Xander thinks the George Wickerman Hospital would be the perfect setting for Spirits and Specters, a role-playing game where players go on “missions” to find evidence of paranormal activities. According to local legend, tuberculosis patients were used as test subjects in medical experiments that ended tragically, and their disfigured ghosts walk the hallways of this now-abandoned building. What better location to go ghost hunting? Even though they didn’t really believe the rumors, Xander and his friends soon begin to suspect that they are not alone. Is this place actually haunted by ghosts? Or something even more terrifying?
If you like scary, but not too scary, Marty Chan sure knows how to work it. This is a fun horror story, which is not to say it’s humorous. It simply walks a perfect line between spooky and nightmare territory. It’s well written, as in gripping beginning to end. The teens are diverse and authentic, and their dialogue is snappy and entertaining. The group they meet inside the haunted hospital is a little overdone on the Sixties get-up and expressions, but that’s a pretty small quibble. Best of all, it’s a quick, easy read, and as believable as a tale with paranormal can get. Dare you to read it.
-P.W.
American Street meets Long Way Down in this searing and gritty debut novel that takes an unflinching look at the harsh realities of gang life in Jamaica and how far a teen is willing to go for family.
This debut novel by Jamaican-born author Desmond Hall is a thriller that confronts police brutality, racism, gang culture and political deception. Bestselling author Jason Reynolds has said, “It's one of those tales that ties you up, turns you inside-out, wrings you like a wet cloth…. Hall is a hurricane of a writer.” Suffice it to say that this novel is riveting, dark, gutsy and a stark examination of both Jamaica and the kind of poverty that offers few choices for youth. It’s also a coming-of-age tale, and an inside look at gang life, which is certainly does not glamorize. The main character is super-well developed and realistic, and his choices tug at your heart-strings. The Jamaican patois (a sort of dialect) can be hard to follow, but the novel would lose a layer of richness without it. This new author is one to watch, and that’s an understatement. Highly recommended.
- P.W.
We all experience the world in a body, but we don’t usually take the time to explore what it really means to have and live in one. Just as every person has a unique personality, every person has a unique body, and every body tells its own story. In Body Talk, 37 writers, models, actors, musicians and artists share essays, lists, comics and illustrations about subjects including: Size and Shape – Scoliosis – Eating Disorders – Cancer – Sexuality and Gender Identity – Makeup as Body Armor. Together, they contribute to a broad variety of perspectives on what it’s like to live in their particular bodies – and how their bodies have helped inform who they are and how they move through the world.
Body Talk is a compilation of unique and interesting stories by a plethora of authors that provides insight and perspective to many of the issues that children, teens and adults face when talking about body development, diseases and differences. The authors provide personal stories about their lives that speak to various issues related to the human body. Concepts such as deformities, puberty, sexual function, body stereotypes, weight management, hormones, etc., are discussed in ways that allow readers to relate to, and take away something special and informative from, the experiences of the authors.
From acclaimed author Margarita Engle comes a gorgeous novel in verse about Rubén Darío, the Nicaraguan poet and folk hero who initiated the literary movement of Modernismo.
As a little boy, Rubén Darío loved to listen to his great uncle, a man who told tall tales in a booming, larger-than-life voice. Rubén quickly learned the magic of storytelling, and discovered the rapture and beauty of verse.
A restless and romantic soul, Rubén traveled across Central and South America seeking adventure and connection. As he discovered new places and new loves, he wrote poems to express his wild storm of feelings. But the traditional forms felt too restrictive. He began to improvise his own poetic forms so he could capture the entire world in his words. At the age of twenty-one, he published his first book Azul, which heralded a vibrant new literary movement called Modernismo that blended poetry and prose into something magical.
In gorgeous poems of her own, Margarita Engle tells the story of this passionate young man who revolutionized world literature.
What was supposed to be a relaxing ocean crossing for Billy Stuart and his friends after their adventures on the island of Crete quickly transforms into a veritable odyssey. A violent storm throws them off their maritime course and leads to a downpour of events with potentially tragic consequences: mutiny, vicious monster attacks, siren songs and more. The dire situation doesn't get any better when they finally make it to shore. A thousand dangers make the Zintrepids' every waking moment seem like a nightmare. And is Billy Stuart still on the trail of his grandfather, the explorer Virgil Stuart who has traveled through time? Or are the Zintrepids forever lost in an unknown age and strange place?
Sam's grandfather, Pops, always taught Sam that the most important aspects of rugby are sportsmanship and teamwork. Things are not great at home, but Sam's struggles really begin when his school is shut down and he transfers to Rosedale Heights. He has trouble fitting in with the snobby Rosedale team, especially Bittner, who resents Sam's presence. All seems lost when, set up by Bittner, Sam gets kicked off the team under suspicion of stealing. Can Sam prove his innocence and get back in play for the highly anticipated England game? And can he play the kind of rugby that will make Pops proud? Find out in this gripping high/low middle grade sports story.
Most kids don’t have to stress about things like exotic insects with a taste for human flesh when they go to class. But students at this school have to be ever vigilant. You never know when a supernatural pastry or a clay monster bent on revenge might be lurking just around the corner. Even a simple field trip to a local animal sanctuary can have serious consequences. Dragged fresh from the grave and pulled out of the haunted corners of a school locker, these thirteen new stories are a nod to the storytelling style of Tales from the Crypt and The Twilight Zone. They are guaranteed to make you laugh like a hyena, shake your head in wonder or tremble with fear.
