Who would like this book? Everyone, especialy if you are interested in Shakespeare! It is an easy read, though.

Why? This book is about an outsider girl who has just moved into a new house. She then finds out (by a cute boy) that there is a mystery in this house about a stolen diamond that no one could locate. Unknown truths about Shakespeare are later revealed.

The details: 258 p. 2005   Submitted by Tessa

Why? The opening scene of Ludlow Fitch’s memoirs is gruesome. His despicable parents are attempting to get Ludlow’s teeth pulled so that they can sell them to buy drink, but he escapes and after a hair-raising chase, grabs a carriage and ends up in a small village, far from the dark and dingy city. In the village of Pargus Parvus, Ludlow finds his way to Joe Zabbidou, another newcomer who is setting up a pawnbroker shop. Though Joe is a regular pawnbroker by day, come midnight he is a secret pawnbroker, paying for the darkest secrets that torture the deepest part of the souls of the people of the village. One by one, they unburden themselves to Joe as Ludlow writes their confessions down. The narration alternates between the story, Ludlow’s memoirs, and the confessions of the Black Book of Secrets. F. E. Higgins makes this combination work well, building a Dickensian atmosphere and giving a full sense of Ludlow’s hopes and fears. The style of writing fits the setting and events so well that it makes it a pleasure to read about the terrible events.

The details: 272 p. 2007  Review by Samrarian

Why? Fabrizio, an impoverished orphan, knows the hunger and cold of the streets and therefore wants to earn the approval of Mangus the magician, for he wants to become his apprentice. Fabrizio is uneducated, though, and his attempts at pleasing Mangus are unsuccessful. Their relationship takes a turn when a plot to kill the king surfaces and Mangus is implicated because the magistrate (judge) believes that his “magic” is evil even though Mangus insists that his magic is simply illusion. When another kind of “magic” surfaces – printed pages that are exact duplicates (impossible before the printing press), the plot thickens. Fabrizio blunders his way through arrests and escapes, murder and deceit, trying to prove that he is worthy to be an apprentice to Mangus. Though the characters are not complex enough to jump off the page, the plot moves quickly and embroils them in such a fix that I had to keep reading to see if they could untangle themselves without dying first. The surprising twists at the end are fun and satisfying for anyone who likes mysteries.

The details: 254 p. 2009   Review by Samrarian

Why? The book opens with a quote by Albert Einstein: “The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious.” When you Reach Me, though set in the harsh urban reality of Manhattan in the 1970s, is full of this mystery and ultimately delivers on its beauty. Miranda, a 6th grader, lives with her feisty mother, a paralegal who has her sights set on winning $10,000 on Dick Clark’s $20,000 Pyramid game show. She tries to teach Miranda how to stay safe on the streets, but challenges and mysteries undercut her efforts. When Miranda’s longtime friend Sal gets jumped and beaten up as they walk home from school, her life turns inside out. The appearance of mysterious letters and the mysterious disappearance of key items stymies her efforts to make sense of her changing world. Madeline L’Engle’s novel A Wrinkle in Time holds Miranda’s world together, and her contemplation of its ideas of time and space give Miranda the tools that she needs to understand this changing world. This book has multiple themes, many richly drawn characters, and a deliberate style that will please careful readers who like the hunt for hidden clues. This book is not for readers who like fast-paced page turners. It just won the 2009 Newberry Award, and I hope that this honor will help it get a different cover.

The details: 197 p. 2009 Submitted by Samrarian

Why? In the opening chapter of Shift, readers know that Chris Collins (the narrator of the book), has a significant problem. He and his best friend Win rode their bikes from West Virginia to Washington during the summer, and now Chris is trying to get settled as a freshman at Georgia Tech. The trouble is that his friend Win ditched him at the end of their bike trip and has disappeared. He has not returned home, as Chris expected, and has not shown up for his classes at the prestigious Dartmouth, where his influential father pulled some strings to get him in. Win’s wealthy, powerful father has hired an FBI agent to find out what happened to Win, and Chris is on the top of the list of suspects. How can Chris prove that he is innocent? How can he find out what really happened to Win? The stakes get higher when Win’s dad threatens the financial stability of Chris’s family. Chris pieces the mystery together as the chapters alternate between the cross-country bike trip of the previous summer and the present time at Georgia Tech. The plot drives to a satisfying climax when the past catches up to the present. The relationship between Win and Chris deepens this page-turning mystery. I couldn’t put it down. It’s on the ALA’s list of 2008 Best Book for Young Adults.

The details: 245 p. 2008   Submitted by Samrarian

Who would like this book? People who like mystery and action-adventure books.

Why? I read about 100 Pages of this book in September. I never really seemed to ge into it too much. I decided to finish it over the break. I read it in less then two days. This book is the best book I have ever read by far! It’s about two adopted friends who get letters from unknown people. They have no idea who their birth parents are. They go on a journey, discover lists of “witnesses” and “victims,” and they try to find out who they are. It comes to a climax at the “Adopted Kids” meeting. Read to find out where all these kids come from! This book is really unpredictable.

The details: 314 p. 2008  Submitted by Maddie

Who would like this book? Someone who likes mystery.

Why? A young girl seeks to find why her family is acting so weird and why they’re hiding stuff about her and her life when she was younger.

The details: 218 p. 2005 Submitted by Alexis

Why? In If the Witness Lied, four siblings have lost first their mother to cancer and then their father to a freak accident involving the brake of his Jeep. Their mother died after refusing chemotherapy treatment, choosing instead to carry her fourth child to term. This baby, Tris, lives. A couple of years later, Tris caused his father’s death by releasing the Jeep’s brake while his father is under the wheel. The three older siblings not only have to wrestle with these deaths, but they have to navigate their greedy Aunt Cheryl, who has plans to turn their family tragedy into a television reality show. Though the essential question of the title is answered early in the book, it doesn’t take away from the tension. The relationships of the siblings Jack, Madison, and Smithy and their efforts to set things right kept me turning the pages until I finished.

The details: 213 p. 2009  Review by Samrarian

Why? It’s 1906 in London and Theo Throckmorton, the 11-year-old daughter of archeologists and curators of the  Museum of Legends and Antiquities, has her hands full. Theo is uniquely gifted in that she senses the evil curses inscribed into the ancient artifacts that her parents naively bring to London from the ancient tombs in Egypt. Theo does everything she can to protect her parents and herself, studying ancient texts to learn how to ward off the dark magic. Her parents’ work keeps them constantly busy, an extreme frustration to Theo, and they do not recognize her talents. When her mother arrives from her most recent expedition with a priceless Egyptian artifact, Theo plunges into an intriguing adventure full of mystery, suspense, and captivating details about Ancient Egypt. The power of this particular Egyptian artifact weilds influence over international affairs, so the stakes are high for Theo and the two secret societies that are vying for control over the artifact. I had a great time reading this book, which felt like an Indianna Jones ride to me.

The details: 343 p. 2007  Review by Samrarian

Why? Summer days in Ondine, Louisiana are long, hot, and humid. Nothing happens and there is nothing for  teenagers to do. Fourteen-year-old Iris and her friend Collette are trying to stir up some excitement by playing around at casting spells in the town’s old cemetery. Iris does not expect to actually hear from a ghost, so when she hears, “Where y’at, Iris?” in a distinctive voice and sees a boy who nobody else hears or sees, she plunges into a chilling quest to find out who he is and what he wants. As Iris, Collette, and Collette’s boyfriend Ben go from the cemetery to the witchboard (like a Ouija board) to the library’s archives to Elijah’s disturbed mother, Elijah’s ghost becomes increasingly aggressive toward Iris. The story takes surprising twists and is full of  suspense. I couldn’t put it down, and the ending worked for me. Shadowed Summer is a good ghost story/mystery during any season.

The details: 183 p. 2009   Review by Samrarian

14-year-old Iris