(4) 4-6 Eleven-year-old Buddy has more to worry about than her boyish nickname in this problem/mystery novel. Her father's inexplicable disappearance follows her mother's recent death, and Buddy is sent to live with aunts in Montana. There Buddy confronts dysfunctional family members as she tries to puzzle out secrets of the past that affect her present and possibly her future. Some stock characters and awkward plotting impede the story, whose resolution is a happy one.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) 4-6 William, the son of a Methodist minister, moves to a small town in Kansas and becomes friends with Jim, a Mennonite boy. When America enters World War II, Jim's pacifist beliefs drive a wedge between the two high school freshmen. The unusual subject matter is well served by the novel's sympathetic characterizations and realistically ambiguous conclusion.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(3) 4-6 Scheming is afoot once again at the Bessledorf Hotel, where Bernie, the hotel manager's son, plots to get his older sister married off so he can have her big bedroom. Throw in a mysterious construction project one town over and a nail-biting parachute jump, and you have a quaint, spirited drama, much like the others in the Bessledorf series.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann

(2) YA Determined to get rid of saddlebag thighs before high school, Alice and her two best friends embark on a serious diet and exercise program. Naylor addresses issues of body image, sexuality, friends, and family, and offers a self-esteem-boosting message similar to many girl-power nonfiction books. But hearing the message from Alice, at this point an old friend, carries more weight than the advice of experts and strangers.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2000

(4) 4-6 Stopping home from school in the morning to get allergy medicine, eleven-year-old Kaci surprises burglars in her house and becomes, along with a "nosy" elderly neighbor, their captive. The dialogue is fairly stiff, and the first-person narrative sometimes sounds too adult, but readers can still feel an adrenaline rush from wondering how Kaci will manage to escape this tense situation alive.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann

(4) 4-6 This historical novel focuses on an African-American family--Alfa, his sister, and their great-grandmother--as they struggle to make ends meet during the Montgomery bus boycott. Alfa and his sister must also solve the mystery of their disappearing rent money and absolve themselves of a false robbery charge. Occasional jarring instances of modern dialogue and terminology are a minor distraction.

Reviewer: Deborah L. Thompson

(2) 4-6 Arriving at her grandfather's household, newly orphaned Jenny Graymark is accused of being an impostor by her uncle, refused access to her grandfather, and transformed into a household drudge. There are villains and benefactors, but the roles are not always obvious, nor are the motives--which adds to the suspense of this gothic orphan story. Guaranteed thrills and chills.

Reviewer: Mary M. Burns | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2000

(2) 4-6 Corinna has disguised herself as a boy so that she can be a Folk Keeper--one who protects a household from wrathful spirits. Drenched in imagery of the sea, the story draws on selkie lore, and Corinna's true identity--a secret far greater than just her boyish disguise--is eventually revealed. Steeped in atmosphere, the novel contains an intricate plot, vibrant characters, and dangerous intrigue.

Reviewer: Anne St. John | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 1999

(4) K-3 "No one knows the story of tomorrow's dawn." Energetic and vibrant illustrations capture the varying moods (from jovial to witty to serious) of these twenty-six proverbs from various African tribes, including Ashanti, Zulu, and Maasai. Some insight into a few of the more obscure sayings would have made this collection accessible to a wider range of readers. An author's note provides additional information.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(2) 4-6 Ten-year-old orphan Emma works long days in a stifling mill to support her older sister, an abusive, alcoholic brother-in-law, and their baby. One day she steals a potato from a canal boat and is pressed into service by a recently widowed boatwoman--a new situation that is ideal for both of them. Howard has given her story a highly interesting venue and has created a cast of characters who are fully dimensional and engaging.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 1999

(2) YA In this eleventh installment in the series, Alice and her friends have a lot to think about during the second half of eighth grade, including sex, prejudice, and the upcoming semi-formal. Alice's realistic dilemmas, confusion, and curiosity will resonate with readers; her strong sense of who she is and what she wants continues to guide her and this consistently dynamic series.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 1999

(2) YA When his brother enlists in the local militia with its anti-Semitic beliefs, Ryan begins to challenge the political rhetoric he's heard all his life growing up on a ranch in Wyoming. This insidious conflict overshadows other aspects of Ryan's coming-of-age story, and its resolution comes well before the novel's end. But Ryan is an involving focus for both his own story and the larger social issues raised by the author.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2000

(4) 4-6 When Maddie visits her best friend a year after Beanie moves away she learns that appearances don't mean much: Beanie's brother Buddy, now gorgeous, is still a troublemaker, while their parents, who seem perfect to Maddie, fail to see his faults or Beanie's talents. Maddie's recovery of a lost memory involving Buddy is hard to believe, but issues of self-esteem and general teen angst are nicely handled.

Reviewer:

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Ashley Bryan. Six Langston Hughes Christmas poems, unexceptional in themselves, evoke from Ashley Bryan paintings--of the Wise Men, of the Holy Family, of a certain shepherd--that combine traditional iconography and composition with his own African-inflected language of exploding patterns, colors, forms. For children of color especially but for all children prospectively, Bryan brings the Nativity home.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 1998

(2) YA A grieving high school student becomes caught in a time warp while hitchhiking. Somewhere deep in Appalachia, Josh stumbles upon a group of Melungeons, described in acknowledged historical sources as mixed-blood Portuguese. The ambitious melding of history, fantasy, mystery, and psychology strains the tale, but the intriguing setting and dilemma will carry readers right through to the satisfying finish.

Reviewer: Margaret A. Bush | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 1998

(4) YA After the death of her parents, fourteen-year-old Teddi moves in with next-door neighbor Mamie. When a pregnant woman arrives, claiming to be the wife of Mamie's son (killed two weeks earlier in a plane crash), Teddi smells a scam. Although readers will become impatient waiting for Teddi's suspicions to be validated, they'll sympathize enough with her character to keep reading.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) 4-6 During Reconstruction, twelve-year-old Pascal, his friend Nelly, and his older brother Gideon seek freedom and the forty acres and a mule promised to former slaves by General William T. Sherman of the Union Army. They eventually get a farm, but keeping it, and freedom, proves to be much more difficult. The novel strays at times and bogs down in spots, but overall provides a good read. Bib.

Reviewer: Deborah L. Thompson