"Monster High", Lisi Harrison (YA-fantasy)

"Monster High" by Lisi Harrison is the first book in a new series about students in a high school in Salem, Oregon.  Many years ago, monsters and witches moved to Salem to avoid persecution by normals.  Years and years later, they are still living there, but are in hiding.  This volume follows two teen girls new to the high school, Frankie Stein and Melody Carver.  With alternating chapters, you get to know each girl and her circle of friends, although they are in different cliques.  Melody recently moved to Salem from Beverly Hills and has a crush on the boy next door, only he burns hot and cold.  Will Melody be able to figure out what's going on with him and what his secret is?  Then meet Frankie, who was "born" a week ago.  Frankie is a little uncomfortable hiding her mint green skin under layers of make-up, not to mention her bolts and seams!  Once she meets the secret monster underground, will she stage a successful revolution or be run out of town?

This story is a lot of fun and you get to see old favorite monsters brought to life in young teens in new ways, such as Frankie, the granddaughter of Frankenstein.  This book has a little of the mean-girl clique issues, although it is toned down.  No sexual activity other than kissing in the book.  Parents are present and involved (or try to be) and no profanity, drugs or drinking.  There are other books in the series planned, each highlighting different monster and normie teens.  Recommended for grades 6 and up.

"Runaway", Meg Cabot (YA-Sci-Fi/Fantasy)

"Runaway" is the third (and final?) installment in Meg Cabot's Airhead series.  What is the secret plan of Stark Enterprises?  What does Nikki have on Stark that got her killed?  How are Em and Nikki going to resolve their issue of switched bodies?  Find out in the conclusion of the trilogy!

This book nicely wraps up all the loose ends for Nikki and Em, as well as the supporting characters.  I enjoyed how everything was resolved and think middle and high school students would as well.  There isn't any explicit sex in the books, although the characters are 16 and drinking, not to mention on their own without parental supervision for the majority of the book, as with the previous ones in the series, so I would not put it in an elementary library.