This Hot Topics series title provides up-to-date and well referenced information on the enormously passionate issue of gun control.  Support for the “pro” and “con” stances are the usual, predictable rationales:  Gabby Gifford’s case in Arizona, a right to carry state; the “stand your ground” defense of George Zimmerman in Florida; stand and defend.  A surprise was to read of gun control as a form of racism since certain classes are prevented from exercising their 2nd Amendment rights due to the costs and fees of gun ownership.  Without the financial resources, many cannot access the ammunition nor even the weapon itself, whereas the well-to-do can.  Another concept that seemed novel was that bearing arms can be seen as an equalizer.  It evens the playing field for a woman versus a man or a small man versus a larger man or an individual versus a group.  Great layout with highlighting, text boxes and colorful illustrations.  For a thin book, it is thick on material.  Excellent bibliographical references, discussion questions for each chapter and additional resources provided.

James Whitman, teenage poet, confused, anxious but hopeful, creative soul, longs to understand the horror of living with parents whom he calls The Brute and The Banshee, and how they could kick his beloved, abused sister Jorie out of their home without regret or forgiveness. As James begins to question just what Jorie did to deserve such punishment, which also included expulsion from school her senior year, his quest to know her and himself better through ‘therapy’ with an imaginary dove named Dr. Bird, then a real and effective therapist named Dr Dora, is the pulse of this sweet debut book by Evan Roskos.

James, inspired by Walt Whitman, finds it is poetry and friendship that ultimately save him and bring him to reckon with the hard lessons of living. Jorie’s struggles become clear, too, as James makes his way past his own guilt and anxiety to build a healing relationship with her, out there on her own by choice, helping him carve out a way forward with parents whose inept parenting is nevertheless what he is stuck with. James’ ultimate celebration of all things life brings the book to its hopeful fulfillment. The poetry and prose move the plot forward with joy that never flags, even in the darkest of times for James.

Highly recommended.

A happy central character with a life plan and the confidence to see it through: That’s Margo McKenna, high school musical theatre talent, promising musician, who usually gets what she wants. Enter Vicky, lackluster non-actress who gets the lead role Margo ought to have had, and Oliver, Vicky’s mysterious companion, and suddenly the known world is very odd indeed.  Why are people so blind to Vicky’s acting inability? Why do they dote on her? And who is Oliver really?

Lindsay Ribar’s first book is engaging, believable magical realism, brightly written and well developed. Oliver, a gentle genie, comes into Margo’s life summoned by the wishing ring Vicky has abandoned. As Margo begins to understand the power Oliver offers, she also begins to fall in love with him, leading to an ultimately surprising consequence when she defeats the dark genie that wants to end Oliver’s life, thus changing her own forever. The inevitable but unexpected ending promises sequels.

This easy to absorb novel creates a whole new world of genies and ‘masters’ for the modern world. It will be interesting to see what Ms Ribar has in store for Margo and Oliver is the next phase of their existences in this paranormal romance.  Recommended

Romance is the spark  that  ignites interest in this fantasy novel about spell seekers and curse casters by the husband and wife writing team of Cremer and Levithan. Each writer has individually authored popular Young Adult Fiction novels.   In Invisibility, they alternate each chapter between the voice of the invisible boy, Stephen, and the emotions and observations of his “ordinary” friend, Elizabeth,  the new girl in the next  apartment .  A lonely, awkward young woman from the mid-west, new to New York and happy to blend into anonymity of the big city of New York, Elizabeth is the only one who can see Stephen.   No surprises in the plot that the only person who can see the invisible boy may be the one who can break the curse put on him by a vengeful grandfather.  This is an easy read with the only memorable, serious note being the tender, insightful manner in which the sexual coming out  the younger brother is handled.  Recommended with limited enthusiasm.

The Peculiars, by Maureen Doyle McQuerry, enters realms of steampunk fantasy with the search of 18 year old Lena Mattacascar to learn more about her father, Saul, who left her and her mother for the strange land of Scree, wherein live those whose characteristics (wings, goblin features, dwarfism and the like) make them not only different but undesirables and victims of oppression. Lena’s inheritance of the deed to her father’s mine in Scree begins her journey north, leading her to engage with friends and foes as she deals with her own goblinesque, hands and feet and the realization of her father’s uncontrolled tendencies to violence.

Themes of self-acceptance, discernment, trust and determination infuse McQuerry’s alternate late-1800s steam-powered world. Infused with facts and historic figures, readers enter Lena’s experiences as she discovers whether she is indeed “a Peculiar” in the face of societal condemnation and shame.  In so doing, she finds a new life, acceptance, a worthwhile career and the promise of love.

The author, who lives and teaches in southeastern Washington, specializes in young adult fiction.  With The Peculiars, she has created a worthwhile and thought-provoking look into a world filled with gears, pulleys, steam-driven flying machines, committed characters, and an indomitable spirit of self-discovery. Recommended.

Perfect is for a baseball fan.  Anyone one who has played the game will “see” a game from the descriptions of the writer and enjoy reading about some of the games special moments. Each perfect game is its own chapter; alike in that the reader knows how it will end, but different in how the end comes about. What James Buckley Jr. also provides in this book is a historical timeline because descriptions of how the game was played in the beginning to how the rules changed to the game we know now give readers a real sense of the evolution of America’s pastime.

Of course nothing can be perfect.  The book does not include the perfect games played last year, most notably, by this Mariner’s fan, that by Felix Hernandez.

The author does reference other books written about perfect games, each book about a single game and its impact upon the game, the season, the player the team and the fans.  This is most likely an additional purchase for schools and public libraries.

With Adios Nirvana, Conrad Wesselhoeft takes readers into the chiaroscuro world of high school Junior Jonathan, writer/guitarist/seeker/mourner, whose twin brother has died after a skateboard accident. Deep grief and uncertainty about his own life and future places this lovable, warm, talented yet troubled youth on the path to either failure or success, and the unfolding of his journey captures, with a cast of interesting characters, the healing process that loving friends and music can provide when one deals with big themes like life and death. And there’s the Eddie Vedder Rickenbacker guitar, too.

Wesselhoeft paints Seattle perfectly from the weather to the streets, casting a mood that every Northwest inhabitant knows, moving Jonathan into the lives of people who need him, astound him, teach him, and ultimately lead him to find affirmation, a writing career, and the perfect musical moment.

It’s a great first book mixing music and magic with the everyday life of a kid seeing that every moment of light and dark is a miracle, despite evidence to the contrary.Life throws us curves.  To live through them, “The secret is to close your hand on jagged glass, then open it and find a butterfly.” Recommended.

A reader’s perception of the book The Warrior’s Heart with will probably shape their overall feeling for this account about Eric Greitens.  All in all this is the story of Eric coming of age.  The first 130 pages detail the post high school education of Greitens, one that includes much more than his Duke and Oxford diplomas would entail.  Upon entering Duke on a scholarship, Greitens wanted to study “public policy” but it became quite clear that the focus in his studies would mean much more than just that.  Independent study grant opportunities would take him to China, Rwanda, Zaire and Bolivia.  His account reveals the first hand experiences with war, poverty, disease and death that most “public  policy” experts never get.  Back at school he sought to box for fun, learning a heck of a lot about honor and courage as well as the physical fitness that would prove essential in his future.  In his senior year he applied and received the coveted Rhodes scholarship that gave him full tuition to Oxford for graduate school.  But even that wasn’t enough.

The second half of the book details Greitens entry into the Navy’s Officer Candidate School and the Navy Seal’s Basic Underwater Demolition team.  For readers who just want the story of this training, they will find the first half of the book a bit to slog through.  But Greitens title is clear that the purpose of the book is to show how he became the man that he is and this man is not just the tough guy who can survive the brutal training and work of Navy Seals.  The reader that stays along for the ride will thoroughly enjoy all the mental and physical details Greitens provides for the latter 130 pages.

This is a well written book.  Readers will like the 2nd person rhetorical vignettes that proceed major decision points in his life asking them “What would you do?”  It’s no surprise that this is popping up on all the current lists of popular teen fiction.  For teens who are exploring the idea of being in the military in the future, and for anyone who wants a picture of Navy Seal training, this is a strong recommendation.

Jim Murphy and Alison Blank have put forth a wonderful account of the history of Tuberculosis in Invisible Microbe: Tuberculosis and the Never-ending Search for a Cure.  They begin with “This is the story of a small, harmless germ that has been infecting people for millions of years.”  But once a reader gets into the first chapters of the book, they will no longer look at TB as a harmless germ.  Through the author’s chronicling of its history — how people felt and lived with a germ they didn’t even know was causing their symptoms for thousands of years, to its mass spread largely due to living conditions in the industrial revolution, to the concoctions and treatments used to try to heal the sick — students could gain a large respect for the generations that died, sometimes in horrific ways, trying to solve the mystery of the germ and for the researchers who are still working to make sure TB outbreaks are rare.  A large amount of ground is covered with detail in the book’s 150 pages, but the text is so smoothly written and on spot for a middle school and high school audience with its tone of TB being such a medical mystery.  Images, both historical pictures and other drawings/graphs are scattered about to break up and enlighten the text.  This is also such a great source because the generations that witnessed the debilitating effects and epic death counts from this germ are themselves passing on.  The current generations need to be aware and vigilant to keep the disease at bay for as long as humanly possible.  Highly recommended for high school and public libraries, especially at its $18.99 price.

Superstar book authors on getting into Ivy league schools have pulled together great advice on hitting a grand slam with the Standford application essay in this book.  The first chapter gives 25 mistakes to avoid when writing the essay, most of which would apply to any college admission essay.  But then the fun starts where Tanabe interviews former Stanford admission officers for their personal advice on how to do well with specific questions on the essay.  The remaining 2/3 of the book are actual essays written by students with an analysis afterwards.  If Stanford is the goal for any particular student, then this is the book for them.  Highly recommended for any high school library or career center.