I noticed something really strange about the LBC catalog in terms of teen fiction - there is only one new title that really interested me (Alice Hoffiman also has a new book coming out for YA's but I imagine it will sell big time with or without my review). Usually it is the teen titles where I find a ton of books I like the sounds of but LIttle Brown has cornered the market on series books and they are out in full force this fall. There's an "A List" novel, a "Dating Game" novel, a "Gossip Girl" novel (no longer written by Cecily von Ziegesar - now created by Cecily von Ziegesar), an "It Girl" novel (also created by Cecily) and a "Clique" novel.

So much for creativity in fiction, huh?

I don't know - I read Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden and The Three Investigators like crazy when I was a kid and whether or not these new series books are better are worse is anyone's guess. It just seems sad that a major publisher would devote so much time and attention to them. I know they make money, but with all that cash coming in couldn't LBC spend a bit on authors who might build up a decent sized audience writing sci fi or mystery or anything else?? Anyway, here's what I liked in the whole catalog (and most of it is for middle grade readers):

Exploratopia: More than 400 Kid Friendly Explorations and Experiments for Curious Minds - This is from the Exploratorium museum in San Francisco and it sounds like an absolute blast. I was way into wanting to do this kind of thing when I was young and I'd really like to get the word out on this book. It just sounds like a great holiday gift for budding scientists everywhere. (And who wouldn't want to learn how to build with bubbles?)

All of the Above by Shelly Pearsall - Based on a true story this is about a group of inner city students who set out to build the world's largest tetrahedron. It makes math sound like fun and anything that can do that I am totally behind. (Plus the excerpt really made me like the character of Rhondell.)

The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin - Pacy celebrates the year of the dog and discovers that this is the year she "is supposed to find herself". It's all about finding one's passion and place in the world and Booklist compared it to the works of Maud Hart Lovelace. Can't resist that - gotta take a look. (My own latest comparison to Lovelace is Ivy & Bean, the cutest little girl book I've read in ages. If you know a 7 yr old you need to buy her this!)

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart - You know, this one could be great and it could be really really bad. The catalog copy refers to it as a combination of Roald Dahl, EL Konigsburg and Lemony Snicket which is a lot of fun (and wonderful) writing to live up to. Dozens of children respond to an ad in the newspaper and are tested in a variety of ways. Four of them make it to the end and are sent on a secret mission at The Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened. There's something in the tunnels under the school that they find and well - mystery, adventure, all that stuff. Every kid loves a strange school/secret mission book so I'm giving this a shot. I really hope it lives up to its promise.

Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr - This is the only teen title I'm looking into. Deanna Lambert is caught by her father in the backseat of a car with her older brother's best friend. It's been three years and she's still dealing with the slut reputation and damage done to herself and her father by what happened. (It wasn't rape, it was just bored teenage sex.) She's trying to live down a reputation she developed when she was too young to know any better. I want to see where debut novelist Zarr goes with this idea - it happens all the time, but no one ever talks about it.