I reviewed the first book in the planned trilogy, Across the Universe, in October 2011. A Million Suns continues the story with new and somewhat reluctant leader, Elder, facing a mutinous crew now that they are off the pacifying drugs. Elder, the clone of the previous leaders, and Amy, mistakenly awakened from her cryogenic stasis, discover the ship is dead in space. The ship is not moving toward their destination planet for colonization. Or is it? Excellent writing again! And a good example of what can happen to a society that suddenly has freedom of thought and will. It is not a smooth transition – at all! Violence, murders, and riots abound while Amy chases after clues that the previous Elder left her. The final book in the series, Shades of Earth, will be published in January 2013. Highly recommended.
A Million Suns – Beth Revis
The Impossible Rescue: The True Story of an Amazing Arctic Adventure – Martin W. Sandler
I cannot begin to improve upon the summary provided by the publisher, so I will not try.
The synopsis from the publisher: In 1897, whaling in the Arctic waters off Alaska’s coast was as dangerous as it was lucrative. And that particular year winter blasted in early, bringing storms and ice packs that caught eight American whale ships and three hundred sailors off guard. Their ships locked in ice, with no means of escape, the whalers had limited provisions on board and little hope of surviving the many months until warmer temperatures arrived.
Here is the incredible story of three men sent by President McKinley to rescue them. The mission: a perilous trek over 1,500 miles of nearly impassable Alaskan terrain, in the bone-chilling months of winter, to secure two herds of reindeer (for food) and find a way to guide them to the whalers before they starved. With the help of journal entries and photographs taken by one of the rescuers, Martin W. Sandler leads us on every step of their riveting journey, facing raging blizzards, killing cold, injured sled dogs, and setbacks to test the strongest of wills – with their own survival at stake.
Beyond an incredible story of survival, determination, and succeeding against the odds, the story is told in a well-structured format. There were so many components to the rescue operation, that switching between them is seamless. I envision many applications for this book. Students required to read a nonfiction or informational books will enjoy this. The story would meld nicely with our district’s Heroes unit so that multiple copies could be utilized in the classroom. This is an example of nonfiction at its best and should make the lists for the best nonfiction of 2012.
Side note – I read this on my Kindle. This is an example of the print book perhaps being the better format or a very large screen for the digital version. One of the rescuers had a camera and the photographs are brilliant and deserve to be seen in a much larger format than the Kindle can deliver.
NetGalley Review Publication date: 9.11.12
The Obsidian Blade – Pete Hautman
Tucker lives a rather boring existence with his preacher father and devout mother. Tucker notices odd shimmerings in the sky, like little holes or disks in the fabric of the sky. One day, dad disappears off the roof near where Tucker saw a shimmer. Later in the day, dad straggles home looking worn out, wearing odd blue foot socks, and walking with a strange orphan girl holding a kitten. He’s not talking about what happened to him, only that now, he is convinced there is no God. Next his mother goes downhill, fixating on numbers and falls deep into the throws of melancholia that doctors can’t treat. Tucker’s dad decides the only hope is taking his wife through the shimmer. We can all guess the shimmers are holes in time and space (reference to Time Bandits – watch the movie, it’s a classic!) Tucker gets tired of waiting for dad to return, so off he goes through a shimmer and his own bizarre encounters.
This is one weird story. I like weird stories . . . still trying to figure this one out. I’ve got too many questions, like where did the kitten come from and what’s Lahlia’s story? Hoping the rest of the series will help it all make sense, but I don’t think the intent of the story is to make sense, at least not at this point in the series. One of the many cool things about Pete Hautman’s writing is that he nails the boy characters. Tucker is mischievous but likeably so. I truly enjoyed the first part of the book with the introduction to Tucker’s character; the goofing around with his friends and his relationship with his uncle. Best for readers who like twists and turns and delvings into the time space continuum and are okay with things not making sense. Readers who enjoyed the parallel universes of Michael Lawrence’s Withern Rise Trilogy (A Crack in the Line) and William Sleator’s equally odd novels should enjoy the multiple destinies/paths of Tucker and his diskos travelling family.
Side note – I’m seeing more authors with warnings about our reliance upon digital devices. From the galley, “We must return ourselves to a state of grace. No cell phones, no computers, no electronic devices feeding upon our senses, no falling upon the digital sword of technology.”
NetGalley Review Publication date 4.10.12
The List – Siobhan Vivian
A degrading tradition has taken root at a high school. Every fall, a list is distributed of the ugliest and prettiest girl in each grade. The humiliation for the girls named as ugliest can well be imagined and it can be a difficult road for the prettiest girl to travel. The story opens on Monday with the list distribution and ends on Saturday with the homecoming dance. The story rotates between the eight girls on the list for each of the 6 days, so I was constantly flipping back to the front of the book to remember which girl is which. Too many things don’t make sense. All this in a week? Girls shop for the all-important homecoming dress just days before the dance? Major shifts in friendships in days? Sure, girls can turn on each other faster than you can blink, but still. While teen girls will like this, I’ve read better. The subject matter makes this better suited for the older teen.
Galley Review Publication date 4.1.12
The Technologists – Matthew Pearl
The inaugural class at the new Massachusetts Institute of Technology is just a few months away from graduation. The handful of seniors is working hard to finish their coursework and is engaging in a bit of rivalry with nearby Harvard. But their peaceful existence is disrupted by a series of strange disasters. During a heavy fog in Boston Harbor, the ships’ instruments go out of control causing fiery collisions. A few days later on a street in the heart of Boston all the glass in the area….windows, eyeglasses, watch covers…becomes liquid, flows out and then hardens again, shattering as it hits the street. The city panics. The police are mistrustful of the activities at the new technical institute. After all, the school will admit anyone who can meet the entrance requirements, even the “lower class”. So they turn to a scientist at Harvard to solve the mystery.
Scornful of the ability of the Harvard professor, a few of the M.I.T. seniors decide to try to uncover the source of the disruption. Led by a Civil War veteran and “charity scholar” Marcus Mansfield, the group consists of a “blue blood” Robert Richards; Edwin Hoyt, the class genius; and Ellen Swallow, a freshman and the only woman student at M.I.T. This is basically a mad scientist story. And it’s a fun read. Sort of like Hardy Boy Geeks.
Matthew Pearl is a master of the historical thriller. The setting is authentic; the characters speak and act as they should in 19th century Boston. Most of his protagonists are based on real people, or combinations of real people and the story of the founding of M.I.T. is real. All of which makes the reader feel that just maybe the disasters could have been real too.
The book is listed as adult fiction and is a bit long but it should appeal to teen techies.
NetGalley Review Publication date 2.21.12
Starters – Lissa Price
We’ve got another bleak future in store. This time, civilization has been ravaged by germ warfare. Only the youth and the elderly are vaccinated and survive. The elderly have been surviving quite nicely, living well into their 100s. But there is nothing like a young body to truly live. Now where to rent a body? There are hundreds of youth struggling to survive on their own since all the parents died. Callie is desperate to earn money so she can provide for her sickly little brother. She hears of an illegal procedure that involves a chip implanted in her brain. An elderly person is hooked up to a computer and their thoughts and brain waves take over the young body for a day or a week or however long the rental contract is for. Quite dangerous, but the money is so good. Something goes horribly wrong when Callie become conscious during her rental. Her renter plans to use Callie’s body to commit murder. Callie is a spot-on believable character making mistakes, but doing her best to figure everything out. This is an interesting premise and extremely well written. The story moves along at a brisk pace with plenty of twists and an ending that is riddled with surprises. This should be a huge hit with everyone clamoring for the sequel.
My favorite quote from a 2012 book so far: “The truly self-absorbed recorded their entire day and played it in straight airscreen or in holo mode. The really crazy kids never shut them off.” Hmmm, perhaps the future is here.
NetGalley Review Publication date: 3.13.12
Happy Families – Tanita S. Davis
This captivating book was read in one night. It is one of those stories that grabs hold and is difficult to put down until I knew everything would work out with the characters. It is a story of self-discovery and of acceptance. Twins Ysabel and Justin have bright futures and are fortunate to have loving parents – parents that they really like. It all changes when their grandfather spots their father dressed in drag in another town. Their father revealed that he is transgendered. He leaves town to give his family space, but they become depressed and withdrawn. Suddenly he is back in town and the twins must come to terms with their feelings. During Spring Break, the twins visit their dad for therapy sessions, group outings, and heartfelt talks. Initially, the twins are resistant and can’t stand to be alone with their father. As the week goes on, they realize he’s still the same wonderful Dad as always. The narration alternates between Ysabel and Justin, revealing unique ways they process the information and come to terms with their intense feelings. This is a wonderfully told story with a loving, supportive family at its core.
NetGalley Review Publication date 5.8.12
Above World – Jenn Reese
While most post-apocalyptic tales have humanity living somewhere in space or on the barren lands of Earth, Above World poses a unique alternative. Most of the inhabitants of this world are modified by technology, or tech, in some way. This enables them to live in different settings, away from the violence and desolation of the land. Aviars have wings and light bones to allow them to soar the skies while the Kampii have thick skin, breathing apparatus-necklaces, and the ability to grow tails that enable them to survive in the underwater City of Shifting Tides. Aluna and Hoku are two Kampii teenagers, but at the rite-of-passage ceremony where Aluna is about to lose her legs and grow her tail, she abruptly decides to leave and explore the above world. Recently, the Kampii’s breathing necklaces have begun to fail, but no one knows how to fix them, and the elders don’t want to admit that the solution might be found above the water. So Aluna and Hoku decide to find out for themselves. As they track down those responsible for the failing necklaces, they befriend the winged Avian and half-horse Equians. They also realize a war is waging, controlled by one man obsessed with tech and with less than honorable intentions. This is a fresh take on a futuristic society featuring a warrior heroine and her fighting friends.
NetGalley Review Publication date 2.14.12
Dying to Know You – Aidan Chambers
This story hit me like a breath of fresh air right from the beginning. A stream of back and forth dialogue is used at the start of the book and is employed heavily throughout the novel. This approach made me feel immersed in the characters’ worlds and minds. Karl, an 18-year-old British plumber, stops by the home of his girlfriend’s favorite author. The girlfriend, Fiorella, wants Karl to write to her about his feelings and thoughts so they can get to know one another. Karl is dyslexic and has difficulty writing, but then he is not terribly verbose to begin with. He doesn’t feel up to the task alone. So he asks the author, who is the narrator for this story, for help translating his thoughts into these letters. Over time, the aging author and Karl develop a close friendship. They help each other through difficult times. Karl’s father passed away 6 years earlier, and the author’s wife had died just a few years ago. These losses fuel much of the emotion of the story. There is such an honest, raw presentation of love, depression, death, heartbreak, and self-discovery. Dying to Know You is an emotional, character driven story both captivating and thought-provoking, reeling the reader in and taking hold. Highly recommended and best for older teens.
NetGalley Review Publication date 4.1.12
Code Name Verity – Elizabeth Wein
This book is amazing and intense. The story follows two young women and their involvement in the British war effort during WWII. One is a pilot, the other is a spy. The story opens in Julie’s voice. She has been captured and tortured by the Nazis after being dropped in France for a mission with the French Resistance. She writes the story of her friendship with Maddie, who lives and breathes to fly. It was Maddie who flew her to France for her mission. The Nazis think Julie is a wireless operator. Her tormentors have broken her and she promises to write lines of code which she weaves into her story. The more she writes, the longer she is allowed to live. The author’s thorough research shines through. The details about life in Britain during WWII, the civilian female pilots, the espionage, the airplanes, the friendship, the desperation, the sorrow, the loss, are all brilliantly woven into this complex story. It’s espionage after all, so it will be complex. Also well written is the disruption of war. Common people whose everyday lives were interrupted by war. Former schoolgirls are resistance fighters. German headmasters and chemists, forced to become torturers and murderers, losing their souls in the process. This story will linger with me for quite some time – every nuance in the book. The characters feel so real and the story is so well told the reader will feel that they are with Julie during every joy and struggle in her life. How utterly brave, selflessly brave, the young men and women were during the war.
NetGalley Review Publication date 5.15.12
Catacombs: A Tale of the Barque Cats – Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Scarborough
The Barque Cats are introduced in the first book of the series, Catalyst. They are full-fledged members of space ships and share a bond with their Cat Persons. As the story progresses, a mysterious cat, Pshw-Ra appears on the scene and the cat Chester and his boy Jubal learn to exchange thoughts.
As book two opens Pshaw-Ra is helping the Barque Cats escape from the galactic government. He takes them to Mau, his home planet where cats are worshiped by their human servants. The birthrate has been declining steadily and Pshaw-Ra secretly plans to mate the Barque Cats with the Mau cats to infuse new genes into his fellow felines and to create a race of super-cats that can rule the galaxy. But of course, no plan runs smoothly. While Pshaw-Ra was gone his mate, the queen, died. His spoiled brat and rather stupid daughter, Nefure, is now queen. She has managed to overthrow the rightful queen, Pshaw-Ra’s other daughter, Renpet, who is now running for her life. Renpet and Chione her Cat Person are hiding in the catacombs beneath the city and surrounding desert.
As expected, Jubal and Chester blunder into the middle of things and also take refuge in the catacombs. They befriend Rempet and Chione, discover mysteries of the Mauan civilization, and, oh yes….they fight and blind the monster serpent, rendering it harmless. At least they think it’s harmless.
It is clear that the authors are well acquainted with the wonderful ways of cats. These are not humans dressed in fur coats. Although they are quite intelligent, these are still cats with all of their annoying and endearing habits. The book is great fun and will appeal to cat lovers of all ages.
NetGalley Review Publication date 1.10.12
Another Jekyll, Another Hyde – Daniel and Dina Nayeri
I tend to enjoy new spins on the classic books, and this one doesn’t disappoint. Though only loosely based on the original Jekyll and Hyde storyline, it incorporates many of the themes and morals while weaving in aspects of modern day life. Thomas Goodman-Brown is a high school student who, was a high achieving, popular, happy kid. Everything starts to change when his dad inexplicably marries a French governess, Nicola Vileroy. Right off the bat, Thomas doesn’t like her, but can’t convince his dad or anyone else that she’s up to something evil. While out clubbing with a friend one night, a girl gives him a bottle of W, a new type of narcotic. She tells him firmly not to share with anyone. After the first pill, Thomas can’t resist taking more, despite the extreme blackouts and loss of control he experiences. After a few of the pills are gone, Edward Hyde begins to appear in the back of Thomas’s mind. Slowly, Thomas realizes that each W pill is a little piece of Hyde, Nicola’s biological son from centuries back. As he fights for control over his life and his own mind, Thomas begins to solve some of the mysterious events that have happened in his school. This was definitely an intriguing read, and the updated classic tale with a paranormal twist was quite captivating.
NetGalley Review Publication date 3.13.12
The Fairy Ring: or Elsie and Frances Fool the World – Mary Losure
Frances is lonely. She and her mother have come from South Africa to stay with her aunt and uncle in England while her father is away fighting in the Big War. Her only friend is her older cousin who has left school and has a job. So Frances spends much of her time during summer vacation playing by the stream in the woods behind the house. One day she sees some tiny men walking through the woods. She knew that she had never seen tiny people in Australia, but just assumed that everyone in England saw them. When she mentioned them to the adults in the family, they laughed at her and teased her. Elsie, her cousin, felt sorry for Frances and told the adults that she had seen them too. Then both girls were the object of the taunts. Elsie decided that something had to be done. She drew and colored beautiful, tiny fairies then cut them out and mounted them on long hat pins. Then she borrowed her father’s camera and went into the woods with Frances. The girls arranged the fairies around Frances and Elsie took a photograph. Her father then developed the glass plate and to his amazement there was a picture of Frances and the fairies. The teasing from the adults stopped, the girls were happy and this could have been the end of the story. But after hearing a lecturer talk about nature spirits and fairies, Elsie’s mother told him about her daughter’s photograph of fairies. Soon the word spread. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, an ardent believer in fairies, latched on to the story. Newspapers and other interested parties wanted interviews and the girls were dismayed that a small prank had gotten out of hand.
I once read an article about this “hoax” that characterizes the girls as being deliberate deceivers. But Mary Losure tells the story with sympathy toward the girls. She has carefully researched the story and her description of life in England in the twenties is well done. Photographs, including the ones the girls took, are sprinkled throughout the story. While the target market is middle school, this book has appeal to adults as well. It was thoroughly engaging.
NetGalley Review Publication date 3.27.12
Wonder – R. J. Palacio
Wow. I’ve been sorting through everything I’ve read lately, trying to narrow down the reading list for my school next year. Wonder will be on the list. Auggie was born with severe craniofacial deformities. He’s had twenty seven surgeries. He has been home schooled until the fifth grade when he enrolls in middle school. “. . . Sending him off to middle school like a lamb to the slaughter”, says his father. He encounters the ups and downs of middle school life. He makes friends, is betrayed by friends, discovers bullies, and makes more friends. Auggie has the wonderful, supportive, kind, amazing family that everyone deserves. They are his strength and he is theirs. The story is told with a light heart, smiling one minute, then misty-eyed the next. The writing is smooth, flowing, meaningful, and easily consumed. This was a one-rainy-day read for me. Told primarily in Auggie’s voice, we also hear from Summer and Jack (new friends), Via (sister), Justin (sister’s boyfriend), and Miranda (sister’s friend). More than a story of dealing with craniofacial deformities, it is a story about relationships and about life. Brilliant. It is a must read for everyone.
NetGalley Review Publication date 2.14.12
Invisible Sun – David Macinnis Gill
Non-stop fighting on Mars! The companion novel to Black Hole Sun does not waste words with background and introductions. Fighters for hire, Durango and Vienne, both exceedingly attractive, steal data from the former corporation of his disgraced father. While they are highly skilled fighters, they are certainly aided by their impenetrable symbiarmor and high tech weapons. They have a few moments of peace before called in on a rescue mission. Things go awry; Vienne is taken prisoner and tortured, while Durango is left for dead. He’s not but he is badly broken. He sets out to rescue Vienne. It seems like there is a fight at least every other chapter. But then this dystopian Mars settlement is rife with discord, discontent, corruption, and crime, so fighting is a way of life. This is marketed as a stand-alone companion to Black Hole Sun, but it really helps to have read the first book. I read Black Hole Sun a year ago and forgot a bit of the storyline. The author does fill in the background by drizzling it out in various chapters. The end is a whopper, setting up the reader for more.
NetGalley review Publication date 3.27.12
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