Kotuku by Deborah Savage

Savage's most recent novel, Kotuku begins with 17 year old Charlotte Williamson Thorpe (a.k.a Wim,) mourning over the recent loss of a best friend; depressed, Wim plans to spend her summer working at the local stables tending to horses. Suddenly, the sighting of a rare great white egret brings along many events that disturb her lonley,quiet life: the visit of a great-aunt whose mind is haunted by dark memories, and the arrival of two strangers from New Zealand who've come to visit. One by one, secrets about the Thrope family begin to unfold, and Wim learns to love again.

Although the story seems to "run off" at times, Kotuku is a awesome blend between mystery, historical fiction, the traditional horse-story, and romance; also a perfect introduction to the Maori culture of New Zealand. Like many of Savage's works, Kotuku is a beautiful and moving novel.

Little Audrey by Ruth White

Eleven-year-old Audrey lives in a coal mining town in Virginia in 1948 and her family’s troubles are numerous. They are very poor and struggling to survive, which is compounded by her father’s drinking binges where he spends their meager food budget on alcohol. Her mother is mourning the loss of one of her daughters and after a battle with scarlet fever; Audrey is rail-thin and needs to wear glasses.

In this mostly autobiographical account of her early life in a mining town, White shares the hardships through the voice of her eleven-year-old sister. The characters are well developed, from her often emotionally distant mother to her hard-drinking father. Each is struggling to survive in a desperate situation. Audrey does more than just survive; she chooses to have hope even against difficult odds. A photograph of her mother with the children in 1944 can be found at the beginning of the book. The black-and-white photograph on the cover will probably not appeal to many readers in the intended age group, but the rewards will be worth the effort for those who chose this book.

More Bones: Scary Stories from Around the World

Drawn from around the world, these 22 selections range from traditional stories featuring witches and magic, to tales about ghosts and corpses. Black and white drawings accompany each story and a list of sources is included at the end.

A sequal to Ask the Bones, this collection of short stories will appeal to fans of Schwartz’s other books. Some of the stories end somewhat abruptly, but are short enough so that readers will not get too frightened. The illustrations are very chilling and in some cases, scarier than the story.

Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

While visiting an ancestor’s grave, Princess Benevolence’s mother and uncle are killed and her father disappears. Her aunt Sophia is determined to mold Ben, the new heir, into a proper, and thinner, princess while trying to protect the kingdom from outside threats. Ben refuses to be malleable and is locked in a chamber where she discovers a hidden wizard’s room where she begins to teach herself magic. With her newfound knowledge, Ben flees the castle and faces numerous dangers while finding the truth about her father and gaining a new understanding of herself.

Murdock, author of Dairy Queen, has scored another touchdown in this fantasy about a strong-willed girl who refuses to conform to the dictates of her culture. As the head-strong Ben moves from one unpleasant situation to another, she finally comes to terms with both herself and her haughty aunt. Laugh-out-loud moments, romance, and a heroine determined to be herself will grab readers right from the start.