A collection of 15 short stories by different authors focuses on learning, keeping and telling secrets. Read full book review >

At the time when wholesome singers like Debbie Boone were on the radio, girls from Janis Joplin's hometown of Port Arthur, Texas, were expected to marry their high-school boyfriends. Joplin, however, preferred to draw and listen to folk and blues music. Pursuing a life of freedom and art, Joplin traveled from Texas to California, where she nursed her talent and carved out a life as a singer. Joplin was intelligent, honest and a bold pioneer for women in music, but she was also devastatingly insecure, a trait that contributed to her drug addiction and death by overdose. Angel showcases the rise of hippie culture and how its ideals of creative expression appealed to Joplin. Quotes from Joplin's loved ones and photographs (both color and black-and-white) chronicling her life are set against geometric designs in '60s psychedelic colors, which add interest and appeal without distracting. Young music buffs will gain an understanding of Joplin's place in pop culture and how, even with her career cut short, she paved the way for today's female rock musicians. (Biography. 14 & up)Read full book review >

Combining contributions from established veterans and newcomers, this appealing anthology, with its baker's dozen of stories about beauty—a topic often on the minds of youth—offers a broad perspective. While some of the tales have thematic and plot similarities (there's a couple, for instance, in which girls use their looks to separate from their mothers), it boasts depth and range. Tim Wynne Jones's literary narrative about a physically small yet brilliant teen's heart-wrenching encounter with a suicidal beauty is a standout. Chris Lynch presents another gem that features a confident blend of humor and pathos as a boy flirts with the unseen nurse who cares for him after he breaks his back. There's a striking juxtaposition between Lauren Myracle's hilarious tall tale about a homecoming queen's chin hair that grows to Rapunzel-like proportions, and Louise Hawes's raw, tender chronicle about a 12-year-old who views a forbidden freak show in the 1950s. Authors' biographies and discussion questions are appended. (Fiction. YA)Read full book review >