Doll Bones

Black, Holly. Doll Bones. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2013.

Zach, Poppy, and Alice are friends who still like to play even though they are on the cusp of adolescence. But when Zach's father takes away all his toys, their friendship is nearly shattered. They agree to take one last adventure to reunite a doll with its long-dead owner. On the way, the doll seems much more real and alive than any of them could have imagined.

I definitely enjoyed the spookiness of this story, and it's been very popular in my library during Halloween season. I also was glad that the protagonists were willing to keep playing, even though their classmates seemed to have outgrown it. However, I kept wondering why Zach didn't just tell his friends that his dad threw away all his toys (which, by the way, was a very jerkweasel-y thing to do). That would have solved their whole disagreement from the beginning, and then the girls wouldn't have thought that Zach was hating on them. Overall, though, it's a cute story, even if it is a tad unrealistic.

Recommended for: tweens, teens
Red Flags: none
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

School Spirits

Hawkins, Rachel. School Spirits. Disney-Hyperion, 2013.

Izzy is a monster fighter a la Buffy, but when her sister disappears, her mom decides the family needs to take a break and settle down. For the first time in her life, Izzy is going to attend a normal high school and try to live a normal life. Or so she thinks. Izzy soon discovers that her new school is haunted, and she has to solve the mystery of the haunting before her new friends are all killed. Can Izzy hunt down the ghosts before it's too late?

This book was mildly suspenseful and enjoyable. Fans of paranormal books will undoubtedly enjoy it, and I've had difficulty keeping it on my shelves once my Twlight groupies come in the library.

Recommended for: teens, especially fans of paranormal books
Red Flags: lots of violence
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

The Weight of Water

Crossan, Sarah. The Weight of Water. Bloomsbury, 2012.

Kasienka and her mom move to England with just a suitcase and the clothes on their backs. They are struggling to survive in a new culture, and Kasienka finds that her swim time at the local pool is one of the few things that helps her to survive. When she's swimming, her language doesn't matter, the money her family has doesn't matter, the fact that her mother is still searching for her absent father doesn't matter. Kasienka learns to deal with her difficult life through her time in the pool.

I am not a big fan of books in verse, so I didn't enjoy this book as much as my Hopkins fans will. I am glad for a book that describes the immigrant experience and gives a picture into the life some teens deal with at home, but this one will be a hard sell with all but my strong readers. Most of my kids won't have the patience for a barely discernible plot.

Recommended for: teens, fans of books in verse
Red Flags: none
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

Zero Tolerance

Mills, Claudia. Zero Tolerance. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2013.

Sierra is the quintessential good student who always follows the rules, so when she opens her lunch bag and discovers that she accidentally grabbed her mother's lunch, which included a small knife to cut an apple, she promptly turns herself in to the lunch lady, thinking that the matter can be quickly and easily resolved. She is shocked to discover that her school's "zero tolerance" policy dictates that she be placed in in-school suspension pending a hearing about her expulsion from school. Sierra has an opportunity to meet some of the "bad kids" at her school and discovers that most issues are not as black and white as they may seem.

I'll be the first to admit it: Sierra annoyed me. Her friends could have solved her whole problem from the start; they recommended that she hide the knife in her lunch bag and just bring it home. And I did not enjoy watching the school politics hyper-inflate the situation, although I am sure the descriptions were closer to reality than anyone would care to admit. This was a good story about a good kid who ends up getting to know some of the "bad kids," and who grows a bit of a backbone, but it didn't keep my attention as much as I'd hoped it would.

Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: mild profanity from Sierra's ISS buddies
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

What We Found in the Sofa and How it Saved the World

Clark, Henry. What We Found in the Sofa and How it Saved the World. Little, Brown, 2013.

River, Freak, and Fiona are sitting on an apparently abandoned sofa, waiting for their school bus, when they discover a zucchini colored crayon wedged between the cushions. When they learn that this is a very rare crayon color and that it would fetch a price of thousands of dollars on eBay, they decide to return it to its owner in the mysterious house behind the gate. Thus ensues all sorts of adventures involving space travel, living sofas, and a talking domino.

This book was amazing, fast-paced, and very entertaining. I would love to use this book as a read-aloud with middle grade students or tweens, as I'm sure even the reluctant readers would be eager to find out what happens. The three protagonists have very distinct personalities, and the plot runs along with just enough suspense and humor to keep the pages turning. If you don't have this one in your library, get a copy today.

Recommended for: middle grade, tweens, reluctant readers, fans of The Mysterious Benedict Society
Red Flags: minor violence and impending death during the course of the adventure
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars