The Call

The Call
by Yannick Murphy
Harper Perennial, 2011. 220 pgs. Fiction

The daily rhythm of a veterinarian’s family in rural New England is shaken when a hunting accident leaves their eldest son in a coma. With the lives of his loved ones unhinged, the veterinarian struggles to maintain stability while searching for the man responsible. But in the midst of their great trial an unexpected visitor arrives, requesting a favor that will have profound consequences—testing a loving father’s patience, humor, and resolve and forcing husband and wife to come to terms with what “family” truly means.

The writing style of this book is very unique. I wasn’t expecting it and so it took a while to get used to it and to enjoy the book. However, I am glad that I persevered because I ended up loving this book and still cannot stop thinking about it a week after I finished reading it. If you are a looking for a quirky and rewarding read, this is the book for you.

JC

American Widow

American Widow
by Alissa Torres and Sungyoon Choi
Villard, 2008. 209 pgs. Biography

Torres's husband, Eddie, started work at Cantor Fitzgerald in the World Trade Center on September 10, 2001. The next day, Alissa became one of the terrorist widows of 9/11. This book chronicles Alissa's first year without Eddie—including the birth of their child, two months after his death. It also traces their courtship, marriage and the last few days of Eddie's life.

I have read a number of graphic memoirs, and a number of memoirs about grief, and I think this book combines the best qualities of both. The illustrations and the gaps in the story give it more power than words alone would; sometimes a picture really is the best way to convey powerful emotions. The choice of colors was also interesting; most of the book uses only three colors in the illustrations, except for a few pages that really stand out because of their difference. I thought this was an excellent book, both as a memoir about a personal tragedy and a commentary on a major event in our country’s history.

JC

Justice

Justice
by Jim Krueger and Alex Ross
D.C Comics, 2011, 375 pages. Graphic Novel

In this new one volume compilation, the Justice League of America is threatened by a nefarious cabal of super villains plotting to take over the world in order to save it from itself. Sound familiar? Just like every other graphic novel ever written? Well, yes. However! The devilish plot is in the details. As a result of a recurrent dream wherein the world is annihilated in an all out exchange of nuclear missiles, Lex Luthor and Brainiac hatch a plot to neutralize the JLA and present themselves as the Earth's true saviors. Will the Justice League rise to this new and ever more deadly occasion? Only you can tell, for I cannot reveal the stunning conclusion.

I enjoyed this graphic novel quite a bit and I am a confirmed Marvel fan. I particularly like the trend in graphic novel writing that incorporates a bit of angst in the lives of the superheroes, something that was rare or non-existent back the The Day when I was reading comics regularly. Saving the world? Great. Saving the world while having some sort of existential crisis as well? Yes, please!

Legend

Legend
By Marie Lu
G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2011. 305 pgs. Young Adult

Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem. From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death.

This was a great book! It's one of my favorite dystopian books to come out of the last few years. The story was engrossing and easily kept me reading late into the night. I wish there had been a little more depth in the story, but on the other hand it kept the plot moving quickly. This appears to be the beginning of a series as there are quite a few things left open at the end, and I am eagerly looking forward to the next installment. You won't find much here that is new to the growing dystopian genre, but this book is among the top in that group.

BHG

The Beginning of After

The Beginning of After
By Jennifer Castle
HarperTeen, 2011. 425 pgs. Young Adult

In a single moment, Laurel's entire life changes. Her father, mother, and brother are killed in a car accident, along with their neighbor, Mrs. Kaufman, and the driver of the vehicle, Mr. Kaufman, is in a coma. As Laurel is trying to deal with losing her whole family and trying to establish normalcy (or decide if it's even okay to try to have a normal life), she keeps crossing paths with the Kaufmans' son, David, who infuriates her but also understand her pain better than anyone else does.

This book was really well done. Laurel is a sympathetic and likable narrator, and her grief and process of healing is realistically portrayed. This is a great choice for fans of contemporary realistic fiction.

AE

A History of the World in 100 Objects

A History of the World in 100 ObjectsBy Neil MacGregor
Viking, 2011. 707 pgs. Nonfiction

Neil MacGregor is the Director of the British Museum. He and his colleagues identified 100 artifacts from their collection that represent the history of civilizations throughout the world. From simple carving tools to elaborate funeral relics, from the famous Rosetta Stone to a common credit card, each item is given a five to six page essay with lovely color photographs and details.

With over 700 pages, this is a hefty tome. But the pages fly by quickly because of the short chapters and illustrations. Since MacGregor is British and is writing for a British audience, it is interesting to read of world history from their perspective instead of from the more familiar American perspective. A great book for armchair archeologists!

CZ

The Social Animal

The Social Animal:The Hidden Source of Love, Character, and AchievementBy David Brooks
Random House, 2011. 424 pgs. Nonfiction

The author’s goal in The Social Animal is to illustrate the path to success for humans in our current society. This is done by telling the stories of an American couple. Readers are given a glimpse into each stage of life from being a mere twinkle in their parents’ eyes to saying a final farewell to loved ones. Their stories are interspersed with fascinating studies and scientific findings that shed further light on how each of us function, learn, grow, and achieve.

The Social Animal was extremely readable. Writing about the science of our mental development and achievement in a biographical style makes it very approachable. However, at the end, I did not feel that the author had accomplished his proposed goal. I was entertained and I learned some really fascinating tidbits (like how men can confuse an adrenaline rush with a romantic attraction…great stuff!!), but couching the information in a story resulted in more conjecture than I had expected.

CZ

The Art Detective

The Art Detective: Fakes, Frauds, and Finds and the Search for Lost Treasures
by Philip Mould
Viking, 2010. 261 pgs. Nonfiction

Philip Mould, one of the world's foremost authorities on British portraiture and an irreverent and delightful expert for the original Antiques Roadshow, serves up his secrets and his best stories, blending the technical details of art detection and restoration with juicy tales peopled by a range of eccentric collectors, scholars, forgers, and opportunists.

The premise of this book is really exciting, and some of the stories are too. The author is certainly an expert in his field and I learned a lot more about the world of art, including how paintings are priced and how they are restored. However, I had a hard time getting through it due to the rather dense and sometimes patronizing writing style. This is a good read if you are already interested in the subject of art and if you have the patience to make it through the writing.

JC

Prized

Prized
By Caragh O’Brien
Roaring Book Press, 2011. 356 pgs. Young Adult

Sixteen-year-old midwife Gaia Stone is in the wasteland with nothing but her baby sister, a handful of supplies, and a rumor to guide her when she is captured by the people of Sylum, a dystopian society where she must follow a strict social code or never see her sister again.

Prized is the sequel to Birthmarked which was published last year. Gaia’s fight for survival continues in Sylum where there is a shortage of women and the women are in charge. I really enjoyed this book, but had forgotten lots of what happened in the first book. I’d recommend this to people looking for another great YA dystopian novel, but would suggest reading the novels back to back in order to best follow the authors story.

AMM

The Scorpio Races

The Scorpio Races
By Maggie Stiefvater
Scholastic Press, 2011. 409 pgs. Young Adult

The Scorpio Races occur every November on the Island of Thisby, but it's not your average horses competing in this race. The "water horses" are terrifying, dangerous beasts, drawn to the ocean and unhesitating to lash out at their riders, usually fatally. After her parents were killed by water horses a year before, Puck enters the race with her real horse, Dove, which has never been done before. If she can win the race she and her brothers will be able to keep their home. Sean Kendrick has won the last four races but still hasn't been able to buy his beloved water horse, Corr. He works for Corr's owner in a large stable yard with many water horses, but has a special relationship with Corr that is like no other. If he can win the race this year, will he finally be able to call Corr his own and draw close the only family he has left?

Puck and Sean's stories wind together in this beautiful novel as they come to know and train with each other. They understand how important it is for each of them to win, but there can still only be one winner. Themes of family, freedom, and coming of age are explored in this book, coupled with a dark but beautiful setting and characters to match. While this is a lovely book, it was a little slow for the first half which could have used a bit more action. One other stumbling block is that there's no clear time period or location for this story. I'll make it easy for you and we'll just say it's the early 1930s, and Thisby is an island off the coast of Wales. I still enjoyed this beautiful story and would recommend it to fans of young adult fiction, fantasy, and especially people who enjoy stories about horses.

BHG

Everybody Sees the Ants

Everybody Sees the Ants
By A.S. King
Little, Brown, 2011. 282 pgs. Young Adult

Fifteen-year-old Lucky Linderman has been bullied by Nader McMillan for pretty much his entire life, and several of his teachers are convinced that he's suicidal. To make matters worse, his father (who Lucky calls a turtle) just wants to ignore it and is emotionally crippled by the fact that his father, a Vietnam POW, never made it back from the war. Lucky escapes his life through dreams of his grandfather, still stuck in Vietnam, and different ways that he tries to rescue him, which he sees as his life's mission. When Nader bullies Lucky yet again, Lucky's mother, who normally agrees with his father in an attempt to keep the peace, finally reaches a breaking point; she drags Lucky across the country to visit his aunt and uncle for a few weeks. While there, Lucky faces up to his life in a way that he never has before.

I really liked this book's messages about bullying, suicide, and taking control of one's life. I didn't particularly care for the symbolism of the ants, though, and Lucky's dreams about his grandfather were a little weird to me; I guess I couldn't suspend disbelief enough to really enjoy that part of the story. There's some language, violence, and sexuality that will make this book too intense for some readers, and yet, I feel like it was realistic to the story that was portrayed. I recommend this one to readers who like an underdog and are looking for something thought-provoking.

AE

The Future of Us

The Future of Us
By Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler
Razorbill, 2011. 356 pgs. Young Adult

It's 1996, and Emma Nelson has just gotten the internet. Her former best friend Josh gives her an AOL CD, which she installs, but when she logs on, she finds a weird site called Facebook. She can see herself in the future--and she doesn't really like what she sees. Josh, on the other hand, has a future that looks pretty ideal. Emma tries to find ways to change her future, while Josh tries to keep his the same.

The idea of being able to see snippets of yourself in fifteen years and then either trying to change or keep what you see makes this book a great discussion piece. I didn't particularly like Emma, but Josh was a good character, and that was enough to keep me going with the book.

AE

The Plain Janes

The Plain Janes
By Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg
Minx, 2007. 176 pgs. Young Adult Comics

When transfer student Jane is forced to move from the big city to suburbia, she thinks that her life is over until she meets three other girls named Jane who decide to form a secret art gang and turn the town and high school upside down.

When the Jane’s begin the P.L.A.I.N. club—People Loving Art In Neighborhoods they not only form friendships, but they help their community appreciate art. This club also helps our main character Jane heal from the traumatizing event that caused her family to move to the suburbs. I thought this was a pretty good graphic novel. I’ve been meaning to read this for a few years and am glad it finally made it to the top of my reading list.

AMM

XVI

XVI
By Julia Karr
Speak, 2011. 325 pgs. Young Adult

In a future world, girls become sexually available at sixteen--they even have to get a mandatory tattoo, announcing their age to the world. They become free game, essentially, with little protection from any man who might want them. The governing force and the media give girls tips and tricks and hammer them with images and more that encourage them to amp up their sexuality, and most girls can't wait until they become a sex-teen. Nina, however, dreads turning sixteen and doesn't want to have sex. Already stressed out about her approaching sixteenth birthday, Nina's life gets a whole lot more complicated when her mother is murdered, she finds out that her long-dead father might actually still be alive, and she meets a guy who makes her question everything she thought she knew and wanted.

I thought this book was flawed but still good. I felt like the explanation for why their world is the way it is wasn't very well developed--I never fully got why anyone would think branding sixteen-year-old girls was a good thing for their society and some of the details (such as miners on Mars) just seemed like they were thrown into the story, rather than actually adding much to it. I can understand the bombardment of sexuality in media, but I don't think the author developed why no one seems bothered by it enough as she should have to really establish the setting and ground readers in the world. I also felt like the writing (especially Nina's thoughts) tended to be overwritten--it didn't feel natural. Even if Nina is different and in some ways, more mature than her peers, her voice just didn't feel authentic and in some places had me rolling my eyes. However, the pacing was good and even as I was aware of the flaws in the book, I couldn't help but keep reading; I definitely wanted to see where this book was going. The ending was rushed, and I can't go so far as to say it's a great book, but I do want to continue with the series and see how things play out for Nina. Overall, I thought it was flawed but still really gripping.


AE

Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead

Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead
by Sara Gran
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011. 273 pgs. Mystery

A disciple of the French detective Jacques Silette, and a student of his student, Constance Darling, Claire DeWitt is the self-styled best detective in the world. And she needs to be when she takes on the case of Vic Willing, a district attorney who went missing during Hurricane Katrina, though his house wasn't in a flood zone. DeWitt has unorthodox ways of detecting--many gleaned from Silette's Detection. She drinks, does drugs, dreams dreams, and rings changes on the I Ching. She believes that the only true detectives don't choose their lives, but are chosen to detect. Along with all this truly entertaining mysticism, Sara Gran has her detective always moving through a surely true-to-life post-Katrina New Orleans where most everyone, especially the young people, are resilient, intelligent, and doomed. Neither Claire DeWitt nor this book about her exploits will slot easily into any place one might normally file detective fiction, but it is compelling reading in the best sense of the word.

LW

Farm City: the Eduation of an Urban Farmer

Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer
By Novella Carpenter
Penguin Publishing, 2010, 288 pgs, Nonfiction

An entertaining tale of one woman's quest to turn an abandoned lot in downtown Oakland into a mini farm. Starting with bees, Novella worked her way up to chickens, ducks, rabbits and finally pigs. At times hilarious, readers will enjoy learning about her frustrations as she attempts to feed and care for the increasingly huge and unwieldy animals. In addition to those frustrations she must also deal with the homeless, drug dealers, and skeptical neighbors. A fun book, although be aware, she doesn't shy away from describing the process of slaughtering the animals for consumption.

DEF

The Things We Cherished

The Things We Cherished
by Pam Jenoff
Doubleday, 2011. 304 pgs. Fiction

This novel tells the story of Charlotte Gold and Jack Harrington, two fiercely independent attorneys who find themselves slowly falling for one another while working to defend the brother of a Holocaust hero against allegations of World War II–era war crimes. Their discovery that an antique clock holds the key to solving the mysteries of the past leads them on a search through several countries in order to find it and understand what secrets Roger Dykmans has been keeping.

This book was a great read; the plot is a nice mix of romance and mystery and really keeps you reading until the end. The chapters switch back and forth between the past and the present, and that can get confusing at times. I also thought the backstory was more interesting and better-written than the contemporary parts of the book, but this is still a great book if you like historical fiction (especially with a little romance and mystery mixed in).

JC

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and other concerns)
By Mindy Kaling
Crown Archetype, 2011. 222 pgs. Nonfiction

Mindy Kaling is an Emmy-nominated writer as well as the actress famous for playing the quirky Kelly Kapoor on The Office. She is a keen and witty observer of life, romance, and pop culture, and in Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Mindy shares moments of her life interspersed with observations, fears, and opinions about a wide-ranging list of topics. From her favorite types of guys to life in the "The Office" writers' room, her book is full of personal stories and laugh-out-loud philosophies.

I can't tell you how happy this book made me simply from Mindy's amiable and honest writing. I did laugh out loud. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Mindy herself, and her let's-dish-the-dirt voice made this feel more like hanging out with a friend than listening to a book by an acclaimed writer. I think this would appeal to a wide range of people, especially people who enjoy watching The Office, and even though this may seem like a chick read, I think guys would not only find it amusing but would also glean some useful info from it (specifically, her comparison of "Men vs. Boys"). Basically, anyone who could use a laugh will enjoy this.

BHG

Son of Neptune

Son of Neptune
By Rick Riordan
Disney/Hyperion Books, 2011. 521 pgs. Young Adult

After several months of enchanted sleep, Percy Jackson--who has only vague recollections of his previous life experiences--winds up at Camp Jupiter, the camp for the half-human children of the Roman gods. Given that Percy is descended from a Greek god, he isn't fully welcome in camp. However, he and two of the other least popular demigods, Frank and Hazel, find themselves with only days to complete a quest that will require them to defeat giants, free death, and keep their camp from being destroyed. At the same time, Percy has to figure out who he is, Frank has to uncover some family secrets and figure out where his strengths lie, and Hazel has to face up to a bad decision in her past and figure out how to fit in in a world where she doesn't belong.

I highly enjoyed this book. It's adventurous and funny and has a great pace. It was nice to back with Percy, and Hazel and Frank are good additions to the series. I can't wait for the next installment.

I listened to part of the book and read part of it, and I definitely recommend the print version more than the audio version. The narrator did all right for Percy, but for Hazel, he wasn't consistent with her accent, and he made Frank sound like a dope. So, if you can, go for a print copy and pass on the audio.

AE

The Alloy of Law

The Allow of Law
By Brandon Sanderson
Tor Books, 2011. 332 pgs. Fantasy

Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is now on the verge of modernity, with railroads, electric lighting, and the first steel-framed skyscrapers racing for the clouds. Yet even as science and technology are reaching new heights, the old magics of Allomancy and Feruchemy continue to play a role in this reborn world. After twenty years in the Roughs, Waxillium Ladrian has been forced by family tragedy to return to the metropolis of Elendel. Now he must reluctantly put away his guns and assume the duties and dignity incumbent upon the head of a noble house. Or so he thinks, until he's paid a visit from his old partner, Wayne, who is in Elendel investigating a gang of thieves known as the Vanishers who have been stealing from railcars and kidnapping ladies. Despite Wax's misgivings, they decide they are honor-bound to uncover the perpetrators and save the victims.

This was a great read with interesting characters and an exciting plotline. If you read the Mistborn series and like it, you don't want to miss this. If you didn't read the Mistborn series, you can still read this if it interests you and Sanderson provides enough background for you to understand what's going on and how things work. But having read the Mistborn series, I really enjoyed the little breadcrumbs he leaves throughout the book of references to the original characters. This book is left a little bit open-ended, resolving the immediate problems of the book and yet leaving larger problems unexplored, so I'm guessing there will definitely be more from Wax and Wayne (duh, I just got that) in the future. By the way, Wayne may be my new favorite male character from a book. I would have a crush on him if he wasn't such a miscreant.

BHG

Good Tidings of Great Joy

Good Tidings of Great Joy
By Eric D. Hunstman
Deseret Book, 2011. 166 pgs. Nonfiction

Huntsman takes a look at the biblical Christmas story as well as offering ideas for making Christmas meaningful. He compares the accounts in Matthew and Luke, looking at the Hebrew and Greek roots of the words to add insights into their accounts. He also looks at Book of Mormon prophecies of Christ and includes sidebars about Christmas carols.

This book is loaded with illustrations and information. I will say that having quite so many sidebars got distracting for me, but overall, I think most readers will find something they enjoy in this book.

AE

I Love Him to Pieces

I Love Him to Pieces
By Evonne Tsang
Graphic Universe, 2011. 123 pgs. Graphic Novel

When jock Dicey and nerd Jack get paired up for a science project, mutual attraction flares. However, when they go out on their first date, they find themselves in the middle of a zombie outbreak, and they have to figure out how to survive.

This graphic novel is a quick read, and it's a lot of fun. Dicey is a funny, strong female character, while Jack is sweet and dorky and totally loveable. It was fun to watch their developing romance. This is the first book in a series, and I would definitely read the next installment.

AE

Akata Witch

Akata Witch
By Nnedi Okorafor
Viking, 2011. 349 pgs. Young Adult

Sunny is an albino American-born young woman of Nigerian parents and has been living in Nigeria for the last three years. When Sunny’s friends turn on her at school, one young man assists her and introduces her to a friend of his outside of school and they soon reveal to Sunny that they both possess magical abilities. What’s more, they suspect that Sunny has magical abilities as well. While this is shocking news, it begins to make sense to Sunny who has never felt like she belonged. Sunny begins training with her new friends; as they train, they learn that they will be called upon to defeat a man who is kidnapping and dismembering young children in the area.

This work of fantasy is refreshing in many ways, from the more exotic locale and richly described world of magic. Sunny feels real in her struggles to fit in at home and with her new friends and world. I was looking for something new and different and this met my high expectations.

MN

Ghosts in the Fog

Ghosts in the Fog
By Samantha Seiple
Scholastic, 2011. 221 pgs. Young Adult Nonfiction

After the Japanese army invaded Aleutian Islands in Alaska in 1942, the U.S. Army tried to convince the American public that the invasion hadn't happened. At the same time, they began evacuating the islands, sending the native inhabitants to refugee camps where they lived in miserable conditions, and planned their counterattack to regain the territory.

This book was interesting--the invasion of Alaska during WWII isn't something I remember learning about in my history classes--but it was almost too brief. It was a surface-level treatment that left me wondering about a lot of things. I think the author tried to bring in too many people to the story--there are little snippets about a variety of people, but then the brevity of the book made following up on their stories hard. It's a good introduction to the topic, but most readers will want more information than this book provides (which could be a good thing, if they go on to find other materials to supplement it).

AE

The Panic Virus

The Panic Virus: A True Story of Medicine, Science, and Fear
by Seth Mnookin
Simon & Schuster, 2011. 429 pgs. Nonfiction

This book gives a history of vaccination, an overview of public concerns about vaccination, and descriptions of the people and groups that try to link vaccination and autism. He draws on interviews with parents, public-health advocates, scientists, and anti-vaccine activists to tackle a fundamental question: How do we decide what the truth is?

This is a book that I highly recommend to anyone who wants to know more about public health, vaccinations, or even the psychology behind why people think the way they do. The writing is clear and easy to understand, and the author has obviously thoroughly researched his subject in a comprehensive way. I also liked that he does not just cover the history of this most recent public-health controversy, but he also explores things like the problems with news coverage of scientific studies, how we understand and evaluate information, and what influences the choices we make.

JC

This Beautiful Life

This Beautiful Life
by Helen Schulman
Harper, 2011. 222 pgs. Fiction

The Bergamots have a comfortable life in New York City, until one day their fifteen-year-old son Jake receives an email from an eighth-grade admirer with a sexually explicit video she has made for him. Unsure of what to do, he forwards the video to a friend, who then forwards it to another friend. Within hours, it’s gone viral, all over the school, the city, the world. The ensuing scandal threatens to shatter the Bergamots’ sense of security and identity, and, ultimately, their happiness.

This book has an interesting premise and the writing is very good. However, the book left me feeling frustrated and I felt that the ending was weak in comparison to the rest of the book. The book is about the ways in which people miscommunicate with each other and let each other down, and it can be hard to read about people making stupid choices and not doing anything to correct their mistakes.

JC

The Full Burn

The Full Burn: On the Set, at the Bar, Behind the Wheel, and Over the Edge with Hollywood Stuntmen
By Kevin Conley
Bloomsbury, 2008. 214 pgs. Nonfiction

Conley interviews stuntmen from times past to present about the skills it takes to put your life on the line for a stunt. The men and women of the trade are just as rough living off screen as they are on as they build their resume of tricks. This book is filled with humor and moments of sadness as they open up about a world that is generally unknown.

An interesting read about what happens behind the scenes of film, not quite a history of the profession, more of the culture of the people in the job.

KK

Liar's Moon

Liar's Moon
By Elizabeth C. Bunce
Arthur A. Levine Books, 2011. 356 pgs. Young Adult

Digger has returned to her home city of Gerse and find that Durrel Decath, the young noble who was one of her rescuers when she was fleeing the city before, is in prison, accused of murdering his wife. As Digger investigates what really happened, she finds out that there's much more doing on than she realized, including the smuggling and extortion of magical people. Proving that Durrel didn't kill his wife proves harder than she thought--as does denying her growing feelings for him.

A lot of times, the second book in a series is boring or slow; I think Bunce did a good job avoiding that. This book moved pretty well, with action, adventure, and a dash of romance. Fans of Starcrossed will appreciate that. At the same time, they might find themselves disappointed by the fact that most of the characters from the first book don't make an appearance in the second. And for those who hoped Digger's love life might involve a certain rebel prince, they'll be disappointed to see the romance heading a different direction. Overall, though, a lot of fun, and the cliffhanger ending will leave readers hoping Bunce and her publishers put out the third book really quickly.

AE

The Kid Who Climbed Everest

The Kid Who Climbed Everest
By Bear Grylls
Lyons Press, 2000, 283 pgs. Biography

Bear Grylls is the host of T.V.'s Man Vs. Wild and in this biography he tells of his effort to climb Everest. In 1996 he was a Special Forces soldier parachuting over the African Desert but when his parachute did not open, he broke his back. During the long grueling months of bed rest and therapy he decided to pursue his childhood dream of climbing Mt. Everest. He was only 23-years-old in 1998 when he made this attempt and he candidly shares his struggles and doubts during the long months spent on the mountain.

I have not read any books about Everest before so I learned a lot about the difficulty and struggles these dedicated climbers face. Bear Grylls has a very easy writing style but there are some major editing mistakes. There is some swearing and a lot of talk about going to the bathroom, but I guess that would be a critical part of living on a mountain for three months.

AL

The Name of the Star

The Name of the Star
By Maureen Johnson
G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2011. 372 pgs. Young Adult

Rory decides to spend her senior year at a boarding school in London while her parents spend their sabbatical in England. Feeling uncertain being in a new culture and school is bad enough, but soon a Jack the Ripper copycat starts killing people and Rory and her schoolmates find themselves on lockdown. When Rory sees the same man twice near the scene of two crimes, she realizes that the friends with her cannot see him. Sensing something is amiss and that one of her roommates might know the truth, Rory follows her roommate and discovers a startling truth. Armed with this new knowledge, Rory works with a few others to stop the copycat Jack the Ripper.

This didn’t work for me as well as I had hoped. The writing was flat, certainly not “gorgeous” as a blurb claims it to be. The mystery is somewhat interesting and Rory has the potential to be a great character, but it didn’t come together in this.

MN