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

In The After - Demitria Lunetta

One day They come.  All it takes is one night and most of humanity is wiped out.  Amy has come to acknowledge the fact that her parents are gone.  She has survived mainly because her mom, who worked for the government, had an electrical fence put around the house.  This has kept Them at bay.  They have good hearing and any sound brings them running.  Amy walks around barefoot or with socks as not to make any noise.  She has gotten food by raiding houses around her and making trips down the block to the convenience store.  On one of these trips she comes across a toddler left behind in the store.  Amy takes her back home and calls her Baby.  For three years it is just Amy and Baby.  Amy teaches Baby sign language and this is how they communicate to not make any noise.  Amy also teaches Baby how to be quiet when they go looking for food.  On a trip to gather food and clothing they come across Amber, who has been left behind by her brother and his gang.  Amber comes home with Amy and Baby.  Amber stays with them and Amy teaches her how she and Baby communicate and to be quite so They don't come.  On one of their trips to a neighbors house to get clothes Amber finds a Prada bag in a closet.  She squeals and that brings Them to the house.  They think they are done for when a black helicopter comes and captures one of Them.  Amy, Baby, and Amber are able to escape and make it back home.  Amy tells Baby that Amber has to go, but Baby doesn't want her to.  The next morning Amber is gone.  Shortly after Amber leaves a group of men come looking at the electrical fence outside the house.  When Amy suspects they are connected to Amber she tells Baby to get things ready in case they have to go.  When the fence goes down Amber and Baby run away.  They make it to a nearby lake and as they are bathing the black helicopter comes and takes them away.  They are taken to a government facility, which used to be a college.  It is run by Amy's mom, who she thought was dead.  Amy finds it a bit hard to live with other people when it's just been her and Baby for the last three years.  She starts poking around and finds out the truth behind the They.  She is put in The Ward and is given drugs to make her forget what she knows. 

I really liked this book.  It is a good story about doing what you need to do to survive, especially when the enemy can hear really well.  I liked how Amy was resistant and kept on trying to get information about what goes on in the building.  She knew something wasn't right and her mom was hiding things from her.  I liked the way the book ended.  Even though most of the human race was killed, what remains of humanity still fights and lives on. 

T.B. 9/27/13

Playing Hurt by Holly Schindler

This novel explores what it means to redefine yourself after a tragedy changes your course. Certain subject matters makes this book better suited for mature teens.

In high school, the name Chelsea Keyes was synonymous with basketball. Her whole like was planned around the sport, until a slip on some spilled soda shattered her hip, thereby ending her basketball career. With her whole sense of self now put into question, Chelsea and her family head out to a lake resort where Chelsea is signed up for a "boot camp" program to get back to the person she once was (with or without basketball). The person running this camp, Clint, has his own demons that have prevented him from pursuing his own favorite sport. The two form an instant connection and spend most of their three weeks together discovering each other as well as re-embracing their past passions. Things get a little complicated, however, when Chelsea's current boyfriend is considered in this equation.

This book is a good romance, although somewhat questionable when you consider the fact that Chelsea is basically cheating on her boyfriend. However, it does factor into the whole "self-discovery" aspect of this novel considering how different Clint is from her boyfriend Gabe. The novel does explore the loss of Chelsea's virginity - at times in some mature detail. For someone wanting a meatier romance, though, I think this book is a good fit.

This novel is more than just falling in love. It is a great story about getting back up and recreating yourself when life throws you a curveball. It's about not letting life's hardships prevent you from living life to the fullest, or - as the book says "Never live timidly."
MMK

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown - Holly Black

Tana wakes up in a bathtub after a night of partying only to find almost everyone massacred in the house.  Besides her the only other people "alive" are her ex-boyfriend Aidan, who is tied to a bed and infected, along with a vampire named Gavriel in chains next to the bed.  As they escape the house with a group of vampires after them, Tana is bitten on her leg.  She fears that she's infected and will turn into a vampire.  They stop at a gas station an hour away from the party massacre to decide what they want to do.  The best thing for everyone is to head to the Coldtown in Springfield, Massachusetts.  The Coldtowns were set up to contain the vampires and people who are infected and may or may not turn into vampires.  At a rest stop outside of Coldtown they encounter Midnight and Winter, a brother and sister who want to become vampires.  Midnight and Winter run a blog about vampires.  Midnight wants to interview Aidan since they've never encountered someone going through the transition into a vampire.  When he attacks her during the interview Tana decides it is time to get going to Coldtown.  As they approach the checkpoint before Coldtown, Gavriel is put into chains to make it look like he is their captive.  Tana fills out the paperwork to get the bounty and a marker for herself so she can leave Coldtown.  All of them enter Coldtown and are put into cages.  They escape and head to a house where Midnight has a contact.  His contact locks Aidan and Tana in a room together where Aidan's hunger for blood is to much for him to control.  He attacks Tana and she escapes.  She encounters Jameson who tells her who Gavriel really is and his connection to Lucien, the most famous vampire in the Springfield Coldtown.  Tana begins to question if bringing Gavriel back to Coldtown was the right thing to do. 

After not reading a vampire book for a while this was the perfect one for me to pick up and read.   It was a well told story with the right mix of a dangerous and serious situation Tana is in, along with some comic relief.  I like the way it ended too.  It was left open for a possibility of a sequel, and for the reader to imagine what might happen.  The book had the feel of episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, which made the book even more enjoyable for me to read. 

T.B. 9/23/13