Something strange is happening in Santa Feliz. People -- particularly the teens -- have been changing into wild animals and back again. They've been coined "Wildlings" and the Federal Government is offering to help anyone with their new found "abilities". But none of those who have gone to the government facility for "orientation and training" have ever returned.

Josh is incredulous when he turns into a mountain lion and almost kills his mom's boyfriend. He wants to keep everything a secret and  live a normal life, but when he starts to meet other Wildlings and finds out what is happening to them, he realizes this might not be possible. Other kids at school are getting suspicious and it seems that he's being followed by not only government agents, but other mysterious strangers as well...

The story is told with alternating perspectives of the two main characters: Josh and Marina. This creates suspense as some details only get revealed through one perspective, but it also seemed slow down the movement of the plot sometimes. I felt like there could have been less talking and mulling over their situations and more action. Things started to move pretty good closer to the end of the books and I wish there was a bit more of that excitement throughout the book.

While the idea of being able to turn into animals is a pretty cool one, it personally kept reminding me of the children's series, Animorphs. However, I do think De Lint's writing and development of plot and characters will appeal to many readers who will most likely want to continue with the series after reading this first book.

Be sure to check out Razorbill's What Wildling Are You website where you answer a short questionnaire to determine which animal you'd turn into if you were a Wildling. (I was disappoint to discover that I am a boring rabbit...)

Charles De Lint is a World Fantasy Award winning author who has written plenty of other books (most of them adult titles). For a list of his work visit his website.

Ever wonder what the life of a Redshirt is like?  You know, the guys from Star Trek who go on the away missions and get killed by whatever mysterious threat is creeping about the planet.  Andrew Dahl and a few other new crew mates are assigned to the Intrepid, the flagship of the Galactic Navy.  The quickly find that the existing crew members are terrified of going out on away missions since someone of low rank always dies, usually of something stupid and pointless, like ice sharks and land worms.  More, the Captain, Science Officer and a couple of others seem to get into really strange and unlikely scenarios on a weekly basis, often surviving debilitating injuries and diseases only to recover and do it all again, like clockwork.

One word of warning: this book is not a at all what you expect.  Like I Am Not a Serial Killer, there is a bit of a twist that could potentially kill any interest in the book if you aren't prepared for it.  This book is deeply philosophical and quite amusing at the same time, but isn't what I expected.  In fact, it reminded me something of Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder.  What the heck, I'll *spoilers* it: It's a TV show.  This is a work of meta fiction, and the characters in the book discover that they are being controlled by the writers of a science fiction series that's a bad knock-off of Star Trek.  It gets even deeper than that, but I'll save at least some surprises for later.  Suffice it to say, they need to find a way to get to the writers to prevent any further deaths.

The book is capped off with three codas, sections that take the premise a little more seriously and are the most philosophical part of the book.  Looking for a fun romp, skip these, but otherwise they make for a surprisingly thoughtful story.

Point being, Redshirts is a fascinating read, and, like the aforementioned Sophie's World, is great for guys with a taste for philosophy.  It's a bit unsettling for aspiring writers, though, since it calls into question the power and control you have over your characters, but it's pretty neat.  Onoe other note: language and some sexual discussion.

When I was a teen, I hated modern music.  Pop music just washed right over me, and rock music of the day just didn't sink in though I might have preferred it over pop.  My musical tastes were just being formed when the big news hit: Kurt Cobain was dead.  I knew the music, and I knew who he was, but for me, it was all about '70s rock.  My Kurt Cobain was John Lennon, when died when I was a baby.  15 years later, a lot of guys think the same way, but their version of '70s rock is '90s music.  The faces have changed, but the story remains the same.  Modern music sucks; old music is better, end of story. Historical personalities more meaningful, more thoughtful, and just cooler.

Everybody Loves Our Town : An Oral History of Grunge by Mark Yarm tells the story of the music scene that passed me by, but marks a major point in musical history that a lot of young men these days look at the same way I saw Led Zeppelin and the Who.  With interviews with major figures from the Seattle scene, it fills in a lot of details and clears up a lot of myths about what it was really like in the late '80s and early '90s when it hit big.

This isn't for everyone, mind you.  This is best for guys who already know a bit of the history or the music of the era.  Jumping in cold isn't much fun; there are just too many names that wouldn't otherwise mean much.

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.

I like science, and I really like physics and chemistry, though in a sort of casual way.  I don't know the math behind how gravity affects matter and light, or what ratios of various chemicals are required to make other, cooler explosive chemicals.  There are a lot of good science books out there, but a big problem with a lot of books is pictures: not a lot have them, or at least not in the detail you might want to put things into perspective.

Books about the elements suffer particularly because elements are atoms, and some are incredibly rare.  The Elements solves this problem.  Author Theodore Gray is a bit of an element aficionado, a collector of elements.  He has in his personal collection an example of nearly every element listed in the book, and all of the photographs are from that collection.  A brief description accompanies each item, and the best part, a common use for the element is listed as well.  Oddly, this isn't as common as it should be.

Not really heavy reading, this is a coffee table book, but as science books go, this is a beautiful example.  In fact, the format is so good, there is a follow-up about the solar system.

Edited to add: There is also an iPad app of it, with a few more features.

I haven't been reading lately (too much Pokemon), so I was struggling to figure out something to recommend.  I was scouring blogs and the internet, digging for something to talk about when it occurred to me that I was reading.  Blogs, comment sections, chats, info pages, wikipedia.  It's all words, and it's all reading, so I figured, why not remind people that that is reading too.  Of course, keeping a teenaged boy focused while on the internet could be an issue.  After all, there's plenty of distractions.  There's the always-popular cat videos.

I spend a lot of time online on my computer, phone and iPad, just mucking about, not really looking for anything in particular.  Cat video distractions aside, I usually just go where the links take me, usually using some sort of reader or news aggregator like Flipboard or Google Reader Play.  I read a whole lot of articles about whatever.  It's almost like it's a magazine or newspaper, and that's the point. So how is this useful for getting teen boys to read?  There's a good chance they're already doing it.  Just because they aren't reading dead trees doesn't mean they aren't reading at all.  So what can they read?  Obviously there is a lot out there that is totally not appropriate and a lot that is borderline, especially for the younger set.

I have recommend a number of times material from cracked.com.  The language is occasionally salty and some of the articles are upper-PG-13, but it's nothing most kids haven't already heard.  They are usually lists about science and history with weird facts, myths and oddities thrown in.

Yahoo has some fine sports blogs that go beyond straight reporting and go into opinion, analysis and straight-up comedy as they see fit, and that's only the beginning.  Most major sports teams have both official and fan-created blogs that cover minor stories that don't make the major news outlets.

If guys have any obsessive interests (games, tv series, movies, comics, etc.), there's a wiki for it.  If they are interested enough, they might even contribute.  Try just about anything on wikia.com.

There are, of course, millions of other options.  These are just three that I look at regularly.

Carver can't believe his luck when he's adopted by Mr. Hawking of the famous Pinkerton Detective Agency. He's always wanted to be a detective and now he has his chance. The agency is currently investigating a series of grisly murders and Carver can't wait to be involved in solving the case. On top of all of this, Carver's first training assignment is to find out about his birth father -- something he's been wondering about for a long time. His only clue is an unsigned, handwritten letter sent years ago to his orphanage.

However, Carver's excitement about his new life soon turns to confusion and uneasiness. Mr. Hawking  lives in a mental assylum where he claims he studies patients to understand how criminals think -- but his bizarre and sometimes frightening behaviour makes Carver wonder if he should actually be one of the patients. The head of the Pinkerton Agency is hiding information about the murder investigation from the police. And it seems as though the letter from Carver's father may have some kind of connection to the recent murders.

It isn't long before Carver gets his wish to be a part of the murder investigation -- but now that he's hot on the trail of Jack the Ripper, it's turning out to be far more dangerous and personal that he'd expected.

I'm always on the lookout for mysteries that follow the classic "whodunit" formulas. This one sounded like it had good potential -- especially with the connection to Jack the Ripper. And yep, I enjoyed it as Carver looked for and figured out the clues and I loved all the intrigue surrounding the character of Jack the Ripper. Petrucha includes some of the real letters written by the Ripper, as well as the names of his real murder victims. While some of the plot is pretty predictable (a former bully becomes friends with Carver and helps him with solving the case, Carver falls in love with an old friend from his orphanage) I think he did a pretty good job with developing the characters. Carver's thoughts and actions are believable and the mysterious Mr. Hawking puts enough suspense into the story so that you question his true motives and identity until the end. Things did drag a bit near the middle of the book but there's some good action and surprises in the latter half of the book.

All in all, it's a good, clean mystery (no sex and minimal violence) and yes, there is a sequel.
Check out his website for the trailer for Ripper, as well as excerpts from his other books and comics. I didn't realize he'd written so many parodies and I'm definitely going to check out Harry Potty and the Deathly Boring...

"You know what your problem is? Your problem is that you let The Man rule your life." 
Matthew's heart belongs to the drums, but somehow his dad talked him into playing the trumpet, the musical instrument of choice for the Swanbeck family. Oh, and some argument about by the time you pack up your drum set the trumpet player would have left with all the good looking women.
No big deal, Matthew thought, he can still pursue the dreams on his own, and "on his own" is how The Man wants to keep it.
Who is The Man, you ask? Matthew's parents, who refuse to raise his allowance but opt for building character instead. Uncle Kyle, who finds a way to deduct money from Matthew's hard-earned paycheque. Mr. Murphy, who doesn't understand marching band uniform is not summer clothing.  The Man is everywhere, and Matthew is not going to let The Man run his life anymore.
There's some great humour in this light read, which is a welcoming change from all the dystopian books out there. Love the expression on Matthew's face on the book cover, though the youngish look, and the illustrations peppered inside, awesome as they are, may deter older teens. That's too bad, 'cause they will get a kick out of the little guy coming out on top. The authentic teenage voice is captured well without being overly sarcastic or obnoxious, and Matthew's parents are a riot. Will appeal to those who grew up on Wimpy Kid. Check out more of Travis Nichols' doodles on his website ilikeapplejuice.com.
Who is The Man in your life, and what are you going to do about it?

There is a certain type of person out there that gets really worked up when grammatical rules are broken or bent.  Years back, Lynne Truss had a breakout hit with Eats, Shoots, and Leaves, a book that demonized bad grammar, poor punctuation, and general awkward phrasing.  Those Grammar Avengers ate it up, but they weren't all adults: these people start young.  Heck, when I was in high school, me and my buddies were very much like this, and some might say I still am.

For a certain type of boy, language books like this are actually a lot of fun.  A recent example stands out as a fascinating tale of grammar-hunting gone mad:  The Great Typo Hunt, by Jeff Deck and Benjamin D. Herson.  In a trip across the US and a brief sojourn into Canada, the authors and friends seek out and attempt to correct grammar errors in signs, posters, and billboards.  They explore shopping malls, restaurants, government offices and national monuments, making whatever corrections they can, and not all changes are welcome.

Other books on grammar and poor application of language are the novelty book series "Signspotting".  These are collections of signs from around the world that are, misspelled, badly translated, or just weird.  engrish.com and failblog.org also feature such uses and abuses of language.  These are along the same lines as F in Exams.

There's plenty more out there, too.  Just check out any facebook post.

Tomas and his family are moving back to Slovakia, a home they've left since he's five years old, after he almost drowned and burned to death at the same time. The first thing Tomas sees when he gets back: a ghost. Not a good start, but that's not all. A few otherworldly beings, and some past acquaintances, have their eyes on Tomas. He is hoping it's just sleep deprivation and jet lag, but when Tomas found out from Death herself that his cousin Katka is going to die, he will have to admit he can see things others can't, and try to figure out who is friend and who is foe to save his cousin.

Pitting humans against powerful figures from myths a la Percy Jackson seems to be the thing to do still, and Bryce Moore did a fine job introducing us to the folklore of Slovakia, and giving us another reluctant hero to cheer for. Good and evil are somewhat ambiguous when it comes to these mythical creatures, especially the trickster Vodnik, so you never quite know who you should like. The book touches on racism and bullying, but those elements become a bit of a distraction from the main plot. Nonetheless, it's a fresh and engaging read.

For extra fun, check out the publisher's blog posts on how the design of the book cover came to be. I prefer some of the other illustrated designs so the book doesn't get dated easily. How about you?
Lee & Low Books: Design 101: How a book cover gets made Part I  Part II