(4) YA This revised and updated volume provides adequate general background on the volatile country. Report writers looking for up-to-date information on this constantly changing area will need to supplement their research. Many photographs of the people and places, in addition to maps, illustrate the text, which tends to generalize. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(4) YA When stylish, popular Shay wakes up naked in 1978 she can't believe it. Neither can Tyler, the geek who finds her. Despite their opposite personalities, their friendship grows as they slowly learn from each other. Although the time travel premise is weak, the generation gap and the characters' contrasting personalities are well defined.

Reviewer: Lauren Maggio

(3) YA Michael, a gangly high schooler who is better at getting grades than girls, keeps a witty journal during his hormone-drenched freshman year. The breezy entries winningly chronicle his stabs at romance as well as his dismay over his single mother's pregnancy and his unraveling relationship with his irresponsible father.

Reviewer: Gay Pampalone

(4) YA Modern Middle East Nations and Their Strategic Place in the World series. These surveys, intended for report writers, try to be up to the minute in terms of political events but must be supplemented by current sources. They provide adequate background material on geography, history, people (including minority groups), and foreign relations. The photos are clear, but the stylized borders on some pages are distracting. There are seventeen other fall 2003 books in this series. Chronology, reading list, websites. Glos., ind. [Review covers these Modern Middle East Nations and Their Strategic Place in the World titles: Israel, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Yemen, and Iraq.]

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt