The Last Titanic Story by Chris Angus

Laura Engalls has made what she believes to be an incredible discovery. An anthropologist working in Greenland, she's uncovered evidence linking an unknown part of Titanic history to a local tribe of Inuit people. She enlists the help of a journalist and author of a book about the Titanic, Matt Mosher. Intrigued what Laura is proposing, he agrees to join her on her quest. A terrible storm hampers their entry into Greenland and what began as a journey to find the truth quickly turns into a quest for survival. Further complicating their actions are the mysterious persons who are following them - and attempting to kill them. Just what sort of information has Laura Engalls uncovered? And is it information worth dying for?

Sometimes when I'm talking about books, I feel a bit like Stefon from Saturday Night Live. This is one of those books that would lend itself to a Stefon-esque update. It has Nazis and Titanic survivors, stolen treasure and gunfire, action, adventure and even a touch of romance. The story jumps between different time periods: one starting in 1912, one during the time of World War II, and one in the present day. I was quite curious about how all of these strands would come together, but ultimately they did fit into a single coherent story. There were several masterful cuts between chapters/time periods that were almost cinematic in feel. There were a few things that puzzled me (having unprotected sex, even if it's "I'm glad we're alive and I'm attracted to you" sex, doesn't seem like the smartest move if you're trapped in the wilderness with no idea if rescue is possible) but since I've never been in a life-or-death exploration setting, I have no idea if this behaviour is as strange as I found it. And, of course, this is relatively minor compared to the forward momentum that the action and adventure of the novel provide. If you read only one book this year that combines the Titanic, World War II, modern day neo-Nazis, and a high stakes treasure hunt across Greenland - let it be this one.

Find out more about author Chris Angus.

I received a review copy from NetGalley courtesy of Iguana Books. 

Read it with:
The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel
Titanic: Shipwrecks and Sunken Treasure by John Malam
Iceberg Right Ahead! by Stephanie Sammartino McPherson
Shattered Hopes: Canada's Boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games by Sheila Hurtig Robertson

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Nick and Amy have been married for five years. It's the day of their fifth wedding, in fact, when Amy goes missing. Their house is a mess and shows signs of a struggle...and Nick can't account for his whereabouts. Over the next few hours family, police, and the media get involved and Nick and Amy's seemingly-perfect life starts to crack away. Told in two voices (Nick's increasingly unbelievable one and Amy's diary entries), this is not the story you think you know.

This is going to be a terrible post (or, at the very least, a short post), because I don't want to say anything. The less you know about this book, the better it is to discover as you're reading. I knew very little going into to and was glad because I could experience the twists as they came (and boy are there twists). Once I started reading, I couldn't put the book down. So go, read it, and then tell other people to read it so you can talk about it.

See more about Gillian Flynn at her website.

I received an advance review copy from NetGalley courtesy of Crown Publishing Group/Random House.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Mr. Peanut by Adam Ross
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

A Good and Useful Hurt by Aric Davis

Mike, still grieving and dealing with the death of his girlfriend, knows that he must confront her memory and move forward - but nothing is ever that simple. Three things happen at about the same time: Mike hires a new piercing artist at his tattoo shop, a customer requests that Mike design and ink a tattoo using the ashes of a customer's lost loved one, and an unknown serial killer decides who will be his next victim. These three events seem unrelated, but they place Mike on a path that will change the course of his life...and the lives of the people around him.

Before looking at what's on the inside, I want to talk for a moment about what's on the outside. This is quite a stunning book to see in person. The colours on the cover really stand out, and the detail work at the start of each chapter gives it a special look. And it has a good heft; it feels good in my hands, and that's one of those indescribable personal details that always puts me in a good mind for reading. In his profile at the back of the book, Aric Davis says that he likes weather that's cold enough to wear a sweatshirt (but not a coat) - I love that weather, too. And now to the content. I was nervous when I started reading because I know very little about the world of tattoos; I was afraid that my lack of knowledge would mean that I wouldn't understand the book. No tattoo knowledge is necessary, I am happy to say. I think that people who do know a bit more about this world would appreciate the details and observations, but the book is completely accessible even to people who have never thought about getting a tattoo or a piercing. The chapters are the perfect length and keep the story moving without feeling choppy. It was a hard book to put down; the changing points of view meant that I wanted to keep going and explore what was going to happen next. I would frequently think, "okay, I'm just going to read one more chapter" and that would lead to many, many more. The idea of tattoos that include personal remains was something that I feel like I'd heard about before in real life, but not something I've seen explored in a book. It set the tone  of the book with something slightly otherworldly yet completely grounded in the physical world.

I received a review copy courtesy of Little Bird Publicity.

Find it at IndieBound.

Learn more about Aric Davis at his website.

Read it with:
Nickel Plated by Aric Davis
From Ashes Rise by Aric Davis
Moody Food by Ray Robertson

The Next Sure Thing by Richard Wagamese

Cree Thunderboy sees himself as a blues man - but he also has a knack for picking horses. It's a talent that is noticed by Win Hardy, who has an interesting proposition for Cree. If Cree starts feeding Win winning information, Win will finance Cree's music career. It's an offer that Cree can't - or won't - refuse, but is it too good to be true? And when so much is riding on it, will Cree be able to pick the next sure thing?

Some of the details of the plot were a bit confusing to me; some of the story is told by having something happen and then having a character explain it later. It's a book that might benefit from a second reading, but I can definitely see readers being interested enough to give it a second reading. There is so much that I'm excited by with this book. One thing is that it has a Native character who is living a modern life. The fact that he is Native is not ignored (details about his family motivate him to get into Win's shady world), but the book is not fully about Cree being Native. He's also a friend, a blues musician, and a guy who's gotten in over his head. Richard Wagamese, an Ojibway author and storyteller, has crafted a very strong story. Another thing that I really love is that this is part of the Rapid Reads series, a book of original, high-interest books that are designed for adult learners to enjoy. The Good Reads series and the Rapid Reads series are such an exciting thing for Canadian adult literacy students. For more information about other Rapid Reads, visit Orca's website.

Check out Richard Wagamese's website.

I received a free copy from a LibraryThing Draw.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
One Fine Day You're Gonna Die by Gail Bowen
Orchestrated Murder by Rick Blechta
And Everything Nice by Kim Moritsugu

The Sixes by Kate White

Phoebe Hall’s name has been synonymous with bestselling books and celebrity exposes. But when faced with a plagiarism scandal, Phoebe retreated from the publishing world. Her best friend invited her to come and teach at a small New England college. Phoebe is just settling into the quiet life when a student’s body is discovered floating in the river. Everyone assumes that it’s a tragic accident, but Phoebe discovers that the girl was a part of a secret sorority – and then uncovers that there has been a pattern of student deaths. Can she discover the truth behind the girl’s death? Or will she just be putting herself in danger?

I don’t read mystery/thrillers very often, but the allure of a private school setting and a secret society of young women was too much for me to pass up. The Sixes is twisty and has a lot of action. Some parts are quite scary, and there are other passages that describe brutal violence. Almost all of the characters had something they were hiding, which made everyone seem suspicious. This is the first book by Kate White that I've picked up, but now I'm interested in taking a look at one of her other books, Hush.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Majoring in Murder by Donald Bain
Testimony by Anita Shreve
Hush by Kate White

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

As a child, Jacob loved to listen to his grandfather’s stories about fantastical things. As he grew older, though, he pushed away from his grandfather’s world of make-believe. Then one day his grandfather dies under horrible circumstances, and Jacob realizes that his grandfather might have been telling the truth all along. Jacob and his father travel to Wales to investigate, and Jacob stumbles onto a world that never even dreamed would really exist.

One of the reasons that this book has received so much buzz and attention has to do with how the book as an object has been put together. Mixed in with the story are real-life photos. Some of creepy, some are bizarre, some are…well, peculiar. [There might be spoilers ahead about the story] The first part of the book seems very much like a horror story. Halfway through, though, it takes a bit of a turn and dives much more into fantasy, leaving the genre lines a bit blurred. Personally, while I found the book to be enjoyable, I think I liked the look and idea of the book more than actually reading it. When I talk about the book with people, I've been saying that the best way to tell if this is a book for you is to look at the front cover. Do you see a girl standing behind a dark patch on the ground, or do you see a child levitating? If it’s levitation, then you might really enjoy this book - or at least parts of it.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
The Sherlock Holmes Handbook by Ransom Riggs
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Theodore Boone: The Abduction by John Grisham

Theodore Boone doesn't really feel like he fits in. His intense interest in the law sets him apart from other kids his age. But he has a great friendship with April, another girl in his class. Then one night April goes missing, and Theodore is the last person who talked to her. He's desperate to find her, but his parents believe it's a job best left to the police. But Theodore is sure that he's the right man for the job. Can he find April before it's too late?

I have to confess that I didn't go into this book with an open mind. I wasn't too impressed with the first Theodore Boone book, so I didn't expect much from this one. And there were definitely parts where I wasn't sure John Grisham had ever talked to a tween/teen boy, let alone been one. References to technology like Facebook seemed forced and artificial. (At one point, Theodore says that April is different than other kids in the class because she isn't interested in "The Internet." But then he says that she's on Facebook. So she has and uses the internet. Does she not belong to the "I Heart the Internet" club? Do people who've been born since the widespread adoption of the internet even really think about it? It's like saying I'm interested in microwaves because I own one.) The plot of the book reminded me of a balloon with a pin in it; it started out strong but then just deflated over time. If there is a Theodore Boone 3, I'll probably read it but I have very, very low expectations for it.

For more specific examples of this book, check out Bookshelves of Doom.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham
The Rainmaker by John Grisham
Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol

Black as Snow by Nick Nolan

Everyone knows Sebastian Black. If he's not on TV talking about his Evo-Love religion, his good looks are being featured in magazines or blogs are talking about his latest romantic conquest. His mother is thrilled at the attention - and the money that it makes. It's a great life for Sebastian, but when something tragic happens he starts to wonder what his life is all about. He retreats from the public eye - and his mother - in an attempt to find answers about his life. Sebastian is alone and and at his most vulnerable. But his timing couldn't be worse, because a group of people who oppose his religion and his teachings are getting close to finding him...and they'll stop at nothing to get their message across.

I feel like before talking about the book, I should talk about how I got the book. I was approached (by email) by someone from Little Bird Publicity to see if I would be interested in receiving a review copy for a book that was published by AmazonEncore. I'd heard about AmazonEncore but wasn't quite sure what kinds of books they'd be publishing, so I jumped at the chance to read one of the titles, and before long a copy arrived in the mail.

But, back to the novel. When I first started, it took me a little while to get into the book. There were a number of characters and plots presented in the first chapters, and I had a hard time keeping them all straight. As the story picked up steam, though, I found myself much more able to keep up and could let myself get lost in the story. Sebastian is an engaging main character, and there's lots to be explored with a young, beautiful, Christ-like figure. The two biggest strengths of this book were Nick Nolan's deeply crafted supporting characters (particulary Tess and Libby) and his talent for writing dialogue. I loved the scenes where the characters would debate and challenge each other, or even just share information. I can't say that I picked up on all of the Snow White details (helpfully explained in an Author's Note at the end of the book), but I don't think you need to to enjoy the story. The religious-based plots and two intense, graphic sex scenes (one an act of violence, one an expression of love) mean this book won't be for everyone, but what book is? I doubt that I would have known about this book had it hadn't come across my inbox, so I'm thankful to have had the chance to learn more about author Nick Nolan's work.

I received a review copy of this book. Check out more information about Amazon Encore.

Look for more information on Nick Nolan's previous books.

Find it at Amazon.

Read it with:
Double Bound by Nick Nolan
Strings Attached by Nick Nolan
Sleeping Angel by Greg Herren

Tunnel Vision by Susan Shaw

It all seemed like an ordinary day. Liza was walking home, as usual. She was walking by the train overpass, as usual. The group of men by the tunnel wasn't usual, but it didn't seem too strange. Then things did start getting strange. Her mother was yelling at her. There was a loud noise. There was blood. Then the police came. It didn't seem possible that her mother could be dead - murdered - in the street in front of her house. The police need Liza as a witness, and in order to keep her safe she and her dad must go into the Witness Protection program. They must leave everything behind, including their names. Everything has happened so fast. Liza isn't sure how to handle everything, or even if she wants to help the police. But she won't have much time to think about it, because every minute puts her deeper into danger.

Witness Protection Program books usually bother me because the characters often make really bad choices for really bad reasons. But I was pleasantly surprised with Tunnel Vision. It's not that Liza didn't make questionable choices, because she does. But I think Susan Shaw grounded her character in a way that I don't usually see, so I could understand Liza a bit more. The action keeps the thriller moving along at a good pace (I read the book in one sitting because I had to know what happened next). It's also an interesting look at how things like 'disappearing' have changed in an internet age. How can you disappear when your picture is on 24 hour news channels and newspaper websites? Can you slip through unnoticed when cell phones and GPS devices are so common? How can you start a new life when reminders of your own life are so easily uncovered?

I received a review copy from Simon & Schuster's GalleyGrab program.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Don't Look Behind You by Lois Duncan
Almost True by Keren David
When I Was Joe by Keren David
61 Hours by Lee Child
Safe by Susan Shaw

The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness

Todd and Viola faced many hardships together in The Knife of Never Letting Go, but since the establishment of New Prentisstown, nothing has gotten any easier. In fact, things have gotten worse, because they are now separated and having to face things on their own. Todd finds himself working for Prentiss on a special project involving the Spackle, while Viola is in a house of healing surrounded by other women. As the revolution heats up, can they find their way back to each other - and can they trust each other either way?

As the middle novel in the Chaos Walking trilogy, The Ask and The Answer has a tough role - it needs to maintain the momentum from the first book while building toward the final book. I think I actually liked The Ask and The Answer better because it was less about the chase and evasion and more about the politics of war. There are also a number of really interesting male/female politics threads running throughout the book, and I like books that deal with that. Overall, this book made me more excited to read Monsters of Men and see how Patrick Ness wraps this whole thing up.


Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
The Disreputble History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness

Boom! by Mark Haddon

Jimbo's life is pretty simple. He loves jam and cheese sandwiches. He has a good friend to hang out with. But not everything is so easy. He tries to avoid his sister, who's dating a scary thug with a motorcycle. His father has lost his job and is kind of lost. He's worried that his teachers are going to send him off to a new school for troublemakers. That's why he and his best friend Charlie decide to plant a walkie-talkie in the teacher's lounge - to overhear them talking about Jimbo. But what they really hear doesn't make any sense at all, and when they try to unravel what it means, they quickly fall into a world full of great danger.

In my ignorance, I really only knew Mark Haddon as an adult author (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and A Spot of Bother). He's actually written a number of books for kids, though, including 1992's Gridzbi Spudvetch! which, with some revisions and updates, was reissued as Boom! I love the tone of this book. Jimbo treats everything he comes across (whether the making of a cheese sandwich or uncovering an intergalactic plot) with a sharp seriousness. It's a very funny book (particularly the scenes in outer space) with twists and turns. I read it very quickly because I wanted to see where everything was heading.


Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute by Jarrett K. Krosoczka
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Gridzbi Spudvetch! by Mark Haddon
Stuck on Earth by David Klass

Dark Song by Gail Giles

Ames led the life that other people dreamed about. Her father had a high-paying, powerful job; her mother decorated a perfect house. She attended a top private school and had everything she could ever want. Her family could drop everything and fly (at a moment's notice) to Alaska to watch the Northern Lights. She was close with her parents and never kept anything from them. Life was like a fairy tale...and then it all came crashing down. Her father lost his job and they ran through their savings. Despite his assurances that everything will be alright, Ames learns the dark truth behind how he lost his job and why he can't find a new one. Betrayed and hurt, Ames feels lost and acts out. The family is forced to leave their perfect life behind and start a new one in Texas. There, Ames meets a guy who seems to understand how frustrated she is, how terribly her parents are treating her. She trusts him and confides in him, and she promises she won't leave him. But she has no idea how dangerous he can be...

First, I have to say how much I love this cover. The image of the flower is so strikingly powerful that I found myself looking at it every time I picked the book up or set it down. Dark Song is really almost two stories, and that's how the book is divided. The first half breaks down Ames' so-called perfect life in Colorado, and the second half details the danger that she meets in Texas. This was another book where I got so frustrated with the parents. Faced with losing everything, her parents retreat into themselves, and Ames acts out in frustration. Her parents yell at her, call her names, and treat her like a servant rather than a daughter. Yes, she's spoiled and naive, but her parents are the ones who raised her like that! But rather than actively parent her, they just go on hating each other and freezing everyone out. I know there are a lot of great parents in YA books, and great teen/parent relationships, but I just seem to have hit a run of books with parents that frustrate me. Marc, too, is terrifying, so I guess it makes sense that Ames' feelings of betrayal from her parents have to be so strong to make Marc seem enticing. Dark Song is not an easy read, but once the action starts, it just pulses toward the end.


Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Poor Mallory! by Ann M. Martin
The Blonde of the Joke by Bennett Madison
Right Behind You by Gail Giles
Inexcusable by Chris Lynch
Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin

Payback Time by Carl Deuker

Daniel True is better known by the nickname 'Mitch' - short for the Michelin Man. Mitch has spent years covering current events for his high school paper, but in his senior year the new editor puts him on sports. Paired up with Kimi, a photographer that Mitch kind of has a crush on, he's expecting it to be a boring year: basic sports puff pieces, lots of press given to the staring player, nothing too exciting. But when he sees Angel, a new kid at school, showing off some skills, he wonders why the coach doesn't start this potential star. Digging deeper, he can't find any information on Angel - it's like he never existed before Mitch met him. The coach won't let Mitch interview Angel, the city newspaper won't run anything about him, and Angel himself wants Mitch to get lost. Mitch is sure that he's sitting on top of a big story, a story that could get his name out there, so he sets out to get to the bottom of it - even if it means getting in over his head.

Payback Time is a gripping mystery/thriller/sports novel that has enough in it to satisfy fans of any elements. I barely knew any of the football talk, but it didn't matter, because it was both about football and not about football. Mitch was a compelling protagonist. I wanted him to succeed, at his weight-loss and his story, because there was a quality about him that made me root for him. Payback Time reminded me of Gentlemen, where a preposterous idea seems to become a bit more probable, and then it's seen as a reality, in this case because Mitch really wants to believe that he can be an investigative journalist and he can uncover a big story. He grows over the course of the novel and is a different person by the end, but the arc is believable and nicely grounded.

See more about the book at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Gentlemen by Michael Northrop
Gym Candy by Carl Deuker
Love, Football, and Other Contact Sports by Alden R. Carter

Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn

Molly and Michael have had a lot of chances recently. Their mother just remarried a new man, and they have a new stepsister, Heather. Heather seems to hate them, and their stepfather doesn't think they can do anything right. Then their parents decided to move them out of the city and into a renovated old church in a rural area. There's a graveyard behind the church, and an abandoned falling-down building, and Molly thinks the whole area is really spooky. But that's nothing compared to how Heather is acting. Is she just an unhappy child, or is there something else going on?

Ghosts are creepy, and child ghosts are even scarier. Part of what made this book so scary to me was that no one was believing Molly and everyone was blaming her for things that she didn't do, even though there really was a supernatural culprit. I had a similar reaction to The Dollhouse Murders. Maybe this is why I had a childhood fear of being sent to jail for something that I didn't do (that, and watching Murder She Wrote, Matlock, and lots of other murder mystery shows). And I've never been a parent, so I don't really know a lot about parenting, but the parents in this book seem a little off. Their children aren't getting along, they're unhappy at moving to a new place, and the parents...avoid it all by locking themselves away for their own work. It doesn't seem like the best idea to me. Maybe the father would have noticed that his daughter was practically possessed by an evil spirit if he'd just spent some time with her.


Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
The Dollhouse Murders by Betsy Ren Wright
All the Lovely Bad Ones by Mary Downing Hahn
The Steps by Rachel Cohn

The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright

Amy needs a bit of a break from her family. Her mother has been on her case about not looking after her sister, Luann, who needs constant supervision. Luckily, her Aunt Clare is in town, getting her grandparents' (Amy's great-grandparents') house ready to sell (it sat vacant for many years). While staying at Aunt Clare's, Amy discovers a dollhouse that is a mini-replica of the house itself. Soon Amy starts hearing strange noises and the dolls seem to move on their own. As she learns more about Aunt Clare's dark and tragic history, she knows that something dangerous is at work in the house and it's up to her to figure it out.

This is exactly the kind of book I was talking about in my recent post on Mary Downing Hahn. It's creepy, it's strange, and I would have eaten it up as a fifth-grader. (It's still creepy and strange, but I was reading it in a doctor's waiting room, so I think that took away a bit from the atmosphere). The adult characters are kind of puzzling: Amy's mom sees Amy more as a babysitter/Luann's constant companion than as a young girl in her own right, and Aunt Clare swings back and forth between impulsively wild, responsible adult, angry child, and just plain scary. Of course, if someone was coming to me with a story of dolls that moved on their own, I don't think I would believe them at first, either. Anyway, I'm glad I found this book. Don't miss the review at Bookshelves of Doom (it's what prompted me to seek out the book).

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
A Ghost in the Family by Betty Ren Wright
Closed for the Season by Mary Downing Hahn
Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan
The Name of the Game was Murder by Joan Lowery Nixon

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

I'm going to put a spoiler warning in here, just to be safe.

In the third and final book of the Hunger Games series, Katniss doesn't know what to do. She's just been lifted out of the Quarter Quell. She was rescued; Peeta was not. District Thirteen exists; District Twelve has been destroyed. The rebels want Katniss to be the face of the rebellion - they want her to be their Mockingjay. She is reluctant to do it, but determined in her desire to bring down the Capitol.

I picked up my copy of Mockingjay on the release day and had it read before I went to sleep that night. I couldn't wait to find out what happened to Katniss and the other characters, particularly Peeta. I must confess, I identify with "Team Peeta," but not really in a romantic way; it's not that I wanted Katniss to chose him or be with him, he was just the character I found most interesting. I was worried for him at the end of Catching Fire, and he suffers a lot in Mockingjay. At times I had to keep reminding myself that Katniss had grown up in a different world, so sheltered and (although she's seen so many things) naive in many ways. I was often frustrated with her, particularly when she was interacting with Peeta. I wondered what the book would be like once it left the arena, but there was lots of action and moral dilemmas, and heartbreaking deaths. I enjoyed the book and was both happy and sad when it ended, and now that I know the end, it makes me want to go back and relive how Collins got there.


Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines
Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
Fire by Kristin Cashore

All the Lovely Bad Ones by Mary Downing Hahn

It looks like it's going to be a long summer at their grandmother's Vermont inn for Travis and his sister Corey. They're the only kids around, and there are a lot of senior citizens who stay at the inn. But then they hear rumours of ghosts that haunt the inn, and they decide to play some tricks on the gullible tourists. It quickly gets out of hand when their pranks awaken some real ghosts, and these ghosts need Travis and Corey to solve a century-old mystery so that they can finally rest in peace.

Even though this book was published in 2008, it seems almost like a throwback to an old-school type of mystery (and that's not a dig at all). I don't remember ever really going through a mystery phase in my reading (other than a deep love of Lois Duncan), but there were always the supernatural Sweet Valley books where Jessica or Elizabeth would have an encounter with a ghost. This book seems to be more in line with those books than the recent supernatural vampire/werewolf books. It seemed like it would be a great book for young readers or tweens ready for something more but not looking for anything too explicit.


Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
The Children of Green Knowe by Lucy M. Boston
Closed for the Season by Mary Downing Hahn
Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan
The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright
The Gravesavers by Sheree Fitch

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Todd is just a few days away from being a man. He's the only boy left in Prentisstown, the youngest one left after the sickness killed all of the women. He lives with two close friends of his mothers, and his beloved dog, and is surrounded by the Noise, the thoughts of all the other men in town. Then he finds something...strange: a girl. And she doesn't have a Noise. Before he can even process what's happening, his guardians are sending him out of town, telling him to run and never come back. As Todd and Viola (and Todd's dog Manchee) start out, they want to know: what are they running from? Where are they running? And what is the secret about Prentisstown that everyone else seems to know?

This book has some amazing cliffhangers, the kind you might find in a serial novel, like something Dickens was writing. In the interest of trying to go to bed earlier, I tried to restrict myself to reading only one section per night, but often, the section ended on such a cliffhanger that I just had to keep reading. Todd and Viola are both such strong characters, Todd especially as he struggles with trying to keep going when everything he's ever known is falling down around him.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
Salt by Maurice Gee

They Never Came Back by Caroline B. Cooney

Cathy just wanted to take Latin in summer school. But now her life is completely different. Another student has ID-ed her as his long lost cousin Murielle, a claim Cathy vigorously denies. Murielle was the daughter of two financiers who bolted rather than facing criminal charges, leaving their daughter behind. Is Cathy this cousin? Where is Murielle?

I was expecting that to be driving narrative force to the story, but it's actually resolved rather quickly. The rest of the book focuses on the issue of right and wrong, identity, family, and responsibility. Can a person outrun his or her past? Are we the same people we were as children? What is a family? The story is interesting (and timely). Some of the writing is a bit thin, especially when it's being twisted around into an awkward pun. The ending left me kind of questioning what it says about the 'realness' of foster families (I think there were a few threads that didn't get wrapped up), but it's a good story for people who enjoy plot-driven mini-thrillers.


Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
If The Witness Lied by Caroline B. Cooney
Friend is not a Verb by Daniel Ehrenheft
The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

When the doors of the box open, Thomas isn't sure where is. He doesn't know why he's there. He doesn't even know who he is. All he has are random memory flashes of his life - his former life. The other guys who find him quickly fill him in on what they know: they've all been sent there, and there's a maze that they have to solve. If they can, maybe they can leave. But the maze changes every day, and there are creatures out there that want to kill the guys. Thomas is unsettled by the feeling that he might have something to do with why they're there...and he might be the one to get them out.

I think this might be a good title for people looking for a read-alike to the Hunger Games. It's not exactly the same, of course, and it's got a male protagonist, but there are some similar elements. The book is well paced and held suspense nicely over 375 pages. It looks like it will be the first one in a series, or at least the first of two. I'll be checking out the next book because I want to know what comes next for these characters, especially Thomas, and why exactly these people were chosen.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess