Sliding on the edge by C.Lee McKenzie – Shawna Stone is 16 years-old.

Shawna’s mom, who’s rather flighty, abandons her in Las Vegas. She leaves the child, who’s become a pretty responsible person - money, a bus ticket to Sacramento, and the phone number of her mother in law, Shawna’s grandmother, Kay. Shawna has never met her grandmother and has heard only her mom's side of the story about her father, who's dead. Shawna has had self abuse and social acceptance issues throughout her life. Kay’s community comes through for the conflicted teen. Shawna, by story’s end, considers reaching out to others. Believable and well written, I was curious about Shawna and wondered if hope and optimism would prevail. The story too emphasized the role of the community in helping conflicted teens. I instantly became involved in the story.
This was a satisfying, good read.

Willow by Julia Hoban - From the fly leaf: Seven months ago on a rainy March night, Willow Randall’s parents drank
too much wine at dinner and asked her to drive them home. But they never made it – Willow lost control of the car,
and both of her parents were killed.
Now seventeen, Willow has left behind her old home, friends, and school – numbing the grim reality of her new life by
secretly cutting herself. But everything changes when one of Willow’s new classmates, a boy as sensitive and
thoughtful as she is, discovers Willow’s secret and refuses to let her destroy herself.
At first I didn't want to read about a girl who cuts herself. From the outset though, this story rang very true - I hated
to put the book down. The characters and their emotions seem genuine - Even though Willow's bouts with the razor
are cringe worthy - you really care about her and the special relationship she has with Guy. You want both of them to
succeed.

Mutiny - by John Boyne - A good read, the story got me to investigate further about the subject. It starts out with the reminiscences of of John Jacob Turnstile - Later we become aware of what he has made of his life - which brings you to the beginning of the story - I liked the way the author used that device.
One of a band of young thieves, John Jacob Turnstile has just been caught picking a watch from a gentleman, Matthieu Zela, who refuses to press charges.
The police are intent on sending the boy to prison anyway for this and previous misdeeds. Matthieu Zela intervenes to have the boy sent to sea - The arrangement is agreed upon by the judge. John Jacob Turnstile, nicknamed "Turnip" by a number of the crew, soon finds himself on the journey of a lifetime.
The ship is the Bounty, and this is the infamous story of the mutiny. According to review sources, Mutiny is the first novel to explore all the events relating to the Bounty’s voyage. Bligh and Christian are given more historically accurate looks which diverge from their portrayals in the classic, Mutiny on the Bounty by Nordhoff and Hall.

Ten Things I Hate About Me is the latest from Does my head look big in this? author Randa Abdel-Fattah. Lebonese Aussi Jamilah lives two lives - A trying-to-fit-in sophomore with bleached blond hair and blue contacts and the daughter of a
taxi driver in a single parent Muslim household as well as a darabuka drummer in an Arab band. Known as "Jamie" to her classmates, Jamilah doesn't let anyone know about her home/cultural life. Jamilah doesn't want negative comments made about her because of her ethnicity. Peter, a boy that likes her, constantly derides others not realizing that Jamie is a member of one such ethnicity. Thanks in part to two friends, Timothy and Amy, She comes to grips with being honest with herself and others by the story's end. I liked the development of the two friendships and the honesty that ensued. What a ride though. Jamilah is a warm humorous sensitive person at the core, and to see her realize that made for a wonderfully good read.

Alligator Bayou by Donna Jo Napoli - Fourteen-year-old newly immigrated Calogero Scalise and his Sicilian uncles and cousin live in Tallulah, Louisiana in 1898, when racist laws ruled. The story is loosely based on the Tallulah lynchings of 1899. It's a good piece of historical fiction that explores racial conflicts and relationships in a realistic way. It took a bit to get into unlike the author's Hush, an Irish Princess' Tale which totally hooked me from the start. Incidents leading to the lynchings; Mistaken motives; Hunting the animals in the swamp; Calo's love for Patricia and her responses made for an eventful interesting read.

True Adventures of Charley Darwin by Carolyn Meyer
I enjoyed this book. I'd never read anything about him, although I was familiar with his work, On the Origin of Species. This story is told in the first person,

through Charles Darwin's eyes. He is a likable person, and intensely curious about the world around him. Through Charley, I got a real good view of his world; likes and dislikes.

Although very much a part of an upper class family - where scholarly persuits prevailed, Charley preferred to be outside studying and collecting birds’ eggs, feathers, and insects.

Young Charley Darwin hated school - he had reason too; the boarding school within running distance of his home was dreadful. He was pretty conflicted about what his physician father wanted him to achieve.

The story then takes you on his journey around the world at age twenty-one on the H.M.S. Beagle; An exciting journey that took five years. From his studies and the voyage, he gathered indisputable evidence, and set forth a theory on how evolution works, the theory of natural selection.

We learn too of the special bond he had with Emma, his cousin and friend. This was a good read.

The mysteries of Beethoven's hair / Russell Martin and Lydia Nibley- good enjoyable read; A page turner and a real mystery. Reading the book prompted me to download a number of Beethoven pieces from iTunes.I enjoyed the mystery of this particular lock of hair – When it was clipped; who owned and treasured the locket; how it was rescued from the Nazis by an unknown Jewish individual who gave the locket to a Danish doctor. From there, the story recounts how the locket eventually found a home at the Beethoven Center at San Jose State University. Analysis of his hair and pieces of his skull revealed much about the poor health and bouts of temperament from which the great composer suffered.