Incantation by Alice Hoffman

16 year-old Estrella's honest, humble family has lived in the small village of Encaleflora, Spain, for as long as she can remember. The year is 1500, one of the most hard and toughest times to live in history. The Spanish Inquisition has just been passed, all Jews must convert to Christianity - or die. As violence outbreaks in the village, brought-up Catholic Estrella learns the truth: her family are secret Jews. The fact that Estrella's best friend begins to become envious of her just makes the situation worse.

As time progresses, Estrella's worries begin to rise: what will happen to her family? What is the reason behind her friend's jealousy?

In this short, but poetic novel, readers are captivated by the voice of Estrella, who reminds us that while times may change, people don't - but there is always hope.

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Now.

The Tomorrow Code by Brian Falkner

Teenage friends Tane and Rebecca receive messages from their future selves warning them that they must stop the Chimera Project to avert an ecological disaster. With Tane’s brother, Fatboy, the teens frantically try to decipher the messages and figure out what they are supposed to do to stop the catastrophe that has been set in motion by scientists who have inadvertently created a cloud of organisms programmed to destroy mankind.

A timely eco-thriller that readers will find hard to put down, The Tomorrow Code presents a frightening picture of how mankind’s quest for scientific knowledge could lead to our own destruction. The teens’ path is unbelievable at times (buying a house and a submarine by themselves) but the storyline is intense and the cloud of creatures feels like something out of a Stephen King novel. The ending is fascinating and will leave readers wondering if something like this could really happen.

Scat by Carl Hiaasen

Mrs. Starch mysteriously disappears on a field trip to Black Vine Swamp after a fire cuts the trip short. Everyone suspects Smoke, a troubled youth, of setting the fire but Nick and his friend Marta think something fishy is going on. As they investigate the arson, they discover a quirky environmentalist, a couple of shady oilmen, and an endangered panther and her cub. Meanwhile, Nick is dealing with the return of his beloved father from Iraq, who has had his right arm amputated.

The premise is familiar from Hoot and Flush; plucky teenagers battling greedy adults that are destroying Florida’s environment. But Hiaasen weaves his stories so well that it is still a pleasure to revisit this theme. The fully realized characters, with all of their strengths and weaknesses, come alive in the pages as they strive to make sense of life’s ups and downs. There is enough tension (criminal acts and coming face to face with a panther) and humor (a bird that speaks three languages) to keep most readers turning the pages until the very satisfying conclusion.

I Put a Spell on You by Adam Selzer

Shortly before the annual school spelling-bee, Chrissie Woodward, who has always been the school tattle-tale for the principal, begins to suspect that the bee is being rigged by the school principal. As she investigates the adults involved in the conspiracy, she gets to know her fellow students better and switches her allegiance, vowing to bring the offenders to justice.

Told from the perspective of various students, this humorous story recounts the conspiracy surrounding the annual school spelling-bee, which is a major event in town. The adult-bashing humor will have readers laughing from the start. Chrissie grows throughout the story as she begins to really see the complexities of her fellow students, who are trying hard to do the right thing and steer clear of the adult manipulations.