Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom (2010) By Susin Nielsen

Plot Summary:  Violet is angry.  Since her parents' divorce, twelve year old Violet's mother keeps dating one loser after another.  Violet is sick of it, and she is tired of visiting her dad and his new wife and seeing their perfect lavish house, while she, her mom and her sister live like paupers.  Her parents got divorced when Violet's mom caught her dad cheating on her with one of the actresses he was directing. 

Now Dudley Weiner, her mom's latest guy, is in the picture and Violet is determined to get rid of him before they get serious.  She feels unwanted and unloved by her father, who lives in L.A. with his young blonde wife and their almost two year old twins.  Violet and her best friend Phoebe spy on Dudley to find out his secrets.   Deciding that she needs to protect her mom,  Violet gets an idea to write a letter to George Clooney to convince him to marry her mother.  While her adjusting to her family life without her dad is hard enough, Violet has to deal with a mean girl at school and her first crush.  This story about growing up and facing your fears is funny and sad, and despite Violet's bad behavior most of the time, you will be on her side. 

Subjects/Themes: divorce, stepfamilies, dating, single parents

Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Reviews:  Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Booklist

Age Group:  Grades 5-8

High Interest Annotation:  This is a great story for tweens and teens who have had to deal with divorce and stepfamilies.

Muse Magazine

Summary of Contents:  Each issue starts out with a Dear Reader page that contains an assortment of topics.  One issue contains humorous poems about germs, another criticizes the "Taxonomy of Tiny Things." Another page contains a mystery quote of the month.  The topics in each issue vary greatly, and it calls itself "The magazine of life, the universe, and pie throwing."  I find that most of the issues deal with science topics.

It also contains a feature article in each issue.  One issue had a story about children going hungry, another two true spooky tales.  There are also various comics throughout the magazine.

Towards the back of the magazine is muse mail-submissions and responses.  There is also a two page layout in the back of each issue that shows the contest winners from the previous issue's contest.  They sponsor both art and writing contests.  The back page of each issue advertises books or kits that readers might be interested in purchasing.  Overall the magazine is quite random and I can definitely see the appeal for tweens.

Format:  Magazine

Subject/Themes:  Variety of topics

Issues:  9 issues over 12 months

Age Group:  Ages 9-14

High Interest Annotation:  The various topics and stories within each issue will draw a variety of readers.  Very interesting and sometimes humorous topics.  Perfect for tween humor.

The Unsinkable Walker Bean by Aaron Renier (2010)

Plot Summary:  Walker Bean has listened to his grandfather tell him stories about legends of the high seas his whole life.  He always figured they were just that-stories.  But when his grandfather takes ill and tells Walker that the only way for him to live is if Walker stows away on his father's ship, Walker thinks his grandfather is dizzy with fever.  Walker's father has possession of a skull that has terrible powers and must be returned to its rightful place. 

Only when the skull is returned to the merwitch sisters will Walker's grandfather gain his health back.  He explains to Walker what needs to be done and give him a few tools to aid him along the way that at first glance seem useless.  Walker meets Shiv, who helps him to stowaway on a pirate ship when the pirates steal the skull from Walker's dad.  What comes next is an adventure on the high seas involving pirates, curses, deadly merwitches, and a mysterious "doctor."  Will Walker return the skull in time?  What will happen to those that glance at the skull?  Walker is on the adventure of his life.

Format:  Graphic Novel

Genre:  Adventure/Science Fiction

Subjects/Themes:  Curses, legends, pirates, witches

Reviews:  Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, *Starred Review* in Booklist

Age Group:  Grades 4-7

High Interest Annotation:  Large pages with extremely detailed pictures help to tell this adventurous story of curses while on the high seas.  Reluctant readers will grab this after just a glance at its pages.