The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

15-year-old twins, Sophie and Josh are working at summer jobs in San Francisco when they are inadvertently pulled into a struggle between alchemists Nicholas Flamel and John Dee for a book that will give immortality and unlimited power to whoever owns it. After a fierce battle in a bookstore, the twins flee for safety with Flamel. But is he really concerned for their well-being and the survival of humanity or does he have a much darker agenda, as Dee suggests? Lots of action, lots of great fantasy.

Those Who Hunt the Night by Barbara Hambly

Someone is killing the vampires of London, England by exposing them to sunlight while they rest and then draining their blood. Simon Ysibro, who has been a vampire since before the Renaissance, wants to know who is responsible for these murders. Because he and his cohorts must avoid daylight, he seeks the assistance of James Asher, former agent for the British government, currently an Oxford professor. To Asher, the vampires are monsters, and deserve their fate. But Asher agrees to search for the murderer, since Ysibro has threatened to harm his wife if he refuses.

Hambly successfully creates an eery1907 London and Paris with flickering gaslight, swirling fog, and shadowy characters. Her vampires are indeed murderers - not exactly the type you'd want to invite to dinner. But they are not card-board characters - Ysibro especially, exibits a certain faded old-world charm and noblesse oblige. Nor are the humans two-dimensional. As a government agent, Asher has committed acts which make him wonder if he is any better than the vampires. A word about Asher's wife Lydia - she is a brave, intelligent woman who is willing to take things into her own hands. For those who can't stomach Bella, from the Twilight series, she comes as a welcome changes.

A good book for teens who enjoy the vampire genre.

Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman

Shawn has cerebral palsy. He is unable to dress himself, feed himself, or communicate with anyone, due to the severity of his condition. He has frequent seizures. Specialists have determined that he has the mental capacity of a three-month-old baby. But locked inside this unresponsive body is a highly intelligent teenager. As an observer of life he is humorous, astute, sometimes wise - mostly however, he is a fourteen-year-old boy. Because people think that he is in a near-vegetative state, they say an awful lot of things in front of him that they might not otherwise say. And one of the things that he seems to be hearing is that his dad might kill him, because he believes that Shawn's life is tragic and painful.

This is a lovely little book - there are no black and whites in this story - no villains - no heroes. A good book to provoke thought and discussion.

London Calling by Edward Bloor

Martin hates the private school he is attending. Henry Lowery and his gang are bullying him, but school officials won't help because Henry's family donates much-needed money to the school. When a bullying incident leads to a statue of Henry's great-grandfather, World War 2 hero General "Hollerin' Hank" Lowery, being damaged, Martin and his friends are unfairly blamed. Depressed, Martin retreats to his basement bedroom feeling that his life has no purpose, but when he inherits a 1940's radio from his grandmother his , perspective begins to change.

As he is drifting off to sleep one night, he hears the voice of a little boy over the radio, and suddenly he finds himself in London England during the blitz. Jimmy needs his help but for what?

This is a marvelous book on many. It gives young readers a gripping glimpse of a period in London's history where every moment of life to mattered because it was so precarious. It provides reflection on the nature of history - who determines how it will be seen by future generations. And it is shows a boy learning to determine his own path in life rather one that has been determined by others. Oh yes - and all written beautifully

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix

A plane mysteriously appears on a tarmac. Inside the plane, there is no pilot, no crew, no adults. However, there are 36 babies strapped into the seats and after the last baby is removed, the plane vanishes as mysteriously as it appears.

Thirteen years later, Jonah and his new friend Chip, both of them adoptees, begin to receive odd and threatening notes in the mail. When they start to investigate, with the help of Jonah's sister, Katherine, the FBI tries to discourage them with threats such as deportation. Next, strangers offering help appear and disappear mysteriously but are friends or enemies? Jonah, Chip, and Katherine scramble to find out what is happening, and, more important, to discover the true identity of the boys.

This one pulls in readers right from the start and with a cliffhanger ending, has them looking forward to the next installment.

First in a series

Farthing by Jo Walton

In an alternative world of the 1940's, Europe has been taken over by Nazi Germany. England has made peace with Hitler and political control is in the hands of a facist upperclass group that calls itself the Farthing Set. Against this backdrop, Lord and Lady Eversley, members of the Farthing Set, host a weekend party, during which another member of the Farthing Set is murdered. A Star of David has been pinned to his chest and suspicion immediately falls upon David Kahn, the Jewish husband of Lucy Eversley, daughter of Lord and Lady Eversley. Lucy and David realize that he has been set up to take the blame, as does Inspector Carmichael from Scotland Yard. As the Kahn's and Carmichael attempt to find the real killer, it appears that the crime is a political one with huge implications for the future of England.

While not a book about teenagers, and not marketed to teens, this should have cross-over appeal to those look for an engrossing mystery which also provides a lot of food for thought.

The Squad: Perfect Cover by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Bayport High School's varsity cheerleading team is composed of the most beautiful, the most athletic, the best-dressed, and the most popular girls in town. Toby Klein may be a black-belt in karate and an expert computer hacker but she has no school spirit, dresses badly, and has a tendency to beat up the guys who pick on her younger brother. She is horrified to be invited to join the cheerleading team until she learns that the girls are actually highly trained spys for the United States government Their cover is perfect - who would expect anything from a cheerleader?
What follows is lots of great clothes and accessories that double as spy gadgets, lots of girl bonding and gossip, lots of wildly improbable technology (a huge spy complex under the school). The reader really needs to suspend disbelief for Squad books (their is mention of Charlie's Angels but it reminded me even more of the Teletoon show "Spy Girls), but this looks like a fun series for those who are happy to do so.