Lee's Reads

2010-07-05T19:15:00.002-06:00

Lies
By Michael Grant
Series: Third in the Gone series

Warning: Review contains spoilers to Gone and Hunger.

It has now been seven months since everyone fifteen and older poofed and conditions only continue to worsen for those left behind. “Are you eating?” has replaced “How are you?” as the standard greeting. Electricity is out. The absence of water pressure gives no alternative but to let any fires burn themselves out. Then rumors begin spreading about the big poof when the kids reach the exact age of fifteen being a way to leave the FAYZ and return to the loving arms of parents who are waiting just outside the FAYZ wall though not everyone is convinced this is true. To make matters even worse, Caine talks Zil, leader of the Human Crew, to set the town on fire as he and his declining number of followers pursue Caine’s latest plan. As the town begins to erupt into flames, Sam begins seeing images of the one person he fears, the one who had almost killed him, back from the dead and ready to continue where he and Sam left off. Grant does not disappoint readers in this latest installment of the Gone series. While action sequences take a step back in this installment, giving the suspense center stage, readers will be eager for the fourth book when they reach the end.

2010-06-21T14:53:00.002-06:00

Infinity
By Sherrilyn Kenyon
Series: First in the Chronicles of Nick

Fourteen year old Nick Gautier is the “scholarship kid” at a private school where the other students are attending because parents are rich while Nick lives in a small condo cut from an old house whose mother works at a strip club and barely makes enough to get by even when she does double shifts. One night after Nick stops some “friends” try to kill him when she stops them from mugging an elderly couple. Luckily, or unluckily, he is saved from a mysterious stranger who offers to pay for Nick’s hospital bills, but since Nick and his mother does not accept charity, also agrees to hire Nick to work for him to pay off the debt. When Nick returns to school after his hospital stay a crowd is gathered outside complete with an ambulance and police. A student had bitten off a chunk of another student’s arm. Suddenly, Nick’s schoolmates are being turned into brain-craving zombies at an alarming rate and this is only the beginning of Nick’s entrance into the supernatural world of the Dark-Hunters. The Chronicles of Nick is a prequel series from Kenyon’s adult Dark-Hunters series, but readers do not need to be familiar with the first series to enjoy this YA series opener, though it might help with the back story of some of the characters and their place in the Dark-Hunters world. Fans of the supernatural genre will enjoy the numerous supernatural creatures that appear in this installment from zombies (both “living” zombies who are actually only brainwashed individuals as well as the traditional dead-brought-back-to-life zombies) to shape shifters to a variety of demons each with their own strengths, weaknesses, and powers.

2010-06-12T21:39:00.001-06:00

The Light
By D. J. MacHale
Series: First in the Morpheus Road trilogy

Marshal Seaver is looking forward to spending the summer with his friend best friend Cooper Foley. However, these plans immediately change when Cooper is forced to spend the entire summer with his parents at their lake house. As Marshal prepares for what is sure to be a boring summer, his father leaves for a business trip. This is when Marshal begins being haunted. It begins with strange sounds and a rouge breeze. Then Marshal comes face to face with a character straight from his own sketchbook. There is only one person Marshal can talk with about these happenings and that is Cooper. However, when he tries contacting his friend, he finds out that Cooper is missing. As Marshal begins piecing together the events that lead to his friend’s disappearance and the reason he is suddenly being haunted by a character of his own creation, he begins to consider if these two events might actually be part of the same mystery. Readers will find this story un-put-down-able as the suspense builds and what seems to be two separate mysteries begin to blur into one large puzzle. There are scenes, although suspenseful, have little or no dialogue and long paragraphs though most of these occur when Marshal, who serves as narrator, is alone. There are also a few occurrences where a phrase is repeated nearly word for word within a couple of paragraphs. All in all, horror and supernatural fans will devour this book and become eager for the next installment when they reach the end.

2010-06-09T12:35:00.002-06:00

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter
By Seth Grahame-Smith

Abraham Lincoln is well known for saving the Union and freeing millions of slaves during his term as the sixteenth president of the United States. What is not as well known is the time he spent in his youth hunting vampires. That is, until Grahame-Smith, as he describes in his introduction, stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln and became the first living man to lay eyes on it in 140 years. Using this journal as a guide, Grahame-Smith gives the general public the real story of one of America’s greatest presidents while also revealing the true cause for the Civil War as well as other events in American history. Okay, it is obvious this is a work of fiction, but Grahame-Smith’s use of a biographical style gives the story a “realistic” tone. This book will be enjoyed by vampire buffs as well as Lincoln and history buffs.

2010-05-08T19:46:00.002-06:00

Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film about The Grapes of Wrath
By Steven Goldman

Mitchell Wells, a high school junior, could be the biggest loser on the planet. He has one best friend, David, though this gets a little awkward when David comes out to Mitchell. His decent GPA is about to be tank because of a Claymation film Mitchell turns in as an alternative project for a typical three to five page paper on The Grapes of Wrath containing violence, nudity, ketchup packet blood bursts, and a flying monkey sequence among other interesting additions that has little actual connection to The Grapes of Wrath, though Steinbeck does make a cameo appearance as Satan played by a nude dancing Ken doll with Steinbeck’s photo tapped to its face. And girls… well, does hanging out with his sister and her best friend count? Goldman captures the reality of male adolescence in his young adult debut, though slightly ridiculous, but what average, contemporary American high school experience isn’t? This humorous, at times laugh-out-loud story will be enjoyed by all kinds of readers, even those who actually like their high school experience.

2010-04-27T14:41:00.001-06:00

Beastly
By Alex Flinn

A modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast, told through the point of view of the Beast. Kyle Kingsbury is a vain, good looking, Manhattan private school student who treats everyone by their looks. When he goes too far with his vainness at a school dance, he is transformed into a beast and given two years to break the curse by having a girl see through his hideousness and love him with him loving her back and kissing to prove it. For the first year of the curse, Kyle feels he will forever remain a beast, only going out at night and watching the world go by through the windows by day with only a maid and his blind tutor as company. Then he meets Lindy using a magic mirror given to him by the witch that put him under the curse. When her father tries breaking in he agrees to send Lindy to live with Kyle. During their acquaintanceship, Kyle begins to fall in love with Lindy, something that would not have happened pre-transformation because of Lindy’s “average” looks. But can Lindy look past Kyle’s beastly form and love him before the remaining year runs out? Flinn combines aspects from several versions of the Beauty and the Beast story along with references to other transformation stories and characters that are forced into hiding because of their appearance. Readers who enjoy retellings of classic stories would not be disappointed with Beastly.

2010-03-29T18:06:00.003-06:00

Son of the Mob
By Gordon Korman

Vince Luca is your basic seventeen year old high school student. His best friend Alex is constantly vicariously trying to score through him with “This is my love life we’re talking about” every time Vince is about to go out on a date. His older brother is a pain. His father has a successful vending machine business. Well, that was the cover up his mother told him when he was little to explain his father’s different working hours from the other fathers in the neighborhood, telling him “you never know when a vending machine is going to break.” It isn’t until Vince is older when he learns his father’s true occupation and what brings in the money that provide a roof over his head, the clothes on his back, and the food in his stomach – Vince’s father is a Mob boss, which explains why Vince has listed sixty plus “uncles” during his youth without knowing exactly how they were related as his father was an only child. Vince wants nothing to do with his father’s “vending machine” business, but, as one could expect, being the son of a Mob boss can put a serious crimp in his dating life; particularly when he begins dating Kendra, who father is the FBI agent who wants more than anything to put Vince’s father in jail. Vince’s voice as he tells the story is full of his wonderfully dry, sarcastic sense of humor which this reader found immensely entertaining and appropriate to the story being told. The pace of the story is quick with something always going on or a new twist about to be discovered. However, the ending, at least to this reader, felt a bit rushed though it did tie together the subplots.

2010-03-15T23:22:00.003-06:00

My Most Excellent Year
By Steve Kluger

What does Fenway Park, finding first love, and Mary Poppins have in common? The most excellent year for freshmen students T.C. Keller, Augie Hwong, and Alejandra Perez. There are three loves in T.C.’s life; his dad, his best friend and unofficial brother Augie who he met shortly after his mother died when he was six, and the Red Sox. But during freshmen year he begins falling in love with Alejandra. Though Alejandra plays hard to get, she also begins falling in love with T.C.’s Boston accent while pursuing her interest in singing and dancing (which gets her a part in the school’s play of Kiss Me, Kate) under her political parents’ noses. Due to his love of musicals and old school screen sirens, and his preference to perform the songs traditionally sung by women, everyone close to Augie seems to know he is gay, except for Augie. That is until he begins falling in love with Andy, who may or may not have the same feelings for Augie. The majority of the story is told through a diary assignment as T.C., Augie, and Alejandra study The Diary of Anne Frank in their freshmen English class. Similar to how Frank named her diary Kitty, T.C. addresses his entries to his dead mother, Alejandra to her role model Jacqueline Kennedy, and Augie writes to several “Divas of the Week” including Liza Minnelli, Angela Lansbury, and Judy Garland among others. Incorporated throughout the entries are IM messages between T.C., Augie, Alejandra, and Andy, e-mails from and between characters, transcripts of T.C.’s meeting with his school advisor, notes passed during study hall, and Augie’s mother’s theatre review column from the Boston Globe. This charming, funny story will be enjoyed by its target audience as well as an adult audience.

2010-03-07T19:00:00.001-07:00

Eleventh Grade Burns
By Heather Brewer
Series: Fourth in The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod

Warning: Review may contain spoilers to Eighth Grade Bites, Ninth Grade Slays, and Tenth Grade Bleeds

Depressed following his break up with Meredith and convinced he is the Pravus but unsure about how the ruling over vampirekind and enslaving the human race side of the prophecy will play out, Vladimir Tod begins his junior year. But it’s going to be a dark year for Vlad. His Uncle Otis is awaiting trial for crimes against vampirekind which is likely to end only in his being sentenced to death. D’Ablo has somehow secured a seat on the Council of Elders and continues his desire to perform the ritual that will transfer Vlad’s Pravus powers to himself. A new vampire, Dorian, comes to help Vlad but has a palate for uncommon blood, and since Vlad is the only half-vampire, half-human in existence, he has the rarest type of blood. Plus Joss, Vlad’s ex-friend vampire slayer, is back with nothing to stop him from eliminating Vlad. This penultimate volume of The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod is full of twists and surprises that will keep Vlad fans turning the pages. But nothing can prepare Vlad or the reader for what is waiting at the end.

2010-02-28T15:33:00.002-07:00

Tenth Grade Bleeds
By Heather Brewer
Series: Third in The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod

Warning: Review may contain spoilers for Eighth Grade Bites and Ninth Grade Slays

It appears that sophomore year is going to be the best for Vladimir Tod; the bullies that had beaten him up over the years seem to have moved on to other targets and the girl of his dreams is now his girlfriend. However, the year still sucks; Henry, Vlad’s best friend, is becoming distant and Vlad fears it could lead to the end of their friendship, his thirst for blood is at an all time high and he fears he might harm those close to him, a classmate is on the verge of exposing his secret, he has vivid nightmares of being tortured, and he is unable to communicate telepathically with his Uncle for extended periods. Add to that the possibility that Vlad could be the Pravus of vampire legend and that an evil vampire from Vlad’s past is searching for a ritual that could steal Vlad’s powers or kill him in the process, sophomore year looks to be as sucky as the rest. The plot begins to darken with this installment with an ending that shows changes are going to be made in the last two installments of the series.

2010-02-16T15:06:00.002-07:00

Ninth Grade Slays
By Heather Brewer
Series: Second in The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod

Warning: Review may contain minor spoilers for Eighth Grade Bites

Although starting his first year of high school, Vladimir’s freshmen year still sucks. Bullies continue to use him as a punching bag, he feels the girl of his dreams was unsatisfied with the way their date at last year’s Freedom Fest ended, and a classmate is on the verge of exposing his half-vampire secret. If that was not enough, Vlad’s best friend Henry’s popularity soars due to his position on the student council, leaving Vlad to hang with Henry’s newly arrived cousin Joss. Plus, Vlad hears that there is a vampire slayer stalking him. But with a surprise winter break trip to Siberia with Uncle Otis, Vlad begins to develop his mind-control and telepathy skills and learns a little about his vampire heritage that might be connected to his own destiny. Readers who enjoyed Eight Grade Bites will devour this second book. Brewer reveals more of Vlad’s vampire world and what it might mean to Vlad’s future. Several plot twists keep the reader turning the pages and eager for the next installment to the series when they reach the end.

2010-02-05T19:59:00.001-07:00

Eighth Grade Bites
By Heather Brewer
Series: First in The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod

Eighth grade is tough for Vladimir Tod. He is picked on by bullies, the girl he likes seems to prefer his best, and only, friend, and his parents have both died three years ago which he is still trying to deal with. Oh, yeah, and Vlad also has a secret; while his mother was mortal, his father was a vampire. So, along with his school life, half-vampire Vlad has to additionally deal with his enlarged fangs, his blood cravings (luckily his guardian is a nurse who “steals” about the be spoiled blood from the hospital and “prepares” the blood in various ways), learning the extent of his abilities, and no one to teach him. When Vlad’s favorite teacher turns up missing the substitute is more interested with Vlad then the other students. When Vlad feels his cover on his secret life is about to be blown, he discovers there is a vampire hunter after him. What is an eighth grade vampire to do? Brewer’s debut novel is a real treat for any vampire fan. The simple writing style should appeal to a junior high / middle school audience though may turn away older teens and adults who still enjoy reading young adult novels unless these older readers enjoy vampire stories, in which case it is a quick, enjoyable read. In a way, the first book of the series feels more like a prologue for what is to come, which wets the readers’ appetite for Vladimir’s ninth grade year.

2010-01-31T18:50:00.003-07:00

The Lightning Thief
By Rick Riordan
Media Tie-In Cover
Series: First in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series

Percy Jackson finds himself in a heap of trouble when he is expelled from boarding school… again. Not only are Greek gods and creatures coming out of his mythology textbook and into his life, but he seems to have angered some of them. Percy soon learns that Zeus’s master lightning bolt has been stolen and he is the prime suspect. Now, Percy and his friends have ten days to find the true thief and return Zeus’s stolen property before war breaks out between the gods and Percy must come to terms with the father who abandoned him and is now coming back into his life in a big way. While this reader found the beginning a bit slow to get into, he kept with it and was completely hooked into the story and characters by the second/third chapter. While some of the chapter titles can spoil or give too much away about what happens in the chapter, the reader will enjoy the surprises of who, or what, the next mythological creature or god will be the characters meet or run into. Many of the storylines are concluded by the end of the story though the author does introduce some twists at the end that will leave the reader ready for the next book in the series. Fans of Greek mythology should enjoy seeing favorite mythological gods and creatures in a contemporary setting.

2009-12-25T22:57:00.001-07:00

Jingle Boy
By Kieran Scott

Paul Nicholas and his family get really into the Christmas season and their holiday traditions – Paul waking his parents at five on Christmas morning blasting John Denver and the Muppets – A Christmas Together and having the most elaborate Christmas light display in town is the family’s claim to fame. But this year Paul is certain Christmas is going to be the best ever. He will be starting his dream job as a mall Santa soon, knows he will be getting the Jeep of his dreams under the tree, and, for the first time in his life, has a girlfriend to celebrate with. That was before. Before loosing his personalized Santa hat (that he never leaves the house, or, more particularly, his room without from Thanksgiving to Christmas) at the mall, loosing his girlfriend to his Santa co-worker, his dad electrocuting himself while setting up this year’s lighting display and setting the house on fire; most of the damage occurring in Paul’s room, and his mother losing her job. Will Paul ever regain his Christmas spirit, or will it be permanently replace with the spirit of Scrooge? A truly “feel-good” Christmas read that puts the reader into the holiday spirit. Readers who love the holiday season, and all of its tidings, will enjoy this humorous book and place it on their shelves next to How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and A Christmas Carol to be enjoyed year after year.

Merry Christmas from Lee’s Reads!

2009-12-13T12:41:00.003-07:00

Beating Heart: A Ghost Story
By A. M. Jenkins

When seventeen year old Evan moves into an abandoned for decades, old Victorian house with his mother and younger sister shortly after his parents’ divorce, he is less then thrilled. Shortly after moving in, Evan begins to have dreams, reoccurring dreams of a sexual nature with an unknown pale-haired girl which makes his brunette girlfriend, Carrie, more noticeable of his emotion withdrawal and becomes more demanding about their relationship. When Evan finds a metal box filled with letters and newspaper clippings he learns that a sixteen year old girl with pale-hair died in the house. Could this be the girl he has been dreaming about? The story unfolds using two uniquely different voices; that of the ghost girl told through lyrical poetry, and that of Evan told through a third-person account in present tense, which makes this a decent quick read. The two voices bring past and present together that collide by the end and changes both ghost and boy forever. Sex does play a major role in the story but not in a graphic way that would made this book inappropriate for the teenage reader.

2009-12-09T15:49:00.002-07:00

Dead Connection
By Charlie Price

Alienated from school and home, Murray finds sanctuary in the cemetery, where he communicates with the dead, particularly his friends Edwin, Dearly, and Blessed. When he hears a new voice he believes it could be Nikki, the missing cheerleader from school, but how can he tell others without them thinking he is crazy. Then comes Pearl, the daughter of the cemetery caretaker, who becomes Murray’s only living friend as she ties to enter his world and helps him explain to others what they have figured out. This suspenseful page-turner is told through multiple points of view of those involved in the investigation of Nikki’s disappearance from Murray discovering the new voice in the cemetery, Pearl helping him anyway she can, the deputy piecing together clues to the case, a possible eye witness, and an officer with a drinking problem among others. The story twists and turns through the different storylines and just when the reader thinks they have figured out the mystery, another twist brings new possibilities. The changes between points of view might be a little confusing at first while the reader is introduced to new characters and how they fit with the overall story though after the first few chapters the change in character perspective adds to the suspense of the story as individual storylines begin to merge with others and reveal hidden secrets.

2009-11-30T09:31:00.003-07:00

Deadline
By Chris Crutcher

About two weeks after his eighteenth birthday, a month and a half before he begins his senior year, Ben Wolf gets some bad news during his cross-country physical – he has one year to live due to a rare, aggressive blood disease. Wanting to live as normal a life as possible during the time he has left, Ben decides to refuse treatment for the disease and to not tell anyone what’s going on, not even his brother, Cody, who he is close to, or his parents since his mother has problems of her own and not wanting to burden the family any further. What he does decide on is to go out as a flash instead of as a “slowly cooling ember.” He goes out for the football team, attempts to give his closed-minded American Government/Current Events teacher a daily migraine, and help the town drunk clean up his act. Then there’s Dallas Suzuki who has been the “single prey in the crosshairs of [Ben’s] Cupid’s bow” for the last three years but is way, way out of his league. With the successes and surprises the year brings to Ben, and his disease beginning to take its toll, he begins to wonder if he was right in his decision to not tell anyone about the disease and what will happen when he does tell the truth. Although this is the kind of story where the ending is known at the beginning it is the journey the reader goes on with Ben that makes the book so enjoyable to read. Crutcher uses the right combination of humor and drama to tell the story that, by the end, are blended smoothly together without one element overpowering the other. There are some mildly mature issues discussed such as child molestation, teenage motherhood, and some racism and brief language and sexual dialogue, though all this is tamed enough for a teenage audience. This thought-provoking, moving story is highly recommended.

2009-11-22T16:14:00.002-07:00

The Road of the Dead
By Kevin Brooks

Fourteen year old Ruben Ford was sitting in the back of the wrecked Mercedes in his family’s yard listening to the rain when he “feels” his sister, Rachel, being raped and murdered hundreds of miles away. After three days of talking with the police investigators, all Ruben’s mother wants is to get Rachel’s body back so she can bury her but it will not be released from the coroner’s until her murderer is found and the final tests are completed. In order to quicken the investigation, Ruben’s brother, Cole, decides to discover the truth behind her murder with Ruben following along. They go to the isolated and desolate village of Lychcombe, where Rachel was visiting a friend at the time of her murder. However, the majority of the villagers of Lychcombe are tangled in a conspiracy that may be tied to Rachel’s murder. The story starts out slowly and hardly ever gains speed though this pacing seems to fit with the somber plot. Because of this, the story can seem longer than it is at points, though it is hard to tell if this is a positive or negative aspect to the story as a whole. There are a few scenes, particularly about two hundred pages in and the second to last chapter, where, at least to this reader, the book is un-putdownable. All in all, worth the time due to its occasional emotional elements and moments of mild suspense though a rereading may be questionable.

2009-11-09T19:32:00.006-07:00

The Vampire’s Assistant and Other Tales From the Cirque Du Freak (includes A Living Nightmare, The Vampire’s Assistant, and Tunnels of Blood)
Media Tie-In Edition
By Darren Shan
Series: Books One, Two, and Three of Cirque Du Freak: The Saga of Darren Shan

Warning: Review contains minor spoilers

It all begins when Darren and his friends find a flyer advertising the Cirque Du Freak, a traveling freak show, and decide to go. However, the four friends can only get two tickets to a show. As if by destiny, Darren “wins” one of the tickets and goes to the show with his best friend, Steve. At the show, Steve recognizes one of the performers, Mr. Crepsley, from one of his vampire books and encounters him after the show wishing to become a vampire also. Mr. Crepsley is against turning a child but would make Steve into a half-vampire if he becomes his assistant but Steve has bad blood and Crepsley refuses the turning. The following school day, after discussing the show with the friends that couldn’t go, Darren decides to steal Mr. Crepsley’s performing, though extremely poisonous, spider due to his fascination with spiders. When the spider bites and paralyzes Steve with no known antidote without Crepsley’s help, Darren becomes Mr. Crepsley’s assistant and a half-vampire in order to save Steve. Darren later leaves his family by faking his death and joins Mr. Crepsley to learn the ways of being a vampire, or rather, a half-vampire, particularly the importance of taking human blood, though not too much to kill the human the vampire is feeding from but Darren refuses to drink from a human, drinking from animals instead though animal blood is not enough – Darren will have to drink from a human eventually or die. They rejoin the Cirque Du Freak where Darren befriends Evra, the snake-boy, and meets Sam, a boy from the city in which the Cirque is currently performing, who becomes quick friends with Evra and Darren. When tragedy strikes one night after a performance, Darren finds himself in a position that may cause him to drink from a human for the first time. A few months later an old friend of Crepsley’s drops by and later Darren and Evra leave the Cirque with Crepsley though he won’t tell them where or why. They stay in a big city were Crepsley goes out prowling at night. When Darren and Evra see a news report about bodies being found drained of blood they jump to a conclusion and suspect Crepsley is the murderer, though an unknown enemy of the vampires may be lurking in the tunnels under the city…. Fans of vampire stories would enjoy this collection of the first three books of the twelve book Cirque Du Freak series though the writing style, geared towards a middle school audience, may turn some older readers away. Readers that can get passed the sometimes “wooden” dialogue and actions will find some creepy and, at times, moving scenes throughout the book.

A Living Nightmare, The Vampire’s Assistant, and Tunnels of Blood are also available individually.

2009-10-17T23:00:00.007-06:00

Night Road
By A. M. Jenkins

After a century of living solitarily on the road, Cole, a hemovore (a human who feeds exclusively on blood; not to be confused with the fictional vampire) or “heme," still resembles his eighteen year old self but is known in the heme community for being observant, meticulous, and controlled. He is called back to the Building, an apartment/hotel for hemes in Manhattan owned by Johnny, Cole’s maker. He is informally introduced to newly turned heme Gordon, who really is eighteen years old and is also known as the Accident by the occupants of the Building due to the reason he was turned and his un-heme like behavior. The following evening Cole is told he has been called back to the Building to join Gordon and Sandor, Gordon’s maker and an old friend of Cole’s, on the road, teaching Gordon how to sever his old human life from his new heme one including the proper feeding technique on "omnis" (omnivores, or humans), how to avoid the Thirst with frequent restricted feedings, and avoiding the sun. During the trip, teaching Gordon the heme lifestyle helps Cole to confront the darkness of his own past that he has been keeping tucked away. Jenkins steps away from the typical romance and violence that takes center stage in other vampire stories and focuses instead on what life is and should be like for vampires... sorry, hemes, both old and experienced and new and inexperienced, in a thought provoking style that is far from boring. In the words of author Robert Lipsyte from the dust jacket “read this as a tense thriller about vampires on a road trip, or read it as a metaphorical tour de force about a boy becoming a man. But read it!”

2009-10-07T17:29:00.003-06:00

Another Faust
By Daniel and Dina Nayeri
Series: First in the Another series

When five adopted orphans, Victoria, Christian, Bicé, Belle, and Valentin, along with their beautiful but strange governess, Madame Vileroy, make an impressive entrance at the exclusive Christmas party for Marlowe School in Manhattan tension between the orphans and the students begin and carry over to the new semester. Using “gifts” given to them from Vileroy – the ability to read the inner dialogue of others, manipulate time, beautiful looks, and stealing other’s skills and strengths – the orphans pursue their own greedy obsessions, from sports to debate and writing tournaments to class president elections, no matter what it costs them during the process; and in the case of Madame Vileroy, the cost could be permanent. Brother and sister writing team bring a modern day re-imagining of the classic Doctor Faustus bargaining story. Though the plot may seem a bit repetitive at times as the orphans use their “gifts” to pursue their various obsessions during the semester at Marlowe, the last few chapters contain several surprises that are unpredictable (except for the “main” reveal for readers familiar with the original story) but were always under the surface of previous events that may cause the reader to wonder how they did not see the connection before. While the Another series plans to re-imagine classic works of literature, given the conclusion to this first installment, it is not yet seen by this reader if the series will include the same characters (maybe a minor character’s story will be continued) or will be a series of “stand alone” volumes with different characters (think R. L. Stine's Goosebumps); though, if the same characters are used for the series, this reader predicts Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown may get the Another treatment.

2009-09-27T19:41:00.004-06:00

Caught in the Act
By Peter Moore

Ethan Lederer is an actor; not just in the school plays (though he is always cast as the best friend or the sidekick, never in the leading role) but in life – everyone he knows has their own image of who Ethan is and Ethan acts according to that image. To his friends he is brainy though he is probably as smart as they are; to his family, particularly his parents, he is a straight A honors student but in reality he is an average sophomore student. Then new student Lydia Krane comes to school where she is mostly ignored by students because she seems “different,” wearing Goth-like clothes with shirts with Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bears underneath and always writing in a green velvet journal. If students do talk to her, it is not always in a friendly way. Ethan is the only one who really notices her and begins to get to know her when they are both cast in the school play, a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s Macbeth set in Hollywood written by the drama teacher. Likewise, Lydia is the only one to see Ethan for who he truly is inside and encourages him to let that part of him out to others. Not a bad thing, right…? Even readers who are not interested in theater or drama classes can find at least one thing to relate to – struggling with math and science classes, living up to parents’ expectations, relationships with friends, and break-ups just to name a few. However, it is through the play rehearsal scenes that really emphasizes and brings up the themes that are developed throughout the novel – from how theater is connected to real life to how everyone is the lead of their own story with everyone else being supporting actors, even if they enter for a brief time, playing their part before exiting, and leaving behind only the impression, good or bad, they had made in the person’s life.

2009-09-20T12:07:00.002-06:00

Hunger
By Michael Grant
Series: Second in the Gone series

Warning: Review may contain minor spoilers for Gone.

It has been three months since the coming of the FAYZ. Three months since everyone over the age of fifteen disappeared. Three months without telephones, television, or Internet. After the events of the Thanksgiving Battle, Sam has been elected “mayor” of Perdido Beach and is beginning to collapse under the pressure and things just continue to get worse. Not only are kids asking Sam to make every little decision for them, some as small as which DVD to watch, but food has become extremely scarce forcing the kids to eat random canned goods, garbage, even a neighborhood pet or two. Only a handful of kids are willing to help out and go on harvesting trips to cabbage and melon fields only to find them swarming with a common non-threatening creature that has undergone a deadly mutation. If the food shortage was not enough, some kids continue to develop new supernatural powers causing chaos to rise between the “normals” (kids without powers) and the “freaks” (kids with powers) that escalates to just short of civil war breaking out. Meanwhile, Caine focuses his sights on taking over the nuclear power plant at the center of the FAYZ and turning off the power to Perdido Beach, and that is only the beginning of his plans. The action begins immediately in chapter one and does not let up until the end with a few moments of drama before the next action sequence begins. Several storylines begin to fuse together, combining and building up the suspense until the climatic ending where it is life or death for a number of characters. If Grant set the bar high with Gone he sets the bar even higher with Hunger for the next installment of the series.

2009-09-10T16:22:00.004-06:00

Gone
By Michael Grant
Series: First in the Gone series

Daily life in Perdido Beach, California changes completely when everyone fifteen and older suddenly disappear, leaving those fourteen years old and younger. Just as suddenly landline and cellular phones no longer work, there is no Internet access or television signals, no way to get help or find out what has happened. Fear and panic spread. Bullies rule. Students from a local private school come into town and help create order and develop rules, though somewhat giving the bullies an advantage. In addition, some teens develop new talents – supernatural powers, causing tension between those with powers and the powerless. Sides begin to be chosen and a battle between good and evil looms ever closer. And time is running out – when the teens turn fifteen they will also disappear like the adults. Elements of action, suspense, mystery, and a hint of romance come together to create a great supernatural thriller page turner that leaves the reader constantly on the verge of a new discovery, none of which disappoints and always surpasses the one previous, which continue to build and build until the exciting climax of the installment. There are brief descriptions of mild violence but not too terribly gruesome to be outside of a PG-13 range. As the first book of a projected six book series, do not expect all questions to be answered or revealed by the end; however, the storyline does reach a satisfying ending with a decent small cliff hanger that leaves the reader ready for the next installment.