Baumwoll, Dale. There's no room for you, Maddie Morrison

Baumwoll, Dale. There's no room for you, Maddie Morrison. Neal Morgan, 2003 [0-9786117-0-5]
Maddie wants so bad to sit at the "right" lunch table at her middle school. She complains to her mother that she does just not understand to be a teenage girl. One day while shopping
at the mall, her mother finds the brand of lip gloss she used at a kid. That night Maddie tries it and sudden is sent back in time. Maddie is in her school at the time of her mother who happens to be trying so hard to sit at the "right table." She also meets a new teacher (who was an old teacher at her school.) By interacting with her mother as a girl and this new teacher, can Maddie change life in her own time? Will she ever get back to her own time. This 120 page book is an interesting twist on time travel and what can happen if you mess with time. If also has a good feel for life in a school but unfortunately the book is printed as if it was printed on a home printer. This format may turn off some readers.

Rosenbloom, Fiona. You are so not invited to my bat mitzvah!

Rosenbloom, Fiona. You are so not invited to my bat mitzvah! Hyperion, 2005 [0-7868-5616-5]
Stacy is in the process of getting ready for her bat mitzvah. She has to pick out a dress, decide on who is coming and most of all, she has to decide what to do with her crush on Andy. What does she do when her best friend betrays her? This 190 page book is a fun book about the concerns of a Jewish middle school girl. I found it to be very enjoyable.

Shusterman, Neal. Red Rider's hood

Shusterman, Neal. Red Rider's hood. Dutton, 2005 [0-525-47562-1]
Red lives in the inner city and loves riding around the city in his red mustang. Although surrounded by gangs, Red has successfully avoided them until the Wolves mug his grandmother. To defeat them he decides to join them to find their ways. He slowly finds out that they are a gang of werewolves. Red finds a surprising neighborhood werewolf killer and learns ways to kill werewolves but in the process of learning about them, he begins to understand them. When the time for the big battle comes, will Red be able to kill them and can the werewolf hunters trust him? This 181 page book will satisfy the tastes of your vampire and werewolf fans. This is part of the Dark Fusion series but is a complete book on its own.

Cheaney. J. B. My friend the enemy

Cheaney, J. B. My friend the enemy.Knopf, 2005 [0-375-91432-3]
It is World War II and Hazel sees many people off to join the army in her lovely Oregon. All the local Japanese Americans have been sent off to internment camps. Their neighbors are quiet and loners. One day Hazel finds out they are hiding a Japanese American as a housekeeper and she is scared. But slowly she befriends him all the while being worried what will happen if he is discovered. One day when they are exploring the nearby mountains and they find weather balloon bomb that had not been exploded. When Hazel reports it, authorities come around .... will they discover Sogoji? This 266 page book discusses the American detainment camps for Japanese Americans during World War II and the anger American had towards all Japanese people at the time.

Barry, Dave and Ridley Pearson. Peer and the Shadow Thieves [#2]

Barry, Dave and Ridley Pearson. Peter and the Shadow Thieves [#2]. Hyperion, 2006 [0-7868-3787-x]
In this second book of the prequel series to the original Peter Pan, the bad guys sail to Neverland to get the starstuff. Unfortunately, it is not there and they head to England to get it. Peter has to get there to warn Molly and her father that they are coming with this terrible creature who can take over people's shadows and thereby control the people. While this is a hearty read (556 pages), I am throughly enjoying this series especially since our school just performed the play, "Peter Pan." What is interesting in this book, the Starcatcher creature gave me a similar feeling as did "He who must not be named" in Harry Potter. This is a good read!

Bechard, Margaret. Spacer and Rat

Bechard, Margaret. Spacer and Rat.Roaring Brook Press, 2005 [1-59643-058-3]
Bechard has created a wonderful alternate world in this piece of science fiction. Unfortunately the process of establishing that world with the reader slows down the beginning of the book. After that we have a great adventure story. Jack lives on one of the many places people have fled to when Earth became too crowded. The nickname for people from Earth is "rat." Suddenly Jack ends up befriending a "rat" who has a contraband maintenance bot that has been modified to be sentient (against the Constitution.) Some is chasing them to get this revolutionary bot. This 183 page book is a great story with a surprise ending that I REALLY enjoyed. The alternate reality which Bechard has created is really clever. One of their curse words is "span" and another is "drekking." What I really enjoyed is the names of space ships some of which are "Bradbury", "Asimov" and "LeGuin." This is great science fiction... encourage the kids to plow through the first slow part.