"Black Hole Son", by David Macinnis Gill (YA-Sci Fi)

"Black Hole Sun" is a dystopian novel set in the future on a teraformed Mars.  The population is extremely segregated by social and economic classes.  The working class population struggles to earn enough to eat and water is scarce.  The life is hard and dangerous, and that is before you toss in the former humans turned cannibals who eat children and torture people.

This book was a favorite of my mentor, and my teenage son also loved it, however it was not my cup of tea.  It's a shame really, as I was hoping the book was more along the lines of "Firefly", but it ended up more like "Resident Evil".  While I love fantasy novels, sci-fi often leaves me wanting more.  The violence and imagery in this book did not appeal to me in the least.  I read halfway through the book before giving up as I really didn't care to finish it.  Given the violence and torture, I would not put this book in any school younger than an upper middle school or junior high school.  There wasn't any sex or inappropriate foul language. 

"39 Clues: The Maze of Bones", Rick Riordan (YA-mystery)

"The Maze of Bones" is book 1 in the 39 Clues series.  This volume, written by Rick Riordan, introduces us to Amy & Dan Cahill and sets the stage for a very big mystery.  Amy & Dan are 14 and 11 year old orphans when their grandmother dies.  In the reading of her will, they, and 40 of their family members, are presented with a choice.  They can either take a million dollars now, or they can get one clue.  The clue is the beginning of a long mysterious quest to a lot of power and money, but it will be difficult and dangerous and only one person or team can win.  Many of their relatives opt for the cash, but Amy and Dan choose the quest.  They have to use their wits and knowledge to beat everyone else to the next clue, which leads to another clue, etc., however, their distant relatives are trying to win as well.  They mislead the children, follow them, and try to kill them.  Amy and Dan, with the help of their young au pair, manage to elude most of the traps on their world-wide hunt.

There have already been several volumes in the series published, which helps readers move through the series without needing to wait for the next edition.  The story reminds me of the "National Treasure" movie, which mixes fiction with historical facts, so the reader doesn't realize they're learning while they're reading for fun.  The quest is intriguing and has an online counterpart where the readers can login and help Amy and Dan find clues.  There are some minor suspenseful scenes, but no sex or profanity.  I would place this book in the 3rd through 6th grade range, although it would also be great for low level readers in middle school.

"The Lost Hero", Rick Riordan (YA-Fantasy)

"The Lost Hero" continues the storyline of Rick Riordan's "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief" series, but with a twist.  In this story arc, we are introduced to three new demigods, with splashes of the ones we're already familiar with.  These heroes are also at Camp Half-blood and we visit several Greek gods.  However, these Greek gods tend to morph into their Roman counterparts when in the presence of Jason.  Jason is leading his friends on a new quest to save the world, only he has no memory of his past.  Piper and Leo are 2 other demigods who will form the seven needed.  One question remains until the end of the book...where is Percy?

I rather enjoyed this new story arc.  Of the Percy Jackson series, I only read the first volume.  This one seems to be written better than the previous series.  It was a quick read and I am interested in the rest of the series.  I gave the book to my son (13 years old) and he devoured it in one day, which is a ringing endorsement.  This would be a great book for middle school students or advanced readers in upper elementary.  I purchased one copy for my K-6 school library and many of the 5th and 6th graders are chomping at the bit to check it out.  There are some battle scenes, but no profanity and no sex.