Christian Fiction: "New York Debut"

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Carlson, Melody. New York Debut, carter house girls series: Book Six. Carlson, Melody. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009.

Six teenage girls in a boarding house run by a retired fashion icon get ready for their debut in New York's Fashion Week. As the competition heats up DJ struggles with the attitudes and behaviors of herself and those around her. Can Christianity survive the catwalks of Manhattan?

Mrs. Carter is running a tight ship at her boardinghouse full of future models. Her granddaughter DJ is starting to wonder though if she's more concerned about their looks than their higher selves. She's also worried about her best friend Taylor who's checked herself into rehab and Kriti who's beginning to show signs of an eating disorder. On top of all this she's beginning to question her own motives concerning the ever shallow Eliza.

"You ever get the feeling we're running some kind of clinic here?" joked DJ. "Like maybe my grandmother should switch her focus from fashion to mental health. We could be the Carter House Rehabilitation Center for Young Women."

They all laughed, but DJ actually thought it was sort of pathetic. She also thought her grandmother should bear some of the blame if the girls under her care got any more messed up. Oh, sure, maybe these things would've happened anyway. But maybe not this latest problem with Kriti. It seemed a direct result of the atmosphere in this house. Not that Grandmother would be that concerned to hear about it.

"So how do we intervene?" asked Casey.

As the Carter House Girls prepare for the runway there are lessons to be learned that have nothing to do with posture and posing and everything to do with faith and good works.

Classic: "Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones"

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Head, Ann. Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones. New York: Signet, 1968.

An honest account of an unplanned pregnancy and the subsequent joining-together in marriage of two teenagers in the late 1960's.

When someone spikes the punch at the party, Trilby High's football star and his girlfriend July end up on the beach for a night that will change their lives forever. First comes regret, then comes pregnancy, and then a hasty marriage. All while two sets of parents push them in different directions. Will these two be driven apart by the sacrifices an unplanned pregnancy forces them to make? Can love grow between two teenagers who sway between being moody, loving, rigid, patient, and the other hundred emotions their situation provokes? For better or for worse, will July and BoJo find out what it really means to be Mr. and Mrs. BoJo Jones?

Supernatural: "The Graveyard Book"

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Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book. New York: Harper Collins, 2008.

Mr. and Mrs. Owens find a wee baby toddling in the green grass of the graveyard. They name him Nobody, Bod for short, and love him and try to protect him from the world outside. The world where his family was murdered by the man Jack.

Well: Just Who is Nobody Owens? This book set in the shimmering world of the graveyard has the answer and a cast of characters that you will never forget.

Set in England, Bod is an orphan who toddles out of his house where his family is being brutally murdered. He ends up in the graveyard where several centuries old ghosts raise him as their own. Mr. and Mrs. Owens love him and, along with his guardian, try to educate him to get through the dangers he will face. And dangers he does face as he embarks on adventures within and without the rattling gates of the graveyard.

As you read this story and meet it's characters including Bod, the Owen's, the Indigo Man, the terrible sleer, and the man Jack whose hand wields a knife, you will cheer for Nobody Owens. And Bod himself will learn the answer to the question Just Who is Nobody Owens?

Hugo Awards: Best Novel, Newbery Medal, Oprah's Kids' Reading Lists - New Releases: 10-to-12 Years, Locus Young Adult Book Award, Wisconsin Library Association Children's Book Awards: Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla Award, Booklist Editors' Choice - Books for Youth - Older Readers Category: 2008, YALSA Best Books for Young Adults: 2009, USBBY Outstanding International Books - Grades 6-8: 2009, ALA Notable Children's Books - Middle Readers Category: 2009

Historical: "The Luxe"

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Godbersen, Anna. The Luxe. New York: Harper Collins, 2007.

One longs for love, one longs for luxury, two long for Henry Schoonmaker, who will his truelove be?

Elizabeth, Penelope, Diana, and Lina swirl through mists of love and intrigue in 1899 New York. Wrapped in miles of antique shell pink satin, but with a modern heart, Elizabeth Holland is torn by the twin motivations of conscience and craving. As for her "best friend" Penelope, jealously fuels her every move. And poor Lina's feeling a little put out. Well, who wouldn't be a little put out when your childhood friend starts treating you like her maid? Which you are. And finally there's Diana...

"Diana was about to slip away quickly when she looked at Henry and decided that she wasn't done with him. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the parlor on the east side of the house...When they were on the other side of the oak door, she reluctantly let go of his hand. She looked up at the great canvases above, with their dark, roiling seas. They seemed to Diana like an approximation of her own feelings at the moment."

This sumptuous novel of luxury and extravagance will bring to life the social scene of turn of the century New York exposing the naked hearts of four of it's most captivating residents.

YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults: Fame and Fortune (2009)