(3) YA Raised as a body double for her identical twin Rafia, Frey is sent in her sister's place when a rival first family demands a hostage, but their despotic father never meant to honor the trade deal. Can newly disposable Frey find an ally in the rival family's son? Family drama and exploration of identity add verve to this believably futuristic tale of warfare and political intrigue set in the world of Uglies.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) YA Illustrated by Alex Puvilland. Color by Hilary Sycamore. Westerfeld continues the Annihilation-reminiscent plot of Spill Zone, in which Addie entered a section of Poughkeepsie taken over by a toxic otherness. Addie returns here but with special powers, and she's joined by Jae, a boy transformed by a similar area in North Korea. With striking coloring, dynamic panels, and page-turning action, this graphic novel brings the story to a thrilling conclusion.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(4) YA Zeroes series. In this hefty conclusion to the trilogy, the Zeroes, a diverse team of supernaturally gifted teens, heads to New Orleans to attempt to defeat the Nexus, a machine that channels crowds' power and energy with the aim of dismantling societal norms and causing chaos and anarchy. An epic face-off during Mardi Gras results. The action is high-amp and nonstop; characterization suffers, necessarily, in comparison.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(4) 4-6 When a plane crashes in the Arctic, eight children survive and unexpectedly find themselves in a tropical jungle. Assisted by a gravity-altering device, they work together to find food, fend off unnatural wildlife, and determine how to get home. Despite unremarkable characters, the sci-fi technology, strange creatures, unfolding mystery, and an additional online component should keep readers invested and awaiting possible future installments.

Reviewer: Russell Perry

(2) YA Illustrated by Alex Puvilland. Color by Hilary Sycamore. This first in a creepy, addictively suspenseful graphic-novel series makes for compulsive reading. Three years after "something strange" happened in Poughkeepsie, the "Spill Zone" is still cordoned off. Addie, who regularly and illegally rides through it on her motorcycle, is offered a million dollars to retrieve a single item from the Spill Zone. Dynamic layouts, striking use of color, and sketchy line work serve the story well.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2017

(2) YA The Zeroes, a diverse team of supernaturally gifted teens, encounter strangers who wreak havoc with their own crowd-manipulating abilities--and warn of a much bigger threat. This second volume (Zeroes) accelerates the pace and ups the stakes with lots of action sequences, some truly scary. Development of the teens' platonic and romantic interpersonal dynamics (including one blossoming same-sex relationship) adds depth.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2016

(2) YA Each of the five teens in "the Zeroes" has a supernatural ability. When Ethan ("Scam") gets himself into trouble, the others jail-break him, crossing paths with another gifted teen, Kelsie. At five-hundred-plus pages, with six main characters to follow, this series-opener occasionally struggles to maintain its pace, but there's plenty of time to flesh out the teens' motivations and unusual abilities.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2015

(2) YA The first chapter introduces eighteen-year-old YA author Darcy Patel. Chapter two takes place at an airport--where a startlingly violent terrorist attack unfolds before the eyes of narrator Lizzie. Readers will soon realize that Lizzie is the protagonist of Darcy's novel, but Westerfeld has done the trick of putting us disconcertingly off balance. The six-hundred-page novel moves at a brisk pace.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2014

(3) YA Illustrated by Keith Thompson. This companion to the innovative steampunk Leviathan series takes a closer look--in full color--at the ships, fabricated beasties, machines, and clothing of the books' Clankers and Darwinists. Each expertly rendered illustration in this handbook is accompanied by a helpful description. A useful introduction to the series for new readers or an attractive keepsake for established fans.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter

(2) YA Westerfeld's unique dystopian "trilogy plus one" receives a full redesign (in hardcover, no less), from covers to trim size and page design, in an apparent attempt to market the books to a crossover audience. Review covers these titles: Extras, Pretties, Specials, and Uglies.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter

(2) YA Westerfeld's unique dystopian "trilogy plus one" receives a full redesign (in hardcover, no less), from covers to trim size and page design, in an apparent attempt to market the books to a crossover audience. Review covers these titles: Extras, Pretties, Specials, and Uglies.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2005

(2) YA Westerfeld's unique dystopian "trilogy plus one" receives a full redesign (in hardcover, no less), from covers to trim size and page design, in an apparent attempt to market the books to a crossover audience. Review covers these titles: Extras, Pretties, Specials, and Uglies.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2007

(2) YA Westerfeld's unique dystopian "trilogy plus one" receives a full redesign (in hardcover, no less), from covers to trim size and page design, in an apparent attempt to market the books to a crossover audience. Review covers these titles: Extras, Pretties, Specials, and Uglies.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2006

(2) YA Leviathan Trilogy series. Illustrated by Keith Thompson. In this satisfying trilogy ender (Leviathan, Behemoth), Alek and Deryn wrestle with their forbidden feelings for each other while trying to stop the war. Westerfeld has meticulously crafted his alternate history of World War I, bringing it to a hopeful if not entirely peaceful ending. Detailed black-and-white illustrations visually capture the book's crucial moments, steampunk machinery, and fabricated beasts.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2011

(2) YA Leviathan Trilogy series. Illustrated by Keith Thompson. Deryn and Alek join forces with a revolutionary group attempting to overthrow the sultan and save the Leviathan from destruction. Along the way, they discover answers to questions from the previous series entry. Steampunk master Westerfeld provides plenty of action, humor, and intrigue while building his alternate WWI history. Thompson's illustrations effectively clarify the appearances of Westerfeld's invented machines and creatures.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2010

(2) YA Leviathan Trilogy series. Illustrated by Keith Thompson. Westerfeld's new series features a mix of alternative history and steampunk. As WWI breaks out, Prince Aleksandar and his advisers flee to the Swiss Alps. Meanwhile, Deryn Sharp, disguised as a boy, is aboard the British airship Leviathan, which crashes near Alek's estate. As the two meet and begin the complicated dance of diplomacy, the story and characters come to life.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2009

(2) YA Aya is an "extra" with a face-recognition rank stuck in the mid-400,000s. If she can win fame as a "kicker," reporting on a story that captures the city's imagination, her rank will soar. Things get complicated when Aya and her friends are kidnapped; that's when Tally Youngblood (Uglies; Pretties; Specials) steps in. High-speed chases and cutting-edge wizardry keep the action popping.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2007

(2) YA Tally Youngblood is a "special," one of an elite force with a gorgeous but lethal physique and superhuman athletic ability. In a gripping plot, she and her friend, Shay, accidentally destroy a weapons armory, which leads to war with a neighboring city. Westerfeld's writing isn't subtle, but he brings the trilogy (Uglies, Pretties) to a humane conclusion with a surprising twist.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2006

(3) YA Continuing the winning fusion of science fiction and vampire lore, this sequel to Peeps explores the growing apocalypse (and the accompanying vampirism epidemic) through the eyes of five band members whose music draws deadly worm-creatures into the open. Fast-paced and innovative, the novel successfully melds interpersonal drama, musical aspiration, and a raw, sweeping visualization of a city in chaos.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(3) YA Midnighters series. In the second book in the series, five misfit teens in a small Oklahoma town struggle to uncover secrets within their own community and continue to battle demonic "darklings" during the mysterious twenty-fifth hour of midnight. A new human threat allows Westerfeld to probe the ambiguities and pressures of difference, a theme that resonates beyond the novel's fantastical premise.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross