Kliatt articles from November 2003

Kliatt archives from November 2003

Teen fiction for reluctant readers--quality is possible.
November 1, 2003... Orca Book Publishers began life as a publisher of regional history and travel guides nearly 20 years ago. A brief foray into children's publishing has since become our focus and we now publish 40 titles a year, covering the children's...

Daughter of the wind.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)
November 1, 2003... Scholastic, Orchard. 266p. c2003. 0-439-35224-X. $17.95. JS Cadnum has written many YA novels; this one is set in the time of the Vikings and tells several parallel stories, all culminating in the kidnapping and rescue of the daughter of a...

The mysterious mummer.(Book Review)(Young Adult Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Kids Can Read Press. 192p. c2003. 1-55337-376-6. $16.95. J Falcone has a background as a private investigator, a teacher, and a screenwriter--how's that for something a little different? This novel is basically a ghost story, and the main...

Sister Spider knows all.(Book Review)(Young Adult Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Peachtree. 209p. c2003. 1-56145-290-4. $14.95. J Americans tend to avoid discussing class differences, and this charming story about a girl who lives in a trailer with her chain-smoking, obese grandmother is something out of the ordinary....

Gutman, Dan. Race for the sky; the Kitty Hawk diaries of Johnny Moore.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Simon & Schuster. 192p. illus. Bibliog. c2003. 0-689-84554-5. $15.95. J Somewhat in the style of Scholastic's series of historical diary-novels (My Name is America, Dear America, etc.), this presents the story of the Wright brothers' first...

Jennings, Richard W. Mystery in Mt. Mole.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Houghton Mifflin. 1440. c2003. 0-618-28478-8. $15.00. J Every school system has a hated school assistant principal, the disciplinarian, and in this story his name is Mr. Farley. When Mr. Farley disappears, Andrew is intrigued by the mystery...

Kay, Elizabeth. The divide.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Scholastic, The Chicken House. 318p. illus. c2003. 0-439-45696-7 $15.95. J Felix, a 13-year-old with a dangerous heart condition, is on vacation with his parents in Costa Rica. He is eager to visit the spot that marks the Continental...

Lamm, Drew. Bittersweet.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Houghton Mifflin, Clarion. 213p. c2003. 0-618-16443-X. $15.00. JS* Taylor is an artist whose creative ideas have dried up. She is so disturbed that her wonderful grandmother is losing her mind and is in a nursing home that she cannot think...

Lisle, Janet Taylor. The crying rocks.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Simon & Schuster, Atheneum. 199p. c2003. 0-689-85319-X. $16.95. JS Lisle's previous novel for YAs, The Art of Keeping Cool, won the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, and in The Crying Rocks, she connects the present with the past...

Mack, Tracy. Birdland.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Scholastic. 208p. c2003.0-439-53590-5. $16.95. J* Jed and his best friend Flyer are filming a documentary of their neighborhood, New York City's East Village, for an English assignment over Christmas break. Thirteen-year-old Jed is mourning...

Morgan, Robert. Brave enemies; a novel of the American Revolution.(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Algonquin Books, Workman. 309p. map. c2003. 1-56512-356-5. $24.95. SA* The publishers may not have intended this book specifically for a YA audience, but the reality is that it is an excellent novel for YAs, and one that teachers will want...

Napoli, Donna Jo. Breath.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Simon & Schuster, Atheneum. 272p. c2003. 0-689-86174-5. $16.95. JS The cover of this historical novel gives some important clues to its themes: the nose and mouth of a child are featured over a reproduction of Bruegel's grim painting The...

Nilsson, Per. Heart's Delight.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Trans. By Tara Chace. Front Street. 152p. c2003. 1-886910-92-8. $16.95. S This YA novel is originally Swedish and has been praised highly in Europe. It takes place in Sweden, with the narrator a young man who is looking back over a failed...

Orlev, Uri. Run, boy, run.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Trans, by Hillel Halkin. Houghton Mifflin. c2003. 192p. 0-618-16465-0. $15.00. J Srulik, an eight-year-old Jewish boy, manages to escape the Warsaw Ghetto and spends the next few years struggling to survive in the Polish countryside, which...

Pierce, Tamora. Trickster's choice.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Random House. 446p. c2003. 0-375-81466-3. $1795. (lib. bdg.: 0-375-91466-8. $19.99). JSA* It's not easy being the daughter of a legend. Aly's mother is the bold and brave Alanna (heroine of Pierce's The Song of the Lioness quartet), but...

Reeve, Philip. Mortal engines.(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... (The Hungry City Chronicles). HarperCollins, Eos. 310p. c2001. 0-060-08207-0. $16.99. (Lib. bdg.: 0-060-08208-9. $1789.) JS* The opening line of this SF novel sets the stage beautifully: "It was a dark, blustery afternoon in spring, and the...

Rottman, S.L. Shadow of a doubt.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Peachtree. 172p. c2003. 1-56145-291-2. $14.95. JS Shadow got his nickname because he always trailed around after his beloved older brother, Daniel. But seven years ago, at the age of 15, Daniel ran away from home, destroying his family's...

Sanchez, Alex. Rainbow High.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Simon & Schuster. 256p. c2003.0-689-85477-3. $16.95. S Now in their senior year of high school, the three gay youths we first met in Rainbow Boys are struggling with new issues, Wisecracking, impulsive Nelson, who is "out and outrageous,"...

Smith, Greg Leitich. Ninjas, piranhas, and Galileo, a novel.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Little, Brown. 179p. c2003. 0-316-77854-0. $15.95. J This is a witty book, peopled by smart 7th graders at a special school in the Chicago area (a school like the one the author himself attended as a teenager). There are three main...

Alshalabi, Firyal & Drexler, Sam. The sky changed forever.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Aunt Strawberry Books (PO Box 819, Boulder, CO 80306-0819). 158p. c2003. 0-9669988-3-9. $8.99. JS Noor Ramadan has come to Boulder, Colorado with her family from Kuwait, hoping to live a wonderful life in the United States. Her mother is...

Barclay, Robert. Melal: a novel of the Pacific.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... University of Hawaii Press. 300p. c2002. 0-8248-2591-6. $8.89. A A day in paradise must be perfect, right? No. In this tale set on an atoll of the Marshall Islands, the mythological and mundane intertwine in the lives of natives and...

Cann, Kate. Hard cash.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Simon & Schuster. 328p. c2000. 0-689-85905-8. $5.99. S Persistently broke Rich quests for some cash by methods that are sometimes distasteful, and always amusing. Rich is an art student at sixth-form college (which corresponds to the last...

Cantrell, Catherine. Constance, a novel.(Brief Article)(Book Review)(Young Adult Review)
November 1, 2003... Random House. 220p. c2002. 0-375-75980-8. $12.95. A Morgan Clifford is a widowed New York editor caught up in the publishing world's dichotomy of cultured writers and cut-throat business mergers. While Morgan has limped along after her...

Cisneros, Sandra. Carmelo, a novel.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Random House, Vintage. 439p. c2002. 0-679-74258-1. $13.95. SA This novel tells the story of Carmelo's life as a child of Mexican parents, growing up in Chicago and Texas, but steeped in the ancient culture of her family. Her childhood...

Coyle, Cleo. On what grounds; a coffee-house mystery.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Berkley. 276p. 2003. 0-425-19213-X. $5.99. SA Clare Cosi decides to come back to the historic Village Blend Coffeehouse because life in the suburbs has lost its glow after ten years. Her ex-mother-in-law wants to play matchmaker with her...

Crew, Linda. Brides of Eden; a true story imagined.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... HarperCollins, Tempest. 243p. illus. c2001. 0-06-447217-5. $6.99. JS Written with a first-person perspective, Brides of Eden dramatizes a true story from Corvallis, Oregon, in 1903. An attractive young preacher known as Joshua wakes up the...

Davis, Kathryn. Versailles.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Little, Brown, Back Bay. 206p. c2002. 0-316-73761-5. $13.95. SA The narration in this short historical novel switches from first person (Marie Antoinette) to third person. Occasional chapters are written in the form of the script of a play,...

Dean, Zoey. The A-list; a novel. 17th Street Publications.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... 245p. c2003. 0-316-73435-7. $8.99. S Boy troubles, popularity contests, and problem parents apparently aren't eased by first-class travel, Versace, and film star parties. Anna Percy--prim, genteel, beautiful, and in possession of an...

Durham, David Anthony. Walk through darkness, a novel.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Random House, Anchor. 274p. c2002. 0-385-72036-X. $13.00. SA Set in antebellum America, Walk Through Darkness offers a powerful perspective on slavery. William, a slave who is often loaned to other plantations for his labor, has returned to...

Elish, Dan. Born too short; the confessions of an eighth-grade basket case.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Simon & Schuster, Pulse. 156p. c2002. 0-689-86213-X. $4.99. J Matt and Keith are best friends and have been for a long time. This shouldn't he a problem except that Keith, the school jock, has had his growth spurt, looks like Adonis and...

Firouz, Anahita. In the walled gardens, a novel.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Little Brown, Back Bay. 338p. c2002. 0-316-16901-3. $13.95. SA In the weeks and days before the Revolution in Iran, every level of society was affected by the unrest and unease rampant in the country. When two old acquaintances meet after...

Gilling, Tom. The adventures of Miles and Isabel.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Grove. 198p. c2001. 0-8021-4019-X. $12.00. SA Set in New South Wales, Australia in the mid-1800s, this flight of fancy features Miles McGinty and Isabel Dowling, whose unconventional beginnings in the Prince of Wales Theatre mark the...

Gregory, Kristiana. Prairie River; a journey of faith.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Scholastic. 213p. c2003. 0-439-43991-4. $4.99. JS Vanessa Ann Clemens, orphaned at the age of four and living in Mr. Carey's orphanage, is turning 14. This is the age when orphans must leave to make their way in the world and Mr. Carey's...

Hardy, LeAnne. Between two worlds, a novel.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Kregel. 150p. c2003. 0-8254-2793-2. $6.99. J LeAnne Hardy draws on her Christian missionary experience on several continents to create interesting growing-up adventures for teens. Cristina Larson, of Scandinavian heritage but born in...

Holthe, Tess Uriza. When the elephants dance, a novel.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Penguin. 368p. c2002. 0-14-200288-7. $14.00. SA "When the elephants dance, the chickens must be careful." Using this Filipino saying, the Karangalan family patriarch describes the Philippine Islands at the end of WW II as the Japanese and...

Hoopmann, Kathy. Haze.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Jessica Kingsley, dist. by Taylor & Francis. 159p. c2003. 1-84310072-X. $13.95. S This mix of genres integrates high school, Asperger's Syndrome, abused teenagers, and a mystery. Seb has Asperger's Syndrome, a high-functioning form of...

Ihimaera, Witi. The whale rider.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Harcourt. 152p. c1987. 0-15-205016-7. $8.00. JSA * Witi Ihimaera spins a breathtaking tale of eight-year-old Kahu, a Maori girl in New Zealand whose destiny is to be a whale rider and the savior of her tribe. Moving between contemporary New...

Johnson, Angela. Looking for Red.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Simon & Schuster, Pulse. 116p. c2002. 0-689-86388-8. $4.99. J * To quote from the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, May 2002: Author of Toning the Sweep and Heaven, two Coretta Scott King Award winners about difficult family transitions,...

Jones, Madison, Herod's wife, a novel.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... University of Alabama Press. 120p. c2003. 08173-5014-4. $17.95. SA This short novel grapples with some of the most current issues troubling American society. One of those issues is the question of trust. When Catholic priests are found...

Kimmel, Haven. The solace of leaving early, a novel.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Random House, Anchor. 278p. c2002.1-4000-3334-9. $13.00. SA In the town of Haddington, Indiana, many folks are living tragic or disappointing lives. A set of horrific murders has left two little girls. Madeleine and Eloise Maloney, orphaned...

Larsen, Deborah. The white.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Random House, Vintage. 219p. c2002. 0-375-71289-5. $12.95. SA This novel is unusual in format. It is sometimes told in first person and sometimes third and is written in short bursts that are not always clearly related. It is the story of...

Leavitt, Martine. Tom Finder.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Red Deer Press. 141p. c2003.0-88995-262-0. $9.95. JS What if you knew nothing about yourself except your first name? What if the only clues to who you are were a candy heart from Valentine's Day and a small spiral notebook with some notes...

Levandoski, Rob. Fresh eggs, a novel.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Penguin Putnam, Plume. 252p. c2002. 0-45228436-8. $13.00. A The sight of a "Fresh Eggs" sign at a rural farm might give one pause after reading this unusual story. Unable to support his family on the trickle of customers who visit his farm,...

Lupica, Mike. Wild pitch, a novel.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Penguin, Berkley. 332p. c2002.0-425-19204-0. $799. A Columnist and sports reporter Mike Lupica hits one out of the park with Wild Pitch, a comeback story that is both touching and hilarious. Showtime Charlie Stoddard used to throw a...

McCaughrean, Geraldine. The kite rider.(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... HarperCollins, Trophy. 307p. c2001.0-06-4410919. $6.99. JS * To quote from the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, July 2002: I would double star this if KLIATT allowed such a thing! And it isn't even really a YA novel as we generally...

Murphy, Louise. The true story of Hansel and Gretel; a novel of war and survival.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Penguin. 296p. c2003. 0-14-200307-7. $13.00. SA Using the framework of the famous fairy tale, this novel set in Poland during WW II tells of a Jewish brother and sister set out in a forest by their father and stepmother who feel their best...

Myers, Tim. Room for murder.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Penguin, Berkley. 181p. c2002.0-425-19310-1. $5.99. SA Alex Winston owns the Hatteras West Inn and Lighthouse in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and watches over many guests coming and going. When his best friend decides to get married at the...

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. Simply Alice.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Simon & Schuster, Pulse. 222p. c2002. 0-68985965-1. $4.99. J * To quote from the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, May 2002: This is the 14th book in this beloved series, following Alice, now age 14, as she grows and changes. Here she is...

Paul, Jasmine. A girl, in parts, a novel.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Counterpart. 240p. c2002.1-58243-285-6. $14.95. SA Jasmine Paul's novel captures the innocence of childhood, the angst of adolescence, the grittiness of a rural, working-class life, the pain and joy of blended families and the spirit of the...

Rabinyan, Dorit. Strand of a thousand pearls, a novel.(Brief Article)(Book Review)(Young Adult Review)
November 1, 2003... Random House. 268p. c2001. 0-375-76003-2. $13.95. A Readers interested in the strife-torn setting of modern Israel will be disappointed in the lack of politics in Dorit Rabinyan's latest book. Instead she delves into the emotionally tangled...

Rosario, Nelly. Song of the water saints, a novel.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Random House, Vintage. 246p. c2002. 0-375-72549-0. $12.00. SA Telling the story of four generations of women born in the Dominican Republic, this novel shows how time and place affect each woman and how their innate character is passed from...

Sherwood, Frances. The book of splendor, a novel.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Norton. 348p. c2002. 0-39332458-3. $14.95. SA Set 400 years ago in the city of Prague, The Book of Splendor is a strange combination of folklore, imperial intrigue, Jewish culture and mysticism. While the central story is about the love...

Smith, Sherri L. Lucy the giant, a novel.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Random House, Dell, Laurel-Leaf. 217p. c2002. 0-440-22927-8. $5.50. JS To quote from the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, May 2002: Lucy's life in Sitka, Alaska is a hard one; at 15. she is over six feet tall, and her hostile classmates...

Strodder, Chris. Lockerboy; a journey to adventure.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Red Hen Press. 225p. c2002.0931093-18-X. JS Marty McCarty had been happy at his high school in Redwood, California but when he and his dad move to a town in Nevada, he is headed toward Diablo Valley High School. Even though kids on the bus...

The heaven of mercury.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)
November 1, 2003... Norton. 335p. c2002.0-393-32465-5. $14.95. A Set in Mercury. a small, rural town in Mississippi, this novel details the life of Finus Bates, his friends, relatives, and acquaintances as they move through the 20th century. The main thread of...

Logan's storm.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... (Catahoula Bayou trilogy). Random House. 290p. c2002. 0-375-76067-9. $12.95. SA This entertaining tale of courage and survival in the Louisiana Bayou (a sequel to Meely LaBauve) features Logan LaBauve, a down-on-his-luck local misfit,...

Angel Rock, a novel.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)
November 1, 2003... Random House, Vintage. 303p. c2002. 0-37571924-5. $13.00. SA The dusty Australian town of Angel Rock has deep undercurrents of mystery and violence as the town is confronted by two tragedies. Tom Ferry, a hard-working 13-year-old routinely...

The Anchor, P. Moore proprietor.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)
November 1, 2003... Banks Channel Books (2314 Waverly Drive, Wilmington NC 28403). 204p. c2003. 1-889199-05-2. $12.00. JS Fifteen-year-old Polly Moore is trying to handle all the responsibilities of her father's tavern in Brunswick, North Carolina. The year...

The keepers of the flame.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)
November 1, 2003... (Fire-us Trilogy, Book 2). HarperCollins, Eos. 280p. c2002. 0-06-447270-1. $5.99. JS * To quote from the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, November 2002: In this exciting follow-up to The Kindling (reviewed in KLIATT, March 2002), the...

Abarat.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)
November 1, 2003... HarperCollins, Trophy. 388p. illus. c2002. 0-06-440733-0. $11.99. SA * To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, November 2002: The first in a four-part series, Abarat takes readers into Clive Barker's imagination, abundantly...

Sword and sorceress, vol. 20.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Penguin Putnam, DAW. 315p. c2003. 0-7564-0142-9. $6.99. JSA Originally slated to be the final Sword and Sorceress volume due to Bradley's death, this has been altered with a new introduction to reflect the continuation of the series and...

Diplomatic immunity.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Baen. 367p. c2002. 0-7434-3612-1. $7.99. A This latest episode of Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan's adventures finds him investigating a young men's brawl on a distant planet station. In the early days of his happy marriage and in...

Shadow puppets.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... (Ender Series, Book 7). Tor. 375p. c2002. 0-765-34005-4. $7.99. SA The sequel to Shadow of the Hegemon, this story picks up with Ender's older brother Peter Wiggin as the Hegemon leader of the world. Trying to limit the influence of the...

Kushiel's chosen.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Tor. 687p. c2002. 0-765-34504-8. $799. A As long as you can get around the fact that the main character is an acolyte of the God of S&M, this is a pretty good book. Phedre, abandoned child turned courtesan, spy and heroine, saved her...

Stories of your life and others.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Tor. 331p. c2002. 0-785-30419-8. $14.95. A This anthology of eight SF short stories represents Chiang's work since 1990. Chiang takes a philosophical approach to predictive situations: the breakdown of mathematical logic, the link between...

Spirits white as lightning.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... (Bedlam's Bard). Baen. 502p. c2002. 0-7434-3608-3. $7.99. SA This installment in the Bedlam's Bard series brings back Bard Eric Banyon, now a Juilliard student, and many of his friends from the previous novels. The novel also introduces a...

The adventures of Myhr.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Baen. 385p. c2003. 0-7434-3532-X. $6.99. SA Myrh (rhymes with "purr") is a human-cat hybrid who exists for reasons never explained, as many things are not in this humorous romp. It tells of the adventures of Myrh and his wizard-friend...

The farther shore.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... (Star Trek Voyager: Homecoming, Vol. 2). Pocket Books. 275p. c2003. 0-7434-6755-8. $6.99. JSA This second volume in the Homecoming series follows the problems that the Voyager crew encounters when it finally returns to the Alpha Quadrant....

Club Dead.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... (Southern Vampire Saga). Berkley, Ace. 258p. c2003. 0-441-01051-2. $6.50. SA This is the third installment in the series; however it can be read by itself. Sookie Stackhouse is a strong, independent female who happens to have the gift of...

Lady Knight.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... (Protector of the Small, Book 4). Random House. 431p. c2002. 0-375-81471-X. $5.99. JS * To quote from the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, November 2002: In this last book of the series, set in the medieval fantasy land of Tortall,...

Paint by magic.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Harcourt. 271p. c2002. 0-15-204925-8. $5.95. J Conner is a typical modern kid: video games, after-school activities, a busy family whose members are never home at the same time. Run, run, run is all he does and he loves it, or so he thinks!...

Argonaut.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Tor. 333p. c2002. 0-312-87727-7 $15.95. SA In this novel by the editor of Analog, Lester Ordway, while walking in a public garden, is stung by a unique insect he cannot identify. The sting seems to take an inventory of his memories, and...

Thraxas.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Been. 442p. c1999. 0-7434-7152-0. $799. A Thraxas is not your typical fantasy hero. He's in his forties, paunchy, a heavy drinker, a gambler, living on the edge. He is, however, honest and loyal--and the right guy to get one out of trouble....

Vampire mountain.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... (Cirque du Freak). Little, Brown. 199p. c2002. 0-316-60542-5. $6.50. J Darren Shan is on another adventure with Mr. Crepsley, but this one will take two books to fulfill. They must journey to Vampire Mountain to present Darren to the...

Stableford, Brian. The Omega expedition.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Tor. 544p. c2002. 0-765-30598-4. $17.95. SA In this conclusion to the Emortality series and following Dark Ararat, this futuristic story focuses on two characters who have been cryogenically preserved. One is Adam Zimmerman, a powerful man...

Whinnem, Reade Scott. Utten and Plumley.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Hampton Roads Publishing (1125 Stoney Ridge Rd., Charlottesville, VA 22902). 315p. illus. c2003. 1-57174-346-4. $11.95. J Geared towards younger YAs, this highly imaginative story sends a trio of odd characters through time and space in a...

Zettel, Sarah. A sorcerer's treason; a novel of Isavalta.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Tor. 499p. c2002. 0-765-34374-6. $7.99. SA Bridget Lederle, a single unwed mother in 1899 Wisconsin (an unenviable position even though her baby girl died shortly after birth), has taken over the keeping of the lighthouse at Sand Island...

Berg, Elizabeth. Ordinary life, stories.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Random House. 192p. c2002. 0-8129-6813-1. $12.95. SA This book is a collection of 14 short stories by Berg, who has a gift for writing dialogue that expresses how people communicate between the lines, and how they struggle to connect with...

Haslett, Adam. You are not a stranger here, stories.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Random House, Anchor. 240p. c2002. 0-385-72072-6. $13.00. SA In almost every one of these stories, the main character is suffering from some serious problem. Some of these problems are mental conditions, such as schizophrenia, bipolar...

Pritchard, Melissa. Disappearing ingenue, stories.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Random House, Anchor. 239p. c2002. 0-385-72189-7. $12.00. SA This collection of stories follows the character of Eleanor Stoddard from sixth grade to middle age. Even as a child, Eleanor's personality was slightly off-center and, as she...

Smith, Deborah, ed. Reunion at Mossy Creek; new stories of the South by the authors of Sweet Tea and Jesus Shoes.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Penguin, Berkley. 306p. c2002. 0-425-19122-2. $7.99. SA This collection of short stories, written by ten authors, continues the story of the people of Mossy Creek, a small town in the South, begun in the original collection, Mossy Creek....

Kern, Edmund M. The wisdom of Harry Potter; what our favorite hero teaches us about moral choices.(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Prometheus Books. 296p. notes. bibliog. index. c2003. 1-59102-133-2. JSA Kern, an associate professor of history at Lawrence University, has written this for adults as well as YAs. His thesis is that Rowling's novels present an "updated...

Clewell, David. The low end of higher things.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Univ. of Wisconsin Press. 112p. c2003. 0-299-18574-5. $14.95. SA This is Clewell's seventh collection of poetry, and after reading it my biggest regret is that I haven't read the previous six. The characters, situations, even the...

Crist-Evans, Craig. Moon over Tennessee; a boy's Civil War journal.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Houghton Mifflin. 60p. illus. map. c1999. 0-618-31107-6. $6.95. J This series of prose poems traces the journey of a man and his son to join the Confederate Army in Gettysburg and the fateful battle that doomed the South. The boy narrates...