(3) K-3 Illustrated by Vashti Harrison. Teacher Ms. Curie encourages Cece's love of science. When her class gets a research assignment, Cece and friend Isaac choose to investigate whether dogs will eat vegetables. Cece's dog Einstein refuses all veggies until Cece makes a keen observation that leads to an answer. In this kid-friendly introduction to the scientific method, data collection, and persistence, cartoony digital illustrations include the kids' science-project worksheets. Glos.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(3) YA On the run with her father and boyfriend Tyler, Kyra (The Taking; The Replaced) still struggles to understand what she is since returning from her alien abduction. Then Kyra is kidnapped by an enemy who knows that the inexplicable clocklike countdown in Kyra's head is signaling the aliens' return. Fans will read this tense, worthy trilogy-ender with bated breath.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(4) YA When a mission to recover her boyfriend Tyler fails, Kyra (The Taking) ends up at yet another camp for alien abductees in the Utah desert. Kyra and Tyler are both different than the other Returned--and the No-Suchers are after them. The romance is better developed in this sequel. While series fans will be hooked at page one, others may find some parts drag.

Reviewer: Barratt Miller

(4) YA Sixteen-year-old Kyra returns five years after her mysterious disappearance and hasn't aged a day. When more superhuman capabilities emerge, she must surrender to the NSA or join the other Returned in hiding. Despite an entertaining premise and a tense reveal regarding Kyra's disappearance, an overbearing and unbelievable romance keeps the more compelling relationships with her family and the militant Returned secondary.

Reviewer: Susan Graham

(4) YA After deposing the evil queen and abolishing Ludania's caste system in The Pledge, Charlaina, the newly crowned Queen, must overcome anti-equality terrorists at home, assassins abroad, and sharing her body with her predecessor's Essence. Fans of dystopian literature may enjoy this unusual fantasy take on the genre, but the confusing plot may dissuade general readers.

Reviewer: Barratt Miller

(4) YA Body Finder series. A Manson Family–like group of teens commit a series of fatal home invasions. Violet uses her psychic sense to conduct her own dangerous investigation. Meanwhile, her grandmother's journals provide new information about Violet's ability and her team. Murder-mystery and a paranormally talented protagonist are still an engaging combination in this fourth book, but characters and the dynamics among them feel flat.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(4) YA Body Finder series. Violet continues using her ability to sense the dead and identify their killers to solve murder cases. Here tensions build among Violet and her fellow psychic team members as they track a serial killer targeting coeds--until the killer's focus turns to Violet. Despite the intrigue of supernatural detective work, underdeveloped characters (and their simplistic relationships) detract from the novel's suspense.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(3) YA Language is one of many ways Ludania's social classes are divided. Charlaina Hart understands all languages, a deadly secret that grows more dangerous as rebel tensions rise and she meets a mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she has never heard before. This supernatural dystopia features intriguing twists and turns and a little romance.

Reviewer: Barratt Miller

(4) YA Violet (The Body Finder) psychically senses the body of a murdered boy, prompting a profiler to solicit her help with a cold case. At the same time, the arrival of two new students at school coincides with threats against Violet. Violet's supernatural ability is fascinating, but tension built through the alternating narratives of Violet and her stalker fizzles once the stalker is indentified.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(4) YA Since Violet's childhood, psychic imprints have drawn her to the bodies of the murdered as well as their killers. Now Violet sets aside her struggle with her ability and a confusing crush on best friend Jay to focus on finding the serial killer stalking her town. The romantic thread is borderline melodramatic, but Derting effectively creates an atmosphere of psychological horror.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher