Reading Rants! Out of the Ordinary Teen Booklists!

Fifteen-year-old Annie is used to twisting the truth to her own benefit. After all, Annie’s Mama is Madame Caterina, a fake medium who claims to speak to spirits, but whose sham séances are about as real as a wooden nickel. Cross her palm with silver, or better yet, cold hard cash, and she’ll tell you anything you want to hear. But now that Mama wants Annie to pretend to be a drooling idiot so people will carelessly speak their deepest thoughts around her—thoughts that Mama can then use when pretending to tell their fortunes—Annie’s decided that she’s sick and tired of lying for Mama. She’s going to hatch a new scam that benefits her, and now Mama’s the one who’s going to have to learn to play along! This totally hip hist. fic., set in upstate New York in 1924, is full of the fascinating tricks of the trade that scam artists used to make grief-stricken people believe that they were communicating with the dead. I had a ball learning how a few strings, a hidden bell, some low light, and a double-jointed big toe could convince folks that they were really speaking to their beloveds who had “crossed over.” How Annie undermines and breaks free of sly Mama will leave you cheering and feeling grateful that instead of grifters, your parents are just ordinary teachers, stockbrokers, or truck drivers!

In this oldie-but-goodie tale of adventure and intrigue set in 16th-century Japan, young orphaned Taro is taken under the wing of the great samurai Lord Akiyama, after his father is killed in battle and his mother slain in the aftermath. By using his wits and suppressing his fierce pride, Taro slowly ascends the ranks of his lord’s household until he achieves his greatest goal—becoming a samurai like his father and Lord Akiyama, whom he has come to admire. But the life of a warrior is not easy, and Taro finds himself sacrificing opportunities of love and friendship in order to gain honor and respect. Is Taro willing to give up all the comfortable trappings of hearth and home for the dubious privilege of living–and dying–by the sword? Full of period detail that immerses the reader in the everyday life of a samurai in training, this retro-read will appeal to fans of Lian Herne’s Tales of the Otori (Thanks for the suggestion, Harry!)