Spooky Stuff - Creature of the Night

For those who like their mysteries mixed with the supernatural, Creature of the Night by Kate Thompson, would be a good fit. Bobby is getting into a lot of trouble in Dublin, so his mother moves him and his four-year-old half brother into a old house in the country. The previous tenant of the house disappeared without a trace, and long ago there supposedly was a murder there. Amid Bobby's angst (he longs to be back with his gang in the city, getting high and stealing cars), his brother begins to act strangely, insisting a little woman visits him in the night. She comes and goes through the dog flap set in the kitchen door and may or may not be a fairy. Bobby meanwhile begins to work with his landlord and his sons, gaining some competency to weigh against his criminal impulses. Still Dublin beckons, and no more so than when the teen finds the former resident's diary, which is filled with drawings of an odd little woman. Creeped out yet? I think Thompson does a great job of balancing Bobby's delinquency and bad impulses against his desire to do better than his mom, who owes creditors and is on welfare (the dole). The supernatural stuff is almost like a wake up call for him to try and protect his brother - and it all pretty much works. When you get a teen who wants something spooky, suggest this. Despite the salty language and drug use, I would say this could work for seventh grade - ninth grade.

Marcello is Exceptional

Another multiple-star gleaning YA title for 2009, Marcello In the Real World, by Francisco X. Stork, is so far - by leaps and bounds - my favorite YA book this year. I approached this title a bit reluctantly at first. It features an autistic teen who, in first-person narration, puzzles out the world and some mysteries concerning his father. Sound familiar? I was afraid this would be ...Dog in the Night-time lite. (Then there was last year's excellent Juv mystery, The London Eye, also featuring an autistic boy. Smell a trend? In any case, Marcello blew me away. Stork has created a wonder in this teen, who reluctantly is coerced by Dad into a summer job at the old man's Boston law firm. At stake is whether Marcello can stay at his beloved private school, Patterson for his senior year. If he can handle "the real world," Dad won't force him into mainstreaming into a public high school. Marcello is high-functioning, and probably has Asberger's syndrome. He can master the routine of the firm's mail room. But it's the people at the firm - including his young, female mailroom boss - who flummox Marcello. When he comes across photos from a personal injury case involving one of Dad's corporate clients, he takes on ethical issues that might be over his head. Stork creates a rich, involving world where questions about love, loyalty, family and friendship aren't easily answered. Recommend this to anyone who loved ...Dog in the Night-time or other readers, 8th grade and up, who like an involving character-driven read with complexity and some romance (fans of Joan Bauer, John Green, etc.). Warning: There are illusions to sexual politics at the law firm, and to the father's misjudgment and possible infidelity.