Feed  M. T. Anderson          "I don't know when they first had feeds. Like maybe, fifty or a hundred years ago. Before then, they had to use their hands and their eyes. Computers were all outside the body. They carried them around outside of them, in their hands, like if you carried your lungs in a briefcase and opened it to breathe." Titus and his friends have grown up on the feed-connected on a 24-hour basis through brain implants to a vast computer network, they have become their medium. "The braggest thing about the feed . . . is that it knows everything you want and hope for, sometimes before you even know what those things are." Titus is a master at navigating this world where to consume is to live, but when he meets Violet, a distinctly unusual girl whose philology-professor father has chosen to homeschool her instead of sending her to School, he begins, very tentatively and imperfectly, to question this equation. Thrown together when their feeds are hacked at a party and they are temporarily disconnected, their very hesitant romance is played out against the backdrop of an utterly hedonistic world of trend and acquisition."                                                                                            -- The Kirkus Review, Sept. /2002
The Merlin Conspiracy Diana Wynne Jones       "When Roddy and her friend Grundo discover that the Merlin (who is in charge of magic) has been murdered, they are unable to convince anyone else of the murder conspiracy. Roddy summons an unknown helper, Nick, who is startled to be drawn from his own equally magic world but loves Roddy on sight. One world Nick visits is a futuristic nightmare with strict rules and a toxic sun, while another place crafted by a powerful Magid is three different worlds cobbled together. Along the way Roddy, Nick, and Grundo encounter a contrary goat, a devoted elephant, terrified salamanders, a pair of entertainingly obnoxious twins, and numerous adults who often turn out to be related in some way."                                                                                       --The Horn Book, May/June 2003
What my Mother Doesn't Know   Sonya Sones       "Fourteen-year-old Sophia is searching for Mr. Right. In a story written in poetry form, Sophia describes her relationships with Dylan, suspicious cyberboy, and, finally, with the mysterious masked "stranger" who dances with her on Halloween and then disappears. She touches on her rocky relationship with her mom, her clashes with her two best friends, and many other special "girl moments." Sophia continues sharing, through the poetry in her new novel, the secret embarrassments and private passions of young women as she weathers the storms of growing up and the scary, unfamiliar emotions that accompany first love."                                                                                        -- The Horn Book, March/April 2002
A Northern Light:  Jennifer Donnelly      "Should sixteen-year-old Mattie stay in her "bubble" community and become a wife and mother, or should she strike out for the freedom and intellectual stimulation of the big city? A murder helps her make up her mind. Set in upstate New York in 1906, this ambitious historical novel incorporates the same real-life crime--the murder of a pregnant young woman--that inspired Dreiser's An American Tragedy."                                                                                     --The Horn Book, October, 2003
A Child Called It: David Pelzer      This autobiographical account charts the abuse of a young boy as his alcoholic mother first isolates him from the rest of the family; then torments him; and finally nearly kills him through starvation, poisoning, and one dramatic stabbing. Pelzer's portrayal of domestic tyranny and eventual escape is unforgettable.  Pelzer's experience was among one of the worst cases of child abuse in California history.  His shared experiences demonstrate the power of mental strength and of hope.