloss over her lips. “But trust me, he’s not going to come.” (26)

Oggie Cooder can’t believe his good luck when Donnica Perfecto finally invites him to her pool party. Donnica can’t believe her bad luck when she’s forced to invite Oggie Cooder to her pool party by her mother. It’s especially unfortunate when Donnica finds out that her local smash hit band is being replaced by the juggling Bumbles the Bear. Donnica has an idea to keep Oggie and Bumbles away from the party, though she might live to regret it when she finds out what Oggie is trying to get for her birthday gift. Anyone who liked Oggie Cooder before will love Oggie Cooder Party Animal in this newest novel by Sarah Weeks.

AMY

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone

“Their original group was thirteen. [...]
It was 1969 when they took their shot at being astronauts. Back then, women weren’t allowed to rent a car or take out a loan from the bank without a man’s signature; they could not play on a professional sports team at all. They couldn’t report the news on television or run in a city marathon or serve as police officers. They weren’t allowed to fly jets, either. And these are just some of the bigger examples.
None of that kept these women from trying to be astronauts. They were too determined. Every single one of them shared a common dream from the time they were little girls: they were all born to fly.” (2-5)

Tanya Lee Stone’s phenomenal and engaging new book Almost Astronauts tells the story of the Mercury 13 women, who were trailblazers in the same manner as Amelia Earhart and Sally Ride and the WASPS. Jerri Cobb was the first, undergoing three phases of astronaut testing to prove that women were capble of withstanding space travel. Twelve more women followed, making thirteen total. Although Stone writes that the women were “never part of the Mercury space program,” they underwent the same tests as the male pilots, many times surpassing their results, and quite often had more experience flying then their male counterparts. When the news became public however, NASA, the navy, the government, and even other female pilots became vocal about the impossibility of these women ever becoming female astronauts, called by the media “Astronettes.” It’s disheartening that although many of these women went on to continue careers in aviation, not one of the original 13 made it into space. The story is placed in context of the time, bringing to light what the women had to endure in the face of insurmountable prejudices. The book includes an author’s note, appendix, further reading, webliography, bibliography including books, articles, documents, and videos, source notes, photography credits, and an index, making it a well researched, well cited, and award winning book.

AMY

11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass

Maybe I dreamed the last two days and today is really my birthday? Trembling, I reach down to feel the backs of my ankles. Band-Aids on both. I sit down on my bed and begin to cry. This is no dream or deja vu. I never had psychic powers. I can finally accept that now.
Ten seconds later, my alarm beeps. I want to throw it across the room. I can't do this over again. I just can't. I crawl back into bed and throw the covers over my head. Why is every day my eleventh birthday? And why doesn't anyone else realize it? Why is this hapening to me, of all people? I'm not special in any way. Well, I can touch my nose with my tongue, but that's pretty much it. (72)

Amanda Ellerby and Leo Fitzpatrick have celebrated their birthdays together ever since they were born on the same day. But during their tenth birthday party, Leo and Amanda get into an argument and they refuse to speak to each other. When their eleventh birthday comes along, their feud is infamous amongst the school, causing kids to take sides as to whose birthday party their going to; Leo's with the hypnotist and professional football player, or Amanda's Hollywood themed costume party. When Amanda and Leo wake up the next morning, they realize they're reliving their birthday over and over again. At first, they are freaked out, and then they think it's cool to live life without any consequences. But just how many times can you take the same pop quiz in history before you started wishing for something different to happen? Can Amanda and Leo fix what's happening to them? Wendy Mass writes about friendship mixed with a little bit of magic in 11 Birthdays.

Riot by Walter Dean Myers

MAEVE: They were singing about going to Dublin and marching as gay as you please all the way down Mercer Street. And every time they came to the end of a line with a “Whack follol de rah” they would break out a window!
CLAIRE: That’s terrible. Why would anyone want to do that?
MAEVE: Well, it’s the Irish against the swells and the Coloreds. They’ve been pushing us around too long, they have. You can’t walk down the sidewalk without a swell pushing you off into the street or one of the Coloreds taking your jobs. I hear they have them by the hundreds in Jersey City just waiting to rush over to New York at the drop of a hat.
You won’t be able to find a scrap of work that they won’t do for half the money. That’s how the Coloreds are. They’ll work for nothing until they chase us out and we’ll be the beggars and street sweepers. It’s in the Bible! (25-26)

There are riots happening in New York City during the hot July of 1863. With the Civil War raging, President Lincoln instituted a draft, which the rich get out of participating in by paying $300. The Irish immigrants are upset about this because not only are they being forced to fight in a war, but they’re fighting to free slaves who will inevitablely move up north and take their jobs for less money. Tensions mount, and stuck in the middle is fifteen-year-old Claire, born to an Irish mother and a black father. She sympathizes with both sides, but her pale appearance saves her from the persecution that most blacks are facing. Until, that is, someone finds out about her mixed race background. Walter Dean Myers tells the tale of the Riot in a screenplay format, providing stage directions and descriptions about the violence that occurred.

AMY

Hate List by Jennifer Brown

Like I would be happy about going back to school. About stepping back into those haunted halls. Into the commons, where the world as I knew it had crashed to an end last May. Like I hadn’t been having nightmares about that place every single night and waking up sweaty, crying, totally relieved to be in my room again where things were safe.
The school couldn’t decide if I was hero or villain, and I guess I couldn’t blame them. I was having a hard time deciding that myself. Was I the bad guy who set into motion the plan to mow down half my school, or th hero who sacrificed herself to end the killing? Some days I felt like both. Some days I felt like neither. It was all so complicated. (6-7)

Valerie Leftman was a normal teenager until her boyfriend decided to bring a gun to school and shoot up the school. Originally implicated because of a “Hate List” that she and Nick created together of things and people they hated, she was cleared because of the words of classmates who said she didn’t shoot anyone. Hailed a hero by the school because she inadvertently saved the life of a classmate trying to stop Nick, her classmates see her as a contributing factor. As her social life and family life spirals out of control as a result of the shooting, she must deal with not only the feelings of her classmates, but also her own mixed up feelings about the shooting and the shooter. Hate List is a riveting read by first time author Jennifer Brown.

AMY

Shooting Star by Frederick McKissack Jr.

As far as write-ups go, that was the bomb. He imagined Jayson straining not to do the happy dance. Praise from the seniors, love, or something like it, from McPherson, now this -- Jayson's swagger would only grow. Jomo imagined Jayson's mom not being able to contain her excitement. She was probably calling everybody she knew and would tell people in public who her boy was. [...]
And yet he couldn't stop himself from going back over the phrase "the big knock on him." It always came down to his size. [...] Jayson got "Playing on Any Given Sunday." He got dissed. Couple of inches and thirty pounds. That's all he needed. He'd have instant swagger. (54)

Jomo and Jayson are best friends, playing for the same varsity football team as sophomores. But at the end of the season, while Jayson is getting calls from recruiters from various colleges, Jomo is told that he has two options; get serious or get out. Jomo starts a new training regimen, but it only does so much to increase his stamina, ability, and size. Getting tired of hearing "if only you were bigger," Jomo is tempted to start taking the steroids that everyone else seems to be reeping the benefits from. His choices however lead to some major problems, and not just for his future football career. Fredrick McKissack Jr. drafts a well written sports story in Shooting Star, called a "fascinating look from the viewpoint of the student athlete" by Walter Dean Myers.

Operation Yes by Sara Lewis Holmes

The students rustled with unease. Wasn’t their teacher supposed to say: “Welcome to the sixth grade, and I’m very, very glad you’re here, but as the top grade at Young Oaks, you have a responsibility to the rest of the school to set a good example”? Were they supposed to completely ignore her belly ring? Could they ask about her tattoo? And why would a teacher put tape on the floor?
Bo wanted to ask all of these questions and more. But Miss Loupe had asked her question first, and now she belted it out one more time: “WHERE AM I?” (4)

In Sara Lewis Holmes' book Operation Yes, Miss Loupe is loopy. Or at least, that’s what Bo and the rest of his classmates think when they begin sixth grade at the elementary school on the Air Force base in North Carolina. That’s because not only does she have a tattoo and a belly ring, but she also taped off a large box in the middle of the room, and then placed a ratty old couch in the middle of it. But Bo has more on his mind then what Miss Loupe is doing in the classroom, and in fact it’s actually the one thing he likes about his life. His dad might be moving the family again this time out of the country, and his cousin Geri moves in with them when her mom gets sent off to Iraq as an Army nurse. Sure Miss Loupe is weird, but when something happens that forces them to have a substitute, Bo, Geri, and the rest of room 208 learn just what really matters; how to say yes.

AMY

The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs by Betty G. Birney

Pa stood up and started pacing around, rubbing the back of his neck the way he always did when he was pondering something important.
"Eben, I have a deal for you," he finally announced. "You find yourself Seven Wonders right here in Sassafras Springs, and I'll buy you a ticket to go see Molly and Eli and that mountain." [...]
"How long do I have?"
"Seven days seems fair," said Pa, settling back down. "Long as it took for God to create this world and take a day off."
"A Wonder a day? I don't know." At that moment, seven of anything sounded like a lot. Especially since if Sassafras Springs had Wonders, they hadn't showed up so far. (10-11)

Eben McAllister lives in Sassafras Springs, Missouri, which is as boring a place as you can get compared to the pictures he sees at school of pyramids and hanging gardens and temples. So when his father challenges him to find The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs in order to go on a train ride up to Colorado, he's worried he won't succeed. But, a bet is a bet, and he's itching to see something besides the farmland that surrounds his tiny town. Eben though doesn't have great big wonders, so where is he going to find something as wonderous as pyramids? Weaving tall tales with true events, Betty G. Birney weaves a fun story that makes you question what really is so wonderous about a wonder.

AMY

In Too Deep by Jude Watson

"Is there something you want to tell me? About what you're really doing in Australia?"
"Okay, Dan said. "I guess it's time we told you the truth."
Amy gave him a no way look.
"Back in Massachusetts, Amy and I broke into our school one night. No biggie, right? Except that our assistant principal, Mortimer C. Murchinson, is an alien. At night he takes off his face and turns into this eleven-foot-tall thing with eight arms . . ."
". . .who plays for the Boston Celtics," Shep said with a sigh. "I get it." His gaze was searching as it rested on them. Then he turned and started back to the cockpit. "If you see any stealth bombers coming our way, just give a yell, okay?"
"You got it, Captain," Dan answered. (108)

In Jude Watson's second book for the 39 Clues series, In Too Deep is a very appropriate title. Dan and Amy Cahill are off to Australia, with au pair Nellie and cat in tow, and they are in over their heads. The Kabra's mother Isabel has entered the fray, and she is not happy with the way her children have been handling the hunt. Irina is also following close behind, but might have her own agenda. New things are coming to light about Nellie, including the fact that she can fly a plane?! New information is also resurfacing about Dan and Amy's parents, and the fire that took their lives. In the race for the 39 Clues, you either sink or swim.

AMY

Back Home by Julia Keller

"When your dad comes home," my mother went on, "he's going to be different, okay? He was hurt really, really bad, and he--" She stopped. Then she went on.
There are things you hear that, once you hear them, just keep traveling through you forever, like sunlight through a windowpane. Like it's some sort of natural process. They don't stop. So you're never really not hearing them, ever again.
"He doesn't have one of his legs anymore," my mother said, "and he doesn't have one of his arms either." She was saying these things in a strange calm voice like they were normal to say, like they were ordinary things. Like checking off items on a list for the store. "But he's going to be okay. He'll get better. They're going to give him a new leg and a new arm, and then he'll be able to get around and do things and play with you." (9-10)

But for Rachel Browning, life is anything but ordinary when her father returns from Iraq. Her dad wasn't even a real soldier, just a public-relations director for a power company who spent time serving in the National Guard. It's not like he killed people for a living. But he's the one who was injured and suffered a traumatic brain injury and became a double amputee. Rachel can't get used to her father's lack of initiative to get better, and she looses friends as they become embarrassed over her situation. Julia Keller wrote Back Home after doing a news story about traumatic brain injuries. Readers will learn the difficulties of trying to make a family whole again after war tears them apart.

AMY

Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

“A pirate ship needs a name that inspires fear in the heart of every sailor who hears it,” said Stache. He drummed his bony fingers thoughfully on the desk that once belonged to Captain Scott.
Smee said, “What about the Jellyfish?”
Stache turned and stared at Smee with a look that Smee, unfortunately, mistook for encoragement.
“I mean the stinging kind,” Smee continued brightly. “I’ve seen grown men cry when they–”
“SHUT UP, YOU IDJIT,” thundered Stache, slamming the deck with his fist. He took a long, deep breath, then continued in a calm voice: “You don’t name a pirate ship the Jellyfish.”(131-132)

Peter, who claims to be one year older than the oldest person of the group, is loaded onto the Never Land with four other orphans; James, Prentiss, Thomas, and Tubby Ted. Also on the ship is Molly, the daughter of a visiting dignitary, her governess Mrs. Bumbrake, and a trunk, which seems slightly unusual to Peter. He doesn’t realize how unusual until pirates show up, led by the evil captain Black Stache. Everyone ends up on a remote island as a result of a storm and revenge, where they encounter just what the contents of the trunk can do. Dave Barry and Ridley have started a rollicking, pirate filled series with Peter and the Starcatchers, a prequel to Peter Pan.

AMY

The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker

"But I can't marry Jorge! We don't love each other!"
My mother gave me a look so cold that I stepped back a pace. "What does that have to do with anything?" she asked. "Husbands and wives who love each other are the exception, not the rule. Stop whining and be happy that he wants your hand at all. Not many princes would be willing to marry someone as awkward as you. Despite all my efforts, you have few social graces. If only you'd been born a boy as your father and I had wanted! Maybe then I could have made comething of you. As it is, this match is the best that you can hope for, so I expect you to be gracious about it. Now see what you've done! I can feel my headache returning."
Marrying Jorge would be a terrible mistake. (23)

Out of pure frustration, Princess Emeralda runs away from the castle, rather than having to deal with her soon to be fiance Jorge. It's in the neighboring swamp that she encounters a frog, who claims to be Prince Eadric turned into a frog by a spell that can only be broken by a kiss. Princess Emeralda feels she has nothing else left to loose, so she puckers up, first wiping the dead fly legs from his mouth. The kiss has disasterous consequences, forcing Emeralda and Eadric to travel to the scene of the first enchantment to find a solution to the problem.

The Frog Princess, by E.D. Baker, served as inspiration for Disney's newest movie The Princess and the Frog, due to hit theatres this weekend. If you like this book, try the rest in the series.

AMY

Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Practicing the Piano (But She Does Love Being in Recitals) by Peggy Gifford

Two things disappointed Moxy about the recital tonight. The first was the fact that "Heart and Soul" was such a short song. She thought it should go on at least five minutes longer.
The second thing was that her twin brother, Mark Maxwell, who was seven minutes younger, was going to play a solo called "The Flight of the Bumblebee." Moxy thought that if Mark was going to play a solo then she, Moxy Maxwell, should be able to play a solo too.(6)

Peggy Gifford's Moxy Maxwell series is quickly growing, with a new book every year for the last three years. Some of you might remember Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuar Little or Writing Thank You Notes. Well, now Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Practicing the Piano. She's more concerned with practicing her bow with her younger sister, making sure her mom made 150 cupcakes after an all night flight from Africa, and trying on her cape and crown to make sure they fit perfectly. Oh, and warm up her singing voice, just in case she gets asked to sing. She is not concerned about the fact that she does not stop playing the song in the right spot. She's confident she'll succeed, because she's Moxy. Right?

AMY

Slant by Laura E. Williams

I turn and walk back, my eyes lifted to the sky. More stars are out, but that first one I saw is still burning the brightest. I hope it's not a planet instead of a star. Wishing on a planet doesn't work, does it? Just in case, I pick another pinprick of light and wish on it too. I kinda worry, though, that this is negating my earlier wish since this really isn't the first star I've seen tonight. Have my two wishes canceled each other out? I comfort myself with the thought that at least I had my birthday wish. And a birthday wish, especially for a girl turning thirteen, should be pretty powerful. Not that I'm obsessed or anything. (11)

Laura E. Williams tells the story of newly turned thirteen Lauren who is hoping, wishing, and praying for one thing; the chance to have an operation to fix her eyes. There's nothing wrong with them, except as an adopted Korean teen she feels out of place with her classmates. They call her Slant and other names. When the boy she likes calls her that, she's flabergasted. But she becomes even more flabergasted when her grandmother comes for a visit and a past secret surfaces. But it's not just Lauren who has surprises in store for her.

AMY

The Treasure Map of Boys by E. Lockhart

Noel had been kissing Ariel Olivieri.
Kissing.
Ariel.
Ag.
I felt shattered.
Except, how could I be shattered? We weren't together. We would never be together, because of Nora liking him. We had barely spoken to one another since the term started.
Get over it, I told myself. You're not allowed to be shattered.
He's your Chem partner. You're his bodyguard.
Nothing more. (50)

E. Lockhart continues Ruby Oliver's journey through high school in the latest installment The Treasure Map of Boys. Following the events of The Boy Book, Ruby Oliver is faced with the dillema of being in a perpetual state of noboyfriend. That doesn't mean that she still doesn't have boy trouble though. She's conflicted by her feelings towards her ex-boyfriend Jackson who cheated on her with her ex-bestfriend Kim. Noel also seems to like Ruby, but Ruby is trying not to let Nora find out because she promised Nora (who likes Noel) that Ruby wouldn't date him. And then there's the little fact that Nora recently got fired from her job at the zoo for calling a dad drunk. Overall, it's no wonder that Ruby is having panic attacks. If only life wasn't so complicated.

AMY

The Search for the Red Dragon by James A. Owen

Sitting in a disarray of just-blooming bluebells, mud, and free-floating feathers was a small girl. A small girl with wings. [...]
"More of a cherub, really, don't you think, John?" said Charles.
"And you would know this how?" asked John. "When have you ever seen a cherub?"
"Look," said Charles, "when he said 'angel,' I was expecting something a little more grown-up. This cherub can't be more than five years old."
"I'm eight, I'll have you know," the girl piped up. "Next Thursday, anyway. And I'm not a cherub or an angel, whatever those are. I'm Laura Glue, and Laura Glue is me." (16)

In the sequel to Here, There Be Dragons, James Owen begins the story nine years later. Charles and John have been contacted by Jack's brother to come immediately. Upon arrival, they are greated not only by Jack and his brother, but by a tiny winged girl with a message for "Jamie" that "The Crusade has begun." Jamie turns out to be Sir James Barrie, the previous Caretaker of the Imaginarium Geographica. After calling on their old friend Bert, they discover that children, including Aven's son, have all gone missing along with the dragon ships. As the conduct The Search for the Red Dragon, they're transported to Never Land where they meet some familiar characters.

AMY

I came to court last autumn to serve the new queen, and awaited her winter arrival with the rest of her ladies-in-waiting. But by early spring the gift of the sapphire made the focus of the king's affection clear for all to see. At fifteen years old, I am on the brink of gaining great wealth and great privilege for my family. Or so I have been told. I had best act properly, I am often reminded, or else squander all of our chances. The king is forty-nine and not as well as he once was. Time is precious, fleeting. (5)

Abby Libby presents a fictionalized account of Catherine Howard in The King's Rose. For those not familiar with the story, King Henry VIII is currently married to wife number four. But when he catches sight of fifteen year old Catherine Howard (cousin to wife number two Anne Boleyn), he promptly divorces his wife and weds Catherine. Catherine, however, is less than estatic, having been foisted on the king by her ambitious family instead of courting the man she actually loves. Court intrigue and politics make it dangerous for Catherine, who must produce an heir before the king looses interest in her or is convinced by his advisors to get rid of her.

AMY