Here’s a mixed bag of books we’ve ordered recently – take your pick and reserve what grabs your fancy.

Geektastic: stories from the nerd herd. Don’t let the title put you off! There’s nothing wrong with being a geek, especially if being a geek comes in the form of an anthology of stories written by people like John Green, Libba Bray, Scott Westerfeld, and M. T. Anderson. You can’t really lose. The blurb says subjects are many and varied (in the context of geekdom) from the faintly ridiculous (what happens when Klingons and Jedi collide at a sci-fi convention?) to the more serious (a 15 year old pretends to be her 32 year old sister online). Should stop typing now.

Intertwined, by Gena Showalter. More supernatural romance! Ah. Aden has a tough time because he has four beings inside his head, each providing him with a specific supernatural power. Mary Ann has the one power that Aden needs, the ability to negate supernatural powers, and it is with her that Aden finds peace (and romance perhaps?). But then their world is complicated by more supernatural creatures than you can poke a stick at, all after a new source of power.

In the path of falling objects, by Andrew Smith. Another road trip story (adding to the list), this one sounds a bit rugged: Jonah and Simon are on their own, trying to track down their family. They hitch a ride with a man and a “beautiful young woman” who are both disturbing and potentially dangerous. Set during the Vietnam War.

Once a witch, by Carolyn MacCullough. Tamsin lives in a talented (in the magic sense) family, but she isn’t. When a strange and sinister man arrives and mistakes her for her twin (talented) sister and requests her help in searching for a “family heirloom”, Tamsin jumps at the opportunity to appear magical. This is exciting, reviewers say.

And some other serious stuff:

Almost perfect, by Brian Katcher. A transgender story from a writer who likes to challenge people’s assumptions about the norm.

Positively, by Courtney Sheinmel. Emmy is left to struggle with the HIV virus that her now-dead mother unwittingly passed on to her.

Breathing underwater, by Julia Green. Freya comes to terms with the sudden death of her brother.

Taken, by Norah McClintock. Stephanie is taken hostage in the woods, but escapes and must use all her survivalist knowledge to make it back home. Tense.

We’ll keep you posted on more interesting things. Thanks to Stephanie for the tip offs.