Recommended by Margo, Bittersweet YA Librarian:  

The Thief Lord

By Cornelia Funke

The THIEF LORD is magical, humorous, and full of suspense.   The book takes place in the fascinating city of Venice.  The reader will be able to hear, smell, and imagine this most unique of cities.  

The story is about two brothers.   Prosper is twelve, and Bo is five.  Their mother has just died.  Their Aunt Esther would like custody of Bo, but would like to send Prosper away to a boarding school.  The two brothers are very close and do not want to be separated.  They travel from Germany to Venice because their mother loved the city and would always tell them fanciful stories. 

Their aunt hired a private detective to locate the boys.  The detective loves disguises and has two pet turtles.  The private investigator positions himself in a centrally located part of Venice and does see the boys.

Prosper and Bo are taken in by a few children who are living in an abandoned movie theatre.  The other kids recognize the detective and lure him to the theatre.  Working together they are able to capture and hold him prisoner.

The leader of the children calls him self the “Thief Lord” and is supposedly supporting the group by stealing items from the wealthy homes of Venice.  The shop keeper that usually pawns items for the Thief Lord approaches him about a special assignment.  The kids are supposed to steal a wooden wing from a private home.  The wing belonged to a lion that was on a long missing carousal. 

The suspense builds quickly when the children are caught stealing the wing by the owner of home.  Bo and another child are discovered hiding in the theatre, and Bo is returned to his aunt. 

Will Bo and Prosper be able to stay together in Venice, and where will they live?  What is the real identity of the Thief Lord?   Why is an individual willing to pay so much for a wooden wing    What will it be used for and is the old legend true?  

This is an exciting book with many story lines that will hold the attention of the reader from beginning to end.

Recommended by Billie, Harris YA Librarian:

The Beginning of After

by Jennifer Castle

Laurel begs off accompanying the family and neighbors on a drive for ice cream. While this saves her life, it also changes her life forever, when her mother, father, and brother are killed in a car accident. The driver of the car, a neighbor, is left in a coma.

Laurel’s grandmother comes to live with her so she can continue school.  The two tiptoe around the house and each other as Laurel tries to recover some part of a normal life during her junior year of school. David, the neighbor’s son, makes this even more difficult for Lauren. He stays by his father’s side, but makes occasional visits to Laurel’s home, which are always upsetting to Laurel. She blames David’s father for the accident but also has feelings of empathy, pity, and interest for David.

As Laurel grieves, she also deals with how to make a life of what is now reality. She misses her family greatly, however, she manages to focus on school, get a new job, and try to develop a new relationship with a nice boy from school. David, on the other hand, tries to avoid grief and responsibility so he quits school and travels across the country.

The Beginning of After is an engrossing story of survival and unthinkable loss.

This book is recommended for high school teens.

Recommended by James, Bittersweet Reference Librarian: 

iboy by Kevin Brooks

         Tom Harvey is an average sixteen year old living in a tough part of South London, when his ordinary life suddenly became very unordinary.  While walking to meet his friend and love interest, Lucy, he was struck in the head by an iPhone that was thrown from the top of a 13 story building. 

        While he recovered from the injury, Tom was left with life changing alterations when pieces of the phone became lodged in his brain.  He is now able to download computer applications, read computer language, and view and retrieve information from the internet using only his mind.

      With these new powers, Tom engages in a superhero quest to avenge the crimes committed by the local street gang, The Crows, while disrupting their psychological mind hold on the community.  Tom struggles with the expectations of being the invisible hero of the community and the expectations of being normal teenager.

      Kevin Brooks paints a masterful picture of a youth toiling with the burdens of being a teen and a super hero charged with the task of establishing peace and order in an otherwise chaotic community.  

This book is recommended for any teen interested in new technology.