(2) 4-6 In this spooky fantasy, Annie finds a book of folktales from Litvania, her parents' homeland, and begins reading magical stories filled with clever girls and menacing beasts. For her tenth birthday, Annie's father gives her paper on which she is supposed to write her bad thoughts and actions and then feed the paper to the nuodeema burna, or the sin-eater, under the floorboards of her father's study. Once she begins participating in this Litvanian tradition, she ceases to grow, and the rats that have been plaguing the neighborhood get bolder still. Sinister family secrets, such as a never-aging father and a mother who'd mysteriously disappeared, come to the surface with the hordes of vermin that take to the town. Annie must restore order to her community--and all of Litvania as well. Her adventures are bound to find an eager audience in readers who value determination and moral fortitude in the face of an increasingly confusing grown-up world.

Reviewer: Sarah Berman | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2022

(3) YA After his girlfriend dumps him, cynical and emotionally careless Stiggy takes his dead father's car and drives south. Tales from the road are interspersed with flashback chapters that reveal Stiggy's troubled romance--and his father's suicide. With depth of character and a strong narrative voice, Stiggy's solo adventure is a cut above the average road-trip story.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(2) 4-6 A generations-old secret related to their great-grandfathers splits nine-year-old "soul mates" Stuey and Elly into alternate realities. From here Hautman unfolds a dark tale involving families falling apart, woodlands being destroyed, and suspicion landing on innocent parties, but it's also a tender story of the friends' continuing connection. This is an intricately woven, affecting novel about the power of friendship, the corrosiveness of secrets, and the mysterious possibilities of the world.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2018

(2) YA David accidentally bids $2,000 in an online auction with his mother's credit card; he plans to pay her back with winnings from competitive eating contests. David takes pride in this particular talent, and in caring for his autistic younger brother, Mal. The first-person narrative explores the brothers' relationship in a nuanced way (except for occasionally ableist language) as David becomes more attuned to Mal's perspective.

Reviewer: Anastasia M. Collins | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2017

(3) 4-6 Flinkwater Chronicles series. Hautman's second amusing satire (The Flinkwater Factor) about a fictitious Silicon Valley–esque Iowa town populated by geniuses and their progeny features a mad scientist messing with people's memories. To supplant information already in their brains with other knowledge, he transfers portions of their memories to animals. Fortunately, protagonist Ginger Crump and the other child geniuses are up to the task of resolving this mysterious sci-fi dilemma.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(3) 4-6 Ginger Crump, thirteen, just wants to be kissed before her birthday, but she finds herself up to her underdeveloped chest in classified scientific intrigues when a computer screen saver zombifies the residents of her Iowa town. And that's just the beginning of this wildly unfettered sci-fi adventure in which Hautman satirizes techno geeks, Homeland Security, and corporate culture.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(2) YA Seventeen-year-old Brother Jacob lives inside Nodd, twelve square miles of fenced-in land in Montana where "the Grace" await the End Days. Two Worldly outsiders--Lynna, who lives on a neighboring ranch, and Tobias, an angry new arrival in Nodd--push Jacob to question everything he believes in. Jacob's emotional turmoil is hauntingly believable, and the examination of religious faith and fervor is wholly absorbing.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2015

(2) YA Klaatu Diskos series. Tucker and Lia (The Obsidian Blade; The Cydonian Pyramid) join together in the end stage of their journey through the millennia and the final confrontation with the murderous Lah Sept; Tucker uncovers his own role in Lah Sept history. Pulling together elaborate strands of the first two books, this conclusion rewards readers with a surprising yet cogent and satisfying chronicle across time.

Reviewer: Lauren Adams | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2014

(2) YA Klaatu Diskos series. This second book in a sophisticated science-fiction series (The Obsidian Blade) focuses on Lah Lia, a mysterious girl from the distant future who, raised for ritual sacrifice, escapes her death when minister's son Tucker's sudden appearance through a time gate disrupts the ceremony. Book two further develops Hautman's complex constructs of scientific innovation as well as the evolution of humanity and religion.

Reviewer: Lauren Adams | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2013

(2) YA Klaatu Diskos series. Time and space are refracted again and again through mysterious portals in Hautman's intricately layered universe. When Tucker's parents disappear through a circle in the air he follows them, thus beginning his dangerous journey through the millennia. The first of a planned trilogy plants Tucker and his family in a religious and ideological battle across time, hinting at intriguing developments to come.

Reviewer: Lauren Adams | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2012

(2) YA Juniors Lita and Adam were good friends until Adam tromped onto Lita's literary turf. Aspiring novelist Lita secretly writes an advice blog as "Miz Fitz." Chapter-opening Ann Landers–style exchanges reveal the advice book Adam's writing—the one blatantly imitating Miz Fitz. Shifting between Lita's and Adam's points of view, this is a frank, funny account of the battle of the sexes.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2012

(2) YA June has little intention of getting close to anyone after her family moves to Minneapolis; her father's job doesn't allow her to stay in one place long. Yet there's something about Wes that, though June barely knows him, keeps him stuck in her head. Alternating perspectives, Hautman's narrative sizzles; there's nothing explicit, but the characters' chemistry practically burns holes through the page.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2011

(2) YA Enigmatic new-kid Shayne Blank, sixteen, walks into a police station and calmly confesses to murder. At school, Shayne, who looks unassuming but has the fighting skills of a martial arts master, defends outsider Mikey against a "violent, psychotic, drug-dealing creep." Hautman deftly builds tension with escalating violence while the mystery surrounding Shayne's confession unfolds one piece at a time.

Reviewer: Lauren Adams | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2010

(2) YA Suburban teen Kelleigh chooses a unique subject for a school essay: how to steal a car. Even more unexpected--she's writing from personal experience. Hautman's charismatic first-person narrator recounts a convincing tale of a good girl stumbling upon her wild side; the story's suspense rises with each heist. Subtly drawn supporting characters, including "nearly perfect" parents, give Kelleigh's exploits texture.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2009

(3) YA Bloodwater Mysteries series. After stumbling across an old photograph, Roni becomes convinced that Brian was kidnapped as a child. Brian doesn't believe her, but the ever-dogged Roni won't give up. To discover the truth about who Brian really is, the pair embarks on an adventure that is both exciting and emotional.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(2) YA This second book about Denn Doyle follows the sixteen-year-old to the gritty, high-stakes casinos of Las Vegas. With only ninety-seven dollars and a broken heart, Denn must go small time if he wants to make a comeback. Jimbo, the unofficial eyes and ears of Vegas, narrates Denn's story. The intense, jargon-rich narrative ultimately asks: who's to say what constitutes winning? Glos.

Reviewer: Rebecca Hachmyer | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2007

(3) YA Bloodwater Mysteries series. In this second book in the series, Roni and Brian must find a way to save what might be an ancient Native American burial ground from getting bulldozed by a construction company. The two young detectives unearth fraud, investigate a mysterious attack on an archaeologist, and have some cave adventures. Plenty of plot twists will keep readers turning the pages.

Reviewer:

(1) YA Recognizably clever when constructing architectural models, Doug reveals that it's human interaction he can't figure out. This unreliable narrator reports one near-perfect relationship, the one he has with his best friend, Andy. Gradually, however, that relationship is revealed not to be what it seems. The tension in this psychological thriller comes from entering Doug's private hell and learning what put him there.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2005

(2) YA Fed up with his parents' Catholicism, Jay Bock, sixteen, decides that the local water tower will make as good a god as any. Within days Jay's cult has followers, and he is amazed by the results of his own game. The novel is sometimes superficial in its exploration of the nature of religion and faith, but Hautman's prose is brisk and colloquial, and young adults will respond to Jay's rebellion.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2004

(2) YA Sixteen-year-old Lucy's theory--that vampires of folk legend may well have been untreated diabetics--will fascinate vampire aficionados. This idea reinforces her self-image as weird-diabetes-girl and meshes neatly with her transformation from angelic blond to raven-haired cynic. Lucy is a smart, savvy teen in the midst of reinventing herself--and coming to the liberating realization that the possibilities are infinite.

Reviewer: Lauren Adams | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2003