It seemed like a good idea at the time. Take all the criminals and put them somewhere out of the way. Give them a whole new world equipped with everything they could ever need.  Then add in an all-seeing intelligence named Incarceron to watch over them. It was a great experiment, and a failed one. Now the prisoners struggle to survive knowing that at any moment they might be killed or disfigured at Incarceron's whim. Meanwhile those in power on the outside have done their best to trap the world in the past--forcing everyone to act and dress in Era. Not everyone is happy with these restrictions, including the daughter of the warden. When she makes contact with a boy in her father's prison they are determined to change both worlds.

This novel is set in a future that is trapped in the past so there’s extrapolated technologies as well as frilly dresses and drama at court. The prison makes a deliciously dark and formidable opponent for our intrepid protagonists to face and a great dystopian setting. The characters are very well developed with unique voices.There's plenty of meaty bits to ponder as well as fast-paced action scenes.

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Erica's Picks
7th - 8th Grade
Tags: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Steampunk

It started with breaking colts: ten cents a horse. Then one day Nat got lucky in a raffle and he used his winnings to head out West. Before long he found a cattle team and when they tested him on their wildest horse he showed them what he could do. He joined on and they fixed him up with new clothes, a gun, and a new name. Nat Love became Deadwood Dick as he adopted the cowboy lifestyle. His new life is full of adventures.  The storms, stampedes, and raids make him feel more alive--but they may also kill him.

I loved the artwork in this comic--the bold colors captured the various highs and lows of the story and the sketchy style matched the dirty, fast-paced lifestyle. The story  is fascinating--all the more so because it is based on real events. Nat was born as a slave, then became a famously skilled cowboy, and finally ended up as a Pullman Porter. Fans of old west adventures, history, and comics will find plenty to keep them happy in these pages.

Best Shot in the West: The Adventures of Nat Love by Patricia C. McKissack, Frederick L. McKissack, & Randy DuBurke

Erica's Picks
4th - 8th Grade
Tags: Adventure, Biography, Comics, Cowboys, Fast-Paced, Historical Fiction, People of Color

Neftali looks up to his father and is eager to please him, but everything that he does just seems to disappoint. Neftali's father disapproves of the little treasures that he stops to pick up wherever he goes: a pinecone, an old boot, a shell. His father is embarrassed by Neftali’s small size and stutter. But the most common reprimand Neftali hears is "Stop that incessant daydreaming!" Neftali wants to please his father, but how can he stop contemplating the world when it is full of such wonders? 

True to its title, this book has a lovely lyrical, dream-like quality. It reflects the personality of Neftali perfectly and this mood is enhanced by lines of verse and surreal drawings throughout the text.  Fellow daydreamers, writers, and artists will find inspiration in this story based on the childhood of the famous poet Pablo Neruda. 

The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan & Peter Sis

Erica's Picks
3rd - 6th Grade
Tags: Biography, Character Driven, People of Color, Poetry

Hikaru was just a normal kid until he discovered a haunted Go board. Now he is possessed by the spirit of an ancient Go master named Sai. At first, Hikaru tries to ignore Sai and go on with his life like normal.  If anyone ever found out that he was possessed he'd be called a liar or freak or worse.  But Sai won't be ignored. So Hikaru seeks out Go matches to calm the angry spirit. 

The characters and plots in this comic are interesting and the rules to Go (a strategy game like chess) are explained slowly and clearly. The games are illustrated like epic battle scenes. Fans of Pokemon, chess, and of course Go will enjoy this tale of a kid training for tournament battles. 

Hiraku no Go by Yumi Hotta & Takeshi Obata

Erica's Picks
3rd - 6th Grade
Tags: Comics, Humor, People of Color, School Stories, Supernatural

Do you like to get your clothes from the mall or would you rather find something vintage in a thrift shop? It's an easy choice for Will. She prefers things with a bit of history to them. She lives in an antique shop with her aunt and a dog passed down from her grandfather. Even her name is second-hand, from her great-great-grandmother Wilhelmina. But Will doesn't mind. The antiques give her plenty of opportunity to indulge in her hobby of making lamps from objects ranging from teacups to parasols. Summer is almost over and she's determined to make the last few weeks count. But when a storm comes that knocks out power to the town, everything changes. 

The best thing about this comic are the characters. Will has a wonderful old soul, Autumn puts on great puppet shows and Noel likes to test out new cookie recipes. The details are wonderful from the little references to Doctor Who to the fact that the gutters and edges of the pages during the blackout are  black so you can see the effect of the storm even on the closed book. The book has a DIY mentality and the characters put on a very creative arts carnival. I'd give this to anyone looking for a realistic, character-driven comic. Fans of Gulledge's other comic (Page by Paige) or the comics of Raina Telgemeier will be sure to enjoy this one.

Will & Whit by Laura Lee Gulledge

Erica's Picks
4th - 8th Grade
Tags: Character Driven, Comics, Contemporary Fiction, Friendship, Issues Fiction, Makers, People of Color, Summer Vacation

Mattie lives with her grandfather and mother in a coffee house in Philadelphia. Business is going well, especially after a summer fever breaks out near the docks causing people to head to the city center. Some families abandon town for the countryside, but Mattie's family stays where they are and keep the shop open. By the time they realize that this is no normal fever, it might already be too late.

This is an engaging story about a little-known part of American history.  In 1793 there was an outbreak of yellow fever in Philadelphia that killed five thousand people, which was ten percent of the population. Many people who would have otherwise lived died because they were abandoned by their friends and families who were afraid of catching their fever. There were, however, notable exceptions such as the members of the Free African Society in Philadelphia, many of whom volunteered around the city, helping the sick and those left behind.

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Erica's Picks
4th - 6th Grade
Tags: Historical Fiction, Family Life, People of Color

Ananna grew up on her parents' pirate ship learning how to fight and sail. Her bedtime stories were were full of murder and mischief, but the most terrifying of them all were about the assassins: magical, ruthless, and inescapable. If an assassin came after you, you wouldn't live to tell the tale. Even to a pirate princess they sounded too terrifying to be real, so she decided they must be nothing more than boogeymen. Until the day she ran away from an arranged marriage and an assassin was sent after her. Now she's inextricably bound to one of these heartless killers and her dreams of the future are dashed on the rocks. Her only chance is to find an impossible cure for an impossible curse. And how can she possibly do the impossible?

The story is like beauty and the beast with pirates. There's magic and mystery, sailing and sword fights, and the princess joins in the fray instead of just waiting around to be saved. I'd give this  to anyone looking for a classic fantasy adventure novel and fans of pirates and high seas adventure.

Assassin’s Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Erica's Picks
6th - 8th Grade
Tags: Adventure, Fantasy, People of Color, Pirates, Romance

813: a beautiful planet full of forests and wildlife carefully studied by the resident scientists. And the best part? It's light years away. Just to travel there takes 6 years--meaning that when people go there, they don't come back. It's not an assignment for everyone, but it sounds like paradise to Glenn. Ever since her mother disappeared and her father began doggedly pursuing insane ideas, Glenn has wanted nothing more than to get away. There's not much she'd miss. Things have been weird with her best friend Kevin and she could take her cat with her. Her father is the only thing standing in her way, and he's so distracted that he is an easy obstacle to overcome. At least until his crazy theories become a dangerous reality and Glenn finds herself leaving everything behind ahead of schedule--while running for her life. 

Hirsch blends fantasy and science fiction in this novel with worlds following the laws of science and magic existing side by side, separated by a rift. Glenn is a great lead and a computer programming whiz. Kevin Kapoor often made  me laugh. In addition to a unique setting and layered characters, the pacing is fast and full of great action scenes.

Magisterium by Jeff Hirsch

Erica's Picks
6th - 8th grade
Tags: Dystopian, Fantasy, Fast-Paced, People of Color, Science Fiction

Princess Patricia Priscilla is not looking forward to her sixteenth birthday ball. At it she will have to choose one of her suitors to marry and each is more disgusting than the next: Duke Desmond of Dyspepsia who is as ugly and irritable as a warthog and forbids all mirrors in his kingdom, Prince Percival of Pustula who has too many mirrors and a heart as black as his oily hair, and the Conjoint Counts Colin and Cuthbert who are too busy fighting with each other to care about anything. Princess Priscilla decides to escape her awful fate and her castle life for one week and see what it's like to go to school as a normal village child.

This book was absolutely charming. A light-hearted fairy tale full of rhymes, alliteration, and simple morals. The characters are completely over the top and hilarious. The illustrations by Feiffer are delightful.  It would make a good read-aloud.

The Birthday Ball by Lois Lowry

Erica's Picks 
2nd - 4th Grade
Tags: Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Humor

Perseus lives a quiet life on a small island with his mother, then one day he meets a beautiful princess on the run. Before long, Perseus's father Zeus shows up to set him on a quest to kill Medusa, whose looks can literally kill. The old gods of the islands are on the decline as the new Olympian gods rise, but where do humans stand? Are they ever anything more than the play things of the gods? Is it possible for a mortal to defy divine intervention? Perseus doesn't know if he can, but he knows that he must try.

In addition to retelling the myths of Perseus and Andromeda there is  a lot of interesting information about ancient Greek society.  I'd recommend this book to teens who enjoyed the Percy Jackson series.

Snakehead by Ann Halam

Erica's Picks
6th - 8th grade
Tags: Adventure, Mythology, Retellings