(Note:  While this review will not contain spoilers for Cress, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from the novel's predecessors.  As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)

There's nothing I adore more than a YA series that's not just clean, but also original, well-written and compelling.  Surprisingly, these are very rare creatures.  Which is why I'm so enthusiastic about The Lunar Chronicles books by Marissa Meyer.  With each new installment, I love the story more; plus, I can hand the novels to my 12-year-old daughter with no reservations at all.  I mean, c'mon, what's not to love?

In Cress, the third book in the series, our cyborg heroine, Cinder, and her dashing sidekick, Captain Thorne, are on the run.  The duo, along with Wolf and Scarlet, are bent on not just stopping the upcoming marriage of Prince Kai and evil Queen Levana, but also saving their world from Levana's oppressive rule.  A bit of a tall order, even for the most famous cyborg outlaw in the land.

Cinder's best chance of success lies with Cress, a teenage girl who's been exiled on a remote satellite for most of her life.  She spends her time monitoring feeds from Earth, keeping the queen informed of any subversive action.  Cress's newest mission?  Find Cinder and Thorne.  Secretly, she hopes for the pair's success (and a future for herself and the gorgeous captain), but failing to follow the queen's orders is tantamount to suicide.  What choice does Cress really have?

As a hesitant Cress crosses paths with the quartet of fugitives, she finally gets the one thing she's been craving all along:  her freedom (meeting Thorne in the flesh is just icing on the cake).  But escaping from her satellite has bigger repercussions than Cress ever could have imagined.  And, as the day of the royal wedding creeps closer and closer, she's beginning to wonder why she pinned all her hopes on Cinder & Co., who never stood a chance against Levana in the first place.  With the fate of the world on the line, the young resistance workers have an impossible task ahead of them.  Can they pull off one of the biggest coups in history?  Or will they, too, become subjects of the domination-obsessed alien queen?

Like Cinder and Scarlet, Cress tells an exciting, fast-paced tale of adventure, romance and suspense.  Cress joins a cast of likable characters (some of whom, I admit, don't develop much in this installment), adding some freshness to the group's dynamic.  As with the other main characters, Cress shows both strength and vulnerability, making her as sympathetic as the rest.  At 560 pages, Cress isn't a quick read, but it's a fun one.  If you dig "re-booted" fairy tales, you don't want to miss this series.  I promise you won't be disappointed.

(Readalikes:  Cinder and Scarlet by Marissa Meyer)

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Living with a trash hauler may not sound very glamorous, but Auggie Jones loves it.  Her Grandpa Gus finds all kinds of treasures and plenty of adventures in his line of work.  Auggie adores her grandpa and can't imagine him having a cooler job.  She doesn't care that Gus makes little money or that they live in a rundown section of town of Willow Grove, Missouri—she's happy.

When a brand new elementary school opens, Auggie and her friends are forced to attend.  Mingling with kids they don't know, many of whom make fun of them for having no money, Auggie realizes for the first time just how poor she and Gus really are.  For the first time, she feels ashamed of her shabby clothes, ramshackle neighborhood and, especially, Gus' less-than-elegant trash hauling job.  Apparently, Auggie's former best friend feels the same way because ever since they started fifth grade, Lexie has been ignoring her.

It seems as if things can't get any worse for Auggie—until they do.  The father of one of her wealthy classmates launches an aggressive town beautification project targeting homes like the one Auggie shares with Gus.  If the homeowners do not comply with improvement "suggestions," they will be slapped with an enormous fine.  Auggie knows people in her part of town can't afford to fix up their houses, let alone pay exorbitant fees to the city.  Desperate to save her neighborhood, Auggie starts her own project.  But what begins as an effort to beautify her part of towns becomes a crusade to answer some important questions:  What is beauty?  What is art?  And why should one person's opinion on the matters outweigh another's?  As Auggie finds the answers for herself, she realizes an undeniable truth—beauty exists all around her, even if she's the only one who can see it.

The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky, the first middle grade novel from YA author Holly Schindler, offers a quirky, upbeat story about one girl's determination to be heard.  It's a sweet tale, one that resounds with both spunk and heart.  Kids of all ages will relate to Auggie's feelings of otherness and celebrate as she discovers not just herself, but her own voice.  Triumphant and compelling, this is one of those books that will make you cheer.  And look a little bit closer for the unique beauty in all of us.

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

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