(3) 4-6 Walters's novel centers on thirteen-year-old Samantha, who lives with her dad in an elephant sanctuary. There's plenty of solid information about elephants, and Samantha's rapport with the herd will endear her to animal-lovers. An intriguing twist involving a woolly mammoth cloned from permafrost-harvested DNA raises thought-provoking ethical, emotional, and legal issues; an author's note on the science of cloning insists this is "not science fiction."

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(4) YA With ninety days between the end of high school and the start of college, Ella challenges her predictable best friend Sophie to do something different every day and document her evolution on social media. Long strings of dialogue with little exposition and skipped days make Sophie's first-person narration feel rushed and disjointed, though each new adventure reads like its own short story.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(3) YA Rule of 3 series. Adam, his police-captain mother, and retired spy Herb craft a "new normal" for their post-apocalyptic neighborhood by establishing trade between friendly communities. Their futures are soon threatened when an old enemy returns, more determined than ever to destroy the small civilization they've created. The tension between hope for a better world and fear of losing everything drives this thrilling saga to a satisfying conclusion.

Reviewer: Russell Perry

(4) YA With the aid of a retired spy and his police-captain mother, Adam protects his post-apocalyptic neighborhood following a global blackout. Despite a victory against an invading force, tensions rise as rations dwindle and a new enemy threatens to destroy them from within. While the betrayer's identity isn't surprising, slow-burn tension and a game-changing cliffhanger will keep readers riveted for the third installment.

Reviewer: Russell Perry

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes. Mutanu wakes up excited because "today is the day" at her Kenyan orphanage: a birthday party for all of the orphans, both those whose birthdays are known and those, like Mutanu, whose date is not. Presents and cake are great, but best of all is having her existence validated. Acrylic illustrations add joy and context. A note on The Creation of Hope orphanage is appended.

Reviewer: Grace Worcester Greene

(4) YA When a global virus shuts down the world's computers and all related technology, sixteen-year-old Adam bands together with his police-captain mother and a retired spy to help shape his neighborhood into a self-sustaining community. Some aspects of the power failure seem forced, but the detailed planning of the neighborhood's home base and the impending threat of a hostile invasion make for an engaging read.

Reviewer: Russell Perry

(4) YA Orca Soundings series. Three teens are involved in a local controversy regarding their secretive nighttime graffiti: is it art or just a crime? When a town politician becomes the focus of a billboard mural, a battle of wits ensues between the high-schoolers and the law. This hi-lo novel suffers from some forced dialogue, but action and a thought-provoking premise will draw reluctant readers.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Eugene Fernandes. Disabled Kenyan boy Muthini (meaning "suffering") moves to a group home when his loving but aging and destitute grandmother finds that she cannot fully care for him. He's given a new name for his new life: Baraka ("blessing"). Based on a true story, this purposeful but deeply moving book should start discussions. Equally moving are the warm acrylics emitting the story's sense of hope.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Eva Campbell. The first time Kenyan boy Kioko rides a matatu (bus), his grandfather tells the Kikuyu tale of why goats run from the matatu, sheep ignore it, and dogs chase after it, barking. The lengthy text gives a full picture of East African public transportation. Rough-textured oil-on-canvas illustrations cover both realistic scenes and the more fantastical ones from the folktale.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) 4-6 Orca Currents series. When the principal insists on school uniforms--even though the company that makes them is guilty of child labor abuses--Ian must decide how far he should take his protest. Can he practice what he has learned in the principal's social justice class? Although the characterizations of Ian and his friends are not well developed, Walters explores an interesting topic.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(4) 4-6 Orca Currents series. To lower his teachers' and parents' expectations--and to gain extra time to complete exams--Ed concocts a scheme to get himself labeled "exceptional." He thinks a special education designation will allow him to cruise through school, but instead ends up having surprising realizations about himself. Though the story is purpose-driven, Ed's wily scheming prevents the text from being overly didactic.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(3) 4-6 This book presents the life stories of five young people who have been directly affected by conflicts around the world. Each account is accompanied by a section about the history and geopolitical issues pertaining to the unrest. The writing is accessible, and the kids' stories are compelling. The many photographs of children and landscapes help contextualize their stories.

Reviewer: Maren Ostergard

(4) 4-6 Orca Currents series. Ian organizes flash mobs, inviting large groups of people to assemble for a silly stunt (like a pillow fight in a department store) before quickly dispersing. At school, when the tough new principal starts taking away privileges, Ian uses the power of flash mobs to persuade him to lighten up. Though Ian's character is inconsistent, readers will be drawn into his story.

Reviewer: Laura A. Woollett

(4) YA After years of sexual abuse by her stepfather, Dana runs away from home. She falls in with other runaways in the city who teach her the gritty details of street survival. They eventually get hooked into an arts center for at-risk kids run by a nurturing soul. Dana's saga is heart-rending throughout, making the too-neat ending feel disingenuous.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(3) 4-6 Orca Currents series. Trouble seems to find best friends Keegan and Alex, and when they're forced to volunteer for their hometown's Tomato Festival it's no different. Charged with running the tomato toss, the boys put their own spin on the event, which catapults the festival onto the international map. The main characters' well-drawn friendship and their silly hijinks make this an entertaining, quick read.

Reviewer: Lauren Maggio

(4) YA Meathead jock Jay and Persian Canadian Haroon witness their classmate being arrested as a suspected terrorist. The story alternates between the two boys' first-person perspectives as they try to make sense of the racial tensions and fear swirling around them. Though thought-provoking and sincere, the novel's message of overcoming intolerance is too apparent.

Reviewer: Aimee Chevrette Bear

(3) YA Orca Soundings series. A high school student inspired by the film Stuffed (think Super Size Me) and faced with a school project on mass communication spearheads through the Internet a nationwide boycott of Frankie's, a popular fast-food restaurant. This easy-to-read and highly engaging teen novel is leavened with humor and a little romance.

Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn

(4) YA In this sequel to War of the Eagles, fourteen-year-old Tadashi Fukushima and his close-knit three-generational family are exiled from their Japanese-Canadian fishing village to internment in Vancouver during WWII. Some episodes strain credulity, and dialogue is awkward at times. However, Tadashi elicits empathy, and many of the details of the camp are vivid and realistic.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(3) YA Son of a British fighter pilot and a Tsimshian Indian, fourteen-year-old Canadian Jed is proud of his heritage and his country--until his best friend, Tadashi, a Japanese Canadian, is slated to be interned along with his family during World War II. Jed's assumptions about war, ethnicity, and fairness undergo many changes in this engaging novel.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty