Not too many new books at all this week.

The Running Man, by Michael Gerard Bauer (294 pages) – Fourteen-year-old Joseph is asked to draw his neighbour for a school project. His neighbour, Tom, is a recluse who raises silkworms and whose past involved something terrible and unknown. As Joseph learns more about Tom, he himself begins to confront his own fears.

First sentence: ‘Joseph fixed his eyes on the coffin and thought of silkworms.‘

Sixty Comedy Duet Scenes for Teens : Real-life Situations for Laughter, by Laurie Allen (209 pages) – This is a collection of very short comedy plays for two actors.

Trophy Kid, or How I was Adopted by the Rich and Famous, by Steve Atinsky (184 pages) – Joe’s adoptive mother is an Academy-award winning actress and his adoptive father is a major Hollywood producer and politician. They want Joe to write an autobiography about his life, and the ghost-writer they’ve hired is determined to tell Joe’s real story – which includes heading back to the Joe’s war-torn home-country.

First sentences: ‘I’m a trophy kid. You know, a status symbol.‘

Blackbox : A Novel, by Julie Schumacher (168 pages) – When Elena’s sister Dora is diagnosed with depression and admitted to a hospital, Elena’s life become confusing – her parents argue and only Dora’s friends at school will talk to her.

First sentence: ‘We can hear someone screaming as soon as we get off the elevator.‘

Madapple, by Christina Meldrum (410 pages) – Aslaug lives an isolated life with her mother – until her mother mysteriously dies. Aslaug winds up living with relatives she didn’t know she had, and she is drawn into a web of religious extremism and secrets.

First sentence: ‘The women resemble schoolgirls with gangly limbs, ruddy cheeks, plaited flaxen hair; they walk holding hands.‘

I Love You, Beth Cooper, by Larry Doyle (255 pages) – Denis Cooverman announces to everyone at his graduation that he loves Beth Cooper, the head cheerleader. Unfortunately her boyfriend, Kevin, is on leave from the United States Army and isn’t too happy. ‘Complications ensue’. Doyle is a former writer for The Simpson, and this book is extremely funny (I’m reading it now).

First sentence: ‘Denis Cooverman was sweating mroe than usual, and he usually sweat quite a bit.‘