For the Young Adult Readers Among Us

Beautiful and vain, Kandide is to become Queen of Calabiyau upon the death of her father. She is already keeper of the Frost vital to the survival of the Fees. Following a selfish whim, Kandide has a terrible accident and ends up with a deformed wing making her an Imperfect. To keep her daughter alive and because Imperfects are not allowed to live amongst normal Fees, Kandide's mother transports her to the Mists. Alone, surrounded by tangled bushes, fog, and frightening creatures, Kandide finds a city in the midst of the Mists. She must overcome her repulsion for her appearance, learn to interact with others, and find a job she can perform. With the Frost overdue, Kandide's siblings are sent to find her. Socially unacceptable, Kandide must face the idea of returning to her kingdom as an Imperfect. She must also face traitors and attack from people outside of the kingdom. The first book in a trilogy, this novel deals with social problems, bigotry, and personality deficits in a manner preteen boys and girls can relate to.

-- Guest Reviewer Sandra Hale

Know a young reader who'd get a kick out of the zany space elements of John Zakour's Zach Johnson P.I. novels, but doesn't have the context to appreciate their noir, pulpy roots? Introduce them to Baxter Moon, Galactic Scout instead. John writes a variety of material for younger audiences, including several Nickelodeon properties, and brings his boyish sensibilities to the adventures of Baxter. Imagine a Starfleet Academy cadet, caught in a Robert Heinlein juvenile space adventure, with a twist of Orson Scott Card's Ender, and you've got Baxter. He might just save Earth from invading aliens, if he can restrain his impulses long enough to think ahead.

-- MeH

For more than two and a half centuries the seed ship Renaissance has been traveling toward the Orbis rings. While all the adults on the ship died in transit, the children have not, cared for by the on-board computer. Now they have arrived. This is the place that their parents had dreamed of building a new life.

Johnny is one of those children, but Johnny is different. He is the first human "softwire," able to interface directly with any computer without mechanical connections. Onboard the ship it meant he was able to talk to "Mother" the ship's computer, but on Orbis? The answer, however, is the least of his worries as the children find Orbis to be far different from what they had expected. With parents dead, the children are forced to work off the cost of their transport by working as knud-niks in the incomprehensible factories on Orbis.

Between the new place, the work, the worry about his little sister and a growing sense of intrigue and conflict on Orbis, Johnny is caught up in events far greater than he. Events that only his softwire abilities can resolve.

Young adult this book may be classified, but it is an enjoyable read for any age and Haarsma gets his science right.

-- Guest Reviewer Tamsie Pierce

Dingo: The Australian Wild dog, with short pointed ears and a bushy tail (Webster's New World Dictionary)

Werewolf: A "man-wolf" (Old English wer - man). "a man who was turned or could at will turn himself into a wolf." (Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable)

Miguel's dad owns a comic and music store in Newford. But that still doesn't make him one of the "cool kids" at school, and he has to help out in the store whenever his dad's out purchasing new stock. Except that he is there when a red-haired girl with her dog stop in to avoid the school bullies. Her Australian accent captivates Miguel and he soon has made arrangements to see Lainey again. But this time when he meets her she is completely different, brusque, almost unfriendly, although her dog sure likes him.

And the next time they meet --- well, it's the friendly Lainey once again.

De Lint takes a story of relationships and gives it his usual depth and dimension, pulling Australian mythology, and the supernatural to stand on equal footing with High School bullies and finding a place in the real world.

-- Guest Reviewer Tamsie Pierce

This has to be one of the most imaginative, well written books I have read. Although it is sold as a Young Adult, it takes a well read reader to fully catch the jokes running through it.

Alcatraz Smedry is a hero with an incredible talent...for breaking things.

His life or death mission is...to rescue a bag of sand.

He must battle the powerful secret network that rules the world...the Evil Librarians.

With a premise like that, how can you lose? And the best part of all is that Sanderson makes the whole thing work. Smoothly, seamlessly. Enjoyably.

Alcatraz has a cousin named Bastille. A Grandfather named Leavenworth. Each of them has a talent. Leavenworth's talent is that he is always late. Not just late for appointments, but late for the traffic accident that might have wrecked his car. Late for the assassin's bullet aimed at him.

Alcatraz is a great read that will leave you never looking at a loose doorknob the same way again. And the best part is that Sanderson has more Alcatraz stories planned. Savvy Sanderson!

-- Guest Reviewer Tamsie Pierce