(4) 4-6 Hot Topics in Media series. This middle-grade series explores controversial issues in the media. Once considered a bad influence on children, comics and graphic novels are now far more accepted; this book focuses on the genre's history, beginning with comic books in the 1930s. The page design is uninspired, but photos and sidebars enhance the texts, and discussion questions prompt critical thinking. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(3) YA Technology Pioneers series. Emphasizing the details of their business successes rather than their personal lives, these profiles provide young readers with inspirational, true stories of how Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos developed their start-up technology ventures into huge and profitable companies whose products and services permeate our lives. Color photos and sidebars support the workmanlike prose. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Technology Pioneers titles: Facebook, Microsoft, and Amazon.com.

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(3) YA Technology Pioneers series. Emphasizing the details of their business successes rather than their personal lives, these profiles provide young readers with inspirational, true stories of how Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos developed their start-up technology ventures into huge and profitable companies whose products and services permeate our lives. Color photos and sidebars support the workmanlike prose. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Technology Pioneers titles: Facebook, Microsoft, and Amazon.com.

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(4) YA Essential Issues series. Trafficking deals with the exploitation of individuals (usually from poor, underdeveloped countries) as forced workers or sex slaves. Arms discusses the proliferation of illegal guns and explosives and how they threaten the safety and stability of numerous regions. Informative sidebars and photographs crowd the readable texts. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Essential Issues titles: Human Trafficking and Arms Trade.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) YA Lives Cut Short series. Each biography opens with a pivotal moment in the performer's career. The texts then move chronologically from the person's childhood to his untimely death, touching on upbringing, setbacks, and accomplishments along the way. The writing occasionally veers into melodrama. The volumes are enhanced by their many photos and clean design. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Lives Cut Short titles: John Lennon, Tupac Shakur, Michael Jackson, and Heath Ledger.

Reviewer: Marika Jeffrey

(4) YA Essential Health: Strong, Beautiful Girls series. Friends, body image, and sexuality are among the topics discussed in this series. Although the books try admirably to be frank about issues plaguing teens, the didactic tone may turn girls off; boxed queries intended to make readers think about their own lives sound like reading comprehension questions. The many photos of a variety of young women are placed on the purple-heavy pages. Reading list. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Essential Health: Strong, Beautiful Girls titles: Do You Love Me?, Frenemies, Is This Really My Body?, Out of the Dark, and This Is Me.

Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay