The Enemy Above

Michael P. Spradlin

Anton, a 12-year-old Jewish boy, is forced to grow up overnight when Nazis invade his Ukrainian village in 1942. With his grandmother, or “Bubbe” in Yiddish, he takes refuge in a cave with other Jews—but a vengeful Gestapo officer is hunting them, and Anton must decide whether to run, hide, or fight. The fast-paced thriller sprinkles in historical people and places such as the Priest’s Grotto, a Ukrainian cave that housed Jewish families during the Holocaust. Bubbe teaches Anton not just to fight for his life, but to protect what’s worth preserving: integrity, family, justice, and love. (Ages 8-12)

The Ship of the Dead

Rick Riordan

Magnus Chase faces yet another seemingly impossible quest to thwart the Norse villain Loki, who now has a ship of zombies ready to destroy the universe. In the third adventure from popular author Riordan’s Gods of Asgard series, the demigod Chase and six of his friends travel the Nine Worlds battling giants, monsters, and dragons. The group brings a hodgepodge of worldviews on the journey, none of which is remotely Judeo-Christian. (Chase is an avowed atheist who develops feelings for his gender-fluid friend.) The relationship drama between the characters turns the story into more of a teen soap opera than an epic adventure. (Ages 10-14)

Wings of Fire—The Graphic Novel: The Dragonet Prophecy

Tui T. Sutherland

The best-selling dragon adventure series Wings of Fire debuts in graphic novel format with The Dragonet Prophecy. Cartoonist Mike Holmes’ drawings help chronicle a chain of daring escapes and battles between a group of young dragons and the elders whose expectations have weighed them down. The dragonets, especially natural leader Clay, must choose whether to use their gifts to help themselves or to bring peace to the warring kingdom. The simplified comic format leaves less room for character development, but the story still has much to offer fans of the series and younger readers who might find a 300-plus-page chapter book daunting. (Ages 8-12)

Minecraft: The Island

Max Brooks

Minecraft: The Island probably won’t engage kids who have already spent hours stacking blocks in the most successful video game since Tetris. But the novel, a walk-through of Minecraft from the point of view of its main character, makes a great primer for parents struggling to understand what makes the visually dull, low-action game so alluring. Brooks, author of the adult zombie tale World War Z, uncovers the puzzles and perils of the world as a new player would. Though many gamers now collaborate in Minecraft on multiplayer servers, the book’s main character tackles challenges alone and learns valuable lessons about survival and stewardship. (Ages 8-12)

Afterword

In The Hate U Give (HarperCollins), the young adult sensation of 2017, author Angie Thomas takes readers deep inside an impoverished slum where young African-Americans struggle to figure out whether their lives matter. After 16-year-old Starr Carter sees a police officer kill her childhood friend, she relies on her family’s faith, forgiveness, and support to figure out what to do next.

Cautions: The critically acclaimed novel includes violence, profanity, sexual innuendo, discussion of drugs, and anti-police messages. The novel’s central family doesn’t embrace those things (well, maybe the profanity) yet can’t escape them, either. The book may be misplaced in the young adult section, but it does raise questions about relations of police and minority young adults for whom Starr’s story depicts everyday life. —L.L.