Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

All I have to say is step aside Twilight. You got nothing on Shiver.

Shiver is what Twilight should have been; a supernatural teen romance about a girl and a mythical creature, in this book a werewolf, falling irrevocably and hopelessly in love. Only this book is written concisely, without any of the mistakes and jarringly bad writing that haunted the insanely popular aforementioned title...you know...the one with the apple on the cover. This book can be ingested easily in a day and that's a good thing. Nothing will distract you from Grace's predicament...her feeling that she's not exactly of this world, but not completely connected with the wolves that have obsessed her since she was bitten by them when she was a child. The narrative switches back and forth between Grace and Sam, the wolf who haunts the woods near Grace's house...watching over her in case she turns into a creature like him and slowly falling in love with her over 6 years of waiting.

The non-conventional werewolves in this book are all believable characters along with all the other characters in the book. The adults are of course predictably absent (like pretty much all of children's literature) and Grace and her two best friends are refreshingly not stereotypical teenagers. Sam's habit of thinking in poetry is not as saccharine as it sounds due to the fact that he tries endearingly to add guitar chords and write songs (when he's in human form) and Grace's cooking makes perfect sense when you learn how absent her parents really are.

Don't peak at the last page. I didn't quite cry, but it was close.

Really. Don't peak.

Tweak by Nic Sheff

So I just finished this one last night. If you've ever felt the temptation to try drugs read this book. It will totally turn you off the idea. Nic Sheff went through solid hell with his meth addiction and he tells us all about it in his memoir Tweak. From homelessness to starvation to much worse things he tells a brutally honest tale of hitting the bottom more than once. His father wrote a companion book called Beautiful Boy which I haven't read but which presumably tells his side of the story.

Nic's story is inspirational but very graphic in many ways...violence, sex, drug use (duh) and it is a nonfiction memoir so this is true stuff. Just something to be aware of when you pick it up.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Hey all! Are you looking for a book that will keep you guessing all through the night? Look no further! This book takes place in a technologically advanced though dark and dreary future. The world has been devestated due to war and natural disasters leaving only Panem, a "country" located in North America that is lead by a cruel dictator-ish entity known as The Capitol. The Capitol keeps all 12 of its districts in line by forcing them each to send two "tributes," a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18, to participate in The Hunger Games.

It could also be called the Killing Games because the whole point of the games is to survive. There is only one winner. Everyone else has to die. This is the first book in a planned series and I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT BOOK.

I'm back to posting! Thanks for being patient!

Feed by M. T. Anderson

I just finished listening to this book on CD. What an experience! Feed takes place in the future in an America that is amazingly and troublingly like the America we all know. Even though people live in pods hovering just over the surface of the earth and fly around in mini air planes called up-cars they still talk like Americans, dress like Americans, and act like Americans: slang is rampant (think unit instead of dude...you know like "Unit, that girl is hot!"), fads in clothing and hair are strange and based on popularity (remember the 80's? Yeah...I don't want to either.), and no one can miss their favorite programs on the feed (TV anyone?). And what is the feed? It is a chip. A computer installed in the user's brain and hardwired to the body. It interacts with all systems in the body regulating temperature (no fevers!) breathing (no asthma!) and constantly providing the user with images, music, information, news, programs, and advertisements for products tailored to the user's preferences. This is basically like being constantly hooked up to the Internet, television, TiVo, satellite, radio, and your local newspaper all at once. How great would that be? Awesome unless you think of the cost. Our bodies relying on the feed for our health? Americans all hooked up to the feed while poor countries are cut off from the prosperity we enjoy? Sounds like a recipe for disaster. Add a serving of young love and you've got a recipe for an awesome read. Anderson's languange is spot on with teens in the future sounding surprisingly similar to teens today. A GREAT book. Try it out! Till next time! -Suzanne

The Cay by Theodore Taylor

How many of you out there have seen the new Pirates movie? Dead Man's Chest was rollicking good fun, eh me harty? If you've got the sea sickness (like my husband does...all he does nowadays is listen to pirate songs on internet radio and dream of sailing off in a full-sailed vessel) try this book about a boy who gets stranded on a small island or cay with only one old black man and a tattered cat to keep him company. This is a historical ficiton novel set during World War II with none of the fantasy that the Pirates movies have (no sea-creature people or crews inhabited by skeletons). But it is a story of survival and ingenuity as Phillip has to come to terms with the fact that he may never get off the little island that is his new home. Follow Phillip's journey as he learns about survival, the equality of races, perception, and the true meaning of home. Till next time! -Suzanne

Books of Ember Series by Jeanne Duprau

When I was about 12 I was at a family reunion on my cousin's farm and I disappeared. My ENTIRE family, including 2 grandparents, 2 parents, 2 sisters, 22 cousins, and 10 aunts and uncles spent the better part of 2 hours searching for me. They checked the house, the barn, inside all the cars, under the tractor, in the apple orchard, and down by the creek, but I was never found. It wasn't until my baby sister called my name near the tree where I was comfortably nestled that I even knew they had missed me. What was I doing that I hadn't noticed my frantic family finely combing the farm for my face? I was reading. Specifically, I was reading The Witches by Roald Dahl (a FANTASTIC book...much better than the movie).

See, I used to get in trouble ALL THE TIME for reading when I was supposed to be doing something else (like being kissed by my aunts at a family reunion). I manage much better nowadays, but, I have to admit that yesterday morning I told my husband that I would have the kitchen cleaned up before he got home from work and I just didn't do it. Instead, I read The Prophet of Yonwood by Jeanne Duprau. This is the third book in her Books of Ember Series which tells the ever enfolding tale of our world some years from now when war and politics have taken their toll on our fair earth. In Ember, we see the great City of Ember, built in an effort to save the human race from complete devestation. In Sparks we see the village of Sparks and how they handle the arrival of the strange, backward yet technological, citizens of Ember and in Yonwood we find out how it all started. You will be hooked by the sparky, courageous characters that inhabit these books, as well as by the intriguing ideas that these books bring into your head. You might even forget to visit your family, do your dishes, or remember that your own world even exists at all. I know I did! Til next time! -Suzanne

Inside Out by Terry Trueman

Have you ever read anything by Terry Trueman? He's a great writer, especially if you like to read books with a strong protagonist. This books is about Zach, a 16 year old who has Schizophrenia. He's hanging out in a coffee shop one day when two other teenagers with guns come in and hold up the place. Things start to go wrong when the police arrive and the gun-wielding teens take the customers hostage in the back room. Things go from bad to worse. Zach needs his medicine or his Schizophrenia could start acting up...and you don't want to be Zach when that starts to happen. You will read this book so fast! -Till next time! Suzanne

Theories of Relativity by Barbara Haworth-Attard

Have you ever wondered what it's like to be homeless? How would you survive? How would you eat? Would you sleep? Would you keep to yourself or try to meet other people like you...street people? Would you beg? Dylan was thrown out of his house by his mother who thought that he got in the way of her new boyfriend. All of a sudden his hectic life with his mom and his two brothers is a haven that he cannot turn to. He's living on the streets. Every second of every day and every night he is making decisions...big decisions like where to go for his next meal and whether or not he should try to sleep. The author has written a fast-paced and very believable novel full of memorable characters: Dylan; Jenna, the homeless girl he's in love with; Amber, the prostitute who becomes his friend; and Vulture, who preys on everyone who lives on the street. You won't regret reading this book! Till next time! -Suzanne

Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick

This book was recommended to me by a dear reader who just knew it would keep me page turning to the extent that I committed the sin I have sworn to never commit which is the sin of reading on the job. I mean, I know I'm a librarian and all and it is okay for us to occasionally read on the job, but come on! I have a lot of other things I need to be doing! Like updating this Blog for one! Anyway, Sonnenblick (the author) has written a hilarious book about...oh. I can't tell you. I mean, I didn't know what it was about when I read it. I thought it would be like the movie Drumline or the movie American Pie (yup...that'd constitute Dangerous Pie for sure). But I had no idea what it was actually going to be about, and that made it that much better. Well. I'll tell you this much. It's about a guy, named Steven who is a very good drum player. He has a crush on this girl Renee and is friends with another girl named Annette. He has parents. His dad is an accountant. And he has to watch out for Dangerous Pie. And that's all I'm gonna tell ya! Till next time! -Suzanne

Watership Down - Richard Adams

This is one of my all time favorite books. It's all about a band of rabbits who, on the advice of Fiver, a small, jittery, and clairvoyent rabbit, leave their doomed warren for someplace new. Someplace safe. Someplace where they can start over and rule themselves. They almost join a couple of other warrens, due to the fact that they don't have any does (females) along with them, but in the end, they decide their freedom is worth more than the security of other warrens. They devise other plans to get their does and mayhem ensues. This is a great read for science fiction fans and people who like reading about different kinds of worlds and governments. Even fans of folklore will find this dense book a truly wonderful read. Till next time! -Suzanne

PS: They also made an animated movie based on this book in the 70's. It actually reminds me a little of the Anime style that is so popular today. :)

Fire-Us Series by Jennifer Armstrong

My own mother (Jean, a teacher) recommended these books to me a few years ago (Jean's a bit of a reader too). For the science fiction reader looking for a quick trilogy to consume, try these! Five years ago, a terrifying virus swept through the world killing quickly and ruthlessly and leaving no-one behind...except for kids. Pockets of children survived, unharmed by the deadly virus. However, with no one to take care of them, many of them died anyway. Along with the adults died names, words, and knowledge...especially the knowledge of how to grow and prepare food. Mommy, Hunter, Teacher, Action Figure, Teddy Bear, Baby, and Doll are living by themselves in the overgrown Florida landscape, surviving off the canned foods that were left behind. But their food is running out. What will they do and are they really the only ones left? Read the books to find out! Till next time! -Suzanne