Bookverdict.com

Gr 7-9 Fifteen-year-old Francesca (Franky) Pierson, middle child of a local Seattle celebrity and his abused artistic wife, recounts her observations of the final dissolution of her parents' marriage. Although Oates gives Franky a credible and engaging voice, the family's descent into turmoil and the revelation of the violence at the heart of the mother's disappearance hold almost no surprising twists. As in Julius Lester's When Dad Killed Mom (Harcourt, 2001), there is some e...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Any anthology of new fantasy published specifically for the YA market is welcome, and this is a strong collection, the stories richly varied. Diana Wynne Jones pits an assortment of wonderfully differentiated cats against a horrifying, decrepit (but still riddling) Sphinx in "Little Dot." Sherwood Smith, with characters from Crown Duel, offers a level-headedly romantic exploration of true beauty and true love. Megan Whalen Turner handles the mysterious-abandoned-infant theme with a light...Log In or Sign Up to Read More