Afterwards

Afterwards
By Rosamund Lupton
Crown, 2011. 386 pgs.  Fiction

An average field day at her son's private school becomes much more when Grace sees the school building burst into flames and she realizes both her children are inside.  Desperate to save them, she runs into the smoke and heat. Her heroic attempts to get her kids to safety place Grace and her daughter in comas. However, while their bodies are fighting for life, their spirits are free to roam the hospital and Grace begins to discover that the fire was not an accident and her children are still in grave danger.

Lupton's new novel is a bit reminiscent of her best-seller from last year, "Sister." The narration follows a similar voice as a woman tells her loved one about her attempts to safeguard her family. But "Afterwards" also feels a bit like "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold as Grace's spirit self investigates the events that placed her beyond the veil.  This is a great second novel for Lupton and a great choice for a wide variety of readers.

CZ

Niceville

Niceville
By Carsten Stroud
Alfred A. Knopf, 2012.  385 pgs.  Horror

In a town overshadowed by a limestone cliff which conceals a mysterious sinkhole from which nothing ever returns, strange things are happening.  A young boy literally disappears as security camera’s watch his slow walk home from school.  A group of law abiding men rob a bank and gun down a number of police officers. A fugitive finds refuge on a plantation during some distant and unidentifiable time period.  Town citizens finally find it impossible to ignore Niceville’s dark history and they will struggle to avoid their own horrors as well as those of the past.

More creepy than horrific, the suspense in this novel is mainly a product of the mysterious motives and actions of the characters who tell the story.  Don’t expect a nice little packaged ending.  Questions are certainly left unanswered and there are characters whose stories could never end happily.  But, I could easily recommend this for anyone who likes Stephen King or Dean Koontz.

CZ

Keeping the Castle

Keeping the Castle: A Tale of Romance, Riches, and Real Estate
By Patrice Kindl
Viking, 2012. 261 pgs. Young Adult

With her family's castle literally on the verge of collapse and no income, Althea knows she needs to marry for money, but somehow she can't reign in her tongue enough to keep her suitors from finding out exactly what she's after. Although they don't seem to think it's bad that they love her for her beauty, they object to her loving them for their money. So, when Lord Boring buys a nearby estate, Althea is determined to catch his eye--and hold her tongue. While Lord Boring does indeed seem interested, Althea has to contend with her stepsisters (who do have money to offer as a dowry) and the daughter of a wealthy merchant, Miss Vincy, who has even more money. And to make matters worse, Althea is constantly plagued by Mr. Fredericks, Lord Boring's cousin, also a member of the merchant class, who has as blunt a tongue as Althea. While Althea sets out to remove the obstacles to her marrying Lord Boring, including trying to do some matchmaking to get her competition otherwise occupied, she comes to find that she isn't that good at matchmaking, even with her own heart.

This is a frothy, funny book that readers can easily finish in a couple of hours. The banter between Mr. Fredericks and Althea is amusing, and readers will get a good chuckle out of several passages.

AE

For Darkness Shows the Stars

For Darkness Shows the Stars
By Diana Peterfreund
Balzer + Bray, 2012. 407 pgs. Young Adult

When the Lost took genetic experimentation too far, the world suffered devastating consequences, including wiping out a lot of the population, many of the survivors being Reduced (or left with limited abilities), and as far as they can tell, life only remaining on their isolated island. The Luddites, those who resisted the genetic experimentation, have become the caretakers for the Reduceds, and their offspring, some of whom are Posts, or Post-Reduction and don't have any diminished capacities. However, not all of the Luddites take care of their Reduced and Post tenants very well, and that's Elliot North's biggest problem. Although she is a Luddite, her dearest friend ,Kai, who later became her love interest, is a Post, and through their friendship, Elliot was able to see that her father is one of those who doesn't care about his people, and with his tendency to spend money that the family doesn't really have, Elliot knows their people are in trouble. She'd do anything to help them--even, when Kai decided to leave and invited her to go with him, staying behind when she wanted nothing more than to leave. Now, four years later, Elliot is still desperately trying to help the people living on the estate, even as her father's spending habits threaten them all. Elliot is even desperate enough to try banned genetic experiments with the wheat crop.

With all of their financial troubles, it's a blessing when the Cloud Fleet, a successful, wealthy group of Post explorers want to rent the North family's boatyard in order to do build a ship. But Kai, who Elliot hasn't heard from since he left four years ago, is now Captain Malakai Wentworth, a respected member of the cloud fleet who constantly scorns Elliot and who can't seem to understand that her choice between him and everyone else she loved was one that she had to make. With Kai hating her, and the Cloud Fleet hiding secrets, Elliot has more going on than she can handle.


I was intrigued to see how well an author could pull off a post-apocalyptic Jane Austen, and I'm happy to say that Peterfreund did a great job taking Persuasion and turning it into a scifi story. Elliot's struggle, with her feeling like she needed to stay to protect her people from her father but wanting so badly to go with Kai was a great added element, going beyond just duty to her family and really invoking the reader's sympathy. There were a few times I wanted to smack Kai because he was so rude to Elliot, but I was glad to see him redeemed in the end. I'm quite impressed with how the book all came together.

AE

A Farewell to Charms

A Farewell to Charms
By Lindsey Leavitt
Disney/Hyperion, 2012. 279 pgs. Young Adult


Since finding out that Facade weeds out those substitutes who aren't good enough--and takes their magic to use for their own purposes--Desi is determined to find a way to change that. As much as she enjoys being a sub, she doesn't feel right about Facade taking magic from others. And now that she realizes that Reed, the boy she's desperately trying not have a crush on since she knows her best friend likes him, is also a sub, she doesn't know how to steer clear of him, especially since he might be her only ally in opposing Facade's sub sanitation. Fighting against Facade could cost them their jobs--and their magic--but they're determined to succeed.

This a fun conclusion to a fun series; I definitely enjoyed the third book in the Princess for Hire series. Desi is still as adorable as ever, and her determination to do the right thing is admirable. With a dash of romance on the side, this fluffy fantasy will appeal to lots of younger teen readers.

AE

The Age of Miracles

The Age of Miracles

By Karen Thompson Walker

Random House, 2012. 272 pgs. Fiction

On a Saturday just like any other, Julia and her friend Hannah have had a sleepover. As they wake up and the day progresses however, they discover that the world as they know it will never be the same. The earth has suddenly begun rotating slower and slower adding minutes and then hours to each day. Not only do the days and night grow longer, but gravity as well as growing food is affected. Julia is facing her world being turned upside down in other ways as well, friendships dissolve, her parents’ marriage is strained, and they boy she likes doesn’t ever seem to notice she’s around.

This apocalyptic book was interesting, yet rather depressing. Once the slowing begins, there’s not a whole lot of good news. People get gravity sickness, animals and plants begin dying at a rapid rate, and Julia becomes lonelier than ever. I would recommend this book to someone who likes apocalyptic fiction and feel that it is similar to Susan Beth Pfeffer’s “Life as We Knew It.” Be aware, this book does have some rough language, but the world is ending!

AMM

Of Poseidon

Of Poseidon
By Anna Banks
Feweil & Friends, 2012. 326 pgs. Young Adult

Galen, one of the Syrena princes, gets word that there's a girl living on land who displays characteristics of the Syrena--except the Syrena aren't supposed to live on land. It breaks the laws of their people and has a physical toll on them as well, so she shouldn't be there, and yet, when Galen goes to investigate, there she is. Emma definitely has traits of the Syrena, but she also has very human traits as well. Still, Galen becomes convinced that she is one of them--but he has to convince her of that as well. And when he becomes convinced that she has a special gift, not seen often in the Syrena, he knows that, according to the laws of his people, that Emma is going to have to marry his brother, who is to be the next ruler of their kingdom. However, he doesn't know how to tell Emma that, or how to let that happen, since the idea of Emma with his brother is driving him crazy.

Teen fantasy fans will love this book; Galen and Emma's romance is sure to draw in lots of readers, and Galen is going to have readers wishing they could have a merman of their own. Emma is a spirited but still vulnerable protagonist, trying to figure out who she really is and where she really fits in the world. With a cliffhanger ending, readers are going to be eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.

AE

The Ruins

The Ruins
By Scott Smith
Alfred A. Knopf, 2006, 319 pgs. Horror

From the author of A Simple Plan (both books have been made into movies) comes a book both gripping and disturbing.  A group of carefree college students on holiday travel into the jungles of Mexico to search for a missing friend.  After following signs that take them down a hidden path, they stumble upon a small mountain covered by vines and guarded by hostile villagers.  Once they enter the boundaries of the mountain, they are unable to leave.  I found this story to be claustrophobic and terrifying and I could not put it down.  There is no happy ending in this gruesome tale, horror loves will eat it up! 

Force of Nature

Force of Nature
by C. J. Box
G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2012. 385 pgs. Mystery

Nate Romanowski takes the lead in the latest Joe Pickett novel. Pickett, a Wyoming game warden, is one of Romanowski's few friends, as Nate has taken himself off the grid to avoid the consequences of a terrible mistake in his past. But a formerly good man has gone very bad, and when he comes after Nate, Joe is involved as someone who might inadvertently draw Nate out of deep cover. The action is breakneck in this thriller, and though many of the broken necks belong to the bad guys, Nate himself things his chances of outwitting and outplaying his former mentor, John Nemecek, are slight. As always, Box writes beautifully of the high country. One can feel the bite of the snow, and the cold, piney wind, and hear the cries of Nate's beloved falcons as he releases them to the wild. Force of Nature is the twelfth book in Box's sterling Joe Pickett series.  Readers who want to get in at the beginning will need to go back to Open Season, and Nate and Joe first meet in Book 3, Winterkill, but it wouldn't hurt anything too much to read Force of Nature first and then go back.  You will really want to.

LW

The Earth Shall Teach Thee

The Earth Shall Teach Thee
By Boyd K. Packer
Religious Studies Center, 2012. 181 pgs. Biography

Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, shares a collection of his artwork, along with stories of his life, and the lessons that he has learned from nature, affirming that the relationship between the soul and nature has an effect upon our happiness. Throughout his life, he has done drawings, paintings, carvings, and more, including beautiful carvings of pioneer settings to adorn his family's mantel, numerous drawings, paintings and sculptures of birds, and illustrations from teaching manuals and books he has authored. He shares illustrations that he has used in teaching, as well as the stories that inspired them (such as pictures to illustrate Jesus Christ's parables)

This book was quite enjoyable for those who are interested in nature, artwork, or personal histories. There's quite a bit of humor sprinkled throughout the book, and the stories and artwork provide an intimate look into President Packer's life and his heart. Beautiful just to flip through but also interesting if you take the time to read the accompanying text, this is a great coffee table book.

AE

Now

Now
By Morris Gleitzman
Henry Holt, 2012. 184 pgs. Young Adult

Zelda has recently been sent to live with her grandfather, Felix, while her parents, both doctors, go to Darfur to offer their medical expertise there. Zelda was named for Felix's best friend, who died as a young girl in the Holocaust. Now Zelda-the-granddaughter is trying to be as brave as her namesake, as she's being bullied by a girl from school, and to bring happiness into her grandfather's life. However, she comes to realize that Felix's story and his emotions are still very much influenced by the first Zelda, and both Felix and granddaughter Zelda find themselves facing the past in order to have a future.

This follow-up book to Once and Then is just as haunting as the others; it has the same elements of hope and hurt and loss and love that make the others utterly unforgettable. Having fallen so much in love with Felix in the other books, which are from his point of view as a child, I was a little worried to switch narrators now, but I loved granddaughter Zelda, too. Gleitzman captures the complexity and simplicity of childhood beautifully, showing that innocent way of looking at life juxtaposed with insights and thoughts that adults often never manage to come up with. I really liked how he gave readers the chance to see how 70 years later, Felix still had a lot of baggage to deal with and also related that to Zelda's life now as she's being bullied. There are lots of books about the Holocaust out there, but I think this series is the cream of the crop. With unforgettable narrators, the pure voices of children facing the hardships of life, these books are simply a work of art that will reach inside your soul and touch you in a way that only a few books can. Although the books have a certain chronological order, Gleitzman explained that he has written them so that they can be read in any order.

AE

What the Night Knows

What the Night Knows

By Dean Koontz

Bantam Books, 2010. 442 pages. Horror

John Calvino is a police detective and very good at what he does. John has a story that he has told no one—except his wife—and there are pieces that he’s withheld from her. 20 years ago and hundreds of miles away a serial killer slaughtered four families in a small town. The murderer was stopped and killed by the last survivor of the fourth family: John Calvino, age 14. The particular details of each gruesome murder are now playing out again. Each set of murders was exactly 33 days apart. The number of family members in each family matches up with the families murdered 20 years earlier. John has to find some way to stop an unstoppable murderer, for he knows that his very own family has been marked for murder.

There are certainly things about this story that are completely inexplicable—but these contribute to the eeriness and the terror of the story. You know that a story like this has got to end well--but as Koontz  develops the plot the likelihood of a happy ending seems to dwindle miserably.

SML

Jack the Ripper

Jack the Ripper
By Jennifer Joline Anderson
Abdo Publishing Company, 2012. 112 pgs. Young Adult Nonfiction

In the fall of 1888, a series of horrific murders set Londoners into a panic. With a brutal killer murdering and mutilating his victims, police forces and detectives desperately tried to figure out who was been the killings. Although they received thousands of tips and even a couple of letters allegedly from the murderer, dubbing himself Jack the Ripper, they were never able to find the killer, leaving the case of Jack the Ripper one of the world's most intriguing unsolved mysteries.

This is highly readable and engaging text. Anderson does a great job detailing the crimes, considering some of the suspects, and addressing the limitations of the tools available to police at that time. A modern-day FBI profile of Jack the Ripper, as well as pictures and sidebars just make it that much more interesting. It's very well done and easy to recommend to anyone interested in unsolved mysteries in general or Jack the Ripper in particular.

AE

Never Fall Down

Never Fall Down
By Patricial McCormick
Balzar + Bray, 2012. 216 pgs. Young Adult

Arn is a an eleven-year-old boy who just likes to have fun and find ways to earn extra money, when the Khmer Rogue sweeps into his Cambodian town. Taken to work in the rice fields, Arn is separated from his family is surrounded by the constant fear and instability that come with the Khmer Rogue, as any small mistake could be the thing that ultimately leads to being killed. Arn uses his wits to stay alive, learning how to play an instrument and become well-known for his musical skills so that the Khmer Rogue will want to keep him alive. Although he has figured out how to stay alive, when the Khmer Rogue's regime is threatened, Arn is handed a gun and taught to become one of them. Now as a soldier, Arn is in danger not only from the Khmer Rogue, who will still kill anyone on a whim, but also from the enemies of the Khmer Rogue.

McCormick has created a fiction account of the life of Arn Chorn-Pond, taking readers through the horrifying story of a boy who just wants to live, who lives by the credo "Never fall down"--because if you fall down, you'll likely never get back up. Arn's story shows both the horrors of genocide and the strength of the human spirit. With the violence and atrocities of the Khmer Rogue, this story isn't easily stomached, but it is well worth reading.

AE

Summer of Fear

Summer of Fear
by Lois Duncan
Little, Brown and Company, 2011. 217 pgs. Young Adult

Friends, boyfriend, family, summer, life is good.  The tragic news of an accident changes everything.  Rachel's Aunt, Uncle and employee have been killed.  Julia her 17 year old cousin is alone and Rachel's parents rush to the Ozarks to bring her to live with them.  Julia settles in but SOMETHING is disturbing about her and NO ONE except Rachel can sense it.  What is wrong with them?  Why can't they realize she is not who they think she is?  Can't they see she's a......  and .Rachel must prove it before.....

I enjoyed this clean, easy read and definitely would recommend it to younger teens who want creepy but not heavy horror. Side note - the last pages of this edition contain a "well worth the time to read"  interview with the author.  Were you aware that Lois Duncan has gone back  and revised all her books so they can remain updated?

mpb

The Aleppo Codex: A True Story of Obsession, Faith, and the Pursuit of an Ancient Bible

The Aleppo Codex: A True Story of Obsession, Faith, and the Pursuit of an Ancient Bible
By Matti Friedman
Algonquin Books, 2012. 298 pages. Nonfiction.

The Aleppo Codex is a manuscript copy of the Old Testament created during the 10th century. It is called the Aleppo Codex because it was housed in Aleppo for over five centuries. In 1947 the codex was thought to have been destroyed in a fire when Arabs staged anti-Jewish riots in Aleppo. Then the codex turned out not to have been destroyed only damaged—pieces scattered and portions burned. The question of what damage occurred and when is one of the subjects of this book. Friedman is an investigative journalist who has dug thoroughly into the story of codex—especially the part of the story from 1947 until the present day—and it is a fascinating story.

Chapters on the recent history of the codex alternate with chapters telling the earlier story of the manuscript’s creation and travels up to 1947. Created in Tiberias, the codex traveled to Jerusalem, was stolen during the first crusade and sold in Egypt where it remained for a couple hundred years before being brought to Aleppo by a descendant of Moses Maimonides.

A mix of history, mystery, and thriller, Friedman has put together a great read. As I finished this book, I only wanted a little more detail on how the codex came to Egypt and an index.

SML

Timepiece

Timepiece
By Myra McEntire
Egmont, 2012. 325 pgs. Young Adult

Since his mother's memory was stolen, living her in a comatose state, and his father died (and then was brought back to life through a time-travel intervention), Kaleb Ballard's world has been rocked to the core, and he copes by losing himself temporarily in alcohol and one-night stands. But when everyone with a special ability begins seeing cracks in time and Jack Landers, the man who murdered Kaleb's dad, turns up, Kaleb has to pull it together if he's going to keep the world from falling apart. With Jack misusing time travel and trying to exploit those with the time gene for his own benefit, and organization known as Chronos out to find a special time-related artifact, the past, present and future are being blended in ways they never should have been. Unless Kaleb and his friends from the Hourglass organization, as well as new attractive sort-of enemy Lily, can stop Jack and Chronos, their world may very well cease to exist.

This second book in the Hourglass series took a change in the narrator, with bad-boy-with-a-soft-heart Kaleb narrating instead of feisty Emerson, the narrator of the first book. Teen girls will probably swoon over Kaleb, who, while rough around the edges, does have a good heart. Although the elements of mystery, time and space issues, and even family issues make this book more than just your average teen book, it's the romance angle that will have readers devouring it.

AE

Railsea

Railsea
by China Mieville
Ballantine, 2012. 424 pgs. Science Fiction/Young Adult

China Mieville's prose is beyond virtuoso, inhabiting a landscape of his own making, exhibiting a degree of difficulty beyond telling. Railsea is no exception. Riffing on Melville's Moby-Dick, Mieville (swap an "i" for an "l" and the anagram is exact), sends his characters into the perilous Railsea with tracks that twist and wind like the ampersands that litter his text. Sham ap Soorap, a young man apprenticed as a doctor's assistant on the moletrain Medes wants to be a salvor, but instead rides with his captain in search of Mocker-Jack, a great tooth-colored moldywarpe (mole) who took the captain's left arm at the elbow. But there are more stories to tell:  The Shroakes children chase the dream of their dead parents; the pirates and the Minihiki warriors chase anyone who might lead them to treasure; the moles, earwigs, gigantic worms, and blood rabbits of the subterranean world hunt anything of a meatish persuasion. And they all roil up together at the end of the known world. Unlike Melville's Ahab, Mieville's Sham and company pierce the veil. No spoilers here, but what he finds is both disheartening and heartening, the end of one quest, and the beginning of another.

LW

The Shoemaker's Wife

The Shoemaker’s Wife
By Adriana Trigiani
Harper Collins, 2012. 475 pgs. Historical Fiction

Inspired by the author’s own grandparents The Shoemaker’s Wife is a sweeping epic that travels from the pristine Italian Alps, to immigrant life in New York City, to the mountains of Minnesota. Ciro and Enza grow up poor in nearby villages in the Italian Alps. Just after meeting for the first time, Ciro is forced to move to America after catching the local priest in a scandal. Unbeknownst to Ciro, as he is becoming a shoemaker’s apprentice in Little Italy, Enza too immigrates to New York City and works as a seamstress in a women’s clothing factory.

By chance Ciro and Enza meet again, but fate once again pulls them apart as Ciro is set to go to World War I. Enza refuses to wait for Ciro and is determined to make a better life for herself. With her talent for sewing she soon finds herself in the New York Opera House making costumes for the famous opera singer, Enrico Caruso.

Full of rich detail of the emigrant experience, the beauty of the Italian Alps, the rich Italian food, and more, Trigiani makes you feel like you are experiencing the characters lives right along side them. This is one of Trigiani’s best books so far.

AJ

Glamour in Glass

Glamour in Glass
By Mary Robinette Kowal
Tor, 2012. 334 pgs. Fantasy

Want a little fantasy with your Pride and Prejudice? Mary Robinette Kowal adds just a dash of the stuff to create a delightful Regency Era tale. In this sequel to The Shades of Milk and Honey, practical, plain-faced Jane is happily married to a husband who sees her as his equal in the creation of glamours (the weaving of magic to create fantastical illusions). That sad thing about glamours is they can never last. It just takes too much energy to keep them going.

In the tumultuous months after Napoleon abdicates his throne, Jane and Vincent go to Belgium for their honeymoon, but when Vincent is captured by the French, Jane must figure out a way to rescue her husband without straining herself too much in the use of glamour weaving.

It’s rare for a sequel to tops it predecessor, but I think that is exactly what Kowal has done. She has left behind Jane’s annoying family and focused more on drama and intrigue. This is a fast, fun, and clean read recommended for anyone who enjoys historical fiction or fantasy.

AJ

Rebel Fire

Rebel Fire
By Andy Lane
Farrar Straus Giroux, 2012. 343 pgs. Young Adult

A supposedly dead notorious American assassin is alive in England, and Sherlock’s British diplomat brother Mycroft believes that the assassin is involved in another plot against America. Sherlock, in trying to help investigate, only makes matters worse when his surveillance makes the group of conspirators flee for America. They take along a hostage close to Sherlock to dissuade Sherlock from following; undeterred, Sherlock sails off to America to rescue a friend, save America, and get into more trouble than he counted on.

I enjoyed the second outing in this series just as much as Death Cloud as Sherlock develops his skills and we learn more about the boy who became the world’s greatest detective.

KK

The Shining

The Shining
By Stephen King
Pocket Books, 1977. 683 pgs. Fiction

Jack Torrance is reeling from a recent firing, and his last hope is working for the winter as the caretaker of the Overlook, a remote hotel in the Colorado mountains where he will be cut off from all contact through the snowy months.  He takes with him his wife, Wendy, and his five-year-old son Danny, who seems to have uncanny abilities to understand the thoughts of those around him, referred to as "the shining."  Unfortunately, the care-taking job doesn't seem to be the respite they were hoping it would be, as the family is shut in and Jack's mental stability seems to be unraveling.  Of course, it doesn't help that the Overlook itself seems to be alive and has a malicious intent upon the family.

I can definitely see why this is considered a classic of horror fiction.  More than just bumps in the night, the heart of this novel's terror lies in Jack's slow mental unraveling, making this more of a psychological horror than a physical one.  I listened to the audiobook, and in some ways that deflated the tension sometimes having things spoken aloud, and in other ways it brought other scenes more to life.  The characters are interesting and sympathetic which complicates the readers' feelings even further, and the plot is mesmerizing and horrifying. Recommended for those looking for something truly scary and who won't mind graphic violence or language.

BHG

Enchanted

Enchanted 
By Alethea Kontis
Harcourt, 2012. 308 pgs. Young Adult

Seven Woodcutter named her seven daughters after the days of the week, ending with Sunday who is supposed to be bonny and blithe and good and gay, as the saying goes.  Except Sunday doesn't always feel bonny and gay, being the youngest and feeling the weight of many responsibilities from the family farm.  She finds solace in writing stories, and one day is asked to share her stories by an enchanted frog whom she meets in the forest.  Their friendship starts to develop into something more, and one night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye, not realizing that she has broken the spell holding him and he is once again the crown Prince of Arilland - a man Sunday's family despises.

This is a charming story which incorporates details from several fables and fairy tales.  I think half the fun of reading it was just seeing what the next fairy tale to come up would be.  The characters are also likeable and interesting, with a good story tying everything together.  My only complaint was that the relationship between Sunday and her frog was a bit underdeveloped, but otherwise this is completely enjoyable.

BHG

Rot and Ruin

Rot and Ruin

By Jonathan Maberry

Simon & Schuster, 2010. 458 pgs. Young Adult

In Benny Imura’s post-apocalypic America, zombies are a very real threat. After First Night (the first time a person turned into a zombie) society has changed to one largely of fear. Families are given food rations, but if teenagers don’t find a job by the time they turn 15, their rations are cut in half. Benny and his friends search for jobs, but don’t have much luck. In the end, he reluctantly ends up apprenticing with his brother Tom as a zombie hunter. Benny, however, gets more than just a job. He has to face the reality of his world and learns in the end to have compassion for the zombies. After all, they were people too!

I enjoyed this zombie novel much more than I was initially expecting. The book was really fast paced and each chapter made me want to read more. Benny and Tom’s relationship grows throughout the book and Benny realizes that things aren’t always what they seem. I’m looking forward to meeting Jonathan Maberry on October 20^th at the Teen Book Fest!

AMM

The Short-Straw Bride

The Short-Straw Bride
By Karen Witemeyer
Bethany House, 2012. 363 pgs. Romance

The Archer brothers have fiercely defended their land every since their father's death, running off anyone who dares to cross onto their property. As a ten-year-old girl, Meredith Hayes got caught in one of the traps on their land and teenaged Travis Archer rescued her and took her home, an act that spurs an infatuation on Meredith's part for the eldest Archer brother. Twelve years later, the Archers are still fiercely protecting their land, so when Meredith overhears a plot to try to burn them out when they refuse to sell, she sets out to warn them of the impending danger--and stays to help them fight it. When she's injured and must stay under their protection, her uncle insists that one of the Archers will have to marry her. Although Meredith has long had feelings for Travis, when she catches the brothers drawing straws to determine who her husband will be (with Travis drawing the short straw), she agrees to marry him but isn't sure how to convince him that she's anything more than an obligation. Meanwhile, Travis isn't sure how to deal with a wife he never expected to have and how to keep his new wife and his brothers safe from those who are set on driving them off their land.

This is a thoroughly pleasing inspirational historical romance. Witemeyer is probably my favorite author of the genre, and her newest book didn't disappoint. Readers will love watching tough-on-the-outside but soft-on-the-inside Travis deal with a new bride and figuring out his own heart, and Meredith is a heroine worth cheering for, as she's more than willing to do her part to help her husband and her new brothers-in-law. Travis's brothers add a whole bunch of humor to the story, especially Crockett, who can't help but goad his brother a little as Travis is blundering along in his marriage (which is good, because it helps Travis figure out his feelings). The plot's probably somewhat predictable, but it still totally works--it's one readers are going to want to finish in one sitting and will leave them hoping that the other Archer brothers will get books of their own.

AE

Shadow and Bone

Shadow and Bone
By Leigh Bardugo
Henry Holt, 2012. 358 pgs. Young Adult

Alina and Mal were orphans, raised together after their parents fell victim in the constant border wars in Ravka. Now they are in the army, Mal as an expert tracker, and Alina as a mediocre mapmaker, and their friendship isn't what it used to be. As they set of into the Unsea, or the Shadow Fold, a dark expense that divides their country and where volcra prey on humans, the danger they are in forces of reaction in Alina that sets their whole world spinning and catching the attention of even the Darkling, the head of the magical Grisha. Although Alina doesn't believe she has any power, she is taken to Os Alta, the capital, to learn use her special gift. As her distance from Mal grows quite literally, she finds herself pulled into a more complex situation than she ever expected and must find if the light within her is strong enough to combat all the powers of darkness.

Holy cow! Talk about intense and gripping book! When I picked the book up, I wasn't really sure if I was that interested in it, but as soon as I started the book, I was hooked. I can't say I absolutely loved it, but I can say it was captivating. I think fantasy fans will love the chance to explore an entirely different world. Alina is a complex character and her journey to figure out her own strength--and her own heart--will resonate with readers. Overall, I think it has a lot to offer, but there is something draining about it, too, as you get so swept into the book and while there's a semi-happy ending, you also know that there's going to be a whole lot of darkness in the next book in the series (and probably the third, too), before there can be light.

AE

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

Wild:  From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
by Cheryl Strayed
Knopf, 2012. 315 pgs. Biography

When she was 26 years old, Cheryl Strayed decided to hike the Pacific Crest Trail--2600 miles from the Mexican border into Canada--to pull herself out of the pit she fell into when her mother died, a pit filled with infidelity and drug use. Divorced from her husband, and determined to make the trek alone, she starts off with a way-too-big pack, and way-too-short boots to make her way through blistering heat, insurmountable snow slides, snake-infested rock slides, and encounters on the trail with moose, bear, and lascivious jerks.  Strayed recounts her youthful ravaging and rebuilding adventures with clear-eyed immediacy. We feel her need for a cold fruit drink that she can't afford, and the painful ruin of her feet as toenail after toenail comes off. It is painful to see her resume her pattern of meaningless and perhaps hazardous liaisons as she tries to fill the emptiness of the losses in her life. But on the whole, Oprah Winfrey made a good choice of a title to bring her book club back to life. One will not soon forget this young woman's persistence, courage, and refusal to give up her goal when by all right she should have quit.  But she didn't.

LW

A Girl Named Digit

A Girl Named Digit
By Annabel Monaghan
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012. 187 pgs. Young Adult

Farrah Higgins has spent high school trying to not to be the girl she was in middle school--Digit, the dorky math genius. She's gotten pretty good at hiding her talents, but when she notices a string of numbers flashing in the corner of the TV while watching a girly show, her brain just can't let it go, especially when there are more strings in subsequent weeks--and then she realizes that they're a message an eco-terrorist group is using to communicate. Having caught the attention of that group, now Farrah is under the protective of the FBI, specifically whiz-kid John Bennett, who is only a few years older than she is. As they work together to try to stop the terrorists, they find themselves in more danger than they anticipated...and they also find themselves falling for each other.

This is a funny chick-lit that will appeal to fans of Ally Carter's books, as long as they don't mind that this book isn't as clean as Ally Carter's books. Some readers might be a little put off by the fact that while John is 21 and Digit is still a minor, and he says that it's not okay for them to be together, he pretty quickly gets over that. Other readers won't care, as there's that fun element of out-smarting the bad guys, mixed with the excitement of a blossoming romance, that makes this a fun adventure for teen girls.

AE

Monument 14

Monument 14 
By Emmy Laybourne
Feiwel and Friends, 2012. 296 pgs. Young Adult

In a slightly future time (2024), two school buses are en route to school in Monument, Colorado when a hailstorm breaks out, but it's way beyond any normal hailstorm. One of the bus drivers manages to get the surviving students inside a nearby superstore and then heads out to find help. The fourteen kids (6 high school students, 2 middle schoolers, and 6 elementary-age kids) are left to fend for themselves as more disasters come, including an earthquake and the release of a biochemical that causes extreme reactions in anyone exposed--from hallucinations to reproductive malfunction to utter rage to extreme blistering. And not least of their worries is the people on the outside, since they have no idea who they can trust. Can the 14 kids, with conflicting personalities, manage to work together long enough to survive? And will help ever reach them?

This is told from the point of view of one of the high school students, Dean, who is a pretty engaging narrator, at least in the beginning. The suspense and the difficult situation that the kids are in moves the plot along quickly. Some readers might be a little irritated that there isn't more information about why NORAD has been developing and storing the chemical weapons. I think the first part of the book, when the disasters are first getting underway, was more interesting than the second half, when we start dealing with love triangles and teenage drama.With some pretty intense sexuality and some language, this is one for more mature readers.

AE