'The Trials of Kate Hope' by Warwick Downing By Janet Fitch, Fitch is the author of "White Oleander" and "Paint It Black" and a young adult novel, "Kicks." She teaches in the master of professional writing program at USC.
'Natural' remedies need oversight By Henry I. Miller, Henry I. Miller, a physician and a fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, was an official at the FDA from 1979 to 1994.
Don't discount the Newbery By Susan Patron, Susan Patron worked in children's services at the L.A. Public Library for 35 years. She is the winner of the 2007 Newbery Medal for "The Higher Power of Lucky." Its sequel, "Lucky Breaks," will be published in March.
Battle lines By Joel Pett, Joel Pett is the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist of the Lexington-Herald-Leader. His work also appears in USA Today.