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Click the blue dots for other books you might want to read!
Numbers
by Rachel Ward
Strangely, this
novel is less about a girl who can see death dates in the eyes of others, than it is about two misfits on the run for a crime
they didn't commit. Spider and Jem fall in love after discovering that the things they have in common destroy any barriers
to their relationship that may have arisen due to race. The novel is edgy, with strong language and sexual situations, but
the characters are rich, easy to relate to, and they inspire empathy. A great book for high school and college kids, the last
line of Numbers rewards the reader with a slight shiver and goosebumps. I, for one, was glad I stuck with Jem and
Spider through their grief-inflicted, romantic journey. Especially when I read the last line.
Dark Life
by Kat Falls
In the near future, pioneers
go to live where no man has gone before—undersea. Ty and his family have chosen to settle in a subsea territory with
specially designed farms and homes. Those who live on the surface endure blazing hot sun and overcrowded conditions. While
the surface dwellers, a.k.a the Commonweatlh, rule the settlers, it is the settlers who produce the world's food. Ty loves
his life undersea and plans to stake his own land claim when he is eighteen. But what is the cost of living undersea? It isn't
until a beautiful surface-dweller, Gemma, arrives and subsea dwellers begin to endure attacks by raiders that Ty realizes
the risks of living subsea. Dark Life jazzes up the sci-fi scene with some truly original writing in the vein of
movies like The Abyss and Waterworld. The descriptions of sealife are riveting,
the creation of the subsea territory unique, and the storyline is very well-delivered. A page turner in every way, Ty's character
seemed a tad underdevloped, but the mystery drives this story home.
The Gardener
by S.A. Bodeen
Mason is intent on escaping his alcholic mother and atending college, but what he doesn't know about his mother can fill
volumes. He begins to suspect her dual life when he visits her at work and discovers that the nursing home where she is employed
is not all that it seems. With Mason's help a rogue patient goes free, and Mason learns the truth of who his mother is, and
who he is. An interesting work reminscent of Wings by Aprillynne Pike, this novel holds the reader's attention through
plotting and strong character development. The premise seems really far-fetched, even for science fiction, and something about
the ending makes suspending one's disbelief a little challenging. However, the relationship between Mason and Laila will give
those who enjoy a good romance and rescue something to sigh about.
Breakaway
by Andrea
Montalbano I was hoping
for the female equivalent of Crackback by John Coy or Night Hoops by Carl Deuker, instead I got a neatly
tied up story about a hot-headed superstar named L.J. who rocks on the soccer field but lets her temper get away from her.
Will she learn to cool it and be a team-player? Sadly, what I got was an easy-to-read, but neatly tied
up story with few surprises. If you are a girl who is truly hard-pressed to find a book about soccer, and likes to read about
the game in general, you would probably stick with this book to the end with no complaints; however, fair warning—the
plot itself isn't enough to hold the attention of most readers.
Dani Noir by Nova Ren Suma Not many teenagers have a taste for old-school movies with actors like Humphrey Bogart, Rita Hayworth,
and Bette Davis, but Dani does. The Little Art Theater is her hang out—when times get tough, and they are tough for
Dani—everyone knows she can be found there, curled up with her buttery popcorn getting lost in the big screen. She has
reason to want to escape, her best friend moved away, her Dad cheated on her mom, and something is up with her friend Jackson
who runs the movies from the projectionist booth. Anyone whose parents have divorced can relate to this novel. Dani is angry,
and rightly so. I mean, aren't adults, and especially parents, supposed to be the ones who make the right choices, the moral
choices? Aren't adults supposed to care more about their kids than themselves? And, if your own friends can't be trusted who
can be? This novel will open the eyes of those who are in Dani's situation; and while Dani Noir may not be a summer
blockbuster, it's a quiet little novel that deserves at least a bowl or two of buttery popcorn.
Dizzy in Your Eyes: Poems About Love by Pat Mora Poetry can be a hard sell, but there are authors out there who can
make poetry go viral. Take A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein, for example, and who doesn't love The Cat
in the Hat by Dr. Seuss? Some poetry has become a part of pop culture, like Edgar Allan Poe's “the Raven”
which actually showed up on an episode of the Simpsons (that's right, as in Bart Simpson). However, poetry for the teens in
the now, poetry that is lasting and relevant, well...it's just hard to find. Sadly, this collection doesn't show much promise
in the lasting and relevant department. Instead, I would expect it to land on the bookshelves of English teachers who want
to teach poetic forms and think that this particular collection, which first defines and explains a poetic form and then gives
examples that supposedly relate to love, might be a “sick, wicked, groovy, cool,” whatever, way to teach poetry.
I saw only 3 poems I actually enjoyed reading several times over in the whole collection, and one of them was simply because
the poem was part in Spanish and part in English, something I found extremely groovy. But then again, I was an English
teacher.
The Enemy
by Charlie Higson Welcome to the world post-virus. In this reality, if
you are sixteen or older, chances are you've become infected with the virus that has made grown-ups the enemy. Not like, “you're
late for curfew, give me your cell phone!” type of enemy that your friends sometimes complain about, but the enemy that
doesn't have the intellect for words; these grown-ups-gone zombies don't think, they attack and eat...human flesh. Groups
of kids have banded together in loosely-knit gangs to hunt for food, ward of the grown ups, and try to stay alive. This novel
has more than enough meat (apologies for the pun) to keep readers on the edge of their seats. The lines of good and evil become
blurred and make the reader think about whether or not morality changes when civilization breaks down. It also makes one ponder
the importance of rules, and what type of leader is needed in times of conflict. It you liked the Forest of Hands
and Teeth or Hunger Games, this is a natural next pick. Here's hoping the author of this novel plans to make
it a series!
The Indigo Notebook by Laura Resau “There is an inner wakefulness that directs the dream.
And that will eventually startle us back to the truth of who we are.” – Rumi Zeeta is the daughter of a wanderer. Since she was an infant,
she has traveled from country to country with her mother, learning the truth of who people are, souls who all want to be loved,
taken care of, appreciated, and remembered. Zeeta knows that people all need a place in this world where they belon--but,
Zeeta isn't sure what her place is. She's been to so many different countries with her mother, Layla, a free-spirited woman
who gave birth to Zeeta as a teen, that she doesn't know where her place is in the world. She's never had a best friend or
a boyfriend. She speaks a dozen languages, but has only fleeting conversations with others who forget her in a few months
because she or they have moved on. She's always wanted a normal life, but when the opportunity to have that life arises, Zeeta
realizes that what is “normal” isn't always what is right.
Alex Van Helsing: Vampire Rising by Jason Henderson When students at Glenarvan Academy near Lake Geneva begin their study
of the Villa Diodati Group of writers they have no idea how much their studies will impact the future. Writers in this group
included: Lord Byron, Mary Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Godwin,Claire Godwin, and a writer named Polidori, the famous
group that made a bet which produced the epic novel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. But what seems like just
another English assignment turns out to be something far more valuable for Alex Van Helsing, who, by the way, is really, really
tired of people telling him his name is the last name of a notorious vampire-killer. Vampires, don't exist, after all. Or
do they? Fans of Riordan's the Last Olympian Series, and The Maze of Bones saga, may enjoy this mystery/sci-fi
thriller. While not quite as addicting as Percy Jackson, Van Helsing's character is interesting, and
the reader becomes quite curious as to what an old novel like Frankenstein has to do with the obvious and
very real vampires that keep popping up all around him. And when two of his friends are kidnapped by vampires, Alex soon learns
what that relationship is.
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