(2) 4-6 When his (widowed) mother, a professor of rhetoric, has a stroke and can no longer speak, social misfit ­twelve-year-old William Wyatt Orser, nicknamed Worser, feels "utterly alone. Cold. Helpless." Obsessed with words, the boy carries in his backpack a loose-leaf binder he refers to as his Masterwork, which contains 321 pages of lists of words and observations and questions about how they work. ("If ­terrific can mean the opposite of terrible, why isn’t horrific the opposite of horrible?") But all that doesn't mean he is good at actually using words. He is no Cyrano with the girl he has a crush on, and he is impatient, even caustic, with the aunt who is trying to take care of him and his mother. But Ziegler ably delineates how words help Worser to find a place in the world and evolve from Worser into "Worder," as he and his nerdy-wordy Lit Club friends carve out a refuge for themselves at a local bookstore. If Worser is not especially ­likable at first, he and his new friends--including the brusque bookshop owner--find ways to grow and be there for one another.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(4) 4-6 Following Revenge of the Happy Campers, the Brewster triplets are in seventh grade, but it's off to a rocky start: the girls' now-diverging interests and personalities seem to be pulling the formerly tight-knit trio apart. Fortunately, sisterhood is powerful, and a surprising family development reminds the girls of what's important in this satisfying if somewhat predictable fourth series installment.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl

(3) 4-6 Plucky triplets Dawn, Darby, and Delaney Brewster (Revenge of the Flower Girls; Revenge of the Angels) are back, and this time they're heading on a week-long camping trip with their cool aunt Jane. A rivalry and resulting competition with a trio of brothers quickly ensues, offering much action and hilarity as well as opportunities for sisterly quarrels and (eventual) bonding.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl

(3) 4-6 In the sequel to Revenge of the Flower Girls, eleven-year-old triplets Dawn, Darby, and Delaney are not, as they had hoped, cast as the Three Wise Men in the Christmas pageant; instead, the smart and sassy sisters are cast as (unhappy) angels. But, of course, they make the best of this bad situation (and others) in their funny and warm-spirited holiday novel.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl

(3) 4-6 Eleven-year-old triplets Dawn, Darby, and Delaney are reluctant flower girls in their sister Lily's wedding. They liked Lily's ex-boyfriend, but they can't stand her fiancé, who clearly doesn't make Lily happy, and they're going to do everything they can to derail the wedding plans. The triplets' chemistry, combined with their genuine affection for their big sister, make for a winning and humorous tale.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl

(3) YA A contemporary update sets Jane Austen's classic sister story, Sense and Sensibility, in small-town Barton, Texas. Romance-minded fifteen-year-old Daphne and down-to-earth older sister Gabby couldn't be less alike, but both end up finding their soulmates. The siblings are far less emotionally restrained than Austen's heroines (and the story lacks the original's sly social commentary), but teen romance fans will find it appealing.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) YA Maggie moves from school to school at her hippie parents' whim. She's an expert at insinuating herself into the upper echelons of high school hierarchy, but she's also tired and misses her boyfriend. This time she decides to remain invisible and unpopular, but of course her attempts backfire. Despite some reliance on high school stereotypes and melodrama, Maggie's story is warmly comedic.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(4) YA After seventeen-year-old Katie adopts a dog, her life goes from bad to worse, but once she enrolls the crazy mutt in obedience classes, things begin to look up. The self-confidence Katie gleans by managing her pet also improves the other relationships in her life. The novel as a whole, including the many dog scenes, wavers between predictable and charming.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac