(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Hannah George. Homeless thirteen-year-old orphan Davy loves art so much he brushes pictures into the dirt around the ramshackle town of Brownvale. When elderly Miss Flint, former curator of a now-deserted museum, (humorously) hires the child as her driver, Davy's life expands even as hers ebbs. Blending allusions to classic films, Renaissance art, and Celtic spiritual beliefs, this ambiguously set Christmastime tale fashions gentle joys out of grim circumstances.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(4) YA Dustlands Trilogy series. The concluding volume to Young's post-apocalyptic series (think Hunger Games meets Chaos Walking) finds protagonist Saba torn among competing loyalties as she struggles to defeat charismatic villain DeMalo. While some of the particulars are contrived here, the series' general strengths--the unpolished, folksy narrative voice and thematic celebration of the ability of human bonds to overcome corrupt systems--shine through.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(3) YA Dustlands Trilogy series. Following Blood Red Road, Saba, having rescued her twin brother Lugh from the thuggish Tonton, is set to depart across the Big Water to a better life when she's sidetracked by the apparent betrayal of Jack, her capricious ally and romantic foil. The characters are deliciously complex, the perilous landscape fully realized, and Saba is the perfect mix of toughness and compassion.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(3) YA Dustlands Trilogy series. After her twin brother is captured, Saba vows to rescue him. Accompanied by her despised younger sister, she travels through the dystopian land of lawless enclaves and disintegrating civilization. Saba's skill as a fighter serves both to preserve her family and to help make allies. The cruelty of Young's world is balanced by Saba's development from sullen loner into loyal heroine.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac