More books read, but no time to review!

With the new school year craziness, I haven't had time to post, but I'm still plowing through the young adult books.  Here's a few more quick reviews and thoughts:

1. "Pretty Little Liars" - Nope, no way.  Not for any academic library.  I thought I'd give it a read since a few of my elementary students requested it for the library.  I'm sure the TV show has a lot to do with their interests but, in my opinion, it's not appropriate for a school library.  One of the main characters has a sexual relationship with her high school teacher.  That alone is enough cause not to have it in your school.  There is drinking, sex and profanity in the book.  Not recommended for school libraries of any age range.
   
2. "Vampire Diaries" - Interesting in how very different it is from the TV show.  I only read the first volume, "Awakening", and it would be appropriate for 6th grade and up...at least this volume.  No inappropriate relationships, no one was having sex or drinking.  If your district has other vampire books, or books with paranormal characters, the book would fit right in.  Check the other volumes in the series first though as the character relationships might progress to sexual levels, given the TV show content.
   
3. "Oh.My.Gods" - Cute book about the descendants of the Greek gods.  Main character's mother remarries and quickly moves her daughter to a tiny island in Greece.  Naturally, you have the remarriage issues, new sibling and new student conflicts, etc.  The twist is that every student in the new school is a direct descendant of a Greek god, so they have paranormal abilities.  I would recommend this for middle schools and high schools.
   
4. "A Tale Dark and Grimm" - Loved this book!  It's a fun read and has a unique twist.  The author takes you through some of the original Grimm fairytales with Hansel and Gretel as the main characters.  The author narrates periodically in a humorous way.  Some of the content is grisly, however, so I wouldn't recommend it for young children.  I could see it fitting in for middle or high school students.
   
5. "Fever Crumb" - This is a good dystopian tale.  It reminds me a bit of "Black Hole Sun".  It's a bit long of a read at times, with detailed descriptions, but likeable just the same.  The futuristic world is dark with people rebelling against a race of beings who thought they were superior to humans, so they controlled humans and treated them as slave labor.  The main character is the first female engineer and you follow her as she makes discoveries, finds the rebel force and confronts her own history, etc.  It's recommended for middle school and up.

Now, I'm going to read a book for me, then back to the young adult lit!

"Monster High", Lisi Harrison (YA-fantasy)

"Monster High" by Lisi Harrison is the first book in a new series about students in a high school in Salem, Oregon.  Many years ago, monsters and witches moved to Salem to avoid persecution by normals.  Years and years later, they are still living there, but are in hiding.  This volume follows two teen girls new to the high school, Frankie Stein and Melody Carver.  With alternating chapters, you get to know each girl and her circle of friends, although they are in different cliques.  Melody recently moved to Salem from Beverly Hills and has a crush on the boy next door, only he burns hot and cold.  Will Melody be able to figure out what's going on with him and what his secret is?  Then meet Frankie, who was "born" a week ago.  Frankie is a little uncomfortable hiding her mint green skin under layers of make-up, not to mention her bolts and seams!  Once she meets the secret monster underground, will she stage a successful revolution or be run out of town?

This story is a lot of fun and you get to see old favorite monsters brought to life in young teens in new ways, such as Frankie, the granddaughter of Frankenstein.  This book has a little of the mean-girl clique issues, although it is toned down.  No sexual activity other than kissing in the book.  Parents are present and involved (or try to be) and no profanity, drugs or drinking.  There are other books in the series planned, each highlighting different monster and normie teens.  Recommended for grades 6 and up.

"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.

"Eternal Ones" by Kirsten Miller (YA Fiction)

"Eternal Ones" is a story about what happens when someone remembers flashes of their past lives, but with an interesting twist.  In this case, Haven is a small town girl planning to head to New York for college in a few months.  However, ever since she was a child, Haven has been prone to fainting spells where she has visions of herself in a former life and her grandmother and half the town believe she's demon possessed.  Her best friend Beau, who happens to be gay, is also college bound.  The two bond as children and start a dress-making business together to help pay for college.  One day, Haven catches a glimpse of Ian, a famous playboy, on TV and has a flash of him as Ethan in her former life.  All of a sudden, they notice people watching their every moves.  There's also the problem of if Ethan killed Constance in the past life and if Haven can trust Ian.  There's a weird society that helps reincarnated people, only they're also corrupt and have a hand in several disasters and seem to have a weird obsession with Haven/Constance and Ian/Ethan.

The book was different, but I didn't see anything in it that would be objectionable (assuming reincarnation itself isn't objectionable to some).  There are a couple times that the "lovebirds" allude to sleeping together, but they don't go into any kind of detail.  It all happens off-screen.  There's less of that in it than in the Meg Cabot "Airhead" books, for example.  No swearing or anything.  Also, the secondary character, Beau, is gay, but is not in a relationship during the entire book.  Having a gay character would help students with different lifestyles to identify with someone, and yet not throw the parents or school board into a tizzy, so I wouldn't have any qualms about putting it in a middle school at all.

"Need", Carrie Jones (YA fantasy)

"Need" is an entertaining romp into the world of pixies and weres.  After Zara's step-father dies, her mother packs her up and sends her from her Southern home to the Northern cold.  On Zara's first day of school, she sees a figure in the woods of a man that she has seen before.  Is it a stalker?  Given the evidence of gold glitter dust, her friends think he's a pixie out to either find his queen or kidnap boys.  What does he really want with her?  Why are so many of the teens at the school acting weirdly?  What's really going on?

This book has aspects of mystery, intrigue, romance (although kissing only) and suspense.  I would recommend this book for middle or high schools.  It was a nice quick read and very well written with decent character development.

"Fallen", by Lauren Kate (YA urban fantasy)

"Fallen", by Lauren Kate would be an excellent book for middle or high school libraries.  The storyline is about star-crossed loves who reunite every 17 years only to be tragically ripped apart...repeat.  There's also a bit of mystery and some religious overtones tossed in as you learn the origins of the characters.  This particular reincarnation finds the characters at a reform school for various misdeeds.  Parts of the story dragged on a bit, but the characters were interesting and make the reader want to get to the bottom of the mystery.  The second book in the series is due to be released this fall.

For those who would like specific details regarding appropriateness, there isn't any sex or explicit scenes, although there is some kissing.  There are a few fights and an epic battle, but most details are left out.

"Skulduggery Pleasant" by Derek Landy (YA mystery fantasy)

"Skulduggery Pleasant" is a fun romp in the world of the weird.  Stephanie's uncle Gordon, a famous writer of fantasy mystery novels, seems to have gotten himself dead.  He was the owner of something that couldn't pass hands until he was no longer of this world, so someone helped him leave earlier than he had planned.  As his favorite and only niece, Stephanie inherits just about all of Gordon's worldly possessions even though she is only 12 years old.  After being attacked by goons, and rescued by Gordon's best friend, Skulduggery Pleasant, Stephanie is introduced to a fabulous new world of magic.  Skulduggery, an animated skeleton detective guides Stephanie on her quest to find out what happened to her uncle.

This is an engaging book and very entertaining, with many quirks and irreverent humor.  It would be good for upper elementary or middle schools. 

"Red Pyramid", Rick Riordan (YA Fantasy)

Rick Riordan's "Red Pyramid" is a great story and an easy read.  It is very similar to the author's other famous series, "Percy Jackson & the Olympians", but with Egyptian gods and goddesses instead of Greek ones.  Two siblings, a boy and a girl, share the lead roles in this novel and take turns telling the story.  A few chapters for each, and then they switch off as though they are transcribing notes after the adventure is over.  They even have comical asides to each other in their narration as well.  Great characters, interesting information on Egyptian mythology, intriguing plot and supporting characters, etc.  This book is an excellent choice for middle or high school readers and I look forward to the next installment.

"Morpheus Road" by DJ MacHale (YA Horror Fiction)

I have mixed feelings about "Morpheus Road".  Professionally, I think this book was very well done.  It is written well, has interesting characters and an intriguing plot.  This would be great for high school students or advanced middle school readers.  Personally, I thought the story was creepy.  Let me explain.  I'm not the type of person that likes to scare myself.  I don't enjoy haunted houses, slasher movies or Stephen King novels.  They just freak me out.  This book was written along those same creepy lines.  I'm sure those that enjoy the macabre will love the book and I didn't find anything objectionable about it other than the heebie jeebies.

"Morpheus Road" is the first book in a new trilogy by DJ MacHale, the writer of the popular Pendragon series.  In this book, we are introduced to a new cast of characters, one of whom is missing and another is being haunted by his own creation.  This creation seems to be able to possess people or force them to do his bidding and, his bidding is to kill off the protagonist.  In order to find out what happens and why, as well as solve the mystery of his friend's disappearance, you'll have to pick up the book...if you dare!

"The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin", Josh Berk (Young Adult Fiction)

"The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin" is a combination of realistic fiction and mystery.  The protagonist of the story is a deaf high school student struggling with attending mainstream school for the first time.  He has to deal with his deaf friends' disapproval, parental worries and making friends when you can't hear.  Not to mention teachers who don't understand how to teach hearing impaired students so they turn away when he's trying to lip read, students with pranks on their minds and solving a murder mystery.

This book was written well and covered a lot of ground, however, given a few references to sex, I would recommend this for high school rather than middle school.

"The Last Knight", Hilari Bell (YA Fantasy)

"The Last Knight" is about a fourth son who sets out to be a knight errant in a time when such things are past, although not so much in the past that it seems out of the realm of possibility.  The knight acquires a squire, who sees the absurdity in his knight.  The gullible knight goes on a quest to free a maiden who was abducted.  However, after freeing said maiden, the knight and squire are arrested as it seems she was no maiden.  The lady in question was in prison for murdering her husband!  Now the knight and squire are forced to find and return her for her punishment.  As they roam the countryside looking for her, you can imagine the mischief they get into! 

This book is interesting in that each chapter changes perspective from the knight to the squire and back again.  It's a little difficult to get into as a result, but humorous nonetheless.  Recommended for middle school students.

"Fantasy in Death", JD Robb (adult, mystery, fantasy)

"Fantasy in Death" is the latest chapter in the Eve Dallas "in death" series about a futuristic homicide detective.  JD Robb is Nora Roberts, however, unlike her fluffy romances, the Eve Dallas stories are focused around a homicide that Eve and her entourage try to solve.  The connecting storylines and characters make these books more interesting and really should be read in order to preserve the continuity.  This particular edition has an interesting twist in that the cause of the murders stump even Eve for most of the novel.  If you're familiar with suspension of disbelief, you'll probably solve it in the first few chapters as I did.  However, as they find more information and try to come up with alternate versions of 'what happened', you may begin to doubt yourself...again, as I did.  LOL  Given a couple scenes, this book is recommended for adults only.

"Death by Bikini", Linda Gerber (YA - Mystery)

"Death by Bikini" is another great selection for middle school students.  This one is very popular in my school library, so I thought I'd give it a read.  This one is a murder mystery that takes place on a private island resort.  The heroine is the owner's daughter who solves several mysteries.  Long time mystery fans will figure things out before they happen, but there are still a few interesting twists along the way.  There is some light romance, but nothing more than a kiss, keeping it appropriate for a younger audience while still being interesting enough for older students.

"Sizzle", Julie Garwood (Adult-Romance/Mystery)

I enjoyed "Sizzle".  It wasn't anything out of this world, but the story was interesting and had a nice twist in the end, and I liked the character development as well.  There were a few humorous lines and the sex scenes weren't over the top, but nicely done as well without all the graphic language that many authors are using these days.  Julie Garwood's books are light, entertaining and always a nice vacation for the mind.