It goes like this, folks:

(EXAMPLE)
Title, Author (date I read it) - Short summary. What I liked best about it. [Number of recommendation - 1 being unrecommended, 5 being highly recommended.]
(EXAMPLE)

NOTE: If there's a * next to the title, it means I've read the book before, but the date listed was the most recent reading.

Midnight Magic, Avi (late August 2004) - A young servant boy becomes tangled in a royal plot when his master is summoned to banish a ghost in the palace. Avi, with his knack for vivid settings, does excellent historical fiction. [4]

A Darker Magic, Michael Bedard (mid July, 2002) - Two kids and a teacher try to solve the ominous mystery surrounding a magician. Good imagery and character interaction for a "young adults" novel. [3]

A Little Princess *, Frances Hodgson Burnett (early February, 2003) - After her father dies, a girl becomes a servant in the boarding school that used to idolize her and her rich life. This book is similar in some ways to the story of Cinderella, and explores the meaning of self-worth. [5]

The Secret Garden *, Frances Hodgson Burnett (early February, 2003) - An orphaned girl stirs up her uncle's dreary mansion by reawakening an old secret garden. I read this for the first time in elementary school, and it's still as wonderous at age 21. [5]

Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer (late June, 2002) - A young mastermind takes a leprechaun hostage in order to collect a huge ransom. Quirky, funny story with an interesting blend of sci-fi and fantasy. [4]

House of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski (late October, 2002) - A troubled man becomes lost in a dead man's account of a fictional labyrinth. Written in a twisted, stylistic way with incredibly varied tone and texture. [4]

The Virgin Suicides, Jeffery Eugenides (early November, 2002) - The tale of five sisters who committed suicide, told by the neighborhood boys who obsessed over them. Bizarre, funny, profound and sad all at once. [5]

The Female Eunuch, Germaine Greer (early March, 2003) - An exploration of the dehumanization of women through the ages. Written in the 70's, but the theme is applicable to the present day. [5]

My Hard Bargain, Walter Kirn (late October, 2002) - A collection of personal, funny short stories about families and growing up. Walter Kirn uses excellent, subtle writing, almost minimalist in its wording, which makes the images memorable. [4]

Take a Thief, Mercedes Lackey (early May 2005) - Skif, a poor orphan and thief, discovers a family and his destiny through his shady talents. Lackey always paints a clear picture of her world's society and class/culture differences. [5]

I Know This Much is True, Wally Lamb (late June, 2002) - A story about grown twin brothers, one of them mentally ill. Very vivid characters built through intricate backgrounds. [4]

She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb (early July, 2002) - The lifestory of a woman who faces rape, a weight problem and depression. Again, vivid characters (Mr. Lamb is very good at that). [5]

The Fifth Child, Doris Lessing (started and finished August 1, 2002) - An old-fashioned couple intent on having six children are cursed with a troubled son - the fifth child. Lucid characters and emotions, although somewhat of an abrupt ending. [3]

Till We Have Faces, C.S. Lewis (early August, 2002) - Two close sisters are separated by the follies of the gods. Excellent characters and scenes, with a beautiful flow befitting that of an ancient myth. [5]

The Ivory and the Horn, Charles de Lint (mid October, 2002) - A collection of short stories involving folklore and the dream world. Interesting twists on folklore and mythology. [4]

The Onion Girl, Charles de Lint (early October, 2002) - After being hit by a car, a woman heals by going into a dream dimension as she sleeps. Nice combination of modern themes and myth. [5]

Trader, Charles de Lint (mid October, 2002) - A luthier and a self-centered loser awake to find they have switched bodies, and only one of them is happy with the switch. Very thorough character backgrounds and personalities. [5]

Shadow Baby, Allison McGhee (late August 2004) - The tale of a friendship between a bright young girl and an old immigrant man, both struggling with buried pasts. The dynamics of an unusual friendship are painted very clearly in this book. It's also notable that the main character dislikes condensing books into reviews, and although I disagree with her, I understand her point. [4]

The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger (early August, 2004) - A lucid, sexy tale of two lovers - one a sheltered artist, and the other a fast-living intellectual with a brain disorder that causes him to zap back and forth through time. This book is luscious and amazingly real, and the time travel aspect never becomes confusing. [5]

Sabriel *, Garth Nix (mid March, 2003) - The daughter of the Abhorsen ("...the folk who keep the Dead down") must save her father from a rising evil and take her place as the next Abhorsen. Beautiful, multifaceted characters and lore. [5]

Angel-Seeker, (late March/early April 2005) Sharon Shinn - Two women, trapped by drastically different circumstances, find their lives changed by their society's revered angels. Great characters, and an astoundingly immersive world. [5]

The Bad Beginning: Book The First, Lemony Snicket (early December 2004) - An unfortunate tale of three orphans who must foil their uncle's devious plot to steal the family fortune. Very amusing style and playful presentation. It's a bit like Snicket is trying to convert his young readers to early goth-dom. [4]

The Witch of Blackbird Pond *, Elizabeth George Speare (early February, 2003) - A young woman forced from her home in Barbados faces the ignorance of Puritan settlers in Connecticut. Well-written historical fiction with a lasting theme. [5]