(3) YA Seventeen-year-old Katherine seeks to avenge her Catholic father's death by masquerading as a male actor to kill Queen Elizabeth I. She and Toby, the closeted-bisexual royal spy charged with foiling the assassination, become mutually attracted while performing the leads in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, a play of disguises, deception, gender, and love. Told via dual first-person narratives, this entertaining historical novel deals with many still-relevant topics. Bib.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) YA After her mother is executed as a witch, Alyce flees to London. There with the help of Solomon, a friendly actor, she discovers strange truths about the supernatural powers that drive the politics of Renaissance England. Although Bowling's novel showcases deep historical research, the plot is an extended chase scene, with Alyce making one discovery after another until she and Solomon escape to the New World.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) YA In 1984, the small town of Griffin Flat, Arkansas, is known only for its nuclear missile silos--making it the perfect location to shoot a movie about nuclear annihilation. Sixteen-year-old Laura Ratliff wins a radio contest for a walk-on role and gets thrust into the surreal experience of making a movie about something she has grown up fearing. Funny, fresh, and totally unique.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) 4-6 After wishing on a magic lamp to trade lives, twelve-year-old television actress Ruby and her biggest fan, Skylar, switch bodies. The tweens are ecstatic to masquerade as each other, but living someone else's life with its own challenges isn't as easy as it looks. Brody's latest evades being a predictable body-swap story thanks to engaging dual narration, swift pacing, and convincing mother-daughter relationships.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(3) K-3 Ready-to-Read: You Should Meet series. Illustrated by Alyssa Petersen. Emerging readers meet Broadway phenomenon Lin-Manuel Miranda in this accessible level-three easy reader. Accompanied by straightforward cartoon illustrations, chapters explore the role of influences such as hip-hop and Latino culture in Miranda's work while also emphasizing the support of his friends and family and his own hard work. Back matter includes facts about Puerto Rico and Broadway and a screenwriting activity.

Reviewer: Erica Wetter

(4) YA Eighteen-year-old Bennett wrote a bestselling young adult novel and her book is about to be a much-hyped film. Teddy's a famous actor who's landed the lead male role. He meets her on a plane; after spending a romantic weekend together, they break up, then work together (and reunite) on the movie's set. The generic plot is buoyed by the Hollywood celebrity-insider details and by Bennett and Teddy's obvious chemistry.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(3) YA Attending a highly regarded theater camp on scholarship makes sheltered small-town Floridian and rising senior Penny question her own expectations that she'll marry her high-school sweetheart, Logan, and take over her family's diner. A tender love story with appealing focus on the power of a transformative summer, the desire for independence, and the pursuit of one's dreams.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) 4-6 This young readers' adaptation of the adult memoir In the Country We Love tells the heartbreaking story of a girl who was left behind when her undocumented parents were deported to Colombia. Actor/activist Guerrero's account provides readers with an inside view of a contemporary issue and will trigger a variety of emotions in readers. Photographs are sprinkled throughout, and the book ends with a call to action. Websites.

Reviewer: Katie Darrin

(3) K-3 This picture book inspired by Ella Fitzgerald's friendship with Marilyn Monroe centers on an instance in the 1950s when Monroe's influence supposedly helped black Fitzgerald be allowed to perform at a popular NYC venue. Evoking the nightclub's glitz and glamour, the bright-colored, graphic illustrations on thick pages are the draw here. Short bios of both women and a photo conclude the book.

Reviewer: Christina Dorr

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Églantine Ceulemans. Eloise-type Lady Miranda and her also-pampered pet, Pug (Cowboy Pug; Captain Pug), go to the zoo, where a celebrity fellow zoo-goer is up to no good. Of course, our heroes save a lion cub and thwart Arlene von Bling's evil plans in a plot full of cute mishaps. The chapter book uses an eye-catching yellow-and-green palette in its design and illustrations. Readers will want more adventures with Lady Miranda and Pug.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) 4-6 Yes No Maybe So series. Readers help Sitara (Tara), an Indian American girl who dreams of Broadway fame, choose between auditioning for a community theater show and helping her parents' sweet shop cater a Bollywood actress's wedding--all while three boys vie for her attention. A diverse cast of characters and significant cultural markers distinguish this fun-filled new choose-your-own-adventure-structured series.

Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester

(4) YA Norse goddess Freya, a.k.a. modern-day teen Sara Vanadi (Freya), heads to Hollywood with her high priest Nathan and her Egyptian cat goddess friend. There she hopes to recharge her divine batteries with a little fan worship before taking on Mars and the evil deity-exploiting corporation Finemdi. Although the Tinseltown shallowness combines awkwardly with a potentially world-ending climax, fans will enjoy this dramatic sequel.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) PS Illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff. Kiely declares on page one "I am famous": she's a model, actor, singer, and dancer, and everywhere she goes she has throngs of adoring fans (never mind that they are her family members). When her spectacular performance at Grandpa's birthday party ends in a mishap, Kiely learns that love is greater than fame. A warm family story starring a vivacious, self-confident (and then some) African American protagonist.

Reviewer: Monique Harris

(3) YA Sixteen-year-old fanfiction blogger Claire asks at a Comic-Con panel if the two male leads on her favorite TV show are in love. Costar Forest's dismissive response sets off a chain of events affecting the show, the fandom, and Claire's conception of her own sexuality. The alternating-perspective chapters of this funny, thoughtful, intersectional story are sure to keep readers in the fandom community turning pages.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. Stink heads to Shakespeare Camp over spring break (the only boy attending, it turns out). Stink's in it for the Shakespearean insults and swordplay, but he learns that there is also kissing in Shakespeare's plays. Stink won't have to kiss his "sometimes friend, most times enemy" Riley Rottenberger, will he?! Reynolds's illustrations capture all the theatrics in this spirited chapter-book introduction to Shakespeare.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(4) YA Beautiful Idols series. Nightclub promoters Tommy, Layla, Aster, and Ryan are released after being arrested for their alleged involvement in the disappearance of Hollywood It Girl Madison. But then they must deal with the real kidnapper, who's threatening to reveal a secret that could destroy everything Madison has built. A rotating-perspectives narrative builds suspense as the guilty-pleasure new-adult series reaches its juicy if predictable conclusion.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(4) YA Musical theater superstar Leslie Odom Jr., who originated the role of Aaron Burr in the acclaimed Broadway production of Hamilton, advises young people as to how they might follow in his footsteps. Platitudes, some spiritual affirmations, and a cheerful tone permeate the narrative. Star-struck readers and theater fans should be inspired by this autobiographical guidebook.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(3) YA Bollywood-obsessed Winnie Mehta, from an Indian Hindu family living in Princeton, New Jersey, wants it all: admission into NYU's film program and the right boyfriend. But is that Raj, the now-cheating boyfriend who's always fit her astrological prophesy, or budding filmmaker Dev, who's becoming more attractive to her by the day? A funny, breezy romance filled with Bollywood film references (a guide to which is appended).

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) YA Senior Megan Harper, an aspiring theater director with a string of ex-boyfriends, embodies Shakespeare's line "the course of true love never did run smooth." Yet during her school's production of Romeo and Juliet, she slowly realizes that her unconventional aspiring-playwright friend Owen might just be her own Romeo. Theater culture takes center stage in this flirty and entertaining romance told in Megan's spunky first-person voice.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(2) K-3 Daisy, a discontented cow who longs to see the world, wanders away and attracts a television crew. Shortly thereafter, she's starring in Hollywood cowboy-and-Indian movies and being feted at banquets with caviar...but the homesick cow longs for grass, buttercups, and her own field. Wildsmith's use of half pages bound in with full pages creates varied and animated illustrations; dazzling colors and designs are offset by large white spaces.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc. | Horn Book Magazine Issue: August, 1984