The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (Mara Dyer Trilogy, Book 1)

Mara wakes up in a hospital bed, and the first thing she can really focus on is the yellow roses. No matter what is going on, at least the roses mean her best friend Rachel must be here. Even that is empty, though, they are from Rachel's parents and Rachel is gone...forever. She can't remember what happened or why they were even visiting the asylum that night, but everyone is looking to her for answers.

Instead of answers, all she has is nightmares and hallucinations. PTSD the doctors say, and they want to commit her. She convinces her mother that a move will be enough; moving away from the ghosts of her friends and all the questions she can't answer.

Florida is almost like another punishment. Private school is another circle of hell, and the first thing she does is have an episode and pass out in class. She manages to invoke the ire of one of the most popular girls in school. Luckily, she also manages to make a friend. Jaime shows her the ropes a little, and tries to warn her off the hot British guy, Noah, who keeps teasing her. He couldn't really be flirting...

Besides, she has enough to deal with: she's seeing AND hearing dead people. No matter what happens to you, she knows that is crazy. Even weirder things happen around her: an abusive dog owner drops dead the exact way she pictures it in her mind. And that Noah guy won't leave her alone. She finally agrees to go out with him...and he kind of wins her over. The weird stuff doesn't stop though, and soon it seems like it may be bigger than she ever imagined.

"Things were changing. Sweat pebbled my skin, even though I knew it wasn't possible. It wasn't possible. I was in class at nine this morning, when that bastard died. He had to have died earlier. The coroner, or whoever he was, was wrong. Even he'd said he was just guessing.
  That was it. I imagined my conversation with him. I'd thought he snuck up on me too quietly, but he didn't sneak up on me at all. He was already dead. The whole thing was just another hallucination - par for the course, really, considering my PTSD.
  But still. Today felt...different. Confirmation that I was now crazier than I'd known it was possible for me to be. My mother worked with only the mildly disturbed. I was full on delusional. Abnormal. Psychotic," (Hodkin pg. 103, 2011).

*Library Link*

If you liked this, check out:

The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (Mara Dyer Trilogy, Book 2)
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (Shatter Me, Book 1)
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (Shadow and Bone, Book 1)

Hodkin, Mara. (2011). The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. New York: Simon & Schuster BFYR.

The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy by Kate Hattemer

They have to take a stand. This co-opting of their school by the reality show "For Art's Sake" has gotten way out of hand. At least, that's what Luke thinks. He's kind of the leader of their motley foursome. He always has been, almost since forever. So even though Ethan's desperate crush of 100 years Maura Heldsman is a contestant on the show, he gets behind Luke's cause.

What you have to know first is that Selwyn is an arts academy. It isn't your run-of-the-mill public high school. Every morning they each spend an hour and a half practicing whatever discipline they want to perfect. Jackson is a nerdy cyber super genius, Elizabeth is an art goddess in day glow, Ethan is a less than stellar artist and an okay musician, and Luke is a wordsmith (and of course, their mascot, Baconnaise the gerbil). Maura is a dancer, Miki Frigging Reagler is a drama kid, and so on. That's the best part of Selwyn: the diversity and the art.

When the vice principal and the plastic blonde co-host, Trisha, came swooping in with the reality TV show, at first it seemed like it could be a decent idea: good press for the school, a scholarship for the winner, and fame never hurts either! The longer the season goes on, however, the more obvious it seems that everything is scripted and edited using "frankenbiting" tactics (selective splicing of footage to create a desired storyline that may not fit with reality).

They learn about the Cantos in BradLee's English class, how Ezra Pound used it as a way to fight back against tyranny and speak out against oppression, and to challenge the established language. BradLee gets what they are fighting against. It's this that inspires Luke to create the Contracantos. What is the Contracantos? A subversive newsletter aimed at the money making machine of For Art's Sake and all those involved, calling for a return to the true purpose of the school: creating art. How is that going to go over with Vice Principal (Serpent Vice) Coluber, Trisha, and their cronies?

"Selwyn? Sell-outs! That's who we are.
We're orbiting an ersatz star.
We used to spend our time creating
But now we walk the halls awaiting
The latest, greatest Nielsen rating.
-THE CONTRACANTOS," (Hattemer pg. 76, 2014).

*Library Link*

If you liked this, check out:

The Museum of Intangible Things by Wendy Wunder
The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green

Hattemer, Kate. (2014). The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy. New York : Alfred A. Knopf.

Emerald Green by Kersten Gier (Ruby Red, Book 3)

*SPOILER ALERT: This is the third book in a series! STOP READING IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE FIRST TWO! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!*

Gwen is sick of all this time travel nonsense. She just wants to be heartbroken like any other teenage girl and mope around all the time. How could she have been so stupid. Of course Gideon was under St. Germain's thumb, of course he was using her...I mean, the guy can read minds, right? There's no way someone that good looking would fall for someone like her. She just wants to curl up and die, preferably under her bed, with ice cream delivery service. Is that too much to ask?

Unfortunately, being a time traveler makes that impossible. Not only does she have to keep going to school, but she is forced to spend time with Gideon alone! The only thing that makes it bearable is being able to go back and see her grandfather. He is the only one she can really trust. The two of them begin to suspect that St. Germain may have a bigger scheme at hand.

The breakthrough in their plot against St. Germain comes with the discovery of the second chronometer, allowing Gwen to time travel outside of the Order's strict watch. Can they discover St. Germain's plot? Can she work with Gideon after he stomped on her heart? Will her grandfather come through for them before it's too late?

The final twist may prove too much for Gwen, and it may be at the expense of her life.

A fitting end to this enjoyable time traveling trilogy (see what I did there?), Gier manages to balance the romance with adventure rather well. Even I could stomach it! You won't want to miss this thrilling conclusion.

“You mean he's not afraid of me because I'm a woman? He ought to see Tomb Raider sometime. For all he knows, I could have a nuclear bomb under my dress and a hand grenade in each cup of my bra. I call it antifeminist!” (Gier, 2013).

*Library Link*

If you liked this, check out:

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (Starbound, Book 1)
The Archived by Victoria Schwab (The Archived, Book 1)
Cinder by Marissa Meyer (Lunar Chronicles, Book 1)

Gier, Kerstin, & Bell, A. (2013). Emerald Green. New York : Henry Holt and Company, 2013.

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

Austin is just a typical Iowa boy. He has a banging hot girlfriend, and a pretty cool best friend, who is also gay. So, okay that isn't so typical Iowa. And he also has some kind of ambiguous feelings about Austin, but that's normal for a teenage boy, right? Being confused about your sexuality is just part of growing up... totally typical. In their typical Iowa town, there is also a factory (now defunct) famous for its typical toothbrushes. Their inventor was his girlfriend's stepdad's (now dead) brother. Apparently, that guy wasn't so typical. He had some serious issues.

Austin and his best friend Robby couldn't have known any of that, or that his girlfriend Shann's stepdad kept a bunch of his wacko brother's weird experiments. When the two of them (after a particularly confusing situation) decide to break into Shann's stepdad's store, and unwittingly aid some dumb punks in stealing - and breaking - one of said experiments, they have no idea of the consequences. Like, end-of-the-world giant hungry, horny mantises consequences.

Now the two boys have to decide what to do; both about the confusing situation, and the whole end-of-the-world thing. In the midst of all this, Austin is recording history as he knows it, because that is what Austin does. That is how he deals with the world, and that is how he is dealing with the multiple traumas of this situation. So in addition to these two major events, we learn so much more about Austin's life and history and family. This is a book about everything, like all good books should be.

Smith said he "wrote things that I believed nobody would ever see" in this book, and it shows. It isn't written for an editor or publisher, it isn't "classy," and I wouldn't be surprised to see it on the banned books list in the next few years. What it does have is originality, a sincere voice that I can hear in my head, and a plot within a genre that many consider to be overdone that manages to still hold surprises. I love how Smith writes, and I love this book.

"But even though we dutifully archived elaborate records of everything we've ever done, we've also managed to keep on doing dumber and dumber shit.
This is my history.
There are things in here: babies with two heads, insects as big as refrigerators, God, the devil, limbless warriors, rocket ships, sex, diving bells, theft, wars, monsters, internal combustions engines, love, cigarettes, joy, bomb shelters, pizza, and cruelty.
Just like it's always been," (Smith pg. 8, 2014).

*Library Link*

If you liked this, check out:

The Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith (Marbury, Book 1)
I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells (John Cleaver, Book 1)
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride (Necromancer, Book 1)

Smith, Andrew. (2014). Grasshopper Jungle: a history. New York: Dutton Books (Penguin Group).

Winger by Andrew Smith

Ryan Dean, or Winger as he is better known, is just a kid. That's what everyone tells him. He skipped two grades, and ended up at a prestigious boarding school for rich kids. Naturally, he's younger than every other kid in his grade, and tragically younger than his best friend - and object of affection - Annie, who thinks of him as (you guessed it) just a kid.

It helps his rep a little that he's on the Varsity Rugby team, and that he's dorming in the punishment dorm (for hacking a cell phone to wish Annie "Happy Birthday!"). He still doesn't cuss (well, not out loud). He's afraid his new roommate, Chas, will kill him by the end of the semester (there are a lot of ways that one could go). He is also pretty sure the resident girls' counselor is a witch who has it in for him. Sophomore year is shaping up great!

He has one really great thing going for him: he has a great friend in Joey. He's the gay kid on the rugby team, but he's not like trying to make a big thing about it. What's the big deal anyway? Joey is cool, and you stick up for your teammates. Things are actually looking up between he and Annie, and something weird is going on between Ryan Dean and Chas's girlfriend...which can only end in tears and fists and...other bad things.

Why is it so hard to be 14? I mean, he knows he likes Annie, and what the right thing to do is...but knowing and doing are two different things. When Annie invites him to come home with her for the weekend to stay and meet her parents, he's over the moon. This is finally it...isn't it?

Smith does such a masterful job of highlighting the treacherous path we walk during adolescence: everything is such a big deal because we are doing it for the first time. Sometimes making the choice you know is right isn't easy, and life doesn't make it any easier. Hormones on top of all that make slights and joys into betrayals and jubilations. Peppered with authentic dialogue and insight, along with delightful comics and illustrations by Sam Bosma, this is a great coming-of-age novel. I laughed out loud several times.

"'And here's Ryan Dean West. Well, at least, it's the one tiny part of Ryan Dean West that makes him stand out as being so different, the only thing that everyone notices about him. The number fourteen. And you think that makes me so different, like I'm a little kid. But the thing is, everyone has that little part that's outside the overlap of everyone else. And a lot of people zero in on that one little thing they can't get over. Like for Joey, 'cause he's gay, I guess. Some people are better than others about not getting that outside-the-overlap part so noticed, but not me. So that was my wish,'" (Smith pg. 133, 2013).

*Library Link*

If you liked this, check out:
Stick by Andrew Smith
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Smith, Andrew. (2013). Winger. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

The first wave was lights out. An EMP takes out all the technology on the planet. The second wave was worse: massive tsunamis across the entire world's coastlines killing millions. The third wave was the worst of all. It had a 97% kill rate. They used the birds to spread an incurable disease. At this point, Cassie isn't sure if there are any humans left out there. The fourth wave is diabolical: the silencers look like people. Humanity doesn't have a chance.

The Others, as Cassie has dubbed them, have taken out nearly seven billion people in about three months. Her family is all gone, dead or taken. She put her brother on a bus hoping to send him to safety, but there's little chance of that. All she has left are her M-16 and her wits. The latter seem less sharp lately, as food is getting more scarce, and the Silencers have the dual purpose of causing paranoia as well as death. She has one goal: if her brother is out there, she's going to find him.

Her brother has been taken to a secret military base and trained to be a soldier. He's not Sammy anymore. Now he's Nugget. He can shoot, he can fight, he can kill...things no seven-year old should know how to do. His Squad may have graduated without him, but that doesn't change the fact that Nugget is a different person. They all are, here underground in Camp Haven. This is the military's answer to the alien threat: they've infiltrated a piece of their technology, and have used it to calculate the effectiveness of each of the soldiers chosen. Will humanity's last chance stand a chance?

Cassie's had her fair share of trouble on the way, but she's coming for Sammy...one way or another.

Yancey does an amazing job with this one. Well-paced, engrossing, well written, great story, and great details add up to a book you don't want to miss. It captures the terror of invasion followed by the desperation of retaliation. This is going to light a spark under the growing alien trend. I can't wait for the sequel!

"We couldn't take them head-on, but we could fight a guerrilla war. We could go all asymmetrical on their alien asses. We had enough guns and ammo and even some transport that survived the 1st Wave. Our militaries had been decimated, but there were still functional units on every continent. There were bunkers and caves and underground bases where we could hide for years. You be America, alien invaders, and we'll be Vietnam. 

And the Others go, Yeah, okay, right. 

We thought they had thrown everything at us-or at least the worst, because it was hard to imagine anything worse than the Red Death. Those of us who survived the 3rd Wave-the ones with a natural immunity to the disease-hunkered down and stocked up and waited for the People in Charge to tell us what to do. We knew somebody had to be in charge, because occasionally a fighter jet would scream across the sky and we heard what sounded like gun battles in the distance and the rumble of troop carriers just over the horizon," (Yancey pg. 47, 2013).

*Library Link*

If you liked this, check out:

The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey (5th Wave, Book 2) Release date: Sept. 16, 2014
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Partials by Dan Wells
Arclight by Josin L. McQuein

Yancey, Rick. (2013). The 5th Wave. New York, NY : G.P. Putnam's Sons, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

In a land far away, there are three kingdoms: Sounis, Eddis, and Attolia. They live side by side in a fragile peace. Sounis desires the hand of Eddis in order to fortify his own kingdom against the aggressive Attolia. The Queen of Attolia wishes to take over all three lands. Eddis remains the impartial in-between, desiring not only her own freedom, but the neutrality of her own throne and lands. In the middle of this political turmoil, there is a thief: Eugenides (or Gen).

Gen's mouth has landed him in a bigger batch of trouble than he anticipated: he's landed in the King of Sounis' jail after bragging that he could steal the royal seal. The Magus, the King's most trusted advisor, offers him a deal. If he wants out of jail, he must help them steal the legendary Hamiathes's Gift. The stone is reputed to hold the power to claim the throne of neighboring Eddis. In return, Gen is promised fame...and his life...not really a deal he can turn down.

The party consists of the Magus, himself, two young people Gen has nicknamed Useless the Younger and Useless the Elder, and Pol. Pol, we learn, is the head of a Duke's guard, and tasked to train and guard Useless the Younger (Sophos). On their path, they encounter various trials, but it is the legendary temple where the stone is reported to be held that proves most difficult.

To reach it, they must pass, not only through neutral Eddis, but into aggressive Attolia, risking not only their lives, but war between their countries. All this for a stone that many believe to be a myth. Can Eugenides (Gen) live up to his namesake, the god of thieves?

This is a Newbery Honor book from a while back, and I mistakenly read the fourth book in the series first. I fell in love with it, but was worried I had spoiled it for myself. I waited a year to read this one, and was so enchanted. Turner does a fantastic job with the dialog and the mythology. Spot on, and highly recommended for middle grade readers, or anyone interested in knights, fantasy, and politics.

“'I want you to steal something.'
I smiled. 'Do you want the king's seal? I can get it for you.'
'If I were you,' said the magus, 'I'd stop bragging about that.' His voice grated.
My smile grew. The gold ring with the engraved ruby had been in his safekeeping when I had stolen it away," (Turner, 1996). 

*Library Link*

If you liked this, check out:

The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner (The Queen's Thief, Book 2)
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen (The Ascendance Trilogy, Book 1)
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson 

Turner, Megan Whalen. (1996). The Thief. New York: Greenwillow Books.