"I am a genius of unspeakable evil...", by Josh Lieb (YA fiction)

"I am a genius of unspeakable evil and I want to be your class president" is not appropriate for school libraries, in my opinion.  Granted, I didn't get further than 20-25 pages into the book, so things might have turned around.  However, during those 20-25 pages, all the 7th grade protagonist did was complain about his life and mock people.  Not seeing any redeeming qualities in the character, I promptly put the book down and moved on to one more interesting.

"Fallen", by Lauren Kate (YA urban fantasy)

"Fallen", by Lauren Kate would be an excellent book for middle or high school libraries.  The storyline is about star-crossed loves who reunite every 17 years only to be tragically ripped apart...repeat.  There's also a bit of mystery and some religious overtones tossed in as you learn the origins of the characters.  This particular reincarnation finds the characters at a reform school for various misdeeds.  Parts of the story dragged on a bit, but the characters were interesting and make the reader want to get to the bottom of the mystery.  The second book in the series is due to be released this fall.

For those who would like specific details regarding appropriateness, there isn't any sex or explicit scenes, although there is some kissing.  There are a few fights and an epic battle, but most details are left out.

"Infinity" by Sherrilyn Kenyon (YA and Adult, Fantasy)

Nick Gautier is a 14 year old student who is often picked on by the more privileged students at his school.  He is from a broken home with a father in jail for murder and a mother who became a stripper to make ends meet.   While she loves him, Nick's mom keeps buying him loud Hawaiian shirts from Goodwill to wear to school, which doesn't help his image any.  Weird things start to happen in New Orleans and living teenage zombies (as opposed to undead ones) are eating his classmates.  Who's controlling them?  How do they stop the zombies?  Why do they keep coming after Nick?  And who is this guy who says he's related to Nick and trying to help him?  Is he really helping or is he the cause of the weird events?

"Infinity" poses an interesting dilemma for me.  It's a great read, and is written with a 14 year old protagonist so you'd think it was young adult lit, however, the lead character is also in her adult fantasy novels, although he's 10 years older.  I enjoyed the story overall, and it was great to see Nick as a young lad and how he met the other characters and became a Squire, but her adult novels are certainly not appropriate for middle school students, given the sexual content in them.  This book, however, is appropriate for both middle school and high school students and contains nothing more than a single kiss for romantic involvement.

"Skulduggery Pleasant" by Derek Landy (YA mystery fantasy)

"Skulduggery Pleasant" is a fun romp in the world of the weird.  Stephanie's uncle Gordon, a famous writer of fantasy mystery novels, seems to have gotten himself dead.  He was the owner of something that couldn't pass hands until he was no longer of this world, so someone helped him leave earlier than he had planned.  As his favorite and only niece, Stephanie inherits just about all of Gordon's worldly possessions even though she is only 12 years old.  After being attacked by goons, and rescued by Gordon's best friend, Skulduggery Pleasant, Stephanie is introduced to a fabulous new world of magic.  Skulduggery, an animated skeleton detective guides Stephanie on her quest to find out what happened to her uncle.

This is an engaging book and very entertaining, with many quirks and irreverent humor.  It would be good for upper elementary or middle schools. 

"Red Pyramid", Rick Riordan (YA Fantasy)

Rick Riordan's "Red Pyramid" is a great story and an easy read.  It is very similar to the author's other famous series, "Percy Jackson & the Olympians", but with Egyptian gods and goddesses instead of Greek ones.  Two siblings, a boy and a girl, share the lead roles in this novel and take turns telling the story.  A few chapters for each, and then they switch off as though they are transcribing notes after the adventure is over.  They even have comical asides to each other in their narration as well.  Great characters, interesting information on Egyptian mythology, intriguing plot and supporting characters, etc.  This book is an excellent choice for middle or high school readers and I look forward to the next installment.

"Morpheus Road" by DJ MacHale (YA Horror Fiction)

I have mixed feelings about "Morpheus Road".  Professionally, I think this book was very well done.  It is written well, has interesting characters and an intriguing plot.  This would be great for high school students or advanced middle school readers.  Personally, I thought the story was creepy.  Let me explain.  I'm not the type of person that likes to scare myself.  I don't enjoy haunted houses, slasher movies or Stephen King novels.  They just freak me out.  This book was written along those same creepy lines.  I'm sure those that enjoy the macabre will love the book and I didn't find anything objectionable about it other than the heebie jeebies.

"Morpheus Road" is the first book in a new trilogy by DJ MacHale, the writer of the popular Pendragon series.  In this book, we are introduced to a new cast of characters, one of whom is missing and another is being haunted by his own creation.  This creation seems to be able to possess people or force them to do his bidding and, his bidding is to kill off the protagonist.  In order to find out what happens and why, as well as solve the mystery of his friend's disappearance, you'll have to pick up the book...if you dare!

"Iorich" by Steven Brust (Fantasy Fiction)

I am a long-time fan of Steven Brust, however this latest edition to the "Jhereg" series, "Iorich" fell a little short of the mark for me.  I enjoy the fast paced action, well developed plot and characters, as well as the excellent dialog in his novels.  "Iorich" did have most of those qualities, but I found that it dragged on more than I would have liked.  Perhaps it was due to the mostly absent usual cast of characters, I'm not sure.  On the plus side though, this book got me thinking about how appropriate this series would be for middle and high school readers.  There isn't any sex or foul language in the book, and not even any overly descriptive violence.  The author even tries to incorporate social issues to get people thinking, which is great.