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.

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:

Last we heard from Samuel Johnson, he's foiled Mrs. Abernathy's plan to open the portal for the Great Malevolence and his demon army to invade the world. Now Samuel, with all that craziness behind him, is trying to psych himself up and ask a girl out, though he can't see quite well so instead, he's asking a letterbox if she wants to go on a date.
Samuel may have gone back to his normal life, but he's not forgotten. Oh no. Far from it. Down in the Infernals, Mrs. Abernathy, who has lost all her clout with her fellow demons, is stewing and plotting revenge.  She is going to drag Samuel down to her territory this time. But have no fear, Samuel has his loyal dachshund Boswell, and a new cast of helpers: two cops, an ice-cream man and a traveling troupe of elves (who are really dwarfs).
Just like The Gates, The Infernals will delight readers who are looking for funny, adventure, wit, and some great friendships.  The characters are just priceless, and Terry Pratchett fans will be glad to see the same quality footnotes from Connolly.  This continues to be a great series for teens who are looking for something smarter than the usual fare.

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. 

What do you get when you combine the current two most popular themes in teen fiction? The Hunt, by Andrew Fukuda.


In Gene's world, everyone is a vampire, and humans, whom they call hepers, are protected just like endangered animals. They are only released once a year for the Hunt, an annual event that demonstrates and consolidates the power of "the Ruler" (Sounds familiar? Yah, I know.)  Only a selected few are picked by lottery to participate in this delicious feast, and Gene's name was chosen. It would have been his lucky day, except he is actually a human. Of course he is.  Can he survive among the bloodthirsty fiends?


For this book to work, readers will have to buy into the premise that Gene has successfully passed as a vampire for all this time until now. Since a good chunk of the book is spent on telling you all the things that you can and will do wrong that give you away as a human, the premise is a little hard to swallow.  There is also a crucial plot element that you wish you can't see from miles away. Having said that, it is nice to see the return to real vicious vampires. Like the ones in Abraham Lincoln:  Vampire Killer (better movie than people give it credit I think).  The Hunt, when it finally happens, is actually pretty intense. The dynamics between Gene and the hepers is probably the most interesting part, and hopefully we'll see more in the next book.  What? You weren't expecting a sequel?


The Hunt is also available on audiobook. Check out a sample clip, courtesy of Macmillan Audio.

As we say in our "About" page, the publishing world is great for making boys into readers with Percy Jackson's adventures and Greg Heffley's antics, but obviously they aren't the only books boys read. We all know that elementary school boys practically riot to be the first to get their hands on the latest Guinness (or, as they often say, "Genius") or Ripley's book. This feeds into the "boys love non-fiction" idea. We do. But sometimes, we don't want a whole book, especially in the summer when we have better things to do. That's one of the things that makes Guinness and Ripley's appealing: bite sized segments that allow easy skimming. But where do you go from those books when you get a little older?