“Tomorrow, When the War Began,” by John Marsden (Scholastic, 305 pages, $8.99)
Recently rereleased in paperback and perfect for summer reading are the first two titles in this sensational seven-novel series about a group of Australian teenagers who unexpectedly find their country occupied by nameless enemy forces.
The teens emerge from a camping trip to discover that unnamed armed invaders have rounded up their families and friends, and taken over Australia’s major port cities. Hastily, they gather supplies and retreat to their remote camp, where they fashion themselves into ad-lib guerillas.
Marsden’s taut storytelling combines with deft observations and intriguing ethical questions. The scenario, set in present time, is chillingly plausible. 13 and up.
“Rash,” by Pete Hautman (Simon & Schuster, $15.95, 250 pages)
In a futuristic, ultra- safety-conscious North American society, the economy relies on prison labor. The workers aren’t murderers and rapists, but largely miscreants who failed to drug themselves into a complacent legally required stupor, succumbing to road rage, littering and other once-minor offenses.
Their penance? Working in shrimp farms, street maintenance and, in teenage athlete Bo Marsden’s case, making pizzas at an Arctic labor camp. Imprisoned for claiming he caused a fellow student’s chickenpoxlike rash, Bo and another inmate (in the pokey for weighing 200 pounds too much) are plucked for the prison’s football team.
Football, with its attendant injuries, is as illegal in the “Rash” world as cockfighting is in the U.S. Hautman’s story mixes black comedy with a weird but appealing take on the coming-of-age novel. 13 and up.
“Klepto,” by Jenny Pollack (Viking Juvenile, 288 pages, $16.99)
This novel about best friends and shoplifting is based on the author’s brief experience as an amateur thief. Credulous retailers and parents may worry that some readers will use this detailed book as a how-to. But shoplifting is less about getting the goods than the thrill of getting away.
Protagonist Julie Prodsky is appalled but intrigued by her pilfering friend, but finds herself in thrall when she tries out the five-fingered discount.
Julie starts figuring out she’s in trouble psychologically as well as legally and spiritually when she swipes “this really cool little tin” from her best friend’s desk.
She confesses to a psychologist. She worries she’ll get caught by her mother or the police; both possibilities are equally fearsome. Then a store detective nabs the girls red-handed. 12 and up.
“Estrella’s Quinceañera,” by Malin Alegria (Simon & Schuster, 266 pages, $14.95)
A student at a posh private school, Estrella regards quinceañeras as her Anglo schoolmates do. She’d rather celebrate her 15th birthday with a tasteful, quiet dinner at a nice restaurant. A tacky, expensive party featuring herself in an orange dress is the last thing she wants.
Or maybe the last thing she wants is for her classmates to discover that she lives in the barrio. Or for her dad to find out that she’s crushing on a cholo, a barrio kid she thinks resembles a “Latino Brad Pitt.” The rocky journey from girlish self-consciousness into the first stages of maturity demands some tough choices. 12 and up.
“A Million Dots,” by Andrew Clements (Simon & Schuster, 48 pages, $16.95)
From the popular author of “Frindle” and other young-adult books, this book uses intriguing scales to put a graspable concept on a daunting figure. Each illustration features a circled dot – one of a million – and a fact.
“The wings of a mosquito beat 600 times each second,” Clements notes, and the 600th dot, way up at the top of the dotted page, represents that figure.
“A stack of 232,224 shoe boxes would be three times taller than Mount Everest.” The accompanying illustration inadvertently recalls “Saturday Night Live’s” famous ersatz commercial for Super Colon Blow and its teetering pyramid of cereal bowls. 4 and up.
Staff writer Claire Martin can be reached at 303-820-1477 or at cmartin@denverpost.com
