Every Little Thing in the World by Nina De Gramont

I was really looking forward to this release as I read Nina De Gramont's first book(The Gossip of the Starlings) in one sitting. "Every Little Thing in the World" again has a strong and realistic adolescent voice. Sydney Biggs is pretty, popular, wealthy and smart. She's an everygirl to whom the unthinkable(to her) happens. The story is tight and well written and immediately engaging. If your teen or tween is into "Gossip Girl" (and aren't they all?) pick this one up. Again, De Gramont is comfortable in the world of affluent teens but we see much more self-aware characters and some real life situations and results. It would make an excellent Mother-Daughter Book Group selection, provided you are ready to have some frank discussions.

Ice Cream Con

Ice Cream Con, written by Jimmy Docherty

A funny crime adventure. Jake, tired of being bullied by kids in his housing, invents a fake gangster, the Big Baresi...who soon takes on a life on his own.

Paper Towns

Paper Towns, by John Green
When Margo Roth Spiegelman beckons Quentin Jacobsen in the middle of the night-dressed like a ninja and plotting an ingenious campaign of revenge-he follows her. Margo's always planned extravagantly, and, until now, she's always planned solo. After a lifetime of loving Margo from afar, things are finally looking up for Q . . . until day breaks and she has vanished. Always an enigma, Margo has now become a mystery...

all the broken pieces

all the broken pieces
a novel in verse by ann e. burg

Matt Pin was airlifted out of Vietnam two years ago (1975) and placed in an adoptive home in America...a moving perspective on home, war, family, and inner conflicts told in free verse...

The Roar

The Roar, by Emma Clayton

a supernatural, philosophical, cliff hanger of an adventure...

Mika and Ellie live in a future behind a wall: Solid concrete topped with high-voltage razor wire and guarded by a battalion of Ghengis Borgs, it was built to keep out the animals, because animals carry the plague. At least that's what Ellie, who was kidnapped as a child, has always been taught. But when she comes to suspect the truth behind her captivity, she's ready to risk exposure to the elements and answer the call of the wild. Listen. Can you hear it?...

Seven Keys of Balabad

Seven Keys of Balabad, by Paul Haven

a mesmerizing 500-year-old mystery...

one day had just dragged into another for Oliver Finch, a born and bred New Yorker, after this father had been reassigned to Balabad, a seemingly "dull dustbowl of a country"...until a sacred carpet is stolen and Oliver encounters a one-eyed warrior, the international secret society The Brotherhood of Arachosia in his quest of a key which will unlock a centuries old secret...a fast-paced, light-hearted adventure...

Ballet Shoes, by Noel Streatfeild

Ballet Shoes, by Noel Streatfeild

A classic.

Ballet Shoes is the story of three English orphans~ Pauline, Petrova, and Posy ~ determined to make a name for themselves in the world of show business...These three adopted sisters, living in London, train for the ballet and the stage and in the process discover that each has a special talent...a great story of courage, dreams, and finding one's talent...

Be sure to also take a look at other books by Noel Streatfeild: Theater Shoes, Dancing Shoes, Party Shoes