MIDDLE GRADES AND YOUNG ADULT
Binny Bewitched, by Hilary McKay (Hodder, 244 pages, $12.99, ages 9-13)
Impetuous, loving and impractical Binny gets into a fix when she sees unattended cash at an ATM. She snatches it up — but then what can she do with it? Third in the series ( Binny for
Short and Binny Keeps a Secret), this is as funny, realistic and eventful as the others. A perfect trilogy for a gift.
The Book of Dust, by Philip Pullman (Knopf, 451pages, $29.99, ages 11 and up)
The best new fantasy-adventure story on the shelves this season; a lose-yourself-in-it yarn. Malcolm’s heard enough about baby Lyra to know that when she’s in danger, he must save her. Peril, evasions and spying strangers propel this tale like a river in full spate. An “equel” to
His Dark Materials trilogy.
Lockwood & Co.: The Empty Grave, by Jonathan Stroud (Disney/Hyperion, 437 pages, $17.99, ages 12 and up)
Sarcastic, witty, inventive — Stroud’s alt-Victorian paranormal series comes to a crashing finale in its fifth volume, in which Lockwood & Co. come face to grisly face with the cause of London’s plague of hauntings. With a dashing hero, tough-minded heroine and a Talking Skull of dubious taste, this series is smart and dashing itself.
Long Way Down, by Jason Reynolds (Simon and Schuster, 306 pages, $23.99, ages 12 and up)
Will’s brother Shawn has been shot. Will knows the rules: avenge. He takes Shawn’s gun and goes after his killer — via the elevator. But the elevator stops at every floor, and the people who get on have something to say to Will. Free verse, ghost story, realism and urban violence combine in Reynolds’ passionate, compassionate novel.
Turtles All the Way Down, by John Green (Dutton, 286 pages, $25.99, ages 12 and up)
“Mystery, romance, buddy story and mental illness (OCD)” scarcely captures the rich substance and literary texture of this highly readable novel. Its plot involves a missing father, first love and high school friendship, but really it’s about wondering what makes us “selves,” if we’re so responsive to compulsions and conditions. Excellent fare.