vol3no4

Volume 3 #4

All books reviewed here are recommended. Please, always keep in mind that the only books that appear on this page are ones that I liked enough to write about. For every book reviewed here I have usually read two that I would not want to inflict on anyone.

Happy reading,

Horror/Medical Thriller
Toxin
Robin Cook
Putnam 0399143165
Cook's tale of a talented youngster felled by E. Coli bacteria in a fast-food burger and her surgeon father's vendetta against those responsible makes for a quick page turning read. After the Oprah court case it really surprises me that the Beef Council hasn't dragged Dr. Cook into court.

Young Adult/Fantasy/Magic
Tris's Book
Tamora Pierce
Scholastic 0590553577

The young mages of Discipline Cottage are just supposed to be beginners at learning their magical arts but when a pirate attack threatens Winding Cirle they once again bond together to fight using an enormous power. Quick and easy fantasy with a good plot and sympathetic characters. This is the second book in the Circle of Magic Quartet and is sure to please Pierce fans both young and old.

Young Adult/Contemporary/Violence
Camouflage
Gloria D. Miklowitz
Harcourt Brace 0152014675

Kyle learns surprising secrets about his dad’s “gun club” when he goes to visit him in rural Michigan for the summer and finds himself in the middle of a militia conspiracy. His budding romance with the daughter of an ATF agent adds to the appeal.

Young Adult/Contemprary/Coming of Age/Suspense/Missing Teen
Stephen Fair
Tim Wynne-Jones
DK 0789424959

Stephen is worried that he has started experiencing the same nightmares that led to his brother's disappearance when he had also been fifteen. The readers will realize early on that not all is as it should be in the quirky ark the remnants of the Fair family live in. The foreshadowing of the revelation of the mystery will keep readers turning the pages.

Young Adult/Contemporary/Crime and Criminals
The Killer's Cousin
Nancy Werlin
Delacorte 0385325606 (September 1998 release)

Acquitted of murder, David tries to start a new life in Boston but the ghost of his dead cousin and the presence of her spooky sister lead to new troubles. It is at the same time thought provoking and thrilling.

Crime/Caper
King Con
Stephen J. Cannel
William Morrow & Company 0688147763
Avon 0380728176 (paperback out in June 1998)

Beano X. Bates, the reigning king of the con, pulls a poker con on Joe Rino, Mafia don, that results in his near death at the wrong end of a savagely weilded golf club. As a member of the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list, Beano decamps from the hospital as soon as he regains consiousness. The attempted murder would go unprosecuted except that pediatric oncology nurse Carol Sesnick steps to the fore as the star witness in federal prosecutor Vicky Hart's attempt to put the scum behind bars. When Carol and the two cops protecting her are savagely murdered by Rino's psychotic brother Tommy, Vicky's case flies out the window. Vicky vows avenge the death of her friends and ends up joining forces with Beano who turns out to have had a special relationship with Carol and the extensive Bates clan, to execute the ultimate con and turn Joe and Tommy against each other.

This fast paced romp is the best caper novel of the decade. Fascinating details of the cons they run, quirky characters, and fast pace plotting move this onto my list of personal favorites this year. Readers who love Carl Hiaasen will enjoy King Con.

Young Adult/Contemporary/Crime
Whirligig
Paul Fleischman
Henry Holt 0805055827

After moving to a new community, Brent attempts suicide believing he has made a total fool of himself in front of his peers. Instead of dying he accidently kills an other teenager. As restitution, her mother asks that he travel the country by bus for 45 days to build and place whirligigs (pinwheel type wind sculptures) to commemorate her daughter's life. The story jumps around from Brent's story to those of people who are impacted by the whirligigs.

This powerful and memorable story is this year's equivalent to Edward Bloor's Tangerine and Rob Thomas's Rats Saw God.

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