(2) 4-6 Middle schooler Joseph, who has ADD, forms an uneasy friendship with brash new girl Heather when they join the track team, and they come to count on each other as they race for their personal best. The natural-sounding narrative has a good amount of humor, especially surrounding Joseph's quirky family. Readers will root for the friends--especially when Joseph learns how and when to throw a hip check.

Reviewer: Ed Spicer | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2017

(4) YA Harmon revisits the streets of Spokane, Washington (where Skate was set), and relates sixteen-year-old top-notch skateboarder Tate's story of trying to save his school-dropout younger brother, Indy, also a skater, from a life of drugs and homelessness after a falling-out with their father. This gritty story--rife with violence, swearing, and drug use--will be compelling to many teens despite its too-tidy resolution.

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(3) YA Inside a private school for the gifted, a sinister student government organization called the Chamber of Five wields power. Jason Weatherby, son of a congressman, is admitted into the ruling elite. Witnessing the group's abuses, he sets out to take the institution down from within. Taut pacing and blunt dialogue bolster this boy-centric high-school-melodrama-cum-political parable.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(4) YA With her doctor mother off "saving the world" (again), Poe is left to live with her estranged father in an oppressively perfect suburb. She comments on the shortcomings of her new high school by describing its failure to prevent social hierarchies and bullying. Poe's critique, initially intelligent and engaging, devolves into tiresomely repetitive rants.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(3) YA In matter-of-fact narration, Ben relates how his life is turned upside down when his father announces he's gay and Ben's mother leaves. Ben spirals into self-destructive behavior until his father and partner relocate to a small Montana town. He eventually helps a young boy escape abuse, though his antagonistic relationship with his own father remains realistically, believably shaky.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(4) YA Ian, who has an "anger management problem," and his developmentally disabled little brother, Sammy, are running from jail and the foster care system. They traverse Washington State on skateboard and on foot. Although the plot gets convoluted and ends too neatly, Ian's agonized voice drives this tense novel of self-reliance in a world of drugs, homelessness, and abandonment.

Reviewer: Amy Lee Bennett

(3) 4-6 Rivers in American Life and Times series. Each book focuses on a major North American river and its significance in American history. Close attention is paid to small facts, but the details are never overwhelming nor do they muddy the bigger picture. The dense text is smoothly written, and short highlighted sections and color pictures and maps help to break it up. Hudson lists websites. Timeline. Bib., ind. Review covers these Rivers in American Life and Times titles: The Hudson River and The Missouri River.

Reviewer: Lauren Aimonette LIang

(4) 4-6 Your Government--How It Works series. Each book in this series describes what led to the founding of a government institution, what laws it has at its disposal to enforce mandates, and what it has accomplished. Illustrated with reproductions and photographs, the volumes contain explanations that can be confusing, though they do provide in-depth treatment of their subjects. Bib., glos., ind. [Review covers these Your Government titles: The Federal Aviation Administration, The Environmental Protection Agency, The Food and Drug Administration, The Electoral College, The National Institutes of Health, and The National Transportation Safety Board.]

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(4) 4-6 Your Government--How It Works series. Each book in this series describes what led to the founding of a government institution, what laws it has at its disposal to enforce mandates, and what it has accomplished. Illustrated with reproductions and photographs, the volumes contain explanations that can be confusing, though they do provide in-depth treatment of their subjects. Bib., glos., ind. [Review covers these Your Government titles: The Federal Aviation Administration, The Environmental Protection Agency, The Food and Drug Administration, The Electoral College, The National Institutes of Health, and The National Transportation Safety Board.]

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(3) YA Crime, Justice, and Punishment series. The FBI examines the history and responsibilities of the organization, citing specific cases of the Bureau's accomplishments. The other three books contain historical background (often looking back hundreds of years) but focus on summaries of particular cases, such as the insanity defense of John Hinckley, the Great Train Robbery, and recent school shootings. Black-and-white photos illustrate the texts. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(4) YA Exploration of Africa: The Emerging Nations series. This volume documents the history of Sudan from its early subjugation by the Egyptian Pharaohs to its later European colonization, followed by chapters describing Sudan's ethnically and culturally diverse tribes. Early black-and-white photos from the Royal Geographical Society's archives, though fascinating, are only casually related to the text. A time line is included. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) YA Exploration of Africa: The Emerging Nations series. Giving the history of these countries or regions under European colonial rule and what is known of tribal history prior to colonization (Egypt covers only the 1700s to the present), the books in this series delve into Africa's political and ethnic background. Archival black-and-white photos, though fascinating, form a separate narrative unconnected to the text. Maps and a time line are included. Bib., glos., ind. [Review covers these Exploration of Africa titles: Angola, Egypt, West Africa.]

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) YA Exploration of Africa: The Emerging Nations series. Giving the history of these countries or regions under European colonial rule and what is known of tribal history prior to colonization (Egypt covers only the 1700s to the present), the books in this series delve into Africa's political and ethnic background. Archival black-and-white photos, though fascinating, form a separate narrative unconnected to the text. Maps and a time line are included. Bib., glos., ind. [Review covers these Exploration of Africa titles: Angola, Egypt, West Africa.]

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) 4-6 Famous Figures of the American Frontier series. Despite some oversimplifications, the books in this series provide adequate introductions to these individuals. After acquainting readers with the subject's more colorful accomplishments, succeeding chapters present a biographical sketch. Illustrated with (often colorized) archival photos, the texts are readable and accessible. Timelines are included. There are five other fall 2001 books in this series. [Review covers these titles: Crazy Horse, Davy Crockett, Annie Oakley, Wyatt Earp, Geronimo.]

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(3) YA Crime, Justice, and Punishment series. Various aspects of criminality and the judicial system are covered in the six well-focused books in this series. Historical perspectives--sometimes going back hundreds of years--are presented, as are appropriate examples from contemporary trials. The prose and the accompanying black-and-white illustrations are adequate, and together they capably explore each topic in an accessible manner. Bib., ind. [Review covers these Y.A. Crime, Justice, and Punishment titles: Police and Policing, Guns, Crime, and the Second Ammendment, Defense Lawyers, Judges and Sentencing, Gangs and Crime, Probabtion and Parole. ]

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(4) 4-6 Revolutionary War Leaders series. The books in this series profile such individuals as Kosciuszko, whose engineering genius enabled the American army to safely retreat from Fort Ticonderoga, and Burgoyne, who underestimated the enemy. Illustrated with black-and-white and color reproductions, the text is also broken up by sometimes irrelevant sidebars. There are five other new books in this series. Bib., glos., ind. [Review covers these titles: Baron von Steuben, Molly Pitcher, George Rogers Clark, Thaddeus Kosciuszko, John Burgoyne.]

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(4) 4-6 Explorers of New Worlds series. Each book in this series details the journeys of a European or an American explorer. Text boxes feature original quotes, and the chapters include a geographic description of the territory explored. The superficial prose carefully explains the events and decisions but manages to dull most of the excitement. All the books include a timeline and reproduced artwork; three have poorly reproduced maps. There are four other fall 2001 books in this series. Bib., glos., ind. [Review covers these titles: Jolliet and Marquette, Robert Peary and the Quest for the North Pole, John C. Frémont, Sir Ernest Shackleton and the Struggle against Antarctica, Henry Hudson.]

Reviewer: Lauren Aimonette LIang

(4) 4-6 Explorers of New Worlds series. Each book in this series details the journeys of a European or an American explorer. Text boxes feature original quotes, and the chapters include a geographic description of the territory explored. The superficial prose carefully explains the events and decisions but manages to dull most of the excitement. All the books include a timeline and reproduced artwork; three have poorly reproduced maps. There are four other fall 2001 books in this series. Bib., glos., ind. [Review covers these titles: Jolliet and Marquette, Robert Peary and the Quest for the North Pole, John C. Frémont, Sir Ernest Shackleton and the Struggle against Antarctica, Henry Hudson.]

Reviewer: Lauren Aimonette LIang

(4) 4-6 Explorers of New Worlds series. Illustrated with color reproductions and photographs, the books provide biographical information and track the explorations that made each of these historic figures famous. The tone of the prose is generally casual and somewhat dumbed down, and generic "historians" and "researchers" are often cited to back up statements but remain unnamed in the text. Time lines are included. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(4) 4-6 Great Disasters: Reforms and Ramifications series. Two catastrophic twentieth-century events are recounted in volumes that present historic background, provide details of each disaster, and discuss how these events led to transportation safety reforms. Hindenburg is padded with extraneous information and Titanic's prose is somewhat repetitive, but the topics are inherently interesting. Time lines and standard black-and-white photos are included. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta