Reading a Neil Gaiman story is always a treat. You never know what kind of story to expect and are always prepared to be spell bound. Many thanks to Dark Horse Comics and Netgalley for allowing me to read Neil Gaiman's Murder Mysteries.

Description: Constructing and maintaining all of heaven and earth is an immense task, which God has divided up amongst the various ranks and stations of angels. As with any such huge effort, there are bound to be casualties. This unique passion play sheds light on the hands behind creation, as well as one lonely man in Los Angeles who gets to hear the whole story of a most unspeakable crime: a murder in paradise!

 Review: Murder Mysteries is actually a graphic novel adaptation of a Neil Gaiman short story. The graphic novel features a story of deception and vengeance involving the first betrayal, the first heartbreak and the first crime in God's own city of angels. The story is captivating and is unveiled in a nice, comfortable pace. Gaiman gives us his own spin on the angels, most notably is the complex and charismatic Lucifier who is seen as trying to under God's way of thinking rather than just a pure evil being.
   Raguel is a lost angel, a ragged drifter on the streets of Los Angeles, who tells this story to the narrator, a young Brit stranded on his way back to England. In Raguel's former world, the one in which he had wings, he served as the agent of the Lord's vengeance. When an angel was found murdered, Raguel was assigned to find the killer and his motives. Like an ordinary detective, Raguel gathers his suspects and questioned his fellow angels until he discovered the murderer and then delivered the Lord's terrible punishment. It is not until Raguel wreaks God's vengeance does he realize it was God himself who set up this murder making us wonder about human nature, free will, and what we determine to be justice especially as we see another murder, this time contemporary, that happens as the graphic novel ends.
 The drawings in Murder Mysteries are sharp, magical, and a little terrifying which reflect upon the heaven that Gaiman has imagined. Bright colors illuminated a  world of purity and divine experimentation. His crisp and vividly rendered drawings capture the haunting sense of loss and isolation Gaiman expresses in this mythic tale of love and jealousy.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: Some language, a couple of small sex scenes, and some strong violence. Recommended for mature teens and adults.

If you like this book try: Agnes Quill: An Anthology of Mystery by Dave Roman, Lucifier series by Mike Carey

Description: Seventh grader Georges moves into a Brooklyn apartment building and meets Safer, a twelve-year-old self-appointed spy. Georges becomes Safer's first spy recruit. His assignment? Tracking the mysterious Mr. X, who lives in the apartment upstairs. But as Safer becomes more demanding, Georges starts to wonder: what is a lie, and what is a game? How far is too far to go for your only friend?

Review: Seventh grade is not going well for Georges (pronounced George), the only child of an out-of-work Brooklyn architect and a nurse who named him after her favorite painter, pointillist Georges Seurat. Although Georges's mother has taken on double shifts to bring in extra income, the family has had to sell their house and move into an apartment. At school, former best friend Jason, who has started dressing like the skateboarder he isn't, now stands idly aside while bullies harass Georges. Liar and Spy is a book examining all the different and complex aspects of friendships.
  Stead balances Georges's dark, sad period with the introduction of the new neighbors: amateur spy Safer, and his younger sister, Candy, whose parents (in one of many hilarious details) let the kids name themselves. As homeschooled siblings, they offer refreshing perspectives on the ridiculousness of what goes on at Georges's school, including a forthcoming science unit on taste buds that the kids believe forecasts one's destiny. Safer recruits Georges to investigate and observe--using the lobbycam to track a mysterious tenant and binoculars to monitor a nest of wild green parrots--but the biggest secrets are the ones these two boys have buried in their hearts.
 Like Stead's previous novel, When You Reach Me, Liar and Spy has been critically acclaimed and garnered several starred reviews, however, I don't understand the hype. The pacing is quite slow and it stalls in several places, making the reader wonder where and how the many plot lines are going to converge and make sense. There a lot of subtleties and metaphors in this book and I'm not sure whether kids would care enough to find them in this multi-layered story on their own. While there are fascinating characters and intelligent questions presented in the book, it may not appeal enough to kids to finish it.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Words of Caution: None. Recommended for Grades 3 and up.

If you like this book try: Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

 Like many readers, I've been duped before by books that feature a pretty dress on the cover. I was thrilled to read A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Walker because I was really curious about the time period and the connection some reviewers have made to one of my favorite tv shows Downtown Abbey. While it doesn't feature a lot of the drama in Downton Abbey, A Mad Wicked Folly is a solid read about the women's rights movement in Britain and I thoroughly enjoyed it.


Description: Welcome to the world of the fabulously wealthy in London, 1909, where dresses and houses are overwhelmingly opulent, social class means everything, and women are taught to be nothing more than wives and mothers. Into this world comes seventeen-year-old Victoria Darling, who wants only to be an artist—a nearly impossible dream for a girl.
   After Vicky poses nude for her illicit art class, she is expelled from her French finishing school. Shamed and scandalized, her parents try to marry her off to the wealthy Edmund Carrick-Humphrey. But Vicky has other things on her mind: her clandestine application to the Royal College of Art; her participation in the suffragette movement; and her growing attraction to a working-class boy who may be her muse—or may be the love of her life. As the world of debutante balls, corsets, and high society obligations closes in around her, Vicky must figure out: just how much is she willing to sacrifice to pursue her dreams?

Review: A Mad, Wicked Folly is a well written historical fiction novel that explores the women's right movement in Edwardian Britain and one girl's struggle to pursue her dream of being an artist. The title is derived from a statement ironically made by Queen Victoria in 1870 when she declared that women's rights were a "mad, wicked folly." This statement sets the stage for Victoria Darling's plight to moving beyond the set societal boundaries of her sex.
  Victoria Darling is not an ordinary girl. She is affluent, pampered, beautiful, talented, passionate, and wealthy.  Despite these advantages, however, Victoria still struggles with the harsh limitations imposed upon women prior to and during the Edwardian era of 1901-1910, which curtail her attempts to attend art school. While Victoria does not initially support the Suffragette Movement and thinks these women are radicals, she ultimately discovers that her fate is intertwined with the cause.
 The book is written in Victoria's point of view and her earnest voice helps readers to more intimately understand the growing frustration felt by thousands of women during that time. Waller vividly describes the unbearable restrictions placed upon the women from the fashion of tight corsets to the force-feeding implemented to undermine protesters during hunger strikes, and the swift arrests of notable individuals who helped in the movement. I learned quite a lot from this book as I wasn't previously informed by the British Suffragette Movement and I found this part really interesting. Walker clearly did a lot of research about this time period and it shows.
 I think teens will relate to Victoria's story of rebellion as her eyes open to the injustices around her. I admired the brave sacrifices she makes to pursue her dreams. I was worried initially that everything would tie up in a bow at the end, but thankfully, this doesn't happen as Walker stays true to the time period. There is enough detailed information throughout to make this a useful and fascinating book to pair with nonfiction resources about women's history.I would definitely recommend picking this book up if you are in the mood for a good historical fiction novel.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is nudity since the artist is drawing a nude model, some minor language, and underage drinking. Recommended for Grades 8 and up.

If you like this book try: A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly, Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Lawson

  I thoroughly enjoyed reading Cynthia Lord's Rules and was very excited to read her latest book called Half a Chance. Half a Chance is a delightful read which combines the adventures of a summer vacation along with a sensitive and mature look at how a family deals with an ailing member of the family. Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced reader's copy of this book.

Description: When Lucy's family moves to an old house on a lake, Lucy tries to see her new home through her camera's lens, as her father has taught her -- he's a famous photographer, away on a shoot. Will her photos ever meet his high standards? When she discovers that he's judging a photo contest, Lucy decides to enter anonymously. She wants to find out if her eye for photography is really special -- or only good enough.
  As she seeks out subjects for her photos, Lucy gets to know Nate, the boy next door. But slowly the camera reveals what Nate doesn't want to see: his grandmother's memory is slipping away, and with it much of what he cherishes about his summers on the lake. This summer, Nate will learn about the power of art to show truth. And Lucy will learn how beauty can change lives . . . including her own.

Review: Lucy and her parents have moved from an apartment in Boston to a lakeside cottage in New Hampshire. Her father, a prominent nature photographer, is immediately off to Arizona for a photo shoot. Lucy's apprehension of being the new girl and fitting in at a new school is put at rest as she slowly starts making friends. She is welcomed by Nate, whose family is spending the summer with his grandmother in the house next door. Kayaking, hiking, and loon-monitoring with Nate, Lucy chronicles their experiences using her own budding talent for photography, a hobby that she wishes would bring her closer to her self centered father.
  When she learns that Nate's Grandma Lilah's failing health is keeping her from observing her beloved loon family up close, she and Nate devise a plan to rent a motorized raft to take her out on the lake by entering into a photography contest which leads Lucy to face an ethical dilemma in her decision to enter the contest and which photos to use.
 Half a Chance feels like a summer read thanks to the combined vivid, cinematic description of the setting yet it also has depth with deft characterization and handles several important issues with sensitivity, nuance, and great skill. Lucy may seem bland at first, but soon you get wrapped up in her self journey as she grapples with ambivalent feelings of wanting the attention and approval of her father and face rivalry in the face of new friendships. The trips to saving the loons and photography become metaphors for the mutability of life and the importance of savoring captured moments. Young readers would enjoy the relaxed setting but also learn quite a few things along the way.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: None. Recommended for Grades 4 and up.

If you like this book try: Rules by Cynthia Lord, The Center of Everything by Linda Urban, Pie by Sarah Weeks

  In an overcrowding field of YA paranormal books, Half Bad stands out. With a mystery and heart-stopping adventure at its core, Half Bad is about a boy who is on a desperate search to find out his true identity: is a hero or a villain? Many thanks to Penguin and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book.

Description: In modern-day England, witches live alongside humans: White witches, who are good; Black witches, who are evil; and sixteen-year-old Nathan, who is both. Nathan's father is the world's most powerful and cruel Black witch, and his mother is dead. He is hunted from all sides. Trapped in a cage, beaten and handcuffed, Nathan must escape before his seventeenth birthday, at which point he will receive three gifts from his father and come into his own as a witch—or else he will die. But how can Nathan find his father when his every action is tracked, when there is no one safe to trust—not even family, not even the girl he loves?

Review: Nathan has been plagued with one question all his life: is he good or bad?  Nathan is the son of a white, and one the infamous, hated black witch, Marcus. The very fact that he does not belong to one group makes the Council of White Witches uneasy on how to label him.
 I was intrigued by Half Bad from the very beginning, especially since it begins medias res, with Nathan speaking to himself in second person point of view while living in a cage but attempting at every opportunity to escape and being submitted to beatings and ill treatment from a strange woman. The book starts out slowly but picks up the pace quickly as flashbacks reveal Nathan's backstory: his precarious position in society is a result of his mixed parentage, and their hatred for his father Marcus, who murdered many white witches, led to the council of white witches taking the boy from his home with his grandmother and half-siblings to a life as a prisoner. The racial overtones running throughout the novel and the ambiguity of Marcus' villainy, give Half Bad its complexity.
 While these characters inhabit a world that melds the paranormal with real life, the plot centers primarily on witchcraft, but surprisingly there are very few scenes that involve magic. Green shines her spotlight not on the paranormal, but rather on Nathan's character growth. Nathan's feelings of self-loathing that grow as a result of the ostracism he experiences from those around him, coupled with a yearning to know more about Marcus, will resonate with readers. We are able to understand his anguish and alienation, as well his desperation to search for a sense for identity and learn the truth about his father. While there are secondary characters that are interesting, they are a bit underdeveloped. Since Half Bad is the first book in a series, I'm hoping these characters are fleshed out more in the upcoming books. Fans of dark fantasy will find a lot to enjoy in this book and I'm really curious to see where Nathan's journey takes him.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is some strong language and scenes of torture which can get a bit graphic. Recommended for Grades 8 and up.

If you like this book try: Lumatere Chronicles by Melinda Marchetta, Abarat by Clive Barker