Be prepared to laugh out loud when reading Justin Case: School, Drool, and Other Daily Disasters (Feiwel and Friends, 2010) by Rachel Vail. The story is told in diary style and has fun illustrations by Matthew Cordell.

3rd grader Justin Krzeszewski gets nicknamed Justin Case because he's a worry wart. He's afraid of "The Way-Back in the Basement," robbers breaking in, dogs--especially the dog he begged for--his new teacher, classmate Xavier Schwartz, and more. Here's a sample of Justin's perspective on third grade: "I figured out why it is called cursive: because of the bad words you think when you can't draw the dumb letters right."

Rachel Vail is a prolific author, and, as I found out at the LA SCBWI conference, a good speaker. She shared that she wrote this book for one of her sons. A month later I still find myself grinning over part of her talk. Go to the SCBWI blog for some snippets: Standing Room Only and Keynote.

Lean more about Rachel and her books here. Check out the Fun Stuff link. See more o Matthew Cordell's art here. Read his blog and find out about work he's doing for a book by Gail Carson Levine!

Unless you're getting to read about it! Yesterday, I got caught laughing out loud in a waiting room as I finished reading Mackenzie Blue by Tina Wells (HarperCollins, 2009). I laughed so often that others commented that I must be reading a good book.

Mackenzie's got the common fear of starting 7th grade, plus her BFF has moved away. Jasper--recently moved from England--is her friend, but she's supposed to be helping him. Of course, there's a mean girl . . . or is she? A crush interest. A new teacher whom Zee likes, but someone's trying to get fired. Mix in embarrassing events (I'm not just talking parents), a lost diary, a rock band, a Teen Sing competition, and life is pretty much hopping at Brookdale Academy.

But wait, when you get done with the book, you don't have to leave Mackenzie Blue's life. Next up is The Secret Crush (2010). Science projects, homework, parties, and best yet a Rock and Roll Musical that is more important to Zee than anything. Well, except her relationship with her BFF (why can't Ally be here to help her out?) and the confusion about one certain boy, complicated by two new kids joining the music class, and a note from a secret admirer.

Just out is Friends Forever? What could be better than a week at camp with all your friends? Well, not having to worry about bugs and wild animals and weird bathrooms . . . or the mysterious MOUNTAIN MAN! And how come Mackenzie's friends are arguing? What's a girl to do?!

I'm still smiling from reading these two books this afternoon--yes, I'll confess, I read them straight through one after the other. Looking forward to the next book scheduled to come out in December, as well.

You also won't want to miss the Mackenzie Blue website where you can check out Kathi's closet, take a quiz to see which character you are, see the lost diary, get green tips from Jasper and money tips from Marcus. Oh, and you can even read about the author, Tina Wells!

I love the opening line in Motorcycles, Sushi and One Strange Book (Zondervan, 2010) by Nancy Rue: "I guess my life was crazy even before the day it really lost its mind." The book lived up to the opening, too.

15 year old Jessie Hatcher's life is spent dealing with her ADHD and her mother's In Bed mode, which is better than her rare Out of Bed mode. Then the father she thought was dead shows up. She can't deny he's her father as she'd look just like him if she was a boy. Then mom goes into crisis and she has to go to Florida to live with this man she's just met. Along the way she gets involved, as the title says, with motorcycles, sushi, and one strange book, along with a cute guy who isn't turned off by her ADHD.

Nancy has written books for mini-women and adult women and is now writing for teens. See her blog for teens here.

I did in this book. I wanted to tell Sarah, "Can't you see what Brianna is doing to you?" (I guess I got connected to her...)

The Unwritten Rule: "You don't like your best friend's boy friend." Yet Sarah liked Ryan first. She can't let Brianna get hurt--things are so bad for Brianna at home--so she tries to stifle her feelings. But it's not working too well. Read the book if you want to find out what happens. I think you'll find it's worth the time.

The Unwritten Rule (Simon Pulse, 2010) was written by Elizabeth Scott. On her website you can read more about this book and her others, check out her blog that has contests, and read her bio.

CHARACTERS, that is . . .

Though both of these characters and their stories are so believable, you feel as if you could meet them on the street.

In Erin Dionne's debut middle grade novel, Models don't eat chocolate cookies, (Dial, 2009), we meet 12 year old Celeste Harris. Celeste is round and doesn't mind being round, but when she tries on the bridesmaid dress for her cousin's wedding, it's a disaster. The disaster gets worse when her aunt spots the Husky Peach modeling competition and thinks Celeste should enter, in fact she enters her. To make things worse, Celeste's best friend Sandra starts hanging out with Celeste's archenemy Lively Carson who calls Celeste a cow and worse.

Who can help Celeste in this dilemma? The lady in red!

Author Erin Dionne says she's "been a Husky Peach and a Skinny Banana" so knows what it is like to struggle with weight. Read more about Erin and her next book at: www.erindionne.com And check out the book trailer:

YA novel Wintergirls (Viking, 2009) by Laurie Halse Anderson deals with anorexia and bulimia and obviously strikes a chord with many teen readers--just check out all the YouTube videos made about the book!

The opening is fascinating: "So she tells me, the words dribbling out with the cranberry muffin crumbs, commas dunked in her coffee. She tells me in four sentences. No, five. I can't let me hear this, but it's too late. The facts sneak in and stab me." Doesn't that make you want to read on? It sure did me. And I discovered that Lia wants to weigh . . . 0. Don't you wonder how someone can be that desperate.

The questions is: Will finding out what happened to her ex-best friend Cassie change anything for Lia?

Laurie is the author of Speak, Chains, Fever 1793 and more. You can read about her and her books at her website: http://www.writerlady.com/. She has a "to-die-for" writer cabin that her husband built for her and shares the story on YouTube.

I don't know how I happened on two good books that both include photography, but I did. One could almost get an education in photography while enjoying the stories.

Blake in Flash Burnout (Houghton Mifflin, 2009) makes me laugh. And since he plans to be a comedian when he grows up, each day Blake counts the number of times he makes people laugh. Shannon, a total babe, is his girlfriend. Marissa is a friend and fellow photographer. Then he shows Marissa a photo of a homeless woman and it's her mother. He ends up getting involved with Marissa and her problems, which causes jealousy for Shannon.

If you want to find out what happens in this award winning book by L.K. Madigan, you'll have to read it!

I'm not surprised to discover that L.K. Madigan herself is interested in photography since she included so many wonderful technical details in this story. Check out her website at www.flashburnout.com and find out about her upcoming book there, too. She also has encouragement for writers on her site.

Author Nina LaCour's debut book hold still (Dutton, 2009) is a fascinating look at loss, friendship and photography.

Caitlyn has survived the summer without her best friend and fellow photographer, Ingrid, who committed suicide. Now it's September and she has to go back to school--surely their photography teacher will understand Caitlyn's loss, but this one-time friend ignores her. Then Caitlyn discovers the journal Ingrid left behind in her room.

Warning: if the thought of Caitlyn having a lesbian friend is offensive, you'll want to pass on this book.

Learn more about Nina at www.ninalacour.com. She and some other writers have a blog called: Chelsea I want my flannel back, where you are encouraged to submit your own stories.

God's promises...for boys... (Tommy Nelson, 2010) by Jack Countryman and Amy Parker is very kid-friendly. Each entry begins with a short poem and then is followed by Bible verses (International Children's Bible). The opening title under the section God's Promises When... is "You Want to Be Cool." Don't all boys want to be cool?

Additional sections are:

• God's Promises About...


• God Wants You To...


• God's Promises of Help When...


• God's Promises about Making a Difference...


• God's Promises about Jesus


• God's Promises for You...

This book could be used as a devotional or a resource when a boy has a question. Reading age 8-12, but I'd definitely read it to my younger grandsons.

It has great illustrations, too, by Richard Watson. You can even see the first 35 pages at the publisher's site.

Author Jack Countryman created the God's Promises line. Read more here. Together he and Amy Parker wrote this book and God's Promises...for girls. Amy is also the author of A Night Night Prayer.

Can you resist these best friends in Poodle and Hound (Charlesbridge, 2009) by Kathryn Lasky? I can't. And I don't normally like poodles. And it isn't just how these characters look. The illustrations are by Mitch Vane.

The three stories in this book for beginning readers are fun. Hound surprises Poodle in the first one. In the second they are both annoyed with each other, but of course it works out in the end. The third Poodle comes up with a unique way to get something she wants, but the wonderful part is that what she does helps Hound.

Kathryn Lasky is one prolific author. Her numerous books range from picture books through novels for children and young adults and to nonfiction. She also writes fiction for adults. I love what she says, "All my best ideas for books, one way or another, come from experiences with my family." Find out more here.

Prolific is the word for illustrator Mitch Vane, too. She's done three books for Charlesbridge, plus many for other publishers. Check out her books, illustrations and cartoons at http://www.mitchvane.com

P.S. This book was edited by the wonderful Yolanda Leroy.

memoirs of a teenage amnesiac (Farrar, Stauss and Girioux, 2007) by Gabrielle Zevin is very, very good. It's an interesting concept, and very believable.

16 year old Naomi fell and hit her head. She can't remember anything from the last 4 years: her boyfriend; her parent's divorce; her half sister; her best friend, Will Landsman, who calls her Chief; why she loves working on the Yearbook; French; how to drive a car. She doesn't know why she was with Ace; she's interested in James, the new guy, who rescued her when she fell. She decides she doesn't like who she was. THEN, she remembers . . . everything!

Go to author Gabrielle Zevin's website to read about all the awards this book has garnered. There's also a book trailer, and news that it's being made into a movie!

Gabrielle also wrote Elsewhere (review here) and a number of books for adults.

How to Steal a Dog (Frances Foster Books an imprint of FSG, 2007) by Barbara O'Connor is winning awards: Kansas' William Allen White Award (3rd-5th grade book) and the South Dakota Children's Prairie Pasque Award.

"The day I decided to steal a dog was the same day my best friend, Luanne Godfrey, found out I lived in a car." How can you not read on after reading that line? The rest of the book holds up to that beginning, too.

Good story about what happens after a father abandons his family and truthful look at the struggles (laundry, hygiene, food, frustration). Georgina tries to fix their homelessness herself. We see her bad attitude towards her mother, how her little brother figures out things she should have, and her notebook about how to steal a dog. Through the help of a bum, Georgia learns about forgiveness.

Barbara O'Connor has published 8 novels and 6 biographies. Read more about her here.