This innocent romance set in nineteenth century Central Asia is the story of twenty-year-old Amir Halgal’s marriage to twelve-year-old Karluk Eihon.

Why I picked it up: Mori wrote and illustrated the only period romance manga I enjoyed, Emma.

Why I finished it: The intricate, detailed clothes, particularly Amir’s, are simply amazing and make Mori’s art shine. Amir is clearly different from her new family — after talking about soup, she jumps on a horse, bow slung over her shoulder, and returns later with a string of rabbits to cook — but everyone seems delighted that she’s unusual.

I’d give it to: Emma, because the romance that begins to develop between Karluk and Amir is subtle and believable, unlike more over-the-top, head-over-heels romance novels that turn us both off.

Prince Khemri has reached the age of ascendance. To become one of the million princes ruling the galaxy’s largest government, he must go to the nearest temple and connect, for the first time, to the Imperial Mind. Unfortunately, the trip is his baptism by fire. After surviving an assassination attempt, Khemri begins his training. And he gets closer and closer to becoming a candidate to replace the current emperor, which will make him more of a target than ever.

Why I picked it up: Garth Nix’s books are immensely popular at my middle school, so scoring (and sharing) an early copy at a library convention means I’ll be getting a bunch of attention from my patrons.

Why I finished it: For a book about space and galaxies to rivet me to my chair like this did, it must be an exceptional book. Everything about the world Nix created was so vivid that I felt the blowback when Khemri launched a missile to close a wormhole. I couldn’t get enough of Khemri’s master assassin, Haddad, with his psionic abilities, mastery of weapons, and the pulsing, blue, glass panels in the sides of his head. 

I’d give it to: Shona, who would like Khemri’s snappy internal dialogue, especially when he finds out his princely duties will include crawling the wrong way up a refuse pipe to get into a starship, but will not involve his masseuse and courtesans.

In Superpowered Pony, Supergirl’s Pony takes on Mechanikat (Metallo’s cyborg kitty) and Dogwood (Poison Ivy’s plant-like dog, or dog-like plant).

In Salamander Smackdown, Flash’s super-fast turtle, Whatzit, faces Professor Zoom’s cyborg newts.

Why I picked it up: The DC Super-Pets books are more fun than Captain Carrot ever was (and I was a huge fan).

Why I finished it: Both books had me at the endpapers. They are simply spectacular. Baltazar drew all of the heroes, villains, and their pets, including a bunch of bugs that are members of the Green Lantern Corps. I want a poster. The illustrations inside are just as good, and I love how the text uses large, colorful fonts to make the comic book onomatopoeia pop out like they should. Whoosh!

I’d give it to: My nine-year-old daughter. They’re easy readers, but she loves them as much as I do. I’m going to get her the entire set this winter.

Lizzie Hood and Evie Verver are thirteen, next door neighbors, best friends, and practically inseparable until the day Evie goes missing and everything changes. Lizzie tells the story of how Evie’s family is affected by her disappearance. She witnesses how Evie’s parents’ perfect facade starts to crumble as each day goes by and they don’t know what happened to their daughter. Everyone thinks Lizzie is the key to finding Evie, since she was the last one to see her. But as she searches for clues, Lizzie discovers secrets about her best friend she never imagined.

Why I picked it up: I am interested in any book about a missing person, and when it’s a missing teenage girl, it’s a done deal.

Why I finished it: Despite the amateur sleuth feel of Lizzie’s attempts to help the police find her friend, Abbott masterfully captures the sense of a thirteen-year-old girl: the drama, the extreme emotions, and the longing to be desired and loved.

I’d give it to: Jason, who would share the anger and loathing that Evie’s situation made me feel. (I was so outraged after finishing the book, I talked about it for days afterward — I haven’t had a story evoke such a visceral response in a long time.)

Graphic novel adaptation of “Le Roi Rose” by Pierre Mac Orlan.

Undead pirates roam the seas. They want to die and find eternal peace. But when that doesn’t work, they pray for a living creature to torment. They find a baby boy amidst the wreckage of a ship and decide to raise him until he’s ten. Then they plan to kill him so they can have a cabin-boy.

Why I picked it up: David B.’s Epileptic made me a fan of his work. But the cover, featuring ghastly pirates behind a little boy, would have caught my attention anyway.

Why I finished it: It’s a kid’s book with an edge. The pirates aren’t particularly horrifying, but after they fail in their attempt to die, they attack a boat, murder the crew, and make off with the loot they find aboard. (Then they celebrate their plunder but realize material possessions really aren’t much comfort to the undead.)

I’d give it to: Nathan, who would recognize the boy’s reckless, wild behavior from his own younger days, and would be able to share it with his son, Holden.

Twelve-year-old Derek is still working on his reading skills and sketching illustrations of his vocabulary words. While skateboarding and practicing his parkour skills around UCLA with his friend Matt, Derek is approached by Tony. He offers Derek a job as a stuntman for the movie he is working on. With the chance of a lifetime in front of him, Derek’s life should be perfect. But if something can go wrong for Derek it usually will, and things get more complicated. His parents will only let him do the movie if he agrees to a tutoring contract and changing the diapers of their pet monkey. His best friend is jealous. And he discovers on the first day of filming that he is stunting, in drag, for a teenage girl.

Why I picked it up: I read Tashjian’s first book about Derek, My Life as a Book, and I wanted to see what he’s been up to. That, and the doodles he uses to illustrate his vocabulary words cleverly enhance the story.

Why I finished it: Derek is quite philosophical for his age. I wanted to see how he would mend his broken friendship after Matt posts a video of Derek struggling to read aloud with a tutor.

I’d give it to: Jackie, our local skateboard fanatic. He will enjoy the stunt scenes, and I also think he will relate well to Derek because of the mischievous side of his personality.

Gaby Rodriguez was a regular high school student, trying to maintain a high ranking in her graduating class, when the media broke the story. For her senior project she had pretended to be pregnant for six months. Almost no one knew the truth, including her boyfriend’s family. Rodriguez matter-of-factly discussed the numerous members of her family who dropped out of high school due to pregnancies, and this history added to the sense of disappointment her family felt when she announced her due date. (Her mother and boyfriend knew the truth, but her brothers didn’t, and they threatened her boyfriend.) 

When the news got out, TV came calling and Gaby ended up with Matt Lauer on the Today show, telling about her senior project, and discussing both the criticism and praise that came her way.

Why I picked it up: I had heard about this on the local news months ago (like Gaby I live in Washington State) and wanted to hear the whole story. I was also hoping to hear about how the people were were jerks when they thought she had screwed up acted after finding out the truth.

Why I finished it: It is a very quick read, plus Gaby is brutally honest about her family’s reaction — several of them ask her why she had ruined her life. Her mentor and science teacher who felt both crushed by the news of her pregnancy and betrayed when he found out about her lies.

I’d give it to: Michele, who, when she heard about the project and the reactions of her family, said “Well, now she’ll get to see if they really love her or not.”  It might not be that simple, but it was eye-opening and raw. 

A book of fake trivia (“Were You Aware Of It? A Cautionary Tale Regarding Sex in Weird Shacks”), lists (“Taboos of the Sea”), tables (“Disgusting Regional Sodas”), how-tos (“How to Make Your Own Wine in a Toilet, Even If You Are Not in Prison”), stories (“How I Became a Former Professional Literary Agent”) and daily predictions of the future (“April 20, 2012: In Black Mold, AR, science teacher Mark Byrneth accidentally evolves in front of the entire class. He is suspended and, eventually, caged.”) that lead up to Ragnarok. Plus a list of 700 ancient and unlistable ones who will play some role in the end of the world. Get a feel for the magnificence of Hodgman’s vision in this video trailer.

Why I picked it up: This is the third volume of Hodgman’s compilation of humorous and complete world knowledge. I loved the first two books and their especially well-done (and star-studded) audiobooks.

Why I finished it: The jokes pay off my years spent poring over books of trivia, lists, and facts. They range from the straight-up silly (“KATHERINE HEPBURN had to ban dry dog food in the house, because if SPENCER TRACY found it, he would eat the whole bag and die.”) to odd statements that turn out to be true (“Similarly, professional basketball was whites-only until 1950, with an exception made in 1947 for Wataru Misaka, a Japanese American New York Knickerbocker. But that was because the Japanese have a natural genetic affinity for the game.“)

I’d give it to: Fran, because the book deals with the fears that come with turning forty, knowing that your kids will outlive you and death comes for everyone sooner or later. She’ll like that knowledge of one’s fate can coexist with hope and happiness.