Stephanie Meyer is offering fans of the Twilight series a chance to read her Eclipse novella The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner free online at the site below:

http://www.breetanner.com/

This site will be live until midnight (EST) July 5, 2010 – so you have all weekend to read, if you are so inclined!

If you don’t get a chance to read it online – or if you want to have a copy of your own – buy the book…and one dollar from each book sold will be donated to the American Red Cross.

Also, the Red Cross has set up a Giving Campaign page for The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner here.

Enjoy your summer reading!

Genre: Fantasy

# of Pages:  411 p.

Iowa Teen Award Winner 2010-2011

Conn has been living on the streets getting by picking locks and pickpocketing.  One day Conn pickpockets from a powerful wizard named Nevery and he responds by taking Conn as his apprentice.  In order to be a wizard you have to have a powerful stone called a locus magicalicus and Conn is only allowed 30 days to find his  or else he won’t be allowed by the council to remain an apprentice.  Meanwhile, Nevery has been called back to town in order to help resolve the problem of the declining magic supply.  The levels of magic have drastically gone down and no one knows why.  Magic is used in all aspects of this town and the town would die without it.  Somehow, Conn believes he and Nevery must work together to solve the problem of the missing magic.

This is a fun, light-hearted fantasy story with many interesting characters and plot twists.  Many junior high and upper elementary students will love to step into this world.  It would be fun to do with small groups as well.  Anyone who enjoys Harry Potter will find these delightful. -Review by Young Adult Book Reviews 

Genre:  Realistic Fiction

# of Pages:  287 p.

Katarina Bishop is the daughter of a notorious thief, but has decided to get out of the business in order to go to a prestigious boarding school.    When she is kicked out of the school for a crime she did not commit, she finds out that a powerful man has decided to target her father as the culprit for some paintings of his that were stolen.  If she is not able to find and return the missing paintings to him then he will hurt her father.  One way or another she finds herself back in the world of heists and cons.

For those who loved the Gallagher Girls books this will be another winner.  The characters are fun, the plot twists and turns, and there is room for a sequel.  Recommended for those who enjoy heist books or are simply looking for a fun summer read.  -Review by Young Adult Book Reviews

Genre:  Fantasy

# of Pages:  400

2010 Iowa High School Book Award

Jena and her four sisters use a secret portal to sneak into the woods to dance with the magical creatures every full moon.  When Jena’s father gets ill and is sent away to recover, she is left in charge and her cousin Cezar begins to take over.  Cezar believes that women are frail and need to be looked after by men.  As Jena struggles to take care of her sisters, their home, and her father’s business she always has her best friend, Gogu, by her side.  Gogu is a talking frog that only she can hear.  As Cezar becomes frantic trying to control the five sisters, Jena starts to worry that all is not well in the wildwoods either.  Can she protect her sisters and everyone else she cares about from a power hungry dictator?

This fantasy story begins a little slowly as the characters are introduced, but accelerates quickly as the family battles Cezar on a daily basis.  There are some twists and turns along the way, but a few are fairly easy to predict.  The end will leave readers wanting more.  Highly recommended for fantasy lovers.  -Review by Young Adult Book Reviews

Genre:  Science Fiction

# of Pages:  265

Iowa High School Award Winner 2010

Jenna Fox was in a horrible car accident and wakes up a year later in a different part of the country with no memory of the previous year.  She lives with her mom and grandma and her dad is back home.  No one will tell her why they moved or why she has no memories of her life.  They assure her it will take time to recover and remember who she was.  In this book, it is possible to replace organs or create clones, but it is illegal to do so.  As Jenna starts piecing together bits of information that do not make sense she starts to wonder what her parents were willing to do in order to save her.  How far would a parent go to save a dying child?

Students who like Jodi Picoult books will enjoy this one, because it moves quickly and has several twists and turns in the plot.  There are also many moral issues discussed as the society struggles with the previous overuse of antibiotics that have annihilated several species of plants and animals on earth.  What scientific measures are appropriate if the intentions are good?  When does it go too far?  An interesting futuristic story that will leave the reader thinking about the possibilities the future could hold if we do not monitor some of our ways today.  -Review by Young Adult Book Reviews

Genre:  Historical Fiction

# of Pages:  174 p.

Iowa Teen Award 2010

This WWII story is based on true accounts of a boy named Helmuth who lived in Germany when Hitler took office and was forced to join the Hitler Youth.  As he got older he began listening to an illegal radio and was shocked to find out how much the German media was keeping from the people.  He decided to create some pamphlets informing citizens of the actual losses Germans were suffering in the war. He was caught for his crimes and faced trial and a possible death sentence for what he had done.  Helmuth had to come to terms with the fact that he may die at a young age and wondered if he felt it was worth it for standing up for what he believed in.

This chilling story based on true facts moves quickly and provides a different view of WWII.  Bartoletti helps young readers to see what it was like to be a German during this time, how they were lied to, how afraid they were, and the kind of torture the Nazis were capable of doing even to their own citizens.  Fans of books from this era will enjoy this and want to know more about this person.  The only criticism would be that fans will want to know more about Helmuth than is provided in the story.  -Review by Young Adult Book Reviews

Genre:  Fantasy

# of Pages:  375

Iowa Teen Award 2010

Josh and Sophie are fifteen-year-old twins who are thrust into a crazy adventure when they see some golems or “mud men” attack Josh’s bosses, Nicholas Flamel and his wife, Perenelle.  Nicholas and Perenelle have been hiding out for hundreds of years because they have possession of the Codex, which is a famous book that contains many spells including one for immortal life.  Dr. John Dee created golems to help him steal the Codex from Nicholas and ends up getting all but two pages of it and kidnaps Perenelle because she is very familiar with magical spells.  Nicholas is positive it is not a coincidence that Josh and Sophie were present at the time of the attack because twins are prophesied in the Codex.  He believes they have strong magical powers and do not even realize it.  Can he help them awaken and learn their powers in time to save the world from imminent disaster?

This fantasy story contains a lot of background knowledge and characters that actually existed.  The author provides a lot of information at the end about which facts are true and which are fabricated, which is fun for readers to learn after finishing the story.  The adventure moves quickly as Nicholas and the twins are attacked by many different mythical creatures.  The ending is very exciting, unique, and will leave readers wanting more.  Readers who like The Lightning Thief or Alfred Kropp will want to pick up this title.  -Review by Young Adult Book Reviews