The Last of the High Kings - Kate Thompson

This sequel set 25 years after The New Policeman has J.J. grown up and having his own family. His daugher Jenny though, is not human, she is a fairy child from T'ir na n'Og. Jenny doesn't have any idea who she really is at first. She skips school because its so boring, and she goes up on to the mountain and spends her time conversing with the ghost who guards the hatchet there. From a Puka she learns about T'ir na n'Og and why the ghost guards the mountain. Jenny learns that she isn't human and is from T'ir na n'Og. J.J. made a deal so that Jenny could grow up here while his own daugher stay young until Jenny went back to T'ir na n'Og and his daughter come back to him to raise with his wife. Jenny does go back to T'ir na n'Og after helping Mikey, The Last of the High Kings, go up the mountain one last time even though the Puka don't want him to.

It was an ok book. By the title I was thinking that Mikey was going to be a central part of the story, but it turns out that it was about Jenny for most of the book. Mikey pops up here and there and is part of the ending but thats about it. Both The New Policeman and The Last of the High Kings have a good story to be told, but the way it was told didn't really work for me. I'm not saying they aren't good, I guess I expected more from the story than what was in the book.

T.B. 7/17/08

Sketches by Eric Walters

Dana has run away from home. She ran away from everything she knows because of her stepfather. She meets up with Ashley and Brent, who are also homeless. They ask for money from people at the train station, clean car windows, and even go to places that give free food just to survive day to day. One day Dana is spray painting on a wall and Robert Erickson sees it and tells her about a shelter named Sketches that helps young artists. Dana is hesitant at first and Ashley and Brent don't want her to go, but she goes anyway and finds that she enjoys being there. As the days go by she learns about Ashley's and Brent's life before they ran away. They also start to save money to get an apartment together. Ashley and Brent eventually find out that Dana cuts herself and that she ran away from home because of her stepfather.

A good book that shows what people do to survive on the streets. Also, how family is important no matter if its your immediate family or your friends. No matter what happens you can always go back home again.

T.B. 7/15/08

Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott

This novel comes with a healthy bit of reality amidst the regular fluff and stuff. The main character undergoes a series of unfortunate misfortune that I'm sure others have undergone (in one form or another) and comes to a realistic conclusion that won't give readers false hope.

Kate Brown seems to have everything going against her. Her best friend Anna suddenly became popular and left her in the dust. Her father quit his job in order to sell vitamins in the mall, forcing Kate to help him without compensation. And, on top of all that, a boy named Will, known for hooking up with half the female population, has taken a special interest in her, even though she can't stand him. Or so she thought. Pretty soon it seems as though Will is the only bright spot in her job at the mall, given that they've started making out in the hidden corridors, but that's all they seem to do. If this sudden romantically physical interest in her isn't enough confusion for Kate, Anna claims to miss her and need her but won't take the extra step to be her real friend. To make matters even worse, the situation with her father has forced her family to call in help from Grandma, who seems to cause more problems than solutions. For Kate it seems as though there is no end in sight to her misery.

While most of what Kate undergoes is a bit extreme - I don't think that many can relate to a father destroying the family for the pursuit of vitamin sales - I found many other aspects relateable. For example, the sudden popularity and loss of a friend or general family money problems or a boy who you love but hate. I really liked Kate's sarcastic personality; it added a great amount of humor to the story. It was also another realistic aspect because I think many people turn to sarcasm to hide what they're really going through. What really caused me to like this novel was the ending, or beginning as Kate calls it. This novel doesn't end happily ever after. Her family doesn't win the vitamin lottery and she and Anna don't return to being BFFs. This novel had a great lesson because, as Kate puts it, "But things change. Stuff happens. And you know what? Life goes on. In fact, that's what life is" (282). While it seems very obvious, this is a reality check that everyone needs to be reminded of every once in a while.

The story may be a bit goofy, but it has a moral, something I think many books lack these days. This is a book people should read, especially if they feel as though the world is against them and nothing will be as it was.
MMK

I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have to KILL You by Ally Carter

Move over Nancy Drew and Charlie's Angels here come the Gallagher Girls. They are genius children of former master spies who are being trained to be master spies. They know 14 languages, how to hack into most computer systems, how to hang a zip line and many other skills useful for spying. But, since they are forbidden to leave the school grounds except rarely and since the school is all girls they are quite clueless about boys, what to wear to a fair, makeup and so on. So when a special ops gone wrong sends a group of girls to a fair and one is left alone and meets a boy - well she has a lot to learn. Okay so this is an improbable story, but so are the beloved Nancy Drew Stories and there's no harm in a little fun and in imagining what it might be like if things could be this way. I enjoyed this light story. I am looking forward to the next adventure.
JDW 7/10/08

The Host - Stephenie Meyer

A parasitic space race comes to Earth and takes over most of humanity using their bodies as hosts. The host consiousness fades away in most cases letting the parasite fully take over. Melanie on the other hand won't go away. Her body is found by a Seeker and the Healers put a parasite in her to save her. The parasite using Melanie's memories then sets off on her own to find her brother and Uncle who were on the run. She finds them and a resistance cell of humans, who want to kill her right away. Jeb, her Uncle and leader of the cell, decides to keep her alive so they can learn about these parasites. When she starts to integrate into the community it is only Jeb and her brother Jamie who treat her as an equal. She is given the name Wanda, short for wanderer. As time passes most everyone accepts her for who she is. She even tells stories of other worlds where the parasites have inhabited, which fascinates everyone. When Jared, Melanie's boyfriend, comes back from a raid he wants to kill her because she's not Melanie anymore. Ian on the other hand falls in love with Wanda, while Melanie is still in love with Jared. Confilct ensues and a tribunal is held to determine who stays and who goes. After it's decided that Wanda stays she tells the doctor how to remove the parasites, and let the host bodies regain who they were. As I neared the end I figured out how it was going to end, but I won't spoil that for you. Overall I enjoyed The Host and I thought it was just as good as Twilight. Stephenie Meyer shows us what it is to be human and what its like seeing humans through the eyes of another, in this case an alien race. Also, she shows us how we humans come together and resist invaders when our lives are threatened and that we will fight to the end.

T.B. 7/8/08

Safe by Susan Shaw

This novel, like The Missing Girl and Wake, is nominated for Best Book for Young Adults. While the previous two novels failed to impress me, Safe captured the emotion and pain of the situation that makes it stand out.

Tracy is a thirteen year old girl who had her life turned upside down on the last day of seventh grade. On her way home from school she was kidnapped and left physically and emotionally scarred. During the summer she then struggles to feel safe again, finding strength in playing the piano and the constant presence of her father. The only problem, though, is that she loses disconnects herself from her best friends and things she used to love, unable to handle people's looks of pity and chooses to be alone even though people try to help her. Just when she finds herself staying afloat, the impending trial causes her world to spin out of control again.

What actually happens to Tracy is left rather ambiguous until the end when she utters the one word that tells it all. Without even saying the word rape, the damage that her attacker did left its mark and the reader can't help but sympathize for her. Her desire to simply feel safe is so powerful that you almost want to wrap her in your arms and tell her it will be okay. She keeps thinking that she can avoid it and pretend it never happened, but I think that everyone knows that if you don't face it, the problem will come back and swallow you whole, which it does. I felt as though this novel did a great job capturing the pain that a person goes through when put in this situation. I liked how Tracy refers to other girl because she's not the same after what happened. Even though she's only thirteen, I this novel is one that rape victims could relate to. It might even give them strength because even though Tracy doesn't undergo some miraculous cure, she sees that there's light at the end of the tunnel, which I think victims need to be reminded of.

If you're looking for something light and airy, Safe is not the book for you. It is a good book, though, one that makes you think and feel, as well as be grateful for the safety you already have without even trying.
MMK

Juvie Three by Gordon Korman

I just wanted to add to this review that the guys are juvenile delinquents. They are expected to screw up, badly. One of them does. The whole time Doug is out of the picture known as John Doe at the hospital and later at a mental hospital they try to maintain the agreement they had with Doug with varying success. It looks like its all over for the trio when a social services review is coming up and Doug must be present. The boys concoct a scheme to spring him from the secure mental hospital that gets all mixed up in a gang attack and a visit from Roxie's uncle warning Gecko to stay away from her in a sometimes funny fast paced conclusion that will have you rooting for the juvie's.

JDW 7/7/08

The Juvie Three By: Gordon Korman

This novel is an eye opener to all who read this book. It has to do with three boys serving time in juvenile detention centers. The three boys are Gecko Fosse, Terence Florian, & Arjay Moran. Lo and behold, they meet Douglas Healy, who was a former juvenile delinquent. Now Douglas Healy runs an experimental half way house. It seems to be managed well until Healy tries to break up a fight one day. Healy is knocked unconscious, so the boys deliver him to a hospital without staying around. Healy stays in a coma for one week, & looses all his memory. He doesn't have a clue what his name is, & address where he lives.

Gecko comes often to the Hospital to visit Douglas. Gecko to his surprise, meets Roxie, who is a volunteer at the Hospital. Gecko falls head over heals over Roxie. Things get complicated & Gecko finds out Roxie is connected to the Asst. Chief of Police.

This novel is fast paced & would be interesting to any middle school teen. I liked the
book very much. LRD 6/30/08