Holling Hoodhood (no really, that’s his name) has a dilemma.  It’s the late 1960′s and he happens to be of the wrong faith.  You see, if he were Catholic, he’d get to leave school early on Wednesday to go what we now call CCD.  If he were Jewish, he’d get to go to Temple.  However, he’s Presbyterian, and as such, he has to stay in school with Mrs. Baker.  Does she give him a chance to just “hang out” since he’s the only one in her class? N-o-o-o-o.  She starts out by giving him cleaning jobs to do, then decides to inflict him with her love of Shakespeare.  He finds out, however, that Shakespeare isn’t so bad, especially with Mrs. Baker teaching it, because he learns a lot more than just Shakespeare.  He learns what it’s like to hope your husband comes home from Vietnam alive, what it’s like to be an Asian foster child when the war is going on, what it’s like to have two rats running loose in the school, what it’s like to deal with a father whose major interest is work, and what it’s like to be trained to run by an Olympic gold medalist.  He learns being a Presbyterian on Wednesday is not so bad after all.

The City of bones series is a great story that mixes reality with the supernatural.  If you like The lightening thief series, you’ll probably enjoy these books.  Clary Fray discovers that she can see people (demons) that no one else can see.  Her mother is hiding a secret from her past that ends up putting both of their lives in danger.  Her mother is taken by a demon and Clary sets out to rescue her whatever the cost.  This ends up involving her friend, Simon (who is in love with her) and new Darkhunter friends, especially the handsome, Jace.

Kate gets accepted to attend a Shakespeare symposium in Verona, Italy.  She thinks this will help her get over being dumped.  However, although she vows to lose herself in her studies, pasta, and gelato, she can’t help but notice the handsome Giacomo.  Can she keep her promise to never fall for another guy?

In the Martin family tradition, Scarlett has been given the responsibility of a room in their hotel, the Hopewell, on her 15th birthday.  She gets the Empire Suite, and shortly thereafter, an eccentric guest, Amy Amberson.  Mrs. Amberson is a former New York City resident and actress who plans on monopolizing all of Scarlett’s time.  This isn’t what Scarlett has planned for the summer, especially after she meets Spencer’s acting partner, Eric.  However, Mrs. Amberson has lots of theater connections which come in handy for Spencer, and through a strange turn of events, their hotel.

Action, suspense, danger, friendship, romance…these are just a few of the reasons this is a great book.  After a good part of the United States is destroyed by rebellion and war, the ruling class, The Capital, divides the nation into districts.  Katniss and Peeta are from District 12, a coal mining area.  Times are always hard, food is scarce, and death is fairly common.  Each year the Capital holds the Hunger Games, a televised event that pits a boy and a girl from each district against each other.   Twenty- four young people between the ages of 12-18 try to survive the games in order to bring honor, and more importantly, food to their families and district.  They fight to the death using any means possible.  Katniss and Peeta do their best to survive, but the Capital seems to keep working against them.  How can they live with themselves knowing that in order to win, they not only have to kill everyone else, they also have to try and kill each other?

Aislinn and her grandmother have a unique ability…they can see faeries.  These aren’t the Tinkerbell variety, these are people pinching, hair pulling, tripping faeries.  Strangely enough,  Aislinn hears them talking about her…is she the one, is she the future queen?  Aislinn can’t figure out what this is all about, especially after two faeries, Keenan, the Faerie King, and Donia, a failed selection for the Faerie Queen, take human form and start interacting with her.  Since faeries are put off by iron, she hangs out with Seth, her secret crush, in his railroad car home.  But the iron in the tracks and car still can’t keep this new group of faeires away.  Keenan is convinced that Aislinn is the girl he needs to be his Summer Queen and free the people from his mother, the Winter Queen.  Problem is, Aislinn has no intention of being his queen.  Will her refusal put all the people she loves in danger?

After graduating from high school, Colin is dumped by his 19th girlfriend, Katherine…the same name as all of his other girlfriends.  He’s love sick, so his buddy Hassan decides he needs a road trip.  Colin is pretty smart and he’s trying to perfect a mathmatical formula (The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability) that can predict how a romance will turn out.  He hopes it will help him find the girl of his dreams, whether her name is Katherine or not.  If it doesn’t work, he hopes it will at least help the “dumpees” of the world to become the “dumpers.”  It takes a trip to Gunshot, TN, and a girl named Lindsey to help Colin see there’s more to life than formulas and girls named Katherine.