Gr 9 Up-In Sewer Rats, Jim and his friends are part of a league of paintballers who play in the town's sewers. When a member of their team sabotages a match, her mates try to confront her. She runs into the tunnels when a rainstorm hits, and they must find her before the water rises. Suspense builds as Jim tries to overcome his fear in the drainpipes. In Chat Room, Linda, a quiet underclassman, strikes up conversations with a mysterious Cyrano in her school's new monitored chat room, only to find that her visions of the real Cyrano are far from the truth. Butcher hammers home warnings about online predators, and the chat dialogue is less than authentic with its complete sentences and absence of lingo. Real chatters will see past the fa ade, but the topic will generate some interest. With short chapters and written in an easy style, both books will appeal to reluctant readers. Adequate choices for heavily circulating paperback collections.-Delia Carruthers, Sunset Ridge Middle School, West Jordan, UT Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Linda, although intelligent, is shy and withdrawn. She finds it difficult to make friends and break out of her shell. She is initially dismissive of the chat room set up by her high school but is slowly drawn to it. Soon, in the school's chat room, she finds the popularity missing in her real life. When another chatter starts hinting that he would like a real-life relationship and Linda starts receiving gifts from a secret admirer, Linda must decide if a real-life relationship can be as authentic as a cyber one. An offering from the Orca Currents line, the novel is designed for the reluctant reader. The font is large, the language is easy, the plot is compelling, and there is plenty of white space on the page. Nevertheless Butcher manages to sneak more difficult words into the text occasionally. The subject matter is topical and will appeal to readers familiar with instant messaging and MySpace.com. Butcher tends, however, to soft-pedal the dangers of a chat room romance. Although the author tries to warn readers of chat room dangers through an ancillary character and in the climax, the largest danger for the heroine is embarrassment. Its subject matter and breezy style will still make it a novel sought by female reluctant readers.-Steven Kral.

Tired of feeling invisible, Linda logs on to her school's new chat room with a secret identity and finds her voice--and a boyfriend. Their online romance blossoms, and Linda learns that online dating is potentially dangerous. The overt message about chat-room dangers overwhelms Linda's humorous personality and bogs down this novel for reluctant readers.