THE THINGS A BROTHER KNOWS by Dana Reinhardt

Levi's older brother Boaz has just returned home from a four-year stint in the Marines, included two tours in Iraq.   Everyone in the town and at Levi's high school are congratulating the family, calling Boaz a hero.  But Levi is uncomfortable with this attention.  He's glad his brother is finally home, but Levi, his parents, and his grandfather are concerned that Boaz has some problems.  He rarely leaves his room and refuses to ride in a car.  Boaz tells his parents that he's going to hike the Appalachian Trail,  but Levi knows from the maps in Boaz's room and from the websites that Boaz has visited that Boaz is planning to walk to Washington DC.  But why?  After Boaz leaves, Levi decides to join him.  The two then share the journey.

The theme of relationships and bonding between brothers is rarely presented in books for high school readers.  This is a good one.

CITY OF VEILS by Zoe Ferraris

Set in contemporary Saudi Arabia, Katya is one of the few women working in the medical examiners office of the police department.  She struggles with all of the constraints placed on women by the Islamic culture, but she accepts them.  When she examines a body that is washed up on the beach nearby, she becomes involved with the entire murder investigation.  She soon calls upon the help of Nayir, a man she met on a previous case.  They discover that the murder victim was working on a documentary film that many in Saudi Arabia would object to. 

Nayir is a strict Islam, but finds himself attracted to Katya as Katya is to him.  This tension is played quite well in the book.  Another strength of the book is its respectful treatment of Islamic culture, even as it presents the problems many women face.  This is the sequel to FINDING NOUF by the same author and equally as good.

CROSSING by Andrew Xia Fukuda

Xing Xu is one of two Asian students at Slackenkill High School.  He is quiet and withdrawn, doing anything he can to blend into the crowd.  His loneliness is palpable. His best friend is Naomi Lee, the other Asian student, and even though she moved to the U.S. after Xing, she is assimilating faster.  She speaks English better, makes straight A's, even has a boyfriend.  When students at their high school begin to disappear, then show up dead, Xing finds himself in a position to see things that others in the high school don't see.  He sets out to solve the mystery even as he suffers negligence both at home and at school.

Crossing is a page-turning suspenseful mystery.  The chilling ending will haunt you for quite some time after you finish reading the book!

BATWOMAN: ELEGY by Greg Rucka

Gotham City has become victim to a crime spree by one of its most deadly killers--Alice.  With her father's help, Batwoman wages a battle against Alice and her gang.  Flashbacks give us the story of Batwoman's childhood, and a shocking revelation changes the relationship between Batwoman, her father, and Alice.

The story is well told and the images are mesmerizing.  Black, white, and red dominate, as angles and movement give the story an edge.  I particularly liked that everything Alice says is something from ALICE IN WONDERLAND.

SIR CHARLIE by Sid Fleischman

Still today, most of us recognize the character of the Little Tramp--postage-stamp mustache, formal bowler hat, too small jacket, too large pants, huge shoes pointing out, and a cane twirling.  This character, created by Charlie Chaplin in 1914, has become an icon of American film and American culture.  Sid Fleischman presents a very readable biography of Charlie Chaplin, from his childhood of abject poverty in the slums of London to being one of the highest paid and most powerful movie stars in Hollywood; from his banishment from the U.S. in 1952 to his triumphant return to the Oscar ceremony in 1972.  Chaplin was a genius at physical comedy and an innovative film maker.  But Fleischman also presents Chaplin's personal problems--his multiple relationships with very young women; his distance from his children; his strained relationship with his mother; his unpopular politics.

The book is well written and full of wonderful photographs.  Thoroughly entertaining--almost as entertaining as Chaplin himself!