To Catch a Cheat: Review Haiku

The Baby Rat Pack
is back, with new enemies
but the same swagger.

To Catch a Cheat by Varian Johnson. Levine/Scholastic, 2016, 256 pages.

Tricky Twenty-Two: Review Haiku

Too easy to figure
out, but the flea collars
were pretty inspired.

Tricky Twenty-Two by Janet Evanovich. BDD, 2015, 304 pages.

The Nest: Review Haiku

Someone said "Oppel

goes Gaiman," and that feels just

right to me. Spooky.

The Nest by Kenneth Oppel, illustrated by Jon Klassen. S&S, 2015, 256 pages.

Last Panda Standing: Review Haiku

Now I kinda want
to see Sandoval in a
platypus costume.

Last Panda Standing (Platypus Police Squad #3) by Jarrett J. Krosoczka. Walden Pond, 2015, 256 pages.

The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe: Review Haiku

Is it bad to admit
I want to punch
Mma Makutsi in the face?

The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe by Alexander McCall Smith. Anchor, 2015, 272 pages.

The Shadow Cabinet: Review Haiku

CRAZY HOT GHOST ACTION!
Or, Why You Might Not Want
to Visit UK.

The Shadow Cabinet (Shades of London #3) by Maureen Johnson. Putnam, 2015, 400 pages.

The Case of the Missing Moonstone: Review Haiku

Super-charming
revisionist history
featuring kickass girls.

The Case of the Missing Moonstone (Wollstonecraft Detective Agency #1) by Jordan Stratford, illustrated by Kelly Murphy. Knopf, 2015, 240 pages.

How It Went Down: Review Haiku

Raises tons of questions,
answers almost none -- and
does so beautifully.

How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon. Holt, 2014, 352 pages.

Fuzzy Mud: Review Haiku

Ecoterrorism
with benign intent.
Scarily plausible.

Fuzzy Mud by Louis Sachar. Delacorte, 2015 192 pages.

The Case of the Weird Blue Chicken: Review Haiku

Come for the wordplay,
stay for the illustrations.
Chickens are funny.

The Case of the Weird Blue Chicken (Chicken Squad #2) by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Kevin Cornell. Atheneum, 2014, 112 pages.

The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place: Review Haiku

Way more fun than a
Victorian setting has
any right to be.

The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry. Roaring Brook, 2014, 351 pages.

Belzhar: Review Haiku

Rich, weird, and thoughtful;
takes "unreliable narrator"
to new heights.

Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer. Dutton, 2014, 272 pages.

The Interrupted Tale: Review Haiku

Back-room dealings at
Swanburne! Pirates! And the world's
first fernibuster!

The Interrupted Tale (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #4) by Maryrose Wood. Balzer + Bray, 2014, 400 pages.

We Were Liars: Review Haiku

ZOMGWTFBBQ--
yes, it's just as
good as you hoped.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. Delacorte, 2014, 240 pages.

The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing: Review Haiku

They would've gotten
away with it if it weren't
for those meddling kids.

The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing by Sheila Turnage. Dawson/Putnam, 2014, 368 pages.

Through the Evil Days: Review Haiku

Get cozy and be glad
you aren't outside, pregnant,
in upstate New York.

Through the Evil Days (A Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Novel) by Julia Spencer-Fleming. Minotaur/St. Martin's Press, 2013, 357 pages.

From Norvelt to Nowhere: Review Haiku

I want to be Miss Volker
when I grow up. But why
badmouth Thin Mints?

From Norvelt to Nowhere by Jack Gantos. Macmillan, 2013, 288 pages.

Picture Me Gone: Review Haiku

The uncategorizable
Rosoff pens another
gem -- for whom?

Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff. Putnam, 2013, 256 pages.

Moxie and the Art of Rule Breaking: Review Haiku

Fast-paced what-if mixes
Whitey, lost Gardner art,
and Boston landmarks.

Moxie and the Art of Rule Breaking by Erin Dionne. Dial, 2013, 256 pages.

Platypus Police Squad: Review Haiku

Semi-aquatic
egg-laying mammals of action
are on the case!

Platypus Police Squad: The Frog Who Croaked by Jarrett J. Krosoczka. Walden Pond Press, 2013, 240 pages.