(4) YA Because her mom is a minister, Natalie Shelton holds herself to high standards. Called to a pulpit in L.A., the Sheltons make compromises, even moral ones. When Natalie befriends a celebutante, she learns the true definitions of faith and goodness. While it's refreshing to see a well-rounded Christian protagonist, the otherwise flat characterizations--and excessive brand-name-dropping--take some shine off the story.

Reviewer: Brittany Schlorff

(4) YA After sixteen-year-old Kate and her family move from New York to Tennessee, she helps protest her new school's mascot--the Rebels--and the Confederate flag. When her sister is shot, Kate writes a play (reproduced in the book) about the situation. The story suffers from some uneven writing but presents its subject matter in an unconventional way.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(4) YA While visiting a Holocaust museum, Nicole slips back to 1942 occupied France and lives a life similar to Anne Frank's (she even meets Frank on a transport). Despite the questionable taste of using Anne Frank's experience as a time-travel adventure for an American Gentile, strong writing creates an affecting story that helps modern readers try to grasp the unimaginable horror.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) 4-6 Ten-year-old Becky Zaslow endures painful leukemia treatments with comfort from her fantasy trio of singing zebras, a device Bennett took from the writings of an actual young cancer patient. Bennett's inclusion of long, flippant narratives about the zebras' African herd breaks up the tone of the book, which is otherwise a deeply affecting account of Becky's illness and death.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) YA When pageant queen Lara begins gaining weight, no amount of dieting and exercise seems to help. It turns out she has a rare disease--so rare it only exists in this novel. The author's use of an imaginary disease to fuel an examination of very real problems subverts any pretensions to seriousness the book might have had; in fact, this is the kind of book that succeeds despite its author's best intentions. Like a two-pound box of chocolates, it's pure guilty pleasure.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.