"Shiver", by Maggie Stiefvater (YA-fantasy)

“Shiver” is a romance story about teenage werewolves but it is rather unique.  In this werewolf tale, werewolves are created once the human is bitten by a werewolf.  The former humans change into wolves whenever it the weather turns cold.  As time progresses, they need it to be warmer and warmer before they’ll turn human until, finally, they no longer can return to their former human shapes and live their lives as wolves.  Grace was kidnapped as a child by wolves who attacked her, but one wolf saved her from death and returned her to her home.  Since then, Grace has been drawn to the wolves.  When one of her classmates was killed by a wolf, but then Grace sees a wolf with his eyes, she starts to wonder if werewolves are real.  Eventually, she meets “her” wolf in human form, Sam.  They fall in love and have to uncover mysteries and resolve his dwindling time as a human dilemma before they can live happily till the next installment in the Wolves of Mercy Falls series.

While Sam and Grace are in a romantic relationship, their scenes together are not overly descriptive.  However, given some graphic scenes involving the wolves attacking humans, and Sam’s parents slitting his wrists after he first changes to a wolf and back, I would only recommend this book for junior high and high school students.

"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.

"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.

"Nightlight" by Harvard Lampoon (YA-parody)

Reading "Nightlight" is like watching a train wreck.  You're horrified, but can't look away.  "Nightlight" is a parody of "Twilight" by Meyers.  Granted, I'm not a fan of the original, but was intrigued by the parody, so thought I'd give it a whirl.  It's humorous in a "so bad I can't believe it way", but I have to admit that I've never been a big admirer of this type of writing either.  I got about halfway through the book before putting it down though, which says something. 

If you like parodies, then take it for a spin.  Otherwise, you may want to stay far away!

"Hunger Games", Suzanne Collins (YA fantasy)

The world is a very different place than we know it.  North America rebelled against the government and is paying the price.  We have been divided into 13 colonies that are not allowed to intermingle with each other.  In order to remind us of what we wrought, each year a boy and girl (ages 12-18) are randomly drawn from each district and forced to participate in a televised fight to the death.  Whomever is the last person standing gets food for their district for the next year...all other districts are left to starve and manage as best they can.  Hence the name, "Hunger Games".  The twist for this year?  The boy and girl from district 13, who's district hasn't won in several decades, happen to love each other.  How are they supposed to kill each other in order to survive?

"Hunger Games" is an interesting dystopian novel for young adults and the first in a trilogy.  This book is very well written with a male and female protagonist so as to engage readers of both genders.  The storyline is gripping with a few plot twists and the beginnings of a little romance (nothing more than a kiss).  There is some violent scenes, which should be obvious given the context of the book, but nothing overly descriptive.  This is a book that I would recommend for middle or high schools, as well as for adults.