Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Posted on October 29, 2011 by Emilyn

I almost didn’t read this one because I didn’t like the cover (and yes, I know, I shouldn’t be judging books by their covers). I’m glad I picked it up, though, since I’m a sucker for the crop of young adult fantasy books with strong, interesting heroines that have been published in the past few years. If you liked The Hunger Games, Matched, Graceling, or Sabriel for the strong female main character, you’ll want to pick up Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

Karou is a young woman living in Prague who is leading a double life. In one life she is an art student with a boyfriend who cheated on her, in the other, she runs errands picking up teeth for the wishmonger, Brimstone, the chimaera who raised her. She collects languages, has blue hair that grows in that way, three bullet scars on her abdomen and eye tattoos on the palms of her hands that have been there for as long as she can remember.

Karou is drawn into a centuries old conflict between angels and the chimaera when she runs into Akiva, an angel soldier trying to cut Brimstone off from the world. Karou and Akiva are drawn to one another, but there are secrets kept and hidden between them, and a startling revelation will drive them apart.

The Legend of Lady Ilena by Patricia Malone

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Rhonna

In sixth century Great Britain, fifteen-year-oldIlena feels set adrift after the death of her mother and father. Since they had no family nearby and herfather trained her to be a warrior, she has always known that she was destinedfor something different than the other girls of their small village, but neverknew what. Her father’s dying wordsdirect her east to Dun Alyn. Her journeytakes her across the mountains and through many trials, making friends and enemiesalong the way. Upon her arrival, she isgreeted as an evil spirit and thrown into a cage, but with the help of ahealing woman, a dwarf, and one of King Arthur’s knights she is able to findthe truth and save the day. The Legend of Lady Ilena by Patricia Malone is an exciting story about a girl finding her strength and herdestiny in a world of upheaval.

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Emilyn

Gwyneth is sixteen, relatively normal, and lives with her extended family in a huge house in London. She does a lot of pretty normal teenage girl things: hanging out with her best friend, Lesley, chatting about boys and clothes, and dealing with her weird family members. She can also talk to ghosts, but she tries to keep that from becoming general knowledge. Things take an unexpected turn when Gwyneth starts making uncontrolled jumps into the past. That particular gift was supposed to be inherited by her cousin Charlotte. Charlotte has therefore been trained in self-defense, multiple foreign languages, proper etiquette and any number of other skills Gwyneth has not been taught.

This turn of events not only complicates things for Gwyneth, it complicates them for the secret society that guards and studies time travelers. The Lodge of Count Saint-Germain, also known as The Guardians, are trying to keep Gwyneth in the dark about many of their secrets while also using her to accomplish their ends. She is left trying to figure out the intricacies of time travel and its rules while also trying to figure out how she feels about her fellow time-traveler, Gideon de Villiers and the members of The Guardians.

Ruby Red is the first book in a series translated from the original German. The second book, Sapphire Blue, will be out in spring of 2012.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Posted on September 3, 2011 by Emilyn

>Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs is a rather odd book about a young man whose grandfather is killed in a violent manner, but it’s also much more than that. Sixteen-year-old Jacob has always worshiped his grandfather and loved the stories his grandfather told about his life at a home for children in Wales when he was a young orphan. At some point the stories lost their luster and Jacob asked his grandfather to stop telling him fairy stories. After his grandfather is killed, Jacob decides he must go to the island where his grandfather lived in order to find some closure.

What he finds there makes him question his knowledge of his grandfather and his entire view of how the world works.

The story of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is a wonderful work of fiction enhanced by the addition of authentic (mostly unaltered) old photographs from private collections.

The Angel Experiment by James Patterson

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Mary

>Dream a little with James Patterson as his imagination allows children to flap their wings and fly. In The Angel Experiment children have been taken from their parents and injected with avian DNA by evil scientists. They may be 98 percent human, but the 2 percent avian DNA creates wings that allow them to soar. They are on the run from their captors and must use other special abilities to protect themselves from the Erasers, wolf-like, extremely strong, genetically-modified creatures who want them back in order to do further experiments. This group of kids looks out for each other and have compassion for each other’s failings and abilities.
After freeing Angel, the youngest of their adopted family, the setting varies from Death Valley to the subway of New York City as the kids flee from the Erasers.
More books follow to continue the story of Maximum Ride, the leader of the bird family and narrator of The Angel Experiment.

Matched by Ally Condie

Posted on December 28, 2010 by Emilyn

>Matched by Ally Conde is the story of one 17-year-old, Cassia Reyes, living in a society that makes all major decisions for everyone, including where to live, your profession, and who you will marry. Cassia is finally told her Match on her 17th birthday, Xander, her childhood friend and confidante. But when she goes to look at the microchip containing his information after the ceremony, another boy’s face appears. An Official arrives to tell Cassia there has been a mistake and Xander is her Match, but her curiosity about Ky, the other boy whose face she saw, is piqued. She finds herself wondering about Ky and trying to spend more time with him and learn his story.

Cassia’s family is also going through tough times as Cassia deals with her feelings for the two men in her life. Cassia’s grandfather reaches the age of 80 and dies right on schedule an hour before midnight on his birthday. Cassia’s father loses the sample of her grandfather’s DNA and with it the possibility of his being cloned in the future. Cassia’s mother is sent on multiple trips to other areas of the Society as part of her work as an employee at an Arboretum. All this rule bending and breaking means increased scrutiny for Cassia and her family.

Cassia is an intelligent, likable main character and the two men in her life are both sympathetic and interesting. Matched is the first book in a planned trilogy and I look forward to reading more about Cassia, Ky and Xander and learning about how they confront the Society. This dystopian young adult novel is not full of action like The Hunger Games. It is more psychological and introspective. It should appeal to fans of The Hunger Games, though, as well as to people who enjoyed The Giver by Lois Lowry.

Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Emilyn

> Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares is so much more than an exercise in witty dialogue and amusing secondary characters. It is a trip around New York City in the bustling period around Christmas and the New Year and a glimpse back in time (for adults) to what it was like to be a teenager embarking on an adventure that leads to self-discovery and romance.

For Dash, the adventure begins in his favorite bookstore when he finds a red moleskin notebook next to Franny and Zooey that contains a set of instructions he must follow in order to get in touch with Lily, the owner of the notebook. Dash is intrigued but decides two can play that game and leaves his own set of instructions for Lily. The pair embark on a dance composed of correspondences and trips around the city to typical tourist destinations (at the height of the pre-Christmas shopping frenzy) as well as to places mostly known only to residents.

The intriguing secondary characters, many plot twists and choice use of words keep this novel moving and make it a quick, fun and timely read as we head into the holidays.

Young Adult Books for Adults

Posted on November 3, 2010 by Emilyn

>There’s been some talk in the news in recent months about the trend of adults reading young adult literature. This New York Times article addresses the trend. There is also a blog called Forever Young Adult for adults who read young adult fiction. This trend seems to have really taken off with the Harry Potter series and continued with books like Twilight and The Hunger Games. These books were a gateway into young adult literature for many adults who continue to pick up YA titles. For those who haven’t read these runaway bestsellers or picked up a young adult title in recent years, here are some suggestions of young adult literature that appeals to many adults.

Sabriel is a young adult fantasy novel first published by Garth Nix in 1995 (two years before the first Harry Potter novel was released). Sabriel is the daughter of the Abhorsen, a necromancer who puts the dead to rest and prevents the restless Dead from returning to Life. When Sabriel receives a message from him while she is away at school in Ancelstierre (where magic does not work), she must return to the Old Kingdom (where magic works) to take up his duties and try free him from where he is trapped in Death. Sabriel is the first in a trilogy, followed by Lirael and Abhorsen.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is the first young adult offering from the talented Sherman Alexie. Junior is a Native American high school student living on a reservation. He likes to play basketball and draw and is often picked on by other students. He transfers to a different school to try to escape the poverty of the reservation. He starts making friends and joins the basketball team. Junior’s world starts to fall apart partway through the novel as he deals with the realities of reservation life and the death of loved ones. This novel addresses difficult issues such as race and identity and overcoming poverty with humor and grace.

Miranda is a typical high school sophomore and her diary is filled with the typical high school sophomore student concerns. In Life As We Knew It, everything changes, though, when a meteor hits the moon and knocks it off its normal axis. The earth is wracked by tsunamies, floods and volcano eruptions. The weather changes drastically and food and gas shortages abound. Miranda doesn’t focus so much on the death and destruction in her journal as she does on the reality of how much everyday life has

changed and the stresses of living in such an uncertain world.

Taylor Markham is a 17-year old student at Jellicoe Boarding School on Jellicoe Road where she has lived since her mother abandoned her at the age of 11. She leads the Jellico School faction against the Cadets and the Townies in the teen wars of the Australian countryside. Taylor already questions the role she is playing in this conflict and when her mentor and teacher, Hannah, disappears and Taylor finds her book manuscript and reads it, her questions and doubts only increase in number. This novel is very complex and mixes elements of romance, mystery and realistic fiction to compelling effect.

There are many more wonderful YA titles available at the library. Here are a few more suggestions:

Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska by John Green

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Bloodtide by Melvin Burgess

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Blood and Chocolate by Annette Klause

Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer

Deadline by Chris Crutcher

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones

The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend

Posted on October 22, 2010 by Emilyn

>Bianca is a seventeen-year-old high school senior with two beautiful and sweet best friends who care for her deeply. She is cynical, loyal and self-conscious. She knows she is the least attractive member of her tight-knit group of friends.

Wesley Rush is the school man-slut and when he approaches Bianca one evening at the local teen lounge in order to go through her to hook up with one of her friends, she throws the Cherry Coke she is holding in his face. During this incident, Wesley informs Bianca that she is the Duff (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) in her circle. And Bianca knows he’s right. The next few days, she simply can’t get this moniker out of her head, and the rest of her life also seems to be spiralling out of control.

As Bianca’s home life falls apart, she strikes up a secret affair with Wesley as a means of distraction and escape. She distances herself from her best friends and doesn’t communicate with either of her parents as their marriage falls apart. When things finally start to get better at home, Bianca decides to end it with Wesley.

This was a very thought provoking and emotionally charged novel about self esteem and how relationships change as we grow up. I enjoyed the characters and particularly the strength demonstrated by Bianca as she faced difficult challenges in her life and made important discoveries about herself and others in the process. Recommended for a mature teen audience.

Sorta Like a Rock Star

Posted on October 9, 2010 by Emilyn

> Amber Appleton is one cool teenager. She is the self-proclaimed Princess of Hope and spreads optimism and goodwill wherever she goes. She teaches the Korean Divas for Christ (KDFC) English with the help of R & B music. She’s the only friend of a local Vietnam war veteran and haiku poet, Private Jackson. She also goes once a week to a local retirement home to cheer up the residents by having a verbal battle with the local nihilist. Amber is also homeless. She lives on Hello Yellow, the school bus her mother drives, with her mom and her dog, Bobby Big Boy. Amber doesn’t let the reality of her situation bring her down, though. That is, until a fatal tragedy upends her life and Amber is left to pick up the pieces.

Sorta Like a Rock Star is a young adult novel and the style of writing is very chatty. Amber is the first person narrator, and it can take awhile to get used to her voice. She’s obviously an intelligent and driven teen, but some of her idioms make her seem ditzy and silly. One thing the book (and Amber) has going for it is that while Amber is optimistic, she isn’t delusional. She knows her situation is far from stellar, but she continues to be her hopeful self because she realizes that’s what others need her to be. Her journey and transformation are both heartbreaking and heartwarming.

Before I Fall

Posted on September 8, 2010 by Emilyn

> Before I Fall is about a high school senior named Sam who is popular, mean, loyal, a follower and about to experience something extraordinary. The book opens on Cupid Day and Sam is in the car with her four friends while they head home from a party. Suddenly there’s a car accident and Sam realizes she’s killed in the crash, but she wakes up the next morning and it’s Cupid Day again. Thus begins the last week of Sam’s life, in which she relives one Friday seven times. She tries a different tactic to end this cycle every day, from being as nice as possible to doing whatever she wants throughout the day to spending the entire day with her younger sister. She finally figures out what needs to happen to end the cycle on the seventh day and time finally moves on.

This has obviously been done before, and Sam mentions that it seems like she’s living the movie Groundhog Day. I didn’t like this book for its originality, though. I liked it because of the way Sam handled and reacted to what was happening to her. I enjoyed the way her actions were described and understanding her motivations for the way she acted before and after she started reliving a single day. The book kept me reading and wondering how Sam was going to live the next day and how she was going to stop the cycle from continuing.

If you’re waiting for Mockingjay…

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Emilyn

>The Hunger Games trilogy has become a cultural phenomenon over the past couple years, and the final book in the trilogy, Mockingjay, goes on sale tonight at 12:01 AM. Like Harry Potter, there will be midnight release parties for this one. If you’re on the hold list for Mockingjay (or The Hunger Games or Catching Fire, for that matter), below are some other books you’ll find in the library that might appeal to you.

Uglies is the first book in a trilogy by Scott Westerfeld. In this dystopic future, people go through surgery to become “pretties” at 16, a change that enhances similar characteristics and shifts features toward the ideal of beauty. Teens are then free to party and play. Tally is one young Ugly who yearns to become a Pretty, but things get turned upside down when her friend Shay runs away and Tally is told to go spy on her or never be allowed to become a Pretty.

Yelena is convicted of killing a general’s son and sentenced to death by hanging. Granted a reprieve in exchange for becoming a poison taster for the Commander, ruler of Ixia, Yelena is soon caught up in castle politics. She also realizes some people want her dead and Ixia is not a terribly stable country at the moment. Poison Study, with a strong leading female character, complicated political machinations and a riveting romance will suck in readers as surely as The Hunger Games did.

For a more grown-up version of The Hunger Games, Genesis may appeal. In this near-future dystopia, Anax is a young historian living in an island society that is a refuge from the rest of the devastated planet. The island is founded on security and order above freedom, modeled after Plato’s Republic. Anax wants to enter the Academy, and completes her entrance exam paper on Adam Forde, a soldier who rescued a young girl from a raft and was sentenced to work with an advanced robot named Art as his punishment. This short novel is a philosophical work centered on the interaction of humanity, technology and the environment, but it manages to read like a thriller the whole way through.

A few other ideas for books like those in The Hunger Games trilogy include:

Feed by M.T. Anderson
Oryx and Crake and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Naughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman
Jennifer Government by Max Barry
Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden
Neuromancer by William Gibson

You can also check out the display cart that’s in front of the teen zone dedicated to Mockingjay readalikes.

Skulduggery Pleasant: The Scepter of the Ancients by Derek Landy

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Emilyn

Audiobooks are not usually my favorite medium. It takes longer to get through the book, and I don’t always like the voice of the person performing the reading. By happy accident, I picked up Skulduggery Pleasant on audiobook for a long car ride, and I’m very happy I did. The book is performed by Rupert Degas (and he does all the voices). I’m fairly sure I wouldn’t have liked the book as well as I did if I hadn’t listened to it.

Twelve-year-old Stephanie Edgley’s uncle dies suddenly and leaves her most of his possessions in his will. His death also means she meets one of his old friends, Skulduggery Pleasant, at the funeral and the reading of the will. Skulduggery is rather an odd character. He wears a tailored suit, a long trench coat, a hat, wig, scarf and sunglasses. Turns out he’s a skeleton. He also doesn’t think Stephanie’s Uncle Gordon died of natural causes. Thus begins the investigation into Gordon Edgley’s murder and the introduction of Stephanie into a different side of reality she never knew existed. A world filled with things from living skeletons to vampires to old gods some are trying to bring back.

Derek Landy’s story is filled with humor. This novel would probably fit well under the heading “screwball fantasy.” It also won the Bord Gais Energy Irish Book of the Decade Award and is part of a series. Three of the series have already been released and the fourth is set to be released on April 1.

Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman

Posted on July 17, 2010 by Rhonna

I was recently making up a reading list for a teen when I came across Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman. If you haven’t ever explored the Young Adult section at the library, you’re missing out. It’s loaded with well-written books ranging from fun and frothy to so serious you need a box of tissues at hand when you read them.

Vince is seventeen and, as if that doesn’t make life difficult enough, the son of a powerful Mafia boss. He does everything he can to stay out of the “family business.” But that becomes increasingly difficult, like when he finds someone in the trunk of his car when out on a date. To complicate matters, he starts falling for the daughter of an FBI agent.

This story has hints of Romeo and Juliet, but without all of the angst. Vince’s plights are full of hilarity and the side characters are delightful. Vince’s mom tries to maintain a happy, healthy home while cleaning up bullet wounds and ignoring the constant wire tapping of their lives. The men that “work” with Vince’s dad are full of fascinating and unexpected traits. Vince himself is funny, but also realistic. He struggles to form his own identity while facing decisions about both the challenges and priveleges that come from being the son of a Mafia boss. This is a great story about a young man trying to do the right thing when he’s not quite sure what that may be.

Peeps by Scott Westerfeld

Posted on June 3, 2010 by Emilyn

Parasite positives, or “peeps,” are those infected with a parasite that turns them into light-avoiding cannibals with drastically increased life spans (they prefer to avoid the v-word). Cal is infected by his girlfriend, but it turns out he’s a natural carrier of the parasite and simply acquires excellent night vision, superhuman strength and a craving for rare meat. He joins a secret branch of the New York City government dedicated to tracking the infected but learns when he finds the woman who infected him that there’s more to the story. This novel is well thought out with scientifically based explanations for all the symptoms of vampirism. Not your average vampire novel, but it will appeal to a wide range of ages, from high school students up to adults.

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