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Kit Tyler's unconventional upbringing makes her an oddity in colonial Connecticut.  Having been raised on the island of Barbados with little supervision from the grandfather who reared her, she's a fun-loving, free spirit who bucks against the strict Puritan society in which she finds herself after her grandpa's death.  The aunt and uncle who have taken Kit in, despite her surprise appearance on their doorstep, hardly know what to do with a 16-year-old who refuses to behave like the other girls in Wethersfield.

Developing a secret friendship with Hannah Tupper—an elderly Quaker woman who has not only been shunned by "polite" society, but also labeled a witch—brings even more trouble for Kit.  Kit's being courted by Wethersfield's most eligible bachelor; if she can just conform and learn to follow the rules (which includes stopping her visits to Hannah's house), she can become one of the most enviable women in town.  Can she resist her natural willfulness?  Or her outrage at the mistreatment of people like harmless old Hannah?  Should she let go of everything that makes her unique, just to fit into a society that fears anything different?  

When a vicious illness strikes the settlement, Kit and Hannah stand accused.  Desperate to clear her good name, Kit must make the most difficult decision of her life—bow to the rigid community leaders or risk death by standing up for what (and in whom) she believes.

It's been a long, long time since I first read The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Elizabeth George Speare's Newbery Award-winning masterpiece.  No matter.  I enjoyed it just as much as an adult as I did when I was a kid.  Originally published in 1958, the book tells a haunting story, which plays out against a vivid historical backdrop.  Speare brings Colonial America to life with fascinating detail, giving readers a rich, realistic sense of the setting, in terms of both place and time.  With a blend of adventure, romance and suspense, the plot keeps the story moving right along, making for an engaging, exciting read.  Sympathetic and brave, Kit is a heroine who dives right into the reader's heart, ensuring that they will care deeply about her plight.  Although The Witch of Blackbird Pond is set in the late 1600s, it will appeal to anyone—in any decade—who's ever felt out-of-place, misunderstood, or suffocated by a society that doesn't appreciate their particular brand of different.  Compelling and hopeful, it's a classic that should be read again and again.    

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of books about the Salem witch trials, including I Walk in Dread by Lisa Rowe Fraustino; Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill; and Father of Lies by Ann Turner)

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Hak Nam Walled City is no place for children.  With its toxic brew of "humanity's darkest ingredients—thieves, whores, murderers, addicts," it's a 6 1/2-acre hell "so ruthless even the sunlight won't enter" (5%, uncorrected e-galley).  Kids don't belong here and yet, the city's teeming with them.  Survival of the fittest demands they do jobs that steal their innocence, scar their bodies, and snuff out all the hope they might foolishly harbor in their young hearts. 

Sun Dai Shing runs drugs for the powerful gang leaders who rule the Walled City.  The 18-year-old longs to bring the worst of the overlords to justice in the outside world, but accomplishing that task is impossible.  Even with his position on the "inside" of their nefarious enterprises, Dai can't figure out how to bring them down.  Not without sacrificing his own neck.  With only 18 days left to accomplish his purpose, he's becoming more and more desperate ...

Jin Ling is the fastest, most slippery thief in town.  Disguised as a boy, the 14-year-old girl ekes out a meager existence on the streets of the Walled City.  Always hungry, always on guard, always ready to run, Jin survives for one purpose—to find her older sister.  

Trapped in a brothel run by the most dangerous overlord in the Walled City, Mei Yee longs for freedom.  She dreams of the sea, of her long-lost sister, of flying away from her miserable life.  Sold into slavery by her desperate father, Mei Yee knows she can never return home, but surely, she can find happiness beyond the walls which keep her prisoner.  But, how?  How can she ever escape?  She's seen what happens to the girls who try.  Forced prostitution has to be better than enduring punishments that are far, far worse than death.  

As the fates of the three teenagers entwine, they must learn to break the most important rule of the Walled City—trust no one.  It is only together that they can accomplish their individual purposes, but can they work together without getting all of them killed?  Pitted against the most ruthless gang in the city, they will have to use all of their combined wit, strength and courage to triumph.  The only question is, will it be enough?

YA dystopians are a dime a dozen these days, making it almost impossible to find one that really stands out.  While The Walled City by Ryan Graudin (available November 4, 2014) isn't wholly original (not wholly dystopian either), it's absolutely memorable.  The main characters are well-rounded and sympathetic.  Rooting for them is as natural as despising their enemies.  Vivid descriptions of the Walled City make it come alive as fully as its inhabitants.  These elements, combined with a tense, nail biter of a plot, equal a first-rate thriller.  Horrifying but hopeful, gritty but gratifying, intense but inspiring, The Walled City is not to be missed.  Unfortunately for my dishes, my laundry, and my pile of uncut coupons, I could not put it down.  It's that compelling. 

(P.S.  If the setting of this novel sounds familiar, that's because it's based on Hong Kong's Kowloon Walled City, which was demolished in the 90s and turned into a park.  For some unsettling, but eye-opening info on this true-to-life place, click here and here.  

Also, you can read the first 90 or so pages of The Walled City for free on your Nook or Kindle.  You're welcome.)  

(Readalikes:  Hm, I can't think of anything.  Can you?)  

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for language (one F-bomb plus other invectives), violence/gore, and depictions of illegal drug abuse and prostitution

To the FTC, with love:  I received an e-galley of The Walled City from the generous folks at Hachette Book Group via those at NetGalley.  Thank you!)

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It's the Fall of 1943 and Copenhagen is overrun with Nazi soldiers.  Annemarie Johansen pays little attention to them.  They've been controlling the city since Denmark surrendered to Germany in 1940.  Although the 10-year-old still feels uncomfortable with the soldiers' menacing presence, they have become a familiar sight.  It's only when the soldiers begin "relocating" Copenhagen's Jewish residents that Annemarie feels truly frightened.

When the parents of Annemarie's best friend are taken by the Nazis, the Johansen's know it's up to them to keep young Ellen Rosen safe.  They shelter her in their home, telling anyone who asks that she is their daughter.  But Ellen doesn't look like Annemarie and her younger sister—if anyone guesses her true identity, it will mean trouble for all of them.  As the soldiers become increasingly aggressive and violent, protecting Ellen becomes more and more risky.  Annemarie's parents have a desperate plan to smuggle the young Jewish girl into Sweden, but if it goes wrong—and there are a million ways it could go wrong—it could lead them all to their deaths.  

Annemarie longs to be as brave as the heroines of her favorite fairy tales, but she's terrified.  What will happen to her best friend?  And what will become of the Johansens if they're discovered helping a Jew escape?  Annemarie knows she must have courage, but how can she when the world around her is so frightening?  

Number the Stars, Lois Lowry's Newbery Award-winning middle grade novel, tells a memorable story about a little girl who's forced to face her worst fears in order to save her friend.  Through Annemarie, Lowry shows—and applauds—the incredible courage shown by the Danish Resistance as it secretly ferried almost all of the country's Jews (around 7,000 people) to safety in Sweden.  It's a touching, triumphant story that reminds us that good exists even in the most despairing of situations.  And that a decent world, devoid of hate and prejudice, is always—always—worth fighting for. 

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of other children's books about the Holocaust, including The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen, The Diary of Anne Frank, Hidden Like Anne Frank by Marcel Prins and Peter Steenhuis)

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Despite their parents' unconventional marriage, Sam and Ollie McAlister have enjoyed a fairly normal childhood.  Until now.  When their mother dies, the sisters insist on living with their dad in rural Oregon, even though few people would consider Frank "Bear" McAlister a suitable guardian for two young girls.  The trio live in an old teepee in a large meadow on the property of a kind elderly couple.  A beekeeper, Bear squeaks out a living by selling honey and doing odd jobs.  Most teenagers would balk at this kind of living arrangement, but it suits 15-year-old Sam just fine.  Especially in the summertime, when she and Ollie are free to run wild, picking blackberries, swimming in the river, and eating meals around a campfire.  The winter will be a different story, no doubt, but she and Ollie might be in Boston by then since their maternal grandmother has given Bear only six months to prove he can care for his daughters properly.  If anything untoward happens, she'll take the girls away from their father.  Forever.

Sam can't let that happen, so when she and Ollie find the body of a bloodied young woman in a river bend near their meadow, she knows her family can't be tied to its discovery in any way.  The girls push the corpse on down the river, hoping no suspicion will settle on them.  But when Sam discovers something that belongs to the dead woman hidden in Bear's teepee, she begins to wonder if her dad might be guilty of more than squatting on property that doesn't belong to him.  The town feels the same way—it's not long before Bear is in jail, accused of murdering Taylor Bellweather, a recent U of O graduate.

Despite the police's "evidence," Sam refuses to believe gentle Bear had anything to do with the crime.  But who did?  Sam intends to find out.  Ten-year-old Ollie wants to help, but she hasn't spoken a word since her mom died.  She still can't talk, can't tell her sister about the "Shimmers" that follow her and the things they know.  Even if their ghostly messages could save them all.

Murder mysteries with a tinge of the supernatural thrown in have been all the rage for awhile now, especially in teen lit.  Thus, even though it's an adult novel with these elements, Crooked River (available October 14, 2014)—a debut novel by Valerie Geary—isn't all that original.  And yet, I found it to be a taut, compelling psychological thriller.  Geary brings her setting and characters to such vibrant life that I not only saw them, but cared about them.  The sisters especially earned my affection, so much so that I couldn't put the book down until I found out what happened to them.  Although the novel's ending seemed a little melodramatic, overall, I enjoyed this atmospheric, engrossing murder mystery.    

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of Tomorrow River by Lesley Kagen)

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