Reality Boy by A.S. King

If ever a pair of teens deserved do overs, the stars of this book do.  Gerald and Hannah have both had very punishing lives, in some ways abusive.  They are almost finished with high school, the hold jobs at a sports stadium concession stand.   They dream of escaping their lives and starting fresh.  Gerald's family is famously dysfunctional having been subject of a reality show that supposedly aimed to fix their problems.  In fact it helped nothing.  It did give Gerald a crude nickname and a bad history that makes it impossible for him to attend regular classes.  Hannah's family has its own problems, they just aren't public.  The pair are attracted to each other but jittery about dating because of their backgrounds.  When eventually they do connect, they talk about running away.  So, when things fall apart at Gerald's when his psycho older sister throws an out of control party, they run.  This is just the start of their coming to terms with their childhoods and teen years but this is where it ends.  Truly, I want more!  It was tough to get into but once I was hooked, I raced through this title.  Highly recommended.  JDW 11/15/13

Until It Hurts to Stop

Maybe you were teased, made fun of, bullied in grade school or middle school and maybe your tormentor changed schools.  Maybe you had begun to believe all that was over, that you could have friends, talents, succeed.  Then that person reappears and you are on red alert sensing that the worst could start all over again, thinking, feeling you could lose everything you have.  So you start acting towards and thinking about everything that is going on as if it means something different than it does and you really do almost lose the most important people and stuff in your life.  That's exactly what happens to Maggie.  It takes her a while to see that it isn't all about her and that all is not lost and that her one time tormentors have issues too, aren't so perfect.  Twice I had nemeses while in elementary and middle schools.  Twice they kept popping up other places when I least expected it.  Twice, I got to see these people for the flawed pathetic people they really were.  Having gone through some of what Maggie experienced, I really appreciated this book about trying to move on and being too insecure to do it.  Others may see themselves here too.  Its quite a good read.
JDW11/4/13

The Infects - Sean Beaudoin

Nick works for Rebozzo AviraCulture, a chicken factory that supplies Fresh Bukket.  When he comes into work one night the boss wants a talk with him.  Nick thinks he is getting fired, but it turns out he is getting offered a promotion.  He is to be the head butcher of the Blue Room, which processes a new breed of chicken they have been testing.  The work days begin to take their toll on Nick, and one day he cuts himself with a knife.  Nick isn't able to stop the conveyor belt before he passes out.  The chickens plop off the conveyor belts covered in his blood.  When Nick comes to he is fired and then arrested.  At his trial he is charged with gross negligence, vandalism, destruction of fifty thousand dollars of poultry, and possible collusion with animal rights activists.  Since Nick can't pay the fifty thousand dollars, he's sentenced to three months in juvie camp.  Everyone heading to the juvie camp is given a new name and Nick's is Nero.  On their way to the camp they come in contact with a group of girls going to the same juvie camp.  Nero is shocked to see Petal, who used to work with him, among the girls.  He thinks it is his fault for her being there.  As they arrive at the trail they are to walk to the camp the boys go one way and the girls go another.  They camp for the night and most everyone chows down on Fresh Bukket food.  In the middle of the night Nero wakes up and sees one of the counselors eating another counselor.  Nero, War Pig, and Yeltsin make a run for it and encounter a few others who haven't turned to zombies.  They head for the girls camp, and when they get there no one is in sight.  They find two kids in a port-a-potty who are zombies.  They attack one of the counselors and turn him into a zombie.  With a hoard closing in on them they find refuge in a lodge where one of the girls, Joanjet, is in charge.  As they get settled, or as settled as your going to be with a group of zombies wanting to eat your flesh, Joanjet reveals that she has taken prisoners.  They are hunters who already turned into zombies.  When one of the other survivors says that they aren't zombies, the chicken they ate was poisoned, everything starts to make sense.  Everyone who has eaten the chicken from Fresh Bukket has turned into zombies.  After the connection between the chicken and the zombies Joanjet says she has one more thing to show them.  The third person who she's captured is Petal, and she is infected. 

I liked the book.  It was a different take on the zombie apocalypse by having the chicken infected with the zombie virus. In most of the zombie books I have read it is a virus that causes the zombie apocalypse, not chicken. I really liked the ending.  I'm not going to spoil anything, but it gave the feeling that maybe the zombie apocalypse isn't as bad as all the other stories make it out to be. 

T.B.
11/4/13

Tiger & Bunny by Masafumi Nishida

Super powered humans had appeared in the world, and they had been walking among us for 45 years. Some of them fight crime while promoting their sponsors on the hit tv show HERO TV.

They are called NEXT. Thanks to HERO TV, people love NEXT, even though they are far from understanding them. However not all NEXT use their powers for good.

But this story revolves around a veteran hero Wild Tiger. His years of experience doesn't help his ratings and they are not to pick up any time soon. Ordered by his employer, he has to try and work along a rookie named Barnaby Brooks Jr.  with a big attitude. Being the water to his oil, Wild Tiger will have to overcome his differences with Barnaby, if they want to take down the bad guys.

Diamond Willow features a 12-year old girl in inner Alaska. The overriding theme is her relationship with her family, friends, and particularly with one of her family's sled dogs. Willow doesn't feel very special, her best friend likes a boy better than she likes Willow and her dad seems to love his sled dogs more than her.  Tragedy strikes along the way and Roxy's ,her favorite dog, eyes are harmed. As she tries to do what is best for Roxy, Willow finds herself on a path that leads directly into a snow storm. 

Diamond Willow is written in a short writing style, the majority of the pages contain diamond-shaped text. Within each diamond-shaped page is a "hidden" message in bold print. This may seem gimmicky, but in my opinion I feel that this  works because Frost is such a great writer who has so much respect for her audience, her audience include 10-14 year olds. Is a beautiful story,  the story itself has a deep plot and beautifully written.

RPA 10/24/2013

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

What starts off as a typical teen romance, surprises the reader with its depth and moral issues.

Samantha Reed lives a charmed life as the daughter of a Senator, but the life next door seems far more appealing. The Garretts are chaotic and messy, while her life is full of order and perfection. When Jase Garrett crosses the border between their homes, Samantha becomes a part of his world and his family. As she adjusts to this new love and new life, her mother is planning her next campaign, with the help of a man named Clay who has as much interest in Gracie Reed as he does her campaign. Samantha feels as if she's losing her mother to this man's influence, but that's not the only thing she's losing over the summer as friendships get questioned. Then her life gets completely turned upside down after a horrible accident affects not only her family, but also the Garretts. Samantha is then faced with a tough decision where, no matter what she decides, someone is going to get hurt.

This book starts off as a simple romance. Samantha meets Jase and at first he's new and tempting, especially because her mother has always disapproved of the Garrett's lifestyle. Then the novel throws in the situation with her mother and Clay and how Samantha can see the man corrupting her, but Gracie is oblivious to everything. On top of that is the character Tim, the brother of Samantha's best friend, who is basically throwing his life away with drugs and bad decisions. While Samantha is finding real love, her best friend Nan is dealing with long-time relationship that doesn't seem to make any sense anymore. Then tragedy strikes and everything is complicated further. It seems like so much is going on, but it all works flawlessly together. You fall in love with all of the characters - even Tim who is an unlikeable character at the beginning becomes a champion at the end. You want to see things work out but you realize that Samantha is in an impossible situation. This book is about sacrifices and second chances and doing what is right despite the consequences.

I've read plenty of "fluff and stuff" romances that are nice for that warm, happily-ever-after feeling. This book isn't like that. Not to say that it doesn't have some form of a happily-ever-after, it challenges the reader and has a depth to it you don't see in many teen romances. It is definitely worth the read.
MMK

Etched in Sand
by Regina Calcaterra

This is the true story of the life of Regina Calcaterra and her four siblings.  It's a story that details the horrific abuse and torture that all five children endured their whole childhood by their mother.  Each child had a different father, and there was no contact with any of them. Their mother, Cookie, would abuse and torture the children because she hated their fathers.  Cookie was mentally ill, an alcoholic, and drug addict.  It's also the story of how the welfare and foster care systems failed to provide  and protect the children from their mother.

This is also the story of  Regina's determination to keep her siblings together. She did her best to try and provide the basic needs for her sisters and brother at any cost.  She always insisted that they all attend school as she believed that was the only way they would be able to have a better life for themselves as adults.  Along with the love that they had for one another and their survival instincts they were able to survive and achieve their goals.

Regina's sisters and brother eventually married and have families of their own and are doing well.  Regina put herself through law school and is a lawyer in New York and lives on Long Island.  She also ran for a Senate seat in 2010. She is a board member to You Gotta Believe, an organization that works towards finding older foster children forever homes, just to name a few of her many accomplishments.

I didn't know if I could finish this book it was hard to read the unspeakable things that the Calcaterra children had to endure.  It was heartbreaking when the children were returned to their mother time and time again. I kept going because no matter how many times Regina's mother beat her down, Regina never lost hope that she and her siblings would someday have a better life. 

sf

The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann

In Quill people are sorted in three different groups. The Wanted are those who are strong and intelligent. The Necessary are those who are needed for farming and other tasks. And then there are the Unwanted, the creative ones. Many people in Quill did not want to be labeled as Unwanted, for the Unwanteds are put to death, or so everyone thought.  Marcus Today (or the Death Farmer as Quill knows him), has a little secret. He is sent the Unwanteds to eliminate, but he saves them instead and brings them to a place called Artimé.  Artimé is a place of creative, magic, and wonder. Quill is a gray dim place, with a ruler who will fight to keep it that way. Each year during the Purge, the thirteen-year-olds are sorted, among this year are twin brothers Alex and Aaron Stowe. When they are separated, Alex is deemed Unwanted and Aaron is deemed Wanted, times in both Quill and Artimé are in for a change. KS10/13