New this fall from Henry Holt:

Revolution is not a Dinner Party by Ying Chang Compestine. The author grew up in China under Mao and has written a memoir of that life. I love the title - finally someone makes revolution less than romantic. I find this quote from the description to be particularly prescient: "In an atmosphere of increasing mistrust, Ling fears for the safety of her neighbors and, soon, for herself and family." Sounds like the 21st century, doesn't it?

Derby Girl by Shauna Cross. Bliss has blue hair, loves indie rock and is totally out of place in her small TX town. To avoid the pageant circuit (which her mother loves), she joins a roller derby.

I started laughing as soon as I read the description - I mean how many rollar derby books have we seen lately? It's got to be worth reading just for that angle alone! (Plus any girl who hates pageants is cool in my book.)

Lobsterland by Susan Carlton. Charlotte lives on an island off the coast of Maine which she regards as a prison. Life will be so much better if she was in boarding school on the mainland. But there's her family to think about and Noah, the love of her life. Can she leave them behind? Charlotte is described this way: "her intelligence, charm and bitingly sarcastic wit are sure to win over anyone..."

Love an island book, love a Maine book - let's see what Carlton does to make Charlotte stand out.

The One O'Clock Chop by Ralph Fletcher. It's 1973 and 14 year old Matt spends his summer days working as a clam digger and his nights hanging out with Hawaiian cousin Jazzy who is visiting. He has a crush on her that is starting to get awkward. And then Jazzy "does something that changes everything between them". Okay, I'm intrigued and I'm also delighted to find a book with a boy protagonist! Yea!

Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal by Paul Fleischman. The many different variations of Cinderella are brought into one story (Mexico, Ireland, Zimbabwe, etc). Illustrated by Julie Paschkis (the cover is gorgeous also!). I'm curious about this - how stories transcend geographical boundaries so much. Should be interesting (and give some food for thought.)

From Feiwell and Friends (the new imprint from Holtzbrinck) - all book descriptions are on the same page, in order by age:

Carpe Diem by Autumn Cornwell. Vassar's who life, up to the PhD, is planned. She expects to spend her 16th summer in extra classes until a family member gets her parents to send her on a backpack trip through SE Asia. Eys are opened, personal revelations made, everything changes. The author is a major traveler so she knows what's she's writing about - if done well this will be quite good - looking forward to it. (love this cover too!)

The Cat on the Mat is Flat by Andy Griffiths. Ages 4-8 and I'm sorry - I defy you not to laugh at that title! Can't wait to see this chapter book from start to finish.

The Shy Creatures by David Mack. I'm a huge fan of Mack's Kabuki comic book and have been looking forward to this picture book story about a girl who wants to take care of large scary creatures when she grows up. The illustrations look a bit Seussical, but in a contemporary way. Mack is a great storyteller; I'm sure this will be great.

The Poison Apples by Lily Archer. A play on the stepmothers in fairy tales, this novel is about three modern teen stepdaughters who unite to take revenge on their evil stepmothers. There are a lot of directions this novel could go in - from campy to the delicious creepiness of Innocence. I'll keep you posted on how it turns out.