(4) 4-6 Seven Wonders series. Thirteen-year-old Jack McKinley is kidnapped along with three other teens to form the Select, descendants of Atlantis who will die without seven Atlantean artifacts called the Loculi. Mistrustful of the professor who wants to use their talents, Jack and the others still seek the first Loculus in the Colossus of Rhodes. Satisfyingly intense action sequences hang on a shaky, formulaic plot scaffolding.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) 4-6 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers series. Eager to save their kidnapped family members, siblings Dan (thirteen) and Amy (sixteen), continue to take orders from their enemy, Vesper One. Crisscrossing the world, the Cahills search for ancient artifacts, while dodging Interpol and the conniving Wyoming siblings from the clue hunt. The high-stakes (if formulaic) plot moves quickly and builds suspense, while historical facts are woven into the stories. Review covers these 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers titles: The Dead of Night and A King's Ransom.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(2) YA Ben suffers a traumatic brain injury while in Iraq. The brief novel covers big themes: language, memory, identity, and how a war injury affects not just the soldier but everyone around him. Ben's parents and his girlfriend all suffer, and his autistic brother must learn to cope with his disordered world. An easy-to-read war novel that respects its readers and challenges them to understand the true consequences of war.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2012

(3) 4-6 39 Clues series. Also written by Jude Watson. In four engaging short stories (each written by a different author), origins of the five-hundred-year-old animosity between the Cahills and the Vespers are explained. The volume ends in modern times, with Amy and Dan continuing to gather clues to locate the ring and keep it hidden from Vespers. Though the kids' original 39 Clues adventures have ended, this book seems to indicate another series.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(4) 4-6 39 Clues series. In Nest, Amy and Dan learn some unpleasant truths about their family's lineage while trying to evade the Holts in South Africa (among other places). Code finds the sibs dramatically separated in China. Warning takes them to the Caribbean--and a showdown with the man in black. The series continues to spit out compulsively readable, if slight, tales of adventure. Review covers these 39 Clues titles: The Emperor's Code, The Viper's Nest, and Storm Warning.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(4) 4-6 39 Clues series. Three different authors contribute volumes to the high-octane series about a treacherous, globe-circling scavenger hunt. Dan and Amy are still the principle underdogs in the search for the clues (a Mozart manuscript, a Japanese sword, ancient hieroglyphs) that will allow them to claim their family's historical power. The (stock) characters are energetically rendered; the action never abates. Review covers these 39 Clues titles: One False Note, The Sword Thief, and Beyond the Grave.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross