The Selection

The Selection
By Kiera Cass
327 pages
Middle School and up

America Singer feels like an ordinary girl.  She has a secret boyfriend, works hard with her family, and has a strained relationship with her mother.  While not rich or famous, she is content with life and looks forward to a future with her boyfriend.

And then the Selection comes: 35 girls from around the world have a chance to get to know and marry Prince Maxon, heir to the crown. America doesn't want to apply for the Selection, but to appease her mom, she applies.  She is totally shocked when she is chosen as the representative from her region.  Reluctantly, she goes to the palace to meet Maxon.

Her first day there, she feels overcome with emotion and pressure.  She flees into a garden, breaking several rules, just to run into Maxon.  As they talk, she is honest with him, saying she misses her home and that she doesn't really want to be there.  Instead of ejecting her from the contest, he confides in her, and they become friends, just friends.

During the rest of the contest, Maxon uses America as a source of inside information.  But things start getting out of control.  Rebels are attacking the palace, the other contestants are scheming, and America's boyfriend shows up at the palace. America will have to choose where her loyalties lie and what she believes in.

First of all, why does the book have to end where it does!  Definitely will be another book!  While some issues are resolved, lots more are left hanging.  I really enjoyed the book, and can't wait for the sequel to come out!

Writing was fairly fast paced, so kept me interested throughout the book.  America has to grow up, face issues, and make decisions.  I can see some more themes that while minor in this book, will become much more important in the next.  The foreshadowing is great, and the characters are reacting in predictable ways. Great book!  I will definitely be recommending this to kids!

The Scoprio Races

The Scorpio Races
by  Maggie Stiefvater
407 pages
Early High School and older

On the island of Thisby lives the capaill uisce, vicious horses that rise up from the sea.  If you can catch them, and survive, you can run in the Scorpio Races.

Sean Kendrick is a four time winner of the Scorpio Races, one of the best riders on the island, and together with his stallion Corr, trying to win his freedom.  His no nonsense approach to life helps keep the capail uisce in order.  When a girl enters into the races for the first time ever, his world shifts.

Kate Connolly, better known as Puck, is an orphan trying to eek out a living  on the harsh island of Thisby.  She lives with her two brothers, takes care of the house, but her true love is her horse.  When her older brother says he is leaving, her world starts falling apart.  She decides to enter the Scorpio races to earn the money to make her brother stay. Not only is she the first girl to enter the races, she registers her island pony, not a capaill uisce in the race.  Inciting ridicule, prejudice, and scorn, she trains herself and the pony to run in the race.

As they train against each other, they get to know each other better.  Sean is concerned for her safety on the beach during the race with the vicious water horses running beside her.  Puck just wants to try to win, but her life keeps getting more and more complicated.  Puck and Sean both need to win, but there is only one winner of the Scorpio Races.

This story is about relationships: Sean and Puck, Sean and his capaill uisce, Puck and her pony, and even family relationships. Puck's life is falling apart, and she needs to find something help her cope with it. Sean needs to find his path to manhood and freedom.  The fantasy takes a back seat to the personal matters and issues in the book.

This was slightly different book, but very enjoyable.  The story telling flips between Puck and Sean, giving the two perspectives to tell both their stories.  I liked having the different stories so that we understand every one's motivations.  A lot of the time I read books for the fantasy and the magic; this book I read to find out who won the race and what they did after that.

While this is not a book I will give out to everyone, it's definitely a great read.  I would hand it to both girls and boys, since the perspective switches between the two. I would recommend to early high school aged, mostly because I'm not sure that middle school kids would be interested in the issues in the book. Also, there are some slightly violent scenes.

Great book, if you can find the right crowd for it. I enjoyed it a lot!

Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25

Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25
by Richard Paul Evans
326 pages
Middle School and older

Michael Vey looks like a normal, slightly puny, fourteen-year-old.  He gets bullied at school, stresses about his tests, and plays video games.  But he has a secret- a BIG secret.  One day, when the bullies finally push Michael over the edge, he shocks them with his own electric force.  A cheerleader, Taylor, sees him shock the bullies, and wants to talk with him about it.  She has her own secret to share with him, and together with Michael's friend Ostin, they all form the "Electroclan!"

As Michael and Taylor learn more about their abilities, they start investigating their births and missing records from the hospital. When Michael's mom is abducted by people wanting to talk to Michael about his powers, he has to decide how far he is willing to go to rescue her and others.

Can I just say: wow!  I had a lot of fun reading this book, and a hard time putting it down to make dinner!  The story line is incredibly fast paced and engrossing.  Things keep happening in this book, and you don't want to leave it hanging!  Great writing and super story telling!

Overall, I loved this book!  Would recommend it to both boys and girls starting around middle school age.  I don't remember any swearing, and there was nothing inappropriate sexually.  Very intense action and emotional in places.  Great book, will definitely hand this out to kids.  Plus, the sequel is out!  Woo hoo!

Thirteenth Child

Thirteenth Child
by Patricia C. Wrede
352 pages
Early Teens +

Eff was doomed the moment she was born.  She is a thirteenth child, classically unlucky and trouble from the start.  In high contrast is her twin brother, Lan, who is the seventh son of a seventh son: incredibly lucky and gifted in magic.  Lucky for Eff, Lan sticks up for her, and all her brothers and sisters like her just fine.

When their family moves out West for her father's work, Eff starts learning more about herself, and if she really is the trouble she is supposed to be.  She makes friends, goes to school, learns different styles of magic and meets interesting people.  Eff has to deal with being the twin to a double-seventh son, and figure out how her own magic works.

While not quite the normal setting for Wrede's works, this fictional, historical American setting is very vivid and fun.  Readers have a partly familiar setting, but lots of new things to discover within it.  Recognizable historical characters get tweaked to fit the different setting: Benjamin Franklin is another seventh son of a seventh son, plus a great magician.  This setting gives a great life and background to the story.

Eff was a very engaging character to read about.  The reader gets to follow her from being a little child, all the way to her late teens.  She has concerns that many teens could identify with, even if the teens aren't magicians!  Her voice stays true throughout the book: even as she grows older, her voice remains the same.  Though at times there isn't tons of action, the book moves along at a good pace.

Overall, I enjoyed this book!  This book is the beginning of a trilogy with Across the Great Barrier and The Far West being the next two books.  I will definitely be getting them and reading them as soon as I can!  While it has a female character, I think boys would like this as well.  I would recommend this to young teens and older.

Found

Found (Missing Series #1)

 by Margaret Peterson Haddix
308 pages
Late Elementary to Middle School

Jonah has always know he was adopted.  He lives with his parents and sister Katherine, and has a normal life.  He's even become friends with the new kid down the street, Chip. As a regular thirteen-year-old, his biggest concerns are social studies tests and if he should try out for the basketball team.

Then he gets the first letter.  It is in a plain white envelope and has merely six letters on the page: YOU ARE ONE OF THE MISSING. He thinks it is just a prank until Chip gets one too and they discover that Chip is adopted as well.  They don't think much about it until they both get a second letter with another mysterious message.  This leads them to start trying to find out what the letters might mean.

Jonah and Chip investigate their adoptions, leading them everywhere from a crazy lady to the FBI.  What do these letters mean?  Where did 36 babies on a plane appear from?  And who is this janitor that is warning Jonah?  With Katherine to help them, they have to discover not only where, but also when they came from!

This story was so much fun!  It was fast paced, exciting, and lots of twists and turns.  The plot moves along fast enough that it keeps the reader wanting to find out more, but not so fast that it loses the reader. There is a lot of dialogue that sounds a lot like how kids their age would talk, without sounding stupid.  The characters are well fleshed out, act in believable ways, and are very interesting.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this to both boys and girls staring around 5th or 6th grade.  This is the first of a series, that I am eager to get into the rest of it!  Looks like some of the others might be slightly historical in nature (time travel!  woo hoo!).  Can't wait to get to the next one, Sent!

Tuesdays at the Castle

Tuesdays at the Castle
by Jessica Day George

Princess Celie lives in Castle Glower, a magical castle that continuously adds rooms, passageways and towers.  No one quite understands why or how the castle does it, but Celie tries to map out all the changes as they happen.  Things are always mysteriously appearing and disappearing, depending on if the castle likes you or not!

 Then Celie's parents, the king and queen, disappear.  The councilors want to be names "regents" for Celie's older brother, and foreign princes and invading the castle.  Celie and her older siblings are held prisoners in their own castle!  How can Celie help them when she is trapped in a tower with no way out?

I loved this book!  It was lots of fun to read, and the action was very fast paced.  I had a hard time putting it down.  The plot lines are fairly straight forward, but has enough twists and fun moments that it was really engrossing.

Celie was vibrant and very exciting to read about.  The reader has great insight into her emotions, and her personality keeps the book moving so well.  Had fun getting to know her, and seeing her foils in her siblings.

This book is great for late elementary and middle school readers.  Most definitely more for the girls, and lots of fun!

Seraphina

Seraphina 
by Rachel Hartman
480 pages
Middle School+

Update!  I read this again for the YALSA 2013 Best of the Best Challenge!  I loved it just as much, if not more than I did last time.  I was more eager to read, so it went really fast this time. The world is so vivid, beautiful and well crafted. 

I noticed this time the glossery in the back, so if there was someone or a place mentioned that I didn't understand, I was able to look it up. For example, several times, Daanites are mentioned with some significance.  Once I looked it up, I understood more about those characters, how it affects them and why they said it when they did.  Very helpful tool!

I also saw lots of foreshadowing, both of events that happen later in the novel, but also stuff that hasn't happened yet.  In addition to all the people in her head that she still needs to meet, there are several more themes that need to be resolved.  The dragon rebellion/civil war will be very interesting!

Still an awesome book!  Definitely recommend it!  I did lower it to middle school age, mostly because I didn't really find anything that is mature content or anything like that which would be inappropriate for middle schoolers.  It is a big book, but I've seen little kids with big books before!

Seraphina lives in a world where humans have made peace with the dragons, trying to live together. Dragons shift into human shape to understand the humans, including their strange and foreign emotions. Dragons see those emotions are diseases, to be excised from the brain. Each species has difficulty understanding the motivations of the others' actions.

Into this world comes Seraphina, child of a human lawyer and musician dragon.  An abomination to either species, she hides her true self from everyone, including herself.  Her musical talents start bringing her into popularity, and the attention of even the royal family.  She must hide your half-dragon nature from everyone, even those she comes to care about. Inside her mind, she keeps a "garden" with characters, who she thought were imaginary, that she starts finding in real life.

On top of all of this, it's the time of the Treaty Festival, the anniversary of peace between the humans and dragons.  Seraphina must help plan the festivities, protect the royal family from unknown plots, and find a rogue dragon who she believes is her grandfather.   How can she reconcile her true self with how others around her will perceive her?  And can she protect all those close to her?

Seraphina is a great book, with a beautiful world that it created.  This book takes the stereotypical relationship between humans and dragons, and takes it to another level.  The world is realistic and even the seemingly minor characters have depth and connections.  While at times it is slow moving, it takes that chance to build the story, and adds layers and layers to the story.

Overall, I really loved Seraphina!  Seraphina herself is a character that I can identify with, and seeing her growth throughout the book was rewarding.  Of course I love dragons, and this was one of the most original story with dragons I've read in a long time.  Seems like it is well set up for a sequel, and if there is one, I will definitely read it!  Recommend it for teens and adults alike!  Great book!