In Search of Watson by Tracy Mack and Michael Citrin

The end of the last case Ozzie left London to seek out his last known living relative, Great-Aunt Agatha, in hopes that she would know the identity of his long absent father. When a clue leads him back to London, Ozzie returns just in time to help the Irregulars on their newest case.

Renowned archaeologist Calico Finch was murdered late in the evening while doing research at the museum. The poor man was crushed by one of the very statues he unearthed. Just as Holmes and the Irregulars are about to begins the search for clues Watson is abducted!

Ozzie and Wiggins now have to focus on Watson rather than the case, but things are not quite what they seem and there may be a traitor in their midst. And as the pieces of the puzzle begin to come together, Ozzie will be forced to make the hardest decision of his life, one that may change his future forever.

The third in the series, In Search of Watson is a great mystery for those new to the genre, but more experienced mystery buffs will find the solutions rather easy. The series still serves as a great introduction to Sherlock Holmes and mysteries to younger or struggling readers.

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Sophomore Nora Grey as always been cautious with relationships, especially since the sudden death of her father last year. The only person she really trusts besides her mother is her best friend and polar opposite, Vee Sky. School is relatively easy for the teen, until the biology teacher decides to make a change and have everyone trade lab partners. Separated from Vee, Nora now has to work with a new student known as Patch.

Nora finds herself alternated intrigued and repulsed by Patch. He’s attractive, but far too smug and arrogant, often flirting outrageously with Nora. And there’s something dark and dangerous about Patch that scares her. And as she spends more time with him strange things begin to happen. One minute her car is wrecked and the next it’s fine; one minute Nora is falling out off a roller coaster and then the next safely strapped into the seat.

Fearing for her sanity, Nora continues to follow Patch. Trying to understand his interest in her and why all of these strange things are happening. As the accidents around her begin to escalate, Nora finds herself smack in the middle of an ancient conflict between angels and fallen angels. And if she can’t find a way out soon, Nora may find herself as the sacrifice.

Hush, Hush is an excellent read for the fans of the supernatural romance genre, especially those who loved the Twilight saga. Fitzpatrick definitely takes a less used route with angels rather than the usual vampires or werewolves, which makes the book a refreshing addition to the genre. Some readers may find some elements of the story a little unbelievable – what parent leaves their sixteen year old daughter home alone at night for days on end in a remote farmhouse – but the excitement and fast pace of the story will keep most reading.

The Comet’s Curse by Dom Testa

When scientists spot a rogue comet hurtling toward Earth everyone panics, until it’s discovered that it will just miss and the planet will only pass through the trail of cosmic dust. Everything seems fine, but when a strange illness that does not follow the typical course begins to appear the real panic sets in. Hidden in Comet Bhaktul’s dust was a contagion unlike anything seen before, a virus that targets only adults, first behaving like the flu before completely ravaging both body and mind.

Desperate to protect humanity’s future, Dr. Wallace Zimmer hatches an unusual plan. He’ll build and launch a ship filled with people to a distant planet to carry on human civilization. The catch, the ship will be crewed with 251 teenagers aged 16 or younger and run by a massive (and sarcastic) supercomputer nicknamed Roc. Only those over the ages of 18 or 19 seem to be vulnerable to Bhaktul’s effects, making younger teens the only possible candidates for the arduous mission. But not everyone is pleased with Dr. Zimmer’s plan and less than week into Galahad’s five year journey it becomes apparent that the teens are not the only ones aboard the ship.

The Comet’s Curse is the first book in what promises to be an interesting series. Each chapter in the book alternates view points and places on the timeline. One side focuses on Zimmer and the other adults as they discover the illness and begin building Galahad. While the other half focuses on the teens in charge onboard and starts with the launch of the ship. It can get a little confusing, but the excellent characters and their growth into their roles as mission leaders makes up for that. A great read for teens looking for something more reminiscent of classic science fiction.

Vanishing Girl by Shane Peacock

Teenage outcast Sherlock Holmes is back again, and this time it’s a kidnapping that needs to be solved. A wealthy upper class girl has vanished in broad daylight in Hyde Park. Desperate to publicly outwit the detectives of Scotland Yard and fix his friendship with Irene Doyle, Sherlock decides to solve the mystery. If Sherlock can pull this off he might also be instrumental in saving the life of a small boy in one of London’s many workhouses, going blind from an eye infection.

With time and a Scotland Yard task force against him, Sherlock manages to find an important clue, sending him on a wild race from London to the countryside and out to the coast. But he’s not the master detective we know from literature, not yet anyway, and a near fatal mistake will leave more than his own life hanging in the balance.

In this third book in the series, Sherlock has been overshadowed by Detective Lestrade twice now; all of his hard work and sacrifice have been ignored or ridiculed. He must come to understand what drives his need to solve mysteries, and decide if his motivations are pure or purely selfish. Vanishing Girl is another solid mystery from Peacock, full of excellent historical details and plenty red herrings and clues to keep you turning pages.

Dragonfly by Julia Golding

Tashi was a simple girl, a goat herder, from the Blue Crescent Islands, a rigid and formal matriarchal society ruled by a council of four elected princesses. But all that changes when she is made Taoshira, Fourth Crown Princess. And now as Princess, Taoshira must do the last thing she ever expected. She must marry Prince Ramil ac Burinholt of Gerfal in order to secure an alliance to protect both the Islands and Gerfal.

Unfortunately, when Taoshira and Ramil meet for the first time, it is decidedly not love at first sight. Taoshira finds him to be uncouth, roguish, and insulting, not a suitable match at all. And Ramil sees her as cold and condescending. When Taoshira decides to call off the marriage and alliance, Ramil tries to smooth things over by taking her out for a ride in Gerfal’s famous woods. Things go really off course however, when the two teens are abducted by mercenaries hired by the cruel warlord of Holt, the very country threatening both the Islands and Gerfal.

Now captives of Fergox Spearthrower, the two must put aside their differences to escape. But escape won’t be easy until Tashi and Ramil can learn to trust one another, and equally as hard, finding others who can be trusted to help them.

Fans of Julia Golding’s other books, will be just itching to get their hands on this new book. The romantic side of the story is fairly typical and maybe even a little clichéd in some places, but the other elements and subplots of the book make for an exciting read.

Sphinx’s Princess by Esther Friesner

Nefertiti was one of the most powerful women in ancient Egypt, and one of the most mysterious. Little is known about her before her marriage to the Pharaoh, nor is there any remaining record of her death, but for the brief time she was Queen she – along with Pharaoh – attempted to bring radical change to the country. In Sphinx’s Princess we get a look into what her life might have been like in the years before her marriage.

Growing up in a moderately sized town far from the Royal Court in Thebes, Nefertiti is bright, graceful, quite beautiful, and doted on by her loving and influential father. But Nefertiti is also more than a little willful and independent when she decides to learn how to read and write, an activity very rarely allowed for women at the time.

When she is suddenly summoned by her aunt, Queen Tiye, to court, Nefertiti is stunned to learn that everything has been decided for her. She is to marry her cousin, the crown prince Thutmose, in three years time. But as she gets to know him, Nefertiti finds she doesn’t like him, that he is an unpleasant person to be near. However, Nefertiti finds that some of her other cousins are far more companionable people despite the shady dealings and spying that Thebes and the other members of the Royal Court are best known for. When Nefertiti is accused of killing Thutmose’s beloved and sacred cat, she must rely on her wits and other skills to escape the palace alive.

Friesner’s second ‘Princess’ series; Sphinx’s Princess is a look into another powerful woman from antiquity and what she might have been like. While the author has taken some liberties; Nefertiti is awfully modern at times and there is some debate as to the birth order to Pharaoh Amenhotep’s children; the book is still a solid read.

She’s so Money by Cherry Cheva

In this chick lit novel high school senior Maya is tired of being split between homework and waiting tables at her parent’s Thai restaurant. She knows that every extra tip she pockets and A she receives will bring her that much closer to Stanford but at the same time hates that she is missing out on the total high school experience by having little to no social life.

When her parents leave her and her little brother Nate in charge of the restaurant for a few days Maya loves the taste of freedom. Being able to drive, do her homework on her own schedule, and most importantly not having to answer to anybody has its benefits BUT when the restaurant receives an unexpected health inspection and a ten thousand dollar fine follows Maya must find a way to come up with the money without her parents discovering how irresponsible she was.

So, of course Maya decides to follow her irresponsible streak by making money the quickest and easiest way she knows how…doing rich kids homework. Each assignment, depending on the level of difficulty and grade required costs about a hundred bucks! But, the more clients Maya brings in the harder it is for her to keep up with her day to day routines and decides that an expansion, or including her friends is the only way to go. Obviously, the more kids that know the higher the risk and although having access to money that she never had before buys her a lot of nice things and even new friends is the risk really worth the fall?

Although Cherry Cheva’s plot and characters are predictable the overall story is amusing. It is easy to see how Maya allows the cheating ring to slip out of her control which forces her to examine herself. Does she like the person she is becoming? Are new friends, popularity, and even a possible boyfriend more important than the friends that have been there since the beginning? AND, what about the whole…is it okay to cheat if it is for the right reasons thing? Perfect for those who can put aside the absurdness of it all and just enjoy a whole lot of teenage drama!

The Patron Saint of Butterflies by Cecilia Galante

Mount Blessing is a secluded religious commune that takes pride in living the “perfect” life. Believing that they are made in God’s likeness and image many of its residents have abandoned the idea of earthly possessions and spend most of their time working on their souls. In order to follow this righteous path residents of the commune follow the teachings of Emmanuel who they believe to be one of Jesus’ prophets. Believing that he will lead everyone to everlasting life has caused everyone to turn a blind eye to his strict teachings which have led to a series of abusive and dangerous situations.

Fourteen-year-olds Honey and Agnes have spent their entire lives on Mount Blessing’s grounds and know nothing of the outside world. They have never experienced TV, read anything outside of religious books, and cannot even eat items colored red…since it is the devils doing. The girls have always been close since Honey does not have a mother or father to call her own but when Agnes turned twelve she received a book from Emmanuel entitled “The Saints Way” and from that point on became completely obsessed with reaching sainthood through perfection. This new found purpose has caused Agnes to live in a constant state of guilt, questioning her thoughts, and performing various forms of self mutilation to make penance for her mistakes.

The more removed Agnes becomes the more Honey fears that something terrible will happen. She does not believe in what Mount Blessing preaches and does not have any outside contacts that she can trust. She knows deep down that Emmanuel is a phony and that his brainwashing techniques are a danger to all of Mount Blessing residents but has no way of proving it! When Agnes’ grandmother comes for a surprise visit Honey realizes that this is their one and only chance to escape and decides to admit to the commune’s abusive acts in hope of protecting the people that matter most. When Agnes’ grandmother decides to flee the commune with Honey, Agnes, and her little brother in tow the three not only experience the dangerous of the outside world but also the fears of what will happen if and when they are forced to return.

Galante’s work deals with a lot of heavy handed subjects like: religion, child abuse, and the idea of defying ones family. Although the situations and outcomes are for mature readers the author handles these descriptions with care. Nothing is ever over the top and the details are plain and simple. Readers will leave this book hopeful realizing that there are people out there who care.

SCAT by Carl Hiaasen

After re-reading HOOT I could not help but want a second helping of Carl Hiaasen and his quirky combination of humor, mystery, and odd ball characters. In SCAT he most definitely follows suit by having the most feared biology teacher in Truman Middle School disappear in Florida’s Black Vine Swamp on a mission to retrieve one of her student’s asthma medications in the middle of a forest fire!

The following day everyone is shocked…staff included that she is not in school. Bunny Starch has not missed a single day since she started teaching at Truman so she must have a pretty good reason. At first, everyone fears that she is missing…worse yet dead but little clues like: her car sightings, strangely written letters explaining her absence, and even voicemail messages start to turn up leading everyone to believe that she is alive and kicking but clueless as to where she could be!

Classmates Marta and Nick do not buy the excuses and are curious about their teacher’s whereabouts. In order to get more information they decide to investigate and are shocked to see that their teacher’s houses looks as though it has not been slept in for weeks! Very odd seeing as her car has been spotted around town with one of her most hated students! Not to mention that they got into a fight during class just the day before her mysterious disappearance. Either way, Marta and Nick do not think that this new found information is a coincidence and they are ready to do everything in their power to help their not so favorite teacher!

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Angela DuPre experiences the mother load on her first day as an airline employee when she discovers an unmarked plane with thirty-six abandoned infants! No one can explain the planes whereabouts, pilots, or other passengers. It was as if the plane appeared right out of thin air. Many thought it was a black market scheme but the baby’s families were never identified and the children were then placed in the adoption system and eventually found wonderful homes.

Thirteen years later Jonah and Chip both survivors from the very same plane, adopted by great families are currently living in the same town! Some may say coincidence but when both boys receive similar unidentified mailings detailing the dangers that are currently heading their way the two decide that it is time to investigate. From this point forward Chip, Jonah, and his younger sister find themselves in the middle of a mystery of a lifetime not only in search of the rest of the missing “baby crew” but also the disappearing and reappearing acts that make them think twice about space, time, and reality.

Once again, I do not want to get too detailed here for fear that I will give some things away. What you do need to know is that this book has all the necessary elements to be a winner and might possibly beat out the Shadow Children series in appeal wise. A perfect read for anyone that is into mystery, sci-fi, and even adventure.