In this dystopian novel, the world is a very unsafe place for unwanted children. Set after the Second Civil War in the United States, (also called the “Heartland War”), the debate over abortion ultimately led to a war between pro-life and pro-choice armies.

This boisterous steampunk novel is set in an alternative 1880’s America and takes place in a shattered Seattle, Washington. When gold was found in the Klondike, the Russians wanted to build a machine that would extract this easily. Inventor Leviticus Blue created the Boneshaker, a massive mining machine. But on its trial run, it went out of control and cut a large swath of destruction through downtown Seattle. Blue drove the Boneshaker home to his basement lab and was never seen again. Blue’s young wife, Briar Wilkes, gave birth to their son, Zeke, that night.

In drought and depression-ridden 1930s Gilead, Texas, hardworking Ella Barron is the mother of autistic 10-year-old Solly. After her husband walked out, she learned to run her Texas boarding house by herself where she provides spotless surroundings and three meals a day with the help of her black maid, Margaret. She needs her house to be fully occupied in order to make ends meet, so she rents one of her rooms to the kindly Dr. David Rainwater, a man slowly dying of cancer.

M.M. Buckner offers us this shades of the X Files novel that deals with the possible ramifications of our throwaway society. As we acquire new technology, we throw away our old cell phones, MP3 players, and computers. It stands to reason that a lot of our electronic garbage, along with pharmaceuticals and even genetically modified seeds will eventually end up in our water supply. And from such a potent chemical stew; what might emerge? Such is the premise of this book.

Chet (the Jet) is a mongrel dog who failed K-9 School because a cat ran across his path at a critical moment. Despite that, he is a dedicated PI and works with Bernie Little, owner of the Little Detective Agency.

Chet and Bernie are called to investigate the disappearance of a teenage girl, Madison. She returns, but then disappears again. This time, she doesn’t come back.

This smart and delightful novel is utterly captivating. Written totally in a series of letters between the characters, it focuses on a young British author searching for her next book topic.

It’s January 1946, and 31-year old-Juliet Ashton, fresh from a book tour, is casting about for a topic for her next book when she receives a letter from Dawsey Adams, a farmer from the island of Guernsey in the English Channel. He found her name in a second-hand book he bought, and he writes Juliet to ask where he might find more books by the same author.

This debut novel is remarkable in that it is written by Katherine Howe, the descendant of two women accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch trials, Elizabeth Proctor and Elizabeth Howe. Howe was convicted and was hung as a witch, but Proctor survived the trials. Katherine Howe knows of what she speaks.

“Uglies,” by Scott Westerfeld, is a young adult title (12+), and is the first in a series. Although published in 2008, it deals with perennial issues important to young adults; friends, looking good and, most of all, fitting in.

In this dystopian novel, the world is a very unsafe place for unwanted children. Set after the Second Civil War in the United States, (also called the “Heartland War”), the debate over abortion ultimately led to a war between pro-life and pro-choice armies.

This boisterous steampunk novel is set in an alternative 1880’s America and takes place in a shattered Seattle, Washington. When gold was found in the Klondike, the Russians wanted to build a machine that would extract this easily. Inventor Leviticus Blue created the Boneshaker, a massive mining machine. But on its trial run, it went out of control and cut a large swath of destruction through downtown Seattle. Blue drove the Boneshaker home to his basement lab and was never seen again. Blue’s young wife, Briar Wilkes, gave birth to their son, Zeke, that night.

In drought and depression-ridden 1930s Gilead, Texas, hardworking Ella Barron is the mother of autistic 10-year-old Solly. After her husband walked out, she learned to run her Texas boarding house by herself where she provides spotless surroundings and three meals a day with the help of her black maid, Margaret. She needs her house to be fully occupied in order to make ends meet, so she rents one of her rooms to the kindly Dr. David Rainwater, a man slowly dying of cancer.

M.M. Buckner offers us this shades of the X Files novel that deals with the possible ramifications of our throwaway society. As we acquire new technology, we throw away our old cell phones, MP3 players, and computers. It stands to reason that a lot of our electronic garbage, along with pharmaceuticals and even genetically modified seeds will eventually end up in our water supply. And from such a potent chemical stew; what might emerge? Such is the premise of this book.

Chet (the Jet) is a mongrel dog who failed K-9 School because a cat ran across his path at a critical moment. Despite that, he is a dedicated PI and works with Bernie Little, owner of the Little Detective Agency.

Chet and Bernie are called to investigate the disappearance of a teenage girl, Madison. She returns, but then disappears again. This time, she doesn’t come back.

This smart and delightful novel is utterly captivating. Written totally in a series of letters between the characters, it focuses on a young British author searching for her next book topic.

It’s January 1946, and 31-year old-Juliet Ashton, fresh from a book tour, is casting about for a topic for her next book when she receives a letter from Dawsey Adams, a farmer from the island of Guernsey in the English Channel. He found her name in a second-hand book he bought, and he writes Juliet to ask where he might find more books by the same author.

This debut novel is remarkable in that it is written by Katherine Howe, the descendant of two women accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch trials, Elizabeth Proctor and Elizabeth Howe. Howe was convicted and was hung as a witch, but Proctor survived the trials. Katherine Howe knows of what she speaks.

“Uglies,” by Scott Westerfeld, is a young adult title (12+), and is the first in a series. Although published in 2008, it deals with perennial issues important to young adults; friends, looking good and, most of all, fitting in.