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| The Serpent's Shadow |
| Posted 5/11/2012 at 9:06:08 AM by Janette Sandro [staff member] |
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I am such a sucker for all of Rick Riordan's books that deal with mythology and while his Egyptian mythology series (The Kane Chronicles) isn't my favorite, I still devour each one as soon as it comes out. The Serpent's Shadow didn't disappoint me - it's a page turner that keeps the excitement coming until the very end. So many questions are answered - Will Walt die because of a curse? Will Ra forever remain trapped as an elderly man with dementia? Will we see the dwarf Bes again? Will Apophis rise and destroy the world as we know it? The end of the book hints at a possibility of more to come and I'm wondering if Riordan will somehow connect his Egyptian series to his other series with Percy Jackson. It's a possibility and one to which I'm looking forward. If you haven't started The Kane Chronicles yet, check out The Red Pyramid from the library!  |
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| Anna Dressed in Blood |
| Posted 4/23/2012 at 8:20:17 AM by Janette Sandro [staff member] |
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Several students checked out this book and told me they enjoyed it so I took it home over the weekend. It’s a quick read for several reasons – the text isn’t difficult and the story is fast-moving with plenty of action. There are several twists in the storyline that keep the reader guessing; I was able to figure out one of the twists but didn’t expect the other one. As the title foretells, this is Stephen King lite – plenty of blood and gore but toned down for a young adult audience.
Cas Linwood is a ghost hunter who travels around the United States sending ghosts to the underworld and avenging the death of his father. He has traveled to a new town in search of Anna, a ghost unlike anything he’s met before. She doesn’t want to kill him and he doesn’t want to kill her but he must do something to stop her from killing everyone else who enters her abandoned home.
Kendare Blake's second book in the series comes out this fall and I'm sure to have students lined up waiting for the book.
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| Americus |
| Posted 4/23/2012 at 8:00:54 AM by Janette Sandro [staff member] |
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I love graphic novels; they are quick to read comics that tell a pertinent story through both words and pictures. In Americus, the topic of book banning in a public library is at the forefront. The book in question is a Harry Potter/Lord of the Rings mash-up calledThe Adventures of Apathea Ravenchilde. While the book series has gotten many young people to enjoy reading and to discuss what they are reading with other students and adults, some people want the books taken off of all library shelves because Apathea is a witch. The topic of book banning can be controversial – this book may or may not be the best choice for you. I enjoyed it and will definitely have it on display during Banned Books Week in September.
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| Wither |
| Posted 4/4/2012 at 1:27:09 PM by Janette Sandro [staff member] |
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| While being set in a futuristic society where a virus kills young men at age 25 and women at age 20, there are still several current topics begging for discussion in this novel: childhood slavery, the economic divide between the rich and the poor, and the advancement of science.
Sixteen year old Rhine is kidnapped along with several other girls and sold to a rich family to serve as one of several wives to a young man. His father, from the generation before the virus, is a doctor with secretive projects aimed at finding a cure. The reader realizes very early not to trust the doctor and that anyone who crosses him is in danger.
This is a very quick read and most students quickly check out the sequel, Fever, after finishing Wither. The author, Lauren DeStefano, has another book planned in the Chemical Garden Trilogy.
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| Pademonium |
| Posted 3/19/2012 at 1:28:17 PM by Janette Sandro [staff member] |
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Lauren Oliver's sequel to Delirium doesn't disappoint! I had remembered enjoying the first book, although I must admit that I read it so quickly and so closely to Ally Condie's Matched that I had a hard time remembering which events went to which book until I really got into the sequel. In Delirium, the "disease" of Love has been cured. As people turn 18, they are given the cure and they no longer have to worry about being passionate in regards to people or opinions. Lena looked forward to turning 18 until she met Alex, an uncured. In the sequel, Lena is now and Invalid, living outside the fence that keeps all the cured people together and "safe". Told in alternating chapters of "Now" and "Then", we learn about Lena's hardships outside the fence and her work as a resistance fighter within New York. She lost Alex at the end of the first book and we are left to wonder if she will find love again. Pandemonium ends with such a twist that readers will be waiting eagerly for the third installment.  |
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| Ruby Red |
| Posted 3/19/2012 at 11:46:27 AM by Janette Sandro [staff member] |
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This novel reminds me a bit of a young adult version of The Time Traveler's Wife, although Kerstin Gier includes more mystery and intrigue in her novel. A time-traveling gene runs in Gwen's family and she had thought she didn't have it. She thought wrong. Now she is totally unprepared for fitting in to the different time periods in which she is thrown. Add to this an obnoxious yet immensely handsome traveling companion and an age-old mysterious society. Gwen definitely has her hands full. The sequel will be out in Fall 2012 and I've already has students asking about it. This is definitely a series to check out!  |
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| The Future of Us |
| Posted 2/16/2012 at 9:35:41 AM by Janette Sandro [staff member] |
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Jay Asher is the author of Thirteen Reasons Why while Carolyn Mackler wrote the hilarious The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things - I had to read this book that is a collaboration between the two authors. It's a light and easy weekend read that will appeal to high school students. Boys could easily get into the book but I think girls will be the primary readers. It's 1996. Josh and Emma had been best friends their whole lives until something changed between them last summer. Now they hardly ever talk. What brings their friendship back together? A CD-ROM from the future. While installing AOL on her computer, Emma somehow gets logged on to her Facebook account from 15 years in the future. Imagine knowing the ups and downs of your next fifteen years before any of the events have happened - would you try to change the future?  |
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| The Fault In Our Stars |
| Posted 2/13/2012 at 8:58:59 AM by Janette Sandro [staff member] |
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I love reading John Green’s books because he creates realistic and witty characters that I can’t help but love, flaws and all. His newest book is no different. I devoured it over one weekend, laughing and crying as I joined Hazel and Gus on their roller coaster ride through life. Hazel has a terminal cancer diagnosis and she spends her days feeling, well, terminal. Then she meets Gus, a cancer survivor, at Cancer Support Group. He is handsome, smart, sarcastically funny, and he is interested in Hazel. Suddenly life seems a little more worth living.
The Fault In Our Stars is an allusion to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. If you aren’t familiar, all will be explained as you read the book.
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| The Death Cure |
| Posted 2/10/2012 at 1:46:19 PM by Janette Sandro [staff member] |
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I finally finished theMaze Runner Trilogy. The final book, The Death Cure, provided a satisfying conclusion to the series. Mysteries were explained, old characters were brought back, and hope remained for the human race. If you’re a fan of dystopian science fiction, you should definitely check out this series by James Dashner.
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| All These Things I've Done |
| Posted 2/8/2012 at 10:08:43 AM by Janette Sandro [staff member] |
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In a very realistic future, chocolate is one of the many items that are now illegal; Anya’s family bootlegs chocolate and her father is the most notorious crime boss in the city. She finds it very difficult to lead a normal life with crime on her doorstep every day, especially when her family's chocolate supply is poisoned and she is accused of intentionally poisoning her ex-boyfriend. Complicating matters even more is the new district attorney’s son, Win, a handsome and witty young man with his sights set on Anya. This was a fun and quick read. I have yet to be disappointed by one of Gabrielle Zevin’s books.
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| Daughter of Smoke and Bone |
| Posted 2/8/2012 at 10:02:21 AM by Janette Sandro [staff member] |
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I loved this book! I had read several good reviews before I picked the book up at the library and I wasn't disappointed at all. I think teenagers who liked the romance found in Twilight or the Wolves of Mercy Falls will be on the edge of their seats with the relationship between Karou and Akiva.
This fantasy novel introduces the reader to chimaera and seraphim and to a long fought battle between the two. Karou is a human who was raised by the chimaera (think demons) and continues to help them while oblivious to their war with the seraphim (angels). The seraphim bring war to Karou, however, and her world is turned upside down. She must fight for her life and decide if she can trust Akiva, a seraphim whom will either love her or kill her.
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| The Tiger's Wife |
| Posted 1/3/2012 at 10:06:44 AM by Janette Sandro [staff member] |
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Tea Obreht has written a beautiful book that I didn’t want to end; I actually found myself putting the book down at times so that I could prolong my experience. It reminded me of how I felt when reading The Life of Pi– I’m sure some small part of the connection is because a tiger was a main character in both books. A mix of myth and reality told with numerous flashbacks, The Tiger’s Wife is one of this year’s nominations for the National Book Award. The author develops her characters so well that you feel a connection to even the smallest player and the melding of myth and truth make you question the reality of it all. I’ve already recommended this book to my sister and will recommend it to advanced high school readers.
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| Crossed |
| Posted 12/16/2011 at 10:22:33 AM by Janette Sandro [staff member] |
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| Last night I finished the sequel to Matched, a dystopian novel by Ally Condie. While I enjoyed reading Matched, I also felt that it had been done before and been done better. In The Giver, Lois Lowry had already created the perfect dystopian teen novel and Suzanne Collins had crafted an updated dystopian novel full of romance and adventure in The Hunger Games. Condie’s sequel, however, didn’t make me think about the other books that I’d liked better – it was unique enough that it stood out on its own and, I think, is a better book than the first.
Cassia, Ky, and an assortment of new characters find themselves on a quest through the Outer Provinces and The Carving in search of the farmers and The Rising, anyone against The Society. But The Society is always close and no one is safe.
You need to read Matched first but then rush to read the sequel. It will be worth it.
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| Inheritance |
| Posted 12/6/2011 at 10:28:30 AM by Janette Sandro [staff member] |
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I just finished the fourth and final book by Christopher Paolini in the Inheritance Cycle. It was a lengthy read, made more so by Paolini’s attempts to improve upon and update his writing style. While I slogged through the endless prose, I did find many plot points to enjoy. The final confrontation and outcome between Eragon, Galbatorix, and Murtagh was well played and I was pleased with the many battle scenes. The fate of the dragons was dealt with nicely and the happy ending wasn’t necessarily happy, which I also found refreshing and unexpected. I don’t love it when everything is tied up in a neat bow because really, what in life ends up that way? If you are a fan of the series, definitely pick up this book to follow the story to its conclusion.
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| The Paris Wife |
| Posted 11/9/2011 at 2:08:03 PM by Janette Sandro [staff member] |
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I read this book for the faculty book club and while it was a slow start, I ended up loving it. If you have an interest in Ernest Hemingway, this novel gives a historically accurate depiction of his life in Paris with his first wife, Hadley. I learned more about the lives of various expatriates and about his inspiration for the book that really made him famous, The Sun Also Rises. I was so intrigued by the history behind the story that I did further research after finishing the book in order to learn more about Ernest, Hadley and the time period in which the book was set. This isn’t a young adult book but more ambitious 11thand 12thgraders with a love of historical fiction and/or Hemingway should see what all the hype is about.
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| If I Stay and Where She Went |
| Posted 11/9/2011 at 2:03:46 PM by Janette Sandro [staff member] |
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| I first read If I Stay several years ago; I curled myself into a chair and finished it in an afternoon, dabbing my eyes with a tissue throughout much of the book. On the second read through, my emotions were as touched as they were the first time. Mia and her family are in a horrific car accident at the beginning of the book. In a coma, she learns that she is the only survivor out of her family. We have flashbacks to gain insight into her family, her boyfriend, and her passion for playing the cello. In the present day, she considers her life and has to make the decision about staying or moving on with her family. While a sad book, it is also inspirational and uplifting.
Where She Went is a follow-up to If I Stay. It definitely needs to be read after the first book – it really doesn’t stand alone. While I didn’t shed any tears with this one, I was engaged by the plot and characters. The language and situations in the book are a bit more intense in this sequel, keeping with the idea of the characters’ growth and age.
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| Blood Wounds |
| Posted 10/28/2011 at 9:56:30 AM by Janette Sandro [staff member] |
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Willa's father murdered his new wife and three children. He then left town and is now headed toward Willa and her mother. But this book isn't just about murder. It's about finding yourself, about the dynamics of blended families, and about accepting the flaws of those you love.
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| Crossing Lines |
| Posted 10/28/2011 at 8:37:46 AM by Janette Sandro [staff member] |
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I loved Riker's High by Paul Volponi so I jumped at the chance to read and review his newest book. The football field cover will attract teenage males but I hope it doesn't deter females because I think that this book is for both. After years of being the pudgy kid in school, Adonis has shed his baby weight and is a starter on the football team. Alan is a new student who becomes president of the Fashion Club and, eventually, starts wearing dresses to school. When members of the football team increasingly harass Alan, Adonis has to make a choice. A choice between staying silent and continuing to be a part of the football clique or standing up for someone who is being bullied. This isn't Alan's story - if you are looking for a book that focuses more on the emotional roller coaster of a teenager coming out as transgendered then you should try Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher. This is more a story about Adonis, a young man who doesn't know what he thinks about Alan but does know that he doesn't like to see anyone harrassed.
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