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Sixth grader Mary Claire O'Brien wants to one day become Mother Superior and writes a letter to the local mother superior to explain why. In the sometimes humorous correspondence that develops between the two, she not only wonders about the requirements to become a nun (before she starts liking boys too much), but also about the rapidly changing Catholic church in 1967. As Mary Claire attempts to improve her behavior (she's hoping to also become a saint) she becomes aware of exactly how many times she sins everyday by the weight of pebbles she keeps in her pockets. This could be a problem in her future career, not to mention that she's not sure she could give the vow of obedience. In addition to her saint training, there are other things happening around her that she doesn't understand. For example, two of her brothers are at odds with their father, one because he's not out of high school and wants to enlist in the army to fight in the Vietnam war, and the other because he's trying to receive the conscientious objector status so he won't be drafted and have to fight in that war. As well, the recent riots in Milwaukee concerning unfair housing and segregated public schools force a statement from the local priest Father Gropi concerning his views on civil rights. But her mother's decision to find a job outside the house as the woman's movement takes hold might be the issue with which Mary Claire must grapple the most. How will she handle the ridicule from her friends and their parents, with whom she is already having a shaky relationship? The tumultuous setting forces Mary Claire to learn about herself and to consider her future in a way that might not have been possible prior to the combination of these events. This coming-of-age story is recommended not only for those readers in grades 6-9 who might have a religious interest in the changes occurring in the Catholic Church, but also to those who are interested in fiction based on historical events. There is a brief scene with mention of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. This book will become available at Wright Library after its publication in September. 
While most novels in the Redwall series by Brian Jacques focus on Redwall Abbey¸ this novel, as its name suggests, focuses on the invasion of the seaside fortress of the Badger Lords, Salamandastron, carved long ago from the recesses of an extinct volcano. In the novel, Badger Lord Urthstripe the Strong and his trusty Long Patrol army of hares face off with the invading weasel warlord Ferahgo the Assassin and his pillaging army. As Ferahgo and his horde ultimately breach Salamanstron’s defenses, Samkim and Arula, two questing Redwallers in search of the Sword of Martin the Warrior, and Urthstripe’s long lost brother arrive at the nick of time with reinforcements, ultimately turning the tide of the battle. The secondary plot strand consists of the otter Thrugg’s quest to find the mystical Flowers of Icetor, the only cure for the Dryditch Fever currently plaguing Redwall Abbey.
While it is not the latest pop fiction rage, Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves—written by that master of English prose, P. G. Wodehouse—is just as sarcastic, satirical, engrossing, and uplifting today as when it was first published, decades ago. Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves is another tale in the Wooster and Jeeves canon. Bertram Wooster, an idle, foppish, and extremely rich young Briton, and his trusty butler, Jeeves, are put once more through a hilarious chain of events beginning with a return trip to Totleigh Towers, the dreaded stronghold of the “loony” Basset family. As Bertie attempts to put right a broken off engagement between a childhood friend, Gussie Fink-Nottle, and Madeleine Basset—she is trying to force Gussie, a steak and kidney pie connoisseur, to become a vegetarian—he is also enlisted by his robust Aunt Dahlia to pinch an “objet d’art” the Basset family possesses in order to add to her husband’s collection. Add to this the exploits of young Stiffy Byng and her clumsy fiancé, Harold “Stinker” Pinker, and the recipe for a hilarious novel is complete.
In the Redwall universe, anthropomorphic animal heroes—including badgers. mice, otters, moles, and shrews—go on quests and battle evil “vermin” foes—such as wildcats, rats, and weasels. To be sure, such a description may sound childish and even ludicrous to teenage readers more used to reading about gory murders, or, at least, morose psychological conflicts. Nevertheless, the entire Redwall series is extremely entertaining and engrossing, both for younger readers and teens. The beautiful descriptions of food and adventure, the featured ballads, and the famed storytelling genius of author Brian Jacques results in a series of timeless novels.
I recently had the pleasure of hearing the author read an excerpt from this novel and was very eager to read it myself after hearing the cliffhanger she ended with. This is a very different sort of abduction story from "Living Dead Girl" (reviewed May 2009) although they both have the same theme. Gemma, a 16-year-old London girl is abducted from the Bangkok airport while her family is traveling to Vietnam. She is taken to the Australian desert by a 25-year-old man who has made preparations for them both to live there forever. Literally. Stores of food, equipment, and anti-venoms to poisonous creatures have been collected to ensure a very long stay in the barren place where no one else would dare to live, or find them. In his twisted mind, the good-looking Ty is saving Gemma, a girl he had become enamored with back in London, from the shallowness of the city. Reality, he says, is there in the desert. And little by little, after failed escaped attempts and special treatment by her kidnapper, Gemma begins to believe him. A captured camel who slowly accepts her fate parallels Gemma's gradual acceptance and emotional bond with her captor, who becomes the likable villain. This book is recommended for readers in grades 9 and up. There is no sex or torture in this story. 
Fourth in the famed Artemis Fowl series, The Opal Deception follows a complex and engrossing storyline as Artemis Fowl, teenage billionaire, genius, and Napoleon of Crime, is pitted against his familiar foe, the devilish Opal Koboi. Towards the beginning of the novel, Artemis is blissfully unaware of the Fairy World below, as he was mind-wiped towards the end of book #3 The Eternity Code. Artemis is merely orchestrating a routinely spectacular crime—the theft of a priceless painting—when the latest Opal Koboi scheme drags him down, once more, into the subterranean Fairy World. This time, Artemis, Butler, and their trusted fairy friends, Captain Holly Short, the dwarf Mulch Diggums, and the centaur Foaly, thwart Koboi’s latest disguised attempt to cause worldwide disaster.
The final installment of the Bartimaeus trilogy, Ptolemy’s Gate, by Jonathan Stroud, will not fail to please even the most discerning of readers. Like its two prequels, this novel is chock full of intriguing twists and turns and is steeped in political intrigue and sorcery. The plot consists of the latest exploits of Nathaniel, also known by his assumed name John Mandrake, as he works as a minister in the British government, now dominated by tyrannical magicians. Nathaniel, as with all sorcerers, draws his magic from demons, and the novel focuses on the relationship between the sorcerers and their demon slaves, in particular that of Nathaniel and the demon Bartimaeus. In addition to Nathaniel’s self development, Ptolemy’s Gate also describes the exploits of Kitty Jones, a leader of the Resistance movement against the authoritarian sorcerer-ministers of the London government. At the conclusion of the novel, Nathaniel, helped along the way by his former foe Kitty, follows in the footsteps of the compassionate sorcerer Ptolemy and finally surmounts his past fears and feelings of inferiority and isolation.
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