The Faerie Path, by Frewin Jones (Eos, 2007)

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Sixteen-year-old Anita Palmer has a perfectly pleasant life, with a boyfriend she adores, and a starring role in the upcoming school play. Unfortunately, everything is thrown into disarray when she’s suddenly catapulted into Faerie, where she discovers she’s actually a Faerie princess who’s been missing for five hundred years. Now she has to unravel the mysteries of her past and foil a dangerous enemy, before she loses everything she cares for. A charming start to a new series, with a pleasantly stubborn protagonist, The Faerie Path makes for a fun read.

The Dead Girls’ Dance, by Rachel Caine (NAL Jam, 2007)

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When Claire Danvers went off to college in Morganville, Texas, she never expected to end up in a town utterly controlled by vampires, but she’s not about to let them push her around. She‘ll do what she must to stay alive and get through college. nfortunately, trouble just keeps on coming, and now she and her friends are caught in a vampiric power struggle further exacerbated by the arrival of a gang of vampire-hunting bikers with a rather personal connection to Claire’s kind-of boyfriend, Shane. And when Shane is slated for execution for a crime he didn’t commit, Claire and her remaining friends will have to go to extraordinary lengths to save the day, especially when things get violent, and bloody. Caine’s continuation of the Morganville Vampires saga features a feisty, clever heroine and a rich cast of characters, including an oddly sympathetic master vampire. This is a great new series.

Tattoo, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Delacorte Press, 2007)

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Four friends – sensible Bailey, fashionable Delia, intellectual Annabelle and tomboy Zo – are granted amazing powers through the application of magical temporary tattoos, and given a deadline – three days – to defeat the dark plans of an ancient evil before it can wreak unimaginable havoc. With pyrokinesis, transmogrification, telepathy and precognition at their disposal, as well as Delia’s keen fashion sense, can the four figure things out in time to save the day, or will the school dance be memorable for all the wrong reasons? Tattoo mixes Greek and Celtic myth to deliver a fast-paced, enjoyable adventure with a believable voice and a likable cast of heroines. I’m looking forward to the next in the series.

Tantalize, by Cynthia Leitich-Smith (Candlewick, 2007)

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Quincie Morris has a lot on her plate, literally. Helping to finish revamping her family’s restaurant as Austin’s first vampire-themed restaurant, while juggling schoolwork and a somewhat confusing relationship with her werewolf boyfriend, has stretched her to the limits. Things get stranger after she meets the restaurant’s new chef, a man with a great many secrets, to whom Quincie is strangely attracted. But when bodies start turning up, and vampires seem to be involved, can Quincie figure out what’s going on before her life is changed forever? In this dark, richly seductive story, one young woman discovers what a fine line exists between predators and prey, and whether she has what it takes to survive. I wish some of the setting had been explored and explained more, but overall, this is a fascinating book, and I hope there’s more to come.

Starcross, by Philip Reeve (Bloomsbury, 2007)

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Art and Myrtle Mumby are back, in an all-new adventure that’s sure to challenge the imagination. Together with their recently-returned mother, they travel to the asteroid hotel of Starcross, only to learn that it’s a trap. Together and separately, with old friends and new alike, they must battle strange foes, travel through time, and watch out for mind-controlling hats, as they unravel the secrets of Starcross. This is a spectacularly mad jaunt through a brilliantly-conceived alternate universe where everything you know about space is wrong, and Britain’s conquered the solar system. Between Reeve’s brilliant lunacy and David Wyatt’s fanciful illustrations, this book is full of adventure, mystery, manners, and imagination. I can’t get enough of this series.

Prom Dates From Hell, by Rosemary Clement-Moore (Delacorte Press, 2007)

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Maggie Quinn has way too much on her agenda, what with yearbook, photography, and not being a brainless idiot like some people she could name, to worry about prom. Unfortunately, it looks like she’s going to have to attend whether she likes it or not. Something strange is happening at Avalon High, with bad luck and horrible accidents befalling the most popular kids in school, and Maggie’s prophetic dreams may hold a clue to defeating whatever’s behind it all. Think you know what’s going on? You may be surprised. Clement-Moore is off to a great start with this book, featuring an intelligent, capable heroine that takes the best from both Buffy Summers’ and Nancy Drew’s playbooks. I’m definitely looking forward to more from this author.

Peter and the Secret of Rundoon, by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson (Hyperion, 2007)

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Peter Pan is back, in the final volume of this prequel trilogy. This time, he and his friends, including Tink, Molly, and George, must go against the evil Sultan of Rundoon and the vile Lord Ombra, with the fate of the world at stake. Meanwhile, a vicious tribe of warriors invades Never Land, forcing pirates and Mollusks alike to work together to preserve their ways of life. This book sets up the status quo as we next see it in the original Peter Pan, explains why the crocodile swallowed a clock, and even introduces the classic Lost Boys. This is another worthwhile entry in the series, full of adventure and mystery, living up to the legend of the boy who won’t grow up.

Nobody’s Princess, by Esther Friesner (Random House, 2007)

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Helen, Princess of Troy, may be beautiful, but she is fiercely determined to forge her own path, as an independent, strong woman, regardless of what anyone else says. Unfortunately, as a child, barely even a teen, she has to get creative, and stay focused on her goals. Secretly, she learns swordplay and defense alongside her brothers, and later studies riding under the legendary huntress Atalanta, before finding her way to the Oracle of Delphi, where she discovers what her future might indeed hold. In Friesner’s brilliant re-imagining of one of mythology’s most underrated women, Helen gets a chance to shine as a feisty, creative, strong-willed young woman who’ll do whatever it takes to be free, no matter how it defies expectations.

Midnight Alley, by Rachel Caine (NAL Jam Books, 2007)

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Claire Danvers’ gradual descent into the world of the vampires who utterly control the small Texas town of Morganville continues, as Amelie, the most powerful vampire in town, reveals her plans for Claire. Now Claire has to juggle friendships and loyalties, apprenticed to an insane vampire scholar and facing death from all directions. Worse still, an anti-vampire cabal is looking to use – or kill – her, believing that she holds the key to either saving, or destroying the vampire race. The plot thickens, the mysteries deepen, and the danger becomes more intense as the series gets better with each book. Caine is definitely on a roll with the Morganville Vampires, and Midnight Alley is the best yet.

Little (Grrl) Lost, by Charles de Lint, (Viking, 2007)

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T.J.’s still getting over her family moving from the countryside to the Newford suburbs, and she’s not taking it well at all. Unexpectedly, she finds an unlikely friend and ally in Elizabeth, who’s several years older, likewise at odds with her family, and only six inches tall. A Little trying to make it in the world of the Bigs, Elizabeth is prickly, sarcastic, and annoying, but the two manage to get along. That is, until they’re separated in a moment of ill luck, while trying to find an author who can possibly help reunite Elizabeth with her family. Now T.J. is stuck fending for herself in some very dangerous parts of Newford, while Elizabeth undertakes a hazardous odyssey of her own. Told in alternating voices as the two girls try to survive and fulfill their individual goals, Little (Grrl) Lost is an entertaining, magic-filled tale about growing up (a little) and finding one’s place in the world, as only de Lint can tell it.