The Gathering

Title: The Gathering (Darkness Rising, Book 1)
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Level: Young Adult
Location: YA Armstrong, K.

The Gathering is the first in Armstrong's latest YA trilogy, Darkness Rising. For fans of her first YA trilogy, Darkest Powers, you will find similar themes of seemingly "normal" teens who find they have special powers and how those characters band together to figure out what's happening in their world- not to mention the possibility of medical experimentation.

While I associate Darkest Powers with more paranormal elements and the macabre (after all the main character sees ghosts and the group of characters meet while living in a home for teens with diagnosed mental disorders), The Gathering focuses in on one teen girl's town on Vancouver Island, secluded and controlled by a medical research corporation. Intensive medical check-ups by doctors ranked the best in their field is considered an annoyance to the teens, but a perk to the adults who have relocated their families to this secluded place. Free health care anyone? Folklore from native Canadian tribes and daily interaction with wildlife, in particular cougars, makes Maya's story an interesting read.

Maya has an uncanny ability to work with animals; she helps heal and rehabilitate injured wildlife in a make-shift animal hospital and has run-ins with the cougars who frequent the forests around her home. She feels "different" and has a birthmark resembling a paw print on her hip. When mysterious deaths occur and questions of Maya's birth parents arise, she turns to her closest friends for support. The introduction of Rafe, the newest resident in town, and not exactly a welcomed addition, adds to the mystery and shakes up Maya's daily life. Is this tiny town more than what it seems?

Bottom Line: I can't say that the similarities to all of the recent YA books with teens morphing into other creatures made me want to read this book. I know what you're thinking...vampires, werewolves, what's next? What made me read it is Armstrong's strong writing; the characters are unique, the setting is unspoiled and fresh, and her honest perspective of teens always makes a good YA read. I have to say I'm an Armstrong fan for both her adult and YA books. An interesting note: see if you can find the subtle jabs explaining differences between Canada and America. I had to smile a couple of times and nod my head in agreement.

This World We Live In

Title: This World We Live In
Author: Susan Beth Pfeffer
Level: Young Adult
Location: YA Pfeffer, S.

*Sometimes called The Last Survivors Trilogy, this title follows the events of the companion novels Life As We Knew It and The Dead and the Gone. If you have not read these novels, please stop reading as there are spoilers in this review.

It's been a year since a meteor hit the moon causing the Earth and it's inhabitants to struggle to survive a global catastrophe, massive starvation, floods, tornadoes, climate change, and disasters unimaginable. In this novel, Miranda and her family from Life As We Knew It continue to live as best they can, rationing supplies, scavenging abandoned houses for the things we all take for granted. In a twist of fate, Alex Morales and his sister Julie from The Dead and the Gone become a part of Miranda's life.


This World We Live In Susan Beth Pfeffer Book Trailer - Funny bloopers are a click away

The Bottom Line: While we got to know the characters very well in the first two novels, this addition completes what I feel is an authentic and moving series of books with characters that are unforgettable.

Children of the Sea, Volume 1

Title: Children of the Sea, Volume 1

Author: Daisuke Igarashi

Level: Young Adult

Location: Graphic YA Children Vol. 1

"The sea has a story to tell, one you've never heard before..."

Ruka was just a little girl when she saw a ghost at the aquarium--lights enveloping a fish, making it disappear. Now as a teen, she has found herself back at the aquarium where her father works, spending all of her free time with two teens, Umi and Sora, who were found in the ocean and raised by "dugongs" or manatees. Growing up in the ocean has made their bodies vulnerable to life outside of the water and the adults in the story are searching for answers. Then it is reported that all over the world, fish are disappearing from aquariums and more children are found living in the oceans. There are many clues, but no resolution.

The Bottom Line:

This title was selected to be in the 2010 Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). It is in traditional Japanese manga format, so you read right to left, starting at what we would usually consider the back cover.

Overall I enjoyed this book. While it was more of a "quiet" graphic novel than I'm used to reading, meaning less action, I still enjoyed it. It was slow going at times, but then the artwork quickly saved the day. Panels of drawings of undersea life are beautiful in their representations of whales, manatees, and other species. Ruka is a strong character, and Umi and Sora are intriguing. On to volume 2!

Hush, Hush

Title: Hush, Hush

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Reading Level: Young Adult

Location: YA Fitzpatrick

Nora Grey's class seating chart forces her to sit next to a new student at school, Patch. Though he's tall, dark, and handsome, he makes her feel uncomfortable. She's not interested in romance. He's interested however. His interest in her starts to worry her as he starts showing up wherever she is. Is he stalking her? Eventually though, she finds herself drawn to Patch and his mysterious demeanor. She wants to learn more about him.

After a number of strange and terrifying incidents, Nora doesn't know who to trust, including herself. When she finally thinks she has the answers, she finds out how she fits in a struggle between what she never thought could be real and humans. Someone has to make a sacrifice that will change her life forever. The question is, who will make the sacrifice?

The Bottom Line: I thoroughly enjoyed the premise of the book, both realistic and supernatural, but it did take me a while (Chapter 19) to get a real clue as to what was going on (trying to put the very telling cover art to the back of my mind). In the end, the character development won me over and I wanted to hear more from Nora and Patch, not to mention the very real and intense moments that drive them together.

Meridian

Title: Meridian
Author: Amber Kizer
Reading Level: Young Adult
Location: YA Kizer

Death has always been a normal part of Meridian's life. As a child hiding under the blankets, bugs and other small creatures would crawl under the covers and die beside her. Plagued by constant stomach pains and headaches, she became accustomed to them, just as she did the chore of cleaning up carcasses before making her bed every morning. On her sixteenth birthday, a car crashes into a group of her classmates and her body, though untouched, is wracked with pain. She doesn't know what's wrong with her, just that no one will explain or can explain.

She is sent to her aunt's house in a town called Revelation, aptly named for what she discovers there about herself and about the people that choose to live there. She begins to lead a life she never could have imagined, a dangerous destiny, but one that she learns she is more than ready for, especially with a new friend by her side, and the special helpers she finds cloaked as normal people along the way.

Bottomline: This is a fast-paced read and thoroughly well-written. Love, danger, independence, all of these topics are covered and covered well: "I tasted tomorrow on his lips." This is a great book for those teens that like to read about the perceived outcasts overcoming obstacles with a touch of goth and impossibility thrown in. I liked it and am hoping for a sequel!

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Title: The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Author: Carrie Ryan

Reading Level: YA
Location: YA Ryan

Mary lives in a colonial-esque village surrounded by fencing that separates the village from the forest. The forest is off limits as the "unconsecrated" or zombies, roam freely and often try to breach the fence to attack the living. Generations have lived a simple life of survival, always dependant on the "sisterhood," a religious order that runs the community in all ways, taking away the need for commerce or free-will. The goal of the villagers is to survive and that is all they know. Mary questions this existence and soon events in the village cause her to seek out answers.

Bottom Line: I love a good post-apocalyptic novel and this one had me hooked for awhile, but then hoping for it to be over ASAP. I thought the characters weren't really developed until close to the end of the novel and this kept me confused trying to figure out why the protagonist was thinking and doing different things. I like the imagery, the discovery, and self-discovery, but then when the end finally came, I was thinking, huh?

The City of Ember

Title: The City of Ember (unabridged audio recording)
Author: Jeanne DuPrau, read by Wendy Dillon
Reading Level: Young Adult
Location: CDS YA Duprau J.

"There is nowhere but here" the children are taught in the city that has no sky, stars, or moon. The sunshine comes from floodlights that blast during 12 hours of the day. At the age of twelve, Lina and Doon have completed their schooling and are assigned the jobs they will have for the rest of their lives, Lina as a messenger (who is paid 20 cents to run across the city to deliver spoken messages for individuals) and Doon is a pipeworker, spending all day below ground in a massive maze of tunnels and secret doors.

The decaying city is starting to have problems maintaining electricity and is running low on a limited supply of food, lightbulbs, and other necessities that the mysterious "builders" have left them. For 250 years, the people of Ember have lived without questioning their existence in this place that is all that they know, strangely simple and economical- no telephones, re-using all items and nothing is thrown away, and also modern with the expectation of electricity, but soon a secret box is found. What is inside the box is how Lina and Doon discover what was meant to be discovered years before.

The Bottom Line: I really got drawn in to this story, especially with it's hints at the reasons behind the existence of Ember being pre-apocalyptic. I think a younger reader would be interested in this story as well and the content would be fine for an 8-12 year old.

Wendy Dillon's reading of the characters was really well done and the small sounds inserted in different places to represent the fast-moving river and crowds forming helped the story rather than distract from it. I know this one has been out for awhile, but I'm ready to read the next in the series. I won't be watching the movie, at least not until I finish the series. I don't want to ruin what I imagine Ember to be.

Owly: A Time To Be Brave

Title: Owly: A Time To Be Brave

Author: Andy Runton

Location: Graphic Novel J Owly Vol. 4

Reading Level: Juvenile

Every Owly book teaches a lesson without the use of words, only pictures. This volume is no exception, re-introducing us to "Owly" and "Wormy" who are best friends. Reading about fairy tales, Wormy becomes frightened at the idea of dragons, which leads to him mistaking a possum for a dragon while playing with his friends in the forest. The plot is straight-forward as Owly and Wormy seek to help the injured possum, and while doing so, learn more about the species and why it is in fact afraid of Owly, a predator in the eyes of the possum. Wormy, though afraid of the possum, has to be brave to save the day and the possum learns about friendship.

*Note: It may take you a little while to adjust to following the pictures with no words, but you'll find very quickly that a dialogue starts in your head to lead you through the story---that's how strong the illustrations are.

The Bottom Line:

If you're already an Owly fan you'll love this. If you're new to the idea of graphic novels with few words, I'd suggest starting with the first volume in the series (The Way Home & the Bittersweet Summer) where you'll understand the basis for Owly and Wormy's friendship, and why each story is a shiny, little gem that can make you smile or cry, depending on the story.

The Dead and the Gone

Title: The Dead and the Gone

Author: Susan Beth Pfeffer

Location: YA Pfeffer

Reading Level: Young Adult

The tidal waves took the lives of Alex Morales' parents. What caused the tidal waves is at the center of this companion novel to Life As We Knew It by the same author--an asteroid hits the moon. New York City is devastated by the immediate environmental impact and Alex finds that he must deal with difficult decisions to keep himself and his two younger sisters alive. It is a life and death decision on every other page. His focus is keeping them alive. No matter what it takes.

The Bottom Line:

Courage, strength, despair, and madness are all a part of Alex's life, but the book, though grim, is thoroughly realistic, heart-wrenching, and worth every moment of time you re-read the sections that catch you and haunt your thoughts.

Go Ask Malice: A Slayer's Diary

Title: Go Ask Malice: A Slayer's Diary
Author: Robert Joseph Levy
Location: YA Buffy Malice
Reading Level: Young Adult

Needing a vampire fix after finishing the Twilight series, I turned to the vampire staple that is the Buffy universe. "Go Ask Malice" tracks the life and upbringing of Faith, a vampire slayer who's past the reader finds is both surreal and realistic with friends who have visions, visits to the therapist's office, and juvenile pranks. The story is told through journal entries Faith must write for her therapist and social worker. Faith is an abused and neglected child who grows up in foster care, on the street, and doesn't ever seem to get a break....until she is called to be a slayer.


Bottom Line: This is a quick read, and also one that you want to be over quickly. It is blunt, to-the-point, and a little disturbing. There is no softening the blow with sub-plots, it is what it is.