Like a River Glorious

Like a River Glorious  by Rae Carson (Gold Seer Trilogy #2)

Lee Westfall and her companions have arrived (mostly) safely, in California.  Soon Lee's "witchy" senses are detecting more gold than all of them will ever need--it's in the water, in the dirt, and in the rock walls above the small encampment they build.  

But the citizens of Glory are not the only gold seekers in California.  Her wicked uncle Hiram still hunts her, and he has plans for Lee that she has never dreamed, even in her worst nightmares.

Solid historical fiction with just a touch of magic.  The issues faced by the Chinese, the local native tribes, and the "confirmed bachelors" are not ignored, which is refreshing.  Of course the problems faced by women--considered akin to property or livestock by US and territorial law at the time--are essential to the story.

This is a fitting companion to Walk on Earth a Stranger, with some (not lots) of cussing, discussions of drug use (laudanum), and some referrals to prostitution (not shown on the page).  

Recommended for readers ages 12 to adult.

The Serpent King

The Serpent King  by Jeff Zentner

Dill has two friends and two problems.

Dill's friends are Travis and Lydia. Travis is big, shy, kind, and so obsessed with his favorite sword-and-sorcery book that he can mostly ignore his lousy home life. Lydia is cute, smart, rich, upwardly mobile, and aimed OUT of the dinky backwater Tennessee town (named for a founding member of the KKK, wahoo!) where they all live.

Dill's problems are his name and his future. His name is Dillard Early, Jr, and he was named for his father, Dillard Early, Sr., (known locally as the Pervert Preacher), and for his papaw, (known locally as the Serpent King).  His future looks a lot like his present day, and that's not good.

Then something happens to make Dill's life unbearable.  The reader knows that something is going to change.  But...what?

If you think you know what will happen to the preacher's kid from "one of those crazy snake churches,"  you are probably wrong.  The journey is not predictable, and yet, it all makes sense. Extra stars for religious extremists who are deeper than the paper on which they are written, and for religious questioning without obvious answers.

You may see this book compared to the works of John Green, and while I understand the comparison, I also don't think this reads like a JG book.  It has some excellent (and some dreadful) parent characters, it has super-tough situations, there is kissing on the page.  But JG rarely touches religion, and I don't know if he could handle (pun intended) a snake church.

And if there's sex, I missed it.  It might have happened off-page.  In fact, I kind of hope it did.

Rivoting read; recommended for readers ages 12 to adult, and it definitely needs to be a movie!

Orbiting Jupiter

Orbiting Jupiter  by Gary D. Schmidt
Jack is twelve years old when his foster brother comes to live with the family on their little farm in Maine.  Joseph Brook is fourteen years old, recently released from a facility called Stone Mountain.  And he has a daughter named Jupiter, whom he loves deeply although he has never seen her.

The story is slowly revealed, in tiny, agonizing bits.  Jack narrates with clear eyes and a farm boy's practicality:  that you can tell all you need to know about someone from the way cows are around him.  That leaving a guy to get beat up while you go find a teacher is not okay.  And that being family means you've got somebody's back.

Just when things are looking brighter for Joseph, the end of the book comes crashing down.

What this book is: sweet. compelling. impossible to ignore.
What this book is not: easy.

Highly recommended for readers ages 14 to adult.

Rebel of the Sands

Rebel of the Sands  by Alwyn Hamilton

Amani has great plans to get out and away:  out of Dustwalk, away from the mines.  Out of the desert and away from the bullies.  Out of her uncle's reach, away from a husband who might be chosen for her.

Nothing goes according to Amani's plan, and the adventure begins: a windswept mixture of Arabian Nights and the Wild Wild West, with secret heroes, a train robbery, desert horses made from sand and magic, and a concealed oasis.

All this, and romance too, with a strong-willed main character and a colorful cast of supporting folks including the Rebel Prince, shape-shifting twins, and many hidden secrets.

First in a series--but the story does not stop on a cliffhanger, which is nice.

Recommended for ages 12 to adult; no cussing, some blood, a few kisses, no sex (yet).

Carry On

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

• A boy magician, identified at age 11 as "the Chosen One" and taken away to a magical British school
• A series of books about the boy and his friends as they battle the enemy of all Wizard-kind
• Lots of magic, magical creatures, action, adventure, mystery, and good vs evil

You know the boy I'm talking about, right?  Yes!  It's Simon Snow!

Wait.  What?

Simon Snow's evil roommate Baz says that Simon is probably the worst Chosen One ever chosen, and he's probably right.  Most of the time Simon doesn't know what his magic is going to do...if it does anything.  His magic wand is a hand-me-down, his spell casting is capricious, and although the Sword of Mages comes to his hand sometimes when he needs it, it's never reliable.

And then there's Baz:  rich.  pale.  mysterious.  wicked.  and a vampire.

Wait.  What?

The reader joins Simon and Baz mid-story, after they have already survived adventures in six other books fighting chimeras, goblins, bone-teeth hunters...and each other.  Unlike that other series of books about a boy magician in a magical school, this series has never been written.  And Carry On isn't the series itself either, it's a fan-fiction novel.

Keep up, will you?

Only Rainbow Rowell could write a fanfic salute to a series that she invented as a "prop" for a different novel...and only Rainbow Rowell would start by writing the end of the story but not the beginning!

And just wait until you get to the romance between Simon and XXXXXXXX    ....oops.  Sorry, no spoilers here.

Fast-paced adventure and a flawed hero with flawed friends, awesome love story and terrific world-building.  

Highly recommended.

Beautiful Music for Ugly Children

Beautiful Music for Ugly Children  by Kirstin Cronn-Mills

Gabe was born Elizabeth, but he has always known that (physical characteristics to the contrary) he's a guy.  

While still in high school, he came out to his family and to his best friend Paige.  Now, he's ready to graduate and get on with his life: leave town, move to the city where nobody knows "Liz," get a job in the music industry, and leave all his problems behind him.

Funny how that doesn't quite work out.

This is one of those Important Issue Books(™):   Gabe is still in transition, and not everyone accepts that.  His parents say they do, but they still call him "Liz" and pretend he's a girl. Some of the faithful fans of his radio show "Beautiful Music for Ugly Children" turn against him when they find out he was born female.  And a few people in town have violent intentions.

Will this book be informative, comforting and helpful to transgender teens and their friends and family?  Yes, definitely.

Is this a great book that will stand the test of time?  No, probably not.  The plot is contrived, and several of the characters (mostly the haters) are two-dimensional and moved without motive.  Paige and Gabe's musical mentor John are well-developed, although credibility is stretched by the coincidence of having the first DJ to ever play an Elvis Presley single on the radio (who also happens to own Elvis' very first guitar) living right next door to a kid who loves Elvis.

Do I recommend this as a first purchase for library collections?  Yes, I do.  Mostly because there isn't much like it available right now, and the kids (and adults) who need it do not need to wait several years while the genre matures and improves.  

Buy it in paperback, recommend it to teens, and keep your eyes open for more books on this topic.  

Because surely there will be more.

Wild Rover No More

Wild Rover No More  by L.A. Meyer

eagerly-awaited audiobook narrated by Katherine Kellgren

The cover illustration shows Jacky facing a noose once again, and the subtitle is "Being the Last Recorded Account of the Life & Times of Jacky Faber."  Has Jacky come to her untimely-but-not-unforeseen end at last?  

Well, certainly not before she disguises herself as a governess, runs away with the circus, and involves nearly all her friends in a desperate escape plan.  And even then, how could the authorities hang our merry lass?

Jacky's full-tilt adventures are brought to a quick conclusion in this twelfth and final novel in the Bloody Jack Series.  There is a distinct air of abruptness to the last third of the narrative; the author made no secret of his plan to pre-write the final chapters in the series so that they could be clipped on to the existing storyline at almost any point if he became unable to continue writing the story, and that is clearly the case with this book.  Still, the story is fast, fun, and satisfying, and a recommended read for those who love the series and newcomers seeking a ripping good adventure story.

RIP, L.A. Meyer, you did well.  

Ages 13 to adult; some minor cussing, kissing and bloodshed, but all sexual situations are off-page.

Steelheart

Steelheart  by Brandon Sanderson

Ten years ago, Calamity burst in the sky and ordinary human beings were transformed into Epics.  Some control the weather.  Some can stop bullets.  Some can electrically charge entire cities with a touch.  

Sounds like an ordinary teen flying-capes-and-tights superhero novel, right?  Except there's a catch:  not one of the Epics is a "good guy."  There's just something about using their powers that makes Epics selfish, cruel, and power-hungry.

Almost all humans cower before the Epics, except for a group of rag-tag renegades known as the Reckoners.  Using technology, ingenuity, and a bit of luck, they fight against the Epics.  Eighteen year old David is obsessed with joining the Reckoners.  But when he does, he discovers that fighting the Epics is a lot more complicated than he had thought.

Superhero battles with excellent action sequences interspersed with fabulous character development, plenty of humorous banter, plus a touch of doomed romance equals fabulous.

The only thing better than the book is the audiobook read by MacLeod Andrews.  This story had me making excuses to drive places so I could listen.  First in a series; volume #2 Firefight will be released in January 2015, and I will be waiting in line.

Recommended for ages 10 to adult.

Erebos : it's a game. It watches you.

Erebos  by Ursula Poznanski
translation from the German by Judith Pattinson

Like most of his friends, Nick Dunsmore enjoys playing video games.  But he's never played anything like Erebos.  The rules are strange:
*  Always play alone.
*  Do not talk to anyone about the game.
*  Don't copy the disk unless instructed by the game.
and strangest of all:
*  You have only one chance to play.  If you break the rules, or if your character in the game dies, the game is over and you can never play again.

Strangest of all, the game itself seems to know when players break the rules.  But how?

As more of Nick's classmates join the game, things get even more bizarre, especially when the game insists that players conduct "missions" in the real world.  Some missions seem quite innocent, like picking up a box hidden in a park and hiding it in a different park.  But soon enough, the missions become sinister.

The story is nearly as compelling as the game itself.  Players quickly become addicted to the adventure, and many are willing to do anything to gain status within the world of Erebos.

Yes, anything....

More dire than Ready Player One (Cline, 2011), with less gore and fewer technology details than REAMDE (Stephenson, 2011), this game-gone-bad novel will appeal mostly to teen gamers.  Sophisticated readers may trip on some of the setting details, some politically incorrect racist and sexist statements which may or may not be a result of translation into English from German, and the distinctly Scooby Doo ending: "foiled by those meddling kids!"

Recommended for ages 13 to adult.

Fangirl

Fangirl  by Rainbow Rowell
audiobook read by Rebecca Lowman and Maxwell Caufield

Cath assumed that Wren would always be by her side, no matter what.  After all, the girls are identical twins, and have shared every aspect of their lives together, always.   But when they leave home for their first year of college, Wren wants to try living her life as an individual, leaving Cath feeling abandoned and alone.

The only time Cath doesn't feel pathetic is when she's writing fanfiction.  She takes characters from her favorite book series and writes her own stories about them--and Cath's version, in which the two main guy characters are in love, has thousands of fans of its own!

But Cath is so busy writing fanfiction that she is overlooking some awesome real people.  Like her dad, who loves her.  And like that cute boy who asks her to read out loud, maybe....

For readers who would sometimes rather stay inside a fictional world.  Isn't that all of us, sometimes?

The audiobook is completely engrossing, with Rebecca Lowman reading Cath's world and Maxwell Caufield reading exerpts from books and stories about Simon Snow.

Some cussing, allusions to sex and sexual situations, and a fantasy-world-within-the-real-world.  Highly recommended for ages 14 to adult.

Boston Jacky

Boston Jacky: being an account of the further adventures of Jacky Faber, taking care of business   by L.A. Meyer

audiobook read by Katherine Kellgren

That rascal Jacky Faber is back in town--Boston-town, that is.  Her shipping business is nearly broke, her Irish friends are unwelcome, and her true love Jaimy still hasn't returned from an extended stay in the Orient.  Undeterred, Jacky buys the Pig and Whistle Inn to save it from bankruptcy and this raises the ire of the Women's Temperance Union...and her own dearest friend.  

Can Jacky's impulsive nature be tamed before she ends up back in Judge Thwackham's court?

Maybe.  Maybe not.

I'll only give one spoiler: the thing with Jaimy is definitely not untangled in this book.  For more details, you'll have to read it yourself.

Recommended for fans of the series, ages 14 to adult.  Some cussing, some violence (mostly off-page).  As always, the audiobook edition read by Katherine Kellgren is superb.

Finny and the Boy from Horse Mountain

Finny and the Boy from Horse Mountain  (ARC)  by Andrea Young

14-year-old Finny loves horses, and works at an elite show-jumping stable in exchange for riding lessons.  When she sees an emaciated horse by the side of the road, she arranges to adopt him (without telling her parents or the stable manager), and dreams of their success together.  However, the horse is huge, untrained, and potentially dangerous.  Can they ever find happiness together?

Yes, of course they can.  

All it will take is a handsome boy who happens to be a horse trainer, a kindly horse rescue lady who happens to be a retired world-class show jumping trainer, and a competent veterinarian who happens to enjoy under-billing kids for treatment and services

Of course there are other impediments to happiness, like the Snobby Rich Girl, the Loving but Neglectful Mom, and the Greedy Uncle straight out of Central Casting.

The first third of the book was fraught with plot and terminology errors.  However, the final two-thirds of the story rose up a bit from the mundane, ending with sweet romance and a thrilling horse race.  Horse-loving readers may roll their eyes at some of the goofs, but they will read to the end and cheer at the finish line.

No cussing, no sex.  Some bullying, some violence, some kissing.  Grades 6 and up.

The Dream Thieves

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

(book II of the Raven Cycle)

Continuing the story begun in The Raven Boys, the ley line has been awakened and now strange currents are racing through town.  Electrical surges, astonishing secrets, and weird dreams and nightmares are becoming more common.  In the middle of the magic are Blue, who is still not-quite-a-psychic, and the Raven Boys: Gansey, Adam, Ronan and Noah.

The hunt for the mysterious Welsh king continues, but the focus now is on Ronan's sudden strange ability to pull real objects out of dreams.  And, perhaps, out of nightmares.

This book does not stand alone, and leaves readers gasping for the two final books...which don't even have release dates from the publisher yet!  Ack.

The lush, imaginative writing should be no surprise to fans of this author.  But the plot twists!  If those don't surprise readers, there is truly no hope for redemption.  I am eagerly awaiting the audiobook edition, which early reports call "suspenseful" and "murky."  

No sex, no kissing (there's a reason!  not a lack of interest!) and only mild cussing, but plenty of action, magic and some scary violence and drug use. 

Recommended for readers who have already survived the first book, ages 14 to adult.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

The Ocean at the End of the Lane  by Neil Gaiman

An unnamed adult narrator has returned to his Sussex hometown for a funeral, and afterwards drives around randomly...until he arrives at the home of his childhood neighbors. There, he is welcomed in by an elderly woman he recognizes, and he gradually remembers the events that occurred just after his 7th birthday, when he was drawn into a terrible adventure with weird creatures and splendid magic.

This is the author's first adult book since Anansi Boys (2005), and his storytelling skills have grown ever-stronger in the meantime.  Mythology, folklore, and motifs drawn from heroic tradition are seamlessly bound together to create a fabulous, eerie story that is familiar and yet completely fresh.   

Gaiman skillfully treads the line between "terror" and "creepy."  Although this reader is a self-acclaimed chicken-pants, I found The Ocean at the End of the Lane deliciously nightmarish without ever becoming gross; hair-raising but not horrible.  Still, very young and very timid readers are warned:  this story is scary.  

The audiobook read by the author is even better than the print version.  A word of caution: perhaps you should not listen to it while driving home alone in the dark.  (Ask me how I know.)

Recommended for brave readers and listeners, ages 14 to adult.  Minimal cussing, some sexual situations between adult characters, some blood and plenty of scary stuff.

Code Name Verity

Code Name Verity  by Elizabeth Wein

audiobook read by Lucy Gaskell and Morven Christie

The spy known officially as "Verity" starts off her story by confessing that she has always pretended to be heroic.  Yet, when captured by the Gestapo behind enemy lines, the narrator freely admits that she, under pressure of captivity and torture, promptly betrayed wireless codes, details about Great Britain's homeland security and airfield defenses, and more.

In bits and pieces, scribbled away on scraps of paper, a story emerges.  

But the story is not the one that the Nazis think they are getting.

Code Name Verity isn't just blazingly fabulous historical fiction for teens, featuring two strong and capable girls.  

There is also action, suspense, and plenty of twists in the unreliable narrative.  This is a story of friendship, choices, and--no matter what Verity says--this is a story of courage.  

Descriptions of violence, treachery, and torture are intense but not graphic--much is left to the imagination of the reader.  

Very highly recommended for readers ages 12 to adult.  

No sex or overt sexual situations; this book is included on the SITL list because it features other controversial topics, including violence and torture.

Code Name Verity

Code Name Verity  by Elizabeth Wein

audiobook read by Lucy Gaskell and Morven Christie

The spy known officially as "Verity" begins her story by confessing that she has always pretended to be heroic.  Yet, when captured by the Gestapo behind enemy lines, the narrator freely admits that she, under pressure of captivity and torture, promptly betrayed wireless codes, details about Great Britain's homeland security and airfield defenses, and more.

In bits and pieces, scribbled away on scraps of paper, a story emerges.  But the story is not the one that the Nazis thought they were getting.

Code Name Verity isn't just blazingly fabulous historical fiction for teens, featuring two strong and capable girls.  There is also action, suspense, and plenty of twists in the unreliable narrative.  This is a story of friendship, choices, and--no matter what Verity says--this is a story of courage.  

Descriptions of violence, treachery, and torture are intense but not graphic--much is left to the imagination of the reader.  

Very highly recommended for readers ages 12 to adult.  

And yes:  there's no sex in this book.  No romance at all, in fact (although the companion book forthcoming in September 2013 promises a bit of romance).  However, Code Name Verity is bound to be controversial, so we're including it on the list as a book our readers will want to know and share.

A Confusion of Princes

A Confusion of Princes  by Garth Nix

audiobook read by Michael Goldstrom

Khemri tells the story of the three times he has died, and the time in-between those deaths.

Born a Prince in an intergalactic empire that identifies millions of princes as possible heirs to the ruling Emperor, Khemri's first challenge after emerging from a sheltered childhood is to survive the assassination attempts by other potential heirs.  His early training and biological enhancements make him "better than human," but it takes hostile aliens, rocketship battles, cybernetic gadgetry and a pretty naval reserve officer from a backwater fringe planet to teach Khemri how to be human.

With many nods to classic science fiction traditions in literature (Robert A Heinlein, Andre Norton and Isaac Asimov are obvious influences) and film (Star Wars, 2001, and many others), this rousing space-opera will appeal to readers who like a lot of action, a little introspection, and a touch of romance (and a few incidences of Star Trek sex as well--how appropriate!) 

The book--and the audiobook--are highly recommended for readers ages 12 to adult.  

The Testing

The Testing  by Joelle Charbonneau
In this futuristic dystopia, the environment has been trashed by careless humans, and only by careful husbandry are people able to survive now.  16-year-old Cia has been chosen for the Testing: if she passes, she will be one of the very few students allowed to attend the University to become world leaders and scientists.  Cia's father is a University graduate, but his memory has been wiped out; the only advice he can offer Cia is to trust no one.

Cia quickly realizes that her father was right to warn her.  But she will need more than caution to survive the Testing. 

This fast-moving story of betrayal and survival will appeal to fans of The Hunger Games.  First in a series.

On-page violence, some kissing. No cussing, no sex.  Recommended for readers ages 14 to adult.

Impulse

Impulse  by Steven Gould

Cent has lived her whole life in isolation with her parents, hiding their secret:  they can jump, or teleport instantly from one part of the world to any other place they have already seen.  There are governmental agencies that would like to use jumpers...and there are other, more nefarious agencies that want jumpers for their own purposes.

Cent has travelled all over the world with her parents.  She is well-educated,, reads voraciously, and helps her mother with emergency relief efforts in third-world countries.  But Cent wants friends her own age. 

When Cent discovers that she can jump too, her parents agree to let her attend a regular high school in a regular American town.

And then, things go wrong.  And Cent may not be able to jump fast enough to avoid the trouble her family has brought to their new community.

This is the third book in the Jumper series; fans of the 2008 movie starring Hayden Christensen will be confused, as the film story has very little to do with the original novel.  However, both feature good action and adventure, mixed with compassion and romance.

Recommended for readers ages 14 to adult.

How To Lead a Life of Crime

How to Lead a Life of Crime by Kirsten Miller

"It's like Hogwarts for hustlers," says main character Flick, a pickpocket and runaway recruited as a student to the Mandel Academy. 

At Mandel, students are taught to seize power, money and political control, especially using illegal tactics.  The school offers coursework in human traficking, drug manufacture and sales, exploitation of natural resources, and an intense study of addictions and how to capitalize upon them.  Students are usually orphans and others who will not be missed in the outside world, which is convenient for school administrators when dealing with "drop-outs" who might rat them out to authorities.

 Flick still has a mysteriously alluring girlfriend on the outside...until the day that Joi shows up as a newly-recruited Mandel student.  Suddenly, Flick's success strategy changes: he's determined to rescue Joi at any cost. 

The problem:  Joi doesn't want to cooperate with Flick's plan.  She has a plan of her own.

If you've ever had trouble distinguishing between unpredictable psychopaths and unpredictable sociopaths, this book will cure that.  It's got action, adventure, hand-to-hand violence, industrial sabotage, sexual scheming, computer hacking, and all the other stuff you'd hope to find in a great book of betrayal and suspense.  For some reason, the publisher has chosen to present "f-bombs" written as "f---" but other cuss words aren't blanked out.  This isn't deadly, but it is distracting within the narrative.

Recommended for readers ages 14 to adult.