Books Inc. Kids's blog

A beautiful, reassuring and deeply moving new novel from the Newbery Award winning author, Rebecca Stead—where When You Reach Me was a tale of metaphysics and choice, Liar and Spy is a questioning novel about the nature of destiny and games. This time taking on a contemporary boy’s point of view, Stead expertly negotiates delicate content with seeming ease. As in When You Reach Me, her prose is marked by deceptively simple structure, belying very complicated ideas. So for mystery lovers, lovers of spies and lovers of gorgeous kids writing, Liar and Spy is the very worthy heir to the When You Reach Me Throne. For ages 9-13

--Reviewed by Maggie, Books Inc. Children's Department Director

 This book is so much fun! It’s a bit of a satire of the superhero genre, but I feel it will also appeal to fans of the superhero genre as well. Five teenagers are kidnapped by aging super villains and have super powers forced upon them so they can become the next team of super villains. As the book itself asks, "How hard can it be to turn teenagers evil?" Good and evil, black and white, and all the gray areas in between are explored in this fast paced and witty debut novel. This book is perfect for boys but there are enough strong female characters to win over female readers as well. (Ages 12+)

Reviewed by Katherine from Laurel Village

I love this book!  I read it twice in two days!  The story and illustrations (pen and ink and colored pencil) are wonderful in this sweet tale of the friendship between two girls in the fifth grade.  The subtitle is: Research for the Social Improvement and General Betterment of Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang (the two protagonists).  It has great characters and laugh-out-loud humor and poignant storylines.  The format is a "dialogue" between the two girls in their own handwriting that share their triumphs and failures in their pursuit of popularity at school.  There are also TWO sequels: The Popularity Papers: The Long Dispatch Between... (where one friend moves away) and The Popularity Papers: The Rocky Road Trip of... (where the friends go on a summer break adventure).  And they include gay dads! What more could you ask for? (Ages 8-12)

Reviewed by Darrell Scheidegger from Books Inc. Market St.

 I’m afraid that I won’t be able to do this review justice because reading it was just magical.  Told from the perspective of Tinker Bell this is a beautiful, dark and haunting retelling of Peter Pan focusing on Tiger Lily who is 15 years old at the time.  Although begrudgingly accepted as the Shaman’s adopted daughter Tiger Lily has always been an outsider in her own village and the stigma only intensifies when she defies the tribe and saves a shipwrecked Englander who was doomed to die on the rocky shores of Neverland.  When she is almost captured by Peter Pan she is slowly drawn in to his wild, carefree and sometimes savage life with the Lost Boys and begins to pull away from her tribe and her impending arranged marriage at potentially devastating costs.  Anderson has delivered a mesmerizing romance with a fearless heroine that is sure to satisfy anyone who has ever wondered about the inhabitants of Neverland. (Ages 14 & up)

 --Shannon, Senior Children's Book Buyer for Books Inc.