Reviews written by Marla Arbach

High school graduation means big change for everyone, especially for Bella Swan, who has finally managed to convince her irresistible vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen to transform her into one of his kind after their commencement ceremony. But someone is raising a vampire army and that means big trouble for...

A lot of historical novels have been written about Shakespeare and his Globe theatre, but not too many have been written about his friend and rival Christopher Marlowe and his Rose theatre, so The Secret of the Rose is a slightly unusual look at theatre life in Elizabethan times. ...

Thora and Oddo are back and they're getting up to more adventures! This time, the Sheriff arrives in their village demanding taxes that their families can't pay, and it's up to the two kids to figure out a way to earn the money. And to top it off,...

Josey's world is turned upside down when her parents tell her that the child they had and gave up for adoption in high school is coming back into their lives. In the blink of an eye, this new, perfect sister is welcomed into their family, by everyone but Josey,...

The summer after their freshman year, Bee, Tibby, Lena and Carmen go their separate ways once again, but eventually, the Traveling Pants help them remember that even though they're not together, they're never alone. Fans will slip right back into this comfortable, familiar story the way they slip into...

"We say: Anything is possible. But what we mean is: I hope that good is possible." Once again, David Levithan (Boy Meets Boy) has painted a picture of a world where love--between anyone--matters above all things, and where the smallest gesture can mean so...

Thora's the daughter of a magician but she can't do spells. Oddo's the son of a farmer but he can't do farmwork. Both of them think they're not good for anything. But when there's no one else left, the two young Vikings have to make a dangerous...

Charlie and Sam used to be best friends, until Sam broke it off without a word of explanation. But when the going gets rough, they both just need to talk--and to let out the secrets they've been keeping for so long. Coming clean--or out--takes courage, but it's worth...

When I reviewed At the Sign of the Star, Katherine Sturtevant's first novel of Restoration England, I thought nothing could possibly come close to being as good. But its sequel, A True and Faithful Narrative, is even better. Now sixteen, rebellious Meg has learned to get along...

London, 1677. Twelve-year-old Meg Moore is the only daughter of a well-to-do bookseller who has brought her up to run the family business. But when her widowed father decides to marry again, Meg's inheritance--and therefore her future--are suddenly not so certain, and it will take all her wits...

Samuel just knows there's something wrong at the spooky, medieval Scottish mansion he and his mother live next to. Suddenly snowbound on the remote country estate and pursued by a mysterious and terrifying Weeping Woman, Samuel and his new friend Fiona have to figure out how to appease this...

Aren't fairy tales much more fun when princesses don't do as they're told? Fans of Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted and Patricia C. Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles will love reading about Princess Meg and her attempts to sabotage her father's antiquated dragon-slaying, witch-vanquishing, bandit-eradicating contest (of which she, naturally,...

If you haven't already read Simone Elkeles' first novel about Amy Nelson-Barak's crazy and hilarious adventures discovering her Israeli heritage, go read How to Ruin a Summer Vacation right away. If you have, then you're probably dying to see what scrapes straight-talking but lovable Amy gets into next....

Charlie's not happy: her widowed father is thinking about getting remarried, her best friend Sam, who she's not-so-secretly in love with, moved to Australia, and her beloved English teacher had a heart attack right after she refused to rewrite her final assignment, so now she may never become a...

A year ago, a senseless accident maimed Maggie and sent Caleb to juvenile detention. The last thing in the world they were expecting was that the other would turn out to be the one person who understood what they'd gone through. Maggie and Caleb have both changed, but...