Chasing Lincoln's Killer

Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I could not put this book down. An amazing account of the 12 days following Lincoln's assassination, with very cool photos to accompany the text. It reads like a murder mystery, and I had to keep telling myself that John Wilkes Booth's despicable act brutally ended the life of one of the most important people our nation has ever known. This is a great companion read to Ann Rinaldi's book, "An Acquantaince with Darkness".

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Found

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A very good story from Margaret Peterson Haddix, who brought us "Among the Hidden". This book will also be a series,her sequel "Sent" is already out. This science fiction tale has a couple of 13 year-olds who have gotten mysterious letters saying simply "You are one of the missing". We know from the start that 13 years before, a plane landed at an airport with no crew, no adult passengers, just babies. A page-turner, for sure.

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How I Live Now

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
An interesting story about terror attacks, anorexia, young love, the English countryside, and the resiliency of kids learning to cope with whatever the world throws at them. Daisy, an anorexic 15 year-old who has been banished to England to live with her aunt and cousins because of her "wicked step-mother", finds herself in a country taken over by "the enemy", leaving the kids on the family farm with no electricity, Internet or phone service. A well-written story, the author has the dialogue and thoughts of the teen down perfect.

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Deep and Dark and Dangerous

Deep and Dark and Dangerous: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a scary, page-turner of a ghost story. Ali is a 13 year-old girl who is asked to babysit her young cousin for the summer, while her artist aunt wants to work on her painting. They are in a cabin in Maine, a cabin that Ali's mom and aunt used to visit every summer as young girls, until a tragic drowning accident. Now, Ali's mom and aunt can't (or won't) discuss that long-ago summer, but Ali is drawn into the mystery by forces beyond her control. A good, well-written, creepy ghost story.

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The Boy Who Dared

The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Wow, this book was both frightening and inspiring. This is a story based on the real life of Helmuth, a teen-ager who was a reluctant member of the Hitler Youth. The story is told in flashbacks, as Helmuth is facing his execution for crimes against the Nazi government. The photos in the book, especially a close-up of Helmuth, with very sad eyes, make the story even more chilling. This is a great addition to any young person's historical fiction collection. Bartoletti does a great job in depicting what life was like for those Germans who disagreed with the Nazi regime.

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