Gaius, an ordinary sheep herder living in the countryside, has always longed to be a soldier in the Roman army. He gets his chance when he attracts the attention of a passing proconsul, who turns out to be Caesar himself. At Caesar's invitation, Gaius joins the Roman army, eager to fight exciting battles, avenge his father and find his fortune. Sure enough, his legion is soon engaged in all sorts of bloody battles, with Gaius and his friends often finding themselves fighting for their lives. But the battles are not Gaius' only concern. He's barely stepped into camp when he runs into Lanius, another soldier who immediately takes a disliking to Gaius. When he discovers a sword protruding from his bed after Lanius sneaks into his tent, he can't help but suspect Lanius' intentions are more sinister than he first thought.

I personally like to read historical fiction once in a while -- though the only other title I've read with a setting in Ancient Rome is the Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff back in university. I do remember enjoying the action and plot in the book, so I was interested in trying this series by Adam Nichols.

The first book of the series, War in Gaul, has a bit of a slow start and I found myself anxiously waiting for some serious action in the battlefield. There's a fair bit of conversation and description of the various characters and warring nations and it's not until near the middle of the book that you see the first large scale battle -- and Gaius ends up watching it, rather than actively participating. The book is written in old 'Roman speak', which helps to establish the era and culture, but has the potential to make things more tedious to read. That said, things steadily pick up after that, and Gaius has some exciting encounters with enemies trying to hack him up with various weaponry. The scenes are quite descriptive at times as well, and give a glimpse of the horrible, chaotic massacre the battles really were. There are plenty of historical, geographical and religious references in the story that are explained by footnotes at the end of each chapter. It was good to have these at this location instead of within the text, because I'm sure so many details would really bog down the plot.

I found the second book, The Golden Eagle, to be more interesting, mainly because the plot moved faster -- but I am still waiting for events and characters to come together to build and reach a real climax. Lanius is definitely a mysterious character that I hope will continue to add intrigue and an extra layer of complexity to the story.

I think this series will appeal to teens who are looking for historical fiction that gives a real sense of the era in which it takes place. And once they hit the bits with swords hacking and spears flying, they might want to read the entire series.

Check out the Legionary Chronicles on Adam Nichols' amazon page. 

Thank you for stopping by our blog for the SYLO tour.

The first one to die was Marty. He was playing football and dropped dead in the middle of the game. The second one was Mr. Nelson. He was competing in the sailboat race, lost control and crashed.  Before the third tragedy happens, the US military branch SYLO moves in and the residents of Pemberwick Island watches the president declares their home a quarantine zone on TV. They have found a deadly virus.

But is it really a virus? Tucker is not so sure. He saw things that just didn't add up. Strange explosion over the sea. Weird planes that make musical noises. A shifty guy offering him a red crystal-like drug that gives you super strengths. And when Tucker witnesses Captain Granger, the leader of SYLO, gunning down and killing a resident, he knows this can't be about a virus.

This is the first book in the new SYLO trilogy by Pendragon author D. J. MacHale. It has all the much sought after elements for a book that will appeal to boys: action, mystery, best pal, action, fighter planes, explosions, action, conspiracy, action, missiles, narrow escape, action, betrayal. Oh did I mention action? Readers will breeze through the book also because of its easy going writing. The characters are a little inconsistent in their behaviour sometimes, but likable. My only quibble is that it suffers from the "first book syndrome". Too many things are held in suspense for the next book, and I'm sure the characters will agree with me that we need at least a few answers to make this a satisfying read. Much like Steven's complaint about the James Dashner books, too much "I'll tell you later".

SYLO will be published on July 2. Thank you again to Razorbill for arranging this blog tour and providing us with an advanced copy.

I am always on the hunt for books that might appeal to those Percy Jackson fans... and this one caught my eye because it was about Indian mythology (and had a cover that suggested there might be some good action).

Ash Mistry is visiting his aunt and uncle in India, when his uncle takes on the job of translating some pictograms for the mysterious Lord Alexander Savage. Ash is immediately suspicious of the large payment offered for the job and the creepy appearance of Lord Savage and his employees. Somehow they seem to resemble reptiles and dangerous predators a little too much...

Ash is at an archeological site near Lord Savage's home when the ground suddenly gives way and he falls into an undiscovered area under the site. He accidentally pricks himself on a golden arrowhead, which leaves a sliver in his finger, and begins to see visions of the battle against the evil demon king Ravana. It turns out that Lord Savage is indeed an evil bad guy who wants to release the demon Ravana so that he can become immortal.... and the golden arrowhead is exactly the thing he is looking for. Unfortunately Ash and his sister become the primary target for Lord Savage and his employees -- who are really demons in disguise. 

With the world at risk of being overrun by murderous demons, Ash needs to find a way to stop Lord Savage. This means battling giant birds, monstrous reptiles and shape shifting wolves. 

I liked the action and pace of the plot and definitely found bits about Indian mythology intriguing. I do think the gods/demons will interest many Percy Jackson fans. I don't find the conversation and characters to be as humorous as the ones in Rick Riordan's books but there are some witty comments that give the characters distinct voices and keep the tone of the book light. The whole thing about incarnation added an interesting layer to the plot, but I felt it could have the potential to become a bit of a cop out where it doesn't matter if characters die because they'll come back to life later anyway.

This is more suited for preteens (pretty much the same audience for the Percy Jackson series). Visit the Ash Mistry blog for character profiles, info on Indian Mythology, book excerpts and activity sheets. And yes, there is a sequel: Ash Mistry and the City of Death.

I had no idea this was a sequel.  I also had no idea that it was a spinoff of Harlan Coben's adult series.  I picked it up and started reading, and was tossed into the middle of a story I didn't know anything about. Seconds Away picks up immediately after the events of the first book, Shelter.  Mickey Bolitar finds himself in the home of an apparently crazy old lady who informs him that his dead father is not in fact dead, and that the paramedic that supposedly helped them is in fact a Nazi from 80 years ago, unaged.

I didn't immediately understand any of this, but the story is well recapped so I got the gist of the previous book.  Mickey and his outcast friends saved another classmate from a terrible situation, but it left the town and his new school under the impression that he was a troublemaking bad kid. 

Now an even sorrier situation comes up: the most popular, prettiest girl in the school (who incidentally helped Mickey out in the previous installment) is now in hospital, having been shot.  Her mother was murdered in the same incident.  Mickey is determined to get to the bottom of this. 

Also, he's trying to make the school basketball team.  Priorities, you know?

Seconds Away feels forced, almost as if the author was holding back in the name of writing for teens.  That said, it's still pretty page-turney.  You can pick it up without having read the first book or the adult series and still get a good idea of what's going on. This is probably best suited to kids who are reasonably advanced readers but are still maybe a little too young for more mature sex and violence.  Make no mistake, there is murder here, but nothing graphic.

The police is calling it a terrorist attack, but Jud knows better. It was ghosts. Ghosts murdered the subway riders. Ghosts pulled out the victims' tongues and stabbed them in their eyeballs. Not terrorists. You can tell from the "crazy ramblings" of the survivors, but no one will believe them, just like no one believed that ghosts, not he, killed his mom years ago. The only reason why Jud is not locked up is because people don't really know who he truly is. His father has given him a new identity, and has asked him to join his secret organization, CRYPT.  Any case that MI6 thinks has anything to do with paranormal activity goes to CRYPT, and the group is not particularly welcomed by others. Not only are people skeptical about the existence of ghosts, but the group is also a laughing stock because the team is made up of... teenagers.  What do they know?

If you're not prepared for an intense ride, don't pick up this book. The first ten pages or so will show you right away that the author is not kidding and he's not going to let you go easy.  If a reader is looking for thrills and chills, he/she will be hooked right away. The vivid goriness is at its best, but the rest of the writing somewhat pales in comparison, and the lines, like characters puking at crime scenes, can get repetitive and old. Nevertheless, CRYPT is an interesting spinoff from the teen spy fiction genre, and readers will sympathize with Jud's daily struggle, pretending to be another person, one who can't even talk to his own father, and living in fear that someone may recognize him.  It will be interesting to read the rest of the series and see how Jud and the other characters develop.

Here's the book trailer:

You know what got me reading this book?

The cover.

I can't quite remember when all the teen book covers started using photographs and looking like movie and shampoo ads - but once upon a time the majority of book covers consisted of drawings. The stylized retro look of this cover -- plus the huge eyes made me pick up the book right away.

Surprise, surprise -- it's another dystopian. But, having heard of Saci Lloyd's Carbon Diaries (confession: I haven't read it yet), I decided to give this a try.

In this future society, the world is going through an energy crisis and everyone is scrambling to figure out how to generate more energy. Society has been split into two main groups: the wealthy, powerful Citizens and the poor Outsiders who rebelled against harsh government regulations. Everyone is hooked up to an eyepiece that enables them to escape to a virtual reality and communicate with each other.

Hunter Nash is a privileged citizen who secretly sneaks into the favelas, Outsider territory. He's fascinated by their freedom and the way they run up walls and jump from rooftop to rooftop. Here the Outsiders are hunted by Kossaks, the brutal government army force who destroys their homes and indiscriminately beats and kills them. Hunter knows there'll be serious trouble if he's seen in the favelas, but he's training himself to jump like the Outsiders and can't stay away.

The trouble starts when Hunter sees a Kossak shoot down a young Outsider boy and stumbles on the boy's secret funeral procession. Suddenly he's caught up in hiding the key that will reveal the Outsider's security network -- something that the Citizen government would kill for.


I like how the action in this book starts right away (someone gets killed in the first ten pages) and pretty much keeps rolling through the book. There are a couple good surprises along the way and I found the conclusion to be satisfying in that it was realistically open ended, but resolved enough of the plot to end the book.

I would have liked to have the whole jumping from building to building thing among the Outsiders play a larger part in the plot (I thought this element was actually cooler than the virtual reality bit) and I'm not convinced that Hunter's character was as developed as it could have been, but all in all, this book is a good high energy, fast paced one that will grab the attention of most readers.

Check out Saci Lloyd's website where you can watch Momentum's book trailer and find information on her other two books, Carbon Diaries 2015 and Carbon Diaries 2017. Oh, and take a look at the links on her website to youtube videos of Pakour -- yes, real-life people actually scale walls and leap from buildings like the Outsiders in Momentum...

Will and His father have a strange pastime -- they like to dig. All their lives they have dreamed of uncovering something spectacular and of great archeological significance-- and perhaps even become famous in the process. But Will realizes that their seemingly harmless pastime may be more dangerous than they think when his father suddenly goes mysteriously missing. Will thinks something suspicious is going on -- especially with all the strange pale-faced men in dark coats walking around his neighbourhood. So Will and his friend, Chester, begin where his father is most likely to have gone: underground. It is then that they find a hidden underworld governed by the Styx, a murderous subterranean race who want to extend their rule to the world above. Unfortunately Will and Chester are captured before they can return home. 

The book is slow to start (which might lose some readers), but once Will finds the underground world, the pace picks up and there are plenty of chase scenes, fights and tense moments. I found the tone quite dark and serious, which made things suspenseful and more scary. Gordon does a good job of creating the underworld and the bad guys. I've always felt the antagonist(s) of a story play a large part in making the plot exciting. If they're not evil enough, why would you care if the characters got away or not? In this case, the Styx were terrible enough to keep me rooting for Will...

I wouldn't recommend this to readers looking for immediate action since it takes so long for the excitement to start, but those who don't mind sticking around longer will probably get hooked on the series, as it really does have a good plot and ends with a bit of a cliffhanger. And while it's categorized as children's fiction, the dark storyline would probably make it suitable for young teens too.

This is the first in the series of six books (five have been published so far). Visit the Tunnels website for info on the sequels, plus special documents (e.g. Will's journal) and deleted scenes.

In Mika's world, if you mention the word "animals", everyone will shudder in fear. There has been a horrible plague, and the only way to keep the vicious human-eating animals and the poisonous gas out is to build an enormous wall to surround the remaining humans. The city is now divided into levels, and only the richest and the most powerful get to be on the top in the Golden Turrets. Everyone else is kept down in The Shadows and deprived of the basic human needs. 
Life is tough to say the least, so when the kids were offered a chance to win money and prizes for their families by playing a simulation video game, everyone excitedly enters the competition. Mika is also hoping to win, not just because he wants a better life for his parents, but he also believes that somehow through this contest, he's going to find his twin sister Ellie. Everyone tells Mika that Ellie is dead, but he knows that's not true. He can sense her. She's got to be somewhere...
It's one of those "wake up in the middle of the night and can't get to sleep" nights that I started The Roar, and that was a bad, bad idea, 'cause I couldn't stop reading. The book opens with a breathtaking pod fighter chase scene (Star Wars anyone?) and ends with a chilling cliffhanger (yes it's a series), and it's full of mysteries in between. The plot will satisfy all different kinds of readers: those who like their government conspiracies, those who like dystopian worlds, those who like some good video game action, those who like an evil villain who seems pretty invincible... Even though lots of things you suspect or are told right off are not quite resolved till much later, for this book it really is the journey that counts. It's a 500-pager, probably could stand to be edited a bit so there are fewer details and themes that don't quite fit the main story and kept me wondering, "where did that come from?". Maybe in the sequel. There are a few characters I'd like to see more of for sure. 
Have to get a hold of that sequel The Whisper, which came out in February 2012. 

(We're going to take a reader's suggestion (thanks!) and start reviewing books for the preteen crowd too. Here's our first review.) 

"It was over coffee and biscuits that Grandma Ives offered to return Cameron’s father from the dead."
Okay, who can resist and is not be intrigued by a first line like that?

When his dad was found dead by the beach, Cameron went to live with his grandma, whom he's met maybe once or twice. Before they get to know each other, she offers to resurrect his dad.
Grandma Ives is not your ordinary grandmother type. There is nothing warm and fuzzy about her, but she does know about The Daemon Parallel, a hidden world that co-exists with Edinburgh, and she knows spells that can raise the dead. That's just what Cameron needs. He misses his dad, and he wants to figure out the cause of his mysterious death, but first, we'll have to see if Cameron has inherited the special powers that will enable him to travel back and forth between the two worlds, to deal with the daemons, and to help his grandma get the right ingredients to complete the resurrection spell.

This impressive debut novel has just the right blend of action, mystery, adventure, magic, supernatural, humour and character development.  Most of all, I was surprised at how "right sounding" the voice of Cameron is. The things he said are exactly the kinds of stuff I'd expect a kid to say. Despite the title and perhaps the cover, the book doesn't rely on just grossness or goriness to carry the story, even though you will encounter many daemons in the book, and underneath all the fantastical elements is a boy who is trying to figure out if he's doing the right thing or not. And what a gutsy ending! Not going to spoil it for you, but throughout the book, I was thinking, is the author really going to do that? No way. It's just a red herring I'm sure. No, wait, he's really going there. Nice.

If the emotions you feel in response to what you see, hear, feel and taste are caused by connections in your brain -- what would happen if someone was able to get inside and change those connections?  Say, connect the areas in the brain responsible for discomfort to chocolate? Or associate memories of your mother with the area responsible for fear? Or connect pleasure with the images of violence?

In the world in which Sadie and Noah live, two groups are secretly fighting for the control of minds on the micro scale, in the brains of world leaders. On one side is a group led by the Armstrong twins, brilliant but power-hungry brothers that were born joined at the head, with three eyes and three legs. They claim their goal is the re-wire the brains of as many humans as possible to bring about world peace (which involves killing off any opposing forces). Their group operates under the disguise of the Armstrong Fancy Gifts Corporation (AFGC), which has stores all over the world. On the other side is BZRK, a secret organization that tries to ensure fredom of thought by stopping the Armstrong twins.

Technology has allowed for the creation of biots and nanobots -- living microscopic beings made from spider, cobra, jellyfish and human DNA. These biots/nanobots are not robots, but are a detached part of the person whose DNA is included in the biot. The person not only controls his/her biots but also sees, hears, and feels whatever happens to them. (And yes, you can create multiple biots for one person.) These biots are small enough to climb into ears and ears, then burrow to the brain where they can re-wire whatever they want. Unfortunately any damage to the biots are also felt by the "owner" as equivalent pain (e.g. if your biot's leg is ripped off, you feel like your leg is being ripped off). If all the biots are destroyed, the person usually goes insane.

Operating multiple biots that are busy re-wiring someone's brain or fighting off other biots while still going about daily life is not an easy task. Those who are able to do this are usually super gamers or crazy.

Noah is recruited by BZRK after his brother, a previous BZRKer, goes insane. He joins the fight in hopes of escaping his depressed parents and revenging his brother. 

Sadie is familiar with the technology -- her father was the one who came up with it -- and is drawn into the conflict when her father and brother are killed by AFGC.

AFGC is about to infiltrate the brains of the US and Chinese presidents and the Prime Minsters of Britain, Japan and India. Attempts to stop them is suicidal -- but it looks like Sadie and Noah don't have much choice but to join the fight.

It took me a little while to get into this book (probably due to the fact I was reading it sporadically), but once I did, I found it it pretty intriguing and exciting. The beginning is a bit choppy, as Grant tells the story through the perspectives of several different characters (I also find his writing style fragmented at times), but as the story developed, I found the movement smoother and faster.
The whole thing with little nanobots crawling in people's brains had the right amount of creepiness and grossness and I'm sure will appeal to many guy readers. Scientific details are minimal kept simple, so it makes for an easy sci-fi read.

Michael Grant is the author of the Gone and Magnificent 12 series. He also co-authors the well-know kids' series, Animorphs. Visit his website to watch trailers of some of his books.

I must say this is becoming one of my favourite series. I previously posted a review on the first book of the series (A World Without Heroes) -- and this second book is going to receive another glowing report.

Jason manages to return to the magical world of Lyrian (yes, through the hippo's mouth again) after unwillingly returning home and spending several months worrying about Rachel and the others he's left behind. With the evil ruler Maldor growing in power, unrest and danger have increased -- and Jason has become Maldor's most wanted enemy. Jason knows he must warn the Blind King, Galloran, that the magical word supposed to destroy Maldor is a fake, and find Rachel without getting caught. This proves difficult though, with Maldor's almost invincible lurkers tracking him.

Fortunately, Jason manages to reunite with Galloran, Rachel and others on his side. They decide the best course of action is to rally up as many people as they can to fight against Maldor -- but this means traveling through dangerous territory, fighting zombie-like creatures, surviving attacks from tentacled swamp monsters and confronting a dangerous wizard. There's even more action in this sequel than the first book.

Brandon Mull has done a great job in creating a fascinating fantasy world with with intriguing creatures. Many of the characters in the previous book appear again here, and as they become more developed, you can't help but become increasingly attached to them. Many of them are definitely complex and mysterious enough to keep you on your toes. I found myself completely immersed in the book and wishing the story wouldn't end. It's one of those great adventures that you almost wished you were a part of in reality.

There are two unusual things about Michael: he hasn't spoken a word since his childhood and he can open any lock or safe without a key or combination. It's these two things that make him the perfect 'boxman' -- someone who is employed by thieves and con men to break into homes and open safes. Michael never wanted to get involved in crime. In fact, with his amazing talent at drawing, he was possibly on his way to art college. But one break and enter sends him doing community service for Mr. Marsh, a man in trouble with big crime bosses and the father of Amelia, who Michael falls in love with. When Michael finds out Amelia will be in danger unless he works for the crime bosses, he agrees to take up the job as boxman. He's given a 5 colour coded pagers -- each one that goes off will lead him to a different 'job'. Soon Michael finds himself in a dangerous world of felony, murder and deception with no way out.

I rarely read adult fiction and many attempts at reading adult novels only seem to confirm that I really rather read kids and teen literature. There are exceptions once in a while though, and this would be one of them.The story is told in parts alternating between Michael's childhood and more recent events of his life, with the events converging at the end so that the complete story is revealed. I thought this was well done and made the storytelling more intriguing. The plot itself kept me interested the whole way through; there was a fair amount of mystery about what traumatic event caused Michael to stop speaking and each job he was called to provided some good action (trigger crazy security guards, thieves turning on each other, etc.). And while there is some romance and heavy issues surround Michael's past, the author never portrays Michael as overly emotional or spend an excessive amount of time taking about his feelings. I think that the whole idea of someone being able to open locks and safes without keys and combinations, and getting employed by criminals to do it is pretty fascinating -- and I would guess that most teen guys would too.

Given the final book in the trilogy just came out about two weeks ago, it's a good time to take a look at the book that started it all.

Another plane has safely landed at the JFK airport, but it shuts down suddenly and every light goes off. When all attempts to communicate with the plane fail, they call in various emergency response teams, including Dr. Eph Goodweather of Disease Control, fearing that something has happened to the people on the plane. Something did...and it's going to spread to people on the ground. Eph reluctantly teams up with a seemingly out-of-his-mind professor and Holocaust survivor and together they battle an ancient evil.

Pan Labyrinth's Del Toro has taken the classic vampire and given it a make-over and drained anything that is "romantic" about the concept. Instead, he gives us something totally gruesome and horrifying and definitely not for the squeamish. Everyone has his/her own demon to deal with literally, and the humans seem to be fighting a long losing battle right from the start. It's kinda hard to keep up with the big cast of characters, and there is only so many times you can truly feel scared and worried as you read about these vampire attacks.  Still, there are some great cinematic scenes and it's a good one to suggest to mature readers who are looking for something that will "scare your pants off" (what a kid told me she's looking for the other day)

It's not often these days that I come across a fantasy novel that I would stay up past my bedtime to read. I was happy to discover that Beyonders is one of these books.

Jason is just a regular high middle school kid who loves baseball and animals. While volunteering at the zoo one day, he hears strange music coming from the hippo and falls into its mouth... and into the world of Lyrian. In his attempt to find his way back to his world, he stumbles on a creepy book bound in skin (complete with a blinking human eye) and learns about a magical word that will defeat the evil magician currently ruling Lyrian. He is suddenly being hunted down by soldiers, giant boarhounds, and other scary creatures and embarks on a quest to find all the syllables of the magical word before he is disposed of. Along the way he is joined by Rachel, another girl from his world who has also been mysteriously transported to Lyrian, and Farin, a creature who can detach his limbs at will. To find the syllables, they must battle man eating crabs, get across a quicksand lake, survive a treacherous swamp full of poisonous snakes and bugs, all the while trying to evade the evil magician's minions.

I was a bit wary at first since the idea of falling into a hippo's mouth seemed a bit far-fetched, but as a read on, I found that the plot moved well and that the magical world was definitely intriguing enough to keep me interested. The characters are complex enough that you're not always sure whether they are good or bad, and there's a great twist at the end. ( I don't want to reveal too much or I'll spoil it for those of you who might read this book!) While this is often classified under children's fantasy, I would recommend it to teens looking for a fast paced, easy to read fantasy.

Brandon Mull is also the author of the Fablehaven series (which I am now planning to read as well). This is the first in the Beyonders series, and I can't wait to read the sequel...

Alex Van Helsing's last name has always been the subject of vampire jokes, and he himself has never taken the idea of blood-sucking monsters seriously -- until he is attacked by a girl with white skin and fangs. His father has told him all his life that "such things do not happen" but Alex know something strange is going on. One night, he sees one of his teachers at his boarding school sneak off on his motorcycle and follows him to discover that not only are vampires real, but that there is a network of vampire hunters, of which his family used to be a part of. The Polidorium -- vampire hunters -- have been tracking a dangerous vampire clan lord to find Scholomance, a secret vampire training centre. The next evening two of Alex's friends are kidnapped by the vampire lord. Alex and his teacher know they need to find Scholomance and rescue them before it's too late.
In an earlier posting, I mentioned how difficult it is to find vampires that are the traditional scary, blood-thirsty type found in Stoker's Dracula. The ones in this novel are more along those lines: white skin, long fangs, superhuman strength, and looking for human blood (actually it seems that some of the vampires in this story also want to eat human flesh). What's different is that these vampires mix technology and supernatural power, go through school/training (I find this kind of comical -- why would you need to go through training if you are naturally/impulsively evil already?) and are more on a quest for power and immortality, rather than vulnerable females. Fortunately, none of the vampires here are swooning for humans or going to high school (though there's reason to believe that Alex's teacher may have vampire blood in him).
The story itself is predictable and cliche, but it reads alright as a no-brainer action novel. There's the usual vampire lore with stakes, silver bullets and relics; weaponry (crossbows, guns, knives), some good chase scenes and explosions. No romance yet (though there is potential with one of the main female characters) and the writing is pretty passable. This is the first in a series.

What is the most boring book in the world? Luke thinks it's The Last of the Mohicans, because that's the book he's been assigned to read. The only way to get out of reading it, according to his very generous principal, is if he can actually prove that it is indeed the most boring book in the world. As Luke googles away, he knows he's out of luck, because a book called Leonardo's River has already claimed the title. It has something to do with Leonardo Da Vinci supposedly, but the book is so boring that during its printing, when the printer started to read it, he fell asleep, a fire broke out and only one copy of the book survived. This one copy has gone missing too, and some guy is offering one million dollars for it. All this just means Luke is going to spend his summer reading The Last of the Mohicans...except during a library book rescue from the raging flood in his town, he found Leonardo's River, and this little discovery is going to keep him busy all summer long. Along with his best bud Tommy, he's going to have to rescue his kidnapped teacher, keep the hands of the bad guys off the rarest book in the world, decipher the mystery inside the book, evade remaining members of a dangerous secret organization, and worst of all, Luke may have to visit the library and do some reading.  Tommy tries to convince him that it's "research", stuff spies do all the time, but who is he trying to kid?
New Zealander Brian Falkner, author of The Tomorrow Code and Brain Jack, puts together a book with all the right elements for boys: plenty of chase scenes and bullets flying all over the place, a bad guy's evil plan to rewrite history, and Luke and Tommy are two funny guys and two great friends.  The most holding-my-breath scene is definitely the train stuck in the tunnel one, where Luke has to enter the lion's den so to speak.  The excerpt from Leonardo's River is quite something... and sadly not too far from some "real" books out there. Some reviewers complain that readers have to suspend their beliefs frequently, but I'm willing to overlook some of the "conveniences" in the plot.

Black Hole Sun, Won't You Come, And Wash Away the Rain? Black Hole Sun... (can't get the song out of my mind the whole time I'm reading this book) 
Durango's family used to have it all. His father was key to the colonization of Mars, but then the government was overthrown, his father captured and thrown into prison, and in preventing his teenage son from killing himself like all his followers, Durango is relegated to a dalit, a mercenary for hire. Despised and ridiculed by every group and class on the planet, Durango takes on odd jobs with Vienne, his second-in-command, whom he's not supposed to have any feelings for, as the Tenets prescribed, and Durango and Vienne are both sticklers for rules. This conflict of interest isn't lost on Mimi, the artificial intelligence implanted in Durango's brain, and she takes every opportunity to tease Durango about it. Who says an AI doesn't know what sarcasm is?  When Mimi isn't making fun of Durango though, she is his most useful ally. Having Mimi is life-saving on so many occasions, however, when Durango agreed to help a group of miners defend against the Draeu, a ruthless cannibalistic race, he has no idea what he has signed himself up for, and will definitely need more than an AI to stay alive.

This book reads like a video game. I can see it being the plot of a great first person action/shooter game. Sometimes I'm baffled by the choices in booklists for gamers, because many only have the slight setting resemblance, and none of the thrills and chills. This book definitely belongs to a list for that audience though. Right from the opening scene, where the Draeu hunts down the miners and demands their children as sacrifices, you know you're in it for a wild ride. The action doesn't let up at all, and every time you think you can take a breather, something else happens and plunges you and our hero right back into it. The Draeu are some scary creatures, and the mysteries surrounding them and the miners are well crafted. I love the final epic showdown and it's a fine ending to a fine book.
I visited Gill's website and was thrilled to find out that there's going to be a next book, coming in March next year.  (Another nice thing about this book is that there's no cliffhanger ending).  However, ::sigh::, look at the covers!  The designer doing the new covers is the one who did the Mortal Instruments books. Why?  Well, I know why, 'cause that's how most teen books look like now, but more good-looking teen models?  We don't need that.  Disappointing.
» Read Gill's interview in School Library Journal.

Cassel is from a family of Curse Workers -- people with supernatural abilities to influence others with a touch of their hands. Some can change others' emotions, luck, and dreams -- others can modify memories or even kill.
Because of their dangerous abilities, Curse Workers are feared and considered outlaws. Thing is, though, Cassel is the only one in his family who isn't a Curse Worker. He's always felt like an outsider and been torn between trying to lead a somewhat "normal" life and wanting to be like the rest of his family. He's also haunted by a horrifying event in his life -- the fact that he killed his best friend, Lila, but doesn't understand why and cannot remember the details of the event.
When Cassel has a disturbing dream about a white cat and wakes up sleepwalking, a chain of events follow which cause Cassel to question whether or not Lila is really dead and search for the truth about what really happened that day.
It's difficult to find any paranormal teen fiction that isn't about stunning vampires fighting over werewolf boyfriends or zombies competing for popularity at the local high school these days -- all plots that are too close to chicklit for my taste -- and probably plots that wouldn't interest most teen guys. I did find this story pretty intriguing though. The plot moves quite well, and certainly has a darker, more serious mood, without the superficial high school drama or brand name dropping you sometimes find in other YA novels. The idea of Curse Workers kind of reminds me of the mafia and mobsters of the early 1900s, and the book has some good action and seedy characters.

The problem is though, that the covers published in the US (especially the second and third books with photos of a female looking vacantly into space), might put off some guy readers.












I'm not sure if the covers published in the UK are that much bit better --the dripping red glove is kind of cool but the White Cat cover looks a bit drab.












I've only read the first in the Curse Workers series and reviews of the second and third books makes me fear that the story might morph into more of a romance... which would be a shame as this series really does have a good premise.

I have to admit I'm often suspicious of a YA novel written by a bestselling adult author. It seems to be the "in" thing to do these days and the result is sometimes mediocre at best.  And taking a quick look at Richard Paul Evans' bibliography leaves me to wonder how he's going to pull off a subject matter quite different from what's in his adult books, but I was pleasantly surprised and thoroughly enjoyed this first book in the series.

Much like Percy Jackson, trouble seems to follow Michael Vey. He's not on his principal's "good" list, and he's a magnet for bullies. Michael tries to stay calm and keep a low profile, because if he doesn't, bad things happen. Well, not to him, but to others, because Michael zaps people with electricity from his hand every time he loses his cool. It's a power his mom has wanted to keep secret, and Michael certainly tries his best to do so, but when he fights back one day against the school bullies, he catches the eye of a couple people. One being Taylor the hot cheerleader, who has more things in common with Michael than he ever would have imagined, but then there is the man who wears sunglasses at night. Just in case the interest is not mutual, he decides to kidnap Michael's mother to get his full attention.

The plot moves along and the mystery unfolds nicely, as Michael discovers the origin of his power and why all these people are after him and Taylor. The guys are very likeable in this book, especially Michael's powerless but loyal best friend Ostin, and the villain is just plenty crazy and scary. Great resourceful kids but not too invincible, and the ending wraps up the action in this book but also provides a good set up for the next one, without being an annoying cliffhanger type. Riordan fans will enjoy this one, and I think it can work for the upper elementary school crowd too.

» Visit the official website

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for providing an eGalley for this novel.

I remember the only time I went to see a movie where the crowd clapped and cheered was at Independence Day, when Will Smith punched the alien. There is just something so charming about the good old action heroes, especially ones like Will Smith, when they're heroic AND funny, and Alfred Kropp is just like that.  He's definitely a likeable guy you'll root for.
Alfred's parents were dead, and he now lived with his uncle. It sucked to lose your parents for sure, but it sucked even more when everyone else kept reminding you about it. Alfred's school counselor was one of those people who just wouldn't let it go: "Do you hate school, Alfred?" "Do you hate your family from dying?" "Do you hate them for leaving you all alone in this world?"  Man, Alfred didn't know he was supposed to hate and resent so many things.
Then his security guard uncle asked Alfred to help steal something from his boss' office. If they succeeded, this guy was going to give them one billion dollars! Imagine that, Alfred!  But Alfred wasn't so sure. This all sounded pretty fishy to him, but what could he do?  He couldn't say no to his uncle, and he didn't want to anger him and be sent to a foster home.  Seriously! He didn't mean to be an accomplice. He didn't mean to steal Excalibur, the legendary sword of King Arthur. And he definitely didn't mean to give the sword to the bad guys.
An action-packed novel with lots of comic relief. Personality-wise, I like Alfred more than the others from the crop of characters in similar teen novels'.  Rick Yancey is also the author of The Monstrumologist series (so disappointed to see they've changed the look when the second book came out. Why?  The first one was so much creepier!). Check out his website.