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211 pp.
| Abrams/Amulet
| October, 2011
|
TradeISBN 978-0-8109-8428-8$16.95
(4)
YA
When Isaac's hospitalized mother inexplicably gets worse, he grows distrustful of her doctor and nurses. His suspicions only intensify after discovering a mirror box illusion through which a deceased boy communicates with Isaac about seemingly connected deaths. The concept is eerie and intriguing; the plot contains some noticeable holes.
(2)
YA
Fifteen-year-old orphan Danny and his foster mother move from London to Blackbriar, "a cottage...near the sea" that was a pesthouse during the seventeenth century's Great Plague. Combined with Danny's growing awareness of himself are his adventures in discovering the various secrets of the house. The story is mysterious and suspenseful, and its effectiveness lies in Sleator's characterizations and narrative skill.
298 pp.
| Abrams/Amulet
| March, 2008
|
TradeISBN 978-0-8109-9356-3$16.95
(4)
YA
Ann and Lep learn dangerous truths about the XCAS, mandatory standardized tests that seal one's future. In this near-future dystopia, those enforcing high-stakes tests are responsible for society's ills. The heroes manage to bring down the rich and corrupt through sheer will in this pat but encouraging morality play, where good triumphs and the guilty are punished with dirty dishes.
237 pp.
| Abrams/Amulet
| September, 2006
|
TradeISBN 0-8109-5479-6$16.95
(4)
YA
When Nick buys a used cell phone, he's contacted by Fleck--a murder victim who uses him to escape from hell and steal a fortune, leaving Nick as the fall guy. Character development is secondary to the breakneck plot, but this thoughtfully structured horror tale offers a clear perspective on an ordinary kid sucked into a stomach-churning nightmare.
161 pp.
| Abrams/Amulet
| March, 2004
|
TradeISBN 0-8109-4824-9$$16.95
(4)
YA
Ken thinks he has bought immortality from one Cheri Buttercup, a death-dealing entrepreneur who works out of an apartment in Queens. While he's correct--as encounters with a bully and a shark go on to prove--he has also become Cheri's zombie-for-hire. Preposterous? Of course. But Sleator capably if rudimentarily moves the story along to a bwa-ha-HA surprise conclusion.
212 pp.
| Dutton
| October, 2002
|
TradeISBN 0-525-46918-4$$15.99
(1)
YA
Sleator took gaming to new heights by inventing the interactive board game in Interstellar Pig. In this sequel, Barney, the Earth player who sent The Piggy to planet J'koot, continues the game through a whole new cast of fantastic, well-developed characters. Sleator's commentaries on human behavior are sly, and he never allows message to overpower the imaginative characters and their quest for The Piggy.
Reviewer: Betty Carter
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2002
159 pp.
| Dutton
| June, 2001
|
TradeISBN 0-525-46441-7$$16.99
(1)
4-6
Sleator has pulled a fast one with this prequel to The Boxes that answers the questions left at the end of that book. Marco, uncle to Annie, is offstage for much of The Boxes, but the present volume is his story: how he came by the boxes and how their powers shaped his life as well as the lives of his sisters. While the book has Sleator's far-out ideas and expert pace, there's an added dimension of poignancy in the characterization of Marco.
Reviewer: Roger Sutton
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2001
120 pp.
| Dutton
| July, 1999
|
TradeISBN 0-525-46130-2$$15.99
(3)
4-6
When Peter is mowed down by a car and killed following a fight with his parents, he gets three chances to go back and change events so that the accident never occurs. By his third try, he confronts what's really wrong with his relationship with his parents, and what he must do 4762
Reviewer: Roger Sutton
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 1999
150 pp.
| Dutton
| September, 1999
|
TradeISBN 0-525-46131-0$$15.99
(4)
4-6
A boltzmon, the remnant of a black hole, personifies here into a bad-tempered genie who transports Chris and his awful older sister Lulu to Chris's fantasyland, Arteria. The boltzmon's motivation for interfering is never given; once in Arteria, however, Chris travels to the time temples and with somewhat trite rhetoric convinces Lulu to change lest her hatred gets him killed back home.
(3)
4-6
When Annie's uncle entrusts her with two boxes, with the admonition not to open them, what do you think happens? Plenty. The contents of the boxes are spooky and wondrous and do strange things to Time. Meanwhile, sinister strangers are trailing Annie and her friend Henry. Sleator's inventiveness is at full power here, but the story is left unresolved. Let's hope there's a sequel--soon--because the book as it stands isn't finished.