Right! So once again my workplace is doing the Secret Santa thing for the Alliance for Kids, which is where they deliver a bunch of cards to us, each one with a kid's name, age, clothing size, and gift wishes, and we pick one or two and buy a few gifts and hand them over. The parents/guardians wrap them and give them to the kids. (These are kids who are in the system somehow, often because they're escaping from abusive situations.)

Anyway, nobody wanted video games this year, but these are the two I picked. I'll need suggestions from you guys! (They're not related this time. I think I picked sisters last time.)

Note, these are not their real names. The AFC people assign them these names for anonymity.

MADISON. Madison is 9 years old, and her wish list is, and I quote: "Science, Legos, arts & crafts, books." SCIENCE! AWESOME! I'll have to shop around and see what I can get her that involves science. Possibly some good science-related books? Parents of science-interested 9-year-olds: what books and other toys do your kids like?

MARIA. Maria is 13, and wants "Anything Twilight" and books. Yes, yes, I know, Twilight. I will probably purchase her something Twilight-related that is small and is not the books, as I assume she's already read them. What I would like to do also is get her BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS that are BETTER THAN TWILIGHT. What would YOU recommend for a 13-year-old Twihard that doesn't have the skeevy relationship dynamics, but still might speak to her id in the same sort of way that Twilight does? Vampires & werewolves a bonus, as I have no idea if she's Team Edward or Team Jacob (or, perhaps (if only), Team Bella).