Critical Judgement -- Michael Palmer

Dr. Abby Dolan is the newest Emergency Room doctor at Patience Regional Hospital in the small California town of Patience. After only a few weeks on the job, she has managed to impress some with her life-saving skills, but she has also offended others in the hospital with her blunt orders. While striving to find her niche at the hospital and be accepted by the staff, Abby starts to realize that an abundance of her patients suffer from symptoms for which she cannot find a diagnosis; symptoms such as itching and headaches. She becomes frustrated when she cannot discover the reason for the patients' discomfort. And when her fiancee Josh Wyler starts having headaches and displaying uncharacteristically violent tendencies, Abby's fear and confusion are heightened.

As Abby begins to research these strange cases, she finds that Colstar, the massive battery-producing factory that gives life to Patience, seems to be a key player for each patient. The more she delves into her research, the more curious findings come to light. When a violent car accident that was intended to be a murder-suicide occurs, and the culprit is a Colstar employee, Abby becomes sure Colstar is responsible for all the cases - caused by Cadmium poisoning. Soon Abby finds herself an enemy to many of the doctors in Patience, as well as several people at Colstar, but she finds an ally in Lew Alvarez, another Emergency Room doctor at Patience Regional. Together they work to prove that Colstar has had a Cadmium leak and is responsible for deaths and other issues in Patience.

Yet, somehow, the puzzle never seems to come together for Abby. Too many facts won't link together, and Abby continues to search, putting herself in much danger. And soon, she begins making startling discoveries - ones she never imagined she would find; discoveries for which the price may be her life. In spite of the dangers, her drive to help the people of Patience keeps her working and acting to uncover the truth - but will she be able to prove her case? Or will her enemies discredit her before she can?

Ender's Game -- Orson Scott Card

After having endured and won -- though partially by luck -- two wars against aliens whose aim was to colonize Earth, humans have begun to breed geniuses in order to be prepared to face the third invasion. In a society where most families only have two children, being a third child is a stigma. And Andrew "Ender" Wiggin is a third. But Ender exists because the government of Earth allowed his family to have a third, because both of Ender's siblings were brilliant, but unsuited for being chosen to go to Battle School. Where both Peter and Valentine, Ender's brother and sister, failed by being either too callous or too soft, Ender succeeds in being their average. And so Ender is requested, at the age of 6, to attend the Battle School and to leave his family behind in the interest of Earth's future. Though a hard decision, Ender decides to go, because it means he may be able to save Earth, and most importantly his sister Valentine, from sure death in the impending invasion.

Throughout Ender's five years at the Battle School, his future is shaped by the school administrators, who make sure he is despised by many of the other children and isolated from friendships. Yet, in the face of all opposition, Ender succeeds. He excels at all the games created to teach the students to command armies, and he is quickly moved up in rank until he is the youngest leader of an army of children. When given command over his army, he finds that his army is made up of young and inexperienced "soldiers." But before long, Ender has them performing the impossible and beating the odds.

In the midst of his continued success, though, comes complete hatred from some of the students. In every level of his ascent, Ender makes enemies who hold intense grudges, and before he is able to leave the Battle School, he is forced to resort to self-defense in order to save his own life. And so Ender struggles with his own actions, all the while performing those things that are necessary to propel him to a higher level of responsibility; not because he desires it, but because he feels obligated to help the world. Thus, Ender is soon graduated from the Battle School, and finally decides to acquiesce and attend Command School where he will learn to lead entire fleets. Only then does Ender's education really begin, for only then does he learn the truth about the third invasion. And during the grueling years at Command School, Ender begins to wear down, physcially, mentally, and emotionally; because, although is body is that of a child, his mind and his actions are not. And he begins to wonder if he will be able to save the human race after all -- and whether or not he even cares.

The Presence -- John Saul

Dr. Katherine Sundquist, an accomplished anthropologist, is a widow with a teenage son who, because of severe asthma attacks throughout his life, never made many friends. When she is offered an opportunity by an old acquaintance to spend a few months working in the Hawaiian Islands and receive a hefty paycheck; and when her son returns home from a day at school in New York City with a black eye and cut lip, Katherine decides a change in scenery will be good for both she and her son Michael. But what she finds in Hawaii is beyond her wildest imaginations, as well as those of science. And when Michael and some local boys accidentally become exposed to a substance that affects their breathing, Katherine realizes that Hawaii may not be the paradisiacal escape she had hoped to find.

When Katherine and Michael arrive in Hawaii, they are met by Rob Silver, one of Katherine’s former romances from college. He is eager to show Katherine his reason for her requested presence, as well as to introduce her to her new boss, Mr. Yoshihara, the wealthiest man on the island. When Katherine first sees the site with the skeleton, she is astonished to see that the skull is not human, but is humanoid. As she continues to unearth the skeleton, fewer and fewer things make sense to her. The science she knows tells her that which her eyes are seeing is impossible. As she and Rob hunt for similar skulls using the Internet, they are astonished to uncover startling clues that all involve volcanoes and skulls like the one she has. When the exciting files she has found suddenly disappear, she becomes troubled.

Meanwhile, Michael makes friends with local boys who take him on a night-dive in the ocean. The boys “borrow” their oxygen tanks from a local dive shop, but during the dive, four of the five tanks seem to run out of oxygen early, forcing the boys to the surface. Mysteriously, all four of the boys who ran out of oxygen begin experiencing breathing problems over the next several days. One of the boys dies and the other two disappear. When Michael’s breathing problems begin, Katherine is terrified that the asthma Michael had overcome has returned. But in reality, his problems are much worse than asthma – they are fatal and unknown; Michael has become an unwitting and accidental participant in a research project that could cost him his life.

As Michael’s breathing becomes noticeably labored and as he wakens and flees into the night from nightmares; as Katherine uncovers clues about the odd skeleton she is unearthing; and as a local astronomer begins receiving intriguing signals from space, everyone begins to realize that these things are interconnected and all roads lead back to Mr. Yoshihara. As more evidence comes to the surface, it becomes evident that Mr. Yoshihara has been performing human experimentation with an unknown substance; a substance to which Michael and his friends have somehow been exposed. With Michael’s life on the line, Katherine finds herself seeking answers to questions she does not understand and forcing herself to stay calm amidst chaos and fear. And when the answers come, all of human history is altered.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince -- J. K. Rowling

At sixteen, Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts amidst chaos in both the wizarding and muggle (non-wizarding) communities. That the greatly feared evil wizard Lord Voldemort has returned is no longer a suspicion or a rumor, but is a known fact. Fear runs rampant as people are harmed and even killed. Despite these facts, Hogwarts opens for another yeark and Harry, Ron, and Hermoine return for their 6th year of schooling.

Classes are harder for everyone in their 6th year, but Harry finds help from the "Half-Blood Prince," a former Potions student who made generous and useful notes in Harry's borrowed Potions textbook. In addition to classes, has extra responsibilities, such as Quidditch team captain for the Griffendor House. Furthermore, he finds himself in private tutoring lessons with Professor Dumbledore, the school's headmaster. In time, Harry learns the beginnings of the evil Lord Voldemort and discovers a truth so horrible it almost seems impossible.

Harry's 6th year at Hogwarts is filled with mystery, frustration, love, loss, deceit, fear, and bravery. It is Harry's hardest year yet, and he will face horrors he never imagined.

Al Capone Shines My Shoes -- Gennifer Choldenko

Alcatraz Island is home to some of the nation's most notorious criminals in 1935, including Al Capone. In addition to the convicts on the island, several families also live on Alcatraz. These are the families whose fathers work at the prison. Twelve-year old Moose Flanagan's family, made up of himself, his father, his mother, and his sister Natalie (who "has her wires crossed"), has lived on Alcatraz for about 8 months. Natalie has recenlty been admitted to a special school on the mainland, known as the Esther P. Marinoff school. It is a school that specializes in helping people who are different and who think differently from everyone else. Natalie's admittance into the school is a relief to her mother and father, but for Moose, it also means something else. For Moose, it means Al Capone helped him by pulling some strings and getting Natalie admitted. And soon, Moose finds out that it also means Capone will expect repayment. Before long, Moose finds out just what it is he owes Al Capone to repay the favor.

While Moose tries to do the right thing for everyone and make everyone happy, he struggles with keeping himself and his family from getting into trouble. If anyone were to find out he was doing favors for a con -- or that a con had done a favor for him -- his dad would lose his job! So Moose goes about trying to secretly help Al Capone, because he fears what the other cons would do to him if he doesn't help Al. Meanwhile, Moose also has to deal with his inexplicable attraction to the warden's beautiful, but spoiled, daughter Piper; the hurt feelings of his two best friends on the island, Jimmy and Annie; a lie that threatens to destroy the jobs of both his dad and his friend Jimmy's dad; and an escape scheme the cons develop that employs Natalie as a bar-spreader smuggler. Is Moose in over his head, or will he figure out a way to make everything right, like he always does?

Join Moose as he matures through life on the small island of Alcatraz and comes to realize that not everybody can be trusted or taken at face-value; that sometimes girls make no sense at all; and that sometimes he can't just comply to make others happy -- sometimes he has to take a stand to protect the ones he loves.

Plum Spooky -- Janet Evanovich

Stephanie Plum is back in this "between-the-Plums" adventure full of bounty-hunting, danger, excitement, laughter, and monkeys... lots of monkeys!

Stephanie finds herself baby-sitting a monkey named Carl who seems to understand her every word and also knows the proper hand gesture to use when he's unhappy with what he's hearing. So Stephanie takes Carl with her while she's searching for her FTAs -- particularly Martin Munch, a geeky genius who stole a magnetometer from his workplace and failed to appear for his court date.

As luck would have it, Munch is working with a shady character who goes by the name of Wulf, who looks like a vampire, and who has scary abilities that lump him in with a group knowns as Unmentionables. Enter Diesel. Diesel is also an Unmentionable -- and Stephanie has a history with him. With Diesel back in her life -- at least temporarily -- Stephanie feels like she is juggling three men: Morelli, Ranger, and Diesel. But it just might take all three of them to keep Stephanie out of trouble!

Stephanie, Diesel, and Carl venture into the Pine Barrens of New Jersey -- a place where the geographical features all look the same, and where the residents all seem a few cards short of a full deck -- to find Munch and Wulf before they succeed in whatever plans require a stolen magnetometer and Munch's former boss to end up dead. And before it's all over, Stephanie will meet the Easter Bunny, deal with several more monkeys, and she will witness an actual fire-farter!

The Rules For Hearts -- Sara Ryan

The summer before her freshman year in college is one of change and maturing for eighteen-year-old Battle Hall Davies. She moves from her minister-father’s household in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to Portland, Oregon, where she moves into a house full of strangers, one of whom is her brother, Nick, who ran away from her family four years previously. As Battle adjusts to her new surroundings and new life, she must decipher her romantic feelings for a fellow female housemate, Meryl, and Meryl’s feelings for her. While struggling to keep her contact with her brother a secret from her parents as she reacquaints herself with him, she discovers some truths about her brother that cause her to experience misplaced guilt and force Battle to decide whether loving her brother means bailing him out of his trouble or making him accept responsibility for his own actions.

Using a setting that lacks order, Sara Ryan’s novel adequately exemplifies the confusion that can occur in teens’ lives as they leave the world of their childhood and enter the world of adulthood, where they must make decisions and deal with consequences, often alone. Through effective use of dialogue and description, Ryan creates characters and situations that come alive and are recognizable to the reader, thereby drawing the reader in until the final page.