Ren, a 12-year-old orphan, has been living at St. Anthony's since he was dropped off as an infant. Every few months the boys are lined up and shown to anyone who may be looking for a child or cheap farm labor. Ren is missing a hand, so no one is interested in him. If he is not adopted soon he will be sent to the army and a sure death. One day, just as Ren has always dreamed of, a man named Benjamin Nab shows up and claims to be Ren's long-lost brother. Naturally, nothing about Benjamin's story is true. From here Ren's adventures begin. As secrets about his past are revealed and he finds himself tangled up in murders, kidnappings and hair-raising escapes, Ren manages to piece together an eccentric family of his own. Tinti has created a charming, heart-pounding, and fun adventure tale. The Good Thief is the perfect book for curling up with on a Saturday afternoon and getting lost in. It's also a great read-aloud for the entire family. ~Torrie

Remember the magic of Alice Hoffman's earlier novels (Practical Magic or Turtle Moon)? That's the comparison I came up with while reading Debra Ginsberg's compelling novel, The Grift (note the dropped 'r' in "Grift" on the book's cover). However there is one important difference; Ginsberg has an edge -- an edge which is sharp and just a little dark.

When Marina Marks was a very little girl, she was told by a fortune teller that she had "the gift". Marina doesn't understand what Madame Z means but the girl's mother decides this "gift" might be just what she needs to earn money and score the drugs she needs daily. She goes so far that she haves her current boyfriend tattoo Marina's back with all of the astrological signs.

The novel then moves ahead 29 years. Marina doesn't believe in psychic abilities but she has learned to use her keen skills of observation and intuition to act the part. She has moved to California where the clients are wealthy and don't demand the foolish smoke and mirrors of her previous customers. We meet Madeline, the trophy wife of a very wealthy businessman who is demanding an heir to his empire. There is Cooper, a beautiful gay man looking for true love but who has instead fallen for a psychiatrist afraid to come out. And there are Eddie and Cassie. Eddie is a married womanizer and Cassie is his mistress and hairdresser. Finally we meet Gideon - a mysterious man who captivates Marina's heart.

Just as we're getting to know these characters and can start forming a notion of where the story is going, Ginsberg throws in a big twist! A fire and murder investigation leads the police right to Marina's door. And to make things even more crazy, Marina's gift becomes real -- she really can see into the future and it is literally making her nuts!

This is a fun and surprising novel. If you're looking for something a little different, consider The Grift. ~Patti

In the Seven Kingdoms some people are graced. These gracelings have an extraordinary talent, beyond a talent even, for a particular thing. There are graced cooks and swimmers and hunters and sword fighters. Katsa, the heroine of Graceling, is graced with killing. She’s known this since she was very young and has spent her life so far as a thug and assassin. But this isn’t the life she wants. Secretly she works against the selfish kings of the Seven Kingdoms and this brings her to Po. He is a prince and a graced fighter from a small island kingdom. Together they will work to unravel a mystery, to discover their true graces, and to set things right in the Kingdoms. Yes, there may be a little romance too – I don’t want to give too much away, but I will say that I liked this book more than Twilight.

Sometimes I think that it probably wouldn’t be too hard to make up a world and the strange people in it, but it sure would be hard to have this complete fantasy make sense to a reader sitting there in the “real” world. Cashore makes the world of Graceling strange and unique and familiar and satisfying all at the same time. This is a great book - one of my favorites of the year so far.~Lillian

I opened to the first page of Zorgamazoo with a sarcastic chuckle. “Yeah, right, a whole NOVEL in verse— this is going to be fantastic.” Then I started reading. The sarcasm was gone, the chuckling remained, and I was totally hooked on the most original and entertaining kids’ novel I have read in a long time.

If you can imagine the spawn of the Harry Potter series and Dr. Seuss’s “There’s a Wocket in My Pocket,” you are on the right track to understanding the magical, hilarious whiz-bang creativity of Zorgamazoo. It is the story of an imaginative and daring young girl named Katrina Katrell who runs away after her sinister guardian, Mrs. Krabone, threatens her with a lobotomy to make her settle down and behave. While on the run, Katrina teams up with a Zorgle monster named Morty who is (reluctantly) on a quest to find out what happened to the missing Zorgles of the town Zorgamazoo. As you might guess, wonderful adventures ensue.

This is a perfect read-aloud for audiences ages 8 and way up. (There are no kids in my household, but we couldn’t stop reading it aloud.) The rhyming couplets beg to be given voice, but the author has written more than just funny, catchy lines— he has written an exciting, touching novel about the power of friendship, loyalty, creativity and determination. As Chapter 2 says,

“So if you’ve no time for the whimsical things,
for pirates and gadgets and creatures and kings,
if you spurn the fantastic to never return,
then put this book down…
for it’s not your concern.”

But if you’re looking for a book to fire up your imagination, then read on, read on! ~Tegan

Here's a wacky Halloween book for the young-at-heart! Adam Rex, kids' author and illustrator extraordinaire, has done a second monster rhyme book, and this one's even zanier than the first!

Take a glance at the two-page spread of "Off the Top of My Head -- The Official Blog of the Headless Horseman" (pp. 8-9). You'll see the links he recommends, a poem post called "Please Stop Staring at My Delicious Head," and the Horseman's digital self-portraits (including one where grandmas surround him and eye his pumpkin head hungrily as they "hound me with piecrusts and poke at [his] head." There are more posts throughout the book, too.

The book, in addition to a hilariously random collection of bits about different creepy things (Godzilla haiku! Edgar Allan Poe's Raven quothin' "Tipper Gore!" Postcards from Skull Island!), there is also a running motif of Frankenstein's wedding. We meet his mother-in-law to be, his caterer, his flower girl and his Best Man (Dracula, of course). Put this one out on the coffee table alongside the blood-Jello squares and zombie punch this Halloween, and watch the fun reactions!~Tegan

Here is a picture book which celebrates individuality, creativeness and strength. Obviously, a book made for little girls! Fanny is a girl who wants a Connie doll (very much like a Barbie) just like the one her best friends have. But Fanny's mom says no, no and no. "All right," she said to herself, "I'll just make my own Connie." When she is done, Fanny looks a little closer at her cloth doll and decides maybe Annabelle is a better name for her friend. The next day at Fanny's birthday party, her friends don't even look at Annabelle but play and dress up their glamorous Connies. This is the story about a little girl (and her doll) finding their own special place in this confusing world. ~Patti