A place between life and death

As I was grabbing audiobooks for my recent road trip, I didn't realize that Everwild, written by Neal Shusterman and narrated by Nick Podehl, was a the second book of a trilogy, and it took me a while to figure out what was going on.  Everlost is a land between life and death, a place for Afterlights, children who have died but aren't quite ready to finish the journey.  There's a complex cast in Everlost: Mary Hightower (the Sky Witch), who has creepy plans to keep the children there forever, and those who oppose her - her brother (and former monster) Mikey McGill, Nick the Chocolate Ogre (what?), and Allie the Outcast, who's a skinjacker - an Afterlight who can enter the body of a living person.  If you can go with the flow of the story and enjoy it, you'll read (or hear) adventure, humor, and a touch of romance, but it would be better to read Everlost first.  The third book of the trilogy, Everfound, is scheduled to be released in May 2011.

Take me out to the ball game

I just love the voice of author Deborah Wiles, and I wasn't disappointed in her book The Aurora County All-Stars.  It helps if you've read Love, Ruby Lavender, since many characters are the same, but this story still stands on its own.  House Jackson and his friends have a problem: the one and only game that the All-Stars play is scheduled for the same time and day as the county's Fourth of July pageant, which all the ball players are expected to participate in.  While trying to figure out what to do, House confronts secrets, betrayal, the powerful Mamas, a soap opera star, interesting facts about baseball and segregation, a dog named Eudora Welty, and the obnoxious Frances "Finesse" Shotz.  You'll love the feel of the slow Mississippi life, the hot summer sun, and the smooth combination of humor and loyalty.