Saints of Augustine Patrick Ryan, 2007

Sam Findley and Charlie Perrin. Best friends. At least they used to be. But a year ago Sam cut Charlie out of his life; no explanation, no discussion, nothing. Fast-forward one year, and both Sam's and Charlie's lives are spiraling out of control. Sam has a secret he's finding harder and harder to hide, and Charlie is dealing with an increasingly absent dad and a dealer whose threats are anything but empty.

Artichoke’s Heart Suzanne Supplee, 2008

Reviewed by Emily, 11.

Flora Segunda Ysabeau S. Wilce, 2006

Flora Segunda: Being the Magickal Mishaps of a Girl of Spirit, Her Glass-gazing Sidekick, Two Ominous Butlers (One Blue), a House with Eleven Thousand Rooms, and a Red Dog. In her first novel, Wilce imagines a living castle a kind of blending of Gormenghast and Hogwarts and she breathes life into her tale with a wry sense of humor. The book opens as narrator Flora Fyrdraaca, the heroine of the title, is about to turn 14, a rite of passage that qualifies her to enter military training.