FINISHED:
Kondo, Robert & Tsutsumi, Dice. (2018). The Dam Keeper: Book Two: World Without Darkness. New York: First Second/Roaring Brook.


[.]

STARTED:
Kibuishi, Kazu. (2018). Supernova [Amulet #8]. New York: Graphix.Scholastic.

[.]

*

FINISHED: 
Westerfeld, Scott. (2017). Spill Zone. New York: First Second/Roaring Brook.

[.]

STARTED:
Holm, Jennifer L. (2017). Swing It, Sunny. New York: Scholastic.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Hale, Nathan. (2017). One Trick Pony. New York: Amulet/Abrams.

[This was a GREAT ONE!  Set in a future where the world has been decimated by a race of invading aliens, 3 young people are out exploring a cave, looking for any old technological items they can find.  They are part of a caravan of folks who are conservators of some of the last known remains of human civilization (books, films, technology, etc.).  The young explorers come across a treasure trove of forgotten tech, including a robot horse that bonds with the girl of the group.  Unfortunately, their waking up the long-buried tech alerts the Pipers (bubble-blowing aliens who eat technology... and humans).]

STARTED:
Konigsberg, Bill. (2017). Honestly Ben. New York: Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic.

[REALLY enjoyed Openly Straight.]

*

FINISHED:
Dashner, James. (2016). The Fever Code. New York: Delacorte/Penguin Random House.

[.]

STARTED:
Lin, Grace. (2016). When the Sea Turned to Silver. New York: Little Brown.

[.]

*

FINISHED: 
Dashner, James. (2009). The maze runner. New York: Delacorte/Random House.

[.]


STARTED:
Woodson, Jacqueline. (2014). Brown girl dreaming. New York: Nancy Paulsen/Penguin.

[LOTS of Newbery buzz...]


*

FINISHED: 
DiTerlizzi, Tony. (2014). The battle for WondLa. New York: Simon & Schuster.


[.]


STARTED:
Hartinger, Brent. (2013). The elephant of surprise. Seattle: Buddha Kitty.

[4th in the Russel Middlebrook series (which includes The Geography Club).]

*

FINISHED:
McMann, Lisa. (2012). Island of silence (Unwanteds: Book 2). New York: Aladdin.


[.]


STARTED:
Choldenko, Gennifer. (2013). Al Capone does my homework. New York: Dial/Penguin.


[Reading to see if it's as good as the first two...]


*

There were a few books in between this post and the last, I just need to remember what they were...

FINISHED:
Pfeffer, Susan Beth. (2013). The shade of the moon. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

[.]


STARTED:
Lawrence, Caroline. (2013). P.K. Pinkerton and the petrified man. New York: Penguin/Putnam.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Yancey, Rick. (2013). The 5th wave. New York: G.P. Putnam's/Penguin.


[.]


STARTED:
Mull, Brandon. (2012). The candy shop war: Arcade catastrophe. Salt Lake City, UT: Shadow Mountain.


[He's one of my favorites...]

*

FINISHED:
Lu, Marie. (2013). Prodigy: a Legend novel. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.


[.]


STARTED:
Gale, Eric Kahn. (2012). The Bully Book. New York: HarperCollins.


[.]

*

FINISHED:
Dashner, James. (2012). The kill order. New York: Delacorte.


[.]

STARTED:
Schmidt, Gary D. (2012). What came from the stars. Boston: Clarion.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Walker, Karen Thompson. (2012). Age of Miracles: a novel. New York: Random House.

[Julia is on the cusp of her 12th birthday when the world changes:  the Earth's rotation begins to slow down causing the days to become longer.  Soon, the length of a day gets so long that the government steps in and decides that we should continue to live in a 24-hour cycle, with those who would rather continue to live by the rising and setting of the sun being labeled as outcasts who are forced to form their own communities.  In addition, everything we know about gravity and the Earth's magnetic fields begins to change, birds start falling from the skies, the tides are more extreme, whales beach themselves en masse, too much/too little sun makes it difficult for crops to grow, and a sickness strikes a number of the world's citizens.  This is the not-so-perky backdrop to Julia's typical preteen life navigating first love, her father's secrets, piano lessons, soccer practice, and difficult friendships with other girls.]

STARTED:
Steensland, Mark. (2012). Behind the bookcase. New York: Random House.

[Reviewing for ACL...]

*

FINISHED:
Lowry, Lois. (2012). Son. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

[.]



STARTED:
Hartinger, Brent. (2003). The geography club. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
DiTerlizzi, Tony. (2012). A hero for WondLa. New York: Simon & Schuster.

[.]


STARTED:
Durbin, Frederic S. (2012). The star shard. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

[Reading for ACL Distinguished...]

*

FINISHED:
McMann, Lisa. (2011). The Unwanteds. New York: Aladdin.

[The society of Quill sorts 13-year olds into three categories each year:  the Wanteds (who are valued), the Necessaries (who'll be put to work), and the Unwanteds... who are punished for their creative urges by being put to death.  While Alex's twin, Aaron, is labelled a "Wanted" and goes to work for the oppressive government, Alex himself, because he once drew a house in the mud, is an Unwanted.  What Alex and the other Unwanteds don't know, however, is that being labelled an Unwanted isn't quite the sentence to death that they thought they were in for.  In fact, though the government of Quill isn't aware of this, the Unwanteds are brought to a magical, colorful place run by Mr. Today, where they will hone their creativity and learn to fight in anticipation of the day when they are discovered by Quill.  I'd say that the blurb on the cover which describes this as "Hunger Games meets Harry Potter" is actually pretty apropos.  Though hardly a substitute for either, I found this one to be SUPER compelling and quite fun.  Granted, the action moves a bit quickly and there really isn't time for much character development or relationship building (Alex does find a Hermione/Ron-ish group of pals), but the premise is intriguing and you've got me any time a major plot point revolves around a restrictive government that is called into question.  A VALUABLE lesson for the youth of today!]

STARTED:
Steward, Trenton Lee. (2012). The extraordinary education of Nicholas Benedict. New York: Little Brown.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Hall, Teri. (2011). Away. New York: Dial/Penguin.

[.]

STARTED:
Shelton, Dave. (2012). A boy and a bear in a boat. New York: David Fickling.

[We were talking about whether or not to get this one at SFPL and couldn't decide - so I took it to read because it instantly made me think of The Life of Pi which I LOVED.]

*

FINISHED:
Hall, Teri. (2010). The line. New York: Dial.

[In a dystopian future, Rachel's mother works as a housekeeper on an old estate and Rachel has begun helping to raise orchids. The greenhouse where she works is just yards from THE LINE, a line that was formed during a war where U.S. troops came in and sectioned off a large chunk of land. When Rachel comes across an old recorder playing a garbled message of help, she decides to assist a boy on the other side of the line whose family needs medicine. A FANTASTIC story that smacks of a classic, with just the right amount of politics and a message about questioning our government. Somewhat of a 1984 for tweens. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED... and I can't wait to read the sequel, Away...]

STARTED:
Mull, Brandon. (2012). Seeds of rebellion (Beyonders #2). New York: Aladdin.

[This guy is becoming a favorite - can't recommend his Fablehaven series enough...]

*

FINISHED:
Cline, Ernest. (2011). Ready Player One. New York: Crown.

[This one was FUN FUN FUN - mainly because it was targeted directly at me. Grow up playing videogames and going to arcades in the '70s? Is Wargames (MGM, 1983) one of your favorite movies? Did you watch all of the great sitcoms of the '80s like Family Ties? Cline (clearly a man that I could be friends with) has crafted a novel that is part Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, part DaVinci Code (only the best parts...) or The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, along with a healthy dose of pop culture nostalgia and dystopian science fiction. 30 & 40-something geeks rejoice!]

STARTED:
Applegate, Katherine. (2012). The one and only Ivan. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Reeve, Philip. (2011). Web of air. New York: Scholastic.




[.]



Nolan, Han. (2010). Crazy. Boston: Harcourt.

[.]


STARTED:
Cline, Ernest. (2011). Ready Player One. New York: Crown.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Lu, Marie. (2011). Legend. New York: Penguin/Putnam.

[.]

STARTED:
Nolan, Han. (2010). Crazy. Boston: Harcourt.

[This one is still lingering on the ACL Distinguished List for 2011... and it's from 2010...]

*