★★★★★ That morning, Dad lost his car keys. Again. Russ's dad cannot find his keys...but lucky for him, Russ heard a few things.. "...a strange buzzing sound did wake me up last night." Russ decides to investigate... and finds something astonishing. "I snuck out of bed and couldn't believe my eyes! A small blimp was floating next… Continue reading Relay – Roy Lieberman

★★★ ½ "My Friend Lincoln says you have two dads." "That's right. Poppa and Daddy." A little girl is playing on the playground when a boy visits her...with a few "tough" questions. He wants to know if she has two dads (she does) and what they do. "Poppa's the one when I need braids. Daddy is… Continue reading A Tale of Two Daddies

★★★★ What happens when perfection isn't good enough? Undergoing the Pretty Transformation - aka the mandated set of operations at age 16 designed to make everyone as beautiful as possible - was all that Tally ever dreamed of.... Well, until (in typical YA fashion), she learns that her loving and kind government actually inserted lesions into the brain thus neutering the… Continue reading Pretties – Scott Westerfeld

★★★★ ½ And yet, here I am, doing whatever the hell I want because it's my book. John Marszalkowski, podcaster, musician, photographer, stay-at-home dad, has now added one more career to his name - author. The reviews of this book (if I can find anyone willing to review it) will probably be hilariously mean. Sorry John, I… Continue reading Buy My Book – John Edward Marszalkowski

★★★ ½ The Dark Horseman "And who shall we put in the coffin?" "No need to draw lots" said the leader. "Lay Jemmy Nowlan in the coffin." Poor Jemmy Nowlan is whisked away on an unbelievable adventure...one that take his life at any moment. This one was interesting but a bit abrupt with the plot -… Continue reading Between Worlds – Kevin Crossley-Holland

★★★★★ "You're scary, Mommy." Viv was laughing. "I mean, you're scared, Mommy." Molly, archaeologist, mother of two (Viv and Ben) and possibly insane, has just stumbled upon a mystery so dangerous that she can feel her mind breaking. It started at work. In "The Pit" - a dig site that contained dozens of vibrantly new plant species perfectly… Continue reading The Need – Helen Phillips

★★★★★ “In a world of extreme beauty, anyone normal is ugly.” In Tally Youngblood's society, everyone obtains absolute physical perfection - the perfect skin, hair, eyes, literally everything. At least, after you turn sixteen and undergo the right operations. Tally, at age 15, is an Ugly right now but after her birthday, she will get to become Pretty. She can… Continue reading Uglies – Scott Westerfeld