Book Recommendation: KIKI STRIKE...

Did you know an immense underground city lies beneath a small, Turkish town?  Did you know that when a person lies, her voice often rises and she may hold her head unnaturally still?  Did you ever realize that baby monitors can make excellent spying devices?  Did you know that looking bland can often be the best form of disguise?  What about the fact that if you have a tooth knocked out, you only have thirty minutes to get to a hospital and get the tooth returned to its place before it dies?  Kristen Miller's novel Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City includes these tid-bitty treasures along with information about How to Follow Someone...Without Getting Caught, How to Prepare for Adventure (everything from a compass to chewing gum included in the supplies list), How to Spot A Fake Diamond, and How to Respond When You're Attacked by Wild Animals, Frozen Alive, and/or Bitten By A Rattlesnake.

Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City follows Ananka Fishbein after she discovers an underground city revealed by a sinkhole outside her New York City apartment.  Before Ananka finds the legendary Shadow City, she spent most of her days reading from her parents' immense collection of books on every subject imaginable.  Thus, she's an expert on "at least five subjects" including "1. giant squid 2. human sacrifice among the Aztec and Maya 3. carnivorous plants 4. alien abduction" and "5. Greek mythology."  While uncovering a secret underground city is exciting, Ananka's life really starts turning upside down (in the best way possible) when she meets one of the city's primary protectors: Kiki Strike, a girl who no one seems to realize exists and who seems capable of disappearing at will.  Kiki Strike dresses in black, rides a Vespa, and is in the process of organizing a band of Girl Scout Drop-outs to...well, whether she's organizing them for good or evil is what Ananka needs to find out.

This book is crazy and original and just a ton of fun.  It's like dressing in black and roaming New York city and attending secret midnight balls on islands and meeting Russian princesses and hanging out in underground speakeasies.  Plus, if you've ever wanted to know how to foil a kidnapper, well...just guess where you can find out.