Stay in the Game

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Megan Atwood’s short novella, Stay in the Game, is riveting from page one. The

overriding theme is that ”Is it okay to do harm for a good motive?” and “Does not knowing the

consequences of an action, make one not responsible?” James is desperate to get medical help

for his dying grandfather. He is contacted by the Benefactor to accomplish 10 tasks with the

possibility of winning 10 million dollars. He is given no information as to the purpose of the

tasks. As he completes each task, he becomes in more aware of the damage he is doing to

innocent people. The story ends with a cliffhanger, setting up for the next book in the series.

The writing is high interest, action packed, fast moving with concise writing and easily

understood vocabulary. An enjoyable read for the reluctant reader or an ELL student. The

cover design seems to imply the book could be about a sport, which is very misleading. Stay in

the Game is a fast, good read that is very appropriate for the YA audience.

Monster Science: Could Monsters Survive (And Thrive!) in the Real World

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This book discusses whether different monsters (Frankenstein, vampires, yetis, sea monsters, etc.) could exist. “If you’re thinking this book will tell you monsters are definitely, no-doubt-about-it real, you’re out of luck. Instead, it will give you information to help you decide for yourself what is fact and what is fiction…”

The text gives the history to how these monsters came to be well known and then includes information on why a person might act like a zombie for example. The illustrations would appeal to a younger set of students, but the text is written for an older student base. It is broken up with text features such as headings, text boxes, and monster facts. The end of each section includes a short quiz and there is a lengthy index in the back of the book.

While this topic appeals to many of my students and I think the book will be a popular check out, I think it is a book that students will read bits and pieces.

The Darkest Magic (Spirits and Thieves # 2)

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The Darkest Magic is the second book in what will be a trilogy titled Spirits and Thieves. This series is a spin-off of Morgan Rhodes very popular six book Falling Kingdom series. The Spirits and Thieves series will appeal to those who enjoyed the Falling Kingdom series, as it provides insights into the backstory of that series. The Darkest Magic does not stand alone. The reader must read A Book of Spirits and Thieves for The Darkest Magic to make sense. Once the reader reaches for The Darkest Magic, she enters a world of high fantasy.

The first book is of modern day sisters, Crystal and Becca, from Toronto, Canada, who find a book of magic that sends Becca’s spirit to Ancient Mytica. This is a powerful book and there are enemies who would kill them for it. In the second book, the sisters are reunited in modern-day Toronto, but they have to deal with the dangers from the Ancient world, and the danger of the evil Hawkspear Society (a cult-like group), that will do anything to find the sisters and obtain the book.

This is a very exciting contemporary saga that will engage YA readers of fantasy and adventure.

How To Disappear

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How to Disappear is a thrilling mystery told in the dual narration of the hunter (Jack) and the hunted (Nicholette). Nicholette, a popular HS cheerleader who has never been in trouble, witnesses the murder of a young woman in the woods near her house. Jack, a straight-A student athlete about to graduate from HS, is from a family of criminals. In fact, his father was a hit man and his older brother is in jail for armed assault. But once the murder occurs, Nicholette goes on the run to get away from the murderer, and Jack’s brother forces him to do what he can’t do himself: track down Nicholette and kill her. If he doesn’t, Jack’s mother’s life is in danger, as is his own.

The rest of the book is a cat and mouse game between Nicholette and Jack. There is mystery, adventure, and forbidden love.

The Edge of the Light (Whidbey Island Saga # 4)

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The Edge of the Light is the fourth and final (according to the jacket) book in the Whidbey Island Sage. If it is true that this is the last book in the series, then I encourage you NOT to read it, as it will leave you frustrated and feeling incomplete. The major plot threads are not resolved. The reader doesn’t have any inkling of what will happen to the main character, even though the author built intrigue with the storyline of an investigative journalist having tracked her down. The reader is left hanging, as if there were to be a fifth book.  IF there is a fifth book, then I would encourage the reader to start with book one and continue through to the conclusion. It’s just that book four does not conclude the story.

This series will appeal to those who are familiar with western Washington state and the Puget Sound area. Set on Whidbey Island, the story centers on a group of teenaged friends facing a number of issues:  A grandmother with nice real estate that is being exploited by her daughter while the grandson, Seth, tries to protect her; Seth’s girlfriend, Prynne, who he wants to stay with but is worried about her drug use; Derrick, a refugee from the war in Uganda who is trying to locate his sister, Rejoice; Jenn, who is experiencing romantic feelings towards her teammate Cynthia, but worrying how her Christian conservative mother will respond; and then there is a Becca. Becca can read people’s thoughts and tries to make sense of what they think and say. She tries to solve their problems without letting them know how much she actually knows.

The plot is full of the issues and challenges these teen friends experience: elder abuse,  Alzheimer’s disease, drug use, lesbian relationships, and, of course, the paranormal abilities of Becca and her quest to keep this secret.

If a satisfactory conclusion wasn’t absent, this would be a fun read for YA mystery fans.

Gemini

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Gemini, by Sonya Mukherjee, takes on the difficult struggle of conjoined twin seventeen year-old sisters Hailey and Clara. Joined from the waist down, at their spine, the girls cannot be surgically separated. Now seniors in high school, they each have their own dreams and aspirations, and these don’t match each others, nor their mother’s. Told from dual points of view, the reader feels the struggle of each girl, and witnesses their self discovery and self acceptance.

There are few fictional books on this subject. One by Sarah Corssant is, I feel, more realistic (case in point: many conjoined twins don’t even live to the age of 17). Nonetheless, this is an intriguing and heart wrenching story.

Just Kill Me

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Just Kill Me, by Adam Selzer, misses the mark. While the story starts off with the intriguing warning of the main character Megan finding the letters of D, I, and E remaining in her alphabet cereal, the rest of the premise is lacking. Megan, employed by a ghost tour company in Chicago, helps produce more ghosts by killing near-death people in a nursing home; in essence mercy killings. Implausible as this is, it’s even effective in that the murders are all talk without action: nothing is shown. This is the same problem found with the character development: there are references to bi-sexuality, but without action. This book just doesn’t engage the reader in connecting to the characters or to the plot.

Mind Games (Lock & Mori # 2)

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Mind Games is book two of the Lock & Mori series, and it is anticipated that a third book will soon be published. For those unfamiliar with Lock & Mori, this is a modern day adaptation of the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Professor James Moriarty, although in these stories, Mori is a teenaged girl.

In Lock & Mori we see Mori’s father tried and convicted as a serial killer, and Mori and her brothers rescued from a domestic violence situation. Mind Games picks up two weeks after the father’s arrest. But even though her father is in prison, Mori doesn’t feel safe. Letters of a threatening nature are arriving, and police are receiving anonymous tips that lead them to believe that it is Mori, not her father, who has committed the murders.  Lock sticks by Mori and together they search for who is framing her.

This is an action packed mystery that can be read as a stand alone, although the enjoyment is enhanced by having read the first book.

The Flip Side

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The Flip Side is the story of a 15 yr. old sophomore girl who is an excellent gymnast training for the Olympic team. Having been home schooled during her younger years to allow the flexibility for training and competition travel, Charlie longs for a more normal high school social experience. The transition to high school is filled with fun teen events, including the upcoming Prom, but Charlie is afraid to reveal the highly competitive sports side of her life. She makes up excuses for missing study sessions, social events, even dates. This sets up numerous conflicts, and is further complicated when she meets Bobby, a star wrestler on the school team.

The Flip Side shows the dedication and extremely hard work involved in athletics at the pre-Olympic level, and contains good lessons about dedication and hard work, etc. What is hard to reconcile for the reader is why Charlie doesn’t relish in her accomplishments and let her classmates and teachers know of her athletic life outside of school. Her boyfriend, Bobby, gets plenty of praise for his accomplishments on the wrestling team. But she doesn’t even want to tell him, the one person at school most likely to identify with her goals.

This incongruity is what detracts from an otherwise enjoyable teenage sports / love story. I would like to further investigate the school experiences of the author, Shawn Johnson, who won a gold medal in the 2008 summer Olympics. It is possible that there is reason why an elite teenage gymnast wouldn’t want her school community to know of her accomplishments and goals, but it doesn’t make sense to me as a reader of her book.

 

The Swan Riders

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The Swan Riders is the sequel to The Scorpion Rules, in the Prisoners of Peace series (I am assuming there will be a third book, but can’t confirm from looking at the author’s website).  The Swan Riders action carries on immediately from the first book, and this is where the reader may become confused, as the main character, Greta, feels like a different character. The plot is confusing, with her going through the process of changing from a girl into an artificial intelligence (AI).

There is much action in both of these books, with climate change and war dramatically altering Greta’s nation, where she was once a princess.  She has escaped from being held hostage, and is traveling by horseback across the rural plains of Saskatchewan, accompanied by a band of human Swan Riders is to protect her and Talis, the AI who rules the world.

Greta’s transformation into an AI is destroying her mortal body. Will she survive? Will she be able to take over the body of one of the Swan Riders when the time comes? And if her physical body doesn’t fail her, will she be able to survive the rebellion?

This dystopian novel features a strong 16 year old girl as the protagonist, and will appeal to YA readers of this genre, if they have first read The Scorpion Rules.