Review: Rebel, Bully, Geek, Pariah

By Erin Jade Lange
Available now from Bloomsbury Children's
Review copy

REBEL, BULLY, GEEK, PARIAH is one of those books that unexpectedly sucked me in.  Even with the description, I didn't realize what a propulsive thriller this would be.  (Possibly because the title sounds like a dramatic story about getting to know each other despite differences - which, to be fair, happens between running from guys with guns.)

Sam just wanted to buy her mom's old violin back from the pawn shop.  But she ended up with formerly popular Andi, former football jock and current bully York, and York's little brother Boston in a stolen cop car.  They accidentally hit a cop and the other cops started shooting at them.  It says something about the current world environment that I didn't immediately twig that the cops were corrupt and the car was full of drugs.  (Sam is half black.)

What follows is a mix of misfits hanging out and teens struggling to escape more skilled adversaries.  There's plenty of twists and turns as the four try to figure out how to find the real cops and clear their names without ending up dead.  Erin Jade Lange does a wonderful job of making the teens concerns seem real.  Their worried about their lives, but they get tangled up in more mundane concerns too, like what this will do to their college prospects or whether their parents are missing them.

It's also an opportunity, strangely enough, for Sam to leave her shell.  An accident left her scarred as a child, providing an easy taunt for everyone on the playground.  She had even more pressure on her because of her home life, where her mom moved in and out of prison due to her addiction.  Sam knows firsthand how much damage the drugs they've found can do.

REBEL, BULLY, GEEK, PARIAH is a fast-paced read with appealing characters.  Yes, they commit a serious crime, but there are hugely extenuating circumstances and this kids' first instinct is to turn themselves in.  What follows certainly kept me turning the pages.

Review: The Conformity

Book three of the Twelve-Fingered Boy trilogy
By John Hornor Jacobs
Available now from Carolrhoda LAB (Lerner)
Review copy
Read my reviews of The Twelve-Fingered Boy and The Shibboleth

The Twelve-Fingered Boy trilogy comes to a conclusion with THE CONFORMITY.  This is one where it is best to read all of the books in order, so it might be best to stop reading now if you haven't read the first two books.

Shreve has survived Mr. Quincrux.  But as terrible as Quincrux was, he had a point.  The Conformity is coming, and Shreve and the other extranatural teens must be prepared to fight it.  It particularly wants Shreve, for his powerful telepathy and mind control.  Shreve is mostly over his stealing-other-people's-memories-to-feel-good thing, but people still don't rest easy around him.  (Which is, admittedly, a smart move.)

THE CONFORMITY really gets back to the horror elements of the first book in the trilogy.  It takes the physical form of people bonded together into a giant, something impossible to fight without harming the innocents that are being sucked into its being.  The stakes are also very high.  For the first time, Shreve shares narrating duties, both because the characters have to split up and Shreve isn't always in state to observe and report what's happening.

In the end, I think the Twelve-Fingered Boy trilogy is a little shaggy, yet a lot of fun.  The plot takes a lot of detours, many of them unnecessary rather than helping to build the story up.  (In this book, several chapters are devoted to one group of characters finding help that gets casually rendered useless shortly after it is acquired.  It's more like reading about the characters doing busy work than actually getting things done.)  Shreve's voice is as compelling as always, hardened by his time in juvie but still vulnerable due to his youth and the extreme danger he's in. 

I think THE CONFORMITY finishes the story aptly.  It might leave any new readers confused, but it works well for the series as a whole.  THE CONFORMITY ends with a rather bold choice, but a fitting one.  I feel like it clearly worked with the themes of the trilogy rather than being thrown in for a cheap shock.

Review: Blonde Ops

By Charlotte Bernardo and Natalie Zaman
Available now from St. Martin's Griffin
Review copy

I've read two books set in Rome lately, and I can tell you that I vastly prefer BLONDE OPS.  It's a zippy novel about a hacker sent to live with a family friend in Italy for the summer who ends up interning at a fashion magazine edited by that family friend and getting involved in foiling a plot to kidnap the First Lady.

The first thing you should probably know is that the title is a lie.  Rebecca "Bec" Jackson has pink hair.  It's mentioned so often that, even though the title is cute, it started to bother me.

Second, there is a love triangle.  There's local bike messenger Dante (who has useful cousins all about Rome) and visiting fashion blogger Taj (who is also a hacker).  Both boys are very attractive, of course, and appreciate all the trouble that Bec manages to get herself into. 

Thirdly, BLONDE OPS is full speed ahead.  The characters beyond Bec don't get much development, but she is a firecracker.  She can't resist prodding her nose where it doesn't belong, and spotting something fishy just makes her more determined to get to the truth.  She's quite clever in how she goes about getting information, not just relying on her computer skills.  The focus is really on the zany plot, which combines the madness of getting a magazine published with protecting a political figure from a serious threat.  It isn't a serious book by any means, but co-authors Charlotte Bernardo and Natalie Zaman clearly know what kind of book they're writing.

BLONDE OPS will appeal to fans of Ally Carter who are looking for more books with a nosy heroine, cloak-and-dagger hijinks, and a cute boy willing to take a few risks himself.  There are a few hooks for a sequel, but this adventure stands on its own.

Review: Oliver and the Seawigs

By Philip Reeve
Illustrations by Sarah McIntyre
Available now from Random House BFYR
Review copy

Philip Reeve's latest novel, OLIVER AND THE SEAWIGS, is an interesting thing.  It's a bit more complex than a chapter book, but simpler than a middle grade novel.  It's heavily illustrated (almost every page!) but I wouldn't call it a graphic hybrid because there isn't use of sequential graphic scenes.  The illustrations enhance the story, especially a dual-page spread of the seawigs, but they never tell the story.

The eponymous Oliver is a young boy who travels the world (reluctantly) with his explorer parents.  One day he wakes up to find them missing.  It turns out he is on a Rambling Island, one that moved away while Mr. and Mrs. Crisp were exploring.  Oliver gets to know the island, called Cliff, and a near-sighted mermaid named Iris.  Together, the three try to create a magnificent seawig for Cliff.  The Rambling Islands have an annual competition for who can have the best seawig.  Unfortunately, a meaner island, populated by monkeys and a boy named Stacey de Lacey, doesn't plan to play fair.

It's a cute little book that will appeal to fans of Neil Gaiman's FORTUNATELY THE MILK.  There are some really clever elements, such as how the island's guts work.  And even writing for a younger audience, Reeve knows how to turn a phrase.  OLIVER AND THE SEAWIGS is independent reader friendly, but not too simple.

Sarah McIntyre's accompanying two-color art has clean lines, big eyes, and a surprising amount of detail.  The illustrations look extremely simple, but there are often parts of dense visual information.  I can see readers, especially young rereaders, getting a kick out of lingering over the illustrations.  (And all of the two-page spreads are just magnificent.)  I also recommend going to her site to download some activity sheets.

I think OLIVER AND THE SEAWIGS is a fun adventure novel for young readers.  I'm definitely planning to share it with my niece, who is now reading on her own. 

Review: Summoned

Book One of Redemption's Heir
By Anne M. Pillsworth
Available now from Tor Teen (Macmillan)
Review copy

Fascinated by the Cthulhu Mythos, Sean Wyndham goes with his best friend to an occult bookshop to find a book about the mythology.  While there, he discovers a strange ad from hundreds of years ago asking for an apprentice - to apply by email.  When he answers, he's given a ritual as a test.  But Sean messes it up and unleashes a predator upon his town - one that only he can banish.

At first, SUMMONED annoyed me.  I think the Cthulhu stuff is great fun, but I really dislike it when authors treat it as something that was around before Lovecraft.  For some reason trying to force it into reality like that gives me unpleasant thoughts of Scientology.  And, well, I thought Sean was super dumb for getting involved with a guy who got his power through Nyarlathotep.  I mean, you don't have to read that much to know that's a power you don't want to get involved with.

But then Sean actually summoned the Servitor, and I got sucked into SUMMONED.  The ensuing adventure involves blood, insanity, stores that aren't really there, monsters that aren't really there, and monsters that are unfortunately actually there.  There are lots of grade-A horror scenes in this novel, no "for YA" disclaimer needed.  (I will note that I am not particularly sensitive to violence towards animals, but there was a scene that I found very upsetting.)

I appreciated that Sean had an involved, concerned father.  It was a convincingly close father-son relationship that still got the father out of the way long enough to allow bad things to happen.  I also liked that SUMMONED splits the point of view between Sean and a twenty-something woman who is also discovering her own power.  There were a few too many secondary characters for all of them to get much development, but there is time for that given sequels are on their way.

As I read, I even started to enjoy the conceit that the Mythos was real and something that Lovecraft had actually experience before writing it down.  Plus, debut author Anne M. Pillsworth's homage was expertly done.  You don't need to be familiar with Lovecraft's stories to enjoy SUMMONED, but I felt that she got to the heart of the terror wonderfully.

SUMMONED is a terrific little horror adventure.  I'm excited to know that more books about Sean are on their way, but gratified that SUMMONED stands just fine on its own.

Review: The Shibboleth

Book two of Incarcerado trilogy
By John Hornor Jacobs
Available now from Carolrhoda Lab (Lerner)
Review copy
Read my review of The Twelve-Fingered Boy

When I read THE TWELVE-FINGERED BOY, I wasn't quite sure how to take the ending.  In fact, in my review I said:

I'm not enamored with the ending of THE TWELVE-FINGERED BOY.  While Shreve and Jack to manage to accomplish something important, because the ending made the entire novel seem somewhat pointless.  I'm certainly curious about what will happen next, and at least next time I'll know that the end isn't really the end.   

Now, having read THE SHIBBOLETH, I am very glad I returned to the series.  Shreve is pretty beat down by the events of the first book, and he's lost his power on the inside.  At the same time, he's gained a more visceral power - he can go into people's heads, see their memories, puppet them.  Even though Shreve tends to me more of a good guy than a bad guy, it's a power that's easy to abuse when you're locked up with nothing to do except get bullied by the guards and other inmates.

But Shreve can't stay in juvenile detention forever.  Mr. Quincrux is trying to recruit him now.  And something is preventing something people from sleeping, and everyone is getting edgy.  THE SHIBBOLETH deepens the mythology of the series and gives Shreve a chance to define himself, without Jack, and with his new abilities.  It's exciting and scary.

Some bits of THE SHIBBOLETH feel a little like a retread of THE TWELVE-FINGERED BOY.  It starts in juvie, then there's a cross-country trip . . . but at the same time, things aren't the same at all.  The Shreve and Jack in THE SHIBBOLETH aren't the boys they used to be.  And it isn't certain whether that's a good thing or a bad thing yet.

I love how THE SHIBBOLETH has clear antagonists, but the most interesting one is Shreve himself.  He could grow up to be a great man, or he could grow up to be another Mr. Quincrux.  I'm eager for the third book, for both the final confrontation and the conclusion of Shreve's coming of age.  This unique series is truly just waiting to be discovered by all sorts of readers, particularly fans of the X-Men and Darren Shan.

Review: Ascension

The first Tangled Axon novel
By Jacqueline Koyanagi
Available now from Masque Books (Prime Books)
Review copy

I was excited about ASCENSION when everyone started talking about it on Tumblr.  If there's one thing blogging has taught me, it's that there is a demand for stories with diverse characters.  Along comes a science fiction tale with characters of varied ethnicity and sexualities, plus the protagonist has a debilitating chronic illness.  Unfortunately, you can't build a story on diversity alone.

ASCENSION suffers from a serious lack of plot, first of all.  There is a major, devastating event at the beginning and a flurry of activity at the end.  Between that, not much happens.  And the ending isn't enough to save it.  The reveals about the true nature of the Tangled Axon were things I'd figured out long before, much like main character Alana's older sister Nova.

The sororal relationship between Alana and Nova was my favorite part of the book.  They have very different outlooks and goals in life, which leads to quite a bit of friction.  At the same time, they love each other unquestionably and do quite a bit to keep the other safe.  The other relationships in the novel didn't move me as much.  Most of the Tangled Axon crew are underwritten and the romance is uneven.  Alana thinks Captain Tev is hot as soon as she sees her after she stows aboard.  She starts thinking about how she's falling in love before they have any real personal conversations, which just didn't work for me.  It was mostly Alana pining instead of real interaction, and I need interaction in my love stories.

Good worldbuilding could've saved ASCENSION.  But honestly, I couldn't tell you much about this spacefaring future.  There's a medical company, Transliminal, that's quite powerful, which is plausible.  Nova is a sort of religious witch, although I never fully understood how her powers worked.  Alana is an engineer in space for the first time, and while she's certainly fascinated by the Tangled Axon, we never really get scenes of her repairing or otherwise working on the ship.  How does space travel work in this universe?  Who knows.

It felt like ASCENSION wanted to be a romance novel above all else.  But the romance style didn't work for me, and that left the science fiction and action-adventure elements too thin on the ground.  ASCENSION is more for people who like their science fiction heavy on the philosophy.  I'm sure there is an audience for this book, but sadly I am not it.  I do, however, applaud Jaqueline Koyanagi for developing a diverse future.  That is a good start.

Review: The Fury

The Fury by Alexander Gordon Smith
Available now from Farrar, Straus and Giroux BFYR (Macmillan)
Review copy
Read more on the Alexander Gordon Smith tag

I enjoyed Alexander Gordon Smith's Escape from Furnace series and looked forward to THE FURY.  But then, I almost put it down immediately because I had a major Do Not Want in the first couple of passages.  Daisy, one of the main characters, mentions that she's almost thirteen.

I know I'm getting old when that's enough to make me hesitant to keep reading.  I mean, I knew I was signing up to read a novel where teens faced a great deal of violence, but almost thirteen?!

I'm quite happy that I stuck with it, however.  THE FURY is not a conventional horror novel at all, and it almost becomes an outright fantasy adventure at the end.  It takes several unconventional turns that keep things interesting and fresh throughout the many pages.  This book is an absolute brick, but it reads surprisingly fast.  I finished the last five hundred pages in half a day.

There are a lot of characters.  The main three, initially, are Daisy, Cal, and Brick.  They have very different temperaments, and readers are likely to identify with at least one of them.  The characters, minor, major, likeable, unlikeable, multiply quickly after that.  I didn't find it too hard to keep track, but I warn you not to become too attached to anyone.  I did like how Smith managed to develop a variety of characters amongst all the plot.  Everyone with a scene through their point of view has a personality and independent motivation.

I quite liked THE FURY.  It's fast, thrilling, and ultimately optimistic.  I don't think I could take all the scares and brutality if the book weren't kind in the end.  And Cal and Daisy's budding brother/sister relationship is absolutely adorable.  It's a different sort of read, and I suspect it will attract reluctant readers despite its hefty size.

Review and Giveaway: Two Lies and a Spy

First in a series
By Kat Carlton
Available September 3, 2013 from Simon & Schuster BFYR
Review copy

I'll make this review short and sweet, much like TWO LIES AND A SPY itself.  When Kari gets a Code Black text from her dad, she instantly ditches school, picks up her little brother, and goes to the designated rendezvous.  But her parents, both spies for the US government, aren't there.

Kari soon finds out that her parents are suspected of being double agents, traitors.  And thus Kari hurries to clear their names, with the help of her best friends, her crush, her crush's bratty but talented twin sister, and the guy who doesn't realize his flirting style really isn't working with Kari.  It's a fairly large cast for such a short novel, but they're well defined personalities that work well together.

There's just something so fun about comedic spy hijinks - you get laughs, action, romance, and probing questions about identity.  I loved that TWO LIES AND A SPY went somewhere quite unusual for a YA spy novel, a twist that makes me extremely excited about the second book.

My only quibble with the novel is that Kari, who is pretty good at spy craft for an amateur thanks to her parents' training, makes the same mistake twice.  Her instincts tell her that something is off, she doesn't listen, and it turns out she should've been paying more attention.  It is difficult to explain and stay vague to avoid spoiling anything, but I don't think it would spoil anything . . . the real problem is that Kat Carlton tries to foreshadow the twist in both instances, but does it too heavily.  I think it's an issue of inexperience.

But TWO LIES AND A SPY is super fun, and Kari is pretty new to this after all.  I think fans of Robin Benway's ALSO KNOWN AS and Ally Carter's Heist Society series will devour this debut novel.  On the more manly side, I think it has some appeal to Alex Rider fans too.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster, I have two hardcover copies of TWO LIES AND A SPY to give away to two In Bed With Books readers with a US address.
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Review and Book Trailer: Flicker & Burn

Book Two of the Cold Fury series
By T.M. Goeglein
Available now from Putnam (Penguin Random House)
Review copy
Read my review of Cold Fury

In FLICKER & BURN, the sequel to COLD FURY, things get even weirder for Sarah Jane Rispoli.  First, her family was kidnapped.  Then she turned out to have a special power in her gaze, to paralyze people with their fears.  Oh yeah, and she comes from a mob family and has to keep up appearances.  As FLICKER & BURN begins, she's being pursued by ice-cream men.  White skinned, red eyed ice-cream men.  And sometimes she gets sloppy.

FLICKER & BURN contains just as much action as the first book and delivers the answers to several questions about Sarah Jane's family and just what is up with those ice-cream guys.  There's not much on the cover to indicate that FLICKER & BURN is anything but a straightforward thriller, and the revelations within make it clear that the stranger elements are more science fiction than paranormal.  It's the kind of science fiction that might as well be magic, but it's not magic within the universe of the story.  But I think it's wise to market this series as thrillers, since there is far more emphasis on Sarah Jane's search for her family and work for the mob than on the science fiction elements.

Official Flicker & Burn Book Trailer from T.M. Goeglein. Subscribe to the Cold Fury channel on Vimeo.

The setting continues to be a strong point.  FLICKER & BURN's Chicago is a place where the buildings are full of secrets, connected by blood and greed and desperation.  Sarah Jane is also a strength.  She's resilient and inventive, but her determination to rescue her family does have consequences.  She lets people get hurt, or hurts them herself, to further her goals.  She doesn't want to be a killer, like so many of her ancestors, but at the same time it's becoming easier and easier for her to bend her morality.

I think FLICKER & BURN added a few too many new characters.  One in particular had a lot of potential, but their arc went by so quickly it didn't have the full emotional impact.  I liked the returning characters, like Doug, who is the greatest friend ever but deeply unhappy, and Tyler, the smooth young head of a different mob family.  But the new characters felt like they came and went quickly instead of becoming a true part of the story.

Like COLD FURY, FLICKER & BURN ends with a hook.  It's not a cruel cliffhanger, as so many YA authors seem partial to these days, but there are more mysteries for Sarah Jane to solve.  I'm eager to see the answers, especially since Goeglein doles them out at a nice pace.

Review: Insane City

By Dave Barry
Available now from Putnam (Penguin)
Review copy

INSANE CITY lives up to its title.  Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist Dave Barry  pens a comic tale involving a professional Tweeter, Haitian illegal immigrants, an orangutan, an Escalade, pot brownies, a very large wedding, and more.  And it all starts when Seth and his groomsmen arrive in Miami and fail to find their hotel, decide to get drunk, and lose their luggage - including the ring.

What really makes INSANE CITY hold together is that Seth is a genuinely decent guy.  He has no ambition, he's not that talented, but he's loyal and compassionate.  As the proceedings spin more and more out of control, I wanted him to somehow make it work and end up happy, because a guy who is willing to go to insane lengths to both help a group of strangers who he can't even talk to and ensure his wedding goes according to his fiancée's wishes is a guy who deserves a good ending.  At the point where he accidentally robs a convenience story with what he thinks is a gorilla, I was insanely curious to see how Barry could plot a way out of the whole mess for Seth.

This is an extremely busy novel.  There's a massive cast full of people who are all doing their own thing and have basically no clue about what everyone else is doing.  But everyone's actions are interconnected.  Despite the sprawl, I had very little trouble following what was happening or who was who.  The characters are mostly outsized stereotypes, but it's easy to the differentiate the personalities.  The events proceed in - I hesitate to call it logical - an order, so that no matter how implausible the story gets, there's still a sense of cause-and-effect.

I don't know what it is about Florida that lends itself so well to dark comedy.  I've only been to Florida once and that was to go to Disney World, where order is carefully maintained.  But I believe in the twisted funhouse state found in INSANE CITY, as well as works by Carl Hiaasen and Tim Dorsey.  There's something irresistible about madcap Florida satire/adventure novels.

I loved INSANE CITY.  It's a great balance of utterly bonkers plot and genuine emotional core.  I highly recommend it to fans of Barry, Elmore Leonard, Christopher Moore, and the other two aforementioned authors.  It's less gruesome than most novels by those other authors, for those wondering.  INSANE CITY is a great pick for anyone who needs a laugh.

Review: Stranded

First in the Stranded series
By Jeff Probst and Chris Tebbetts
Available now from Puffin (Penguin)
Review copy

If you're like my mom and me, then you took a look at this cover and went, "Jeff Probst?  Like Survivor?"  Yes, the host of Survivor has written a middle grade book with the help of Chris Tebbetts.  Unsurprisingly, it involves people stuck on an island.

Vanessa and Buzz Diaz's father married Carter and Jane Benson's mother, making them all siblings.  As a gift, their Uncle Dexter offered to take the kids on a cruise during the honeymoon, giving them time to bond.  While Buzz and Carter are the same age, they're very different.  Carter is more athletic and active, whereas Buzz prefers to stay belowdecks.  Jane is cute, but too young to be interested in the same things as the others, whereas Vanessa is too old.

Then the kids are forced to work together when the boat runs aground during a large storm and they're separated from Uncle Dex and his first mate.  Because the boat changed directions several times trying to outrun the storm, the authorities only have a general idea where the kids are.  It could be a long time before help arrives.

STRANDED is a terrific high interest, low effort novel.  The kids keep barely escaping total disaster, which keeps the pages turning.  Plus they represent a range of personalities, somewhat shallowly drawn but easily identified with.  I particularly like Jane, who contributes to their survival just as much as the others by being observant and thoughtful.

I felt STRANDED was a bit short.  It's nearly two hundred pages long, but the print is large.  Just when things really got going, it ended.  I suppose that's the way of this sort of adventure series for young readers.  I think kids who like this one will be eager to read TRIAL BY FIRE in June in order to figure out how the kids face the dangers of the island.

STRANDED doesn't have much to interest older readers, but it's a good choice for younger, reluctant readers.  It's easy to read and exciting.

Review: The Twelve-Fingered Boy

First in a trilogy
By John Hornor Jacobs
Available now from Carolrhoda LAB (Lerner)
Review copy

I have got to stop assuming that books are standalones.  When I reached the end of THE TWELVE-FINGERED BOY, I couldn't believe it.   I was relieved to learn that two more books were coming and that the story would continue, but all the open threads were a bit of a shock.

The twelve-fingered boy in question is Jack Graves, the new kid as Casimir Pulaski Juvenile Detention Center.  The narrator is his roommate Shreveport "Shreve" Cannon, the biggest candy dealer in all four blocks.  Soon after Jack arrives, a man named Mr. Quincrux shows up to interview him.  Shreve eavesdrops because he has a bad feeling about the man and his interest in Jack - a feeling that turns out to be very prescient.  Soon the two boys are busting out of juvie and desperately running across the country to protect themselves. 

THE TWELVE-FINGERED BOY will appeal to fans of the X-Men and Spider-man.  Jack has special abilities, and their encounters with Mr. Quincrux awaken a power in Shreve.  Although they're concerned with keeping themselves alive and safe at first, they start to realize that they might have extra responsibilities due to their extraordinary capabilities.  That's not a thought that comes easily to Shreve, whose short life has taught him that it is acceptable to hurt others to keep yourself and your loved ones safe.

John Hornor Jacobs imbues Shreve with a unique, absorbing voice.  His morality is slightly skewed, and he has the potential to grow up to be a good person - or a really bad one.  And his relationship with Jack, who reminds him of his younger brother, is quite sweet.  Their journey across America is harrowing, not just because of who is chasing them and what they might run into, but because the corner they're backed into might turn them into what they're running from.

I'm not enamored with the ending of THE TWELVE-FINGERED BOY.  While Shreve and Jack to manage to accomplish something important, because the ending made the entire novel seem somewhat pointless.  I'm certainly curious about what will happen next, and at least next time I'll know that the end isn't really the end. 

Review: The Darkness Dwellers

Book Three of the Kiki Strike series
By Kirsten Miller
Available now from Bloomsbury
Review copy

I absolutely adore the Kiki Strike series.  They're complex, intelligent stories featuring a cast of talented and ambitious young women.  The books are framed as Ananka Fishbein's records of her adventures with Kiki Strike and the other Irregulars.  Ananka has come a long way from the first book, but she's put in charge for the first time when Kiki goes to Paris alone.  She struggles to maintain control of the Irregulars in addition to preventing her classmates from becoming etiquette zombies and her friend Oona's reputation from being smeared by her long lost evil twin.

Kirsten Miller keeps control of multiple plotlines spread across two countries that end up intersecting in quite unexpected ways.  THE DARKNESS DWELLERS is a marvel of tight plotting and careful pacing.  There's hardly a lull as she switches between storylines, yet it's surprisingly easy to keep track of what's going on.  I do not, however, recommend THE DARKNESS DWELLERS to readers who haven't read the first two Kiki Strike books.  There's a quick explanation of who everyone is and what they do, but you might not care as much about each girl's story if you aren't already invested in the character.  There's too much plot here to waste too many pages on introductions.

I must also commend Miller for how she concludes Kiki's struggle to prove her aunt murdered her parents and that she is the rightful princess of Pokrovia.  It's been the overarching plot of the series and it isn't given short shrift in THE DARKNESS DWELLERS despite everything else going on.  And every time I thought Ananka was given the B story despite being the narrator, she'd do something rather important.

I also love that the Irregulars are all flawed despite their great talents.  Ananka can be petty.  Kiki isn't the most compassionate.  Oona has a temper.  But they find ways to overcome and get the job done.  Betty even proves that what everyone assumes is her weakness can be a strength.  (And let me tell you Betty fans, she has a great storyline in THE DARKNESS DWELLERS.)

Readers looking for books with action, puzzles, espionage, and teenage masterminds would do well giving Kiki Strike a try.  All three books are just plain fun.

Review: Super

Sequel to POWERLESS
By Matthew Cody
Available now from Knopf (Random House)
Review copy

I love superhero stories, and POWERLESS stood out from the pack to me because of it's brutal first chapter.  Michael's whole life is flying, until he wakes up without his powers or memories, never to fly again.  That's been the fate of the children of Noble's Green for centuries.  Many of them have a superpower, but they lose it and all memory of it on their thirteenth birthday.  Then Daniel Corrigan came to town and helped the Supers find and defeat the culprit.

But something has happened, and the Supers are again losing their powers.  Temporarily, but who knows when they'll be gone forever?  Meanwhile, Daniel is showing evidence of developing powers and the grandnephew of their nemesis the Shroud has come to town.  He's obviously the number one suspect, but Daniel's worried things aren't so simple.

In addition to having a fast and fun storyline, the morality of SUPER is not black and white.  Who deserves power?  Who can decide whether or not someone deserves power?  Daniel may want to help his friends, but some of the super-powered kids aren't as nice or altruistic.  If the local bully didn't have super strength, that would be a good thing.  But would it just stop there?

I liked that there isn't much romance, since the main characters are younger teens.  (They're maybe fourteen during SUPER.)  There are hints of crushes and a quick kiss, but nothing more.  There are a lot of friendships that cross gender lines, which is nice to see.  Molly, a flyer, is one of the toughest characters and always ready to defend her friends.  And Daniel is a good protagonist for the series, since he has no powers - just the ability to think things through and use his head.

I do recommend starting with POWERLESS, since SUPER deals with the fallout from the first book.  Both tell complete stories, however.  Each book has a definite end and can stand on its own if need be.  I'd be happy to read another Noble's Green novel, but SUPER does not require a sequel.  This series is a good choice for kids who love superheroes and are looking for a good read that isn't a graphic novel.

Review: Saga, Vol. 1

Issues #1-6 of Saga
By Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Artist)
Available now from Image Comics
Review copy

I first heard about SAGA through my dad, of all people.  I think the only graphic novels my dad has ever read are ones that I gave to him.  But he saved an article about the Wall Street Journal about the cover of the first issue for me, just because it sounded like my kind of thing.  Yep, my dad knows me.

Because SAGA is definitely my kind of thing.

Honestly, I'm hoping it's almost everyone's kind of thing, because it's fantastic.  The basic set up is very Romeo and Juliet-ish: Marko and Alana are fighting on opposite sides of a war when they fall in love and run away to start a family.  It's a war that spans several wars, having been outsourced from the homeworld of the original groups who had a problem with each other.  But now several freelancers and a prince have been set on the task of killing Marko and Alana.  And, fortunately, the actual story has little in common with Romeo and Juliet.  Marko may do some stupidly idealistic stuff, but both of them are willing to make hard choices to survive.  And they are very aware that they're parents and must protect their daughter.  Marko and Alana do not lack responsibility.

SAGA is narrated by their baby daughter Hazel once she's all grown up, which at least let's the reader know she survives the craziness of their lives.  The device is done very well, and I like that it gives Hazel a voice since she obviously can't talk as a baby.  Her narration promises lots of bad things to come, and I can't wait to read about them.

Fiona Staples art is colorful, clean, and dynamic.  The backgrounds are detailed by the characters still pop in the foreground.  Some of the designs are rather grotesque, and Staples' art really sells the images.  And for all the monsters on display, the creepiest-looking character (in my opinion) looks totally normal if you just look at her young, smiling face.

This is just the first volume of a comic that will hopefully live up to it's name in length when it's done.  But I have high hopes for SAGA, because the first volume is near perfect.  It's a family drama, a war novel, a romance, an action-adventure story, and probably more.  It's got layers, but above all else SAGA is extremely entertaining.

Thanks for putting this on my radar, Dad.

Review: The Darkest Minds

First in The Darkest Minds series
By Alexandra Bracken
Available now from Disney Hyperion
Review copy
Read my review of BRIGHTLY WOVEN

UNSPOKEN has been supplanted.  I thought it would be the cruelest ending of the year, but at the last minute Alexandra Bracken's THE DARKEST MINDS snuck in.  When THE DARKEST MINDS ends, things are not going the heroes' way.  I cannot wait to read the next book and see how they make it through.

In the world of THE DARKEST MINDS, a plague swept through the US that killed the majority of children between the ages of ten and eighteen.  The ones left behind all had psychic powers.  Ruby is an Orange - she can control the minds of other people.  She managed to survive the purging of the Oranges by convincing the doctor who classified her that she was a harmless Green.  But something happens to reveal her, forcing her to run from the camp before she is killed.

There are two aspects of the premise that I would normally hate.  A plague localized to the US that only affects a certain age group?  Luckily, Bracken doesn't attempt a scientific explanation and there are so many conspiracies that I can assume the plague will be revealed as something nefarious.  The second thing is that the parents willingly give their children up to camps where they are horribly treated.  Bracken tries to justify this - most people are too concerned with the fact the country is broke, everyone thinks the camps are places where the kids are cured, and so on.  There are horrible holes in each of the explanations, but I was enjoying the world Bracken created enough to go with it.

Ruby ends up bonding with three other kids on the run: Liam, Chubs, and Zu.  Liam is one of the best love interests of the year.  One character refers to him as "Pollyanna," which is very accurate.  He has the optimism and idealism needed to inspire Ruby.  She's survived for years when others wouldn't, but she needs to fight if she's ever going to do more than just survive.  But there's no reason to fight if you don't have hope.  I loved the dynamic between the group too.  They really bond into a family, although it takes Ruby awhile to be accepted.  It's a nice blend of realistic and heartwarming.  (THE DARKEST MINDS needs all the scraps of heartwarming it can get.)

THE DARKEST MINDS won't be for everyone.  It can get dark and bleak.  There are few characters worthy of trust.  The deck is stacked against Ruby and the other psychics, and they have few means of bettering their lives despite their powers.  But I believe she and her friends can make it and change the world.  (Once they decide they want to change the world, that is.)  I'll definitely be following this series to see what happens next.

Review: Perry's Killer Playlist

Sequel to AU REVOIR, CRAZY EUROPEAN CHICK
By Joe Schreiber
Available now from Houghton Mifflin
Review copy

Like its predecessor, PERRY'S KILLER PLAYLIST is a slim volume.  224 pages nowadays seems more like an appetizer than a meal.  But Joe Schreiber's second young adult novel puts the pedal to the metal and doesn't let up.  This would be one exhausting novel if it were much longer.

(Although it could use a few less chapters that are only a page or two long.)

Fans of character-driven novels should look elsewhere.  PERRY'S KILLER PLAYLIST is all about the action and comedy with little room for anything else.  Perry is a young man touring Europe with his band Inchworm.  This could be their big break.  But then he runs into Gobi Zaksaukas, the foreign exchange student his family hosted during senior year - until she revealed herself to be an assassin on prom night and forced Perry to drive her as she sought revenge.  Now she's killing again and Perry is once more caught in the crossfire.

There is some attempt at characterization, but it's secondary to the crazy set pieces.  Honestly, I found PERRY'S KILLER PLAYLIST extremely fun.  I enjoy a good action movie, and PERRY'S KILLER PLAYLIST is like the book version of The Killers except not terrible.  (Let's face it, it should be criminal to screw up, "One is a cold-blooded assassin!  The other is an ordinary person!  Together they escape certain death!")

I think PERRY'S KILLER PLAYLIST can be read and enjoyed by those who haven't read AU REVOIR, CRAZY EUROPEAN CHICK.  The beginning starts with Perry and does a pretty good job of introducing who Gobi is and why he hopes to see her despite having a wonderful girlfriend.  And this isn't a series that asks you to remember any complex backstories.  There is continuity, like Perry's issues with his father, but I think father issues are pretty easy to understand.

Do you want to read something quick, funny, with bursts of improbable violence?  Then you'll probably enjoy PERRY'S KILLER PLAYLIST.  You might not care deeply about the characters, but it makes for an entertaining hour or two.

Review: Breaking the Circle

Book Two of The Maya Brown Missions
By S. M. Hall (no author website found)
Available now from Frances Lincoln Children's Books
Review copy

BREAKING THE CIRCLE is the second book of The Maya Brown Missions and an improvement over CIRCLE OF FIRE.  It can stand on its own, so you can go ahead and start the series here if you're sufficiently intrigued by my review.

Maya Brown is a fifteen-year-old Muslim teenager raised by an intelligence agent who rescued her from the fire that killed her family in Kosovo.  She's a proactive young woman who doesn't like to sit and wait for problems to be solved.  If she sees a chance to act, she's going to take it, whether the police or Drug Unit or whoever is ready - which isn't always the best plan.

BREAKING THE CIRCLE begins when Maya is robbed by a young woman named Kay and a boy named Gerard.  When she runs into Kay later, she learns that Kay is an illegal immigrant working as a prostitute for the men who brought her into the country and Gerard is a drug dealer.  Maya gets revved up to save Kay and get Gerard arrested.  But she quickly learns that Gerard is but a small cog in a large cartel and that it's very hard to save a drug addict, because the thing they care about most in the world is their next fix.

The Maya Brown Missions have a more realistic feel than many other kid spy books I've read, such as the Alex Rider series.  Maya's not working for an organization or armed with cool gadgets.  She's bumbling around on her own.  While her plans are often terrible, she is good at thinking on her feet and managing to keep her cool in tough situations.

BREAKING THE CIRCLE is written a little simpler than it needs to be.  To me, it read like a middle grade novel, but I feel like sex slavery is more of a young adult topic.  (Appropriately to a younger age group, Maya slips pretty easily out of any danger of being violated herself.  Which I am thankful for, because I don't want to read about a plucky fifteen-year-old heroine being raped.)  I just feel like the book's subject matter calls for slightly more complex writing.

But BREAKING THE CIRCLE is pretty fun, with lots of action, and it's nice to have a book series featuring a girl spy.  This series isn't my favorite, but there's definitely an audience for it.

Review: Dead Cat Bounce

First book in Jonah Lightbody series
By Nic Bennett
Available September 13, 2012 from Razorbill (Penguin)
Review copy

Confession: I find stocks very, very boring.  Reading passages about Jonah Lightbody learning about stocks and derivatives from his father and then his father-figure the Baron was like listening to my father talk about them.  Now, Bennett explains the bare minimum needed for DEAD CAT BOUNCE to make any sense, but that was still almost too much for me.  That is how boring I think stocks are.

Second confession: Economics classes and friends who work in financial sectors have pretty much convinced me that no one knows how the economy actually works.  (Look, I was studying the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis in 2008.  It's no wonder I have a negative mindset.)  Fortunately for DEAD CAT BOUNCE, it didn't ask me to give up that view. 

Nic Bennett's novel starts off with a terrific, in media res prologue.  Jonah's in a hotel room, downloading some secret program and shooting people.  It's tense and violent and genuinely suspenseful.  Then we go back in time to him being a twelve year old and gaining a passion for financial trading.  By sixteen, he's working for the same bank as his father, but as the protege of his nemesis.  Jonah's into taking big risks, whereas his neglectful father prefers to make small, safe bets.  Basically, there's interesting interpersonal dynamics but it's surrounded by a topic that I find extremely boring.

That doesn't mean others won't find it interesting.  Lots of people are involved in the stock market and plenty of them start young.  And DEAD CAT BOUNCE centers around the Financial Crisis of 2008, a crisis still affecting the world.  I can't imagine there aren't people who would find a conspiracy about the crisis fascinating.

As for me, DEAD CAT BOUNCE really started moving once it caught up to the opening.  International chases, shoot outs, confronting the bad guys - all good stuff.  I'm interested in reading the sequel, BLACK SWAN DIVE, since it will probably be more of an actioneer than DEAD CAT BOUNCE.  There's really nothing wrong with DEAD CAT BOUNCE, but if a thriller set in the City doesn't sound like your thing, then it probably isn't.  If it does sound like your thing, then have at it.