Adventures of a Cat-Whiskered Girl
Daniel Pinkwater, illustrations by Calef Brown
Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2010, $16
This third romp for a character originated in The Neddiad features flying saucers, an island full of wild things, a Catskill dwerg, a date with destiny, and a mythical and affectionate portrayal of 1950s Poughkeepsie (not necessarily in that order). More classic Pinkwater here, which means nonstop cheeky fun. Reading 6/5 at 2pm, Oblong Books, Rhinebeck.
Cinderella Cleaners: Change of a Dress and Prep Cool
Maya Gold
Scholastic, 2010, $5.99
Thirteen-year-old Diana likes to try on other people’s lives by borrowing clothes that come into her family’s drycleaning business. The first and second in a new series by multitasking Stone Ridger Gold, these books blend tweenage fantasy, dimensional characterizations, and emotional authenticity. Appearing 6/5 at 2pm at Kingston’s Barnes & Noble.
Love is the Higher Law
David Levithan
Knopf Delacorte Dell, 2009, $15.99
A pitch-perfect evocation of the disorientation, heartbreak, and silver-lining sense of community experienced by three young New Yorkers—two gay, one straight—in the hours, days, and months after 9/11. Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist author Levithan remembers exactly how teenagers feel, and how they behave to mask those feelings, or (finally) share them.
Sea Change
Aimee Friedman
Point, 2009, $16.99
The last stop on a fog-shrouded Georgia ferry, romantically atmospheric Selkie Island is populated by genteel summer people and the locals they shun. Enter Miranda, a hyper-rational New York teen who falls hard for Leo, a dreamy fisherman’s son with mysterious secrets. Vassar grad Friedman weaves water-witch magic; think Twilight with fins.
The Baby-Sitters Club: The Summer Before
Ann M. Martin
Scholastic, 2010, $16.99
If you’re among the generations of tweens who grew up on the serialized adventures of perma-seventh graders Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacey, or a younger sister encountering the entrepreneurial foursome for the first time, you’re sure to enjoy Woodstock author Martin’s brand-new prequel to her Baby-Sitters Club juggernaut.
Three Rivers Rising: A Novel of the Johnstown Flood
Jame Richards
Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2010, $16.99
Celestia secretly loves the hired boy at the fancy resort where her family summers, but when heavy rain destroys the resort lake’s dam and floods his hometown, disaster takes precedence over family disapproval. The first book by Saugerties native Richards, this emotionally gripping novel in poems explores an actual historic event.
