Burn Me Deadly

Burn Me Deadly is by Alex Bledsoe. The second installment in the fantasy Eddie LaCrosse series. As Eddie rides home from a job, he is accosted by a girl who has been tortured and seeks a ride into town. He agrees and then finds himself kidnapped by the people who tortured her. They kill her and throw her body and Eddie off the side of a cliff and leave him for dead. But he's not dead, he's pissed, and wants revenge. Fans of this series will love this book.

Ratings: 11th grade - 8 out of 10 - P (profanity) - V (violence) - AC (mature thematic content). 

The Frost Child

The Frost Child is by Eoin McNamee. The third book in the fantasy Navigator series. After Owen killed the Harsh King to save the Resistors from the Harsh's attempt to destroy the world; they want revenge. As Cati, Wesley, and the rest of the Resistors ready for a siege, Owen sails off in the Wayfarer to search for a way to end the Harsh forever. But there is a traitor in their midst. An enjoyable to the conclusion of this trilogy.

Ratings: 6th grade - 7 out of 10. 

Johannes Cabal the Necromancer

Johannes Cabal the Necromancer is by Jonathan L. Howard. The first book in the fantasy Johannes Cabal series. Johannes Cabal sold his soul to the devil and now he wants it back. The devil challenges him to a wager, if he can collect 100 souls for Satan in a year he can have his soul back. Satan gives him a traveling carnival to "help" him. Dr. Faustus meets Something Wicked This Way Comes with a boat load of morbid humor. A wonderfully creepy and funny series. 

Ratings: 10th grade - 9 out of 10 - V (violence) - AC (mature thematic content). 

City of Time

City of Time is by Eoin McNamee. The second book in the fantasy Navigator series. A year after Owen and the Resisters defeated the Harsh, Owen still misses his sleeping friends. Now time seems to be running out literally, the moon is moving closer to the Earth and unless Owen and Cati can find the City of Time and restore time to their world it will end. A charming series, fans of the first book will not be disappointed. 

Ratings: 6th grade - 7 out of 10. 

Selected and Last Poems 1931-2004

Selected and Last Poems 1931-2004 is by Czeslaw Milosz. A wonderful classic work of poetry. Milosz was born in Lithuania in 1911. He went to school in Vilnius, Poland; lived in France and California, returned to Poland and died in 2004. His poetry, even in the English translation which I'm sure loses a lot, is beautiful and a joy to read. 

Ratings - 10th grade - 9 out of 10. 

The Night Country

The Night Country is by Melissa Albert. The second installment in the fantasy Hazel Wood series. Stories are being murdered and Alice must try and discover who is killing them and why, before she is the next dead body. Ellery finds a way out of Hinterland and continues to travel through other strange worlds, but is his new traveling friend all she seems to be? Fans of the series will enjoy this book.

Ratings: 10th grade - 8 out of 10 - V (violence), P (profanity). 

The Huntress

The Huntress is by Kate Quinn. An amazing historical fiction saga. This story centers around four very different people. Nina is a Russian pilot, a member of the famous Night Witches who flew bombing runs during WWII. Ian is a journalist and Tony is a translator; after the war they start a foundation to hunt down Nazi war criminals. Jordan is a teen from Boston whose father owns an antique store. Nina, Ian, and Tony are hunting "The Huntress" a coldblooded female Nazi killer who murdered children, as well as Ian's brother. When Jordan's father decides to marry again, Jordan wonders if her beautiful new stepmother is really who she seems to be. This book slips back and forth in time as you read and is told from Jordan's, Ian's, and Nina's points of view. It is amazing!!! A Readers Corner Highly Recommended Read. 

Ratings: Adult - 10 out of 10 - P (profanity) - AC (adult thematic content) - V (violence). 

The Beekeeper's Apprentice: or, On the Segregation of the Queen

The Beekeeper's Apprentice: or, On the Segregation of the Queen is by Laurie R. King. The first book in the historical fiction Mary Russell mystery series. In 1915, fifteen-year-old orphan Mary Russell steps on a man while reading a book walking through a Sussex field - that man turns out to be Sherlock Holmes, now retired. Holmes discovers that Mary is every bit his intellectual equal, and thus a friendship becomes an apprenticeship and finally a partnership. Fans of Sherlock Holmes will thoroughly enjoy this book - which is almost as good as the original stories. 

Ratings: 11th grade - 10 out of 10 - P (profanity). 

Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune

Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune is by Roselle Lim. This is a wonderful realistic fiction novel imbued with magical realism. Natalie hasn't seen her agoraphobic mother in seven years, since their final quarrel when she left home to follow her own dream. When she is told of her mother's death, she returns to their Chinatown neighborhood and discovers it is in decay. She also finds her mother has left her the restaurant her grandmother had owned before her death. Natalie decides to reopen her grandmother's restaurant, but finds she must confront her own past as well as that of her family. This is a charming book. 

Ratings: 10th grade - 10 out of 10. 

School Spirits

School Spirits is by Rachel Hawkins. The fourth book in the fantasy Hex Hall series. Izzy and her mom come from a long line of monster hunters. When a local high school shows signs of being haunted by a vicious ghost, Izzy must endure the ultimate horror - high school. Fans of the series will enjoy this story.

Ratings: 7th grade - 7 out of 10. 

The Isle of Blood

The Isle of Blood is by Rick Yancey. The third book in the fantasy horror Monstrumologist series. Will Henry and his mentor set out to find the "Holy Grail" of monsters. At least they start out together, then Warthrop leaves Will in New York and heads on the search with a new assistant. Will doesn't trust the sleazy Arkwright and must now set out to save Warthrop from his new assistant and from himself.

Ratings: 10th grade - 8 out of 10 - V (violence). 

The Good Neighbor: The Life & Work of Fred Rogers

The Good Neighbor: The Life & Work of Fred Rogers is by Maxwell King. A magnificent biography of an American legend. Fred Rogers is an American icon, and King's biography gives readers an inside look at this gentle and kind man. He was evidently something of a unicorn in our time "a man who was what he seemed to be." 

Ratings: 11th grade - 9 out of 10 - P (profanity).