The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

by:  Joelle Charbonneau
published by:  Houghton Mifflin
publish date:  June 3, 2013

The Seven Stages War left much of the planet a charred wasteland. The future belongs to the next generation’s chosen few who must rebuild it. But to enter this elite group, candidates must first pass The Testing—their one chance at a college education and a rewarding career. 

Cia Vale is honored to be chosen as a Testing candidate; eager to prove her worthiness as a University student and future leader of the United Commonwealth. But on the eve of her departure, her father’s advice hints at a darker side to her upcoming studies--trust no one. 

This is a book I've had on my TBR pile forever.  My library got the audiobook so I was finally able to get this one done.

Basically this a pretty typical dystopian type book.  The world has been destroyed by war.  The country has been broken up into large sections.  Each section sends its best and brightest to The Testing each year.  If a candidate is able pass the testing then they are able to attend university and be eligible for some of the more coveted jobs.  However, the students that pass are given medication to wipe all memory of the test.  No one can pass tips down, except Cia's father, who was able to maintain some memory of the test.  He gives her advice that gives her a leg up on all the other candidates.

Despite the fact that I've been trying to stay away from YA dysopian trilogies, I wanted to give this one a try.  I'm glad I did, it was a pretty story.  It wasn't anything super amazing, but there were a few spots that I was surprised about.  I would recommend this book for fans of the genre.

End of Watch by Stephen King

by:  Stephen King

published by:  Scribner

publish date:  June 7, 2016

Brady Hartsfield, perpetrator of the Mercedes Massacre, where eight people were killed and many more were badly injured, has been in the Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic for five years, in a vegetative state. According to his doctors, anything approaching a complete recovery is unlikely. But behind the drool and stare, Brady is awake, and in possession of deadly new powers that allow him to wreak unimaginable havoc without ever leaving his hospital room.

Retired police detective Bill Hodges, the unlikely hero of Mr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers, now runs an investigation agency with his partner, Holly Gibney, who delivered the blow to Hartsfield's head that put him on the brain injury ward. Brady also remembers that. When Bill and Holly are called to a murder-suicide with ties to the Mercedes Massacre, they find themselves pulled into their most dangerous case yet, one that will put not only their lives at risk, but those of Hodges’s friend Jerome Robinson and his teenage sister, Barbara. Because Brady Hartsfield is back, and planning revenge not just on Bill Hodges and his friends, but on an entire city.

This trilogy has been a departure from the typical Stephen King story.  I'm glad he took this departure and got into the detective mystery game, because these books were so good.  

End of Watch is the final book in the trilogy.  This story ties back into the first with the Mercedes Killers and some of his victims.  The story takes place several years after the massacre and Brady Hartsfield seems to be making a come back.  Somehow Brady, despite still being in a coma, is programming hand held game devices to hypnotize the players into doing terrible things.  It's up to Bill and Holly to convince everyone that these devices are causing the havoc.  When Jerome's sister Barbara is one of the victims, he too joins the team to bring Brady Hartsfield down.

This book was the perfect conclusion to the series.  It wrapped up the Bill Hodges story very well.  I loved the characters in this series especially Bill and Holly.  I doubt there will be anymore stories after this one, but it would be great if there was another spin off involving Holly.

The Prey by Thomas Isbell

by:  Thomas Isbell
published by:  HarperTeen
publish date:  January 20, 2016

After the Omega (the end of the end), 16 year old guys known as LTs discover their overseers are raising them not to be soldiers (lieutenants) as promised, but to be sold as bait because of their Less Than status and hunted for sport. They escape and join forces with a girls’ camp, the Sisters, who have been imprisoned and experimented on for the "good of the Republic," by a government eager to use twins in their dark research. In their plight for freedom, these heroes must find the best in themselves to fight against the worst in their enemies.

I've had this book on my To Read list for quite awhile.  It finally hit my library's audiobooks and I went ahead and snapped it up.  So, of course, this is the start to a trilogy.  It's YA, of course it is...will this trend EVER STOP??  Anyway...

So, there's been some kind of "event", nuclear in nature, because many of the kids have birth defects.  They are forced to live in camps.  The camps are ranked based on the abilities of the kids.  The kids that are living in Camps Freedom/Liberty are being used for bait and medical experiments.  These are the kids that have birth defects, the orphans, the children of political dissidents, and twins.   Eventually, they figure out what their fate is and decide to escape.   However, their escape is far more difficult than expected in a post-apocalyptic landscape.  

I ended up quite liking this book.  I really enjoyed the characters.  I also really liked the fact that even though there was chemistry between the two main characters, and you knew they would end up together eventually, there was no insta-love.  While, there was a bit of jealousy between two boys, it wasn't really a love triangle either.  It was kinda like normal teenage stuff.    

I would recommend this one for the post-apocalyptic fans and the action/adventure readers.  

Vivian Apple at the End of the World by Katie Coyle

by:  Katie Coyle
published by:  HMH Books for Young Readers
publish date:  January 6, 2015

Seventeen-year-old Vivian Apple never believed in the evangelical Church of America, unlike her recently devout parents. But when Vivian returns home the night after the supposed "Rapture," all that’s left of her parents are two holes in the roof. Suddenly, she doesn't know who or what to believe. With her best friend Harp and a mysterious ally, Peter, Vivian embarks on a desperate cross-country roadtrip through a paranoid and panic-stricken America to find answers. Because at the end of the world, Vivan Apple isn't looking for a savior. She's looking for the truth.

Vivian Apple lives in a United States where evangelicalism and capitolism have united in a common cause.   The Church of America touts the greatness of America and it's saints are the Founding Fathers.  The faithful must visit all the historical landmarks like Mount Rushmore and the Liberty Bell to pay homage to our country's greatness.  The Founder of the Religion prophesied a Rapture of the most faithful.  When it actually comes to pass the United States citizens are more fearful and zealous than ever.

Vivian's parents were devoted to the Church of America.  She wasn't completely surprised that they were "Raptured" but she isn't ready to be on her own.  After spending time with her Grandparents, she is convinced that the answers to her questions are in California.  So she gathers up her friends to embark on a road trip across the country.

I had a lot of questions about this book.  So Vivian and her friends are traveling across America and it seems like they find a lot of unoccupied towns/houses etc.  Only 5,000 people were raptured, this wouldn't account for all the emptiness.   It seemed like everything was existing in the post-apocalyptic phase and I couldn't really understand it.  Frankly, I'm surprised a religion like this hasn't popped up.  It seems like something that would catch on like wildfire.

There is a second book in this series, Vivian Versus America (September 2015).  I think I will be reading it.  This book was interesting and thought-provoking.  I hope the second one is just as good.

The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

by:  Victoria Aveyard
published by:  Orion
publish date:  February 10, 2015

The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.  To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.  Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.

In this book the world is divided in to Reds and Silvers.  The Silvers are the ruling elite and the Reds exist basically to serve them.  The Silver Prince likes to survey his future holdings so he goes into the Red territory undercover and meets Mare.  He's so moved by the story of her life that he gets her a job in the palace.  Through a series of crazy events Mare finds out that she is of both Red and Silver blood and maybe be the most powerful of all.

So this book is kind of your typical YA.  The somewhat unwilling female lead of a revolution.  There was a love triangle of sorts.  The beginning of the book had a lot of scenes that I felt were unnecessary to the overall story.  They kind of bogged things down in the first quarter of the book and unless they were set up for other books in the series, they should have been taken out.   And very much like a typical YA, it's part of a series/trilogy.

I liked this book alright.  Kari didn't like it.  I can see arguments on both side of the case.  The first book was ok, but I doubt I'll continue with this series.  

The Taking by Kimberly Derting

by:  Kimberly Derting
published by:  HarperTeen
publish date:  April 29, 2014

When sixteen-year-old Kyra Agnew wakes up behind a Dumpster at the Gas ’n’ Sip, she has no memory of how she got there. With a terrible headache and a major case of déjà vu, she heads home only to discover that five years have passed . . . yet she hasn’t aged a day. 

Everything else about Kyra’s old life is different. Her parents are divorced, her boyfriend, Austin, is in college and dating her best friend, and her dad has changed from an uptight neat-freak to a drunken conspiracy theorist who blames her five-year disappearance on little green men. 

I got this book not expecting a whole lot.  I'm not a big fan of sci-fi, but I didn't know anything about this book.  I thought perhaps instead of aliens that maybe there would be some other answer for Kyra's disappearance.  This, however, is the first book in a YA series so the question wasn't really, for sure, answered.

I did, however, like this book.  I liked Kyra.  I really liked that she was a softball player.  All three of my girls play softball and it's a sport that is rarely written about in YA.  I thought it was a really believable story about someone that has been gone for 5 years trying to adjust to living in her new reality.  Although, I thought there might be more police involvement.  Her mom's rather standoffish behavior was a little odd too, but I guess she had moved on and made a new family.

So I'd recommend this book for the YA readers, with the caution that it's the start of a series.  You're going to finish this book with questions.  I never like that.  It looks like the next book The Replaced (April 28, 2015) has come out though, so maybe it answers some of them.

The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall

by:  Maggie Hall
published by:  Putnam Juvenile
publish date:  January 15, 2015

Avery West's newfound family can shut down Prada when they want to shop in peace, and can just as easily order a bombing when they want to start a war. Part of a powerful and dangerous secret society called the Circle, they believe Avery is the key to an ancient prophecy. Some want to use her as a pawn. Some want her dead.

To unravel the mystery putting her life in danger, Avery must follow a trail of clues from the monuments of Paris to the back alleys of Istanbul with two boys who work for the Circle—beautiful, volatile Stellan and mysterious, magnetic Jack. But as the clues expose a stunning conspiracy that might plunge the world into World War 3, she discovers that both boys are hiding secrets of their own. Now she will have to choose not only between freedom and family--but between the boy who might help her save the world, and the one she's falling in love with.

First of all, I love this cover.   Props to the designer that came up with this one.  Secondly, I liked this book, but I was disappointed that it was once again part of a series/trilogy.  Can we please get some stand alone YA books??

Avery isn't a typical teenager, her mother is employed by a government agency that she doesn't know much about but her job is dictated by "the mandate".  They move frequently so Avery is never settled in one area before they have to move again.  So, when a handsome boy shows up to show her who her real family is, she jumps at the chance to go.  She finds out they're part of a secret society that rules the world.   They've been looking for her because they think she will fulfill an ancient prophecy that will give one part of the secret society more power than the rest.  

This book is filled with all kinds of YA goodness.  Teenagers with endless money and no supervision.  There's a love triangle of course.  There are big shadowy conspiracies.  And bad guys of course, there are always bad guys chasing them.

Overall, I liked the story.  It was a fun Dan Brown kind of YA adventure novel.  I'm still a little aggravated by the cliffhanger.  I would recommend this book to the YA readers, I think most will like it.

The Young World by Chris Weitz

by:  Chris Weitz
published by:  Little Brown Books for Young Readers
publish date:  July 29, 2014

After a mysterious Sickness wipes out the rest of the population, the young survivors assemble into tightly run tribes. Jefferson, the reluctant leader of the Washington Square tribe, and Donna, the girl he's secretly in love with, have carved out a precarious existence among the chaos. But when another tribe member discovers a clue that may hold the cure to the Sickness, five teens set out on a life-altering road trip to save humankind.

The Young World is probably one of my favorite YA Post-Apocalyptic books I've read in a long time.  That's weirdly specific but there is a ton of YA Post-Ap out there, and I've read a lot of it.

There are a few things that I liked about this book that I thought kind of set it apart.  First, it takes place about 10 years out from the plague that wiped out all the adults and babies.  So while the survivors were young when it happened, they're all now old enough to remember what they lost.  Secondly, I liked how the tribes were formed.  It seemed to me a likely way that kids would congregate.  Lastly, this book was kind of dark and a lot grittier than I had expected and I appreciated that.  It made it seem a lot more realistic.

This is a series and I'm definitely curious to see where it's going to go.  The ending was such a cliffhanger.  Even now thinking back on it, I have so many questions about this book and none of them really make any sense or could be answered now knowing how the book ended.  So, I will have to read the next book in the series.  Looks like that book is coming out in July 2015.

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

by:  Maggie Stiefvater
published by:  Scholastic Press
publish date:  September 13, 2013

Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. 

Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. 

Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after...

This is the second book in the Raven Cycle series.  I like this series a lot more than the Shiver series.  If you haven't yet, do yourself a favor and listen to the audiobooks for these books.  They're read by Will Patton.  If you don't know the name, you probably know his face from movies like Armageddon and TV's Falling Skies.  He's an excellent audiobook reader.  

The Dream Thieves was a really interesting second installment in the series.  This book focused more on Ronan and his gift.  He has the ability to dream things into existence.    This book didn't seem to bring the group any closer to Cabeswater though.  In fact, it didn't appear as though much effort was being put forth towards that goal at all.  

Despite my reluctance to get involved with YA trilogies/series I'm drawn to this one.  I'm interested in seeing where this one goes.  The third book in this series, Blue Lily, Lily Blue, looks like it comes out in October, 2014.

Prodigy by Marie Lu

by:  Marie Lu
published by: Putnam Juvenile
publish date:  January 2013

Injured and on the run, it has been seven days since June and Day barely escaped Los Angeles and the Republic with their lives. Day is believed dead having lost his own brother to an execution squad who thought they were assassinating him. June is now the Republic's most wanted traitor. Desperate for help, they turn to the Patriots - a vigilante rebel group sworn to bring down the Republic. But can they trust them or have they unwittingly become pawns in the most terrifying of political games?

The last book in this trilogy, Legend, ends with June and Day escaping Day's execution.  The Republic isn't fooled by their stunt of switching out Day for his brother, so they catch on pretty quick that Day is still alive.  June and Day have nowhere to go except to the Patriots for help.  Their plan is to send June right back to the Republic.  Once she's back, she's become torn as to who is real enemy the Republic or the Patriots and how can she let Day know of her suspicions without putting them both endanger.

I thought this book was just mediocre.  It illuminated the reason why I don't like trilogies.  I really like the first book.  To paraphrase Tommy Boy, I get all excited like Joe-Joe the idiot circus boy about the first book, then the second book is just kind blah, then I care nothing about reading the third book.  Be more ruthless with the edits, condense it down, make one big book.  I know that equals less sales, but I think it would make for better books.

Anyway, so yeah, just kinda ok for me.  Which was kind of a bummer, because I really liked Legend and I hoped I'd get jazzed up for this trilogy and change my mind about them, but no.

Icons by Margaret Stohl

by:  Margaret Stohl
published by: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
publish date:  May 7, 2013

Everything changed on The Day. The day the windows shattered. The day the power stopped. The day Dol's family dropped dead. The day Earth lost a war it didn't know it was fighting.

Since then, Dol has lived a simple life in the countryside -- safe from the shadow of the Icon and its terrifying power. Hiding from the one truth she can't avoid.

She's different. She survived. Why?

I was interested in reading this book because of the Beautiful Creatures series.  I hoped it would be something along those lines.  It wasn't exactly.

The main thing that really aggravated me about this book was the main character's name.  Dol?  I kept thinking 1920s speakeasy.  It just wasn't working for me.  And throwing in the Doll Face nicknames just made it worse. 

The story line wasn't too bad, but it seemed somewhat familiar.  As I'm sitting here thinking about it, it had the same feel as the I Am Number Four series.  Aliens, special kids, special kids being hunted. 

Did I like it?  It was ok.  Will I keep up with the series?  Probably, because once I start a series I like to finish it unless it's really bad. 

Game by Barry Lyga

by:  Barry Lyga
published by:  Little, Brown for Young Readers
publish date:  April 16, 2013

When a desperate New York City detective comes knocking on Jazz's door asking for help with a new case, Jazz can't say no. The Hat-Dog Killer has the Big Apple--and its police force running scared with no leads. So Jazz and his girlfriend Connie hop on a plane to the big city and get swept up in a killer's murderous game.

I read I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga back in December.  I liked it.  I was looking forward to this sequel.  It definitely lived up to the first book.

In Game, Jazz is collaborating with NYC detectives to capture the Hat-Dog killer.  (I hated that name btw)  Jazz figures out the underlying pattern of the killer and what the motivation is.  His serial killer father gets thrown in the mix.  It made for a great slice 'em and dice 'em thriller.

Now, saying that.  I had a little bit of a problem with this book being classified as YA.  This is one of those books that maybe more appropriate for the "New Adult" genre.  There was a lot of talk about rape and castration and other violent acts.  These books are a lot like the TV show Dexter and that's rated TV-MA. On the other hand, the characters are all teenagers and act like teenagers most of the time, so in that regard I can understand why it would be labeled YA.   Anyway, my two cents on the subject.

The book ended with a major cliffhanger so there will be another book in this series.   Not sure when that will be coming out, but I will definitely be checking it out!

Joint review: Fuse by Julianna Baggott

Author: Julianna Baggot
Publisher:  Grand Central Publishing
Date of Publication:  February 19, 2013

When the world ended, those who dwelled within the Dome were safe. Inside their glass world the Pures live on unscarred, while those outside—the Wretches—struggle to survive amidst the smoke and ash.

Believing his mother was living among the Wretches, Partridge escaped from the Dome to find her. Determined to regain control over his son, Willux, the leader of the Pures, unleashes a violent new attack on the Wretches. It’s up to Pressia Belze, a young woman with her own mysterious past, to decode a set of cryptic clues from the past to set the Wretches free. 


This is the second book in the Pure series.  For the most part, I enjoyed Pure.  I was looking forward to reading Fuse to hopefully learn more about the Before and the detonations. I think I have more questions now than I did after finishing Pure.  

 I have to say, I was a bit disappointed in the book.  For me, it really dragged.  I had a hard time getting through it.  I found myself skimming to make it to the end.    It did get great reviews, but it just didn't  do it for me.  I didn't hate it, I just didn't love it.  I'm not sure if I will continue with the series.  I'll have to wait and see.

Some of you may remember Pure was one of the few books that Kari and I disagreed on.  I really didn't care for Pure at all.  However, it was one of those books that made me think a lot, so it did have that going for it. 

I was interested in Fuse, just to see where the story was going to go and if I liked it any better than Pure.  My feelings were the same for the second book as they were for the first book.  I just don't like this series.  Nothing against the writer, the writing is fine, just certain aspects freak me out.  The other issue I had with this book was that I had a hard time remembering all the characters from the first book.  Definitely too much time had passed between books.  Since this trilogy thing isn't going anywhere any time soon, I propose that books be release in quicker succession.

Joint Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Author: Marissa Meyer
Publisher: Fiewel and Friends
Date of publication: February 2013

The fates of Cinder and Scarlet collide as a Lunar threat spreads across the Earth...

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her.

Second books in a trilogy are usually not my favorite books to read, so I approached this one with a little trepidation.  I really liked Cinder and I didn't want to be let down by Scarlet.  Fortunately, that wasn't the case.  I was really pleased with this book and the book series overall.   I really enjoy how these books are different stories, but tied together.  Kari mentions the 3rd book and it sounds like another great addition to the trilogy

At first I was confused when I started the book.  It has been a while since I read Cinder, so I was racking my brain trying to remembered Scarlet from the first book.  Autumn set me straight by telling me she was a new character.  I enjoyed Scarlet as much as Cinder.  The book was fast paced and moved along pretty seamlessly.  I liked how the author tied Cinder and Scarlet together in the book.  I also liked the introduction of the Lunar/wolf  soldiers.  I just hope no vampires show up in later books.  The only thing I did not like was that we didn't really learn more about Cinder in this book. Hopefully, there will be more answers in the next book, Cress. Unfortunately, it looks like we will have to wait another year.

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

by:  Megan Shepherd
published by:  Balzer + Bray
publish date:  January 29, 2013

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Juliet came from a respectable family.  That is, until her news of her father's experiments got out and ruined all their lives.  Juliet went from being a proper young lady to scrubbing floors for a living.  When a scandal of her own forces her to run for her life she decides to journey to the island her father is living on.

The Madman's Daughter is a retelling of The Island of Dr. Moreau by HG Wells.  I've never actually read that book, but I did watch the movie, that one with Val Kilmer, so I had a basic idea of what it was about.  Overall, I thought it was a very entertaining book.  It was an interesting perspective from which to tell the story.  Telling it from a younger person's point of view made the story fresh and relatable to more of today's readers.

The book did have some flaws.  Namely, the big hulking love triangle.  Juliet, throughout the book, professes her love for Montgomery, which is understandable.  This is the boy that she's known her whole life.  But whenever Edward, a castaway they picked up on the journey to the island, is around she's falling all over him.  She can't really be in love with Montgomery if she has those feelings for Edward and vice versa.  It was really frustrating to read.  Secondly, this book is obviously a trilogy.  I've made my feelings on YA trilogies known.

So, will I read the next book?  Probably.  I liked this book well enough, plus, judging by the ending of this book the second book will probably be a retelling of another classic horror novel.   Would I recommend this book?  Yes, to fans of YA.  It's appropriate for most YA readers.  There wasn't anything highly inappropriate going on, but it might be a little scary for sensitive readers.

The Diviners by Libba Bray

by:  Libba Bray

published by: Little Brown and Co for Young Readers

publish date:  September 18, 2012

Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies."  When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer--if he doesn't catch her first.

I'm not going to go in depth about this book because its got a ton of reviews on various websites.  Overall, I liked it.  My biggest problem with it was that it was overly long.  It seemed like it was going on forever.  There were a lot of things in the book that took up a lot of time and I didn't understand the relevance they had to the story.  I think there was probably a lot of world building and setting up for future books in the series.

That said, it was a breath of fresh air.  I liked the characters and the setting was interesting.  There are a lot of YA books set in the 20s out right now, but they usually have more to do with the flappers and this book delved more into the what regular people were living like.

I'm not sure if this is a series I would keep up with or not, because paranormal isn't high on my priority list.  Libba Bray is a great writer, though that might be enough to keep me reading.

Book Shout Out: Don't Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon

by:  Michelle Gagnon
published by:  HarperCollins
publish date:  August 28, 2012

Sixteen-year-old Noa has been a victim of the system ever since her parents died. Now living off the grid and trusting no one, she uses her computer-hacking skills to stay safely anonymous and alone. But when she wakes up on a table in an empty warehouse with an IV in her arm and no memory of how she got there, Noa starts to wish she had someone on her side.

Enter Peter Gregory. A rich kid and the leader of a hacker alliance, Peter needs people with Noa's talents on his team. Especially after a shady corporation called AMRF threatens his life in no uncertain terms.

But what Noa and Peter don't realize is that Noa holds the key to a terrible secret, and there are those who'd stop at nothing to silence her for good.

I was a little bit surprised by how much I ended up liking this book.  Initially it took me awhile to get into it, the first couple of chapters I wasn't sure if I was going to stick it out or not.  I don't know what it was, but it just wasn't clicking with me.  However, I stuck with it and by the end I was totally engaged.

Looks like this is the first book of the Persephone YA series/trilogy.  I'm interested in seeing where it goes, it was a really exciting book.  I've been noticing it getting a lot of mentions on end of the year lists.  I'm guessing we'll be seeing a lot more from Michelle Gagnon in the future

Ashfall Trilogy by Mike Mullin

I got a copy at Ashfall at the ALA Convention in New Orleans in 2011.  My daughter and I met Mike Mullin and I have to say he's a terrific guy.  He spent time talking with my daughter talking about her softball team, because she had just come from a tournament and he signed her copy of the book especially for her.  It was really nice.

I kept putting off reading the book until just recently and now I'm a little mad at myself for taking so long.  It was an awesome book.  Very well written and intensely engaging.  I read the whole thing in a day and a half.  I couldn't put it down.

On the day the Yellowstone caldera erupts Alex is home alone for the weekend while his family goes to visit his uncle.  He's alone when his house catches on fire and goes to a neighbor's house to ride out the first couple of days.  Things get bad FAST.   He decides he has to go find his family even if he has to walk the entire way. 

Ashfall tells the story of his journey to his uncle's house and the people he meets along the way.  He meets Darla a girl who saves his life.  She decides to go with him when she has no reason to stay in her home any longer.

When I finished Ashfall I knew I needed to find the second book stat!  I did and it was just as good.  The second book Ashen Winter picks up with Alex and Darla at the Uncle's house.  Alex's parents have set out for home looking for Alex so he decides that he must back track and find them and bring them back to the relative calm of his Uncle's farm.

Ashen Winter was quite good, not as good as Ashfall in my opinion, but second books in a trilogy are rarely as good as the first.  I didn't feel quite as connected to the characters because Darla wasn't as present in Ashen Winter and Alex was like a crazy person trying to find her.  Also, when Alex finds his parents, they are really creepy in my opinion.  I don't know if that was the intent, but it seemed like they went way off the deep end.  The book is definitely worth the read to keep up with the series and keep people watching shows like Doomsday Preppers.

Looks like the third book Sunrise is due to come out some time in 2014.  That's a bit of a bummer.  I don't like having to wait so long to tie up a story!

Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

by:  Maggie Stiefvater
published by:  Scholastic Press
publish date:  September 18, 2012

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

Blue Sergeant grew up in a family of clairvoyant women.  All her life they've been telling her that she will cause her true love to die.  Because of this she pretty much stays away from boys.  She especially stays aways from the Aglionby boys, the boys from the fancy prep school.  They are known as the Raven boys because of the ravens on their uniforms.

While Blue isn't a psychic, she has the ability to turn up the volume for other psychics.  She increases the energy around them.  So one of the psychic women is using her to help commune with the dead when Blue actually sees and talks to her first spirit.  The spirit's name is Gansey.  The pyschic tells Blue that the reason she can see him is because he will die within one year, he is her true love or she will kill him.

Gansey is in Henrietta going to Aglionby because of his life's pursuit of ley lines.  He's convinced they run through the town.  Blue gets involved with Gansey and his friend during his search for the ley lines despite all her mother's predictions and warnings.

I ended up really liking The Raven Boys.  I listened to the audiobook.  It was read by Will Patton.  If you don't know the name, you probably know the face from movies and television.  It was extremely well done. 

I have to give props to Maggie Stiefvater for keeping things fresh.  From werewolves to water horses to raven boy, she's definitely covering a lot of territory.  The writing is awesome.   I'm bummed that this is the first book in a series/trilogy/whatever but it's to be expected in YA now.  Hopefully we don't have to wait forever for the next book.

 

The Last Survivors Trilogy by Susan Beth Pfeffer

If you haven't read this YA Post-Apocalyptic trilogy by Susan Beth  Pfeffer, you should.  The books are a few years old now, but there's nothing in them that makes them dated. 

The first book in the trilogy is Life As We Knew It (2006, Harcourt Children's).  It tells the story of teenager Miranda living with her single mother and two brothers in Pennsylvania.  A meteor hits the moon knockings it's orbit closer to earth.  This sets off a series of events that are catastrophic.  Tsunamis wipe out coastal cities, earthquakes shake the entire planet and volcanoes long dormant start to erupt.  All of this seismic activity brings about major climactic change.  Life As We Knew It chronicles Miranda's daily struggle to survive when everyone around her is dying.

The Dead and the Gone (2008, Harcourt Children's) is the second book in the trilogy.  Instead of continuing Miranda's story, it tells the story of Alex Morales, living in New York city with his two sisters.  His father was in Puerto Rico the day of the meteor strike and his mother was at work and never heard from again.  As the oldest Alex has to make tough decisions to take care of his two sisters.  Alex lived in an apartment building that his father was the manager of.  His unwillingness to break into other apartments annoyed me.  I understood that he was proud and didn't want to damage his father's building, but seriously, I would have been ripping open walls if the doors couldn't be broken down.  That aside, I liked this contrast of surviving in the city versus Miranda's suburban story.

The third book, This World We Live In (2010, Harcourt Children's) ties the two stories together.  In the first book Miranda's father stops by to tell his children that he is going to try to go out west with his new wife.  The third book has Miranda's father coming back with Alex and one of his sisters and another traveling companion that they met while on the road.  They met Alex when he had gone looking for other relatives for his sister to stay with while he looked for work.  Finding neither, Alex decided to stick with Miranda's dad while he traveled back to the Northeast.   While Miranda is happy to have her father back, it puts a strain on everyone because the food is scarce and the weather is getting worse.  This book was really emotional.  Pfeffer really put the screws to her characters in this one.

I've been calling this a trilogy, but I decided to do a little poking around about this series.  Turns out, there might be a book 4.  Shade of the Moon is tentatively scheduled for release in the fall of 2013.  I promise I'll be all over that when it comes out.