Thirteen-year-old Nick Kirov has a sort of wizard's Bar Mitzvah in this, the third outing in the Magickeepers series. His desperate search for a fabled magical chalice that will save the life of his father, bespelled during an attack by the evil Shadowkeepers, takes the young visionary from the (sadly defunct) Liberace Museum's warehouse in his hometown Las Vegas to Stratford-on-Avon, then to a climactic showdown in a Russian ice cavern with the evil Rasputin. As in past episodes, the parade of historical figures continues in visions and flashbacks, because in its long history the life-giving chalice passed through the hands of such luminaries as Shakespeare, Houdini, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Howard Hughes and Amelia Earhart. Nick's relentlessly entrepreneurial uncle Crazy Sergei puts in occasional appearances for comic relief, as well. By the end, Nick has (seemingly) vanquished Rasputin, saved his father, buried the dangerously intoxicating chalice in a deep hole and, and keeping with an unusually specific Prophecy, been elevated to Prince of the Magickeepers. "You," his uncle Theo informs him, "became a man." After its strong start in The Eternal Hourglass (2009), this series has been treading water, but fans may still be willing to take a dip. (Fantasy. 11-13)

BREDsdORFF, Bodil . Tink . Bk. 3. tr. from Danish by Elisabeth Kallick Dyssegaard. 144p. (The Children of Crow Cove Series). Farrar . May 2011. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-374-31268-8 . LC 2009051967. Gr 4-7 CARMAN, Patrick . The Raven . Bk. 4. 231p. (Skeleton Creek Series). Scholastic . May 2011. Tr $14.99. ISBN 978-0-545-24995-9 . LC number unavailable. Gr 6 Up JACQUES, Brian . The Rogue Crew . illus. by Sean Rubin. 416p. (Redwall Series). Philomel . May 2011. Tr $23.99. ISBN 978-0-399-25416-1 . LC 2010013330. Gr 48 KINGSLEY, Kate . Kiss &; Break Up . Bk. 3. 310p. (Young, Loaded, and Fabulous Series). S &; S / Pulse . Feb. 2011. pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-9401-5 ; ebook $8.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-1957-5 . LC 2010929354. Gr 9 Up KIROV, Erica . Magickeepers: The Chalice of Immortality . Bk. 3. 208p. (Magickeepers Series). Sourcebooks / Jabberwocky . May 2011. pap. $7.99. ISBN 978-1-4022-1503-2 . LC number unavailable. Gr 58 LUBAR, David . Attack of the Vampire Weenies: And Other Warped and Creepy Tales . 224p. (Weenies Series). Tor / Starscape . May 2011. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7653-2345-3 . LC number unavailable. Gr 69 MARR, Melissa . Darkest Mercy . 327p. (A Wicked Lovely Book). HarperCollins . Mar. 2011. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-165925-6 ; PLB $17.89. ISBN 978-0-06-165926-3 . LC 2010033584. Gr 7 Up MARR, Melissa . Resolve . Vol. 3. illus. by Xian Nu Studio. unpaged. (Wicked Lovely: Desert Tales Series). Tokyopop . Mar. 2011. pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-0-06-149350-8 . LC 2010941915. Gr 7 Up MARRONE, Amanda . Master of Mirrors . 178p. (Magic Repair Shop Bks). S &; S / Aladdin . Mar. 2011. pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-9035-2 . LC 2010931672. Gr 46 MEDDAUGH, Susan . Martha and Skits Out West . May 2011. ISBN 978-0-547-42891-8 ; ISBN 978-0-547-21074-2 MEDDAUGH, Susan . White House Dog . Jan. 2011. ISBN 978-0-547-39359-9 ; ISBN 978-0-547-21076-6 . ea vol: adapt. by Jamie White. 96p. (Martha Speaks Series). Houghton Harcourt . Tr $14.99; pap. $5.99. LC number unavailable. Gr 13 NO&3;L, Alyson . Everlasting . Bk. 6. 336p. (The Immortals Series). St. Martin's / Griffin . June 2011. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-312-64207-5 . LC number unavailable. Gr 9 Up RIORDAN, Rick , et al. Vespers Rising . Bk. 11. 238p. (The 39 Clues Series). Scholastic . Apr. 2011. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-0-545-29059-3 . LC 2010939561. Gr 36 SAGE, Angie . Darke . Bk. 6. illus. by Mark Zug. 656p. (Septimus Heap Series). HarperCollins / Katherine Tegen Bks. June 2011. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-124242-7 ; PLB $18.89. ISBN 978-0-06-124243-4 . LC number unavailable. Gr 49 SERVICE, Pamela F. Alien Envoy . Bk. 6. 176p. (Alien Agent Series). Lerner / Darby Creek . Apr. 2011. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-0-7613-5364-5 . LC 2010009251. Gr 35 SIMON, Francesca . Horrid Henry Rocks . illus. by Tony Ross. 100p. (Horrid Henry Series). Sourcebooks / Jabberwocky . Apr. 2011. pap. $4.99. ISBN 978-1-4022-5674-5 . LC number unavailable. Gr 24 SMITH, Alexander Gordon . Death Sentence . Bk. 3. 272p. (Escape from Furnace Series). Farrar . Aug. 2011. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-374-32494-0 . LC 2010010938. Gr 7–10 SMITH, L. J. The Return: Midnight . Vol. 3. 567p. (The Vampire Diaries Series). HarperTeen . Mar. 2011. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-172085-7 . LC 2010042677. Gr 9 Up WILSON, F. Paul . Jack: Secret Vengeance . Bk. 3. 301p. Tor . Feb. 2011. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7653-1856-5 . LC 2010036117. Gr 7 Up