Pinned by Alfred C. Martino

"Always hoped one day I'd be really good," Bobby said. "And not just good; I'm talking about being one of the best in the state. All the days I've gone without eating. Filling cups with spit. Eating laxatives. Always feeling like throwing up. Always being thirsty. I figured one day it'd be worth it."

"Is it?"

Bobby is captain of his high school wrestling team. Ivan is captain of his. One wrestler is a natural, while the other has worked hard to become good. One wrestler lives in an expensive home in a wealthy neighborhood, the other in a blue collar town. One loves the girl next door, but is afraid to tell her. The other is involved with a young woman who doesn't meet his parent's approval.

Both are headed for the state championship.

Martino paints a personal portrait of two dedicated, passionate high school wrestlers then sets them up for the state championships. Wrestlers or other high school athletes may enjoy reading about their lives in this book. Newcomers to the sport will be discover the discipline, deprivation, and passion surrounding the sport.

Learn more at HCL and Barnes and Noble.

Subjects: Wrestling, Family Problems, Friendship, Competition, New Jersey, Young Adult Fiction.

(SLJ recommends grade 8 & up)

it's happy bunny: Life. Get One: and other words of wisdom and junk that will make you wise or something by Jim Benton

"So you want to get wise, do you? Well, you could read Confucius or Socrates. You could study Solomon or Plato. But only one form of wisdom truly has a lot of pictures of bunnies...."

Ahhh, bunny wisdom. Immerse yourself in thoughts such as "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Unless, of course, they did unto you first, and now you have to totally open a can of "unto" on them." Learn whether the glass is really half empty or half full. Gather valuable life skills from "The Fable of the Excellent Bunny." And discover how to correctly judge people.

Shorter than the Tao of Pooh and more cynical than Chicken Soup for the Soul, fans of Jim Benton's sardonic "happy bunny" will relish this useful advice imparted by cute bunnies. But remember, "Any wisdom one gets from a bunny is probably not that hot. For your own safety, please do not take the advice of bunnies."

Learn more at HCL, Amazon, and happy bunny books.

Subjects: happy bunny, Life.

Devil's Footsteps by E. E. Richardson

"One in fire, two in blood. Three in storm and four in flood. Five in anger, six in hate. Seven fear and evil eight. Nine in sorrow, ten in pain. Eleven death, twelve life again. Thriteen steps to the Dark Man's door. Won't be turning back no more."

Five years ago Bryan's brother Adam disappeared. They'd been tempting fate while testing the local legend of the Dark Man--reciting the old rhyme while stepping down a stone path. Bryan had been too chicken to finish the rhyme. He'd turned and run from that terrifying spot in the woods. Adam was never seen again. Since then, Bryan has been tortured by nightmares. He's been coping with the overwhelming abscence of his brother. And he's noticed things. Things like the huge number of children that go missing from his town each year. And the fact that no one seems to notice. In the company of two unlikely companions, Bryan finally begins to confront his fears and his past by unraveling the horrific secret behind the Dark Man and his rhyme.

E. E. Richardson's first novel is a page-turning, heart pounding, sleeping with the lights on, devilish delight!

Learn more at HCL and Amazon.

Subjects: Supernatural, Brothers, Missing Children, Horror Stories.

(SLJ recommends grades 6-9)

All Rivers Flow to the Sea by Alison McGhee

"Because Ivy and I had an accident. It was the end of the winter, dusk in Adirondacks, and we came around a curve. And then Ivy wasn't moving, and she wasn't answering, and was she breathing? Blood. My window was broken and I broke it more. I punched it with my jacket wrapped around my hand, punched and punched, and I crawled out and fell up. We were upside down? How had that happened? I ran."

Rose and Ivy were in a car accident. Ivy now lies in a vegetative state in a nursing home. Rose must cope with survivor's guilt, her mother's growing distance, and the fact that half of herself, her sister Ivy, won't ever return. Rose is still water, trapped behind a dam, and all she wants is to flow to the sea.

Alison McGhee lyrically, yet succinctly, tells the story of one girl's healing process.

(McGhee is the author of several novels for adults, several novels for teens, and one of my favorite picture books, "Countdown to Kindergarten".)

Learn more at HCL, Amazon, and here.

Subjects: Sisters, Traffic Accidents, First Love, Death, Adirondack Mountains (N.Y.)

(SLJ recommends this for 9 & up.)