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Heat Wave by Richard Castle

Published January 25, 2011 Mystery , RAC Leave a Comment
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Genre:  Mystery

# of Pages:  198

RAC Book:  Yes

Nikki Heat is an NYPD detective investigating a murder of a man dropped from a six story balcony.  She is less than thrilled when she is forced to allow a writer to shadow her for background research, despite his obvious enthusiasm for her work.  Jameson Rook travels with her to crime scenes, interrogations, and autopsies so that he can gain enough insight into Nikki’s squad that he can write an article about them.  He always promises to stay out of the way, but has a knack for finding his way into trouble.  As Nikki tries to solve the murder further incidents try to distract her from her mission including a personal attack in her home, an attack on a witness, and a major theft.  Can Nikki sort through the many clues to find the truth about what happened?  Can she do it while Rook is standing by her side?

This book is based on the character’s of ABC hit series Castle. The book closely resembles the characters in the show they are meant to be based on and make it a fun read for fans of the show.  The mystery itself is complex, but not convoluted.  The clues reveal themselves in a timely manner and the outcome is satisfying.  The backdrop of NYC in the midst of a heat wave is an interesting setting for the story and the extreme heat does affect their investigation from time to time.  All in all, a fun mystery story for fans of writers like Mary Higgins Clark and Agatha Christie.

Manifest by Artist Arthur

Published January 4, 2011 Fantasy , RAC Leave a Comment
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Genre:  Fantasy

# of Pages:  248

RAC Book:  Yes

Krystal has recently moved to a new town due to her parent’s divorce and she is having trouble adjusting to her new life.  She has not made any friends, has stopped eating, and now has begun seeing ghosts.  Specifically, one ghost named Ricky has been following her.  He was a student at her school, but was shot and killed before she arrived.  Now he wants to find who really killed him so that he can cross over.  As Krystal copes with this difficult situation she meets two other students who mysteriously have the same birthmark as her.  They quickly realize that they all have special gifts and they plan to work together to find out what happened to Ricky.  They call themselves the Mystyx.  Despite Krystal’s hesitance to let others in on her secret, she finds relief when she can talk to her new friends about her supernatural visions.  Her relief is short lived, however, when she realizes that someone wants to hurt her for helping Ricky and the reasons behind his murder go deeper than she expected.

The plot of this story is interesting as Krystal tries to piece together what happened to Ricky.  The characters are interesting and well developed.  The writing style is a little simple and might turn off some young adult readers.  The beginning feels a bit slow and predictable, but once she meets her fellow mystyx things pick up quickly.  Fans of supernatural mysteries will enjoy this title, but it is not the best one out there right now.  Recommended to supplement a thriving fantasy collection.

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Published September 3, 2010 Fantasy , RAC , Realistic Fiction Leave a Comment
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Genre:  Realistic Fiction/Fantasy

# of Pages:  376

RAC Book:  No

Micah admits that she is a compulsive liar and would like to tell her story straight through with no lies.  Her boyfriend is found murdered in Central Park and several people suspect her involvement simply because she was his “secret” girlfriend.  She denies any knowledge of his murder and tries her best to avoid the stares and gossip.  She has difficulty getting along with her parents due to her lying and they want to send her upstate to live with relatives even though Micah is vehemently against this.  As the story goes on it becomes obvious that Micah has lied for so long that she has difficulty actually telling the straight truth, even when she wants to.  Can she ever set the record straight and tell what actually happened to her boyfriend?

While this book stays true to its title throughout the story, it does take a bizarre fantasy twist in the middle.  The twist will be liked by some, but disliked by many who thought the book was going to be more of a realistic fiction novel.  The ending is a bit quick and some teen readers may find it confusing or unsatisfying.  The story is interesting, but will leave many readers unsure about how they feel about it.

Airman by Eoin Colfer

Published May 3, 2010 Award Winners , Historical Fiction , RAC 1 Comment
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Genre: Historical fiction

# of Pages:  412

RAC Book:  Yes

Iowa Teen Award Winner 2010

Conor Broekhart is born in a hot air balloon at the world’s fair in 1878 and he is obsessed with flying forever after.  He grows up on the Saltee Islands off the coast of Ireland where his father heads the king’s security.  King Nicholas is very forward thinking and supportive of science and flying, so he enlists a friend of his to come and tutor Conor and his daughter, Isabella.  Conor greatly enjoys his time with Victor as they practice fencing, scientific experiments, and air exploration.  All of this changes when the King and Victor are assassinated by an evil member of the king’s advisors.  Conor is blamed for the conspiracy against the king and is sent to work underground in diamond mines, but he fails to give up and plans to one day fly again.

This is a very different story than most readers will be used to from this author, but it is adventurous and engaging from the first page.  Conor’s strength, intelligence, and perseverance take a hopeless situation and find some light.  The plot twists are compelling and detailed to keep the story moving and all of the characters are well developed, even if they are not in the story that much.  Anyone would enjoy this read, but it will be especially interesting to teenage boys.

The Everafter by Amy Huntley

Published April 19, 2010 RAC , Realistic Fiction , Romance 1 Comment
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Genre:  Realistic Fiction/Romance

# of pages:  245 p.

RAC Book:  Yes

Madison wakes up in a strange reality she calls “is” because there’s no way to describe it.  She believes she is dead because she can’t feel a body, but she does see objects in the space around her.  If she touches an object she is brought back to her life through a memory of when she lost that item.  She quickly realizes that she does not have memories past the age of 17 and knows she died young, but cannot remember how.  As she tries to navigate through the memories of her life she realizes she is not the only spirit lingering in those memories.  Will she ever be able to talk to anyone from her life?  Will she ever find out how she died?  Can she ever move past this place of “is” to the everafter?

This book was engaging, unique, and interesting.  As Madison moves through the memories of her life the reader cannot help but think about how she will meet her untimely demise.  Despite the fact that the reason behind her death is set up throughout the story, it will be a shock to most readers the way it actually happens.  Madison’s friendships and family relationships are easy to identify with and it’s hard to imagine how they must cope with her death.  Madison, however, believes that everyone dies when they are supposed to go and it’s okay, but she would like to know how it happens.  She feels no regret about how she lived or died.  This is a very interesting read that will leave the reader thinking about life and death long after the final page.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Published March 3, 2010 Adventure , Fantasy , RAC 1 Comment
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Genre:  Fantasy

# of Pages:  391

RAC Book:  Yes

In this sequel to The Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta have returned home to district 12 but life is not as easy or calm as Katniss hoped it would be if she survived the games.  Their previous fears of starving or failing to feed their families have been relieved as they now have plenty of food and money due to their winnings, but there is an uneasiness as Katniss realizes she may be in trouble with the Capitol for breaking the rules and managing to have two survivors of the vicious games.  Her fears are turned into reality when she receives a surprise visit from the president of the Capitol.  He warns her that if her and Peeta do not convince everyone that they are in fact in love, then the lives of their family and friends may be in danger.  Katniss was surprised to learn that her act of defiance that allowed her and Peeta to survive the games was seen as a first step of revolt to some of the districts.  Since then they have followed suit and established uprisings that the Capitol does not approve of.   As Katniss tries to squelch the uprisings by acting more in love with Peeta than she could imagine, she can’t help but wonder what will happen if she fails and the Capitol blames her for the beginnings of a revolution?  What’s worse, she starts to wonder if she really wants to squelch the uprisings at all or if she would be willing to give her life in order to make life better for those who come after her.

This sequel delivers all the action, surprise, suspense, and passion as the first one.  The year following Katniss’s triumph in the games is full of heartache and worry as she wonders who is watching her and what they will do to her family if she angers them.  Her life is completely changed, but not necessarily in a better way.  As she tries to help those around her she is in no way prepared for the role that will be thrust upon her in the next hunger games.  Anyone who liked the first installment of this series will devour this one and will have a difficult time waiting for the release of the next one.

The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain

Published October 2, 2009 RAC , Realistic Fiction Leave a Comment
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Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Age Level:  14 and up

# of Pages:  522

RAC:  Yes

CeeCee Wilkes is a sixteen-year-old girl whose mother died when she was twelve.  Now she is a high school graduate and living on her own trying to support herself as a waitress.  She hopes to save enough money to go to college one day.  Her favorite regular customer, Timothy Gleason, is rich and handsome, so she is thrilled when he shows some interest in her.  Soon they are dating and she feels she is in love with him and finally has a place to belong.  When he tells her his sister is on death row for a murder that was self defense, CeeCee finds herself helping in a scheme to get her freed.  Timothy and his brother plan to kidnap the governor’s wife in order to get him to release their sister.  Meanwhile, CeeCee is supposed to watch the hostage while the negotiations go down.  What CeeCee doesn’t count on is the fact that the governor’s wife is 8 months pregnant with a high risk pregnancy.  When the stress of the situation leads her to go into labor early, CeeCee does not know what to do or where to go and the situaiton quickly escalates out of control.  Once the baby is born, CeeCee is unable to stop the bleeding and the woman dies.   CeeCee knows that her life will never be the same again and she has some very difficult decisions to make.  Will she ever see Timothy again?  Will she have to change her name?  Will she have to go to jail for her role in this crime?  What will happen to the baby?

For readers who enjoy Jodi Picoult, Anita Shreve, or similar authors this would be a good story.  It delves into the emotions and motivations of the characters while following an interesting story.  Readers will come to care about what happens to CeeCee and the baby despite the terrible circumstances that bring them together.  The ideas of taking responsibility for one’s actions and second chances are pronounced throughout the story.  The plot will keep readers thinking about justice long after finishing the book.

Storm Front by Jim Butcher

Published April 14, 2009 Fantasy , Mystery Leave a Comment
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Genre:  Fantasy

Age Level:  15 and up

# of Pages: 322

Storm Front is not a new release, but has recently come to my attention.   Fantasy fans should be aware of this series that follows a wizard names Harry Dresden.  He lives a difficult life in which he tries to make a living as a wizard while constantly being monitored by the wizarding counsel who are looking for any excuse to destroy him.  In this first installment, Harry becomes involved in two cases at the same time.  One is a housewife simply looking for her husband who has gone missing, but Harry soon finds that there may be some magic involved in this disappearance.  There have also been some gruesome murders involving magic and everyone automatically assumes that he is to blame since he is the only self proclaimed wizard around.  As he tries to clear his name he becomes aware that he is now the killer’s next target.  How can he compete with someone he has yet to identify?

This story is a lot of fun and includes a basic private investigator theme with magic and fantasy creatures.  There are some sophisticated topics and adult language, which readers should be aware of, but most fantasy readers will enjoy it nonetheless for its intricate plot and carefully integrated details.  It is easy to see why this has been a popular series and I’m glad I was introduced to it.

Dead Connection by Alafair Burke

Published March 27, 2009 Mystery , RAC Leave a Comment
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Genre:  Mystery

Age Level:  15 and up

# of Pages:  319 p.

RAC:  Yes

Ellie Hatcher is a detective in the NYPD who has been a media favorite in the past due to her police officer father’s untimely death when she was a child.  Now she has been unexpectedly called up to help in a murder investigation that the lead detective believes might be involved with an online dating company called First Date.  Two female members of First Date have been murdered and they believe that maybe someone is stalking women he meets on this service.  The CEO of First Date refuses to cooperate with any valid names and IDs unless they have more information than just a hunch, which leaves them without a way of finding any information on any of the men these women were in contact with.

This exciting mystery has many twists and turns in it and keeps readers guessing all the way up until the end.  The mystery itself gets more complicated before anything starts to get resolved, which might frustrate some readers, but the last third of the book is very exciting and action packed as the details start to fall into place.  All of the elements needed for a good mystery are present and the clues for the end result are present throughout the story.  Fans of murder mystery stories will enjoy this book.

 

Revelations by Melissa De La Cruz

Published December 16, 2008 Fantasy , RAC 1 Comment
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Genre: Fantasy

Age Level: 14 and up

# of Pages: 264 p.

RAC Book: Yes

Revelations is the third in this Blue Bloods series. This book follows closely where Masquerade ended, with Schuyler now living with the Force family and hating every minute. She tries to contact her grandfather, Lawrence, whenever possible, but this becomes more and more difficult as he must travel away to Rio de Janeiro in order to deal with a possible threat from the Blue Bloods’ biggest enemy: the Silver Bloods. Meanwhile, Schuyler and Jack force become involved, which causes problems because he is meant to be with Mimi for all eternity and she is not about to let him break their bond. Bliss is dealing with her hurt feelings from when Dylan abandoned her and she must decide how to help him when he returns in a serious mental state.

Although much too short, this book is just as thrilling as the previous two. The characters seem to grow and develop more with each book, which helps the reader to understand all points of view as this story unfolds. This story has action, betrayal, lover’s trysts, murder, friendship, and even shocking plot twists. For fans of the first two novels or any type of fantasy or vampire fiction they will devour this book and finish it wanting more.

Origin by Diana Abu-Jaber

Published October 7, 2008 Mystery , RAC Leave a Comment
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Genre: Mystery

Age Level: 14 and up

# of pages: 384 p.

RAC Book: Yes

Lena Dawson is a fingerprint analyst who is known for being very thorough and a bit of a loner. She is famous for cracking some difficult cases in the past and is therefore not surprised when a distraught mother approaches her about the unusual circumstances surrounding her infant son’s death. His case is one of several in the past few months that was ruled a SIDS death. Lena begins to get suspicious, but isn’t sure if she wants to delve into this complicated and difficult case. Many of her co-workers believe the only reason it is coming to light now is because the last victim’s family has connections to some major political officials. At the same time, Lena is dealing with a difficult marriage separation and the realization that she has been pushing people away for some time. This case stirs some uneasy feelings about her own past before she came to be adopted, but she feels she must solve the case in order to move past her own issues.

Mystery lovers will enjoy the story about the infant deaths because it continues to evolve and develop right up until the end. Lena’s own hidden past seems a little too contrived and unbelievable. Once she discovers the truth it seems unlikely that it would have been kept from her in the first place due to the fact that not knowing led her imagination to create unimaginable memories that she came to accept as real. The character of Lena and her co-workers seem flat and uninteresting at times. If the characters had been more interesting the story may have moved along more quickly. Mystery readers will enjoy, but will find it slow.

Enter Three Witches by Caroline B. Cooney

Published September 23, 2008 Historical Fiction , RAC Leave a Comment
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Genre: Shakespeare retelling

Age Level: 14 and up

# of Pages: 281 p.

RAC Book: Yes

Lady Mary is living with Lord and Lady Macbeth until the war ends and she can officially marry her betrothed. Life is pretty good for Mary as she has money and land attached to her name, but things change dramatically when the king finds her father was actually fighting against him and is therefore executed as a traitor. Suddenly she has lost everything she ever had. Things only get worse when someone murders the current king and suddenly Mary is at the mercy of the very people who used to be her guardians: the Macbeths.

Enter Three Witches is a retelling of Shakespeare’s MacBeth in which a plot between a husband and wife to get everything they want starts to unravel once they have what they desired. In this story there are characters from all stations in life from the scullery maid to the nobles. There are many characters who find they have been deceived by someone they have trusted. Many also lose or gain status in mere moments as traitors are sought out and persecuted. This complicated tale of suspense, romance, revenge, and deceit remind all of us how complex and interesting Shakespeare’s stories were. This retelling also makes Shakespeare a bit more appealing to younger readers.

The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie by Jaclyn Moriarty

Published June 24, 2008 RAC , Realistic Fiction 2 Comments
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Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Age Level:  14 and up

# of Pages:  494 p.

RAC Book:  Yes

Bindy Mackenzie is a very studious and conscientious high school student.  She is the type who always gets the highest grade in the class and is not afraid to tell anyone what she thinks.  Due to her frank and curious nature she has sometimes alienated students around her.  This year all juniors are required to take a Friendship and Development (FAD) class that she finds useless and a waste of time.  The class asks her to look back at her own life so far and reflect on what she sees.  She finds that she is not happy with her relationships and becomes obsessed with making friends in her (FAD) class.  As she focuses on this more and more she loses sight of everything that was previously important to her.  She also starts to get really sick.  Can she pull herself together to become the person she realizes she wants to be or is it too late?

This story is told through Bindy’s journal and includes diary entries, memos, emails, essays, and even transcripts of conversations she has heard.  Bindy records every thought and interaction she has every day.  As she struggles with her home life, school life, and health her journal ramblings can seem a little superfluous but in the end everything makes sense as the surprising ending unfolds.  Students who make it through some of the mundane chapters will be pleased with how the story ends and will appreciate why the mundane portions of the book were important in order to piece together what happens to Bindy.  The story also discusses many issues that teenagers face everyday and shows students that there are many ways to deal with those issues, some more effective than others.

 

Little Face by Sophie Hannah

Published May 6, 2008 Mystery , RAC , Realistic Fiction , Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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Genre: Suspense, Realistic Fiction

Age Level: 14 and up

# of pages: 310 p.

RAC Book: Yes

The story begins when Alice who has just left her two week old baby for the first time ventures out for two hours and comes home to find she does not know the baby in the crib. She believes that someone has come into her mother-in-law’s house, where her and her husband live, and snatched her baby only to replace it with another newborn. Her husband becomes angry with her as she refuses to accept that this is her baby and insists on calling the police. The police have a difficult time deciding how to proceed since no babies have been reported missing and there is a baby present at the house.

The story alternates between Alice and one of the police detectives. He is generally accepted to be a really good detective and feels that this case is not as innocent as it first appears. He does not know if he believes Alice about someone switching the babies, but believes something is amiss. His colleagues all believe Alice is crazy and suffering from depression and psychosis from her difficult delivery.

The mystery was intriguing all the way up until everything is explained.  The resolution is not as good as one would hope after such an intriguing mystery has been set up.  There are moments where Alice’s husband shows tortuous feelings toward her for casting doubt on their family. It is never fully explained why she allows him to do this to her. The ending is satisfying, but unbelievable. The details provided weave together to form a good pace and some surprises as details are revealed, but again the motivations of the characters in their actions is not always fully explained. Readers who enjoy mystery and suspense will enjoy this, but anyone who has difficulty with people undergoing very degrading and difficult situations will find it troubling.

Doppelganger by David Stahler Jr.

Published February 28, 2008 Fantasy , RAC 36 Comments
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Genre:  Fantasy

Age Level:  14 and up

# of Pages:  258

RAC Book:  Yes

The main character in this book is a doppelganger.  Doppelgangers try to survive in this world through a human body.  In order to get a human body they must kill a human and take on his or her form.  They are not able to hold forms forever, though, and must eventually find a new body. 

When the main character, who has no name, is turned out by his mother as a teenager to fend for himself he finds he has difficulty killing humans.  He finds an old man and takes his body first.  Then, one day some teenage boys decide to pick on the old man and he ends up killing a teenage boy.  He decides to become the boy, Chris, in order to see what it’s like to be a normal teenage boy.  “Chris” soon learns that life is not as perfect as he had seen on television.  His family has numerous problems including domestic abuse, his girlfriend seems to hate him, and he is supposed to be a football star and he knows nothing about it.  “Chris” must learn what it means to be human and whether or not it is worth all the trouble.

This fantasy has many unusual elements related to the doppelgangers, but they are all explained clearly by the author.  There is also a lot of violence, but it is not too graphic or disturbing.  The scenes with Chris’s family are very serious, but interesting for students to read because they have many problems but there is still hope for them to be happy together.  Mystery and fantasy readers will enjoy this title.

 

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