Books of the Week

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To see more information or to purchase the featured books, click on the image of the book jacket.

Will James is pretty satisfied with his life. Having remained friends with his old high school buddies he sees no real reason to return to his old home town for the ten year high school reunion but ends up going anyway. His old home looks radically different morphed by the current owners into an ugly house devoid of the rampant greenery Will remembers. At a reunion function he realizes that his memories don't jive with the current reality. A week previously he had made plans with old bud Mike Lebo to meet away from the reunion but now he is told, and memories start falling into place that let him know Lebo was killed just before homecoming their senior year. His best friend Ashleigh also undergoes a terrifying change in his memories going from the confident lawyer and mother of twins to an embittered and hardened childless woman. Something is changing the fabric of history and Will must go back in time to stop terrible things from happening. This is Golden at his best with a creepy and weird tale of teenage magic resulting in horrifying consequences. Fortunately the power of good leads to a satisfying ending.

Lucy Pitt's last chance to avoid being sent to Eat-Their-Young Island, the last stop in the foster care system, is Kindle House, a group home in a dilapidated mansion staffed by Ben and Gina, a childless young couple, Mrs. Morgan who tells Lucy the rules while making homemade pretzels, and Leon, a Native American who had once been a resident of The Last Chance Texaco (the nickname for Kindle House). When a popular jock torments her in class she hauls off and slugs him landing them both in detention on trash pick-up detail. Eventually they fall in love but their togetherness and Lucy's acceptance of  having a home are threatened when an arsonist sets cars in the neighborhood on fire and everyone thinks it was someone from the group home. When she sneaks out to meet Nate, who has a camcorder, and they try to catch the perpetrator they end up attempting to extinguish a fire and Nate is arrested.  Fortunately it moves onward to a wonderful ending.

After dealing with kids in the system for 17 years and living with foster kids 13 years (approximately 70 stayed in our house for varying lengths of time) I look very closely at books about them and usually find them wanting but Last Chance Texaco is right on. Hartinger captured the voices of the kids perfectly and portrayed a system that doesn???t work but has some really good caring people trying to work with it extremely well

High school sophomore Regan, is not getting much sleep because her big brother Liam, is at night, Luna who dresses up and tries different hair and makeup styles. Liam is talented and immensely gifted. His computer building and game reviewing netted him enough to buy a Spyder for his sixteenth birthday but Regan is the only one who knows his secret. Aly his best friend since kindergarten doesn't even know. This intimate look at a T-girl (transgendered girl as different than G-girl or genetic girl) shows not only the angst and suffering Liam faces having been born into the wrong gender body but also the impact his secret has on Regan who has tried her best to be unnoticeable. Regan finds a love interest that leads to her abandoning a responsibility that results in Luna's unmasking. Powerful and believable. The first to tackle this issue as the focus of a novel for teens, Peters writes Regan's tale of Liam/ Luna with grace and feeling.

Cynthia Leitich Smith (the author of Rain Is Not My Indian Name) maintains a web site with all kinds of great stuff about YA and Children's lit. She recently posted an interview with Julie Anne Peters talking about Luna. I've been talking about this book quite a bit, trying to verbalize why it is so terrific and finally came to the conclusion that it was because the sibling relationship is so compelling. Reading the interview I was hit by Peters' final comment when she said "I believe Regan and Luna speak to the power of love between siblings."

Grand Junction, Colorado in 1924 comes to life in Brockett's latest mystery-ish novel inspired by notorious gravesites. Oak Miller soon to be a graduate wants to be a hotshot reporter like his classmate Dalton Trumbo (yes they guy who wrote Johnny Got His Gun) Lazuli Waters the most beautiful girl in town (in Oak's eyes) provides a love interest. The mystery starts when three contemporary boys picnicking in a cave discover that the big rock they are using as a table makes a hollow sound when struck. Digging into it they discover a casket holding the long interred remains of a baby girl. Flash back to 1924 and meet several Grand Junction residents and experience life in the roaring twenties in a Western Colorado town where recent graduates explore life. Brockett's unique books take a real historical mystery as a starting point for  her extensively researched novels that bring the era to life. Final chapters are non-fiction telling what she found as she delves into these "cold-cases."  Brockett is also the author of The Stained Glass Rose a novel about the "apron string murder" set in the 1030s.

Romance / Regency Era Suspense / Romantic
Quick, Amanda
The Paid Companion
0399151745

The Earl of St. Merryn was curiously unmoved when his fearful fiancee eloped with another man and vowed the next time he selected a woman to be his wife he would find her at one of those agencies that places paid companions. When Elenora Lodge's step-father dies after losing everything in a mining investment she figures she will be fine. After all, she is engaged to be married. Unfortunately, once she no longer owns a fine house and farm her fiance cries off and she must take employment as a paid companion. A year after being jilted the Earl has secret business that takes him to London where he fears every marriageable chit of a girl in the ton will be thrown at him so he decides to hire a paid companion to masquerade as his new fianc??e. The secretive and fearsome earl and the feisty, independent woman find more than they were expecting when they enter into their deception. As always Quick (AKA Jayne Ann Krentz) delights readers with fully realized characters who posses not only intelligence and integrity but also kindness. The secondary characters are also a joy, the chaperoning widowed aunt who secretly pens romance novels, the Bow Street Runner who perceives Elenora's character, and the Earl's kindly pal will win fans of their own. The mystery element is also skillfully conceived and executed making for an altogether unforgettable read.

Fantasy/ Quest / Alternate World / Religion
Strauss, Victoria
The Burning Land
Eos 0-380-97891-1

A complex fantasy that explores the issues of religion, politics, apostasy, and heresy while not ignoring character development. The adherents of the sleeping god Arata who has many aspects have finally reclaimed Galea and overthrown the Caryaxists who desecrated and destroyed temple and monasteries forcing the Aratists into exile or prison over a period of 80 years. Gyalo. a young priest and strongly talented shaper is sent on an expedition into the Burning Lands to discover what happened to the Aratists who were exiled there. During the grueling journey across a barren plain of stone the group is hit by a rogue storm and almost all is lost. Gyalo, a Dreamer, and three others are left to die when the remnants of the contingent decide to turn around. When the manita that keeps Gyalo's shaping powers bound is destroyed he makes the decision to break his vows and use his shaping to save his remaining companions from death and continue their mission. In Refuge, a cliff dwelling inhabited by the descendants of those exiled to the Burning Lands, Axane, a 22 year-old healer hides the secret of her dreaming and dreads being forced into marriage but it is the duty of all in Refuge to try to repopulate the world. They have found the place that Arata slept and from where he rose. In Refuge, shapers train their skill and marry young to hopefully reproduce children with powers. Thoroughly engrossing, this thought provoking read hearkens back to the 60's when writers such as Frank Herbert, Roger Zelazny, and Robert A. Heinlein were exploring the nature of religion in science fiction. Strauss does not publish often but her powerful writing seems to gain strength with each book.

Crime / Police Detective
Cannell, Stephen J.
Vertical Coffin
St. Martin's 0-312-30425-0

Shane Scully, LAPD, is swept into a maelstrom of interdepartmental conflict after one of his motorcycle riding buddies is gunned down in a vertical coffin (a doorway) serving a warrant that the ATF may not have given full disclosure on. Pretty soon the bodies are piling up and fingers are pointing in every direction. While this is not Cannell at his best (King Con) his rapid fire style and cinematic view make everything he writes a must read for fans of crime action tales.

YA/ Fantasy/ Alternate Worlds
Oppel, Kenneth
Airborn
Eos 0-06-053180-0 lib. 0-06-053181-9($17.89)

In a world where Edwardian mores are the norm, teenaged cabin boy Matt Cruse has great plans for himself but as the support of his widowed mother and his sisters he can't even think of going to the academy to become an officer. Instead he serves on the airship Aurora, the same ship his late father served on. While working in the first class lounge he befriends passenger Kate de Vries who is a strong-minded independent young woman with a scientific bent. When they are shipwrecked on a lush island after being boarded by pirates, Kate manipulates Matt into going into the woods with her where she is looking for any signs of a strange winged creature her grandfather had recorded in his journal. Exciting adventure, a captivating alternate world where the mango scented element hydrium has created a technology for travel far different than that in our world. A plucky heroine and solidly earnest and bright hero make this a fantasy not to miss.

YA/ Fantasy/ Alternate Worlds / Heroes and Heroines
Bell, Hilari
Flame: The Book of Sorahb #1
Simon & Schuster 0689854137

With Farsala on the verge of war, the ruling Gahn has determined that the High Commander must sacrifice one of his children to insure victory. Lady Soraya is selected but her father devises a plan for his bastard son Jiaan to spirit her away. Kavi, a metalsmith who's career had been destroyed by one of the Deghan is caught by Soraya's party and conscripted into carrying supplies and messages to her while she is in hiding but when he is caught by a band of Hrum scouts he begins to spy for the invaders who will make the Deghans slaves but will respect the rights of the peasants. Saroya, who goes hunting in the desert while in hiding, is rescued by the mysterious pale Suud who eventually teach her some of their magic. Bell is a superb writed and any who read Flame will be anxiously awaiting the next installment in The Book of Sorahb.

YA/ Fantasy/ Heroes and Heroines
Pierce, Tamora
Trickster's Choice
Random House 0375814663

Sixteen-year-old Aly, the daughter of Tortall's famous woman knight Alanna called the Lioness is at odds with her parents. They think she should be doing something with her life but don't want her to be a spy like her father. Taking off for a few days while her mother is home from war for a visit seems like a good idea until she is captured by pirates and sold into slavery. Purposely getting beat up to save herself from being sold as a bed slave she luckily ends up in the household of a Duke who has two daughters by his late wife who was royalty of the Raka, the people who were conquered centuries earlier when the current ruling family overran their land. A bet with the trickster god leaves Aly trying to keep the Duke's four children safe, especially his oldest daughters who have the blood of both the current royal family and of the deposed Raka royal family in their veins. The reason that Pierce is so overwhelmingly popular with teen readers is very apparent with the reading of this title, first in a much anticipated series.

YA/ Issues/ Abuse / Mystery and Suspense
Flinn, Alex
Nothing to Lose
HarperCollins 0060517506 lib. 0-06-051751-4

Michael Daye AKA Robert Frost tells his stories, the one of now and the one of a year ago in alternating chapters. Now -- he is a carny -- running a Whack-a-Mole game at a traveling carnival. Then -- he was a football player and the stepson of a wealthy lawyer, living in a huge beach side home. Now -- his mother is on trial for murder. Then -- she was an abused wife he was powerless to protect. Now -- he has a sharp and sympathetic lawyer. Then -- he had a beautiful girl friend named Kirstie. Flinn is without a doubt a rising star in literature written for teens. This is a compelling tale, impossible to put down, with superb pacing and a true understanding of what it is like to be in Michael's situation as well as a fascinating glimpse into carnival life. This one is a contender for 2005 best lists, folks.

YA/ Contemporary/ Coming of Age/ Issues/ Physical Challenges
Wyatt, Melissa
Raising the Griffin
Wendy Lamb    0385730950

Alex Varenhoff always knew that he came from a long line of kings. But his family has been in exile in England since before his father was born so it comes as a major surprise when the tiny country of Rovenia decides to restore its monarchy. What could have been a Princess Diaries from a boy's view point is much, much more. Alex is definitely a reluctant prince and has major conflicts with his parents and the young count who is tutoring him in his new role. His one friend is Sophy, the daughter of the American public relations expert hired to help the family present the image they need to make the kingdom a tourist destination to save its economy. A bad girl princess influences Alex in ways that make him uncomfortable with himself. Dissidents change Alex's life forever making him prove his worth to himself.

First time novelist Wyatt is definitely one to watch. Her stunning debut will resonate with teen readers. The audience who enjoyed the change made by Cole in Ben Mikaelsen's Touching Spirit Bear will enjoy the transformation Alex makes in his life in Raising the Griffin..

Interestingly enough Alex's friend at his British boarding school shares my last name.

YA/ Issues/ Politics/Contemporary/ Romance
Bennett, Cherie and Jeff Gottesfeld
A Heart Divided
Delacorte    0385900392

Kate Pride, an aspiring playwright is forced to move to Redford, Tennessee with her parents and younger sister Portia where she becomes enmeshed in a conflict over her new high school's Confederate flag symbol. The first person she meets is the gorgeous, wealthy, and popular Jack Redford, scion of the town's founder who is also a truly decent human being. Deciding her best way to help the effort to change the school symbol is to use her playwriting talents, she begins to interview people on both sides of the issue. When tragedy strikes on the heels of a defamation campaign against her, Kate's play turns out much differently than the way she had originally conceived it. The Bennett-Gottesfeld team have a magic touch when it comes to plugging into what matters to teens and how they think and act. Their ability to elicit both tears and laughter will make this a favorite book of many teen readers and the thoughtful exploration of a divisive issue is unforgettable.

YA/ Genreblend - Romance/Paranormal/ Science Fiction
Werlin, Nancy
Double Helix
Dial   0803726066

Another knock-your-socks off great read from Edgar award winner Werlin who just may be writing the best teen suspense today.  Secrets surround Eli's life. He and his father rarely talk. His mother is in a nursing home in the final stages of Huntington's Disease ( the same thing that killed Woody Guthrie). And he refuses to tell his girlfriend/best friend Viv anything about his family. Having failed to apply for college, in a drunken moment of madness he sends email to Quincy Wyatt, a famous scientist and the head of Wyatt Transgenics, who his mother knew and his father hates. Offered a job as a lab assistant he thinks Wyatt  is his mentor until he starts seeing some of his manipulations and discovers a secret elevator courtesy of an escaped white rabbit.  Top-notch suspenseful adventure with a scientific edge that will appeal to SF fans, a complicated romantic relationship, thorny ethical issues, and truly likeable characters make Double Helix a winner.