“I’m trying to find a girl I went to high school with. She was my first girlfriend, and I’ve always wondered what happened to her”: this request for help came my way last month. This week a woman planning a high school reunion came in to confirm whether one of her classmates had died. We here in Local & Family History Services spent a lot of time recently helping people locate long-lost classmates. As a result of this work, I discovered a few new websites that are useful in searching for family and friends who have fallen out of touch, so I updated our subject guide to “Finding Living People.” My colleague Sara Allen wrote this article, which has scads of useful information for a successful search.

I thought I’d share a few ideas from this guide for those of you who are planning class or family reunions, wondering what happened to that guy you dated 15 years ago, or trying to find a cousin you haven’t seen in decades.

As you might guess, the more information you have about the person, the better your chance of finding them. But even with just a name and one additional piece of information you can often find your friend or relative. (From here onward, I’ll simplify by substituting the phrase “your person” for the phrase “your friend or relative.”)

For example, if you remember your person’s address or street, you can use city directories to help your quest. Contact the public library in the town where the person lived, find a directory for the time period in question, and use the reverse street directory to find the full name of the resident or property owner. Then look that occupant up in the main part of the city directory to find a fuller name, name of his or her spouse, and his or her occupation. If these residents were the parents of your person of interest, look in an obituary index for that geographic area to see if your person’s relatives died and left an obituary. Often obituaries mention the full (married) name of survivors such as children, where those children are living, and those children’s spouses’ and kids’ names too.

Armed with a current name and location for your person, their approximate age, and names of those associated with them, you can use some of the online search databases mentioned in Sara’s article. On Spokeo.com, for instance, you can input your person’s name and then look at listings for people with that name. Knowing additional information such as age and location will make it easier to decide which listing is for your person. That listing will then show you not only publicly available information such as contact information, but also information from social networking sites such as Facebook. You may find someone’s current address, phone number, age, marital status, occupation, hobbies, and even whether they have children.

Keep in mind that not everyone is listed on sites like these, though. For a variety of reasons, such as having an unlisted telephone number, not having a landline, or never sending in change-of-address cards, some people will not be findable online. But you’ll be amazed to see how many people are.

Try these techniques with your own name and marvel at what you find! I did, and was surprised at how much information turned up: almost every address I’ve ever had; old phone numbers; my parents’ names; and links to my articles on the SJCPL website and to blog and wiki posts elsewhere. Before I removed my information from Spokeo, it also showed my approximate income, marital status, homeownership status, and even a list of my interests (culled from my social networking activity, I assume).

Let me add some things to keep in mind when carrying out research using these sites. Many of these sites, but not all, let you “opt out” of having your information revealed (at least to people conducting free searches). Thus you may find few results for your person if that person, like me, is diligent about asking sites to remove personal information. Even in my case, though, my birthday turned up on more than one site that would not let me opt out. Another possible complication is that some of the information I found was just plain wrong. For instance, Spokeo estimated my salary to be much higher than it actually is. (Alas.) Also, several sites linked my name not just with my parents’, but also with a woman’s name I’ve never even heard before. (Marilyn Boune, who in the world are you, and how did you come to be associated with me?) My search for my own name also turned up results for other Elizabeth Feils. For example, I had discovered several years ago, by means of annoying calls from debt collectors, that there was another Elizabeth Feil who lived not far from me; she was a prison therapist who had helped her inmate lover escape from jail. (!) Not surprisingly, my recent search for my name turned up lots of interesting articles about the other, infamous Elizabeth Feil mixed in with items that pertained to me. So when you are searching, keep in mind that not all the results you find may relate to your person.

Got your own long-lost relation or love that you’d like to track down? Read Sara’s wonderful article on this topic, and then stop in if you’d like more help.  Good luck!

Nonfiction
The Black Nile: One Man’s Amazing Journey Through Peace and War on the World’s Longest River by Dan Morrison
Hollywood: A Third Memoir by Larry McMurtry
Hostage Nation: Colombia’s Guerrilla Army and the Failed War on Drugs by Victoria Bruce
Make These Toys: 101 Clever Creations Using Everyday Items by Heather Swain
The Pain Chronicles: Cures, Myths, Mysteries, Prayers, Diaries, Brain Scans, Healing, and the Science of Suffering by Melanie Thernstrom

DVDs
Busytown Mysteries: The Biggest Mysteries Ever!
Harry Brown
Marmaduke
Red Riding Trilogy
Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too?

CDs
Music from Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore—Various Artists
Crazy For You—Best Coast
Gotta Have Hits!—Various Artists
Season of the Assassin—Vinnie Paz
Stories—Addison Road

Children’s
The Halloween Kid by Rhode Montijo (Ages 3–6)
It’s a Book by Lane Smith (Ages 6–8)
Lost Boy: The Story of the Man Who Created Peter Pan by Jane Yolen (Ages 6–8)
Movie for Dogs by Lois Duncan (Ages 8–12)
Sabotaged by Margaret Peterson Haddix (Ages 8–12)

Teen
Cold As Ice by L. Divine
The Cruisers by Walter Dean Myers
The Deathday Letter by Shaun David Hutchinson
A Little Wanting Song by Cath Crowley
The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood

Hardcover Fiction:

1. THE POSTCARD KILLERS, by James Patterson and Liza Marklund. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) An N.Y.P.D. detective joins a Swedish reporter in a search for the killer of young couples in Europe, including his daugher and her boyfriend.

2. THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST, by Stieg Larsson. (Knopf, $27.95.) The third volume of a trilogy about a Swedish hacker and a journalist.

3. THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett. (Amy Einhorn/Putnam, $24.95.) A young white woman and two black maids in 1960s ­Mississippi.

4. THE COBRA, by Frederick Forsyth. (Putnam, $26.95.) A former C.I.A. operative is unleashed on the cocaine industry.

5. STAR ISLAND, by Carl Hiaasen. (Knopf, $26.95.) A paparazzo attempting to kidnap a drug-addled pop star grabs her stunt double by mistake.

Hardcover Nonfiction:

1. SH*T MY DAD SAYS, by Justin Halpern. (It Books/HarperCollins, $15.99.) A coming-of-age memoir organized around the musings, purveyed on Twitter, of the author’s father.

2. COMMITTED, by Elizabeth Gilbert. (Viking, $26.95.) The author of Eat, Pray, Love wrestles with, and overcomes, her ambivalence about marriage.

3. OUTLIERS, by Malcolm Gladwell. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) Why some people succeed — it has to do with luck and opportunity — from the author of Blink.

4. EMPIRE OF THE SUMMER MOON, by S. C. Gwynne. (Scribner, $27.50.) The story of Quanah Parker, the last and greatest chief of the Comanches.

5. THE OBAMA DIARIES, by Laura Ingraham. (Threshold Editions, $25.) A satirical fictional journal with commentary, by the conservative political commentator.

Children’s Chapter Books:

1. CATCHING FIRE, by Suzanne Collins. (Scholastic, $17.99.) The protagonist of The Hunger Games returns. (Ages 12 and up)

2. THE RED PYRAMID, by Rick Riordan. (Disney-Hyperion, $17.99.) Ancient gods (this time from Egypt) and a mortal family meet in a new adventure. (Ages 10 and up)

3. THE HUNGER GAMES, by Suzanne Collins. (Scholastic, $17.99.) In a dystopian future, a girl fights for survival on live TV. (Ages 12 and up)

4. TALES FROM A NOT-SO-POPULAR PARTY GIRL, by Rachel Renée Russell. (Aladdin, $12.99.) The further reflections of Nikki Maxwell on the agonies of middle school; a Dork Diaries book. (Ages 9 to 13)

5. LINGER, by Maggie Stiefvater. (Scholastic Press/Scholastic, $17.99.) The wereteens of “Shiver” face a new test of love and loyalty. (Ages 12 and up)

Come visit SJCPL’s booth near Backstage Grill on South Michigan Street, and add your own artistic flair by helping us decorate a big, blank canvas! This year’s Art Beat promises many culinary, performing, and visual adventures for all who attend!

Nonfiction
Exercising Your Soul: Fifteen Minutes a Day to a Spiritual Life by Gary Jansen
Group Dreaming: Dreams to the Tenth Power by Jean Campbell
The Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago by Douglas Perry
Knitting 24/7: 30 Projects to Knit, Wear, and Enjoy, On the Go and Around the Clock by Veronik Avery
The Man Behind the Nose: Assassins, Astronauts, Cannibals and Stupendous Tales by Larry “Bozo” Harmon

DVDs
The Back-Up Plan
City Island
The Confidant
Dorian Gray
Temple Grandin

CDs
All About Tonight—Blake Shelton
Dark Night of the Soul—Danger Mouse
Memphis Blues—Cyndi Lauper
Symphonicities—Sting
Teflon Don—Rick Ross

Children’s
What Will Elmo Be? by Jodie Shepherd (Ages 2–5)
Bug Zoo by Nick Baker (Ages 5–8)
Ecomazes: Twelve Earth Adventures by Roxie Munro (Ages 6–9)
Griff Carver, Hallway Patrol by Jim Krieg (Ages 9–12)
The Secret Zoo by Bryan Chick (Ages 9–12)

Audiobooks
Exploration Fawcett: Journey to the Lost City of Z by Percy Fawcett
Ghost Shadow by Heather Graham
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
Star Island by Carl Hiaasen
Waking the Witch by Kelley Armstrong

The painting I am most familiar with is The Felling of the Bee Tree by L. Clarence Ball. If you have never seen this painting at SJCPL then you have never been inside Local & Family History Services. What are you waiting for? Clarence Ball was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio, in July 1860. He moved to Goodland, Indiana, with his family when he was five, where they stayed for many years. In 1880, Mr. Ball came to South Bend, and with the exception of two years in New York, stayed until his death on October 9, 1915.

It was said that Mr. Ball was a very generous man who was a real member of society. Apparently, he caught sight of an office boy’s crude sketches at the courthouse and, divining some talent inherent in them, set about assisting him in securing some artistic training. That young boy was Leo Makielski, brother to the founder of Makielski’s art store. Mr. Ball took him to his studio, gave him paints and a palette, and instructed him personally.

His art shows his affection not only for the people of his community but also for the surrounding Michiana landscape. He was truly a midwesterner and showed his love of the land by faithfully capturing scenes of natural beauty. The Felling of the Bee Tree was painted at his summer cottage at Eagle Point, near Diamond Lake, Michigan. The painting depicts two woodsman, well, felling what is apparently a bee tree (I was not an art history major). Come to the Local & Family History Services room to see it in person!

We also have several books available for checkout to help deepen your knowledge of midwestern artists. Historically, women artists have been overlooked, but not in our collection. Skirting the Issue: Stories of Indiana’s Historical Women Artists is an in-depth study of many prominent female artists with excellent full-color prints. Check it out along with the DVD Out of the Shadows: Portraits of Historic Women Artists to impress your artsy friends with some new names to drop. Curious about what sort of things they have for display at Notre Dame’s Snite Musem of Art, but not curious enough to go? Selected Works from the Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame should help whet your appetite enough to maybe inspire a visit. Don’t forget that SJCPL also has many fine art prints available to take home if you’ve grown tired of having poker-playing dogs overlooking your dining room. I myself much prefer my black-velvet paintings to be of Elvis.

Nonfiction
Angelina: An Unauthorized Biography by Andrew Morton
Heading Home with Your Newborn: From Birth to Reality by Laura A. Jana
Itty-Bitty Toys by Susan B. Anderson
The Murder Room: The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather To Solve the World’s Most Perplexing Cold Cases by Michael Capuzzo
A World Without Islam by Graham E. Fuller

DVDs
Cemetery Junction
Furry Vengeance
The Last Song
Penguins Of Madagascar: New to the Zoo
Skellig: The Owl Man

CDs
Despicable Me: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack—Various Artists
Feast of the Hunters’ Moon—Black Prairie
The Obsidian Conspiracy—Nevermore
She Won’t Be Lonely Long—Clay Walker
The Very Best of Dixie Chicks—Dixie Chicks

Children’s
Ten Little Puppies by Marian Harris (Ages Birth–6)
Maggie’s Ball by Lindsay Barrett George (Ages 2–5)
Sort-of-Difficult Origami by Chris Alexander (Ages 8–12)
Gecko & Sticky: The Power Potion by Wendelin Van Draanen (Ages 8–12)
Dragon Kiss by E.D. Baker (Ages 10–14)

Teen
Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken
Bruiser by Neal Shusterman
The Eternal Ones: What If Love Refused to Die? by Kirsten Miller
Ghostopolis by Doug Tennapel
I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Hardcover Fiction:

1. THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST, by Stieg Larsson. (Knopf, $27.95.) The third volume of a trilogy about a Swedish hacker and a journalist.

2. THE RED QUEEN, by Philippa Gregory. (Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, $25.99.) More intrigue during the War of the Roses, centered on Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry VII; by the author of The Other Boleyn Girl.

3. THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett. (Amy Einhorn/Putnam, $24.95.) A young white woman and two black maids in 1960s ­Mississippi.

4. STAR ISLAND, by Carl Hiaasen. (Knopf, $26.95.) A paparazzo attempting to kidnap a drug-addled pop star grabs her stunt double by mistake.

5. THE REMBRANDT AFFAIR, by Daniel Silva. (Putnam, $26.95.) The art restorer and assassin Gabriel Allon discovers that there are deadly secrets behind a stolen painting.

Hardcover Nonfiction:

1. SH*T MY DAD SAYS, by Justin Halpern. (It Books/HarperCollins, $15.99.) A coming-of-age memoir organized around the musings, purveyed on Twitter, of the author’s father.

2. THE OBAMA DIARIES, by Laura Ingraham. (Threshold Editions, $25.) A satirical fictional journal with commentary, by the conservative political commentator.

3. ANGELINA, by Andrew Morton. (St. Martin’s, $26.99.) A biography of Angelina Jolie, actress and humanitarian.

4. THE BIG SHORT, by Michael Lewis. (Norton, $27.95.) The people who saw the real estate crash coming and made billions from their foresight.merican soldiers in a lethal corner of Afghanistan.

5. CHELSEA CHELSEA BANG BANG, by Chelsea Handler. (Grand Central, $25.99.) More humorous personal essays.

Children’s Chapter Books:

1. CATCHING FIRE, by Suzanne Collins. (Scholastic, $17.99.) The protagonist of The Hunger Games returns. (Ages 12 and up)

2. THE HUNGER GAMES, by Suzanne Collins. (Scholastic, $17.99.) In a dystopian future, a girl fights for survival on live TV. (Ages 12 and up)

3. THE RED PYRAMID, by Rick Riordan. (Disney-Hyperion, $17.99.) Ancient gods (this time from Egypt) and a mortal family meet in a new adventure. (Ages 10 and up)

4. LINGER, by Maggie Stiefvater. (Scholastic Press/Scholastic, $17.99.) The wereteens of “Shiver” face a new test of love and loyalty. (Ages 12 and up)

5. HOT X, by Danica McKellar. (Hudson Street, $26.95.) A guide to conquering algebra. (Ages 14 and up)

Stallone.

Statham.

Willis.

Li.

Couture.

Austin.

Lundgren.

Rourke.

Crews.

(and a cameo by Arnold Schwarzenegger)

If you loved the wild ride of The Expendables, click on the names above to see other jam-packed action movies these ruffians have made! All DVDs are available at SJCPL. You bring the popcorn!

Name: Robert

Age: 11

I like: Fishing, golf, adventures, and kayaking

The book: Wild River by P.J. Petersen

This book was about: Two brothers on a wild kayak trip

The best part was when: Ryan got help

I laughed when: Ryan sang one of his songs

I was worried when: Ryan found Tanner unconscious

I was surprised when: Ryan caught a fish bare-handed

This book taught me: To be prepared for everything

Other kids reading this book should watch for: Wild bears

A word that best describe this book is: Adventurous

My favorite line or phrase in this book is: Moving fast, floating free. River demon can’t stop me.

You should read this book because: It is an adventure-filled book with lots of action

Thank you, Robert, for a great book review! If you are a kid who would like to share your recommendation, stop by Children’s Services at the Main Library or the Francis Branch!

Growing up Greek in South Bend: The Early Years, 1926-1964

Nonfiction
Built By Wendy Dresses: The Sew U Guide to Making a Girl’s Best Frock by Wendy Mullin
Composed: A Memoir by Rosanne Cash
Hot X: Algebra Exposed by Danica McKellar
Remember This: Fresh Page Ideas to Scrapbook the Year by Kimber McGray
Zumba: Ditch the Workout, Join the Party! The Zumba Weight Loss Program by Beto Perez

DVDs
Death at a Funeral
My Name Is Khan
Letters To God
Date Night
The Joneses

CDs
All About Tonight—Blake Shelton
Trill O.G.—Bun B
All Night Long—Buckcherry
Nightmare—Avenged Sevenfold
Party Tyme Karaoke: Contemporary Christian 3—Various Artists

Children’s
Lots of Spots by Lois Ehlert (Ages 3–7)
School! Adventures at the Harvey N. Trouble Elementary School by Kate McMullan (Ages 6–9)
Zombiekins by Kevin Bolger (Ages 9–11)
The Reinvention of Moxie Roosevelt by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel (Ages 9–12)
Make It Wild! 101 Things To Make and Do Outdoors by Jo Schofield and Fiona Danks (Ages 9–12)

Large Print
Blue-Eyed Devil by Robert B. Parker
Blueberry Muffin Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery by Joanne Fluke
Ghost Shadow by Heather Graham
That Perfect Someone by Johanna Lindsey
The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard

Biology: The Science of Life

Classical Mythology

The Darwin Revolution

Great Masters. Tchaikovsky, his Life & Music

Earth’s Changing Climate

How to Read and Understand Poetry

The Life and Writings of C.S. Lewis

No Excuses: Existentialism & the Meaning of Life

Popes and the Papacy: a History

Psychology of Human Behavior

Who was Maude’s father? In this edition of “Tales From the History Room” we tackle a nearly century-old family mystery.  A patron called and asked for help in identifying his grandmother’s father.  His grandmother “Maude” was born in 1913 to his widowed great-grandmother, and the family had been told the father was a boyfriend named “John Brown.”  This could be a tricky undertaking. The name “John Brown” could be a pseudonym for the “real” name of the boyfriend.  The fact that Maude was born between the 1910 and 1920 censuses impedes the search as well. In addition, the fact that the family may have been living in a rural area of St. Joseph County for which we don’t have any city directories is also problematic.  Even with all these challenges, it is possible to research this question and come up with some hypotheses.

Fortunately, the patron had not checked the most elementary of sources, so I sent him off to request Maude’s birth certificate from the health department and her marriage license application from the county archives. Both of these documents should illuminate the situation further.  The birth record (kept in Indiana beginning in 1882) should name a father (but does not always) and should also give the address where the family was living at the time of the birth.  The marriage license application (kept in Indiana beginning in 1905) often gives really good information about the parents of the happy couple.  The father’s name, current address, age, and whether he was alive or dead, may appear on this document. Armed with the information gleaned from these documents, the patron can then evaluate the persons named John Brown who were found in St. Joseph County during that time period and see if any fit the bill. Since it is a common name, we will probably have more than one prospective father.

I did make a preliminary survey of persons named John Brown in St. Joseph County for this patron.  I found several candidates in vital record indexes, census records, city directories and obituaries. Based on what we know about this family, we need to look at proximity to Maude’s mother, “Eliza,” as a primary criteria.  One candidate seemed to be a contemporary of Eliza’s first husband, “Earl”, who was about thirty years older than Eliza. Earl died in 1910 in a rural township.  In the 1870 census (forty years earlier), Earl’s family is shown living next door to a family of Browns, who happen to have a John Brown among their lot.  This John Brown went on to marry and move to a neighboring town, but his Brown relatives stayed in the township with Earl and Eliza.  I advised the patron to investigate this family of Browns by requesting the probate documents for the settlement of Earl’s estate to see if any Browns were listed as neighbors, friends, or acquaintances in those documents.  The neighborhood where the widow and children were living after Earl’s death could be of extreme importance to this case.

At some point, Eliza and her children moved to Mishawaka.  We don’t know when during the time period of 1910 to 1920 this occurred, but by the 1920 census they were living with a relative there.  So, we need to check out John Browns in Mishawaka as well. I only found one and he was extremely young to have been involved with Eliza.  He was born in 1900, making him about 12 when the child was conceived. This is not outside of the realm of possibility, but is probably unlikely.  I did ask the patron to contact the county archives to see if there were any court records relating to a John Brown and Eliza, thinking that if she was involved with a much younger boy, his family may have sued or prosecuted her. Or alternately, Eliza could have sued John Brown for support after the child was born.

And finally, there is a John Brown in South Bend, born in 1888 and found on the 1900 census. He disappears after this, so there is much we don’t know about him. His sister’s obituary in 1914 seemed to indicate that his whereabouts were unknown to his family. Of course, he could have run off to escape paternity in this case.  We don’t know that Eliza and her family ever lived in South Bend, so how would she and John Brown of South Bend ever have crossed paths? It may remain a mystery.

So, if a man named John Brown was indeed the father of Maude, this provides a good overview of how to try to narrow it down. There remains another possibility, a traveling John Brown, such as a salesman or someone just visiting in the neighborhood, could also be the father of the child, and when he left town, he took the answers to this question away with him.  And there is still the real possibility that Eliza gave the family a fake name for her boyfriend.  The patron’s best strategy may be to contact all his living relatives on that side of the family, such as great-aunts and long-lost cousins and query them about the issue.  Tongues may be loosened after the passing of so many years since this family scandal took place.  There is also the possibility of doing a DNA test, in which a surviving member of Maude’s family and a surviving member of the potential father’s family get tested and see if they are a match.

Much of the research needed for this type of situation can be conducted at the local library where the event took place.  Local & Family History Services was happy to be of assistance in this matter. Contact us with your questions on the 2nd floor of the Main Library or by telephone at 574-282-4621 or by email at local.history@sjcpl.org.

Hardcover Fiction:

1. THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST, by Stieg Larsson. (Knopf, $27.95.) The third volume of a trilogy about a Swedish hacker and a journalist.

2. STAR ISLAND, by Carl Hiaasen. (Knopf, $26.95.) A paparazzo attempting to kidnap a drug-addled pop star grabs her stunt double by mistake.

3. THE REMBRANDT AFFAIR, by Daniel Silva. (Putnam, $26.95.) The art restorer and assassin Gabriel Allon discovers that there are deadly secrets behind a stolen painting.

4. THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett. (Amy Einhorn/Putnam, $24.95.) A young white woman and two black maids in 1960s ­Mississippi.

5. FLY AWAY HOME, by Jennifer Weiner. (Atria, $26.99.) A senator’s extramarital affair affects his wife and daughters.

Hardcover Nonfiction:

1. SH*T MY DAD SAYS, by Justin Halpern. (It Books/HarperCollins, $15.99.) A coming-of-age memoir organized around the musings, purveyed on Twitter, of the author’s father.

2. THE OBAMA DIARIES, by Laura Ingraham. (Threshold Editions, $25.) A satirical fictional journal with commentary, by the conservative political commentator.

3. CHELSEA CHELSEA BANG BANG, by Chelsea Handler. (Grand Central, $25.99.) More humorous personal essays.

4. THE BIG SHORT, by Michael Lewis. (Norton, $27.95.) The people who saw the real estate crash coming and made billions from their foresight.merican soldiers in a lethal corner of Afghanistan.

5. OUTLIERS, by Malcolm Gladwell. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) Why some people succeed, from the author of Blink.

Children’s Chapter Books:

1. THE RED PYRAMID, by Rick Riordan. (Disney-Hyperion, $17.99.) Ancient gods (this time from Egypt) and a mortal family meet in a new adventure. (Ages 10 and up)

2. CATCHING FIRE, by Suzanne Collins. (Scholastic, $17.99.) The protagonist of The Hunger Games returns. (Ages 12 and up)

3. LINGER, by Maggie Stiefvater. (Scholastic Press/Scholastic, $17.99.) The wereteens of “Shiver” face a new test of love and loyalty. (Ages 12 and up)

4. TALES FROM A NOT-SO-POPULAR PARTY GIRL, by Rachel Renée Russell. (Aladdin, $12.99.) The further reflections of Nikki Maxwell on the agonies of middle school; a Dork Diaries book. (Ages 9 to 13)

5. THE HUNGER GAMES, by Suzanne Collins. (Scholastic, $17.99.) In a dystopian future, a girl fights for survival on live TV. (Ages 12 and up)