TWEEN BOOKS
IMPOSSIBLE, by Nancy Werlin, Dial, $17.99; ages 13 and up.
Lucy is 17 and very happy living with her loving foster parents. Her mother is the town’s crazy homeless lady who is always singing the old ballad Scarborough Fair.
When Lucy discovers her mother’s diary from the year when she was 17 she learns that all the women of her family are cursed to craziness at the age of 17 when a daughter is born. Lucy is pregnant and has eight months to figure out how to break the curse.
ALCATRAZ VERSUS THE EVIL LIBRARIANS, by Brandon Sanderson, Scholastic Paperbacks, $6.99; ages 9-12.
Alcatraz’s only talent is breaking things. He has shuffled from one foster family to the next because he always ends up breaking something. This time he burned the kitchen while trying to cook an egg.
But on his 13th birthday, he receives a package, a bag of sand, from his father. Does this mean his dad is still alive? The day after his birthday he meets his grandfather. Where has he been for 13 years?
When the bag of sand is stolen, Alcatraz and his grandfather must infiltrate the society of evil librarians and get the sand back before the librarians use it for world domination.
3 WILLOWS: THE SISTERHOOD GROWS, by Ann Brashares, Delecorte Press for Young Readers, $18.99; ages 12 and up.
Polly, Jo and Ama have been friends forever, but they are going in three different directions for the summer. Polly is going to modeling camp. Jo is going to her family’s beach house. And Ama is headed on a scholarship wilderness trip.
Each girl is making new friends and learning a lot about themselves. But in the end they discover that old friends are still best friends forever.
This story takes place in the same town as in The Traveling Pants series. There are a few references to the girls in pants, but you do not have to read the series to enjoy this book.
FROST BITES (EDGAR& ELLEN NODYSSEY SERIES #2), by Charles Ogden, Aladdin, $9.99; ages 9-12.
Edgar and Ellen are back and this time the adventure takes them to Frosthaven, a town made out of ice and way-too-happy people. Here they climb the mountain Glöggenheim, meet a snow monster, steal a bell made out of the world’s largest diamond and eat derflootle. But their nemesis, Stephanie Knightleigh, eludes them once again.
DEATH RUN, by Jack Higgins and Justin Richards, Putnam Juvenile, $16.99; ages 9-12.
Rich and Jade are twins living in London with their dad, a man they never knew, after the accidental death of their mother. They discover he works for a secret police force in the British government. Everywhere they go, chaos ensues. The bad guys are everywhere, even in their school. Their dad is off on another mission, with Rich hiding in a helicopter on his way to who knows where and Jade is left trying to save the rest of the students from a bad guy named Tiger. The twins may be new to the spy game, but they are proving themselves to be very resourceful and even helpful. This story is an action-packed adventure of fun.
Sandi Pedersen is the mom of four and the Web mistress for Chicago Parent.
