The Egypt Game

Written by: Zilpha Keatley Snyder

First line: Not long ago in a large university town in California, on a street called Orchard Avenue, a strange old man ran a dusty, shabby store.

Why you should read this book: I remember this book from my childhood, and it withstood the test of time: when April Hall's mother sends her away from Hollywood to live with her grandmother, she brings an air of painted glamour to her newfound friendship with neighbor Melanie, and the two girls invent a magical game involving the ancient gods of Egypt in an unused yard. Soon there are a half-dozen kids involved in the work of creating altars and costumes and rituals and hieroglyphic alphabets, until the day tragedy strikes the neighborhood and none of the kids are allowed to play outside anymore. But there and mysteries to explore in Egypt, and April refuses to give up the allure of serving as a priestess to the gods.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Kids making up their own religions and worshiping foreign gods is just too much blasphemy for you.

Doll Bones

Written by: Holly Black

First line: Poppy set down one of the mermaid dolls close to the stretch of asphalt road that represented the Blackest Sea.

Why you should read this book: It's a simple, but rather thrilling story, part thriller, part murder mystery, part road story, and all about that age when boys and girls start thinking about growing up. Zach, Poppy, and Alice have been playing make-believe together for a long time, but when Zach's father pushes him to quit, Poppy will do anything to get him back in the club, including taking her mother's mysterious, forbidden, and apparently haunted doll out of the cabinet. Now they're either being haunted by the ghost of a Victorian girl, or the victim of Poppy's imagination, and either way, they'll be going a very long way to free themselves from the past.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You would do anything to keep the remains of your loved ones nearby.

Lumberjanes 1: Beware the Kitten Holy

Written by: Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis

First line: Mal, Molly, what the Joan Jett are you doing?

Why you should read this book: As our tale opens on this popular graphic series, five friends have sneaked out of the cabin at their overnight camp in the middle of the night, and spooky things are happening. There are weird three-eyed foxes to fight and mysterious messages in anagram, and their counselor doesn't believe them, but the camp director might. It's girl power all the way as the Lumberjanes investigate the strange goings-on around there, using all their scouting knowledge to defeat monsters and solve problems.

Why you shouldn't read this book: It always bothered you that Harry Potter never got busted for sneaking around in the middle of the night.

When No One Is Watching

Written by: Eileen Spinelli

First line: When no one is watching, I dance.

Why you should read this book: In a poetic voice, a little girl illustrates how her shyness is situation-dependent. When alone, she is fearless, but among others, she shrinks away. However, in the company of her one special friend, she can be herself.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're an extreme extravert.

A Year with Marmalade

Written by: Alison Reynolds and Heath McKenzie

First line: Ella and Maddy were best friends.

Why you should read this book: When Maddy's family goes away for a year, Ella has to take care of her cat, Marmalade. Ella and Marmalade are both heartbroken by their loss, but gradually they warm up to each other. Time passes, and the three friends are soon reunited.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't get cats.

How the Library: (NOT the Prince) Saved Rapunzel

Written by: Wendy Maddour and Rececca Ashdown

First line: On the sixteenth floor of a tall tower block sat Rapunzel, quite idle, whilst growing her locks

Why you should read this book: Reimagined in an urban setting, Rapunzel is not held captive by a witch, but by her own sense of inertia. Although various neighborhood folks attempt to get her out of her own head, she refuses them all, including the prince. When her aunt finally stages in intervention, it turns out that Rapunzel has somehow been offered a job, which is all she needs to turn her life around.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're unemployed and getting frustrated.

I Am Princess X

Written by: Cherie Priest

First line: Libbie Deaton and May Harper invented Princess X in fifth grade, when Libby's leg was in a cast, and May had a doctor's not saying she couldn't run around the track anymore because her asthma would totally kill her.

Why you should read this book: In a really fast paced thriller, May Harper never fully accepted the death of her best friend, Libbie, even though she went to Libbie's funeral years ago. When she starts to see images of their character, Princess X, all over town and the Internet, she's convinced that Libbie is in trouble, in hiding, and desperately trying to send her a message. With the help of a disgraced computer hacker called Trick, May follows the clues left in a webcomic and races against time and a dangerous interloper they call the Needle Man in an effort to learn what really happened to her best friend.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Your child is in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant.

Number the Stars

Written by: Lois Lowry

First line: "I'll race you to the corner, Ellen!"

Why you should read this book: Annemarie, like all the people she knows in Denmark, loves her family, her king, and her neighbors, especially her best friend, Ellen, with whom she does everything. Even though the Nazis have invades their country, the two girls and their families do their best to continue their lives uninterrupted, until the day that they learn that the Nazis will be sending all Jews somewhere else. Now Annemarie and her entire family are willing to risk their own lives to help the people they love stay safe.

Why you shouldn't read this book: This is one of those books that you don't get a pass on unless you are actually a Nazi, in which case you presumably don't understand literature anyway.

Alex + Ada (volumes 1-13)

Written by: Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn

First line: Alex...Time to wake up.

Why you should read this book: There's a lot to love in the fast-paced story of a young man who is initially disgusted to learn that his grandmother has taken a sexbot for a lover, and then even more disgusted when he learns that she has bought him one for his birthday. In this near-future world, sentience in robots has been outlawed following an unfortunate incident in which an AI responded violently to its condition, but Alex gradually comes to feel sorry for his new companion's lack of free will. His decision to pursue another kind of life for Ada puts them both on the wrong side of the law but opens up a new understanding of consciousness.

Why you shouldn't read this book: The concept of robot sentience and sex bots flies in the face of all that is good and holy to you.

The Sandman XI: Endless Nights

Written by: Neil Gaiman

First line:  Here, where the darkness closes over me, like canal-water or the grave, I tell this story.

Why you should read this book: Even though book X tied up the story about Dream, there are still more stories to tell about the Endless, in this case, one for each sibling. Death's story takes a "Masque of the Red Death" turn with a Count who seeks to escape Death by removing himself from time; each tale has a powerful kernel of truth about the human condition. If you can't get enough Sandman, then here's some more Sandman.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You like things to wrap up already.