This is another book about teens with super powers fighting evil. This time the teens are the next generation of dragon slayers. The story opens with a vicious action scene of a huge dragon terrorizing Washington DC. So I thought I was in for a wild ride of dragon hunting. No, not so much in this book, but it is coming. Most of the book takes place during summer camp for teen dragon slayers who are descendants of super DNA pumped medieval dragon slayers. It reminds me a bit of Riordan’s Camp Half-Blood. The power hungry Overdrake has a dragon and eggs in his possession with the intent of overthrowing the US government when the eggs hatch. The hatching will be soon, so the teen slayers need to step up their training if they are to defeat the coming dragons. Through new slayer, Tory, we meet all of the teen slayers and see them in action including a bit of a developing love triangle. It is a good introduction to what should be a popular action series.
Slayers – C.J. Hill
Tankborn – Karen Sandler
The Earth colony on the planet Loka utilizes genetic engineering to create a caste society. The lowest of the castes are the GENS, genetically engineered non-humans, born in tanks from a combo of human and animal DNA that gives them special abilities. The GENS are destined to a life of servitude to the upper classes of trueborns. Tank sisters Kayla and Mishalla receive their assignments at age 15 and are separated, but both are drawn into secrets, relationships, and mysteries that cause them to question the entire framework of their strict slave-like caste system. Action and suspense are dispersed in this dystopian science fiction to make this an enticing read with characters that I cared about. The persistent problems of human nature and our continued inability to evolve into a benevolent species are well portrayed.
The Girl of Fire and Thorns – Rae Carson
This could also be titled, The Girl with the Gem in her Navel. Every 100 years, God bestows a godstone (gem) in the navel of an infant chosen to do something magnificently heroic. Sure, that sounds a bit odd, but it works. I immediately liked the godstone-bearing princess. She is the second daughter of a king and finds herself betrothed and quickly married off on her 16th birthday, to a king that she has never met. She is a pawn in the political game. Both countries face the same adversary. Princess Elisa starts out rather overweight , apathetic, and not comfortable with her role as godstone bearer and not at all sure of her relationship with her handsome new husband. However, around every corner she finds her life and the lives of her friends, threatened. She rises to the challenge every time. Plenty of betrayals spice up the action-packed novel full of kidnapping, rebellion and fighting. This is the first in a planned trilogy and I will eagerly read them all!
The Scorpio Races – Maggie Stiefvater
The Scorpio Races – Maggie Stiefvater
The author of the werewolf romance series consisting of Shiver, Linger and Forever, one of my favorite paranormal romance series, has created a unique work with The Scorpio Races. This one is not paranormal romance but something entirely different and is excellent storytelling. On an unnamed,fictitious island in Great Britain, every fall, horses emerge from the sea. These horses are called capaill uisce, (CAP-ple ISH-ka) and are vicious. They attack anyone (people, dogs, cats, sheep, etc.) in the water or onshore with no provocation and eat them. The islanders capture these wild horses and train them somewhat. Every November, they hold the Scorpio races where riders end up dead having been chomped then thrown and trampled. Our two heroes are Sean and Puck. Sean is the horse whisperer of the rich Malvern stables. He races so he can win enough to buy his beloved horse, Corr. Puck is racing her island pony, not one of the vicious water horses. Her parents were both killed by the water horses and she races to make enough money to keep a roof over her head. Never has a girl competed in the races and never has anyone competed on a regular horse because it is simply too dangerous. Puck and Sean tell their story in alternating chapters. Sean is the strong silent type that it is so easy to root for. Puck is the spunky heroine, determined to beat the enormous odds. Well done!
Diabolical – Cynthia Leitich Smith
Diabolical is part of the Tantalize series. It helps to read the books in order, but not necessary. The author does a good job catching the reader up with the characters. The story opens with ex-vampire Miranda looking down on her boyfriend, fallen angel Zachary, from her seat in the Penultimate, the in-between place after death but before heaven. When she sees that her best friend, Lucy, is enrolled in a suspicious looking school, she sends a message to Zachary to go check on her. Zachary takes a few friends with him on the quest, new vampire Quincie, and her werewolf boyfriend, Kieren. Posing as students to get into the school, they quickly learn that the campus is more than it seems. The school is a gate to Hell and the headmaster of the school is Lucifer. There is an onslaught of fallen angel, vampire and werewolf books in YA lit, so it takes a special something to make one stand out as this one does. Plenty of action and suspense with great characters!
Galley review – publication date: 1.4.12
Crossed – Ally Condie (sequel to Matched)
It is difficult to give a summary without spoiling the story for the reader. At the end of Matched, the characters are separated. For half of Crossed, Cassia is searching for Ky. She is still torn by her love for Xander, who only makes a passing appearance in this book. The setting is bleak and desolate, since the characters spend most of the time in the war-torn outposts and the sparse canyons. This is a necessary book in the planned series, providing more explanation about the background of the Society, the Rising and Ky. The author is setting everything up to explode in the next book that I hope will feature more of Xander. The books MUST be read in order.
Matched is on our school reading list this year and even with multiple copies, the hold list or wait list is 30 students long. Very popular! I’ve got the wait list going for the school’s copies of Crossed when it comes in next week. I preordered my personal copy during the summer and Friday evening, following the tracking info, it still hadn’t arrived, so I chased down the postman.
The Mostly True Story of Jack – Kelly Barnhill
I’m attracted to odd stories. This one, well, hard to put my finger on what it was that I just finished. People have both good and bad in them. A Mother Earth type mystical magical figure was split in half generations ago, the good half and the bad half. A deal was made with a man to swap his son for her son through the generations and he would have power, riches, etc. Fast forward several generations and the descendent did not want to give up his son, so he tricked the bad half of Mother Earth by kidnapping and substituting someone else’s son. Okay, Jack, Mother Nature’s son, has no memory of who or what he is. He was sent to live as a human with a family. He’s back and he is destined to bring the halves of his mother together, to restore the magic and the natural balance. In one sentence taken from the book, Jack faces his friend, “He couldn’t explain the split mother, or the imprisonment, or the talking house, or the sneaky interventions of Gog and Magog.” Hmmm. Well, if Jack can’t explain it, neither can I. I would like to see what the author could do with a story about Clive and Mabel, the wise couple that take Jack in. There is much more to that couple and could yield an enjoyable tale.
You Are My Only – Beth Kephart
Beth Kephart immediately immerses the reader into the story from the characters’ points of view, without pause for detailed explanations or backstories. The chapters alternate between two stories, that of Sophie, 14, on the run with her mother from the “No Good”, and Emmy, a young mother whose baby has been stolen. For most of her life, Sophie has been home-schooled and strongly controlled by her mother. When she meets her new neighbors and begins to realize how wonderful it is to be cared for and included, she gets the courage to dig deep into her past. The narrative doesn’t blatantly point out how the two alternating stories are related, but the observant reader will most likely figure it out pretty quickly. Both of these characters are so pure and honest it’s easy to get wrapped up in the story and root for them to get out of their cages.
Enclave – Ann Aguirre
Environmental disasters have destroyed the earth and people have retreated underground to avoid acid rain. The Enclave is one of the more civilized, yet brutal groups eking out an existence in the subways of the former New York City. Deuce was born and raised in the Enclave. The story opens with her initiation ceremony as a huntress. She’s partnered with Fade, who doesn’t quite fit in. He came from above ground as a young boy. The Enclave fights encroachment of Freaks aka genetically mutated humans that have become cannibalistic. So it is a bleak, dark existence. Deuce and Fade quickly get exiled and they escape above ground. Lots of action, fighting, and struggling to survive in a gritty future world. I could not grasp the timeline of events from the horrid whatever that happened to Earth to the virus to the complete degradation of society. For those wanting to add to their repertoire of post-apocalyptic dystopian novels, it should find an audience.
Shattered Dreams – Ellie James
This story is a great example of why you shouldn’t trust people you barely know or wander through haunted houses. Set in post-Katrina New Orleans, the plot begins as our hero, Trinity Rose, is in the middle of a horrible truth-or-dare game with some new “friends” in an abandoned mansion. Trinity is new to New Orleans and is living with her aunt after the recent death of her grandmother and the deaths of her parents several years earlier. She is quickly thrown into the middle of the abduction of one of her friends as her psychic-like visions reveal clues about the case and her mysterious past. The fast pace of the plot leads to a quick, enticing read, all the while leaving the reader to wonder who to trust and who is responsible for the mysterious events.
Galley review – publication date 12.6.11
Variant – Robinson Wells
I like this. I like this better than The Maze Runner and I really like that.
Benson Fisher is a teen who has no ties to anyone, having been shuffled through a series of foster homes. He earns a scholarship to a private school in a rather isolated location nestled in the mountains of northern New Mexico. Upon entering the school, the doors lock behind him and he is greeted by another teen who tells him to join one of three groups/gangs. The gangs bid for the contracts to run the school and are rewarded by earning points for merchandise. There are no adults in the school. The students teach, the students lead, the students kill, the students die. They are all prisoners. Benson seems to be the only one who wants to escape, but he learns others have escaped in the past . . . and died.
This is page-turning writing that makes for an engrossing read. Plenty of action, drama, dialog, and suspense enables the reader to learn the secrets of the school right along with Benson. I was rooting for all of the characters except for a couple of Society guys. The frustrating part is waiting another year for the sequel. I am eager to read more from the author. Well done!
Galley review. Publication date 10.4.11
Pathfinder – Orson Scott Card
This is one of the best books that I have read in a very long time. It is a blend of fantasy and science fiction that features two story lines woven together. Rigg has had an isolated childhood with his fur trapper father. An accident leaves his father alive long enough to tell Rigg to go into the capital city and find his sister. Hmmm. He didn’t know he had a sister. His friend, Umbo, goes with him. Thus begins the buddy/quest storyline. Both Umbo and Rigg have special abilities that make the journey a fun twisting and turning adventure. The plot is so cleverly written and the dialog is witty – charming and witty and clever. Rigg has elements of Card’s other characters – Enger Wiggins, Alvin Maker and Danny North (The Lost Gate).
The beginning of each chapter opens with the alternating story of Ram, commander of a spaceship, off to colonize a planet. Half way through the book, I cheated and read all of Ram’s story and then went back to read the rest of the novel. I had figured out the connection between Rigg and Ram, but became so engrossed in Ram’s story that I simply could not wait for each chapter beginning to pick back up with it. I put this book on my middle school reading list, see Texas Classics tab, as the challenge book. It is long and complex, best for avid readers. I can tell when they bring the book back with a grin that they got it. I have already pre-ordered the next book in the series, Ruins, due out on October 30, 2012.
Brain Jack – Brian Falkner
This is an example of the perfect sci fi thriller – plenty of action, great writing, and cool characters.
A young computer genius hacks into the most secure networks in this mystery action thriller. Seeking ever faster network connectivity, new technology allows users to directly interface with networks via their brain – no need to point and click. This turns out to be a very bad thing. There is plenty of computer talk here – firewalls, viruses, etc. but my little brain could handle it just fine. Love the plot twists! When I see students walking around with earphones constantly plugged in and so many people going about their day glued to the Internet, perhaps this story line is not so far off . . .
Double – Jenny Valentine
Ohhhh, this is a good one! Chap is a homeless teen in England mistaken for Cassiel, a runaway teen who could be his double. Tired of being homeless, he steps into the missing boy’s life hoping that his new family will not notice the subtle differences in appearance. The story flips back and forth so the reader discovers Chap’s background bit by bit and how he came to be without a home or family. What happened to Cassiel, the missing teen? Did he run away or was he murdered? The author weaves the two stories together seamlessly. I read this one during a road trip and was so absorbed the miles flew by. The characters are complex. I came to care about Chap, his sister Edie, and friend Floyd. The story has an excellent rhythm feeding the reader the background, teasing the reader to solve the mystery before it fully unfolds. The plot is intriguingly excellent.
Galley review. Publication date: 2.21.12
The Way We Fall – Megan Crewe
This gripping story of a plague infested island seen through teen Kaelyn’s eyes should be quite popular with teens. The setting is an island off the coast of Canada, reachable only by boat. Residents fall ill with what appears to be a cold followed by scratching then a breakdown of mental reasoning before death takes them. The government tries to help, initially, but the situation becomes too dangerous so they leave the islanders to fend for themselves. The author paints a bleak but realistic view of how a society can quickly break down in the face of panic and hysteria.
Galley review. Publication date: 1.24.12
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