Scowler by Daniel Kraus. Delacorte Press, Random House. 2013. Review copy from publisher. The Plot: August, 1981. Changes are coming; Ry Burke, 19, knows this. The family farm is dying and he, his mother, Jo Beth, and his eleven year old sister Sarah, will have to leave. Sarah hunts the sky for changes of a [...]
Weekly Reviews: Literary Fiction

Today’s reviewed novels are most likely to appeal to strong, mature teen readers looking for a challenge. Yet each includes a teen character, an authentic teen voice, that will keep the adventurous reading. The starred review belongs to A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. This novel is difficult to categorize. It begins [...]
Weekly Reviews: Graffiti
I fully admit that this may seem strange to many readers of this blog, but one of my favorite things to do after reading a historical novel is to read up about the facts of the history the novelist used. Similarly, if a novel I’m reading revolves around some particular subject–anthropology, math, whatever–I tend to [...]
Weekly Reviews: Portraying the Famous (and Infamous)

Today we review three novels with famous people as their subjects. The first is Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. Teens continue to be fascinated by the Jazz Age and they read the novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald, not only in literature classes but also for fun. (So I learned in a recent discussion with [...]
Review: In Darkness
JLG’s On the Radar: Historical Picture Books for Older Readers
Review of the Day: One Came Home by Amy Timberlake
Weekly Reviews: Historical Fiction
Some of you might think I’m stretching the definition of historical fiction with the first book up today. But if we consider historical fiction as works in which historical backdrop plays a strong role in the story, I think this qualifies. In any case, I am excited to introduce My One Square Inch of Alaska, a traditional [...]
More of the books!
Karyn just posted an impressive roundup of last minute reading, so I’m chiming in with some more. With Monday morning’s announcement looming large, it seems like everyone is trying to sprint through their last minute reads in order to feel prepared. Wonder Show by Hannah Barnaby Houghton Mifflin, March 2012 Reviewed from an ARC This [...]
Consider the Source: Getting History Right
The 2013 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction
The 2013 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction goes to Louise Erdrich for Chickadee, published by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. The annual award, created by Scott O’Dell and Zena Sutherland in 1982 and now administered by Elizabeth Hall, carries with it a prize of $5000, and goes to the author of a distinguished [...]
The post The 2013 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction appeared first on The Horn Book.
The Twelve Tribes of Hattie
The first big breakout novel of 2013 was actually published in 2012, thanks to Oprah’s Book Club. The Twelve Tribes of Hattie was originally scheduled to be published this month, but after Oprah’s big announcement, Knopf moved up the publication date. With recent reviews in the New York Times, Washington Post, L.A. Times, you name [...]
Review: Wonder Show
Wonder Show by Hannah Barnaby. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2012. Review copy from publisher. Morris Finalist. The Plot: Portia Remini has not run away from home to join the circus. First, its’s a carnival, not a circus, and it’s called Mosco’s Traveling Wonder Show. Second, it was not home, not a home with parents or family. Parents [...]
Dodger
Dodger, Terry Pratchett Harper, October 2012 Reviewed from ARC So, Dodger is a heartsong book for me. I realize it’s not perfect — certainly not with regard to accuracy, which we’ll get to in a moment — but it is almost perfectly put together, and is certainly enough of an exemplar of voice, style and [...]
Weekly Reviews: Girls
Title Girls are all that tie these three books together. Otherwise, the combination serves as a great example of the variety of books that appeal to different teen readers.
We begin with a rather intellectual historical fiction novel, Eight Girls Taking Pictures. The tie-in to the arts is a great hook for young adults. Photography is [...]
Code Name Verity
Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein
Hyperion, May 2012
Reviewed from ARC
At last! I finally get to write about my one true love of the year, the book I will champion against all others as the be all, end all best book of the year.
(Sorry, Railsea, you rock, but you’re still not number one, Pyrite nomination notwithstanding.)
Oh god, [...]
Middle Age Girl Power: Grave Mercy vs The Wicked and the Just
Grave Mercy and The Wicked and the Just are, in so many ways, polar opposites.
But how often do we see YA books set in the Middle Ages? Not very, which makes it almost impossible not to think of these in a compare and contrast essay. So that’s what you get.
Both feature strong female heroines, well [...]
Does Never Fall Down Stand Up to the Hype?
Never Fall Down, Patricia McCormick
Balzer + Bray, May 2012
Reviewed from ARC
National Book Award Finalist. Three stars. Patricia McCormick. Never Fall Down is a critical and popular darling, and there is absolutely no question about the emotional impact of the story. You would need to be a stone to stay dry-eyed reading about the atrocities Arn [...]











