Eating Y.A. Books Reviews

Book Review List

2010-02-21T04:59:00.000-08:00

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sheman Alexi
Adios Nirvana by Conrad Wesselhoerft
The Agency: A Spy in the House Y. S. Lee

Airhead by Meg Cabot
A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn
Alas Babylon by Pat Frank

Alt Ed by Catherine Adkins
The Anchillary Mark by Daniel Cohen
Angel by Courtney Allison Moulton

Anger Management by Chris Crutcher
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Annexed by Sharon Dogar
Ashfall by Mike Mullin

Atherton House of Power by Patrick Carmen

B
Beastly by Alex Flinn
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Beautiful Dead: Arizona by Eden MacGuire
Blameless by Gail Carriger
The Body Finder by Kim Derting
Boost by Kathy Mackel
Born at Midnight by C. C. Hunter
Brightly Woven by Alexzandra Bracken

Candor by Pam Buchorz
CarterFinally Gets It by Brent Crawford
Cate of the Lost Colony by Lisa Klein

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
Changeless by Gail Carriger

Chronicles of Vladimir Tod by Heather Brewer
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson
Clarity by Kim Harrington
Cloaked by Alex Flinn
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Code Orange by Caroline Cooney
The Compound by S. A Bodeen
Contagion by Joanee Dahme
Crave by Laura J. Burns & Melinda Metz

Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz
Crush Control by Jennifer Jabaley
The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler

Darklight by Lesley Livingston
Dark Mirror by M.J. Putney
Dark Souls by Meghan Morris
Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohen and David Levithan
Deadboys by Royce Buckingham
Deadly Little Lies by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Deadly Little Secrets by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Dead is a State of Mind by Marlene Perez
Deception by Lee Nichols
Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins
The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver
Desires of the Dead by Kim Derting

Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson
The Duff by Kody Keplinger
Dwarves by Marjus Heitz

Eva by Peter Dickinson

Eleventh Grade Burns by Heather Brewer
Enclave by Ann Aguirre
Eon The Last Dragoneye by Allison Goodman
Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith

F
Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers
Fallen Star by Jessica Sorenson

Fang by James Patterson
Flawless Ruins by Kieryn Nicolas
Fledgling: Jason Steed by Mark A. Cooper
Firelight by Sophie Jordan
Firespell by Chloe Neill
Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Four Things My Geeky-Jock-of-a-Best-Friend Must Do in Europe by Jane Harrington
Freefall by Mindi Scott

G
Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok
Girl Stolen by April Henry
Glimmerglass by Jenna Black
The Gardener by S. A Bodeen
Griffin Rising by Darby Karchut

Gringolandia by Lyn Miller-Lalchmann

Heart With Joy by Steve Cushman

Heist Society by Ally Carter
Hex a Witch and Angel Tale by Ramona Wray
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

I
Impossible by Nancy Werlin
Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel
I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan
Instructions for a Broken Heart by Kim Culbertson
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
i so don't do mysteries by Barrie Summy
i so don't do spooky by Barrie Summy
Ivy's Ever After by Dawn Lairmore

Jack Secret Vengeance by F. Paul Wilson
Jack Tumor by Anthony McGowan

K
Kara Lost by Susan Niz
Karma Club by Jessica Brody
Keeper by Kathi Appelt
Killer Pizza by Greg Taylor

The Knife That Killed Me by Anthony McGowan

Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception by Maggie Stiefvater

The Last Exit to Normal by Michael Harmon
Leverage by Joshua Cohen

Leyla:he Black Tulip by Aleve Lytle Croutier
Liar Society by Lisa and Laura Roecher
Like Mandarin by Kristen Hubbard

Lockdown by Walter Dean Meyers
Looking for Alaska by John Green
Losing Faith by Denise Jaden

Magic Half by Annie Barrows
MagicKeepers: The Pyramid of Souls by Erica Kirov
Magnolia League by Katie Crouch
Manifest by Artist Arthur
Marcelo in The Real World by Francisco X. Stork
Matched by Ally Condie
Maze Runner by James Dashner
Mercy by Rebecca Lim
Miles From Ordinary by Carol Lynch Williams
Minder by Kate Kaynak
Miss Peregrines Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Mistwood by Leah Cypess
The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney
Moon Over Manifest by Claire Vangerpool
Morpheus Road: The Light by D. J. MacHale

My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares

New England Witch Chronicles by Chelsea Bellgeri

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
Nightspell by Leah Cypess

The Odd Job Squad by Karl Fields
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

Pastworld by Ian Beck
Patch-Assumption is a Crime by Munchan Njaga
Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
Personal Demons by Lisa Desrouchers
Plain Kate by Erin Bow
The Poison Diaries by MaryRose Wood
The Pony Whisperer: Word on the Yard by Janet Rising
Populazzi by Elise Allen

The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Priscilla the Great by Sybil Nelson
Pyramid of Souls by Erica Kirov

Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman
Raised By Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings by Helene Boudreau
Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakely-Cartwright
The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez
Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses by Ty Drago
Romeitte and Julio by Sharon Draper
Ruby Red by Kristin Grier

Savvy by Ingrid Law
Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt
Secret Society by Tom Dolby

Seer of Shadows by Avi
Shade by Jeri Smith-Reading

Shadowlands by Alyson Noel

Sing Me to Sleep by Angela Morrison
Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Skunk Girl by Sheba Karim
The Society of the Pink Crystal Ball by Risa Green
Soulless by Gail Carriger
Son of Eden by Brianna J. Merrill
Song for a Teenage Nomad by Kim Culbertson
Son of Eden by Brianna J. Merrill
Standing Against the Wind by Traci l. Jones

Steel Trapp: The Academy by Ridley Pearson
Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder
Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angelberger

Suddenly Supernatural: School Spirit by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

Summer of My Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells
Summer: Beautiful Dead by Eden Macguire

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

T

Tempestuous by Lesley Livingston
Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck
This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Trapped by Michael Northrup
Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter

Under the Green Hill by Laura L. Sullivan
The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses by Ty Drago
Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Virals by Kathy Reichs
Voice of Dragons by Carrie Vaughn

Wabi A Hero's Tale by Joseph Bruchac
Walk the Wild Road by Nigel Hinton
What Curiosity Kills The Turning by Helen Ellis
Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill
Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis
White Gates by Bonnie Ramthun

The Last Words of Will Wolfkin by Steven Knight

Wings by Aprilynne Pike

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Wishful Thinking by Alexandra Bullen
Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston

X,Y, Z
You Killed Wesley Payne by Sean Beaudoin

Steel Trapp: The Academy by Ridley Pearson

2010-02-13T01:25:00.000-08:00

Steel Trapp: The Academy is Ridley Pearson’s second book with Steel Trapp as an adolescent protagonist with a “mind like a steel trap.” Steel can remember anything he sees or reads verbatim, and it is this amazing talent that is the corner stone of the series. Pearson’s talent for creating fast paced plots that twist and turn keeps his readers rapidly turning pages. Pearson believes that writing page turners is a literary category he calls “aerobic fiction.” When you add Pearson’s knack for developing realistic characters, you have an exciting and suspenseful story that flies by so fast you can’t help wondering how you got to the last page so quickly.

To say I loved Steel Trapp: The Academy is almost an understatement. I literally devoured the book. One thing I have always disliked about series is that if I jump into one before reading the first book I feel a bit disoriented. I can truthfully say that if you have not read Steel Trapp: The Challenge (although I highly recommend this book too) you will not be lost. Pearson does an excellent job providing you with all the background you need to be fully invested in the characters and their backgrounds.

If you have read Steel Trapp: The Challenge then you will be pleased (as was I) that Kaileigh, who played a major role in Pearson first book, is also a character in The Academy. Both Steel and Kaileigh find themselves students at Wynncliffe Academy, an isolated and relatively unknown boarding school located on the east coast where students do not apply, but are invited to apply. These invitations are based on student’s talents like Steel’s photographic mind and Kaileigh’s ability to impersonate just about anything or anyone. Together, Steel and Kaileigh make a great duo as they try to uncover the secrets surrounding Wynncliffe. Why are students, with varying talents invited to the school? Why does the school seems to fly under the radar instead of openly recruiting students? And how are upperclassmen are able to vanish from one building only to appear at another?

While Steel is the main protagonist in this series (after all both books are titled Steel Trapp), Kaileigh is certainly a very important aspect of both stories. As I said, I really was pleased that Pearson included Kaileigh again in this second book. I like her a lot and she offsets Steel’s personality very nicely. Even Steel recognizes her value:

“Kaileigh was smarter than he was—he knew that. She lacked his photographic memory, a condition that tricked people into thinking he as smarter than he was. She, on the other hand, had a bright intelligence and street smarts that permeated everything she did. She had a keen sense about people, and plenty of nerve.”

I loved the way Pearson added a little bit of romance between the two, too and the reactions of the two characters towards each other were right on the mark. Steel gets embarrassed at the thought of kissing; where as Kaileigh is quite pragmatic about using it as a diversion. Both their reactions seemed quite appropriate for 14-year-olds, and it was even comical in a very lighthearted way.

As mentioned earlier Pearson’s plot drives the story. There are actually two stories going on at the same time. One of course involves Steel and Kaileigh discovering the real reason they were invited to the school, and the other is about some street kids who carry out hotel heists for a mysterious lady. Pearson alternates between the two stories, and while I continually tried to predict how the two separate stories would eventually merge, all I can say is that the climax was a surprise and the ending quite satisfying.

Another interesting element of the plot that didn’t directly drive the story forward, but definitely added to the overall experience of the read was the introduction of a sport known as Ga-ga. The game is a form of dodge ball played in a pit. The object of the game is to eliminate your opponents by striking them below the waist. And yes, Ga-ga is a real sport that may have originated in Israel. Pearson uses the sport to highlight Steel’s natural ability to recognize patterns, remember them, and create tension with another character.

Pearson does a fantastic job with his second Steel Trapp book. In fact, I think that the Academy is even better than the first. The plot is completely engaging and unique and each of the characters offer aspects to the story that make it an exciting read. I am really hoping that this will not be the last we see of Steel and Kaileigh, or Wyncliffe Academy.

Lockdown by Walter Dean Myers

2010-02-08T01:18:00.000-08:00

When I first got to Progress, it freaked me out to be locked in a room and unable to get out. But after a while, when you got to thinking about it, you knew nobody could get in, either.

It seems as if the only progress that's going on at Progress juvenile facility is moving from juvy jail to real jail. Reese wants out early, but is he supposed to just sit back and let his friend Toon get jumped? Then Reese gets a second chance when he's picked for the work program at a senior citizens' home. He doesn't mean to keep messing up, but it's not so easy, at Progress or in life. One of the residents, Mr. Hooft, gives him a particularly hard time. If he can convince Mr. Hooft that he's a decent person, not a criminal, maybe he'll be able to convince himself. From Goodreads

Walter Dean Myers has never held back from writing about the gritty truth no matter how uncomfortable it might be to read. Lockdown is yet another example of how Myers, through authentic dialogue and exceptional characterization, gets into a troubled youth’s head to show that underneath it all a kid is still just a kid.

One of aspects of Myers writing I have always been drawn to is his natural ability to write believable dialogue that readily carries the plot along. When you combine this talent with the characters thoughts and actions, the story moves steadily without long descriptive moments that can completely bog down the flow of the story.

However, dialogue is only as great as an author’s ability to create believable characters and Myers is very talented at doing just that. Reese is 14-years-old and definitely made a serious error in judgment when he stole prescription pads from a doctor’s office to sell to a neighborhood drug dealer. Did he deserve to go to juvy? Yes, and Myers’ tone does not in any way try to prove Reese’s decision was based on his mother’s drug addiction, or his father’s abusiveness. Instead using first person narrative, Myers reveals Reese’s thoughts and experiences as he deals with his poor choice. Myers also does not automatically expect the reader to accept that Reese has learned his lesson just because he is incarcerated. Reese continues to make choices that seem reasonable to a 14-year-old in a juvenile detention center, but had me shaking my head. Through Myers characterization, Reese also begins to understand how survival inside lockdown is more than just doing time. It is easy to see why many youthful offenders end up inside the criminal system as repeat offenders. Reese frequently thinks about his future and worries that he will never be able to change. He also philosophizes about the criminal system and his future ...

... all my life I was going to be in detention. All my life I was going to be locked down in some cell or in some life with steel bars, keeping me from getting up and going someplace or dying and feeling bad anymore.

Thankfully, Myers does allow hope into Reese’s story. Reese gets a small break while in detention when he is chosen for a work release program at a nursing home. There he comes into contact with Mr. Hooft, who is not very tolerant of Reese, and is actually quite mean at times. However, it is through this interaction that Reese shows he is capable of restraining his emotions. This restraint made me hopeful because it proved that Reese was more than a loose cannon ready to fight regardless of the consequences. Reese’s love for his little sister also provided a glimmer of hope because Reese wanted to make her happy, and she gave him a reason to keep trying.

My only complaint with Lockdown is minor. At one point in the book Toon, a boy Reese befriends in detention, gives Reese a copy of Lord of the Flies. While the allusion to the hierarchy of the juvy center was not lost on me, I was disappointed that Myers just dropped the allusion with the gift. Reese never read it, and Myers never brought it up again.

Lockdown is not a happily ever after book, when you come to the last page there is not a lot to feel giddy about, hopeful yes, thoughtful definitely, but if you only like books that tie things up neatly with a bow then this may not be the book for you.

Leyla: The Black Tulip by Aleve Lytle Croutier

2010-02-06T03:14:00.000-08:00

After her artist father goes off to war, 12-year-old Leyla must help her family earn enough money to survive. She makes a deal with marriage brokers-- but discovers too late that she's sold herself into slavery instead. Her journey as a slave takes her to faraway Istanbul, into the harem of the sultan. There she finds her Kismet, or destiny. From Powell Books

I chose Leyla: The Black Tulip by Aleve Lytle Croutier for two reasons: first, the face of the girl on the cover, dressed in traditional Turkish dress, piqued my interest, and two, I read the author’s blurb and was fascinated.

Aleve Lytle Croutier was borned and raised in Turkey and her international bestseller, Harem: The World Behind the Veil, Taking the Waters, and her novels The Palace of Tears and Seven Houses are all set in Turkey as is Leyla The Black Tulip. According to the Red Room, a blog about authors, all her work combines the Eastern tradition of storytelling with her Western literary education, searching the point where East meets the West. All her books are about strangers in strange lands, separation, and reunion--even Leyla: The Black Tulip, a novel for young readers (10-12 yrs) for the American Girl series.

It took me about two hours to devour the 179 pages of this book. Yes, it is short, but I really loved the story and the history in it. Croutier sprinkles Turkish words throughout the tale and provides a glossary of terms in the back. I imagine some readers might find this distracting, but the Geek in me found it fascinating and educational. Written for a younger audience, I would also imagine that most YA readers would find the plot too simplistic, but again, I liked the straightforward narration from twelve-year-old Leyla as she describes her journey from farm girl in the Causcasus Mountains to the sultan’s palace in Istanbul. Leyla is portrayed as a strong girl with a gift for growing tulips, which were greatly prized in Turkey, as well as a gift for painting that she learned from her father. With these gifts, Leyla is able to take some control of her life as a slave and fully accept her destiny or kismet as decreed by the Allah.

After reading this novel, I am definitely interested in reading Croutier’s other books, including her nonfiction. Leyla: The Black Tulip gave me a small taste of a country and history of which I lack understanding. I admit that it was difficult for me to accept Leyla’s ability to embrace her life as a slave because of a religious tenet (Kismet), but I chalk this up to my own Christian beliefs. However, reading books that offer insights into other societies and religious practices after all is what allows us to grow.

Getting Caught up/Four Wrap-up Reviews

2010-02-04T02:42:00.000-08:00

I have been reading nonstop since beginning my blog and have gotten so far behind in my reviews lately that I am feeling pressured to get caught up. Therefore, I am going to try to alleviate some of the pressure by doing some short wrap ups of the last four books I have completed. Hopefully, this will help my writer's block and get me back on track. First up:

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

Blessed—or cursed—with an ability to understand animals, the Lass (as she’s known to her family) has always been an oddball. And when an isbjorn (polar bear) seeks her out, and promises that her family will become rich if only the Lass will accompany him to his castle, she doesn’t hesitate. But the bear is not what he seems, nor is his castle, which is made of ice and inhabited by a silent staff of servants. Only a grueling journey on the backs of the four winds will reveal the truth: the bear is really a prince who’s been enchanted by a troll queen, and the Lass must come up with a way to free him before he’s forced to marry a troll princess. From Goodreads

While I have always loved fairy tales, one of the elements about them I do not like is they lack character development. George’s retelling of the Norwegian fairytale East of the Sun and West of the Moon does have a certain amount of character development, although not as much as you would find in other novels. The Lass is most dynamic, which of course you would expect since she is the protagonist. George also provides some important background information about the Lass’ older brother, Hans. However, the other characters are for the most part static and flat, but they do offer insight into the Lass’ personality.

What I did find in the story was a more complicated plot than the original fairy tale. The story flowed well and offered a lot more details. However, a few details left me wondering why exactly they were added. For example at the beginning, the Lass rescues a white reindeer, which according to legend if caught must grant a wish to his captor. The Lass asks the reindeer to heal her brother, Hans, but is told that her wish was beyond his ability. Instead, he provides the Lass with a name of her own, and also gives her the ability to talk to animals. Throughout the rest of the story, I was expecting something to come from the girl receiving a name, but it never came. Although this is a small detail and did not adversely affect the story, it felt like an oversight in the construction of the plot.

I really did find this an enchanting novel. George’s description of various setting are vivid and her knowledge of Norwegian lore extensive. She uses that knowledge to breath life into fantastical creatures like the isobjorn, trolls, faun, pixies, and other creatures central to her setting and plot. If you like fairy tales or retelling of fairy tales, then you should not hesitate to read Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, because it is a lovely story.

Next is Savvy by Ingrid Law

For generations, the Beaumont family has harbored a magical secret. They each possess a "savvy"--a special supernatural power that strikes when they turn thirteen. Grandpa Bomba moves mountains, her older brothers create hurricanes and spark electricity . . . and now it's the eve of Mibs's big day.

As if waiting weren't hard enough, the family gets scary news two days before Mibs's birthday: Poppa has been in a terrible accident. Mibs develops the singular mission to get to the hospital and prove that her new power can save her dad. So she sneaks onto a salesman's bus . . . only to find the bus heading in the opposite direction. Suddenly Mibs finds herself on an unforgettable odyssey that will force her to make sense of growing up--and of other people, who might also have a few secrets hidden just beneath the skin. From Goodreads

Savvy is one of those books that is impossible not to love. The unique premise of the book gives it a leg up on interesting, and makes me wish I had a savvy of my own. The pace fits the story nicely (like riding on a bus), slow but steady with engaging stops along the way. The ending, while hardly what I expected, is perfect with the whole tenor of the plot.

But to be sure it is the characters especially Mibs that truly makes Savvy a book to remembered. Mibs devotion to her family, her gumption, and her spunk combine to make her unforgettable. Mibs' voice is quite distinct as the narrator. For example:

Maybe it's like that for everyone, I thought. Maybe we all have other people's voices running higgledy-piggledy through our heads all the time. I though how my poppa and momma were there inside my head with me, telling me right from wron, Or how the voices of Ashley Bing and Emma Flint sometimes got stuck under my skin, taunting me and making me feel low, even when they weren't around. I began to realize how hard it was to separate out all the voices to hear the single, strong one that came just from me.

I also loved Bobbi and Will, who follow Mibs on her quest to get to Poppa and save him. Bobbi is a rebellious sixteen-year-old pastor's daughter whose snarky smile hides her insecurities and loneliness. Will, Bobbi's brother, is wonderfully accepting and often the voice of reason, and Lester, the Bible selling wimp unwittingly provides lots of comic relief.

Finally, Savvy offers an important theme about acceptance that I found irresistible. I highly recommend this one and will be nominating it for next years book battle list.

The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson was the third book I finished recently and have had a difficult time reviewing.

At first Tally doesn’t want to go to the boarding school called Delderton. But she soon discovers that it is a wonderful place where freedom and self-expression are valued. Tally organizes a ragtag dance troupe so the school can participate in an international folk dancing festival in Bergania in the summer of 1939. There she befriends Karil, the crown prince, who would love nothing more than to have ordinary friends and attend a school like Delderton. When Karil’s father is assassinated, it is up to Tally and her friends to help Karil escape the Nazis and the bleak future he has inherited. From Goodreads

Eva Ibbotson's writing is vividly descriptive, and her characters are well-drawn and quirky. The pace of the book is slow, however, and yet I really wanted to find out what was going to happen next. I really loved Tally as a character even though I found her to be too good to be true. The setting was very different and certainly played a large part in the plot. While I really didn't love this book, I did like it. This is the first Ibbotson book I have read and I will have to read some more as she is truly a fine writer.

Atherton House of Power by Patrick Carmen completes the reviews that I have been laxed in writing.

From the creator of The Land of Elyon comes a riveting adventure set in an extraordinary satellite world--created as a refuge from a dying Earth--that begins to collapse and forever change the lives of its inhabitants. Edgar, a gifted climber, is a lonely boy scaling the perilous cliffs that separate the three realms of Atherton: a humble fig grove; a mysterious highland world of untold beauty and sinister secrets; and a vast wasteland where he must confront an unspeakable danger that could destroy the people of Atherton. When Edgar discovers a book which contains the history of Atherton's origins and ultimate apocalypse, his world--quite literally--begins to turn inside out. From Goodreads

I was suppose to read this book last summer in order to write questions for the book battle. I have to admit I started the book and was not too excited about the beginning. I only read a couple of chapters, before putting it down forgetting that I was committed to write the questions. So last week I started again, and once I got past the first couple of chapters I actually found myself involved in the plot.

The elements I like most about the book were the illustrations Carmen provides to help you visualize the planet, the creative nature of the conflicts, which were all related to the planets creation, and the strong female characters, one of which is actually a minor character. Since this is book one, the ending leaves you hanging, but I am not sure that the story grabbed me enough to read the other two.

Jack Tumor by Anthony McGowan

2010-01-25T02:21:00.000-08:00

Synopsis from Powell’s Books:

Hector is being hectored by an unlikely bully: a talking brain tumor. And it’s not just a talking brain tumor. It’s a know-it-all, pain-in-the-arse, jibber-jabbering brain tumor that names itself Jack, and insists on coaching Hector through life even as it’s threatening to take his life away. It’s a pretty good coach, actually. With Jack in control of Hector’s speech and brain chemicals, Hector suddenly finds himself with a cool haircut, a new fashion sense, and tactics for snogging previously unattainable hottie Uma Upshaw. But when Jack begins to force increasingly questionable decisions and behavior, Hector has to find a way to turn the tables – before it’s too late for both of them.

Seriously, how can you not be intrigued by a talking tumor? Jack Tumor is a riot with a British sense of humor and it’s due, for the most part, to Anthony McGowan’s characterization. While Hector sees himself as a pathetic outcast, I found him to be a very caring, straightforward and likable kid with a lot of problems (besides the fact that he has a talking tumor growing in his head). In fact, Hector sums all his problems up very succinctly:

Problems! Where do I start? My mum was a hippie, my dad was nowhere, my school was a dung heap; I was bullied by Neanderthals and ignored by the girls, and my friends were the Wretched of the Earth.

Hector’s tumor while adding to his problems also begins to help him clarify life, and it is through this clarity that I learned that Hector really is a very decent young man. Despite Jack’s insistence that Hector go for the “babe” so he can shag her, Hector choose to be with a girl who he discovers he cares about on a more personal level. Jack also wants Hector to ditch his loser friends, but again Hector manages to maintain his friendships. Jack does help Hector overcome some of his greatest fears (I guess knowing you might be dead soon also helps). He stands up to the school bully and earns the respect of his classmates in the process, and he does it without resorting to violence and becoming a bully himself.

All in all, I really liked this book, and I think that it is a great guy’s read. Hector is a real character with flaws that make him very well rounded, and many of the internal conflicts Hector deals with are certainly conflicts most adolescent males face too.

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

2010-01-17T15:27:00.000-08:00

Partial book summary from the bookjacket of Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero and size double-zero? When Cassie succumbs to the demons within, Lia feels she is being haunted by her friend's restless spirit.

As usual I am late coming to this book. Many reviews have already weighed in on the pros and cons of Wintergirls including the New York Times. Therefore, I have decided not to attempt another. Instead, I am merely going to write about my reactions to the story and to Anderson’s writing.

First, I found Wintergirls a dark disturbing journey into the world of one teenager’s eating disorder. As I read the book, I could not help but think, this is not a story I would ever feel comfortable recommending to my female students. Lia’s story is too honest, and implicit in its emotionality. I kept asking myself, do I want girls who have eating disorders, who cut themselves, whose self-esteem is measured by how skinny they are (which unfortunately describes a lot of girls in middle and high school), reading about Lia’s struggles? The answer was definitely no!

At the same time, I loved Anderson’s prose and style. Her prose has a poetic rhythm that mesmerizes. I was captivated by Lia’s voice and kept reading hoping that her spiral into the darkness of her disease would stop. One stylistic technique Anderson used to illustrate Lia’s thoughts, were strikeouts. I found this technique very effective in showing the little voice inside Lia’s head. I know that voice. I have one inside my head that contradicts or chastises me for the things I say and do, and while the strikeouts were far from excessive, they helped highlight Lia’s internal struggles in a way that I could related to. This is one of Anderson’s powers, telling stories that are worth reading, creating characters that are real and bringing issues to light that other writers won’t touch. Wintergirls tore at my heart. I wanted nothing more than to shake her, her mother, her father and her stepmother, because I hated being a part of her sickness and I wanted them to help her. I was involved, but like the adults around Lia, I realized that Lia had to want to be helped. So, while I will not be placing this book on my classroom shelf, I do think that it is worthy of praise and a great read for a mature audience.

Four Things My Geeky-Jock-of-a-Best-Friend by Jane Harrington

2010-01-17T15:08:00.000-08:00

Sometimes when you least expected it you come across a book that is just plain fun to read. Four Things My Geeky-Jock-of-a-Best-Friend by Jane Harrington falls into this category. It was unexpected because I picked it up as part of one of the many challenges I signed up for this year, (Jane Harrington has my initials and fulfills my doppelganger challenge for The Take A Chance Challenges hosted by Find Your Next Book Here), and it is definitely an amusing read in a cute and goofy kind of way.

Brady is off on a Mediterranean, “educational coming-of-age” cruise with her mother, who thinks just about everything, from Georgia Nicholoson’s Knocked Out of Nunga Nungas, to bikinis are “INAPPROPRIATE. Before embarking on her adventure, Delia, Brady’s her best friend, writes in permanent marker on Brady’s hand a list of four things she must do while on her trip.

#1 Write real letters to your best friend every day, describing thrilling adventures.
#2 Wear the Bikini
#3 In public
#4 Meet a code-red Euro-Hottie

Brady faithfully follows Delia’s first instruction and voila the reader is becomes part of the trip via Brady’s letters. Through out the book Brady describes the progress she is making on accomplishing the other three.

Reasons I like this book:

#1 I love first person narrative especially if it written in diary (can you say Meg Cabot) or letter form. I always feel more connected to characters when I am reading their diary or letters ... as if they were actually writing them to me. I also find that authors often choose this format because it allows them to be a just a tad more humorous than third person narrative is able to achieve. Harrington also has a firm grasp on how a teenager would write using all caps for shout-outs, parentheses, and exclamation marks to reinforce Brady’s voice, without over doing it so that it becomes distracting.

#2 Brady is a funny girl. In her letters she rant about a variety of subjects. One frequent rant is about the bikini that she bought for her trip. She is uncomfortable about her recent breast develop, which she describes comically to Delia:

“You think this is no big deal. You tell me, “I’ve been wearing bikinis since I was ten!” No offense, Delia, but I don’t think you’re a whole lot bigger now than you were at ten. But me? It’s like I’ve been exposed to radiation. If you had THAT going on, you might be self-conscious about wearing a bikini, too.”
By the time Brady makes it to a beach in Nice (which much to her mother’s surprise turns out to be a topless beach), Brady has almost managed to overcome her fear of wearing the bikini in public. Then aided by an embarrassing malfunctioning clasp, the whole bikini problem becomes mute.

#3 Sometimes I like to just read a book that takes little or no thought, one that flies by page by page, and Four Things My Geeky-Jock-of-a-Best-Friend definitely is one of those books. Brady’s descriptions of the friends she meet on the cruise, her mother’s whirlwind itineraries at every port, and Brady’s inability to find that code-red Euro-Hottie while hysterical at times, doesn’t require reading between the lines.

#4 Despite my #3 reason, I was more than satisfied with the ending, and although some readers might find it was too pat, I felt it was in keeping with the tone of the story. I actually was sorry when the book ended, and for me that is always a sign that I truly did like the book.

So, would I recommend this book to my female students (definitely not a guy book), or anyone looking to be delightfully entertained? MOST DEFINITELY!

Maze Runner by James Dashner

2010-01-14T16:19:00.000-08:00

On my last few visits to the bookstore James Dashner’s science fiction book The Maze Runner kept jumping out at me. I even picked it up several times meaning to buy it, and then didn’t. It has also been all over the book blog community, so I finally decided that I would borrow it from the library to see what all the fuss was about.

Dashner begins the book with his main character, Thomas, waking and disoriented inside a moving metal box. Thomas’ only memory is his name. When the box stops and opens, Thomas climbs into a world of strange faces that belong to boys of varying ages speaking words that are completely foreign ... a world known as the Glade.

I found The Maze Runner an extreme read. Dashner’s setting is well thought out, realistically described, and a frighteningly tense. I felt disorientated entering the Glade. Acclimation was a slow process at first because the Glade has such a different and disturbing setting. Through Thomas’ eyes, I viewed the stone walls that surrounded the Glade and heard the “horrible crunching, grinding sounds” as the doors in the walls closed every evening and opened every morning. I saw the Grievers, mechanical monsters that meant certain death to anyone who encounters them. I watched as runner entered the Maze each day hoping to find an escape from the Glade, and saw them return each night exhausted. I also learned that Thomas’ arrival was expected since every month a new boy arrived just as he did. Moreover, just as I started to feel like I grasped the daily operations and even some of the strange words like “klunk,” “shuck,” and “shank,” the unexpected occurred; a girl arrived and she held a surprisingly ominous message. It was clear that in order for the Glade’s residents to survive, escape through the maze was urgent, and I knew that Thomas would somehow be the answer to the puzzle.

The Maze Runner definitely required me to be an active reader, something I am always encouraging my students to be. As I read, I had flashes of similar setting from books like the City of Ember, and The Giver, and even though I knew that the Glade, and its world beyond, was no utopia I kept making comparisons none-the-less. As various characters were introduced, I begun to understand the way the boys of the Glade survived and interacted, I also saw similarities to characters from The Lord of the Flies. Thomas’ friend and guide Chuck reminded me of Piggy and Gally reminded me of Ralph. However, these similarities are vague, and I do not want to suggest that The Maze Runner’s plot is in anyway a parallel to The Lord of Flies plot. As Thomas struggles to help find a way to solve the puzzle of the maze, I found myself doing the same, but in the end, Dashner’s conclusion was quite a deviation from any of my predictions.

If you enjoy fast paced mysteries with a science fiction flavor, then The Maze Runner is a feast. The story, characters, and setting will leave you full, but hungry for the book 2 of the trilogy.

Rating: 5 Cherries

Angry Management by Chris Crutcher

2010-01-09T07:04:00.000-08:00

Book Summary from Angry Management bookjacket

Every kid in this group wants to fly. Every kid in this group has too much ballast.

Mr. Nak's Angry Management group is a place for misfits. A place for stories. And, man, does this crew have stories.

There's Angus Bethune and Sarah Byrnes, who can hide from everyone but each other. Together, they will embark on a road trip full of haunting endings and glimmering beginnings.

And Montana West, who doesn't step down from a challenge. Not even when the challenge comes from her adoptive dad, who's leading the school board to censor the article she wrote for the school paper.

And straightlaced Matt Miller, who had never been friends with outspoken genius Marcus James. Until one tragic week—a week they'd do anything to change—brings them closer than Matt could have ever imagined.

Chris Crutcher fills these three stories with raw emotion. They are about insecurity, anger, and prejudice. But they are also about love, freedom, and power. About surviving.

And hope.

I am a huge fan of Chris Crutcher. So, when I saw Angry Management (angry is not a typo), at the library last week I scooped it up As the summary states the book centers around three separate stories about six different kids. It brings together characters that Crutcher created separately over a fifteen-year span and extends their stories further. I for one often become so involved with a character that when the book ends I wonder what happens next, and hope that the author will satisfy my curiosity in a sequel. However, in the forward Crutcher admits that he does not like writing sequels, and lets face it sequels are often a disappointment. Angry Management; however, allowed me to become reconnect with some of those old friends.

Now here comes the gushy part, I loved, loved, loved this book. I loved how Crutcher took characters I met years ago like Sarah Brynes, and continued their stories, but does it in such a way that new reader will not feel a loss of continuity. I loved the emotional content that unlike some of the books I’ve read of late, did not focused on the new “hot” boy in school that everyone either loves or hates, the mean, popular girl who rules the school through intimidation, or an on again, off again, on again romance. I also loved the emotional impact (contentment, surprise, anger, sorrow, horror, and deep sadness) each story had on me as a reader.

When I read other reviews of this book before sitting down to write my own, I was surprised that many of them had negative comments about finding too much of Crutcher’s voice in the stories. I on the other hand love his voice, after all this is what makes a book different from one to the next. If I pick up, oh say a Meg Cabot book, there are certain reasons I like Cabot’s book and a lot of that has to do with her own unique voice. I love that Crutcher has the ability to capture teenager’s thoughts and dialogue in a clear and authentic way, and that he takes issues he is passionate about (child abuse, first amendment and adolescent rights, racism, forgiveness) and gives those issues a voice through his characters. I love how he exposes the flaws that make teenagers teens and allows them to struggle through the reality of growing up, without making everything about the happy-ending. His characters are scarred, fat, abused, tormented, outcasts, and insecure, and folks, those are all too often the realities for many middle and high school teens. Crutcher’s overall message is that despite the wrongs in the world that good exists and can “stomp” out the bad. He clearly illustrates through his characters that there is always hope if you choose it over despair, and that is a message I want to read about and share with young adults.

Rating: 5 Cherries

Skunk Girl by Sheba Karim

2010-01-08T06:23:00.000-08:00

Book Summary from Skunk Girl bookjacket

If Nina Khan were to rate herself on the unofficial Pakistani prestige point system – the one she’s sure all the aunties and uncles use to determine the most attractive marriage prospects for their children – her scoring might go something like this:

+2 points for getting excellent grades
–3 points for failing to live up to expectations set by genius older sister
+4 points for dutifully obeying parents and never, ever going to parties, no matter how antisocial that makes her seem to everyone at Deer Hook High
–1 point for harboring secret jealousy of her best friends, who are allowed to date like normal teenagers
+2 points for never drinking an alcoholic beverage
–10 points for obsessing about Asher Richelli, who talks to Nina like she’s not a freak at all, even though he knows that she has a disturbing line of hair running down her back

In this wryly funny debut novel, the smart, sassy, and utterly lovable Nina Khan tackles friends, family, and love, and learns that it’s possible to embrace two very different cultures – even if things can get a little bit, well, hairy.

I had high hope for this novel when I read the jacket blurb, and while I did find Karim’s writing flawless and the insights into the Muslim culture seen through the eyes of Nina, the story’s narrator, eye opening and even humorous, I am afraid I found the story long and the conflict monotonous. I really had a hard time plowing through Nina’s struggle to cope with her need to fit in with the American high school culture, which clashed so dramatically with what her Pakistani parents’ expectations. In the first 150 of the 231 pages Nina pines after Asher, a new boy who starts dating Serena, her nemesis and the “antonym” (blonde, blue-eyed and breasty) of Nina (dark-skinned, hairy and flat-chested). As I continued to read I really hoped that the point of the book would be worth the time it took me to read it. At the end, the only thing I was satisfied with was that I actually finished the book.

Rating: 2 Cherries

Deadly Little Lies by Laurie Faria Stolarz

2010-01-07T11:51:00.000-08:00

Book summary from Deadly Little Lies bookjacket

Last fall, sixteen-year-old Camelia fell for Ben, a new boy at school who had a very mysterious gift – psychometry, the ability to sense the future through touch. But just as Camelia and Ben's romance began to heat up, he abruptly left town. Brokenhearted, Camelia has spent the last few months studying everything she can about psychometry and experiencing strange brushes with premonition. Camelia wonders if Ben's abilities have somehow been transferred to her.

Ben returns to school, but he remains aloof, and Camelia can't get close enough to share her secret with him. Camelia makes the painful decision to let him go and move on. Adam, the hot new guy at Knead, seems good for her in ways Ben wasn't. But when Camelia and Adam start dating, a surprising love triangle results. A chilling sequence of events uncovers secrets from Ben’s past – and Adam's. Someone is lying, and it's up to Camelia to figure out who – before it's too late.

I was anxious to read Laurie Faria Stolarz’s second book in her Touch novel, Deadly Little Lies because I enjoyed her first book, Deadly Little Secrets (see review). However, I was disappointed with with the book’s pace and with the story in general. The first book grabbed me within the first two sentences and kept me edgy throughout. It also kept me guessing, trying to predict, who would turn out to be the antagonist. In Deadly Little Lies, Stolarz once again uses diary entries allegorically to create suspense, and like the first book, the diary entries kept me actively reading and predicting; however, this time the clues were a tad too obvious. Another problem I had with this book was the on again off again romance between Camelia and Ben became tedious. The introduction of Adam, “the hot new guy at Knead,” the pottery shop where Camelia and sculpts, seemed transparently staged. One thing I will say that made this book palatable is that Stolarz peaked my curiosity about the connection between Camelia’s aunt and Camelia’s ability to sculpt ominous objects. It is for this reason that when the third Touch novel comes out I will read it simply because I feel Stolarz has the ability to sustain a heighten mood of apprehension. I just hope that the conclusion to book number three is more satisfying than Deadly Little Lies turned out to be.

Rating: 3 Cherries

The Last Exit to Normal by Michael Harmon

2010-01-06T01:01:00.000-08:00

While browsing the stacks at the library, Michael Harmon’s The Last Exit to Normal definitely caught my attention. I had no idea what the book was about since the back cover was about another of Harmon’s books Skate. The title, however, was enough to make me want to check it out, but it was the story and the characters that kept me reading.

Nothing in Ben Campbell’s life has been normal since his father announced three years ago that he was gay, and his mom leaves, and his dad’s boyfriend Edward moves in. To retaliate, Ben turns rebellious smoking pot, getting drunk, and skipping school. After getting arrested Ben’s Dad and Edward decides to leave the city and move Ben to Rough Butte, Montana, the small rural town where Edward grew up, and in Ben’s mind “the last exit to normal for a family that would never be normal”. Here Ben must deal with more than coming to terms with his father’s sexual orientation. There is Edward’s tough mother, Miss Mae, who refuses to accept Ben’s smart mouth or lazy ways; a next door neighbor, who is a bitter man, beats his son, and locks him in a closet for just talking to Ben; and a psychotic teenage delinquent, who is out to get him. But Rough Butte does have one perk, Kimberly Johan, who Ben falls in love with at first sight. This coming of age book has lots to offer: romance, quirky characters, heroism and candid discussions about homosexuality and child abuse.

While there is no denying that the title of Harmon’s books is alluring, what made his book a great read were his characters and the surprising interactions that occur between them. Ben’s voice is strong and honest. Even after three years of dealing with his father’s alternative lifestyle, Ben is still angry, which comes out in a variety of ways. He has a sarcastic humor that is often snide, contemptuous, even caustic at times, but his honesty is real. Ben’s bluntness about his life is the reason I found him such a likable character. Another character that helped make this book funny despite the deeper issues it dealt with was Miss Mae, Ben’s “dadmom’s” mother. Miss Mae is as straightforward as they come, and how Miss Mae and Ben interact is almost comical. A typical example of this interaction is when she meets Ben for the first time. After establishing that Ben’s dad is “one of those funny guys” like her son, she asks Ben, “You funny?” Ben replies, “You mean funny like a homosexshul or funny like a comedian?” Miss Mae then points out that Ben’s got a mouth on him and frankly states,”That’s gonna change.” Never dealing with a woman like Miss Mae, Ben’s mouth continues to get him into trouble. She whacks Ben upside the head with her wooden spoon, chases him with a broom, and banishes him to the woodshed “till he learns some respect”. Ben slowly grows from the petulant teen trying to get even with his dad into a guy, who gets out of his own way and helps save others and in the process begins healing the riff between he and his dad. By the end of the book he recognizes that his life isn’t too bad and that he might even belong in Rough Butte, Montana.

Many middle school librarian might find the subject matter of homosexuality and child abuse too risqué for their shelves because of the younger grades. However, The Last Exit to Normal definitely suggests that adults should carefully examine how their choices affect the children in their lives. It also advocates that teenagers should question and act when those choices can cause serious harm. I strongly recommend this book.

Rating: 4 Cherries

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

2010-01-02T00:17:00.000-08:00

I have always admired an author who can create realistic characters, place them in an accurate historical setting, and tell their story in such a way that the reader is transported to that time and place. This is exactly what Laurie Halse Anderson does in Chains. The book is meticulously researched and provides a stark look at what slavery was like in 1776. However, Anderson’s characterization is what really enables the reader to fully participate in the book’s multifaceted theme: the high cost of freedom.

Isabel is a thirteen-year-old slave whose owner, Miss Mary Finch, has died. In her will, Miss Finch granted Isabel and her five-year-old sister, Ruth their freedom. However, lacking documentation from the aunt’s lawyer, Miss Finch’s nephew sells the girls to a wealthy New York couple who are loyalists. Determined to obtain freedom for her sister and herself at any cost, Isabel agrees to spy for the rebels hoping that she can trade information for their freedom. However, Isabel quickly finds that the freedom prized by the Americans does not apply to slaves. When Isabel’s cruel new mistress sells her sister, her need to gain her freedom becomes more desperate. Without her freedom, she will never see her sister again.

While Chains is a work of fiction, Anderson uses primary sources such as diaries, letters, newspaper articles, runaway ads, cookbooks, and military reports to provide the historical backdrop for her novel. Each chapter begins with a quote from one of these sources lending both authenticity and context to the chapter’s events. Anderson’s attention to historical detail also breathes life into the setting and characters. Isabel is a survivor whose convictions and fortitude elicits true empathy as she describes not only her cruel and inhumane treatment but that of rebel prisoners, and indentured servants As she fights to find a way to save her sister and herself, it is impossible not to connect with this character and her fight to gain freedom.

I loved everything about this book. Having taught American history, I was familiar with many of the events that took place in New York and appreciated the references to primary sources. Anderson did a fantastic job of showing how the American Revolution’s fight against British tyranny paralleled the oppression that Blacks faced. Above all Isabel's character is so well-drawn that her fight for freedom becomes your fight. Unfortunately, you will have to wait for the sequel, which will be out sometime this year to find out what happens to this young heroine. I strongly recommend you put it Chains on your list of must reads.

Rating: 5 Cherries

Shadowland by Alyson Noel

2009-12-30T02:30:00.000-08:00

I just finished the third installment of the Alyson Noel’s Immortal series, Shadowland and after several attempts to concisely summarize the story, I have to say that I am not invested enough to continue. While many fans of the series have expressed their continuing loyalty to Ever and Damen’s epic star crossed lover’s saga, I am afraid that Shadowland left me annoyed.

Ever is one reason I was aggravated with Shadowland. In the first two books, Ever managed to earn my respect for dealing with her adversities. After all, she lost her entire family, discovered she had psychic powers, and found the love of her life only to have him almost die too. However, in Shadowland, Ever is self-absorbed with getting even and ignores everything even Damen to reach her end game. I did not see any growth in Ever’s character, instead she remained static throughout the 339 pages, and once again makes an emotional choice that is sure to consume the next book as did her choice at the end of Blue Moon consume Shadowland.

Another factor that became a huge distraction for me was Noel’s use of the word gaze. This word appears on almost every page of the book and sometimes three to four times a page. I actually began counting how many times Noel used it until I was too irritated to bother. Noel also used the word gape way too much.

While I did finish the book, and will probably read Noel’s fourth installment Dark Flame due out in next summer, I can only hope that in the next book Ever grows as an immortal. I believe that Noel’s creation has more to offer, and with more concentration on her characterization, Ever can become a stronger character worthy of fan loyalty. I also hope that Jude, a new character introduced in Shadowland, will be back. I actually found myself liking him more than I like Damen.

Rating: 3 Cherries

White Gates by Bonnie Ramthun

2009-12-29T01:26:00.000-08:00

Bonnie Ramthun grew up in an old mining town in the mountains of Colorado, so the setting for her book, White Gates, is a natural backdrop since it makes use of snow covered Colorado mountains, hidden mines, and snowboarding to create a fast paced mystery. Her characters are realistically drawn and help make this book an entertaining read.

When Torin’s Sinclair mom gets a job as the town doctor in Snow Park, Colorado, Tor can’t wait to learn to snowboard. However, on Tor’s first night there, a member of the high school snowboarding team dies. “It’s the curse,” everyone whispers. Tor’s new friends Drake and Raine explain that there’s an old Native American curse on the doctors of the town. Snow Park can never get a doctor to stay. Tor and his friends must piece together a mystery involving an old mine, a Ute curse, the entire snowboarding team—who just might be blood doping in order to win competitions— and an attempt to save the wild river otters of Colorado. In order to complete the puzzle, will Tor have to ride the deadly White Gates? And how will he survive the avalanche that follows?

I found White Gates interesting on several levels. First, the mystery surrounding “the curse” was well thought out and certainly added to the suspense of the story. Tor, being the new kid in town, provided the reader with a strong character to identify with and Drake and Raine were naturals, as Tor’s new friends. The descriptions about the setting and the sport of snowboarding, lends credence to the mystery. The narrative also helped maintain a pace that moved the story along. White Gates is definitely a book that will appeal to a middle school audience especially those who like mysteries, and sports.

Rating: 4 Cherries

The Seer of Shadows by Avi

2009-12-27T05:15:00.000-08:00

Avi has been writing young adult books for many years. Two of my favorites The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, and Nothing But the Truth are inventive and present very realistic characters. AVI often writes in first person, which allows the reader to identify and closely bond with the story’s narrator. I now have added The Seer of Shadows, which has recently been nominated for the Mark Twain Award, to my list. This historical fiction merges authentic details about early photography, a historical setting, and a compelling mystery to create an innovation and spine tingling ghost story.

Horace Carpetine is an apprentice to an opportunistic photographer in 1872 New York. When a wealthy woman comes to the photography studio to request a picture to place on the grave of her recently departed daughter Eleanora, the photographer enlists Horace’s aid to deceive the woman. Even though Horace questions the ethics of his employer’s request, he agrees and takes his first pictures with eerie results: an angry spectral image of Eleanora. At first, Horace convinces himself that the image is a fluke, but when every picture he takes shows similar images of the dead girl, he turns to the Pegg, a black servant girl, who claims that Eleanora’s death was the direct result of greed. With Pegg’s help, Horace realizes that his photographs have somehow brought Eleanor back, and her spirit is determined to punish those responsible for her death.

Through Horace’s thoughts and actions Avi beautifully describes the processes that early photographers followed in order to create photographs in the late 1800’s. At the same time, Avi establishes a very realistic picture of post Civil War New York City. Avi’s attention to authentic details also builds suspense because Horace, who has been raised to think rationally has a very difficult time making sense of the strange ghostly images he develops even though he compares the whole chemical process to having a “magical even mystical” quality. It is impossible not to accept Horace’s confusion, agitation, and gradual acceptance that his pictures do indeed reveal Eleanora’s ghost especially after Pegg explains the abuse and the reason behind her death. It is easy to see why The Seer of Shadows has been chosen as A Mark Twain nominee. First, it will appeal to both male and female readers, it provides historically accurate information about race, setting, and education, and it’s a suspenseful ghost story with a very surprising ending.

Rating: 5 Cherries

Crocodile Tears by Anthony Howoritz

2009-12-19T06:56:00.000-08:00

Anthony Horowitz’s new Alex Rider novel, Crocodile Tears, delivers heart-pounding, fast-paced action right up to the last five pages. Horowitz is a master at situational suspense. Through his use of detailed descriptions of settings, gadgets, and his characters’ thoughts, the reader is totally engulfed in the narrative. And despite the fact that there is an accepted certainty that things will turn out in the end, it is impossible not to wonder how exactly Alex Rider will survive each dangerous situation.

Crocodile Tears begins with fourteen-year old Alex Rider reflecting about the previous year as most of us do on New Years Eve. For Alex the year had been one of physical pain, and near death experiences that most men let alone teenage boys ever have to face. However, Alex is not like most teenagers. For the last year he has been a spy for M16, Britain’s top intelligence agency. Even as Alex decides that “he’d had enough” events occur that make it impossible for him to leave the spy stuff behind. Instead, Alex finds himself, fighting for his life first in a Scotland lake, then in a poison bio-dome, and finally in Kenya.

Crocodile Tears’ setting is a considerable factor in the success of its plot, and Anthony Horowitz is a virtuoso at using detailed descriptions to establish not only where the story’s action takes place but mood. One such place is Kilmore Castle, a “looming ... unwelcoming” place “built on a rocky outcrop” above “an expanse of black water” ... known as Loch Arkaig. The castle “existed only to rule and to keep those inside it in power”. Horowitz’s descriptions add to the suspense of the action that takes place without bogging the reader down with minute details. The setting also frequently foreshadows the conflicts Alex Rider will face.

In addition to his well-written description of setting, Horowitz’s characterization enables the reader to experience Alex Rider’s thought processes as he faces each challenge. Rider’s reluctance to be a spy is clearly portrayed through his reflections, and if it weren’t for Alex’s thoughts, the reader might forget that he is after all only fourteen-years-old. However, glimpses of typical teenage insecurities, help keep Alex’s character in perspective even if his conflicts are far-fetched. One suspenseful example in the book is when Alex, his friend Sabrina, and her father end up at the bottom of Loch Arkaig. Even as Alex is desperately trying to save all their lives, he has a moment when he doubts he will be successful, and his thoughts turn to leaving Sabrina’s dad behind in order to save him self. By allowing the reader access into such thoughts, Alex becomes a much more realistic character.

I have become a huge fan of Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider series. Once I begin reading, I find them impossible to put down. I truly relish the suspense packed pages and the descriptiveness of the setting. Unlike some descriptions, I rarely skim because I know from experience that the setting is too important to the plot to miss any of it. Most of all, I find Alex one of those characters that I love to read about, and I will be anxiously awaiting his next adventure.

Rating: 5 Cherries

Wings by Aprilynne Pike

2009-12-13T07:40:00.001-08:00

Aprilynne Pike's, first novel Wings received a lot of praise for its “ingenuity of the mythology”, Stephanie Meyers; and “delicious escapism”, Kirkus Review; when it first debuted this May. Disney is currently filming a movie based on the book, which is slated to open in 2011. The book is the first of four books that follows the life of Laurel Sewell, a fifteen-year-old girl with an unusual destiny. Pike manages to blend realistic characters with fantasy providing her readers with an unexpected twist that is sure to please young adult readers, who enjoy the mythological realms.

Laurel has never been quite like other kids. Left on her parent’s doorstep when she was three, home schooled by her mother, and preferring peaches, veggies and Spite, to chips, meat, and milk, she is worried about fitting in at her new high school. So, when she finally gets what seems to be her first zit in the middle of her back, Laurel “feels strangely normal ... like a rite of passage” has finally taken place. Unfortunately, Laurel’s normality is short lived when the zit blossoms into a giant flower shaped like wings. Panicking, Laurel turns to David, her biology partner and new friend, to seek answers to this strange growth on her back. However, it is not until Laurel accompanies her parents back to her old home in Orick that she discovers she isn’t like other teenagers. In fact, she isn’t even human, but a faerie sent to live with her mom and dad so she could one day inherit their land and fulfill her destiny as the guardian of the faerie world and their long guarded secret.

I have to admit I am behind on reading this book, and until I finished it had no idea when it was first published or that it had been so well received. However, I am glad I happened to pick it up last week at the bookstore. Wings is a lovely story with very realistically drawn characters. My favorite character, however, was not Laurel, but David. David plays a very important role in the story, as Laurel friend and supporter, and without his help, the story might have suffered. The whole idea about the faerie world Pike presents is quite intriguing. Although I would have liked a bit more about the world than Pike provided in this first book. When Pike did reveal how Laurel’s destiny was to help guard the secret gate to Avalon it was both a surprise and to be honest a bit implausible. Never-the-less, in the end I think Pike left me thinking about her unique take on mythology, and I am looking forward to seeing what she has in store for Laurel, and hopefully David in her next book.

Wings is definitely a book I will be talking about to my students. I believe that with all the fantasy books currently on bookshelves, that Wings is one that will stand out as innovative and unique.

Rating: 5 Cherries

Deadly Little Secrets By Laurie Faria Stolarz

2009-12-06T07:15:00.000-08:00

Camelia’s life definitely changes when a mysterious boy named Ben saves her life and then disappears only to reappear as the new kid at Camelia’s high school. Ben’s appearance sets the school’s population talking about the rumor that he killed his ex-girl friend. Despite the rumors and the advice of her friends, Camelia is drawn to Ben and his touch. When Camelia begins receiving strange packages, mysterious phone calls, and a warning from Ben that she is in danger, Camelia doesn’t know if she should trust Ben or give into the rumors. What she does know is that Ben is hiding something. The question is ... is he the only one?

I always enjoy a book that takes off within the first few pages, which is exactly what Deadly Little Secret by Laurie Faria Stolarz does. In fact, the first two sentences were enough to peak my interest, and the story’s pace never faltered until the end. However, Stolarz’s combination of first person point of view combined with the unknown diary entry of another character, kept me actively trying to unravel and predicting who the mysterious writer was. As I read about Camelia’s near death experience and her first encounter with Ben I was intrigued. The diary entries seemed, at first, to coincide with Ben’s first encounter with Camelia. However, as the plot progressed, the diary entry’s tone changes and, like Camelia, I began to question Ben’s motives. Stolarz seamlessly interjects doubt in the reader through these entries while building more and more suspense. I continued to play Sherlock Holmes managing to eliminate all but two of the characters as possible suspects, and I thoroughly enjoyed the mental challenge. If you enjoy fast paced mysteries, then I would recommend you give Deadly Little Secrets a read.

Laurie Faria Stolarz next book in the series Deadly Little Lies is currently available in hard copy.

Rating: 4 Cherries

Dead is a State of Mind

2009-11-12T07:11:00.000-08:00

Whenever I read a YA book, I am primarily reading it to satisfy my own love of reading; however, I am also wondering if the book will appeal to my middle school students. While I did find Dead is a State of Mind by Marlene Perez a book that will appeal to middle school readers, I was not impress with the story mainly because I found it contrived.

The Giordano family live in Nightshade, California a town filled with shape shifters, ghosts, and other supernatural creatures. The Giordano’s all have psychic abilities, Mom works with the Nightshade police chief and Daisy, and Poppy are in high school and their sister Rose is in college. Rose dates a werewolf, whose father runs the town’s funeral parlor. Poppy falls in love with a ghost, and Daisy, is dating the police chief’s son. The plot revolves around the murder of a teacher, and a new guy in town Duke, a fortune-teller who claims to be from a long line of gypsies.

There are a couple of reasons why I think Dead is a State of Mind will appeal to a middle school audience and more specifically the female population. First, the book is short at only 175 pages. Secondly, the book contains a host of topics that are currently popular among the YA audience: shape shifters, ghosts, high school, cheerleaders, dating and a mystery. Any one of these topics is a kernel for a good story; unfortunately, put together you have a Chinese hot pot where the flavors that are suppose to blend into a tasty broth ends up without substance.

Personally, I think Perez was trying too hard to create a setting and plot that would work. The blending of all the elements seemed too engineered to be believable. The character development was weak essentially because it is just too difficult to fully narrate all the information about the town, and the unusual variety of the Nightshade’s residents given the length of the book. This left her characterization flat. Every time another character with unique abilities was introduced, it raised another red flag for me until I felt myself groaning. I just kept thinking that there just could not be anything else to throw in when sure enough there was. Had I read the first book of this series, Dead is the New Black, perhaps, I would not have felt so over loaded by the magnitude of all the weird happening is such a small town. Nevertheless, I was overwhelmed by the inordinate amount of abnormal goings on, and I think that any book in a series has the responsibility to help the reader catch up. A writer cannot automatically assume the reader has read his or her first book. While I did not totally dislike the book, and believe that it may appeal to some YA readers, I am not sure that I will pick up the other two books in this series.

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod

2009-11-10T09:18:00.000-08:00

During last year’s book battle, the students were thrilled to meet Heather Brewer, the author of The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod. Her first book in the chronicles, Eighth Grade Bites was one of the books read for the competition and since Mrs. Brewer was once a student at our middle school and her son recently left the middle school, she was kind enough to offer to be a part of the battle’s festivities. Her presences was a “biting” success, and she has graciously agreed to return this year since her second book in the chronicles, Ninth Grade Slays, is required reading for this year’s competition. Since I have now finished the third book in the chronicles, Tenth Grade Bleeds I decided to discuss the chronicles to date.

Vladimir Tod is half human, half vampire. His father was once a well-respected vampire in the Elysian Council until he fell in love with a human, married her, and sired Vlad. When the Council kills Vlad’s parents, Vlad goes to live with his “Aunt” Nelly, Vlad’s mother’s best friend. Unfortunately, Vlad must deal with his vampiric nature and his adolescent without the help of either his father or mother. Vlad’s existence is an abomination to the Elysian Council, especially the head of the council, D’Ablo, who above all else wants Vlad dead. However, much to D’Ablo’s consternation, killing Vlad is not as easy as it would seem. After two attempts on Vlad’s life, D’Ablo begins to believe an ancient rumor about the existence of a Pravus, an indestructible vampire who will someday rule over the vampire world and enslave the human race.

With the recent popularity of books about vampires, most of which are geared to the female reader, Vladimir is a strong protagonist that will appeal to boys as well as girls. Many of the conflicts he faces are typical problems teenagers face such as school, bullies, and relationships with friends and girls. However, he must also deal with being a vampire, who lives with humans, the Elysian Council, and his battle with his desire to drink human blood. Brewer provides unique alternatives for Vlad’s procurement and eating blood. For example, Vlad always takes his lunch to school because his sandwiches are filled with blood capsules, and his Aunt Nelly, a nurse, takes outdated blood from the hospital's blood bank.

Each of the books are fast paced and exciting spanning the course of one full school years. Vlad is a very likable character and shows growth as he faces each new year filled with new challenges. I especially like that Brewer sets Vlad outside of the mainstream school social setting without making him a total outcast or loser. His best friend Henry, is part of the popular crowd, but is completely loyal to Vlad. The series is certainly a fun escape and one that even struggling readers will be able to read and enjoy. I highly recommend this series.

Found

2009-11-02T07:04:00.000-08:00

One book that is on this year’s book battle list is Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix. This is the first book of Haddix’ new science fiction series titled The Missing: Book 1 and based on the plot’s premise, Haddix’ character development, and her expert pacing, I believe that this series will be as popular with the middle school readers as is her other series The Shadow Children, which includes: Among the Hidden, Among the Free, Among the Brave, and Among the Enemy.

Haddix opens Found with the most improbable prologue: the unexpected, unscheduled appearance of an airplane without a crew but filled with thirty-six passengers: all babies. The exposition begins thirteen years later with the introduction of the story’s main characters. Immediately the reader learns from the third-person narrator that seventh grader, Jonah, is adopted and like most seventh graders, he and his younger sister, Katherine, who is not adopted, are not best friends. In addition, the reader meets Chip, also a seventh grader and a new neighbor of Jonah and his sister. By the end of the first chapter Haddix also introduces the beginnings of the main conflict through a mysterious and cryptic letter that Jonah and Chip both receive in the mail. This letter not only intrigues and unsettles the characters but the reader as well, and while it is fairly obvious that the letters have something to do with the airplane’s appearance thirteen year ago, and the fact that Jonah and Chip are thirteen and adopted, Haddix very masterfully weaves the obvious with the mysterious and leads the characters and readers to a very suspenseful and surprising climax and ending.

Although Haddix’s character development is not what I see as her strongest element in this book, all three main characters are strong enough to make the reader care. She also manages to use her characterization technique to show growth in all three. Even Katherine, who at first I thought was going to be a minor character, shows definite growth from being a bit of a jealous and superficial brat, to a quick thinking and protective sister.

While I thought Found’s pace was going to a bit slower than I normally like, especially in a science fiction or mystery book, I have to admit that the pace did pick up, and by the time I got half way through the story, the plot began to take over, so that it was hard to stop reading. Finally, Haddix did build a strong climax, and an even stronger ending, making sure that the reader would want to continue reading about The Missing in book two.

If you enjoy science fiction and mystery then I am sure that Found will not let you down. Haddix unusual premise puts a real twist on the idea of time travel, and is bound to keep her readers reading the rest of the series.

People of Sparks by Jeanne Duprau

2009-10-31T12:45:00.000-07:00

Although I have not seen the movie based on Jeanne DuPrau’s book City of Ember (something I am going to correct soon), I did read the book when it was first published. I found the book an extremely well written science fiction and naturally had to read its sequel People of Sparks. Personally, I found People of Sparks to be more interesting because of how DePrau deals with survival after the devastation of war.

Even though many books have been written about post nuclear destruction, I have to admit the entire time I was reading the People of Sparks I kept marveling at what an awesome job DuPrau did on all the elements of both these two books. In City of Ember, it isn’t until the main characters escape the city that the reader totally understands the implications of the original setting ... a city built underground, encased in a dome to protect it from the disaster that the builders see coming in the future. Now, in People of Sparks, main characters, Lina and Doon are back and along with 400 Emberites have emerged from their dying city, only to find an unknown world devastated by war. This world has no technology. People use oxen to pull old trucks because no gas exists. It is a world where things such as money and jewels, are no longer valuable. Instead, matches are a priceless commodity. DuPrau’s descriptions of how the Emberites begin to grasp this world, which is so different from the enclosed world of Ember, is very realistic, and the reader is forced to view the horrible possibilities of just how real this scenario could be. Her portrayal of the people of Sparks also shows a firm understanding of characterization especially her extensive use of dialogue, and her deliberate choice of third person omniscient point of view to insure the reader’s ability to get into the thoughts of several important characters. The synergy of all these elements really helps the reader see the importance of the author’s message.

DePrau’s main theme throughout the book is that in order to avoid destruction, people must turn away from revenge, and be courageous enough to not indulge in pay back, but to find something good to give instead. The People of Sparks clearly shows us that revenge is a vicious cycle, and unless someone is willing to stop the cycle by doing something good, it will destroy everyone around it. DePrau effectively uses the climax to bring this message home. Both Lina and Doon manage to rise above the vengeful cycle and stop the eminent danger of the destruction not only of the people of Sparks but the people of Ember too. I hope you can tell just how much I not only enjoyed this book, but how I admire Jeanne DuPrau’s skill as an author. I highly recommend both books. However, I strongly suggest that to truly embrace DePrau message and talent, you read City of Ember first.