How to Get Suspended and Influence People

How to Get Suspended and Influence People
Adam Selzer
Leon is one of the kids in the gifted pool of his junior high. While he considers himself a metal-head to avoid being labeled nerd, Leon feels like he comes from pretty pathetic stock. His dad loves to come up with things that have already been invented and his mom’s hobby is to cook really gross food from other eras, like the 1950’s. At least the other kids in the gifted pool are pretty cool, rebellious kids. When Leon’s teacher assigns a project to make new films for the younger grades, Leon chooses to make a sex-ed film. He figures that there are lots of things kids need to know that never get mentioned in the old films and he sets out to make the best, most memorable sex-ed film he can. To get around the censors, Leon decides he will use nudes from famous paintings; no one can object to great art, right? Wrong. Before Leon’s film is even finished, he gets in big trouble. Will his new infamy land him in the doghouse or make him really popular? This hilarious look at censorship is engaging and depicts a realistic school social class system.
BIBLIO: 2006, Delacorte Press/Random House, 12 up, $15.99.

Time of the Eagle

Okay, this one doesn't come out until July, but it may be the best thing I've read in years, so mark it down and look for it this summer!

Time of the Eagle
Sherryl Jordan
The Shinali people have been exiled from their land for many years, but rather than being discouraged, they look forward to the Time of the Eagle, a time when they will rise up with other displaced peoples and take back their land as the prophecy foretold. Avala is the daughter of a healing woman and a peacemaker who came from the enemy Navorans. On her sixteenth borning-day, Avala receives a new prophecy; that she is to usher in the long-awaited Time of the Eagle, as a peacemaker between all enemy peoples. With so much responsibility on her shoulders, Avala longs to shrug off her destiny and follow her own path. But no one can hide from fate; Avala is swept into powerful events that will change the course of history. The award-winning Jordan crafts a sweeping and unforgettable fantasy epic in a world she has created to parallel our own. Full of love, betrayal, adventure, and memorable characters, this sequel to Secret Sacrament can stand alone as a novel in its own right.
BIBLIO: 2007, Eos/HarperCollins, Ages 14 up, $16.99.

Song of the Sparrow

Song of the Sparrow
Lisa Ann Sandell
Elaine lives among the men and boys of Arthur’s Round Table as a sister, healer, and friend. She is happy with her place in that world and her relationship with Lancelot, Arthur, Gawain, and the others, but is afraid of what will become of them all in the never-ending wars. With Picts invading from the north and Saxons from the south, the Britons are constantly at war. When a new woman arrives in camp, Elaine hopes to find a sister and friend to share her life in this world of men. Instead, she meets the beautiful and divisive Gwynivere. What follows traces the beginnings of Arthur’s reign and plants the seeds for the well-known story of love, loyalty, and betrayal. Told in Elaine’s voice and written in lyrical verse, with lovely depictions of the natural world around her, this is a welcome addition to the ranks of Arthurian novels. Elaine of Astolat, or the Lady of Shalott, is a character of Arthurian legend who has inspired poets and artists for generations; this revisionist novel tells her story in an entirely new and humanizing way.
BIBLIO: 2007, Scholastic, Ages 12 up, $16.99.

Dragon Slippers

Here is the official review of Dragon Slippers. I hope you can tell that I love it! Please ignore the clunky cover art, in this case, you really can't tell a book by its cover!

Dragon Slippers
Jessica Day George
Creel is a poor, orphaned, farm girl with a talent for embroidery. When her aunt decides to sacrifice her to a dragon in order to lure a knight or prince who might marry her, Creel sees it as a way to escape her boring life. She doesn’t expect to meet a real dragon in the caves above her village, so she is even more surprised when the real dragon doesn’t want to eat her. Creel makes a deal to keep the approaching mob away from the dragon’s lair if he gives her a pair of fabulous shoes from his hoard. The shoes Creel picks turn out to be the most valuable treasure in all of her kingdom and they enable her to communicate with the dragons. As she sets off on her way to pursue her dream of working in a dress shop in the king’s city, Creel is rescued from bandits by another friendly dragon. Creel and the dragon Shardas strike up a special friendship that becomes the centerpiece of the novel. Creel continues on to the king’s city where she finds work, friends, and adventure. As the story goes on, Creel discovers that her special shoes have the power to save or destroy the kingdom and she must face the future with bravery. The novel’s female characters are spunky, the dragon lore is well-crafted, and the story is a balance of comic and tragic elements. This is a fun first novel from George that would delight fantasy fans of Shannon Hale or Gail Carson Levine.