FINISHED:
Stroud, Jonathan. (2013). The screaming staircase (Lockwood & Co.: Book 1). New York: Disney/Hyperion.


[.]


STARTED:
Blackwood, Sage. (2013). Jinx. New York: HarperCollins.


[.]

*

FINISHED:
DiCamillo, Kate. (2013). Flora & Ulysses: the illuminated adventures. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.


[When a squirrel gets sucked up inside a vacuum cleaner, young cynic and superhero-fan Flora saves the squirrel, only to find out that it now has superpowers, an insatiable hunger, and a penchant for writing poetry.  Dealing with a "temporarily blind" neighbor boy, her divorced parents (including her mother who wants Flora's father to take the squirrel out to be killed), and using the wisdom of Terrible Things Can Happen to You (a bonus in her favorite comic, The Illuminated Adventures of the Amazing Incandesto!), Flora manages to save the squirrel (dubbed Ulysses) and find hope and love in a world where there previously appeared to be none.  Laugh out loud hilarious, with cheeky sophisticated language and some pages rendered in comic style, this is one of the most enjoyable books that I've read this year!]


STARTED:
Stroud, Jonathan. (2013). The screaming staircase (Lockwood & Co.: Book 1). New York: Disney/Hyperion.


[.]


*

FINISHED:
Pinkwater, Daniel Manus. (1979). Alan Mendelsohn, the boy from Mars. New York: Dutton.


[.]


STARTED:
DiCamillo, Kate. (2013). Flora & Ulysses:  the illuminated adventures. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.


[.]


*

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


[.]


STARTED:
Pinkwater, Daniel Manus. (1979). Alan Mendelsohn, the boy from Mars. New York: Dutton.


[A recommended title.]

*

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...]


*

FINISHED:
Levithan, David. (2013). Two boys kissing. New York: Knopf.

[Narrated by the ghosts of gay men who died of AIDS, this one cuts between a couple of different storylines:  two young men attempt to break the world record for kissing, two teens (one of whom is transgendered) meet at a Gay Prom and begin to date, a gay teen couple help to normalize gay relationships, and a nihlistic teen who is constantly on gay-hookup sites runs away from home.  Pretty powerful stuff, and an interesting look at a range of current gay youth relationships.  This one also points out how much "better" things are for those who are coming out today (seeing as homosexuality is much more "normalized" these days), versus those gay men who had to live in the shadows, completely denying themselves, in the '70s and '80s. ]


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

[The first in this series is one that I like to booktalk and put in kids' hands... and I realized that I haven't read EITHER of the sequels!]

*

FINISHED:
Rowell, Rainbow. (2013). Eleanor & Park. New York: St. Martin's Griffin.


[.]


STARTED:
Levithan, David. (2013). Two boys kissing. New York: Knopf.


[Reading the SIGNED advanced copy that I got at ALA!]


*

FINISHED:
Crowder, Melanie. (2013). Parched. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.


[.]


STARTED:
Rowell, Rainbow. (2013). Eleanor & Park. New York: St. Martin's Griffin.


[Heard SO many wonderful things about this one.  And it takes place in 1986... when I was a teenager who listened to all of the bands that Park likes...]


*

FINISHED:
Grabenstein, Chris. (2013). Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's library. New York: Random House.


[.]


STARTED:
Crowder, Melanie. (2013). Parched. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.


[.]


*

FINISHED:
Boulle, Pierre. (1983). The whale of the Victoria Cross. New York: Vanguard Press.


[.]


STARTED:
Grabenstein, Chris. (2013). Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's library. New York: Random House.


[.]


*