Crossed by Ally Condie

I have to say Crossed was just meh for me. I felt like there was very little progress in the story from where it started to where it ended so it came off like a filler book for sales between the beginning and ending of the story (books 1 and 3). Maybe I'm off base but that is what I thought of it.  The story in this book could have been handled in a few chapters in one of the other books just as well.   You can't very well skip this one if you plan on reading Reached, the third installment in the trilogy.  However, it's not engaging and feels sort of futile when you finish and if you could skip it, that would be my recommendation.

**EDITED to add:
HUH.  I thought for sure I had reviewed Matched, the first book in this series.  I must have dreamed it because I distinctly remember writing a beautiful and detailed review about how much I loved the theme of the power of words in this story.  I love that poetry played an important role in the plot.  I loved the issue of self-determination.  I really liked the book and consider it something more substantial.

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

In my effort to keep up with my son's reading I picked this up and read it last night.  Like most Newberry winners it deals with important/mature themes but the writing is very accessible and made both my son and I laugh out loud several times. 

The story is about an orphan runaway who spends some years in search of "home".  Along the way he touches the lives of several other people and finds love in unusual places.  The book deals with race, age, and education in such a way that they are important but lighthearted enough to not be depressing.

I would definitely recommend this book as something more substantial to intermediate readers who are ready for some thought-provoking themes.

Specials by Scott Westerfield

I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Adrenaline rush on paper! I am so glad that Scott Westerfield made reading Pretties worth the effort. : ) There is definitely an environmentalist agenda in this one so be aware if you have not yet succumbed to the mass marketing of "being green". I am so relieved that this was something more substantial.

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Eh. Color me nonplussed. This was disappointing after the excitement of the first one. The writing was consistent throughout the book but because the setting was among the light-minded "pretties", it was consistently annoying. I read this book beacuse I loved the first one so much and I am hoping/expecting the next one ("Specials") to be better, but on it's own I'd say skip this one. Except you can't. Oh well. : )

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games is an apocalyptic tale of a society where the rich/ruling class control the masses through a campaign of televised intimidation. Katniss Everdeen rebels against the system when she volunteers to take her sister's place in the Hunger Games, a mandatory fight to the death with 23 other teenagers from across the country. This story was very exciting, and not entirely predictable. I read the whole thing in one sitting- about 5 hours and enjoyed all but the last minute of it. The flavor of the book suggested something along the lines of Uglies. If you liked that one, you'll like this one. The writing of The Hunger Games was average but very engaging. I was disappointed that the story came to a screeching halt and left me hanging for the next book to have anything resolved. I hate that. Scott Westerfield handled that so much better in Uglies. In this book I felt like almost nothing was resolved. Still, it was a really fun read so I say it's something more substantial.

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

I believe The True Confessions won the Newberry Medal in 1991. I have never felt a book more deserving of that honor. The story examines many themes. Honor, truth, justice, sacrifice, honesty, and the idea that sometimes events change us forever in ways which make it impossible to return to our former lives are a few of these. I LOVED this book. It was exciting, well-written and I couldn't put it down. I read the entire thing in half a day.

The story follows Charlotte, a thirteen year-old girl in the early 19th century, as she makes her way across the Atlantic alone to join her family in America. On the way she encounters dangers, intrigues and adventures which change her outlook on society- and herself- forever. This book is definitely Something More Substantial. READ IT!