(3) YA Aspiring journalist Adrienne and her stepfather travel to Siberia to find a legendary family of Siberian hermits. Disaster strikes, and Adrienne is held captive by the very family about which she planned to write. Irreverent humor brings levity to Adrienne's predicament and plan to escape by seducing the Osinovs' younger son. A suspenseful plot pairs with incisive commentary on the ethics of telling others' stories.

Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Ilya Spirin. While hunting for food in the expansive Siberian forest a tiger mother is separated from her cub when a forest fire breaks out. London's lyrical narrative skillfully depicts the mother's (successful) search for her cub. Spirin's dark and expressive illustrations in watercolor, pastel, and gouache support this emotional tale. An author's note provides additional information on Siberian tigers.

Reviewer: Pearl Higgins

(2) YA In 1941 Lithuania, the Soviet secret police show up at fifteen-year-old Lina Vilkas's home. They throw Lina, her younger brother, and their mother onto a train bound for Siberia, beginning a decade-long nightmare. Sepetys creates complicated characters in her story of deprivation and suffering. Two excellent maps and an informative author's note round out this haunting chronicle.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2011

(3) YA Vampire Academy series. When Rose's mentor/lover Dimitri becomes a vampire, she must destroy him--despite the logistical and emotional obstacles in her way. Meanwhile, best friend Lissa faces her own troubles at home. Rose's sassiness balances the dark undercurrents, but her increasingly disturbing relationship with Dimitri has a queasy subtext that may push romantic angst too far for the series' target audience.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(2) 4-6 When thirteen-year-old Marya's parents, deposed aristocrats, are taken by the Soviet secret police, she determines to reunite the family. Her journey with her younger brother, Georgi, is a bold adventure in exotic territory. The desperate plight of Russians under Stalin is only too real. Marya and Georgi, with their perseverance and unfailing love for their parents, win our sympathy, entreating us to see them safely to the end.

Reviewer: Lauren Adams | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2003

(2) YA Hayley's brother John, a demolitions expert, has supposedly died in Siberia. Unconvinced by the explanation that he had gotten trapped while blowing up a building, Hayley and John's fianceé travel to Siberia--and meet up with the Russian mafiya. Alternating chapters follow John, alive but sick and amnesiac. Cross explores an unusual physical landscape in this--as usual--well-crafted thriller.

Reviewer: Lauren Adams | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2002

(4) 4-6 Along with considerable data about woolly mammoths, this book recounts the 1999 expedition to excavate a woolly mammoth preserved whole in Siberian permafrost. Named Jarkov for his nine-year-old nomadic discoverer, this animal offers unprecedented opportunity for study. The interesting story is well illustrated with color photos and paintings but told with inexplicable tense shifts and busy graphics. Ind.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian