Pluto by Naoki Urasawa

In the future, robots and humans have fought many wars together and now live, relatively peaceably, side-by-side.  International robot laws are in place and these legal restrictions prohibit robots from killing humans.  In spite of a recent civil rights movement for robots, they are still discriminated against by humans, and the protagonist of this murder mystery is a robot member of an international police agency who passes for human named Gesicht.  As the series begins, Gesicht is investigating the recent chilling destruction of a beloved robot and global hero and a string of murders, trying to determine a motive.

This eight volume manga series brings Astro Boy and the grandfather of manga to a fresh audience with fresh perspective.  It begins with a re-imagining of the premise of the recent war in Afghanistan.  In doing so, it raises questions for readers of the nature of sentient life, the implications of artificial intelligence, the features of a post-conflict diverse society, and explores notions of human rights and civil rights in the future.  Fans of manga who loved Death Note and are looking for a new series will devour this one. ---Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Urasawa, Naoki and Osamu Tezuka.  Pluto.  San Francisco: Viz Media, 2008.  Print.

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Cassie is seventeen and has preternatural profiling abilities.  She can size up most people without even thinking about it and often make predictions about future behaviors.  When the FBI recruits her for a top secret initiative, it doesn’t take her long to decide that she wants to press her natural talent into service working on cold cases.  Flown by private jet to live in a group home, of sorts, with other talented teens, she has some big adjustments to make, teen drama to live through, and minor mysteries to solve until a bigger one with higher stakes reveals itself and sucks her in.  Will her talent allow her to save others?  Or will it become her downfall?  

Chapters alternating between Cassie’s first-person narration and an anonymous serial killer’s second-person narration keep the suspense going and ratchet it up as the story progresses.  A thriller along the lines of I Hunt Killers geared toward readers under sixteen, The Naturals features a female protagonist with a sharp mind looking for a feeling of belonging.  Recommended for independent reading, this book will appeal to those looking for a mystery and those who enjoy psychological drama and bloody murder descriptions.--Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Barnes, Jennifer Lynn.  The Naturals.  New York: Hyperion, 2013.

The Accuser by Anne Schraff

When the neighborhood bully gets murdered, all clues seem to point towards Donyell’s brother, Ricky. Donyell doesn’t want to believe it, but Ricky was out late that night, he came home in bloody clothes, his face looked like it had taken a few punches, and most incriminating of all, he tells Donyell to lie for him and he leaves town for a few days. In a mere 30 pages, Donyell tries to solve this murder mystery by speaking with all the potential suspects, only to discover that he was mistakenly jumping to a lot of conclusions.

This book is part of the Quickreads series, a collection of high interest, low reading level books from Saddleback, and written by one of the authors of the tremendously popular Bluford High series. While it might not have a lot of appeal for students who like to sink their teeth into a longer story, it could be a good match for students looking for something they can get through in one class period or one evening. Our Reading Specialist at Bronx Hope likes to use books in this series while working with her students; this title is one she says students like the most. --Anja Kennedy

Schraff, Anne. The Accuser. Costa Mesa, CA: Saddleback, 2010. Print.

Secret Saturdays by Torrey Maldonado

Has your best friend ever kept a secret from you? A secret so big, everything has changed? Living in the projects in Red Hook, Brooklyn, Justin and Sean have been best friends ever since Sean stuck up for Justin in a fight in fourth grade. But now Sean's becoming a bully, and he's keeping a secret from Justin. Can their friendship survive all of Sean's lies? Students, middle schoolers especially, will appreciate this real-life, written with real-language, mystery about friendship, school, and growing up in a tough neighborhood. Teachers will no doubt appreciate an exciting new addition to the ever growing collection of great authors and great books that also appeal to our students. This is the first book by Maldonado, a New York City school teacher who treated our students at Passages' Horizon site with a visit last year.

Maldonado, Torrey. Secret Saturdays. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2010.