The Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

Older Teens who are fans of Stephen King would enjoy this one. Joe Hill is King's son, though he in no way used his father's fame to get published. Judas Coyne is a successful rock musician. He went solo the year two members of his band died and the others left. He also developed an interest in collecting occult/macabre objects as the result of the two tragedies. When he receives an e-mail offering a haunted suit for sell, he has to have it. The very first night after he receives it and opens its heart shaped box, the suit's owner, the ghost of Craddock McDermott, appears in a rocking chair outside Jude's bedroom door. A little research reveals that Craddock is the recently deceased father of Jude's most recent ex-girlfriend and he is out to avenge the death of his daughter by suicide. A supernaturalist/hypnotist in life, his voice still has the ability to control the thoughts and actions of Jude and his current girl. Jude and MaryJane set out on a journey to get rid of this vengeful ghost, nothing is as it seems. Just when you think you have it all figured out it makes another turn. Jude's dogs and his music have some power to protect the pair from Craddock's power but only if they can concentrate hard enough of them.
JDW 7/11/07

THIS IS WHAT I DID by Ellis

Silence is golden so they say, but not when you remain silent when any reasonable person would speak up. Logan has to deal with the devastating affects of such a time. He loses his first and only best friend. His family is forced to move. He becomes the victim of a trio of bullies at his new school. He is crippled by guilt. Laurel, a quirky girl, a gutsy girl who refuses to be bullied, a girl who loves acting and palindromes takes an interest in Logan and won't give up on him even when he almost gives up on himself. The ending of this book is the beginning for Logan and I wanted more...
7/11/07 JDW

Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger

"Nature creates many variations" (71). This novel explores one variation in which a girl (Angela) believes that she is a boy and so she decides to start living life that way. With a new haircut, new clothes, and a new name, Angela suddenly becomes Grady (a transgender). While high school is hard enough for any teenager going through puberty, add a complete identity crisis and things get even more complicated. Suddenly Angela/Grady has lost her one and only friend Eve who isn't entirely comfortable with the change, and now Angela/Grady is a new target for bully Danya. Even though some family members have slight problems accepting their new son/brother, things aren't all bad for Grady. He makes a new friend in Sebastian, has an ally in his gym teacher, not to mention a major crush on a girl who is his own little cheerleader.

This book was very eye opening. Not all high school students go through identities crises, but this novel does a great job exploring the struggle to figure out who you are. Angela/Grady knew from the beginning that she wasn't meant to be a girl and she had the courage to change, something many people don't have. To be gay or lesbian isn't as uncommon as it had been years before, but that's not to say people are that willing to announce it to the world. Being transgendered seems to be far less uncommon but yet it does occur. Most portrayals, though, aren't generally in the most positive light, generally in terms of drag or in the form of a date gone wrong joke. For that reason it might be extremely hard for transgendered people to come out and be accepted. Boys Don't Cry didn't exactly give the person a happily ever after. Angela/Grady, though, took the step to say that she wasn't comfortable being something she's not. She shouldn't have to pretend to be someone else just because it's more accepted by society. While this book might have downplayed some of the opposition she might have faced, it did a good job of presenting her struggle. It also had an excellent point about why do you have to be a girl or a boy? Feminine or Masculine. How much simpler would the world be if people weren't obsessed with fitting into a role? Guys don't want to look like a sissy and girls don't want to look too macho. Maybe if the world wasn't so hung up on being pink or blue, people like Grady wouldn't be so afraid to be themselves.

Even though this is fiction and maybe a little too picture perfect to be real life, hopefully this books gives struggling teens some comfort and support as they search for their true identity. This book also offers references and resources for those looking for extra help. As the book says at the end "We spend a long time trying to figure out how to act like ourselves, and then, if we're lucky, we finally figure out that being ourselves has nothing to do with acting" (287).
MMK

The Angel of Death by Alane Ferguson

This is the sequel to The Christopher Killer that was reviewed on January 23. In this book Cameryn, still just a 17 year old coroner assistant, helps with the bizarre death of her teacher Mr. Oakes. Oakes was found in bed by one of his Eagle Scouts - Kyle O'Neil. Upon discovery the first thing of interest is the fact that his eyes exploded. When he's autopsied it turns out that his insides were cooked. The strange death leaves everyone baffled to the point that the murder doesn't take up that much of the book since there's not much they can do when cause of death is unknown and there are no clues. The remainder of the book focuses on Cameryn trying to make sense of her life. Kyle has suddenly taken a romantic interest in her, even though she was a nobody to him before the murder; her mother who'd been absent for most of her life decides to come for a visit; Deputy Justin seems to have feelings for her; and her father has a new relationship. Will the stress in her life ease up? Will they figure out how Mr. Oakes died. Will his killer be found? More than likely yes, but you need to read to find out because I'm not going to give away the ending.

This book was a little bit better than the first one part in the sense that I knew what to expect. I still hold that it would be better in first person and I'm still skeptical about a 17 year old as a coroner's assistant. That, though, might just be me. Other problems with the novel include the fact that it's a bit obvious as to who the killer is. There just aren't enough red herrings (false leads). If you only introduce two new characters, it's more than likely one of those two will be the killer, not some character who hasn't appeared in the novel. At the same time, the climax was very reminiscent of the first novel: Cameryn face to face with the killer, no help in sight. A wee bit climatic, but at the same time, been there done that; this is a series, she'll survive. Okay, maybe I am a bit jaded because I've read so many murder mysteries, but it's not exactly original, especially when the first one pulled the same trick. It's just a little too formula for my taste. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad book. I liked how there was more to it with all of the conflict in Cameryn's life. It gave the novel more to work with.

If you're just starting to get into murder mysteries this is a good place to start. It gets you used to some gore involved in murder and used to mystery. If you're an old pro at these books it's an easy read if you're looking for something to pass the time with. Not bad, could be better, but worth a shot.
MMK

"Runner" By: Robert Newton

This novel caught my eye right away. My Dad was a track star in University, and my brother Peter, who lives in Kentucky is a 5 k runner, and even has done marathons when he can. The author of this book is Australian. This book takes place in Melbourn, Australia in the 1900's.

Charlie is the oldest son of the family, and feels he is responsible for his Mother, and baby brother. You see the Dad dies, and the money is very tight in th household. Mother wants Charlie to finish his schooling. Charlie is not interested in School. Charlie becomes a courier for a notorious mobster. Charlie of course lies to his Mother, and realizes he is getting well paid. Charlie has to deliver liquor in the dangerous parts of town.

Charlie eventually, has to decide if he is working for the mob he may cut his life short.

Charlie meets Mr. Redmond, and Mr. Redmond encourages Charlie to start training as a runner. Soon Charlie competes in a big competition. Things work out for Charlie, and he becomes a hero.
Read the book, and you will learn how a young man changes, and has lots of courage.
LRD 7/30/07

"Duchessina" By: Carolyn Meyer

This novel is full of historical facts but presents them in fascinating ways. This is a novel about Caterina de Medici's life. She was born in Florence, Italy, but later became the Queen of France after enduring many hardships .

We might say, Caterina was the most wealthy girl in Italy durin this time. Yet she is placed, in a Roman Catholic Convent as a child for eight years. She must live like a nun, and doesnot receive adequate food for her childhood.

The Duchess receives the good news that she will move to Rome where she will live in the elaborate household of the Pope.Caterina, or the Duchess finds out later that the boy she dreams about lives in Rome. But unfortunately, the Pope makes him a Cardenal, so the Duchess hope of marriage are swept away ,& impossible.

The Duchess is a very determined woman, and very resourceful. "Caterina" ends up marrying theK ing of France. She is challenged in learning French. Marrying the King of France is a good option because the Medici family name is not well liked back in Italy. The novel takes place in the 1500's.

I encourage any teen, who enjoys History to read this novel.

LRD 7/30/07

Introducing Vivien Leigh Reid: Daughter of the Diva by Yvonne Collins and Sandy Rideout

This is the first book of a series. Vivien Leigh Reid, who goes by Leigh, is being forced to spend her summer in Ireland with her estranged mother (Annika) on the set of a new movie. Armed with a bitter attitude, Leigh figures this will be the worst summer possible, especially since all she gets to do is sit around the sent and watch her mother act. When she meets Sean, the hot co-star, things seem to brighten up, especially when she realizes he's her soul mate. Even though he's six years older and only sees her as a kid, she knows that they're meant to be together. Suddenly the actress meant to play his sister contracts Mono and Leigh was asked to fill her shoes. Her new role makes things a touch more strained between Leigh and her mother and when Leigh suspects Annika of stealing Sean from her, the full strength of her anger and resentment is revealed.

Leigh is a great character, very relateable with a bit of a snarky personality. All of the supporting characters are lovable and easy to bond with. The story itself is enjoyable and a nice read. I like how it incorporated the script, both from the movie and the imaginary script that Leigh creates as she imagines scenes playing out in her head. One of my only problems with the book was the text messages. While it is totally natural for a teen to stay in contact with her best friend, possibly using text messages, the lingo wasn't always decipherable. It was more than the occasional "lol" or "l8r" but what does "L%kz" mean? Sure after a while you figure it out, but not everyone knows the shorthand of texting so it became annoying to read those short messages. But maybe that's just me. This was overall an enjoyable book and I see this turning into a fun series.
MMK

Genesis Alpha - Rune Michaels

Josh adores his older brother Max, and even though Max is away at college, they still spend time together on the weekends playing Genesis Alpha, an online role playing game similar to Runescape. One Saturday Josh and Max are playing and during a mission Max's character just freezes. A few hours later Max calls and says that he's been arrested for murder. The police come and take all of the computers from the house and Josh is cut off from Genesis Alpha. With the news covering the murder, and the fact that Josh is a designer baby, Josh's parents take him out of school for the time being. A few days after the murder he goes out to the shed and finds Karen, the sister of Rachel, the girl Max murdered, there. It takes a few days, but Josh eventually trusts Rachel and between the two of them that they find out the truth. They get onto another of Max's characters and find all this information on other girls that Max has collected while playing Genesis Alpha. Josh goes to the police with the information, and when he visits Max the next day in prison, Max knows that Josh has betrayed him. Meanwhile Rachel refuses to go home, and is always debating with him wheather he will turn out evil like his brother or not. Josh was made to save his brother who was dying from cancer, and some of the stem cells were taken from Josh and put into Max. Rachel believes that it was those stem cells that made him murder her sister.
A really good fast moving novel that goes into the age old debate of wheather or not someone can be born good or evil, or is it our actions that decide that. Also, the medical ethics behind creating a life to save another, and letting the second life live.

T.B. 7/26/07