Do you love The Percy Jackson series?

If you love The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, try these other novels based on mythology:

Anatopsis by Abouzeid
Ever by Levine
The Game by Jones
The Great God Pan by Napoli
Iris, Messenger by Deming
Ithaka by Geras
Jason and the Gorgon's Blood by Yolen and Harris
Lost in the Labyrinth by Kindl
Nightsong: The Legend of Orpheus and Eurydice by Cadnum
Nobody's Princess by Friesner
Odysseus in the Serpent Maze by Yolen and Harris
Singer to the Sea God by Alcock
The Siren Song by Ursu
Sirena by Napoli
Troy by Geras
Walking with the Dead by Falcone

2 New Graphic Novels from DC Comics

All Star Superman volume 2 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely with Jamie Grant



Batman R.I.P., The Deluxe Edition by Grant Morrison and Tony S. Daniel

New Video Games!

Castlevania Judgment for Wii: The first Castlevania title for Wii. A combination slasher/fighter/action title in which the 13 most popular characters from the series come together along with a new character, Aeon. You can slash, stab and whip as you fight on your chosen side.

Halo Wars for XBox: The year is 2531, 20 years prior to the events in Halo: Combat Evolved. Command armies and lead them into battle in an effort to stop the anihilation of humans by the Covenant.

Grid for Playstation 3: It's all about the race! Drive the world's premier performance vehicles at blistering speeds on 3 continents.

New Manga Series: Blade of the Immortal

We have added several volumes of Hiroaki Samura's riveting manga series Blade of the Immortal to our collection.
From the back of the book:
Manji, a ronin warrior of feudal Japan, has been cursed with immortality. To rid himself of this curse, regain his mortality, and end his life of misery, Manji must slay one thousand evil men! His quest begins when a young girl seeks his help in taking revenge on her parents' killers. His quest ends only after he has spilled the blood of a thousand!

Review of Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt

I couldn't wait to read this new book by the author of one of my favorite books, The Wednesday Wars (reviewed on Book Bits 11/7/2007), but it just didn't do it for me. I think the author was so wrapped up in the issue of racism, that the book became only a vehicle for a moralistic message, and writing style went out the window. It's alternately stilted and flowery, with these strange little cryptic italics sections at the ends of the chapters. Everything is so overlaid with heavy-handed meaning that there's no joy in reading it. Review by Stacy Church

Review of Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins

I found this book slow going at first, but I became completely engrossed as I kept reading. 16-year-old Asha is a top-notch tennis and cricket player who, since she "became a woman," has been forced by her family to adhere to the conventions of 1970's India and quit playing sports in public. Her freedom is curtailed even more when she, her older sister Reet, and her mother have to move in with her uncle's family in Calcutta while her father goes to America to look for a job. Her mother has slipped in and out of depression for as long as she can remember, and she and Reet will do almost anything to keep the depression at bay. Secret Keeper is what Asha calls her diary, and as she hides on the roof to write in it, she is observed by, befriended by, and eventually falls in love with the strange boy next door. I won't go into all of the plot twists that make up the story, but I was surprised by the ending. There is an author's note at the end of the book detailing the political situation in India at the time the story was set. Review by Stacy

Review of House of Clay by Naomi Nowak

This is a truly beautiful graphic novel. The story, on the other hand, is not so beautiful. Josephine, whose family used to be wealthy, must go to work in a sweatshop, House of Cotton, to earn enough money to go to nursing school. How she plans to be a nurse when she faints at the sight of blood, is unclear. A feeling of sadness and loneliness pervades the book, mostly through the watercolor, Art Nouveau-ish artwork. Josephine makes friends with a mute girl, who is in an abusive relationship with their boss. She makes another friend when she follows a little dog to the house of a fortuneteller, who, when she was younger, looked remarkably like Josephine. Beyond that, the story is pretty unclear. I enjoyed looking at each picture, even though I often had no idea what relevance it had to the story. Review by Stacy

Review of The Comet’s Curse by Dom Testa

Teen survival novels seem to have become a trend. The Comet’s Curse is another title to add to the list. A deadly virus from the comet Bhakttul threatens to wipe out the human race; only teenagers under the age of eighteen are immune. A scientist plans to send 251 of the brightest and most able teens to a distant solar system to avoid the virus. A special spacecraft, the Galahad is constructed to ferry the teens to this distant solar system. No one over the age of sixteen is aboard the spacecraft, but after the spacecraft takes off they discover that they have a mysterious adult on board who is determined to wreck their mission. Survival takes on a whole new meaning for the crew of the Galahad. Will they survive the trip, much less reach their destination? To find out you will have to read, The Web of Titan. Review by Teresa Kerrigan

New XBox Games!

Prince of Persia: "The game is set in a land rooted in ancient Persian mythology, with the Prince finding himself caught in an epic battle between the primal forces of light and darkness—the god of Light, Ormazd versus his brother Ahriman, the destructive god of Darkness." Amazon.com

Need for Speed: Undercover: "You never thought it would turn out like this an all-out chase where you're both the hunted and the hunter. Now you must get behind the wheel and risk everything to infiltrate a ruthless international crime syndicate and take them down." Amazon.com

Don King presents: Prizefighter: "This in-depth, documentary-style title provides the deepest, most authentic and entertaining experience ever seen in a boxing video game...real-life fight scenarios, story-driven gameplay and photo-realistic graphics" Amazon.com

New Play Station 3 Games!

Dragonball Z Burst Limit: The first game of the Dragonball Z series to be available for the PlayStation 3 console -- new and improved!

Spider-Man: Web of Shadows: The game starts off with "Spidey walking across a New York City rooftop in slow-motion, head hung down and ignoring the chaos taking place all around him -- soldiers battling symbiote aliens, explosions in the distance, debris flying inches past his head -- while "Moonlight Sonata" plays, gorgeously juxtaposed with the madness of the scene." Nick Suttner, 1Up.com

Review of The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

I love the voice of Jenna Fox. She's very direct, straightforward, pared down, which allows you to wonder about the same things she's wondering about. "I used to be someone. Someone named Jenna Fox. That's what they tell me. But I am more than a name. More than they tell me." Jenna has woken up from "a coma" with no memory of who she is, or what has happened to her. Her parents encourage her to watch endless DVD's of herself growing up, seemingly documenting every important moment of her life, showing what she comes to think of as her parents' "adoration of Jenna Fox." Her narrative is interspersed with even more pared-down free verse poems which are very affecting.
"There is a dark place.
A place where I have no eyes, no mouth. No words.
I can't cry out because I have no breath. The silence is so
deep I want to die.
But I can't.
The darkness and silence go on forever.
It is not a dream.
I don't dream."
This book is one of those remarkable science fiction books that bring us to ask the most basic ethical questions, questions about the meaning of life and self. As Jenna begins to remember things from her past, the memories raise even more questions for her about what has happened to her, and what her parents are keeping from her. I read this book in one afternoon because I couldn't put it down. I love the ending, where the author manages to bring everything full circle without tedious explanations or an overly simplistic plot. Review by Stacy

Review of The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

This book is so well done. The author manages to convey the conflicting emotions of a boy growing up in Germany as Hitler is coming to power and make it very believable and real. On the one hand, Helmuth is living a normal life with his mother and two older brothers, living next door to his Opa and Oma (grandfather and grandmother), and on the other hand, things are changing drastically around him. Hitler is elected Chancellor, and, in the name of national security, begins taking away freedoms, and persecuting people that Helmuth has known all his life. He can no longer go the bakery run by the Jewish man, or read books by non-German authors, or listen to any radio station except the German government's. Soon his mother is dating an SS officer, and Helmuth's home life changes as well. The story alternates between the present time, when Helmuth is in prison, and the past, where you learn what led up to his imprisonment. At the end of the book are photos of the real Helmuth and his family and friends, and a timeline of the Third Reich. Review by Stacy

Check out these titles from the 2009 Rainbow List

Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List Cohn, Rachel, and David Levithan
Witty, urbane Naomi, age 19, finally comes to terms with being hopelessly in love with her gay best friend, Ely, even after she learns he is sleeping with her boyfriend.

Map of Ireland Grant, Stephanie
Ann’s junior year is complicated by the forced busing of Black children to her formerly all-white high school, forcing Ann to deal with her racist environment while coping with being a lesbian in an inter-racial relationship.

Last Exit to Normal Harmon, Michael
Ben and his two dads move to rural Montana where Ben absolutely does not fit in and finds it harder to deal with having two dads than he did in their previous urban home.

My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, & Fenway Park
Kluger, Steve
Three high school friends, including a fun, proud, and just about out-of-the-closet gay young man, tell about their ‘excellent’ ninth-grade year.

Out of the Pocket Konigsberg, Bill
Bobby’s skills as a top high-school quarterback also serve him well off the field when he is outed in the school newspaper and deals with the consequences in an honest and realistic way.

How They Met, and Other Stories Levithan, David
Find the answer to “what is love?” in this diverse collection of short stories.

Skim Tamaki, Mariko and Jillian Tamaki
Would-be Wiccan and goth Skim, aka Kimberly Keiko Cameron, is revealed in this graphic novel as a sometimes target for the popular students at her all-girls private school in Toronto, where she falls in love with her English teacher Ms. Archer.

After Tupac & D Foster Woodson, Jacqueline
Eleven-year-old D Foster completes a trio of friends who share a passion for the music of Tupac Shakur as they deal with discrimination directed toward the gay brother of one of the trio.