Middle-Grade Review: The Cronus Chronicles

Take a couple of ordinary middle-school cousins, throw in an eerie mystery, a bunch of real-life Greek gods, and a great sense of humor and you have Anne Ursu’s exciting trilogy, The Cronus Chronicles. I recently finished reading the third and final book of the series and was riveted right until the end.

In Book One, The Shadow Thieves, we meet eight-grader Charlotte and her British cousin Zee. Back home in England, a very strange thing was happening at Zee’s school – kids kept getting sick with a mysterious illness that sapped their energy and confined them to bed. Zee moves in with Charlotte’s family in the U.S., but soon, the same thing begins happening to Charlotte’s classmates. As the cousins worry about their sick friends and try to get to the bottom of the mystery, they encounter strange, unexplainable things all around them. Here, they try to make sense of what’s going on:

But when Charlotte had first thought Zee was bonkers, on the very first night, it was because he’d kept asking if everyone was sick. And then everyone got sick. If he was crazy, he was awfully prescient, too.

And there was something else. The men. The tall, thin, man-like men in the tuxedos. When Zee was talking about the creepy men on the street, something in her brain had stood at attention, and her stomach rose in her belly.

She could close her eyes and picture those men, just as he had described – the strange, old tuxedos; the grayish-white skin; the freakishly chapped lips. She had seen those men before.

But where?

An involuntary shiver ran through Charlotte. That thing in her brain started to dance around urgently. She regarded her cousin carefully.

“You think I’m barmy?” muttered Zee.

Slowly Charlotte shook her head. “No,” she mumbled. “ I don’t think you’re nuts.”

They soon discover a startling fact – that the Greek mythology they’ve learned about at school is actually true and that Greek gods still exist. Charlotte and Zee set off on a quest to find a cure for their friends, venturing down to the Underworld, which is accessed – much to my amusement – through the largest mall in America.

In Book Two, The Siren Song, a demi-god grandson of Poseidon seeks revenge against Charlotte and Zee, and they find themselves - a couple of ordinary eighth-graders - once again up against the Greek gods. In the final book, The Immortal Fire, Charlotte and Zee are responsible for nothing less than the fate of mankind, and they journey to Mount Olympus for a final show-down.

All three books are exciting and suspenseful and written with Ursu’s wonderful wit. She’s created a clever and imaginative world of Greek gods in modern times that kept me reading late into the night. My 15-year old son is a big fan of the series as well. This is a great trilogy for middle-grade and teen readers (and grown-ups!) who enjoy a combination of humor and adventure. For more information on the series, check out Anne Ursu’s website.

432 pages, Atheneum (Simon & Schuster)

Audible

Accelerated Reader:
The Shadow Thieves: Level 5.1, 12 points
The Siren Song: Level 5.7, 14 points

Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in return for an honest review. My review is my own opinion and is not influenced by my relationship with the publisher or author.

 

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible. It's an Audible exclusive and available for 99 cents.

 

Print and e-book from Amazon.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

Teen Review: Bounce

Natasha Friend’s novel, Bounce, is about making unexpected adjustments – lots of adjustments – when just being thirteen is more than enough for a girl to deal with.

At dinner one night, Evyn’s father suddenly announces to Evyn and her fifteen-year-old brother, Mackey, that he’s getting married. Evyn’s mother died many years ago, and the three of them have been a family for a long time. But having a new mother isn’t the only big change for Evyn. Her Dad’s new wife-to-be has six kids of her own and lives in Boston, so Evyn, her brother, and her father will be moving from their home in Maine to join a whole new family. It’s a lot of change, to say the least.

Here are Evyn’s thoughts, as they pull up to the house in Boston to greet their new family:

I have to admit she looks good for a mother – somebody else’s. But not ours. Not now, not ever.

I know. She hasn’t tried to hug us yet. Smart woman. She’s playing it safe. But wait until they’re married, and she starts planting cheek kisses left and right. I give her three weeks before she says, You can call me Mom now, honey. And while you’re at it, scrub the toilet bowl.

That’s what happened to Tamara Schacter, this girl I know. The minute her dad got remarried, Kiki the Stepmonster took over her entire life and destroyed it.

If anything like that happens here, I will run away, which would make Jules very happy, I can tell you. I would go back to Maine and live with her. I have no clue how I’d get there, since I have exactly three dollars to my name. But I’d find a way, that much I promise you. I would definitely find a way.

Evyn moves into a new room that she shares with two of her new sisters, starts a new school in a new city, and struggles to meet new friends, all the while trying desperately to hold onto her old life, which she liked very much. It’d be a tough adjustment for anyone, and Evyn is also trying to adjust to being a teenager and sharing her father with a whole new family.

I really enjoyed reading Evyn’s story, filled with her own warmth, humor, and anxiety. As you might expect, things don’t turn out to be quite so bad as Evyn expects, but to say anymore would ruin the book’s wonderful ups and downs. This is a coming-of-age story with a twist – lots of them, actually – that teen girls (and older preteens as well) will thoroughly enjoy.

Scholastic, 188 pages

Accelerated Reader level 3.3, 5 points

Middle-Grade Review: Book of Ember series

A few weeks ago, we watched the movie version of The City of Ember, and I enjoyed it so much that I was inspired to finally read the books, written by Jeanne DuPrau, that my son told me were very good. I wasn’t disappointed. I read Book 1, The City of Ember, and Book 2, The People of Sparks, so quickly that I went out and bought Book 3, The Prophet of Yonwood, for my son’s birthday. Of course, I managed to read it before he did! Now, the hard part will be to tell you about the series without giving too much of the plot away.

The series begins with Lina Mayfleet, a 12-year old girl, and Doon Harrow, a 12-year old boy, who are both residents of the strange city of Ember. Ember has no natural light and relies on a mysterious generator to create the power needed to light Ember and run all of its electric devices. We learn in a brief prologue that Ember was created by a group of builders:

When the city of Ember was just built and not yet inhabited, the chief builder and the assistant builder, both of them weary, sat down to speak of the future.

“They must not leave the city for at least two hundred years,” said the chief builder. “Or perhaps two hundred and twenty.”

“Is that long enough?” asked his assistant.

“It should be. We can’t know for sure.”

“And when the time comes,” said the assistant, “how will they know what to do?”

“We’ll provide them with instructions, of course,” the chief builder replied.

“But who will keep the instructions? Who can we trust to keep them safe and secret all that time?”

“The mayor of the city will keep the instructions,” said the chief builder. “We’ll put them in a box with a timed lock, set to open on the proper date.”

But over the long years, the instructions are lost.

The story opens on Assignment Day, the day that all 12-year olds in Ember receive their job assignment that marks the beginning of their adult lives. Lina loves to run and explore the city and wants to be a messenger, while Doon wants to work underground in the Pipeworks where the generator is located. The power in Ember has begun to fail, and the increasingly frequent blackouts have everyone scared. Doon wants to try to fix the generator and save his city.

Book 2, The People of Sparks, continues the story of Lina and Doon and provides some hints as to what happened 200 years ago that inspired the builders to create Ember in the first place. It also explores how differences between people can lead to conflict and violence. Book 3, The Prophet of Yonwood, is a prequel that takes place before the city of Ember is built and populated, providing clues as to what led to the creation of Ember, as it tells the story of a small town where one woman sees a vision of the future to come.

The whole series is well written, suspenseful, and imaginative. DuPrau creates a future world that is both cautionary and hopeful, populated with realistic characters that will appeal to both boys and girls. You’ll cheer Lina and Doon on, as they work to save their people. Book 4, The Diamond of Darkhold, was just released at the end of August. I can’t wait to read it!

Random House Books for Young Readers
Yearling Paperbacks

Accelerated Reader:
The City of Ember - level 5, 9 points
The People of Sparks – level 4.9, 11 points
The Prophet of Yonwood – level 4.9, 9 points

Top Ten Fantasy Series

TEN FOR TUESDAY

Things have been kind of quiet at the blog lately - I was sick for two weeks and unable to write much. The good news is I had plenty of time to read and finished two great middle-grade series - Book of Ember and The Cronus Chronicles - plus a good teen book, Bounce. Look for reviews soon!

Meanwhile, I'm turning today's Top Ten list over to my son. Jamie is 15 years old and loves to read, especially fantasy novels. Jamie is an avid reader, and he says there are so many good fantasy series out now that it's hard to choose!

Here are Jamie's picks for Top Ten Fantasy Series for middle-grade readers and teens:

• The Farsala Trilogy by Hilari Bell
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• The Last Apprentice by Joseph Delaney
• Fablehaven by Brandon Mull and Brandon Dorman
• Tunnels Books by Brian Williams and Roderick Gordon
  
• The Icemark Chronicles (starting with Cry of the Icemark) by Stuart Hill
• The Book of Time by Guillaume Prevost
• The Books of Umber by P.W. Catanese
• Maximum Ride series by James Patterson
• The Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan

I've read The Hunger Games, The Book of Time, and Tunnels and agree with those choices wholeheartedly!

What are your favorite fantasy novels?

Middle-Grade Review: Freaky Monday

My two sons and I are big fans of both Freaky Friday movies, so we were excited to hear that a long-awaited sequel was recently published, Freaky Monday. Written by the original author, Mary Rodgers, and the screenwriter for the second Freaky Friday movie, Heather Hach, the new book is just as much fun as the original! We listened to the audio book on a recent car trip, and the whole family enjoyed it.

Hadley is an over-achieving eighth-grader who is so worried about her grades that she hardly has time in her life for anything else, even her two best friends. Her freewheeling English teacher, Ms. Pitt, drives Hadley crazy because she’s not focused on grades; she’s more likely to have her students sit in a circle and talk about the meaning of a book than assign extra credit projects.

During a conflict between the two in the school hallway, they suddenly trade places, and then the fun really begins! They go through all kinds of crises while trapped in each other’s bodies, including a job interview, a family emergency, and even a little romance. The result is funny, engaging, and eventually heartwarming.

The audio book is perfectly read by Jennifer Stone, whose voice kids will recognize as Harper from Disney’s Wizards of Waverly Place TV show. Stone did a great job narrating as slightly neurotic Hadley, and we were hooked from beginning to end. This one is sure to be a big hit with tweens, especially girls (though my boys enjoyed it, too).

Listen to a sample audio clip.

Harper-Collins, 192 pages.
HarperChildren’s Audio
Accelerated Reader (AR) Level 4.7

Middle-Grade Review: Jake Ransom and the Skull King’s Shadow

Jake Ransom and the Skull King’s Shadow by best-selling adult author James Rollins has all the suspense and action of his grown-up books, with magic and fantasy added to the mix. We listened to this audio book during our recent cross-country road trip, and it helped make the miles fly by!

Jake and his older sister, Kady, are left on their own when their parents, both famous archeologists, disappear while on an expedition. A few months later, Jake receives a mysterious package that contains an artifact that his parents found on their last expedition.

The kids enter their own adventure when the artifact plunges them into a bizarre world where long-lost civilizations live together. They make friends with Mayan, Roman, and Viking kids while they try to find a way back home, but this strange new world is filled with dangers. Besides creatures like T. Rex chasing them, there is an evil Skull King who wants to stop them from finding a way home.

Rollins includes fascinating facts about how each of these ancient civilizations lived, coupled with the enticing magic that brought them all together and allows them to create their own technologies. The gripping story combines elements of science and history with fantasy for a thrilling adventure filled with exciting twists. It’s clear from the ending that this is only the beginning of Jake and Kady’s adventures.

You can listen to a sample of the audio book – just click on the listen button at the link.

HarperCollins, 416 pages.

BOOK: AUDIO:

Teen/YA Review: Prism

You know an audio book is good when you get to your destination and don’t want to get out of the car. That happened to me recently when I listened to the new teen/YA novel Prism by Faye and Aliza Kellerman, a mother-daughter writing team (and wife and daughter to best-selling author Jonathan Kellerman). I arrived home and ran in the house to stick the CD into our home player so I could finish listening to this exciting and suspenseful story, and I kept listening until I got to the end. I don’t think I’ve ever finished an audio book in so little time.

The action begins with a class trip to Carlsbad Caverns. Kaida Hutchenson isn’t thrilled to find out she’s been assigned to ride in a van (for 14 hours) with swimming jock Zeke Anderson and smarty-pants loner Joy Tallon. Partway through the long and boring drive, a terrible accident occurs, and Kaida, Zeke, and Joy suddenly find themselves not only stuck together but trying to survive alone in the desert together. During a storm, they take refuge in a cave. Suddenly, there’s a blinding flash of light in the black cave, and the next thing Kaida knows, she’s waking up in her own bed back home.

Did she dream the whole awful ordeal? As Kaida numbly goes through the motions of her school day, she discovers that everything is just a little bit different than she remembers. With no other options, she must again band together with Zeke and Joy to try to figure out what happened and how to get back to the reality they know.

This imaginative thriller is not only fast-paced but also very well-written. The excellent voice talent of reader Jenna Lamia adds to the audio book’s appeal. You can tell that a teen helped to write this novel (Aliza is a junior in high school) because its dialogue sounds natural and true. Plus, the plot and concept of the book are fascinating to consider. I highly recommend this book to teens, young adults, and even older pre-teens (as well as adults!)

HarperCollins, 272 pages

Click here to listen to a sample of the audio book Prism.

Middle-Grade Review: Flipped

I recently enjoyed a wonderful audio book of Flipped, a fun and funny middle-grade novel by Wendelin Van Draanen. Flipped is a unique book because it’s almost like two books in one. Alternating chapters are told from the viewpoint of two different characters, Bryce and Juli, who are seventh-graders. They’ve known each other since Bryce moved in across the street from Juli five years before.

What makes this novel so much fun and adds a large dose of humor is that Bryce and Juli see everything completely differently, even when they are each recounting the exact same events. For instance, here are two excerpts about the day they first met, when a mud-splattered Juli came over to the moving truck, excited to have someone her own age in the neighborhood, and introduced herself. Bryce was a bit overwhelmed by Juli and tried to escape into the house. First, Bryce’s perspective:

I heard her coming after me but I couldn’t believe it. Maybe it just sounded like she was chasing me; maybe she was really going the other way. But before I got up the nerve to look, she blasted right past me, grabbing my arm and yanking me along.

This was too much. I planted myself and was about to tell her to get lost when the weirdest thing happened. I was making this big windmill motion to break away from her, but somehow on the downswing my hand wound up tangling into hers. I couldn’t believe it. There I was, holding the mud monkey’s hand!

I tried to shake her off, but she just clamped on tight and yanked me along, saying, “C’mon!”

And here is how Juli remembers the exact same incident, where she thought Bryce had to go in house the to help but would much rather stay out and play:

I chased Bryce up the walkway, and that’s when everything changed. You see, I caught up to him and grabbed his arm, trying to stop him so maybe we could play a little before he got trapped inside, and the next thing I know he’s holding my hand, looking right into my eyes.

My heart stopped. It just stopped beating. And for the first time in my life, I had that feeling. You know, like the world is moving all around you, all beneath you, all inside you, and you’re floating. Floating in midair. And the only thing keeping you from drifting away is the other person’s eyes. They’re connected to yours by some invisible physical force, and they hold you fast while the rest of the world swirls and twirls and falls completely away.

I almost got my first kiss that day. I’m sure of it.

As you can see, Bryce and Juli see things very differently, and this continues through the five years that they know each other, with each of them assuming things about the other one. In eighth grade, a lot of things happen – involving chickens, a sycamore tree, and several family secrets – that change both their views, and things get flipped once again.

The audio version of this book was a lot of fun to listen to, with excellent reading by both of the young actors voicing the parts of Bryce and Juli. There are plenty of twists in the plot to keep you guessing and laughing.

Alfred A. Knopf, 212 pages

Accelerated Reader (AR) Level 4.8; 8 points

Teen/YA Review: Everlost

For two years now, my son has been urging me to read Everlost, a novel by Neal Shusterman. I’m so glad I finally got to it! It’s a magical and intriguing look at the imagined world in between life and death.

Allie, a girl of about 14, is riding in the car with her dad when they collide head-on with another car, carrying Nick, a boy of about the same age, eating a chocolate bar and riding with his family to his cousin’s wedding. Allie and Nick both fly through the windshields of their respective cars, then feel themselves moving through a tunnel toward a bright light, when they suddenly collide into each other, land on the ground, and enter a strange, dreamless sleep.

“It’s about time you woke up,” [the boy] said.

“Who are you?” Allie asked.

Instead of answering, he pointed to the other kid, who was starting to stir. “Your friend is waking up, too.”

“He’s not my friend.”

The other kid sat up, blinking in the light. He had brown stuff on his face. Dried blood? thought Allie. No. Chocolate. She could smell it.

“This is freaky,” the chocolate boy said. “Where am I?”

Allie stood up and took a good look around. This wasn’t just a grove of trees, it was an entire forest.

“I was in the car, with my dad,” Allie said aloud, forcing the scrap of memory to her lips, hoping that would help to drag the rest of it all the way back. “We were on a mountain, above a forest…”

Only this wasn’t the forest they had driven past.

Allie and Nick discover they are in Everlost, a strange place populated with Afterlights like themselves, in an alternate reality of the life they’ve known. There are peculiar rules and dangers in Everlost, and the boy who was with them when they woke up helps Allie and Nick along. But neither of them feels ready for this place, so they set out to find their homes and families. Their journey takes them to extraordinary places and introduces them to extraordinary beings, as they struggle to remember and hang onto their old lives.

I really enjoyed this magical book. It’s a classic adventure story, set in a mystical place. Shusterman has created a very clever and imaginative after-world. To say much more would give away too much of the story, but it’s sure to appeal to teens and adults as well. A sequel, Everwild, is scheduled for release November 10, 2009. We can’t wait to go back to Everlost!

500 pages, Simon & Schuster

Simon & Schuster Audio

 

Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in return for an honest review. My review is my own opinion and is not influenced by my relationship with the publisher or author.

 

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible.

 

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm and support local bookstores.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

 
  

Teen Book Meme

First, a confession...I only recently learned what a "meme" is and I had to look it up! So, don't feel bad if it's new to you, too. My understanding is that it's some sort of Q&A thingy that people pass along and paste into their blogs. It's fun! And, since I love teen and YA books, this one really appealed to me. Thanks to Laura at I'm Booking It!

The following list of books teens love, books teens should read, and books adults who serve teens should know about was compiled IN ABSOLUTELY NO SCIENTIFIC MANNER and should be taken with a very large grain of salt.

Instructions:

Put an “X” next to the books you’ve read
Put a “+” next to the books you LOVE
Put a “#” next to the books you plan on reading
Tally your “X”s at the bottom
Share with your friends!

X 1. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy / Douglas Adams
2. Kit’s Wilderness / David Almond
X+3. Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian / Sherman Alexie
4. Speak / Laurie Halse Anderson
5. Feed / M.T. Anderson
X+6. Flowers in the Attic / V.C. Andrews
7. 13 Reasons Why / Jay Asher
8. Am I Blue? / Marion Dane Bauer (editor)
9. Audrey Wait! / Robin Benway
10. Weetzie Bat / Francesca Lia Block
11. Tangerine / Edward Bloor
X+12. Forever / Judy Blume
13. What I Saw and How I Lied / Judy Blundell
14. Tyrell / Coe Booth
* 15. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants / Ann Brashares (*saw the movie!)
16. A Great and Terrible Beauty / Libba Bray
* 17. The Princess Diaries / Meg Cabot (*saw the movie!)
X 18. The Stranger / Albert Camus
X++19. Ender’s Game / Orson Scott Card
20. Postcards from No Man’s Land / Aidan Chambers
21. Perks of Being a Wallflower / Stephen Chbosky
X 22. And Then There Were None / Agatha Christie
23. Gingerbread / Rachel Cohn
# 24. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist / Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
X+25. Artemis Fowl (series) / Eoin Colfer
X++26. The Hunger Games / Suzanne Collins
27. The Midwife’s Apprentice / Karen Cushman
28. The Truth About Forever / Sarah Dessen
29. Little Brother / Cory Doctorow
30. A Northern Light / Jennifer Donnelly
31. Tears of a Tiger / Sharon Draper
X++32. The House of the Scorpion / Nancy Farmer
33. Breathing Underwater / Alex Flinn
34. Stardust / Neil Gaiman
35. Annie on My Mind / Nancy Garden
36. What Happened to Cass McBride / Gail Giles
37. Fat Kid Rules the World / K.L. Going
X 38. Lord of the Flies / William Golding
# 39. Looking for Alaska / John Green
40. Bronx Masquerade / Nikki Grimes
41. Out of the Dust / Karen Hesse
X 42. Hoot / Carl Hiaasen
X 43. The Outsiders / S.E. Hinton
44. Crank / Ellen Hopkins
45. The First Part Last / Angela Johnson
46. Blood and Chocolate / Annette Curtis Klause
47. Arrow’s Flight / Mercedes Lackey
48. Hattie Big Sky / Kirby Larson
X++49. To Kill a Mockingbird / Harper Lee
50. Boy Meets Boy / David Levithan
51. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks / E. Lockhart
X 52. The Giver / Lois Lowry
X 53. Number the Stars / Lois Lowry
54. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie / David Lubar
55. Inexcusable / Chris Lynch
56. The Earth, My Butt and Other Big, Round Things / Carolyn Mackler
57. Dragonsong / Anne McCaffrey
58. White Darkness / Geraldine McCaughrean
59. Sold / Patricia McCormick
60. Jellicoe Road / Melina Marchetta
61. Wicked Lovely / Melissa Marr
62. Twilight / Stephenie Meyer
63. Dairy Queen / Catherine Murdock
64. Fallen Angels / Walter Dean Myers
65. Monster / Walter Dean Myers
66. Step From Heaven / An Na
67. Mama Day / Gloria Naylor
68. The Keys to the Kingdom (series) / Garth Nix
69. Sabriel / Garth Nix
70. Airborn / Kenneth Oppel
71. Eragon / Christopher Paolini
X 72. Hatchet / Gary Paulsen
73. Life As We Knew It / Susan Beth Pfeffer
X++74. The Golden Compass / Phillip Pullman
75. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging / Louise Rennison
X+76. The Lightning Thief / Rick Riordan
77. Always Running: La Vida Loca / Luis Rodriguez
78. How I Live Now / Meg Rosoff
X++79. Harry Potter (series) / J.K. Rowling
* 80. Holes / Louis Sachar
X 81. Catcher in the Rye / J. D. Salinger
82. Push / Sapphire
83. Persepolis / Marjane Satrapi
84. Unwind / Neil Shusterman
85. Coldest Winter Ever / Sister Souljah
86. Stargirl / Jerry Spinelli
87. Chanda’s Secrets / Allan Stratton
88. Tale of One Bad Rat / Brian Talbot
89. Rats Saw God / Rob Thomas
* 90. Lord of the Rings / J.R.R. Tolkien
91. Stuck in Neutral / Terry Trueman
92. Gossip Girl / Cecily Von Ziegesar
93. Uglies / Scott Westerfeld
94. Every Time a Rainbow Dies / Rita Williams-Garcia
95. Pedro and Me / Judd Winick
96. Hard Love / Ellen Wittlinger
97. American Born Chinese / Gene Luen Yang
98. Elsewhere / Gabrielle Zevin
99. I am the Messenger / Markus Zusak
X+100. The Book Thief / Markus Zusak

I've read 22 out of 100 - I better get busy! Plus I added two new designations: * means I saw the movie but didn't read the book, and - since I'm prone to fits of unbridled enthusiasm - ++ means that I REALLY loved it, as in one of the best books I've ever read. What a great list!

Anyone else want to play?

Middle-Grade Review: Books To Tickle Your Funny Bone

Sorry for the lack of posts recently - we took a 3-week road trip vacation. While we were away, I was reminded of some of our favorite funny books from the past several years...

Even though our sons, Jamie, 14, and Craig, 11, are avid readers on their own, we still enjoy reading aloud with them at bedtime (though sometimes they take a turn now!). The books listed below have all been favorite read-alouds over the past several years because we all enjoy a good sense of humor. Besides being fun to read together, any of these would be excellent choices for a middle-grade reader to read alone, especially a reluctant reader who doesn’t want to take his or her books too seriously!

In Airball: My Life in Briefs by L.D. Harkrader, Kirby loves everything about basketball but has few skills to help his struggling seventh-grade team prepare for an exhibition game against a hometown NBA star. The coach devises a plan to help the boys focus on their game by playing in their underwear, while Kirby works to unravel the mystery of his biological father. Comical and touching, the fast-paced plot keeps you rooting for Kirby, on the court and off. This one is such a favorite of ours that we’ve read it aloud twice! Ages 8 and up. Roaring Brook Press.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy, Book 1: The Hero Revealed by William Boniface takes place in Superopolis where everyone is a superhero with special powers…everyone except Ordinary Boy. In this first book, O Boy and his friends, Stench (super strong and super gassy), Plasma Girl (can turn herself into jelly), and others, go up against the biggest villain of all time, Professor Brain Drain. Your kids will laugh as they cheer on the city’s littlest superheroes. During our recent vacation, we read Book 2: The Return of Meteor Boy? and are happy to report that it’s just as amusing as the first one! Ages 8 and up. Harper-Collins.

Do you ever wish you could go back in time and correct your mistakes? In 15 Minutes by Steve Young, seventh-grader Casey discovers an invention of his Grandpop’s that allows him to do just that. There’s one catch, though. It only takes him back 15 minutes. Hilarious consequences ensue, as Casey grapples with a test he didn’t study for, a bully, and his middle school football game. Ages 8 and up, Harper-Collins.

Teen/YA Review: The Hunger Games

We’re on vacation, and I finally had the chance to read the book that both my husband and 14-year old son said was one of the best books they’d ever read: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Wow, they were right. Our whole family loved Collins’ The Underland Chronicles series, so we’d been anticipating her latest release for a while.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen lives with her mother and younger sister in District 12, one of twelve outlying districts controlled by The Capitol, in the remains of what was once North America, now called Panem. The Capitol keeps control of the districts in part through the annual Hunger Games:

The rules of the Huger Games are simple. In punishment for the uprising, each of the twelve districts must provide one girl and one boy, called tributes, to participate. The twenty-four tributes will be imprisoned in a vast outdoor arena that could hold anything from a burning desert to a frozen wasteland. Over a period of several weeks, the competitors must fight to the death. The last tribute standing wins.

Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch – this is the Capitol’s way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy. How little chance we would stand of surviving another rebellion. Whatever words they use, the real message is clear. “Look how we can take your children and sacrifice them and there’s nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you. Just as we did in District Thirteen.

To make it humiliating as well as torturous, the Capitol requires us to treat the Hunger Games as a festivity, a sporting event pitting every district against the others. The last tribute alive receives a life of ease back home, and their district will be showered with prizes, largely consisting of food. All year, the Capitol will show the winning district gifts of grain and oil and even delicacies like sugar while the rest of us battle starvation.

“It is both a time for repentance and a time for thanks,” intones the mayor.

As you can see, Panem is a place often ruled by cruelty and a struggle to survive. Families in most of the districts live on the edge of starvation, fighting to get by with limited rations and hard work with low pay. Katniss’ father was killed in a mining accident (mining is the designated industry for District 12), but he taught her how to hunt before he died. Although hunting is illegal, Katniss helps her family survive with the meat she brings home and the trades she’s able to make in the black market.

Katniss and her family are devastated when Katniss must compete in this year’s Hunger Games. As one of the poorer districts, District Twelve rarely wins, and it seems like a death sentence as Katniss is whisked away to the Capitol amid the false festivities. Most of the novel deals with Katniss’ efforts to survive the Hunger Games and the tough choices she faces in the arena.

As my husband and son had told me, this is an amazing book. Collins’ writing talents shine, with in-depth characters that you come to care about and fascinating details of a world different than our own, yet eerily similar in some ways. The suspense and action keep you turning the pages. I even broke my own rule about reading in the car and chanced getting carsick because I just couldn’t wait until evening to read more! We’re all counting the days until the sequel, Catching Fire, comes out, on September 1, 2009.

NOTE: Because of the deadly nature of the Hunger Games, these books are best for teens and older and so well-written that they'll appeal to adults as well.

384 pages, Scholastic Press

Top Ten Books We Want To Read This Summer

TEN FOR TUESDAY!
It's Tuesday and time for a Top Ten list! We had a wonderful time on Sunday at Barnes & Noble spending some gift cards and getting excited about all the great books we want to read this summer. The list below is mostly Jamie's list (my fourteen-year old son), but I plan to read some of these. too. It includes the books he bought on Sunday, as well as some new releases we'll be receiving for review. And I notice that every single book is part of a series! I think that says something about the way books for kids and teens are published now. Anyway, here's our list:

Top Ten Books We Want To Read This Summer:

• The Farsala Trilogy by Hilari Bell – one of Jamie’s favorite fantasy series
• The Night of the Soul Stealer and Attack of the Fiend by Joseph Delaney (Books 3 and 4 of The Last Apprentice)
• The Wave Walkers series by Kai Meyer
• Maximum Ride – School’s Out Forever by James Patterson
• Evil Star by Anthony Horowitz (Book 2 of The Gatekeepers series; Book 4 was released in April)
  
• The Immortal Fire by Anne Ursu (Book 3 in the Chronus Chronicles)
• Sacred Scars by Kathleen Duey (sequel to Skin Hunger , The Resurrection of Magic series)
  
• Sent by Margaret Peterson Haddix (sequel to Found in The Missing series)
• Last Battle of the Icemark by Stuart Hill (book 3) – another of Jamie’s favorite series of all time!
• The Pilgrims of Rayne by D.J. MacHale (Book 8 in the Pendragon series) – this series is so good, I bought book 8 for myself! Book 10 was recently released.

What are YOU looking forward to reading this summer?

Teen/YA Review: 20 Boy Summer

Sarah Ockler’s debut novel, 20 Boy Summer, is far more than a typical teen romance. I was a bit put off by the title at first, expecting a shallow summer romp, but I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of emotion of the novel and the honest way it handles the wrenching experience of losing someone you care about.

Anna and Frankie have been next-door neighbors and best friends since they were babies. Their families are close, and Anna, Frankie, and Frankie’s older brother, Matt, are inseparable. Things begin to change, though, when Anna realizes she likes Matt as more than just a best friend. On her fifteenth birthday, she finds out that he likes her more, too, and they share their first kiss. Matt pleads with Anna not to say anything to Frankie yet. He wants to tell his sister himself, during their vacation next month, so he and Anna carry on their secret love affair for several blissful weeks.

Then, the unthinkable happens: Matt dies unexpectedly, and Anna is left holding their secret. Everyone copes – or doesn’t cope – in his or her own way, and Anna is concerned to see Frankie suddenly becoming obsessed with clothes, make-up, and boys.

A year after Matt’s death, Frankie’s family decides to return to their favorite beach house in California for a vacation, and they invite Anna to come along. Frankie convinces Anna to join her in a contest – to try to meet 20 boys in 20 days during their vacation. The trip is a rollercoaster of emotions, bringing up memories of Matt while the girls try to meet their boy quota. Here, shortly after they arrive, Anna sees the ocean for the first time:

“Isn’t it amazing, Anna?” She looks out across the water. “It makes you feel kind of small, huh?”

“Yeah.” I don’t want to say too much; to break the thin glass bubble spell, my head resting on her shoulder, my oldest friend reflective and serious and still capable of being amazed.

“You know what the best part of California is?” She puts her arm around me, her Matt-bracelet cool against my shoulder. “No one knows me here. No one knows that they’re supposed to feel sorry for me.”

I think about the faces at school as we passed through the halls – eyes looking away, mouths whispering. There goes Matt’s sister. Hey, isn’t that the best friend?

“Except for you,” she says. “You’re the only one who knows the big black secret. And you’re a locked vault when it comes to keeping secrets.” She laughs, kicking at the sand with her toes.

20 Boy Summer is an engaging story that pulls you into the world of summer vacation at the beach, with beautiful settings and well-drawn characters. The novel is about grief and loss but also about friendship, love, and getting on with life.

Overall, I loved this novel, although I was a little bothered by the girls’ emphasis on losing their virginity. I was certainly no angel myself in high school, but I don’t remember anyone thinking of virginity as such a burden. Have things changed that much? In any case, that’s a small complaint in what is otherwise an honest, meaningful portrayal of teen girls dealing with life and loss.

290 pages
Little, Brown and Company
Recommended for older teens and young adults because of content related to sex (though the sex scenes are not explicit) and underage drinking.

Teen/YA Review: Skin Hunger

Skin Hunger, Book One in the new A Resurrection of Magic series by Kathleen Duey, is an engaging, haunting book that gripped me and left me wanting more. It begins to tell the intersecting stories of two young people, Sadima and Hahp, in a world where magic has been banned.

Sadima’s mother died giving birth to her, and her father lives in a state of deep despair, desperately trying to protect Sadima from any kind of danger, real or imagined. However, Sadima has a vigorous spirit and yearns to explore the world outside the family farm:

Sadima lay awake. Sometimes she could not keep to her bed. It felt like slender, tender hands were guiding her as she slid from beneath her blanket and dressed, then went over to the windowsill and dropped into the yard, the grass cool on her bare feet. When she was little, she had just run down the road, then across the meadow on the hill, then back, using a fruit crate she had hidden to get back over the sill. But as her legs got longer, she ran farther – and she didn’t need the crate anymore.

Sometimes she just danced in the cool night air, imagining the world beyond the goat meadows. There was a city far to the west, by the sea. Limòri. Papa said it was a wicked place, that he never wanted her to ask about it again. But Sadima had pestered Micah until he had told her all the stories he’d heard about it and everything he had overheard, too. Half the world was water, Micah said. Sadima wanted to see an ocean. To taste it.

In alternating chapters with Sadima’s story, we learn of Hahp, an eleven-year old second son who lives in Limòri with his affluent family in a world where only first-born sons are valued. Centuries have passed since Sadima’s time and magic is now allowed again but only among the wealthy. Hahp’s father sends him to the secluded wizard academy, along with nine other boys. This is no Hogwarts, though, as evidenced by the foreboding speech given when the boys enter the school:

“We have opened the Great Doors,” a grating voice said. “Soon we will close them again.”

I blinked. There was a wizard at the podium. He was glaring at us as though we had all somehow offended him. Was this the headmaster? I swallowed hard. His pale eyes flickered over the benches, and he cleared his throat but did not speak again. My heart was flailing like a bird trapped in a box. I saw my mother staring.

“The course of study is difficult,” the man finally said in a thick, strained voice, as though each word pained him. “One of your sons will emerge from the Great Doors a wizard – or none will. Some stay…” He fell silent, then went on. “Most who fail stay within our walls and remain with us, becoming part of the school.” He paused again. “Parents will be informed.”

Sadima heads off to the city to explore her own magical talent for communicating with animals and seek out a friend who passed through her town, though nothing turns out quite as she expected. Hahp begins his wizard training which turns out to be bizarre and abusive, like no other schooling you could ever imagine. Some of Hahp’s chapters featuring the cruel and sadistic academy are difficult to read but so compelling that you can’t put the book down. It is definitely not for the faint of heart.

It takes awhile to see how Sadima and Hahp’s stories will eventually connect, and, even once you figure it out, many questions remain as to how events will progress from Sadima’s time to Hahp’s time. I guess I’ll have to read Book Two to find out. My 14-year old son, Jamie, and I can’t wait.

368 pages
Simon Pulse

NOTE: Book Two, Sacred Scars, will be released on August 4, 2009.

Middle-Grade Review: The Higher Power of Lucky

Author Susan Patron won a well-deserved Newberry Medal for her middle-grade novel, The Higher Power of Lucky, which I recently read along with its excellent follow-up, Lucky Breaks.

Ten-year old Lucky Trimble lives in the tiny desert town of Hard Pan, California (population 43). Lucky lost her mother when she was eight years old and now lives (in an eclectic triple trailer arrangement) with her guardian, Brigitte, who moved from France to take care of her. Lucky worries that Brigitte misses France and might decide to return and leave Lucky alone. Seeking guidance, Lucky quietly listens in on various Anonymous meetings that take place in Hard Pan’s Found Object Wind Chime Museum and Visitor Center. She thinks that if she can just find her own Higher Power like the people at the meetings, then her problems will be solved:

HMS Beagle bounded out from under the kitchen trailer to smell her and find out where she had been. “HMS” stands for “His Majesty’s Ship,” and the actual original HMS Beagle was a beautiful ship that took the scientist Charles Darwin all around the world on exciting discoveries. Lucky’s dog – who was neither a ship nor a beagle – got her name because of always being with Lucky on her scientific adventures. Also, HMS Beagle was beautiful, with very short brown fur, little dog-eyebrows that moved when she was thinking, and big ear flaps that you could see the veins inside of if you held them up to the light.

A breeze rattled the found object wind chimes at the Found Object Wind Chime Museum and Visitor Center, and the high desert air carried that sound in front of it, all the way across town, down to the three trailers at the very end of Hard Pan. Just the sound of those chimes made Lucky feel cooler. But she still had doubts and anxious questions in all the crevices of her brain, especially about how to find her Higher Power.

Lucky has plenty of friends – both young and old – in Hard Pan, including 5-year old Miles who carries the book Are You My Mother? everywhere with him (one of my own favorites!) and Lincoln, Lucky’s classmate who is a knot-tying expert.

When Lucky becomes convinced that Brigitte will return to France, she grabs her ever-present backpack/survival kit and runs away from home. Things don’t go quite as planned, though. Lucky discovers plenty of trouble along the way but also some important lessons about the meaning of family.

In the second book, Lucky Breaks, Lucky finds a new best friend – her first girl friend ever – among some visiting geologists. On the eve of her eleventh birthday, Lucky is yearning for adventure and excitement with her new friend, but she gets more than she bargained for.

Both books are written with warmth and wit. Lucky is a wonderful heroine, trying to find security and friendship among the eccentric characters of her hometown. Hard Pan is a unique and endearing character in itself. You’ll wish you could visit Hard Pan yourself to eat at Brigitte’s café and hang out with Lucky and her friends. I’m looking forward to the third and final Lucky book.

The Higher Power of Lucky, 144 pages, RL= 5.9, Aladdin Paperbacks
Lucky Breaks, 192 pages, RL=6.0, Athenuem

Teen Review: Nothing But the Truth

A wonderful teen blogger, Miss Erin, recommended North of Beautiful by her favorite author, Justina Chen Headley. My library didn’t have that book yet, so I picked up another of Headley’s novels, Nothing But the Truth (and a few white lies). I wasn’t disappointed.

Patty Ho is dealing with all the typical problems of a freshman in high school – trying to fit in, wanting the school’s soccer star to notice her, and worrying about seeming too smart to be cool. But Patty also feels torn between two worlds: her mother’s Taiwanese world and the mostly-white world of her high school. In these excerpts from her English assignment to write the Truth about herself, Patty describes herself:

Truth: I am a fourteen-year-old stick-thin giant who is imprisoned in the house of midgets. My mother barely squeaks over five feet tall, and calling my big brother Abe “big” is a misnomer when I’m a good five inches taller than him. I have to assume that my height comes from my father, but he’s a short story in our home. It goes something like this: Once upon a time, Stanley Peter Johnson transferred from Berkeley to study at the University of Taipei for a year. He conquered, he came, and he left with a couple of made-in-Taiwan souvenirs: my mom and Abe. Apparently, his American dream didn’t include a mixed-race family of four. So for my second birthday, he gave me a good-bye kiss and vanished. End of story.

…But it is also true that I can pass. I can pass biology (miraculously), notes in class (well), and plates of food (perfectly). I cannot pass out (Why be out of control when I’m never in control in my prison cell of a home?) or pass a basketball (which bombs the theory that all tall kids can be basketball stars).

But I cannot pass for white or Asian.

At the end of the school year, Patty’s mother makes unexpected – and unwanted – plans for her summer: math camp. To make matters worse, Patty’s English teacher correctly assumes that Patty wrote her yearlong Truth project in only one night and reassigns it to her for the summer. Patty heads off for camp, certain it’s going to be torture, and uncertain of how she’ll write the truth about herself when she isn’t sure what that is. But unexpected opportunities arise at camp, and Patty begins to open her mind to new possibilities about herself.

I wondered at first whether I would relate to Patty’s mixed-race difficulties, but her struggles to find her identity and fit in are universal insecurities that every teen (and adult!) deals with. Headley is a wonderful writer, and Patty is a very likable narrator, telling her story with honesty and humor. I had trouble putting this book down and cheered for Patty through her tragedies and triumphs. I look forward to reading more of Headley’s novels.

Middle-Grade Review: Pendragon Before the War

May 12, 2009, is a big day for fans of D.J. MacHale’s time and space travel adventure series, Pendragon. Today is the release date for Book 10, The Soldiers of Halla, the final book in the series. I haven’t read this latest release yet, but I did recently read two add-ons to the series that will satisfy any Pendragon fan looking for more. (If you’re unfamiliar with the Pendragon series, take a look at my earlier review).

Three new paperbacks were released earlier this year called Pendragon Before the War, all prequels to the main Pendragon series. I recently read Book One of the Travelers, written by Carla Jablonski, and Book Two of the Travelers, written by Walter Sorrells. Each of these quick reads provides the background story for three of the Travelers from different territories, filling in the details of their lives before they became Travelers.

In Book One, we read the back stories of Kasha, the klee from Eelong; Gunny Van Dyke from First Earth (my personal favorite); and Vo Spadar from the water territory of Cloral. A third of the book is devoted to each of them, with details of the life-changing adventure that led to their becoming Travelers. Bobby’s Uncle Press is a presence in each of the stories, introducing the new Travelers – or in some cases, their predecessor – to the wider world of Halla and the responsibilities of being a Traveler.

In this passage from Kasha’s story, Kasha’s father, Seegen, has just met Press and learned about the Travelers. On Eelong, the ruling race are klees – large cats with speech and well-developed technology – and humans belong to a slave race known as gars. Here’s part of the illuminating conversation between Seegen and Kasha:

“What is that?” Kasha asked. She noticed he was wearing a cord around his neck with a large ring dangling from it. The ring had some kind of stone in the center, and what looked like etchings all around the stone. She’d never seen it before.

Seegen looked down at the ring. He took a moment before answering. “It is a gift. And a responsibility.”

“The ring is a responsibility?” Nothing her father was saying was making any sense.

“I had an extraordinary experience today,” Seegen said. He stood and paced. “I met someone very unusual.”

“Who?” Perhaps this meeting would explain her father’s odd behavior. Could he have met with some of the Council of Klee?

“A gar. A gar named ‘Press’.”

“The gar had a name?” Kasha hadn’t realized gars had names. Then she remembered that many families named their household gars. They often developed strong bonds with them. “Whose gar is it?”

“This gar is not owned by anyone.”

“A rogue?”

“No! He is his own person. He is not like any gar I have ever known. Ever imagined.” He shook his head. “Nothing is.”

“Nothing is what?”

“As I thought.”

In Book Two, I read the stories of Aja Killian and the addicting virtual reality of Lifelight; Alder, the Bedwooan knight; and Elli Winter of Quillan. Book Three (which I haven’t read), written by Walter Sorrells, includes back-stories for Loor, Patrick Mac, and Siri Remudi.

Although all three Before the War books are written by other authors, they are based on D.J. MacHale’s books (and written with his supervision) and are even true to his writing style. I couldn’t tell they weren’t actually written by him. I enjoyed the prequels very much and would recommend them to any Pendragon fan who can’t get enough of Halla and its Travelers. In fact, just writing this review has reminded me of how much I love this series – I can’t wait to read the final book!

Teen/YA Fiction Review: Wake and Fade

The first two books of a planned trilogy, Wake and Fade (Simon Pulse) by Lisa McMann are two of my favorite teen books from the past year. I lent the books to a 17-year old friend of mine who agreed that these two quick reads were exciting and suspenseful.

The main character, seventeen-year old Janie Hannagan, has an unusual problem: she gets pulled into other people’s dreams. Her knowledge of her classmates’ worst fears and weirdest fantasies, plus her inability to control this strange gift, has forced her to remain a loner. Wake opens with one of these bizarre episodes:

Janie Hannagan’s math book slips from her fingers. She grips the edge of the table in the school library. Everything goes black and silent. She sighs and rests her head on the table. Tries to pull herself out of it, but fails miserably. She’s too tired today. Too hungry. She really doesn’t have time for this.

And then.

She’s sitting in the bleachers in the football stadium, blinking under the lights, silent among the roars of the crowd.

She glances at the people sitting in the bleachers around her – fellow classmates, parents – trying to spot the dreamer. She can tell this dreamer is afraid, but where is he? Then she looks to the football field. Finds him. Rolls her eyes.

It’s Luke Drake. No question about it. He is, after all, the only naked player on the field for the homecoming game.

Nobody seems to notice or care. Except him. The ball is snapped and the lines collide, but Luke is covering himself with his hands, hopping from one foot to the other. She can feel his panic increasing. Janie’s fingers tingle and go numb.

Luke looks over at Janie, eyes pleading, as the football moves toward him, a bullet in slow motion. “Help,” he says….

Janie lives a solitary life, never knowing when she’ll be pulled into someone else’s dream and temporarily paralyzed. She learns how to get by and what kinds of situations to avoid (like study hall after lunch), but then she gets pulled into a recurring nightmare where she is not just watching but is a participant. Janie tries to make sense of the frightening dream and figure out what to do about it.

Meanwhile, Janie finally finds a friend who she can trust and confide in. She also learns that she can control certain aspects of her strange ability, though it’s a long and difficult process, as she struggles to gain critical information from the nightmare and help its dreamer.

In Fade, Janie uses her unique talent to help the police find a sexual predator at her high school. I don’t want to say anything else about the plot because it would give away too much of the first book. Both books are filled with fast-paced suspense, mystery, a little romance, and no small amount of creepiness. I really enjoyed them, as did my husband and our 17-year old friend, and I’m looking forward to the third book, Gone.

Wake 210 pages
Fade 247 pages
Simon Pulse (an imprint of Simon & Schuster)
Best for ages 15 and up, due to sexual content and some violence

Middle-Grade Review: The Gate of Days

I’m a sucker for time-travel stories. My favorite books and movies all have a time travel theme, so I knew I’d love The Gate of Days (Scholastic) by Guillaume Prévost, the sequel to The Book of Time, which I read last year. My 14-year old son, Jamie, enjoyed both books, too.

The central character of this exciting and fast-paced time-travel series is Sam Faulkner, a 14-year old boy who lives in Canada. As the first book opens, Sam’s father has been missing for ten days, and Sam is staying with his grandparents. When Sam pokes around his Dad’s house, he discovers a strange stone statue in the basement that heats up when he places a coin in it and touches it:

When Sam was finally able to raise his head, he nearly fainted. He wasn’t in the storage room anymore. He wasn’t anywhere he knew. A rocky beach with a thin strip of sand and a vast sea stretched away in the distance, and he seemed to be halfway up a wild outcropping of rocks and thick grass. What had happened to him? And what had happened to his clothes? Instead of his jeans and T-shirt, he was now wearing a sweat-soaked long shirt that covered his arms and legs, and itched as well. And what about his burns? He could still feel the sting of the fire that had consumed him when he’d touched the stone, and yet his skin was miraculously whole, as smooth as a baby’s. As if it had all been nothing but a dream.

Both books are quick reads, filled with lots of action and vivid descriptions of the exotic places and times that Sam visits as he searches for his Dad. His twelve-year old cousin, Lily, helps him, as he tries to stay clear of his aunt, who thinks he’s a bad influence on Lily.

The suspenseful plot keeps you turning pages way past bedtime, with well-drawn characters and exciting and varied settings. The only problem is that, like its predecessor, The Gate of Days ends with a major cliff-hanger, and now Jamie and I have to wait for Book 3 to find out what happens next!

249 pages
Reading Level = 5.7
Arthur A. Levine Books (a Scholastic imprint)

NOTE: Book 3, The Golden Circle, will be released on September 1, 2009.