(1) YA Alexander's (The Crossover, rev. 5/14; The Undefeated, rev. 3/19) latest verse novel, the first in a projected trilogy, is historical fiction set in 1860, in the Asante Kingdom village of Upper Kwanta. Kofi Offin learns about the world through his storyteller grandfather Nana Mosi: how he came to be named after the river; the origin of the rivalry with neighboring Lower Kwanta; and the history of "the wonderfuls," the white colonials who have claimed dominion over their nation of Ghana. While Kofi's school teacher has an affinity for all things British (he's "on a mission to capsize our culture," Nana says), Kofi is content to learn from his grandfather, even as his own highly engaging story plays out through interactions with those around him. There's Ama, Kofi's childhood friend and the most beautiful girl he's ever seen; his best friend Ebo; and the cousin who torments Kofi. And there's his older brother Kwasi, the newest athlete to compete in the village games during the Annual Kings festival. When a wrestling contest results in tragedy, the tentative peace with Lower Kwanta is broken. As a result, Kofi is taken captive, and the book now becomes a searing chronicle of the terror that will carry him to "the door of no return" and far from home. A master storyteller himself, Alexander has taken great care to incorporate familiar West African sayings, folklore characters, and rituals. Themes of conflict within and between cultures, and of war and peace, hate and love, despair and hope are deeply embedded throughout this gripping tale that forefronts the humanity of those who were forced into slavery.

Reviewer: Eboni Njoku | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

(3) YA American teen Taylor Sorenson, son of a Special Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in 1968 Vietnam, sneaks out to explore Saigon on his own on the night the Tet Offensive begins and is kidnapped by North Vietnamese soldiers. Marched along the Ho Chi Minh Trail as a POW, Taylor sees wartime atrocities firsthand. An appended author's note adds context to this harrowing historical novel.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) YA High-school senior Charlotte idolizes her father, a journalist who "specializes in devastation," traveling to places that have been ravaged by natural disasters. When he is kidnapped while reporting on an earthquake in Ukraine, Charlotte struggles to connect with her withdrawn Russian mother. A quiet and sensitive story that taps into the heart of grief, familial relationships, and the healing power of art.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(2) YA Prisoners of Peace series. A newly minted AI, Greta (The Scorpion Rules) is struggling with the differences between her formerly human self and her new self. She finds surprising solace in her relationship with Talis, the AI dictator for peace, and the Swan Riders, members of Talis's army. Standout world-building and the exploration of big questions that science fiction so readily facilitates (e.g., what makes us human?) will satisfy readers.

Reviewer: Kazia Berkley-Cramer | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2016

(3) YA Fifteen-year-old Anna is heading back to boarding school in England in 1970 when her plane from Bahrain is hijacked by Palestinian militants. This fast-paced, historically contextualized, and gripping story includes the right mix of foreshadowing, anticipation, and relief as Anna's four-day ordeal unfolds. A postscript and Q&A discuss the author's own hijacked-plane experience as a teenager, upon which the story is based.

Reviewer: Lauren Causey

(4) YA Robyn's father is the prime minister of the U.K. It's a stressful job for his family, but he's always promised Robyn she would be safe. Then Robyn is kidnapped by a group of eco-terrorists. The terrorists' motives are intriguing--readers are left to determine if their cause is moral--but a half-baked romance between Robyn and a captor eventually dominates this debut novel.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(4) 4-6 Shadow Squadron series. Illustrated by Wilson Tortosa & Benny Fuentes. Lt. Commander Cross's elite special forces team travels to Yemen to capture an Iraqi bomb-maker (Dark). In Sand, they're charged with rescuing a senator's kidnapped son in Mali. Illustrated with dark, tense artwork, these military adventures are designed to resemble classified military reports, including dossiers on the stock characters, mission briefings/debriefings, and an author interview. Short glossaries ("Com Chatter") precede each action-heavy chapter. Review covers these Shadow Squadron titles: Dark Agent and Sand Spider

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(4) 4-6 Shadow Squadron series. These books star an elite U.S. military special ops force. In White Needle the squad prevents Syrian rebels from using stolen chemical weapons. In Phantom Sun it saves eight American scientists held hostage in Antarctica by Russian forces. Designed to resemble classified military reports, the high-octane stories are accompanied by action-packed illustrations. There's not much character development, but that's not the point. Review covers these Shadow Squadron titles: Phantom Sun and White Needle.

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(4) YA When a sudden snowstorm interrupts their drive to the Grand Tetons, Britt and her best friend seek shelter in a cabin where two fugitives have holed up. The men--possibly serial killers--force Britt to be their mountain guide. It's Lifetime-movie-plot fare (Britt pines for her ex and falls for one of her captors, while trudging through snow), but this thriller is compulsively readable.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(3) 4-6 Anna, José, and Henry (Capture the Flag; Hide and Seek), junior members of the Silver Jaguar Society, are in Paris trying to track down several stolen works of art, including the Mona Lisa. Between the exciting backdrop of Paris and the Louvre and the suspenseful, fast-moving plot, fans of the mystery-adventure series will be pleased. A historical author's note is included.

Reviewer: Aimee Chevrette Bear

(4) 4-6 U.S. Special Forces series. These informative volumes highlight three Special Forces units' history, selection criteria, training, and weaponry. Notable accomplishments (especially anti-terrorism initiatives and hostage rescues) and controversies, as well as treatment in film, literature, and the media, are covered. Large color photos and well-placed sidebars support the main texts; the tiny type-size may be off-putting to some readers. There are three other fall 2014 books in this series. Reading list, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these U.S. Special Forces titles: FBI Hostage Rescue, Green Berets, and Navy Seals.

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(2) 4-6 When a desperate-seeming man forces his way into their house Annie and her brother Rew are terrified, but Gran is unmoved: the man is her son, and the children's father, whom they thought to be long dead. Despite herself, Annie is intrigued by her father, and this ambivalence is what makes Gewirtz's story so compelling as the characters navigate an ever-shifting notion of family.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2013

(3) YA The last way seventeen-year-old Amy wants to spend the summer after high school is sailing around the world with her father and new stepmother. When Somali pirates hijack the family's yacht, the sullen, entitled teen forms a surprising bond with one of their captors. Lake's sensitive character development and sophisticated storytelling (including alternate endings) helps elicit readers' sympathies for his complex characters.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl

(4) YA While volunteering in a first-grade classroom, exes Emery and Jake find themselves responsible for the kids' lives when a student's disgruntled father with PTSD takes the class hostage. The two teens must overcome their personal gripes and come together to save the children and each other. The middle drags, but this headline-driven story told in alternating perspectives is suspenseful and poignant.

Reviewer: Randy Ribay

(4) 4-6 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers series. In this fourth installment of the interactive series, siblings Amy, sixteen, and Dan, thirteen, continue to track down priceless treasures to ensure the safety of their family members being held hostage by the Vespers. The stakes are raised when one of the hostages is separated from the pack, but multiple side stories and characters cause the plot to lose focus.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(4) YA Nine distinct characters--including a teen survivor of domestic abuse, an elderly teacher, and a calculating thief--chronicle the planning, execution, and aftermath of a fast food restaurant holdup that goes terribly wrong. Strong and detailed until the final few sections, this story wraps up quickly and bloodlessly, detracting slightly from the holdup's tense reality.

Reviewer: Lauren Maggio

(3) YA Orca Currents series. Dan Hogg, a.k.a. Pigboy, can't believe his bad luck when his class takes a field trip to a pig farm. He's prepared for taunting, but not the deadly situation waiting at the farm or his unlikely role as hero. This slim but well-developed novel clearly targets reluctant readers and is memorable for its sustained intensity.

Reviewer: Lauren Maggio

(4) 4-6 Terrorist Dossiers series. These four volumes examine counterterrorism groups in the United States and abroad and recount specific raids and rescues in the Mideast, Great Britain, and Africa. The historical focus is valuable (almost all the material concerns pre-9/11 acts of terrorism), but the dry prose and dull black-and-white photos make the books less engaging than they should be. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Terrorist Dossiers titles: Against All Odds, Global Counterstrike, Targeting Terror, and U.S. Counterstrike.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta