When Wilf is sent to summer camp in Camp Wild, he decides that he will not put up with being pushed aside by his work-obsessed parents. He makes plans to escape camp via canoe to spend a few days in the wilderness while his parents worry. Unfortunately Wilf finds out that even the best-laid plans can go awry. In Queen of the Toilet Bowl, Renata, a young teen who recently immigrated to the United States from Brazil, must deal with the pressures of middle school. When Renata lands the lead in the school musical, one of the wealthy, popular girls sets out to make Renata's life miserable. These two new books in the new Orca Currents series are modeled after the Orca Soundings books, but they are geared toward younger, middle school-ged teens. Each novel is set in a high-nterest contemporary setting and is presented at a low reading level to suit reluctant readers. These books take on the difficult task of telling an engaging story in few words. The writing is conversational and lets teens see the inner thoughts of the narrators without being preachy about the subject. Wishinsky's book fills a much needed niche in teen literature as it discusses the issues that teen immigrants face while trying to fit into American schools. Each title could easily open a gateway for their audience to other books on similar topics.-Leslie McCombs.

Gr 7-9-In the first book, Renata is constantly teased by the snobs at High Road High because her mother works as a cleaning woman. When she earns the role of Maria Von Trapp in the school musical, Karin, who wanted the part, exacts revenge by accusing Renata of stealing her watch. When that plan is foiled, she turns to the Internet, embarrassing Renata with a picture of her mother with her head in a toilet bowl. The protagonist rises above it all and is the best Maria her school has ever seen. In the second story, Wilf, 14, is embarrassed and angry that his parents are forcing him to go to summer camp again. He puts together an escape plan and is blackmailed by a fellow camper into taking him along. Charlie, a younger camper who is a good canoeist, catches up to them and the three kids are forced to work together to navigate some dangerous white water. These small, attractively designed titles are high interest/low ability books. They can be used successfully with special-ed students, lower-level readers, and ELL students. Both books have appealing plots, even if they are a bit pedantic. Teachers and librarians can make good use of them to entice less-skilled readers.-Lynn Evarts, Sauk Prairie High School, Prairie du Sac, WI Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.