(3) 4-6 Charlie's mother has a breakdown following the stillborn birth of her baby and the end of a serious relationship. Charlie struggles to make sense of the drastic changes in her life, but while trying to help her mother cope she also makes some interesting discoveries about herself. This well-written story offers insight into the mother-daughter relationship.

Reviewer: Aimee Chevrette Bear

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Pam Smy. Lucy and her grandpa share a special bond, strengthened by their love of growing things and their belief in Lob, a magical "green man" who helps tend Grandpa's garden. When Grandpa dies, Lucy and Lob's connection eventually brings them healing and renewal. Despite its contemporary British setting, this gentle fantasy has an appealingly old-fashioned sensibility. Rustic black-and-white drawings illustrate every chapter.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) PS Illustrated by Catherine Rayner. This ode to kittenhood stars an adorable feline named Posy. Generous white space gives her plenty of room to explore Rayner's effectively spare illustrations, mostly sepia-tone with well-placed pops of color. Newbery's creatively descriptive rhyming couplets ("...whiskers wiper, / crayon swiper. / Playful wrangler, / knitting tangler") make for an entertaining read-aloud.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Ian P. Benfold Haywood. Josh and Jamie have always been the "two Js," but the arrival of Mum's new baby Jennie, their half-sister, upsets Jamie's already precarious adjustment to a family situation in flux. After an encounter with a lion at a wildlife park, he undergoes an alarming personality change. Newbery effectively blurs the line between the supernatural and the psychological in this creepy family drama.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(3) 4-6 Matt, a newcomer to Hay-on-Wye, has a bike accident that links him to a boy who died in a hit-and-run at the same junction. Matt's quest to find out the truth about this tragedy involves elderly farmer Wil Jones, the town bully, and two "lost boys." A singular Welsh setting and lilting dialogue make the story mysterious and evocative.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis

(2) 4-6 Henry's neighbor Grace is grieving over her great-aunt Dottie's impending death. Dottie's long-lost love was an R.A.F. airman in World War II, and Henry sees him and relives bits of his life. With a strong sense of place, well-drawn characters, and an intriguing ghost story, this has much appeal, not least a subtle resonance among boyhood, youth, and old age.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2007

(3) YA Wealthy, charismatic Ernest Farrow has everything he could ever want--almost. When young artist Samuel Godwin arrives to tutor Farrow's beautiful but troubled daughters, Godwin and the girls' governess gradually discover the extent of Farrow's obsessions and the resultant dark family secrets. Set during the late-nineteenth century, this Victorian Gothic will appeal to Brontë fans.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl

(2) YA Hilly and Zoë are forced to share a room since their grandmother Heidi, who has Alzheimer's, has come to live with the family. But soon two other sisters command the reader's concentration. Heidi, née Sarah, and her older sister were separated when the Nazis came to power and the family decided to send Sarah to England for safety. Newbery artfully moves her text from the present of Heidi's disintegration to her past as a child.

Reviewer: Susan P. Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2004

(3) YA Struggling with his feelings of attraction to a male classmate, seventeen-year-old Greg often seeks refuge at Graveney Hall, a burned-out mansion being restored by volunteers. A parallel story concerns one of the dwelling's earlier inhabitants: a gay soldier who served in WW I. Big issues--sexuality, religion, identity--are explored in this intelligent, mature novel notable for its strong characterizations.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta