Streams of Babel by Carol Plum Ucci

Ucci, Carol Plum. Streams of Babel. Harcourt Children's Books, 20008. New York, NY.

ISBN 13: 978-0152165567. Hard Cover, $17.00.

Book Awards:
2010 Maryland Black Eyed Susan Award Nominee
2008 *starred review, Kirkus*


Annotation:
Set in 2002, in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, Cora Holman's mom dies of a brain anuerysm. Hours later, her neighbor's mother also dies of an anuerysm. Meanwhile, a young computer hacker in Pakistan finds a chilling message from a shadowy group warning that many will "drink in December and die like Mangy dogs in April". The Federal Government works together with the young hacker against the clock, trying to discover if the events are related.

Book Talk:
Just months after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, Cora Holman's mother dies of a brain anueryism. Hours later, Owen Eberman's mother also dies of a brain anuerysm. Owen, Cora, and other friends who live on their street all come down with the same mysterious flu-like symptoms.

Meanwhile, a world away in Pakistan, 16 year old Shahzad is helping the CIA crack internet chatter and traffic from suspected terrorist networks. Shahzad is chilled to the bone when he intercepts traffic that reads "They will drink in December and die like mangy dogs in April." Frantic, Shahzad works to find out what it is that people will be drinking, and the location of Colony One. Shahzad is frantic that many people will die, and he is the only one who has the ability to help these people before it is too late.

As the USIC becomes involved in the seemingly unrelated deaths and illnesses, Shahzad finds himself brought to America in order to intercept the terrorist traffic at it's source. Can all of the players find the cause of the illnesses before there are more deaths?

Author Website: http://www.carolplumucci.com/

Into the volcano by Don Wood

Wood, Don. Into the Volcano. Blue Sky Press, 2008. New York, NY.

ISBN 13: 978-0-439-72671-9. Hard Cover, $18.99.

Book Awards:
2009- Best Books for Young Adults
2008- booklist Editor's Choice: Books for Youth
2009- Top Ten Graphic Novels for Youth

Annotation:
Brothers Sumo and Duffy are swept away onto a mysterious island, where they meet up with their mysterious Aunt and Cousin. They find themselves in the middle of a quest to find someone or something under the volcano before time runs out.

Book Talk:
What do two middle schoolers, a mysterious aunt, a cousin named Come-And-Go, and a beautiful woman have to do with an active volcano?

Quite a lot, actually. Sumo and Duffy are taken from their private school by their mysterious cousin, Come-And-Go. They travel to a beautiful island in the tropics, where they meet up with their mysterious aunt and befriend the beautiful Paulina.

While sitting at breakfast, the boys discover that they are to go on an adventure with Come And Go and Paulina. When the volcano begins to erupt, the adventure is moved up and the boys find themselves traveling into the heart of the active volcano with Come And Go and Paulina.

What is everyone searching for? Find out as you travel Into The Volcano.

Author Web Site: www.audreywood.com

Skim: A Graphic Novel

Tamaki, Mariko. Skim. Groundwood Books, 2008. Toronto, Ontario.

ISBN 13: 978-0-88899-753-1. Hard Cover, $18.95.

Book Awards:
2009- Nominee, Doug Wright Award
2009- Nominee, YALSA, Great Graphic Novels for Teens
2008- Outstanding Graphic Novel
2008- Finalist- Governor General's Awards
2009- Nominee- Eisner Awards

Annotation:
"Skim" is Kimberly Keiko Cameron. She wants to be a gothic witch, who doesn't seem to fit in anywhere at school. After a boy at school kills himself, Skim finds herself falling into a deep depression.

Book Talk:
Falling in love is never easy. For Skim, falling in love is harder than it should be. She and her drama teacher, Mrs. Archer, find themselves in a forbidden romance.

When one of the boys at school kills himself, Skim finds herself slipping into a deep depression. When Mrs. Archer ends their relationship, her depression deepens.

When the popular girls at school begin a "Celebrate Life" club to keep any more teens from committing suicide, they take Skim on as a special project. They see her and her gothic ways as a potential for suicide.

Just as things seem to be at their lowest point, Skim finds an unlikely friend and ally amongst the popular crowd of kids.

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

George, Jessica Day. Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow. 2008. Bloomsbury. New York, NY.

ISBN 13:9781599901091. Hard Cover, $16.95.

Book Awards:
2008 Whitney Award Nominee
2009 ALA Best Books for Young Adults
2009 Thumbs Up Book Award
2010 Nominee, Beehive Award

Annotation:
A young girl must travel east of the sun and west of the moon in order to rescue her enchanted prince from the evil enchantress.

Book Talk:
Pika is the ninth child in her family. Her parents were so disappointed that she was born a girl and not a boy that they refuse to name her, and leave her with the name Pika- which means girl in Norse. It seems that Pika will forever be the leftover child with no name.

And then, one magical day, Pika rescues the white reindeer from a thicket and the hunters. The reindeer grants her a wish- for a name. But after the magical visit with the reindeer, Pika discovers that she has the ability to talk to the animals. She becomes sought after by all and sundry because of her wonderful way with the animals.

Several years later, Pika is approached by an ice bear, who asks her to come and live with him for a year and a day. Pika agrees to come with the bear, if she can bring her beloved wolf with her.

Pika arrives at the home of the ice bear- an ice palace deep in the North. As she explores the castle, and is introduced to the fascinating creatures who live within she decides that the ice bear must be under an enchantment of some kind. As Pika struggles to discover the nature of the curse, she ends up breaking the agreement and her ice bear is carried away to the home of the enchantress. Can Pika find the mysterious place where her ice bear has been hidden away- East of the Sun and West of the Moon before time runs out?

Author Web Site: www.jessicadaygeorge.com

Mexican WhiteBoy by Matt De La Pina

De La Pina, Matt. Mexican WhiteBoy. 2008. Random House, New York, NY.

ISBN 13: 978-0-385-73310-6. Hardcover, $15.99.

Book Awards:
2008- Button Blue Ribbon Book
2009- LatinoStories.com Top Ten New Latino Authors to Watch (and Read)
2009 Notable Books for a Global Society list
Mexican WhiteBoy chosen as a YALSA-ALA Top Ten Book of the year.

Annotation-Danny is a half white, half mexican child. He spends his summer in San Diego, with his Mexican cousins. Here he learns who he really is, and how to get a grip on himself and live up to his potential.

Book Talk:
"Danny loves to play baseball. It is his passion, it is something he loves to do because he did it with his father. He's good, too. He can throw a 95 mile an hour pitch, and he can hit a ball clear into tomorrow. The problem is that ever since his father left, Danny can't throw consistently when it counts. Because of this, Danny did not make the baseball team at his fancy prep school.

Danny has another problem. He is half white, and half hispanic. He doesn't know exactly who he is. Since his father left, he's not sure of anything.

When his mother announces that she has a new boyfriend, and that they are all going to move to San Francisco and move in with the boyfriend, Danny knows one thing for certain. He is not going to move into the boy friends' house.

Danny decides to spend the summer with his father's Mexican family in San Diego. He is hoping that he can save enough money while he is there so that he can join his father in Mexico at the end of the summer.

When we join the story, Danny and his favorite cousin, Sophia, have joined the action on the cul-de-sac. Sophia has introduced Danny to her friends, and a baseball game is in progress in the middle of the street. Sophia knows how much Danny loves to play ball, so she walks him over to the boys who are playing, and Danny is up at bat:

Danny waits on this one. Makes out white seams in a sea of yellow felt. Spinning through the air like a softball. Like a beach ball. Like a big spinning globe, the planet Earth. He locks in. Shifts his weight quick and turns on the pitch, drives the barrel through the zone.

Crushes it.

A muted gunshot sound carries across the lawn as the ball explodes off Danny's bat. Everybody looks up as the tennis ball soars above their heads, a tiny dot in the bright blue sky. A distant commuter plane. A drifting bird. One of the hawks his Dad used to stop and point out whenever they walked through the canyon.

The ball clears not only the Rodriguez roof but the roof of the house behind the Rodriguez house, too. It ends up on another street altogether, at a different address......

Secretly though, it makes him feel alive to crush something with a bat."

Join Danny as he struggles to find who he is, how to fit in with his family, and as he learns to play baseball on his terms in Mexican WhiteBoy by Matt de La Pina.

Author Web Site: http://mattdelapena.com/