Plague by Michael Grant

Plague by Michael Grant

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I loved this 4th installment of Grant's Gone series! The story moved at break-neck speed again, with Sam and Astrid questioning themselves as people, leaders, etc. Caine and Diana are happily living on an island with plenty of food, water and themselves. Caine has not changed, but Diana has. I wouldn't say I like Diana but she is more "human" while Caine is still power-hungry. Drake still gave me the creeps and now that he shares his body amd eternity with Brittney, there are times when he is about to torture and kill some one and when Brittney appears, the threat of Drake is over for a while at least. I hated that so many children were so ill with the mysterious "coughing" illness and it could get so debilitating they couch their insides out--YUCK! Grant's characters were so good, Howard, Edilio, Jack, Dekka, Lana and Briana and the wolves, Petey and the giaphage were all still part of the FAYZ and trying to stay alive (water and food were almost gone. But I the thing si Hated most about this book were those insects that had mandibles, spit black juice and inhabited those poor kids bodies, they were very scary and indestructible. For a ripping good read, try Plague, you won't be disappointed!!!





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City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


It was so great to get back into the world of Jace and Clary! I really enjoyed the drama with Simon, Maia, Jordan and Isabelle. This book was so good I really didn't want it to end. There were so many nail biting moments (I have no nails to prove it!!!) Fans of the other three Mortal Instruments will not be disappointed. I was hooked by the story of Luke and Clary's mom getting married (and all the drama that entail), Simon still trying to get used to being a vampire but not joining the vampire clan, and that is where the rub comes in. Simon's hunger for blood, feeling like an oustider, liking both Isabelle and Maia, and his never ending support (he would do anything for Clary) for Clary and Jace, provided some really tense moments. Cassandra Clare's characterizations are so good, and I love the descriptions of the clothes, the fights, the drama, it is all GOOD!



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Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri

Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


G. Neri's graphic novel is a winner. She takes the true story of 11 year old Robert "Yummy" Sandifer's shooting of an innocent 14 year old girl, Shavon Dean, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and crafts a gripping tale from the point of view of a boy, Roger, who knew both kids, lived in the same neighborhood, and had a brother in the same gang as Yummy. Roger is an onlooker, part of a close knit family (yet his brother is in the Black Disciple gang too)who went to school with Yummy and Shavon. His story catches the horror of gang life, a forgotten child, Yummy, who suffered at the hands of everyone he knew. Reluctant readers, those who love urban fiction, and all readers should digest this graphic novel. It covers a bleak time in 1994, in a broken down, neighborhood more like a war zone, where no one is safe. You, as the reader, will feel for the 2 sides of Yummy, and be chagrined at the horror of two YOUNG lives lost, for all the wrong reasons.



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Swim the Fly by Don Calame

Swim the Fly by Don Calame

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Matt, Sean and Coop are best friends and have hatched the hilarious dare that they must see a real live naked girl over the summer and through many laughs, mediocre swimmer Matt takes on performing the butterfly to impress new girl, Kelly. In this funnybook, teens will enjoy the guy talk, older sister manipulations and the importance of friends. I liked the Grandpa Arlo trying to move in on Mrs. Hoogenboom after her husband passes. Matt's "accident" in the girls bathroom was laugh out loud, I enjoyed his friendship with Valerie, and the coach Ulf's techniques for Matt like "picking up change from the bottom of the pool."



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The Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Franciso X. Stork

The Last Summer Of The Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Stork's book was just as good as Marcelo In The Real Worldbut in a very different way. Stork's writing is just so engrossing! When we meet Pancho, he is bent on finding the killer of his sister (even though the police said she wasn't murdered, it was natural causes) and going to live at St. Anthony's an orphanage and plot his revenge. But it is at St. Anthony's that he meets D.Q., a kid with cancer, who comandeers Pancho as his aide because DQ has brain cancer but DQ has plans to make Pancho and DQ "death warriors" and DQ is writing the manifesto while Pancho is tracking clues to his sister's killer. And along the way, Pancho's anger with his father's accidental death, his feeling somehow responsbile for his sister's death, is used by D.Q. to change him. D.Q. is such a strong character, even though he is suffering from cancer,but he is knowledgable, kind, not given to "whining---part of the Death Warrior Manifesto" and along with his love interest, Marisol, we see Pancho begin to grow as a person once hardened into a vulnerable young man with a future that does not include prison. I urger everyone to read this book, if you liked Marcelo, YOU WILL LOVE this book! Stork is one of my new favorite writers!



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The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


When Lennie's sister, Bailey, dies suddenly, Lennie tries to make sense of a world that that was once safe and secure,to a world where she, her Gram and Big exist but don't talk. Lennie has never been popular, just a band geek who plays 2nd chair clarinet but with the loss of Bailey, Lennie now surprsingly finds comfort in the arms of Bailey's boyfriend, Toby (they both connect in their loss) and in the new boy, Joe Fontaine, an awesome trumpet player who visits her house everyday, bringing comfort to Gram, Big and Lennie, dragging them back into life. How can these two guys help Lennie believe that life can go on without Bailey and that Bailey will still be everywhere, like the sky is everywhere?



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Three Rivers Rising by Jame Richards

Three Rivers Rising: A Novel of the Johnstown Flood by Jame Richards

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


What a great way to learn about the Johnstown Flood of 1889 than soaking up a novel in verse! Richards novel is powerfully told through protagonists Celestia, a young teen whose family are members of the prestigious South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club; Peter, who works summers at the club rather than joining his father in the mines in Johnstown. We learn about the rigid class system that exists in this society that would never agree to a relationship between Celestia and Peter. Maura is the wife of a conductor who ferries people on the train and she keeps a meager house going with many babies, year after year. Kate is a changed woman who loses her love to drowning and becomes a nurse. A compelling time in our history, Richards also includes an Author's Note, South Fork Dam Chronology, and Further Reading to bring this disaster to today's young adults. Highly recommended.



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