(3) YA Orphaned siblings Indi, Beleza, Oscar, and Zulu sail the Mediterranean Sea slaying monsters and searching for the particular creature they think killed their parents. But instead of revenge, Indi really longs for a fabled treasure and eventually a simpler life for himself. Moskowitz manages to create an intimate-feeling narrative and moving family dynamics amid fantastical sea-faring adventure.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(4) YA Four years after the extraterrestrial Luxen invasion, the world is a dangerous, divided place. Still, seventeen-year-old Evie never expects that a night out dancing and a club where humans and aliens mingle will change everything. But Luc, the sexy and mysterious alien club owner, blows apart Evie's whole life. Sharing the world of Armentrout's Lux series, this steamy if formulaic spinoff will hook paranormal-romance fans.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(4) 4-6 Sci-Finity: Redworld series. Illustrated by Tomislav Tikulin. By 2335, Earth's resources have dwindled, so Belle Song and her family immigrate to the newest frontier: Mars. People, homes, weather, and school are strange, but Belle's spunk earns her new friends. Collins superficially touches on timely issues such as refugees, diversity, and natural resource conservation in these facile but quick-paced sci-fi novellas. Full-page illustrations and diary entries appear occasionally. Glos. Review covers these Sci-Finity: Redworld titles: Asylum, Homestead, Legacy, Outcry, Raiders, and Tharsis City.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(4) 4-6 Sci-Finity: Redworld series. Illustrated by Tomislav Tikulin. By 2335, Earth's resources have dwindled, so Belle Song and her family immigrate to the newest frontier: Mars. People, homes, weather, and school are strange, but Belle's spunk earns her new friends. Collins superficially touches on timely issues such as refugees, diversity, and natural resource conservation in these facile but quick-paced sci-fi novellas. Full-page illustrations and diary entries appear occasionally. Glos. Review covers these Sci-Finity: Redworld titles: Asylum, Homestead, Legacy, Outcry, Raiders, and Tharsis City.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(3) YA Witch's Child series. Julia finds herself torn between worlds. A double agent, she appears to help Casimir fill the throne of Frayne with his minion while spying for revolutionaries who want to install a rebel princess instead. Meanwhile, Julia still strives to understand her own vanishing abilities. Fully realized characters will keep readers hooked until the last page of this riveting conclusion to the trilogy.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(3) 4-6 After a plant-growing product called Waste ravaged the world, Kobi and his scientist father survive alone in a school in contaminated Seattle. When Kobi's father fails to return from a supply run, the boy ventures out, meeting unexpected young survivors with unusual abilities similar to his own. A quick and engrossing post-apocalyptic adventure with a cliffhanger ending; readers will eagerly await the next installment.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(4) YA Class series. These tie-in novels to the alien-focused BBC TV series Class follow a group of students at Coal Hill School who must solve mysterious occurrences. Ram wakes up in the wrong body thanks to alien technology in Joyride, and April discovers missing students were fighting an alien war in What. While the series' premise promises much, the multi-perspective stories are a mishmash of mystery and extraterrestrial encounters. Review covers these Class titles: Joyride and What She Does Next Will Astound You.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(3) YA Painted Wolf, Tunde, and Rex (The Game; The Con) return, still on the run and now with only six days to stop tycoon Kiran's apocalypse. To save the world and earn back their freedom, the LODGE geniuses must trust new allies and maybe some old enemies. Background illustrations and page decorations complement this fast-paced conclusion to the globetrotting trilogy about tech-genius teens.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(4) 4-6 Bravelands series. The Code of the wild is broken after the murder of the elephant leader known as Great Mother. In this second book (Broken Pride), lion cub Fearless, baboon Thorn, and elephant Sky return--each of the unlikely allies on a separate quest to protect the balance of the Bravelands. Hunter continues another formulaic series full of adventure and discovery.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(3) YA In 2067, teenager Romy has lived alone on The Infinity since her astronaut parents' accidental deaths. When Romy receives word of a second spaceship en route to hers, she begins emailing with the young captain. Romy's hope, and love for commander J, grows as The Eternity approaches. This haunting space story, told via emails and first-person narration, contains a massive (and well-executed) twist.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(4) YA An intercepted transmission sends scholars and scavengers from Earth to explore the abandoned planet Gaia. Despite opposing missions, scholar Jules and scavenger Mia must join forces to beat an alien temple's puzzles and traps. Their smart-guy/tough-girl romance feels rushed, but readers may enjoy cracking puzzles alongside the protagonists, and a cliffhanger ending will leave readers anticipating the next installment.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(3) 4-6 Nearly Always Perilous Adventures of Archibald Shrew series. In the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Mr. Popli (serious mouse mayor of Garbage Island) and fellow rodent Archibald Shrew (a reckless inventor) rarely see eye to eye. When their island falls apart, they must weather storms, predators, and misunderstandings to survive. Koehler's first novel is full of funny dialogue, and his black-and-white illustrations help readers understand the scope of this tiny, isolated world.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(3) 4-6 A month after freeing her twin, Sasha, Valor faces another difficult challenge when Demidova's princess and queen both disappear. Using their wits and their royal and underground connections, the twins journey through challenging conditions to protect their beloved land of Demidova. Fans of Russian lore will love this fast-paced and fantastical sequel to Prisoner of Ice and Snow.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(4) YA Ciara, princess of Mide in the ancient land of Éirinn, has mind-control powers that help her kingdom defeat Northmen invaders but also terrify her father's army. After being banished for believing a dire vision, Ciara works with a captured Northman leader to defeat an even bigger threat to her land. Leake creatively mixes Celtic and Norse mythologies, which elevates an otherwise predictable romance.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(3) 4-6 Lubar returns with his ninth Weenies collection, offering the scariest and silliest stories yet. This time, he includes not-so-scary vampires, suspicious pets, a mold-infested library, and a Black Friday gone horribly (and hilariously) wrong. Perfect for those who like creepy but not too creepy, these very brief tales will engage reluctant readers and bibliophiles alike.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(3) 4-6 Going Wild series. Charlie and her friends Mac and Maria must stop Dr. Gray and his beastly warriors before they turn all of humanity into chimera beasts. They research fierce new animal powers, upgrade their magical-powers bracelets, and decide whom to trust to save the day. McMann brings her series about kids with animal powers to a thrilling and satisfying close. Full-page illustrations add dimension to the story.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(3) YA Ia Cōcha is an infamous rebel pilot, criminal, and (secretly) a teenage girl. When Ia is captured and exposed by the Olympus Commonwealth, her punishment is being sent to the imperialist government's military academy. Unexpectedly, Ia befriends her secretive roommate and falls for the flight master, making alliances necessary to save the universe. Sci-fi fans will get swept up in this fast-paced, dramatic, and diversely cast space epic.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(3) YA The exclusive Quatra Fleet Academy now welcomes cadets from all planets in the solar system. Admiral's daughter Vesper competes for a captain's spot with Cormak, a poor boy from a toxic planet; Arran, a sheltered boy from an icy planet, falls for the wrong boy; and Orelia struggles in the Academy as she hides a big secret. Can these cadets work as a team? Morgan creates a well-drawn interplanetary society in this series-starting space opera.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(3) 4-6 Spirit Hunters series. Harper Raine's family takes a trip to a remote Caribbean island. Harper experiences visions of disappearing islanders and must rely on her spirit-hunting skills and help from new friends, human and ghost, to save the day. Delightfully spooky and with a cast of well-drawn multicultural characters, Oh’s second Spirit Hunters tale should appeal to a wide audience.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(3) YA Illustrated by Tara O'Connor. Seventeen-year-old Denise and her family return to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to flip an old house into a bed and breakfast. Soon Denise learns the house is haunted by two ghosts, whose deaths may be connected to a comic book Denise finds abandoned in her attic. That comic (illustrated in sharp monochromatic blue) is interspersed between chapters of this engaging, atmospheric paranormal mystery.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters