(3) YA Bareknuckle series. Set in a nineteenth-century NYC Bowery underground boxing club, these fast-paced and involving hi-lo novels--filled with fight action, intrigue, adventure, and a multiethnic cast of characters--starkly portray the social, political, and economic realities of the period and place. There are recurring secondary characters, but each book's unique central character drives the plot and resolves the story's conflicts. Compelling, reluctant-reader-friendly historical fiction. Review covers these Bareknuckle titles: Lightning's Run, The Giant, The Big Fix, and Fighter's Alley.

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(4) YA After the Dust Settled series. Set in the future, these books depict a world altered by an unexplained apocalyptic event. In each, two protagonists (a girl and a boy in River and Plague, a young and older man in Shot) must rely on their survival skills to combat enemies who attempt to destroy them. The fast-moving but predictable plots present easy reads for adventure-loving teens. Review covers these After the Dust Settled titles: River Run, Plague Riders, and Shot Down.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg