Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Once, in a letter, Neil Gaiman misspelled the name Caroline and thought to himself, "Coraline. That almost looks like a real name."  (Don't believe me? Watch the video.  Then, again, watch it anyway.  It's an awesome speech.)

And a real name it is, if you're paid, in his words, to make things up and then write them down.

What Mr. Gaiman made up and wrote down is a story about a young girl who has moved into a new house and begins to explore.  Coraline's family doesn't have the whole house--just one flat on the middle floor.  Two ladies with theater in their pasts live on the bottom floor, and a crazy old man who claims to be training a mouse circus lives on the the top floor.

Coraline and her parents have moved in a bit before school starts, so Coraline wonders around trying to entertain herself during the last days of vacation.  Both of her parents work from home, but that doesn't mean they have time to entertain their daughter. Instead, Coraline goes off exploring.  She explores their flat.  She explores outside.  She explores downstairs, where the ladies call her "Caroline" and upstairs, where the crazy old man calls her "Caroline".  But he also tells her that the mice warn her against going through the door.

Actually, they warn against going through THE DOOR.

See, when Coraline was exploring her family's flat she found a door that opens up onto a brick wall.  Her mother explains that the door, probably, formerly, connected one side of the house to another.  Now that the house is broken up into flats, the brick wall separates Coraline's family's flat from the empty one next door.  Despite the obvious obstacle of the brick, Coraline is convinced, after a few strange things start happening, that she can get into the flat on the other side.

And, as you might suspect (or this story would go nowhere), one day when Coraline is exploring, she opens the door and the obstacle is gone.  She can walk through and into the next flat.  Now, a disappearing brick wall sounds odd, but once Coraline walks through things begin to get odder.  She meets her "other mother" and her "other father."  She meets a talking dog and a talk cat.  Her real parents disappear, and she learns to dislike black button eyes.

It's a good thing that
Coraline is both brave and clever.

Coraline has managed to land in a major spot of trouble.  Her "other mother" isn't as she seems, and in order to save herself and her parents, Coraline must be brave and clever.  She has help from the talking cat and a charm the theater ladies once gave her; she also gets advice from the spirits of three children who once were where Coraline is now.

Coraline is a fabulous tale (and it was made into a stop-motion 3D film in 2009), but it's not a a shallow or simplistic one.  I'm calling it PG because is might be frightening to suggestible readers, but there's no adult content.  My library keeps it in the children's collection, and I suspect the ideal reader is somewhere between my genius fifth-grade niece and her precocious first-grade brother.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

There's this thing with librarians; they seem to know a good book when they read it.  So when I was looking for another book to review, I hit the Newbery Medal list.  That's where I found this gem.  When You Reach Me is a little modern(ish) day Nancy Drew part Judy Blume part young adult Dr. Who (the time travel part at least).  Those librarians, they know what they're doing.

Miranda is a sixth grader living with her mother in their apartment in New York City.  Miranda's mom works as an assistant at a law firm with aspirations of becoming a lawyer herself someday.  Someday when she saves enough money and fully recovers from raising a daughter on her own that is.  Miranda and her best friend Sal know how to traverse their neighborhood: stay away from the older kids hanging out by the auto shop and stay WAY away from the crazy guy who likes to sleep with his head under the mailbox.  But then one day, on the way home from school, an older kid punches Sal in the stomach without provocation.  So that's not good but even worse is the fact that Sal has made it clear he no longer wants to be friends with Miranda.

As if that's not bad enough Miranda has to figure out how to help her mom win $20,000 Pyramid, deal with some snobby girls in her class, figure out how to cut sandwich rolls properly, and since when was there a dentist's office in her school?!  That's not even the toughest mystery.  These notes keep showing up.  Notes on tiny pieces of paper show up in places that they shouldn't show up.  And they say things that don't make complete sense.  Almost, but not quite.  Sixth grade is turning out to be tough.

This book is fun, suspenseful, sweet, and surprisingly touching.  I would say it's a PG rating, though I'm struggling to figure out why exactly it wouldn't be rated G......hmm.  I suppose it could be the punch, or the crazy guy sometimes not having clothes, or the surprise at the end.  Yeah, PG is a better fit.  But honestly, it's a great book that I'd be comfortable having my genius niece read.  As a matter of fact, I'm going to text her about it tomorrow.  She appreciates good books and librarians.

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass

Wendy Mass is a favorite around my house.  In the past she was just a favorite of my 10-year-old daughter.  After reading Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life she is a favorite of mine now, too. 

Jeremy is one month from turning 13 when a mysterious wooden box arrives in the mail.  The box was sent from his now deceased father and the instructions are to open it on his 13th birthday.  The note with the box claims that the meaning of life can be found on the inside,  but there is one problem.  The box was made with 13 different key holes and the keys are missing!  Jeremy and Lizzy (his adventurous and slightly more social best friend) set out to find the keys.  They are so determined that they get caught breaking into Jeremy's family friends' office building.  As a result of their innocent-yet-law-breaking escapade, they are senteced to community service.  While completing their community service they are assigned to work for Mr. Oswald Oswald, a collector and decendant of a former pawn shop owner.  Jeremy and Lizzy tromp all over the city returning long-ago pawned items to their past owners.  With the  help of Oswald's limo driver James, Jeremy and Lizzy learn that the meaning of life may not be what they thought it was. 

I am a big fan of age appropriate boy/girl friendships like the one Jeremy and Lizzy have in this book.  And Mass does a perfect job of letting Lizzy be Lizzy  and Jeremy be Jeremy but keeps them true to themselves when they are together, too.  It's refreshing compared to the pre-teen drama that is so typical of most books written for this age group. 

Mass gives us a strong characters, too.  Everyone from Mr. Oswald, his driver, and Lizzy and Jeremy are developed just right.  The characters of Lizzy's dad and Jeremy's mom are not central to the book, which seemed lacking to me at first.  Lizzy and Jeremy are the main characters but it is evident that the reason they are so independent is because of their parents.  Their freedoms are a result of being raised by single parents that have set solid rules and boundaries for them. 

The book was a bit emotional (Jeremy reliving his dad's tragic car-accident death) but it's message is touching and heart-felt.  I recommend it for 4th grade through high school. 

Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman

Back in March, I reviewed Polly Shulman's novel, The Grimm Legacy, because I just adored it. I couldn't wait to tell everyone about it (see the review here.)

Come to find out, it was her second novel! Who knew? So, a week or so ago, I decided to order her first novel, Enthusiasm, and I can also recommend it, though it's definitely a different style and type of novel.

Cute cover, no?

Like me, sophomore Julie (or Julia, if you're being formal) has a great fondness for Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. She is a quiet girl, a poet, gawky (she feels) and shy. Her best friend, Ashleigh, however, is loud, excitable, and, well, odd. Ashleigh gets ideas. BIG ideas. She finds something she loves with a passion, for a while, at least, and acts on them in ways that most people wouldn't think to do. Just before their sophomore year begins, Julie is a little unhappy to find that Ashleigh's newest Big Craze is Pride and Prejudice. Ashleigh wants to dress, talk, act, dance like an Austen heroine, and, of course, that means finding a Mr. Darcy for both of them.

The Quadrille

Ashleigh decides that the best way to find a Mr. Darcy and dance the quadrille and such noble pursuits is to crash the local all-boy boarding school's Fall Frolic. Confusion, hilarity, and teen heartbreak ensue. This is not a re-do of Pride and Prejudice - it reminds me a bit more of Emma (or Clueless) though it's still not the same story - but a little knowledge of Austen's style certainly wouldn't hurt, and I probably enjoyed the book a bit more for loving Austen in the first place.

The writing is superbly done, again, and the characters are believable and enjoyable. However, unlike The Grimm Legacy, which had both fantasy and mystery elements, this is a straight-up teen romance. There's not much in the way of adventure, but the love story is quite well done. Ashleigh and Julie are both eyeing the same boy, and Julie's a good enough friend to back off. Ashleigh is, well, clueless, but not mean. There is a bit of comedy-of-errors plot and humor. There is also some family drama - Julie's parents are divorced, and there is a slightly evil stepmother involved - and again, the characters ring true. 

I really liked this book, but again, in a different way than I liked her later effort. I wouldn't recommend this to my boys - I just think it's too much of a straight romance for them to enjoy. However, it's a great read for the slightly older tween girl. 

Rating: PG

There is very light romantic description of kissing, and one mention of (undrunk and confiscated from an icky boy) vodka at a party. 

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

What would it be like to grow up in a graveyard?  Would you be content to live as Nobody forever, or would you leave your home to find a new one amongst the living?  And what exactly does one get a witch to repay her for her kindness?  Such are the questions Bod (Nobody) Owens must ask himself in The Graveyard Book.  I have to sheepishly admit that I was unaware of how awesome Neil Gaiman is until I picked this up (*ahem* because it was in the "Bargain" section....and, yes, I was at a brick-and-mortar book store buying a paper-and-glue book; I know, I know, how 21st century of me).  Now I'm a fan.  Mr. Gaiman is responsible for a whole bunch (terrible accurate and articulate, I am aware) of cool stuff like Coraline - both the book and the movie, The Sandman, Smoke and Mirrors, Odd and the Frost Giants, and Anansi Boys to name a few.  Not all of those books are meant for younger readers, though, so do a quick scan of the book before you buy it - in whatever form you so choose to read your books.  He also has a stellar web site where you can learn more about him and his widely varied projects.  You can find that here.

This book won the 2009 Newbery Award and with good reason.  It manages to mix creepiness with a bit of suspense, humor, and fantasy and somehow make it appropriate for young readers.  My brilliant niece is ten years old and I would recommend it to her, even though it's not really the kind of book that she normally likes and she has an imagination that is way TOO lively - I still think she'd be able to read it without a nightlight.  Nobody Owens is two when he toddles his way to the graveyard late one night. The nefarious and duplicitous Man Jack had just killed Bod's family, and it's because of Bod's ability to escape his crib that he walks out the open door and up the hill to the graveyard.  There he is taken in by the spirits of the graveyard's permanent residents and the other resident, Silas who is neither of Bod's world or that of the ghosts.  From then on Bod roams the graveyard, finding every visible headstone and some not-so-visible, until nightfall when he learns a different kind of education from Silas. Throughout the book Bod grows up and with his maturation comes new challenges: proper clothes, proper schooling, not falling into a Ghoulgate, learning how to blend in both with ghosts and living people, and protecting him from the man Jack.  It can sometimes be lonely for a boy from the graveyard but then again, meeting someone means talking about where he lives.  Quite the quandary.

I read in his Newbery acceptance speech (printed at the end of the book, and also worth a read) that he originally started the book as a series of short stories.  I can see how that might be, but it certainly doesn't detract from the story.  I also see the comparison made between this and Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book: both boys being raised outside of their "natural" elements and must figure out how to bridge two worlds or ultimately choose one over the other.  I must say I find both books more than a little sad when the boys grow older and start to lose their connections to the worlds in which they were raised.  Of course, I also find Now We are Six in which Christopher Robin becomes to old for Winnie the Pooh to be the saddest book EVER.  So you may not need as many tissues as I do when it comes to tales of growing up and going on.  I'm giving this book a PG rating.  I know that there are mature themes throughout, but they're handled in a manner appropriate for young readers.  Think Disney's Haunted Mansion attraction; somewhat scary, somewhat funny, altogether fun.  So if you're looking for a book that's a little different but well-written (I might even venture that this would be particularly appealing to boys), check out The Graveyard Book.

Jack Black, Will Ferrell, and Jason Segel as the hitchhiking ghosts at Disney's Haunted Mansion.
To see other Disney Dream Portraits by Annie Leibovitz, go here.

Hearts At Stake by Alyxandra Harvey

For me, summer has always been about sun and shucking the school year's schedule.

When I was little, that meant wanting to swim all day long and being oblivious to the sun.
(Nothing but good times when you're little, right?)

When I was a teenager that meant detassling and trying to assure a dark non-farmer's tan.
(Let's not talk about that, okay?)

This year, it means a quick trip to Florida, a longer trip to Italy, and an appreciation of sunscreen.
(Yep.  Italy.  Three weeks.  And it's work.  I swear.  And, yes, I have the coolest job.)

Knowledge and the aging process have brought on that appreciation for sunscreen.  (When I was in Florida last weekend, I became well aware of just how much of my own back I can't reach; I have the peeling, healing sunburn as a demonstration.)  But, no matter how much I don't want skin that looks like leather and no matter how much I like to sleep in, I still love the warmth of the sun.

Which is why, no matter how much I love vampire books, I would make a HORRIBLE vampire.

Johnny Depp in Dark Shadows
That's requires some serious SPF.

This look is just not for me.  ==>

However, if you want to slather on some SPF 45, throw on your shades, and read a fun YA vampire book while you bask in the sun's yellow glow, I've got a great recommendation for you.

Bonus?  It's part of a series (The Drake Chronicles), so if you like it you've got more to read!

Super bonus?  This one is only $2.89 right now for Kindle and Nook.  Holla!

Hearts At Stake by Alyxandra Harvey is the tale of two best friends, Solange and Lucy.  Solange was born into a vampire family (the Drakes), and on her fast approaching 16th birthday, she'll turn.  Lucy is a human whose parents have raised her to be an open-minded, loyal activist, so she's naturally (super-naturally?) a fit with the Drake family of vamps.  Just because they're different doesn't mean she should fear them. Instead, she loves Solange like a sister, and she might love one of Solange's brothers like, well, very much NOT like a brother.

Solange is not looking forward to turning.  She's a peaceful person, she doesn't like blood, and she knows her turning will make some other vampires very, very uncomfortable.  Solange just might be the vampire at the center of a prophecy that will cause a huge shift in the power structure of the vampire world.

Fun AND on sale!

There are different kinds of vampires in this book, and not all of them are good.  Even the ones who could be good can be pretty big jerks.  (Sounds like humans, no?)  There are also vampire hunters among the humans.  So a shift in the power structure is a very, very big deal.  Solange would prefer to avoid all of that, and she'd like to avoid all the safeguards her family has set up.  The Drakes want to protect her from the different vampire factions that believe that killing Solange before she turns will prevent the prophecy from coming true.

Lucy is significantly more bloodthirsty (har!) than Solange, and, as I mentioned, she's fiercely loyal.  While this battle could be considered the Drakes' alone, there's no way Lucy would abandon her friend at this important, dangerous time.  Lucy's ideas for assistance are sometimes more dangerous than helpful, but her dedication can not be questioned.

This was a fun book to read with a little bit of romance and quite a bit of danger and political intrigue.  (Thus the PG rating.) The point of view switches from Solange to Lucy, but the chapter headings make it clear whose voice we're hearing.  The two girls are different enough in personality that it also helps make the jumps fairly easy to follow.  What's a little less easy is keeping track of the difference factions.  There are more than five, and some of them have similar and mostly unpronounceable names.  Still, it makes an ironically good beach read.

Static #1 (Flight 29 Down) by DJ MacHale and Stan Rogow

My bags are there.  I just know it.

Bad news:  The airline "misplaced" two of our four bags today. 
Worse news:  I will be wearing contacts 24/7 until our bags are located.
Good news:  I don't have to do laundry tonight.
Better news:  I have time to write and post this review on schedule.

Now that all of that is out of the way, let me get straight to the review.  And I hope that I am not causing too much of a problem by reviewing this book/series of books (yes, we are recommending another one in a series, but really it's not our fault.  You should blame the authors for writing so many good series, not us the innocent readers and reviewers).  You see, this series is out of print.  Yikes!  But, you can still check them out at your local library.  Or you can be like a certain Aunt Sissy and hunt down some used copies on Amazon.  Either way, I think your tweenager would like this series.

Based on the hit Discovery Kids channel series, Static #1 (Flight 29 Down) starts off with a bang.  Flight 29 crash landed and it's seven survivors, all teenagers and one pilot, bound for their school-sponsored eco-trip, have no idea where they are.  The pilot quickly organizes a search party in order to explore the unfamiliar surroundings. Not knowing when or if they will return, the remaining classmates, Nathan, Daley, Melissa, Taylor, Eric, Lex and Jackson must now work together in order to survive.  Their resources are scarce and besides the wreckage of their airplane, shelter is almost nil.  Ranging in age from 10 to 16, the survivors navigate their personalities, hunger, and fear to try and make it through each day. Unlikely friendships are formed and some pretty impressive feats are accomplished.  If it sounds like the TV show Lost, it is... almost.   It's more like Lost and Saved by the Bell had a love child.  How's that for a mental picture?

My daughter gobbled this entire series up as fast as she could get her hands on them.  Are they winning any Pulitzer Prizes?  No.  But they are highlighting common issues (peer pressure, stereotypes, boy/girl relationships) in a nice little paperback package.  Add to that the element of suspense and the underlying theme of adventure and teamwork and they make for fun reads.  Since this is the first in a series you can safely assume the survivors are not rescued by the end of the book. What fun would that be?  There are six more books in the series.  And yes, we have all of them.  Now, if we only had our luggage...

The Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede

I fully admit that I read The Thirteenth Child because Nalini Singh recommended it.  I <3 Ms. Singh.  As I said in this review, I'm a fan.

(Probably more like a fangirl, and I'm probably too old for that.  But I digress.)

Like any good fangirl at a loss for YA books to try, I picked up one that came recommended by one of my favorite non-YA authors.  Holla.  Good choice.

I fully recommend Ms. Singh's recommendation.

(See, total fangirl.)

Anyway, The Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede is little bit like a magical version of Little House on the Prairie.  It's got the pioneer, forging new territories piece of Little House (both the book and the eponymous television series) and the coming-of-age elements of the entire Little House book series.  The coming-of-age elements are bit accelerated in The Thirteenth Child because we see our main character, Eff, grow from the five to eighteen in just one book.  Sometimes I find those meandering "and when I turned 12" types of stories a little trying because they lack a definitive focus other than "I grew up", but this one is well done.  I really liked Eff, and I wanted to know more about her.

This is Little House on the
Prairie all grown up.
Or, Melissa Gilbert on
Dancing With The Stars.

Eff, you see, is the thirteenth child of her family, and in this magical version of Little House, there are those that believe strongly in the importance of birth order and numerology.  The thirteenth child is destined to turn out wrong, according to Eff's detractors.  She's a witch.  She has magic, and she's going to be bad.  Very, very bad--simply because twelve sibling were born before her.  Her twin brother, Lan, though, is the fourteenth child and the seventh son of a seventh son, so the very same people that labeled Eff as cursed when she was as young as four believe that Lan will do great and powerful magical things.  Part of this tale is a fascinating look at how we grow up believing what we've been told.

This is a magical
Little House on the Prairie.

Anyone reading along can clearly see that Eff is a good kid.  Her parents know that.  Her siblings understand, and her teachers do as well.  None of that stops Eff from doubting herself.  In fact, as she grows up she tries to bind her own magic so that it can't hurt anyone when she "inevitably" turns bad. Eff's determination to avoid her "fate" leads her to study some magical ways that aren't exactly mainstream, and that knowledge eventually allows Eff to be the hero of our story.  But that moment, when Eff figures out what the others failed to see, is Eff's coming-of-age moment.  It's the culmination of The Thirteenth Child.  Before you get there, you'll take another fascinating look at what America could have been if magic was an every day and if the American West had been full of dragons and mirrored beetles instead of bison.

This is the first book of a trilogy.  The second, Across the Great Barrier, is on my to-read list.  The third is yet to be released.  I look forward to those two installments, and you should, too.

(I'm assigning this a PG rating because of the good vs. evil themes and the elopement of one of Eff's sister's.  There's nothing graphic here (sex or violence), but there some big picture issues.)

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman

What if your mom had died, and your dad remarried a woman with two older daughters? What if he had to pull you out of your school so that he could pay for the step-sisters' college tuition? What if the step-sisters were not so nice? You might really really relate to fairy tales, for one thing...

Meet Elizabeth Rew. She is a high school student in NYC. She attends a private school, but not the one she used to attend - Dad moved her to pay for the wicked step-sisters' tuition. Step-mom herself is a fairly absent, but not terribly benevolent figure, and Dad no longer pays much attention to Elizabeth. She's lonely, not just because of the new school and feeling awkward there, but also because there's not much family life to speak of.


One bright spot in her life is her social studies teacher, Mr. Mauskopf. He assigned a research project, and Elizabeth chose the Grimm stories as her subject, because they were a link to a happier time with her mother. He was impressed, and recommended her for a job at the New-York Circulating Material Repository, where he himself used to be a page.


The Repository is, in Elizabeth's words, "like a library," but rather than loaning out books, they loan out objects. They have everything from, yes, books, to furniture, clothing, sports equipment, instruments, fondue pots...and everything else under the sun. Elizabeth is told that some objects are historical, like Marie Antoinette's wig, and a lot of objects that set designers and the like would borrow, but some, like the fondue pots, are more for the occasional party host.


Also working as a page at the Repository is her high school's star basketball player, Marc (tall, dark and handsome!), sourpuss Aaron, and a beautiful and friendly girl named Anjali. Pretty soon, the other pages let slip about the "Grimm Collection" that is housed in the basement of the Repository. The collection houses the actual magical items from fairy tales. Snow White's step-mother's mirror, for example, is pretty rude, but has to tell the truth. Only some patrons can borrow the items, because they do still contain magic. The Collection can be dangerous, but how cool is that?

However, something is awry at the Repository. One previous page was fired, and another has disappeared completely. Items from the Grimm Collection are missing or aren't working properly. An enormous bird has been spotted following Anjali.


Dr. Rust, the Repository director, quickly realizes that Elizabeth is trustworthy, and she's given access, both as a page and a borrower, to the Grimm Collection. Aaron, however, is not quite as convinced of her worthiness, particularly since Elizabeth and Anjali both seem to be helping Marc do something not strictly by-the-book.


The pages must try to figure out what is happening to the Collection, protect themselves, and generally save the day. I loved that they have to do it while not quite trusting each other - it gave an element of realism and truth, rather than just being an "everyone's great to each other" fantasy world.


I can't overstate how much I enjoyed this book. I  picked it up off the desk of one of my favorite 6th grade teachers, to read while the class was in French. I didn't want to put it down to go retrieve them, and I came straight home and bought it so that I could continue to read it as soon as possible.


The characters are believable (particularly for being in a fantasy novel) and the writing is tight and has a great voice. The author knows how to keep up the suspense - again, the fact that the four kids don't become instant best friends helps both with the realism and the suspense - and she is very good at description. The ending is nice and satisfying without being totally cloying or expected.


Ms. Shulman has some subtle fun with the Grimm stories, too - at points along the way, Elizabeth both becomes shoeless and has to hurry home to do chores. Those little tie-ins that might not be noticed by the youngest of readers really amused me.


Anjali has a sister, Jaya, who is 10 - the rest of the group, obviously, is in high school - and Jaya is a great addition, both for comic relief, and for bringing the book to the younger audience. She doesn't just stand by annoying the older kids, which, I think, would make younger sisters everywhere feel vindicated. ;)


The vocab and content are NOT high school age. The back cover recommends the book for ages 10 and up, and I totally agree, giving it a PG rating. Though the main characters are older, the book is definitely written more for the tween crowd. There is a bit of romance (characters kiss more than once, about along the lines of Ron & Lavender in Book 6 of the Harry Potter series) but there isn't anything overly graphic, and there is no language. There is more "creepiness" than "violence" within the book, as far as scariness.


I think my boys will love this book, even though the main character and point-of-view are Elizabeth's. I highly recommend it for the 10-13 year-old crowd.

Powerless by Matthew Cody

Sometimes I dream I can fly.

I suppose, really, that I'm actually floating in my dreams.  I'm always on the "wrong" side of a balcony, and when I let go of the railing, I don't drop.  It's a relief, in my dreams, that losing my hold on the railing doesn't lead to imminent death.  I don't know if flying or floating is really a super power I'd be interested in.  (I suspect I'd get tired of running into all the bugs.)   I'm afraid, left to my own devices, I pick out a pedantic super power like forcing everyone to see the illogic of their arguments.  I could be the Syllogism Sister.  I'm just a nerd like that.

S is for syllogism.

In Powerless by Matthew Cody, twelve-year-old Daniel is forced to ruminate on the topic of super powers when his family moves across the country to live with his fatally-ill grandmother.  One of the neighbor kids is crazy fast, so fast you don't even see her move, and one of his classmates ends up saving Daniel from a drop like the ones I almost dream about.  This classmate doesn't passively float, but actually flies AND he's super strong.  Daniel's just a normal twelve-year old from a normal family trying to deal with the sadness of his grandmother's illness, but he becomes close friends with a small circle of kids who all some super power.  Daniel is a bit of an interloper in this group; he alone is powerless.

His limits don't make Daniel bitter, because he is quickly focused on trying to save his friends.  Being powerless doesn't preclude him from being a hero.  It seems that something happens to all the kids with super powers when they turn 13.  They completely lose their powers.  They lose their memories of what they did with their extraordinary capabilities during the 13 previous years.  They even stop being friends with their former super-powered confidants.  Growing up, in this new hometown of Daniel's, has very marked ramifications for the kids with unusual talents.

Daniel has a tall order to fill.  He needs to understand the genesis of these powers and discover if the kids lose their abilities through a natural aging progression or because of some sinister intervention.  Figuring all of this out leads to danger, the moral question of limitless powers in the hands of young people with a limited world view, the uncomfortable realization that not all super power are a welcome thing, and the acceptance of the fact that no set of super powers can fix a crummy home life.

As Daniel tries to figure out how to help his friends, he's guided by some old comic books kept in the kids' clubhouse.  Powerless intentionally keeps to a comic book-like plot.  (Author Matthew Cody is a big fan.)  So this book is great read for anyone drawn to super heros, comic books, larger-than-life characters, and memories of trying to tackle grown-up problems before the world thought you were ready.

I'm giving this one a PG rating because there IS violence, there is death, and there are heavy questions.   Just like real life.  (There is no romance beyond a school girl crush.)

I really liked this book, but a word of warning for the adults, Powerless opens with a really haunting telling of how Michael turns 13 and loses his power.  It really made me think of Wendy refusing to move out of the nursery in Peter Pan as well as all the things we give up in order to act like "grown ups."  For young readers, I think this is merely part of the story. For adults, I think the prologue resonates with something deeper.