What if you learned that all of the fantastic tales your mother told you were true - including those with dark magic and danger? What if you knew that using magic could kill you, and not using magic would drive you to the brink of insanity? Which would you choose?

Australian author Justine Larbalestier's Magic or Madness trilogy challenged Reason - that is, to say, a teenage girl named Reason who spent her life with her cheery mother, until her lovely mother went a little mad.

When her mother fell apart, Reason finally realized that the stories her mom told her were true. Magic exists, and it runs through the veins of all of the women in her family. Either they use their magic and die young, or they repress it and go mad. One way or another, whatever path Reason chooses is bound to lead her to tragedy.

Her grandmother, who is depicted as a villain in all of her mother's stories, takes Reason in when she has no other place to go. Reason then meets her gran's neighbor, a boy her own age, and Jay-Tee, a girl who lives in New York - which magically appears outside of her grandmother's door.

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Read the trilogy in the proper order:
Magic or Madness
Magic Lessons
Magic's Child

Read my interview with Scott Westerfeld and Justine Larbalestier.

At first glance, one might think Claire has it all. She's a high school cheerleader with a devoted best friend, a sought-after boyfriend, and a group of elite buddies.

Now take a closer look, and give Claire a second thought. Not everything is as it seems. Claire's parents are divorced, and her mother is drinking alcohol frequently. Claire is in remission from leukemia, which took her out of school for a year.

Enter Lani Garver, the new kid at school. At first, due to his long hair, slight build and tendency to giggle, the other students assume that Lani's a girl. Even after he sets them straight, most of his peers regard him as a freak.

Claire's path crosses with Lani's a few times in as many days. She learns that he is a few years older and quite a bit wiser than his classmates. A whirlwind friendship between the outcast and the cheerleader, a friendship which defies the teenage laws of cliques and clashing in their small town. With Claire as the protagonist, it becomes not just Lani's story but hers as well. Once he opens her eyes, she begins to see both the beauty and the cruelty in the world.

What Happened to Lani Garver is an emotional experience. Note that the title is a statement, not a question. This book is a realistic anatomy of a hate crime that will make you consider society's standards - and maybe even your own. Highly recommended.

Related Booklist: Tough Issues for Teens

Like the Red Panda is alternately a dark comedy and just plain dark - in a memorable, outstanding way. Haunting and thoughtful, this story will stay with you long after you turn the last page.

The protagonist, Stella, is a senior in high school. In first-person narrative, she begrudgingly recounts the last two weeks of her senior year, mixing in flashbacks when appropriate. Her memories reveal her idyllic childhood, a world that was picture perfect until the day her parents died. The circumstances of their death may surprise you, as may Stella's plans as graduation approaches. Appearances can be deceiving; how people view a person and how said person views herself can be devastatingly different.

Andrea Siegel's debut novel will make readers laugh one moment and shudder the next. Like the Red Panda is mostly related in thoughts, leaving a unique taste in the mouths of readers as they get inside the mind of Stella.

I frequently recommend this title, which was published in the adult fiction/literature section. Due to its subject matter, I recommend it to adults and older teens. (In other words, it's not for the tween crowd.)

If you liked Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, You Know Where to Find Me by Rachel Cohn, As Simple as Snow by Gregory Galloway, or perhaps even Looking for Alaska by John Green, you'll love Like the Red Panda.

Related Booklist: Tough Issues for Teens

Wicked Cool Overlooked Books (WCOB) is a monthly blog notation encouraged by Colleen from Chasing Ray: On the first Monday of every month, she posts about a book she enjoyed that she wishes others would pick up, and invites others to post their picks as well.

Discover other titles I've marked as Wicked Cool Overlooked Books.

This particular books to read list features forthcoming young adult and juvenile titles. If I read and review an advanced copy, I link the title to my review. At the close of every month, I move that month's remaining titles from this list to my backlist of books to read.

May 2008
Airhead by Meg Cabot (read)
Alive and Well in Prague, New York by Daphne Grab
Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman
Death By Bikini by Linda Gerber
The Debutante by Kathryn Williams
Ever by Gail Carson Levine
Fact of Life #31 by Denise Vega (read, review to come)
Geek Magnet by Kieran Scott (read, review to come)
Generation Dead by Daniel Waters
Hershey Herself by Cecilia Galante
How I Found the Perfect Dress by Maryrose Wood (sequel to Why I Let My Hair Grow Out)
How to Be Bad by E. Lockhart, Sarah Mlynowski, and Lauren Myracle
How to Build a House by Dana Reinhardt (read, review to come)
A Kiss Before the Apocalypse by Thomas E. Sniegoski
A Likely Story by David Van Etten (Chris Van Etten, David Ozanich, and David Levithan)
Love in the Corner Pocket by Marlene Perez (read)
Madapple by Christina Meldrum (read)
Maggie Bean Stays Afloat by Tricia Rayburn
Mind the Gap: A Novel of the Hidden Cities by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon
Moon & Sun: Ruby Key by Holly Lisle
Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs (read, review and interview to come)
Penelope by Megan Shull
Picture Perfect by Catherine Clark
Pretty Little Liars #4: Unbelievable by Sara Shepard
Princess Ben by Catherine Murdock
Savvy by Ingrid Law (interview to come)
Shelter Stories: Love. Guaranteed. by Patrick McDonnell
Shift by Jennifer Bradbury (read, interview to come)
Stealing Heaven by Elizabeth Scott
Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson
Take Me There by Susane Colasanti (read, interview to come)
The Temptress Four by Gaby Triana
Twice Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris
What Happens Here by Tara Altebrando

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Get your flashlights ready, because this is a book to read late at night when huddled under the covers.

There once was a young girl named Coraline who moved into a new flat with her mother and father. The neighbors are friendly, if not a bit odd and a bit confused, repeatedly calling her "Caroline" by mistake. The little girl is a self-proclaimed explorer, taking walks around the neighborhood no matter what the weather. With both of her parents occupied by work, she counts the doors at home, and figures out how to open up a door which is supposed to open up to nowhere - more specifically, a brick wall...

Coraline's curious nature is akin to that of Alice (in Wonderland), Anne (of Green Gables) and other young heroines that are famous, fantastic, and fictional. Far from being a damsel in distress, Coraline is witty, intelligent and aware. Her 'White Rabbit' comes in the shape of a black cat who has no name; as he wryly explains to her, cats know who they are so they don't need names, unlike insecure human beings.

This intriguing and creepy story is just right for readers of all ages, especially fans of Lewis Carroll and John Bellairs. This book will certainly satisfy loyal followers of the author Neil Gaiman and the artist Dave McKean. I read Coraline immediately upon its release and continue to recommend it on a regular basis. If this book had been released when I was a child, I would have read it as often as I read The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster.

Coraline is being made into a graphic novel as well as an animated feature film. I really hope they get the cat right because he's one of my favorite fictional felines. Read more about him on my Cats Cats Cats booklist.

Three girls. One beat-up station wagon. Three days. One long stretch of road. Three different reasons for hitting that road. One crazy, impulsive road trip.

When Jesse gets the big idea for her and Vicks to drive down to see Brady at college in Jesse's mom's car, she didn't plan on taking an extra passenger. She ends up with two: Mel, who is definitely not her friend, and, shortly thereafter, a fine feathered friend that's a real quack.

Jesse wants to get away from her mother and her mother's boyfriends for a while. Vicks wants to see her boyfriend Brady, who is away at college. Mel just wants to get away. Jesse and Vicks are close friends; Mel and Vicks are co-workers; Jesse's not exactly a fan of Mel.

In three days, these three girls will learn How to Be Bad - and sad, and impulsive, and persuasive. They will also learn how to compromise, how to celebrate their differences, and how to live and love and let go.

Vicks, Jesse, and Mel tell their stories in turn, with the first person narration rotating through the trio with every chapter. E. Lockhart (The Boyfriend List), Lauren Myracle (TTYL), and Sarah Mlynowski (Bras & Broomsticks) teamed together for this story. In order to discover which author voiced which girl, you'll have to take this trip to the end of the line, as the narrative identities are revealed on the very last page.

Heads-up: I know that many of my fun tween readers devoured some of Myracle's books and Mlynowski's books, but I want to gently let them know that How to Be Bad is for older teens. :)

Related Posts at Bildungsroman:
Booklist: Multiple Narrators
Interview: E. Lockhart
Book Review: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Book Review: Dramarama by E. Lockhart
Book Reviews: Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen by Lauren Myracle
Book Reviews: Magic in Manhattan serires by Sarah Mlynowski

Our Twitchy, written by Kes Gray and illustrated by Mary McQuillan, is an absolutely adorable picture book. The pictures are bright and eye-catching, and the text explains adoption to young children in a simple and loving way.

( Be forewarned: This review gives away the identity of Twitchy's adoptive parents. )

Twitchy's parents clean him up and tell him that they love him just as he is. They emphasize that they ARE his parents, no matter what. Twitchy is content once more and they prepare to have their typical dinner, something all three of them enjoy: carrots!

If you are a parent or a schoolteacher, pick this book up. It is a wonderful way to introduce kids to the concept of adoption. It reinforces the fact that love makes you a family. Pick up People by Peter Spier and It's Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr while you are at it.

Related Booklist: Adoption in Juvenile Fiction

What Happens Here by Tara Altebrando is a coming-of-age novel you won't soon forget.

They had made plans, so many plans, about their futures. They would stay connected past high school, going to college together, traveling the world together, maybe even marrying twin brothers. They would always be the best of friends, as thick as thieves, as close as sisters, no matter what. That is what they planned.

This is what happened instead.

The summer after her junior year, Chloe's parents announce that their family is going on a trip to Europe. Chloe begs to bring along Lindsay - her best friend, her confidante, her neighbor - but Lindsay's family can't afford it. This will be the first time in their years of friendship that the girls will be separated for such a time and by such a distance. While Chloe, her parents, and her older sister Zoe board a plane, Lindsay stays behind in Vegas, just plain bored.

In Europe, Chloe sees her mother come alive, becoming bubbly, happy. She considers her father, who also seems content, though not nearly as exuberant as her mother. She hears her sister complain about being away from her boyfriend and again considers how, although she loves her sister, although blood is supposed to be thicker than water, she feels much closer to Lindsay. She meets a boy named Danny who shares her age, her Vegas zip code, and her adventures in Europe. She writes postcards to Lindsay, blissful notes from each country she visits, signed with Xs and Os. ("Rome makes me want to toss coins in every fountain. [ . . . ] It makes me want to live la dolce vita every day." "Venice makes me want to blow glass and row row row your boat. [ . . . ] Venice makes me want to get lost and never be found.")

A somewhat cryptic message from Lindsay reminds Chloe of the eye in the sky - the closed-circuit cameras in casinos and other spots to ensure the people's safety and honesty. Thanks to her father, she is familiar with the song Eye in the Sky by the Alan Parsons Project. She and Lindsay talked about the eye in the sky a lot - how one of them should perform in front of a camera one day while the other stayed at home and watched the feed - but they never went through with it, preferring to stay together on their adventures about town and perhaps blow kisses to those cameras, to the hopefully cute boys who were watching, to the twin brothers that were out there somewhere, looking for them.

Europe is bigger, bolder, broader than anything Chloe's ever seen before. This, then, is where Chloe unexpectedly starts to grow up. The Vegas replicas of European landmarks can't compare to the real thing. She feels small and tall simultaneously as she walks through historical sights, rides on gondolas, and eats exotic food. She falls for Danny, and they see the Eiffel Tower together.

She expects to slide back into her life at home easily, planning on sharing her photographs and experiences with Lindsay and then slowly coming down from her travel-love-life cloud in time to start her senior year of high school. But Vegas is not as she left it, and not all of those she left behind are anxiously awaiting her return.

They had never dreamed of this.

While the eye in the sky looms overheard, things start to look different to Chloe. She is newly aware of her surroundings, almost as if she had just moved to Vegas now, rather than three years ago. But the attractions are no longer attractive. The neon lights seem too bright. Smiles, promises, everything seems fake. There's just too much that is fake, too much that seems unreal, too much, and nothing seems right. ("I went to the fridge and thought about having some water but it hadn't tasted good lately. Not that water tasted like anything, so it must've been something in me that had turned foul.")

So many things happen here, and there, and here again. Chloe's memories blur and sharpen as she attempts to make sense of it all. She no longer knows what the future brings. Regrets cloud her dream factory, making them hard to manufacture or fix. At least one person keeps reaching for her dream: Chloe's sister, the acrobatic Zoe, who finally auditions for Cirque de Soleil. Lindsay's older brother Noah, is acting differently and being difficult, but not really distant. When the truth comes out - as the truth always does - Chloe sees her parents, her sister, her friends, and herself with new eyes.

If you want to find out What Happens Here - and I strongly urge you to do so - I recommend that you get the book. Pages will turn, bridges will burn, dreams will change, and the eye in the sky will be watching everything and everyone.

What Happens Here is Tara Altebrando's second novel for teens, following her impressive YA debut, The Pursuit of Happiness. This story is just as impressive, with realistic relationships between characters, haunting happenings, and expressive writing. There's mystery here, and drama, and heartbreak. What Happens Here is a bildungsroman in every sense of the word, and one of the best books of 2008.

Another Story for Another Time
Though the two tell very different stories, I recommend What Happens Here alongside Feathered by Laura Kasischke, another eye-opening 2008 young adult novel about friendship and traveling. Also pick up Swollen by Melissa Lion. You won't be disappointed.

Musical Motif
Sometimes, I post playlists for books. For this book, however, I don't need to create a soundtrack because Jonatha Brooke already has: her 2004 album Back in the Circus. I recommend listening to it (perhaps on repeat) while reading What Happens Here. Jonatha Brooke is one of my favorite modern singer/songwriters. Her song No Net Below makes me think of Zoe's daring-do and acrobatics. The album closes with Jonatha's version of Eye in the Sky. I will forevermore associate that song with this story.

Wicked Cool Overlooked Books

I've tagged What Happens Here with WCOB because I do not what it to be overlooked. I want you - yes, you! - to go pick it up and read it. Please. Believe me when I say this story and these girls are worth your time.

Wicked Cool Overlooked Books is a monthly blog notation encouraged by Colleen from Chasing Ray: On the first Monday of every month, she posts about a book she enjoyed that she wishes others would pick up, and invites others to post their picks as well.

Read my other posts about Wicked Cool Overlooked Books.

Learn more about WCOB at Chasing Ray.

Related Posts
My March 2006 interview with Tara Altebrando
My August 2006 interview with Tara Altebrando
My review of Tara's novel The Pursuit of Happiness
My review of Tara's novel Love Will Tear Us Apart

Related Booklist
Best Books of 2008 (So Far)

The Beaumonts are a unique family made up truly talented individuals. As each kid hits the age of thirteen, his or her inherent power comes to light. They call this talent "savvy," and it can be anything. When a Beaumont celebrates that fateful, lucky thirteen, everyone waits with baited breath to see what happens. No matter what, a savvy is one birthday gift you can't return.

They don't know exactly where it comes from, but they do know that it runs down Momma's side of the family. Daddy's a regular guy, happy with his family and content with his job. Meanwhile, Momma's relatives can do all sorts of wacky things. Great-Aunt Jules would step back twenty minutes in time every time she sneezed. Olive, a second cousin, has the ability to melt ice with her glare. Grandpa Bomba creates new places "whenever and wherever" he pleases, such as the stretch of land stuck between Kansas and Nebraska where he lives with his daughter and their family. (They call it Kansaska or Nebransas.) His wife caught radio waves in old glass jars, saving snippets of songs and stories that she could tune into anytime. Now that she's passed away, the family is extremely careful with these containers and treasures the sounds they emit upon a gentle loosening of their lids.

Then there's the immediately family. Momma's perfect, always - that's her savvy. Oldest child Rocket, aged seventeen, is the body electric, able to illuminate rooms during a blackout or teasingly zap a sibling whenever he feels like it. Weather shakes the next oldest boy, fourteen-year-old Fish, whose emotional hurricane can manifest into a real storm. The youngest kids, somber seven-year-old Samson and imaginative three-year-old Gypsy, are years away from getting their savvies, but when the story opens, middle child Mississippi is about to turn thirteen.

Affectionately called Mibs by her family, a nickname created by Gypsy in an attempt to pronounce her sister's name, our beloved narrator is appropriately awkward for her age and anxious for her birthday. She knows something's coming, something good.

Then something bad happens. The night before her birthday, Mibs' father is in a car accident and taken to a hospital. Momma and Rocket rush off to tend to him, leaving the other children in the care of Grandpa Bomba. Instead of having a happy birthday at home, Mibs finds herself at a gathering planned by the pastor's wife, Miss Rosemary. Mibs and her siblings, already worried about their father, now worry that Mibs' savvy will make itself known in public.

When the birthday girl discovers that a Bible salesman's bus came from the direction of the hospital where her father is resting, she impulsively sneaks on board. The stowaway count increases when Fish and Samson decide to get on the bus, as do the pastor's offspring, defiant Bobbi (who has a crush on Rocket) and gentle Will Junior (who has a crush on Mibs).

The salesman starts down the road, oblivious to his new cargo, and Mibs goes from excited to scared in the blink of an eye. They're heading in the opposite direction, away from the hospital rather than towards it! Her savvy, which had presented itself only a short while before, starts playing with her mind, but she tries to keep it a secret.

Mibs looks around and realizes that she's on an unplanned road trip to who-knows-where with two of her brothers, one of whom barely speaks, a meek salesman named Lester that she doesn't know, and the pastor's kids. As unpredictable and unprecedented as the trip may be, one thing's for certain: Mibs will never forget her thirteenth birthday.

Ingrid Law infuses her sweet family-oriented story with mischief, creating a special effect. Whether or not they have special powers, each character is easily distinguishable from the others, including the grown-ups. It's almost as if the kids from the Maggie Valley books by Kerry Madden (Gentle's Holler, etc) were given the powers of the X-Men. The fact that the Beaumonts gain their powers at the age of thirteen is a perfect nod to their coming-of-age, and this book is a treat for all ages.

Savvy is, from start to finish, a delightful journey. This rite of passage is highly recommended. Target audience: Ages 8 and up. I've included Savvy on my Best Books of 2008 (So Far) list.

Read an excerpt of Savvy.

This list was initially created for Deb and her son in middle school. I then added titles for other age groups.

( Check out titles by Matt Christopher, Megan Shull, and many other authors. )

Note: I consider dancing a sport, and I have created a separate booklist for dancing.

I can think of many other sports stories which I have not read, so I'll post those titles in the comments below.