Vol. 12 #3
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Just a reminder, the books reviewed here are recommended. I can't see wasting time reading a book I don't like when there are so many fabulous reads out there. Every book here kept me reading instead of dropping it and going on to the next book.
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Teen Adventure/ Espionage and Terrorism/ Speculative Fiction/
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When Alfred Kropp, the last descendent of Lancelot, is informed that he has just inherited a fortune and finds out that his weasely foster father wants to adopt him, he plans an escape but before it can happen, rogue OIPEP agent Mike Arnold kidnaps him. Mike has also stolen the two Seals of Solomon from OIPEP, one a ring that belonged to King Solomon and the other a sacred vessel that has kept the millions of demons, the fallen angels who joined Lucifer, contained for thousands of years. Alfred’s blood may be the only salvation of the world.
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Teen/ Contemporary Life/Coming of Age
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It is easy to see why E. Lockhart is one of the most talked about new YA authors out there. Dramarama, the story of Sarah, turned Sadye, who goes off to drama camp with her best friend Demi, a gorgeous and talented African-American gay guy is dead on. I recognized several of the kids in my teen book clubs in Dramarama, the guy who can really belt out a song and has star quality, the girl who isn't going to make it on stage but turned out to be a crack stage manager, and others. It is full of truths about friendships -- how they start and how they change and about self perception.
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Teen/ Contemporary Life/Coming of Age
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Amal is a typical eleventh grader from Melbourne who decides to start wearing the hijab full time which makes it pretty obvious that she is the only Muslim in her private high school. She has a couple of girl friends from Islamic school but they attend a different high school. Her two best friends at school also see themselves as outsiders, Eileen is Japanese-Australian and Simone thinks she is fat. Two very attractive boys start hanging around with them and romance is in the air. Like Hassan in John Green’s An Abundance of Katherines, Amai can stay true to her faith and still be a real contemporary teen.
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Thrillers/ Legal
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K.J., Katherine Adams, survived a serial killer as a college student but now the forty-something divorced family law attorney is off on a cruise with her old college roommate who is married to a billionaire. A shipboard romance with John Delaney, an ex-cop who is now a law professor, ends up turning into much more when sabotage sinks the enormous Ocean Majestic and a man whom K.J. once prosecuted for arson is found on board. This page turning beach read (not a great choice for ocean cruises) combines legal thriller, romance, international locales, diabolical schemes, and assassinations in an entertaining escapist read.
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Crime/ Mystery & Detective Stories/ Paranormal Detectives Speculative Fiction/ Fantasy/ Detective Fantasy
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This second book in the Greywalker series stands alone but is so enticing readers will want to go back and read the first book. PI Harper Blaine’s life was changed forever when she died. Even though she was only dead for two minutes she is now a Greywalker, and can move between our world and that of the paranormal. A nasty professor calls on Harper to validate a study he is doing in which the subjects combine energy to create poltergeist effects but soon one of the subjects is dead, seemingly killed by the poltergeist they created. As Halloween approaches the danger ratchets up and Harper must get help not only from her friends, the Danzigers, but also from a vampire. This excellent read has just the right amounts of detection and paranormal action.
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Teen/ Issues/ Homelessness and Foster Living |
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Kayla is a responsible fifteen-year-old who takes care of her alcoholic mother, Marilyn, and makes money by running her own dog walking business in whichever town the two of them move to. When they move to Rio Blanco, a small town north of Albuquerque, Marilyn tries to stop drinking and Kayla lands a couple of dog walking/ dog training jobs and a job at a second hand store run by a couple of kindly women who try to mentor her. One of the dogs is owned by Remy, a good looking musician who has left his dog Rebel with his dad who lives near the desolate trailer Kayla an Marilyn are living in. Remy has a mystery in his past connected to his relationship with an underage girl. It is only by running away that Kayla may find herself. The theme of a girl in this situation is not new or unusual but feels fresh in this heartfelt novel with believable characters.
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Teen/ / Paranormal Romance / Contemporary Life |
When Jean was born the electricity in the hospital went out which was only the first mishap of thousands that resulted in her being called Jinx. Now she has been sent to New York to live with her aunt’s family and attend a tony private school. Her cousin Tory, with whom she had great fun when they were younger, is now sullen and unfriendly. Tory believes that she has inherited their many times great-grandmothers talent for witchcraft and tries to draw it out of Jean but Jean, who has left her Iowa hometown because of a stalker, wants nothing to do with witchcraft. The hunky next-door neighbor who is Tory’s crush is very friendly to Jinx creating new problems. Meg Cabot has just the right touch in this tale that combines romance, teen angst, and bit of the paranormal to make this popular.
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Teen/ Contemporary Life/Coming of Age / Issues
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After their mom abandoned them and their drunken father, Mickey and Danny had only each other and S.E. Hinton’s classic novel The Outsiders. But then six years ago a tragedy changed Danny from town golden boy/ football hero to pariah and he abandoned Mickey, too. Now looking at graduating from high school and with her father who had been sober for a year being buried, Mickey is devastated when Danny comes home. She can’t remember what exactly what happened during his senior year that killed his best friend and ruined his life but she is going to have to if she wants to get on with her life. Her confusion causes a rift with her best friend Christina and may be standing in the way of her first real relationship with a boy. This heartfelt story has lovely characterizations and a very true and real feel to it. The friendship between Mickey and Christina is very realistic and the love interest, Ricky Martinez, a football player with heart is finely drawn. The importance of a book in Mickey’s life and in Danny’s is what made this book a stand out for me. Because books have always been so important to me and are so important to the teens I work with, it adds a layer of kinship between reader and character. There is a very interesting review with e.E. Charlton-Trujillo at Progressive Radio.
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Teen / Contemporary Romance
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Seventeen-year-old Dominique Baylor is that kind of only child who has a good relationship with her parents, does very well in school, has her life planned out, and seems much more mature than her contemporaries. She’s attractive but has never dated or even had a major crush. During winter break in her senior year while on her way to the Porta Potti Dom falls in the mud at the feet of Wes, a gorgeous, shy track star who has the same lack of experience with the opposite sex. After weeks of emails Dom has become what she fears is obsessed with Wes but finally they do start dating and eventually even kiss which is just the first step in their physical relationship. Their relationship is very true to life and told in unflinching detail. Like everyone else who has reviewed this book I do have to mention that it does have parallels to Forever by Judy Blume (and in fact is dedicated to Judy Blume) but is very much a story for the 21st century complete with instant messaging, text messages, condoms, and dental dams. From the giddy joy of first love, to the uneasy feeling of something wrong in a long distance relationship, to the agony of a breakup this story feels true and genuine.
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Teen/ Issues/ Abuse |
Fifteen-year-old Meredith’s world comes crashing down again when her father who had been sentenced to nine years in prison is released after only three. Her best friend and boy friend is Andy, a paraplegic who was also one of her father’s victims. Her obtuse mother is thrilled that Meredith’s father is back and wants them to be one happy family. Her neighbor Nigel, a retired cop who had been the one to arrest her father in the first place gives her a couple of nanny cams so that the next time he strikes they will have the evidence to put him away again. This is an amazing book. Meredith is so real, so brave, and so very vulnerable. The subject is bleak but Meredith’s triumph elevates it.
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Teen/ Issues/ Sexuality
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When Deanna was thirteen her father caught her having sex in the backseat of a car with her older brother’s sleazy seventeen-year-old friend who told the entire high school about it. Now, three years later she is still regarded as the local slut even though she has never even gone out on a date. She has two friends, Jason, a boy who has always been her friend and his girl friend Lee, a religious girl who she befriended when she was the new girl at school. Starting a job at a pizza parlor she discovers that Tommy, the boy who ruined her life is also working there but with her own internal strength and the help of her friends and her new boss, she becomes strong enough to fight back against all the problems in her dysfunctional family. Her brother, his girlfriend, and their baby April live in the basement further complicating matters but Deanna discovers she is the only one who can take back her life.
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Crime/ Detection/ Amateur Sleuth/ Cozy
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Miss Potter is delighted to be back in the Lake District among her friends both human and animal. In her absence rats have over run Hilltop Farm and the resident cat is doing nothing. Ridley Rattail, a rat living in the attic is quite dismayed by the rowdy crowd that has moved in and advertises for a cat and gets more than he bargained for. Major Kittredge, who lost an arm and an eye in the war has returned to the gothic Raven Hall with a beautiful red-haired wife who is rumored to be a witch. Talk also abounds about the possible development of the beautiful shores of Lake Windermere which would ruin the area. This delightful cozy mystery features secret identities, jewel theft, blackmail, the search for fairies, and even a little romance.
Sometimes for work, I end up reading several books in a row that I don’t really enjoy. To cleanse my palate, or really to reassure myself that I still love reading I reach for a comfort book. I usually use books I have read several times for this because I know I love them and they will set me to rights. When The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood came in last year I was in the middle of horrible deadlines and didn’t have the time to read it then so I set it aside knowing a time would come when I would need a comfort book. Last week after reading 3 or 4 books in a row that didn’t really move me it was time. I grabbed up The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood and rediscovered my love of reading. The timing was just right because in just a few weeks the fourth book in The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter, The Tale of Hawthorn House will be published. The adult book club I belong to has selected this series for our October book so members may be reading any one of the four titles. Many of the members saw the movie Miss Potter and will be delighted to follow her adventures in the Lake District.
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Westerns/Western Celebrity Characters / Speculative Fiction/ Fantasy/ Mythic Reality
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Bull, author of the highly acclaimed and award winning War for the Oaks, is an outstanding writer. In this tale of good versus evil set in Tombstone in the months leading up to the legendary shoot out at the OK Corral, Mildred Benjamin, a young widowed typesetter becomes enmeshed in the politics and day to day life of Tombstone. She is drawn to Jesse Fox a mysterious man in dark glasses who appears in town after shooting a young man who has stolen his horse. Jesse has been summoned by an old friend, a Chinese physician. Mildred befriends the wives of Wyatt, Morgan, and Virgil Earp and meets just about every character associated with Tombstone in this era including Kate and Doc Holliday. Following a failed stage coach robbery some suspicion falls on Doc Holliday and Morgan Earp and a rash of killings starts. Jesse begins to reach for his sorcerous powers when a young Chinese prostitute is ritually murdered and his friend is killed. As Mildred and Jesse delve into the murders, Jesse finds dark magic running rampant. This exquisite blend of western, mystery, and fantasy should be a strong contender for a variety of awards.
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Adventure/ Thrillers/ Business Thrillers
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Jake Landry isn’t too thrilled to be tapped to take his boss’s place at a retreat for high level executives of Hammond Aerospace. It turns out a former lover is now the assistant of the new CEO who wants Jake to ferret out which of the senior executives are corrupt. Before he can really start his investigations, the lavish dinner party held the night of their arrival is interrupted by the invasion of a group of armed men who take them all hostage. As Jake tries to figure out a way out of the mess as the assailants question and torture the executives, his back story as a juvenile delinquent is revealed. This fast paced, page-turning adventure is a terrific escape and Jake is an enjoyable character.
Unbelievably enough, my husband who is constantly surrounded by books, is a reluctant reader. He probably reads at most a half dozen books a year. The ARC of Power Play came with a cd that only ran a few minutes but it was enough to entice him to pick up the book. In thirty-five years I have never before seen him finish a book in two days eschewing computer games and Sudoku to read. This latest novel by Thriller Award winner Finder is sure to be a big hit.
Teen Contemporary Life/Coming of Age |
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Fifteen-year-old Jes is not excited about being part of a new blended family. Her new step-sister, Angela, is gorgeous, self-assured, tried to steal Jes’s best friend’s boy friend, did end up with Jes’s bedroom, and got Jes in trouble for her own shoplifting escapade. An exciting new teacher named Mr. Truelove turns out to live in her dad’s apartment building and Sam, her best friend who is a boy may be turning into something more. Life just becomes more interesting when Angela’s mother moves to town and Jes’s mother turns out to be pregnant. This synopsis just can’t capture the essence of this wonderful slice of life story. Friesen conveys the realities of coming-of-age, dealing with first love, a blended family, bereavement, self-esteem, and date rape with insightful wit. I love a book that can make me laugh out loud and also elicit tears.
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Teen/ Issues/ Death and Deadly Disease
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Crutcher fans will be thrilled with this return to Trout, Idaho. When 18-year-old diminutive high school senior Ben Wolf finds out he has less than a year to live he swears his doctor to secrecy and decides to live his last year to the fullest. He goes out for the football team. His younger brother Cody, also a senior, is the quarterback and Louie Banks (of Running Loose fame) is the thoughtful and understanding coach. Ben takes on teachers in his quest to live his best year ever and develops a relationship with Dallas Suzuki, a gorgeous, leggy beauty who plays volleyball. This is Crutcher at his Crutcherish best. The main characters are thoughtful, deep, conflicted, and funny. Not to be missed.
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Teen Contemporary Life/ |
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Mena is starting the school year with no friends and many enemies since she was kicked out of her fundamentalist Christian church. In her science class, run by the amazingly cool Ms. Shepherd, she is teamed up with lab partner Casey who is a brilliant student and kind of cute. She is totally restricted by her parents but with some duplicity and the help of Casey’s older sister Kayla, she spends a couple of hours every day with Casey’s family as they build their science project around the litter of lab puppies at his home. When the church kids start protesting Ms. Shepherd’s teaching of evolution, Kayla enlists Mena to write an anonymous column for the student paper. Lovingly drawn characters, a fast moving plot, and a thoughtful exploration of identity, religion, and science make this a winner. It has been one of the most popular books this season in Western Colorado teen book clubs.
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Teen Fantasy/ Fairy Tales
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Wow! Alex Flinn has created a modern version of Beauty and the Beast that really rocks. Kyle Kingsbury, gorgeous, popular, conceited son of a tv news anchor is not the least bit surprised to be on the ballot for ninth grade prince for the spring dance at his elite prep school. He would be very surprised, though, if her were to not win. As an evil prank he invites Kendra, a new goth looking girl to the dance even though he is actually already going with a despicable but popular girl who has demanded he bring her an orchid corsage. When Magda, the maid purchases a single white rose instead, Kyle takes it along to the dance and ends up giving it to the mousey scholarship student in the ticket booth when his date throws it away. When Kendra shows up to meet him at the dance he is devastatingly mean to her and she tells him what she thinks but because of who she actually is he wakes up the next morning as a beast with fur and claws. He has been cursed to stay in this form forever unless he is kissed by his own true love before two years are up. After his father exhausts all attempts to make Kyle gorgeous again, he exiles Kyle to a five story brownstone in Brooklyn with Magda and Will, a blind tutor. Kyle, changing his name to Adrian begins to make some changes in his life and takes up rose gardening. When a junkie climbs over the fence into the garden, Adrian agrees to let him go if he will send his daughter to the Brownstone to live. Unable to meet girls or form a meaningful relationship on-line, Adrian sees this as a last chance to break the curse. Lindy, the junky’s daughter turns out to be the scholarship student at the dance but she does not recognize him. As their enmity decreases and their friendship builds, Adrian becomes a different person but the outcome is always in question. This exquisite book moves fast enough to be a Quick Pick but with all its literary allusions, and beatifully paced unfolding of the characters it is a best book of the year and will hopefully be looked at by the Best Books for Young Adults committee. It is truly a magical read.
Teen/ Teen Fantasy/ Bestiary |
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Orphaned Creel and her family have fallen on hard times so her aunt comes up with an idea to save them all by sacrificing Creel to a dragon because as everyone knows a gallant knight will save her. When Creel befriends the dragon, who it turns out does have a treasure horde but it isn’t made up of gold or gems, she ends up with a really comfortable pair of slippers that she wears to the king’s city where she plans to make her fortune with her embroidering skills. Unfortunately the odious princess from the neighboring antagonistic kingdom who is in town to marry the crown prince becomes fixated on Creel’s shoes, shoes that are more than they seem and may be important when humans and dragons are sucked into a horrible war. This unusual tale and its quirky take on dragons is a big hit with teen readers in both middle school and high school.
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Teen/ Contemporary Life/Coming of Age
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This unique novel, a collaborative venture by ten award winning and highly regarded writers covers more than a century and several characters but starts and ends with Maggie, or Margaret as she is called later in life. Part historical fiction and part speculative fiction, telling stories set in post WWII Japan and futuristic New York, this amazing novel revolves around people touched by Gee, George Keane, a famous photographer. Maggie and Jason his grandchildren inherit items from him that have a profound impact on their lives. Authors are David Almond, Eoin Colfer, Roddy Doyle, Deborah Ellis, Nick Hornby, Margo Lanagan, Gregory Maguire, Ruth Ozeki, Linda Sue Park, and Tim Wynne-Jones and royalties go to Amnesty International.
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