 Crazy House by James PattersonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Crazy House by James Patterson was an exciting read. In a "perfect" society everyone ins trapped doing what the government tells them to do "for the good of the cell and the United." Teenagers begin disappearing from the cell and they are ending up in the crazy house. But the crazy house is not as it appears. There are many twists in this book and it has a surprising ending that makes you want to read the next one. View all my reviews
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 The Shadow Cipher by Laura RubyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars York: The Shadow Cipher by Laura Ruby. I loved this book and cannot wait for the next installment. It is a great novel for readers who love to solve a puzzle or a mystery and for readers who love to invent new gadgets. Great imagination and vision on the author's part. Imagine New York running totally on technology. A great read with lots of twists and turns. View all my reviews  Refugee by Alan GratzMy rating: 5 of 5 stars Refugee by Alan Gratz. This is the story of 3 different refugee families in 3 different time periods. Each chapter ends leaving the reader on the edge of their seat and you cannot wait to get back to that story. This book is a must read for middle school students and all adults. This brought the plight of refugees to reality. It could be any of us at any time. Going about our normal routine one day and homeless and on the run the next. And there is so much valuable information interwoven in the 3 compelling stories. By far my favorite YA read in a long time. View all my reviews  Olivia's parents are murdered when she was 3 and she saw who did it. Everyone has always thought it was her father, but when his bones are discovered, new suspects arise. Can she find who did it and expose the real killer? This was a great suspense book with a strong female lead. April Henry always keeps us guessing.
 Kamran Smith is 100% American, perfect in every way. His life is on track to go to West Point after graduation, he has the perfect girlfriend, and he is a football star.....until his brother is accused of being a terrorist. Kamram knows this is not true and he will have to prove it by escaping from a federal prison, learn to use a gun, and invade terrorist cells. This is a great book for the times, showing you can't judge people by how things look.
 What teenager wouldn't want to spend the summer in Tuscany? Lina doesn't..it was her mother's dying wish that she should get to know her father (that she had never heard existed). All she wants to do is go back home. Then she is given a journal that helps her to know her mother better and to unearth a long buried secret that will change everything. "People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more." This is a great tour of Italy with suspense and romance intertwined.
 5 teenagers land in Africa to participate in a conservation exchange program and are definitely not used to roughing it. Sarah, whose only friends are the animals she sees everyday around their camp is in charge of entertaining them. Her father is supposed to help, but immediately leaves to try to find a poacher threatening their area and animals. Sarah finds herself"in the middle of the Kalahari wilderness with no Dad, no vehicle, and no Plan--with four Americans (and one Canadian) wholly unsuited to this place and this life." When Dad never returns, they must leave and go find him. When they find Theo covered in blood, a silver deadly lion, and an empty vehicle, they know they are in trouble and must overcome their fears and find out what is going on. This book was a great action/survival story. I had a hard time putting it down after I started.
 This was such a great book. You cheer for 13 year old Stewart who is so socially awkward, but very smart. When Stewart's Dad decides to move in with the most popular girl in school's Mom, both their worlds turn upside down. Stewart is trying to like Ashley and make Ashley accept him while Ashley is trying to pretend he doesn't exist. She can't afford to be sent down the social ladder just because she has a nerdy, new step brother. There are many unlikely relationships in this book, and Nielsen does a great job of developing these characters and making the situations believable.
They are so different, but they have one thing in common, "They're both made of molecules."  Zoe can travel back in time 23 minutes to relive events she wants to change. Most of the time, it makes people think she's crazy. But Zoe has a chance to use this "gift" to save lives. She lands in the middle of a bank robbery gone wrong and she is the only who can help. A single mistake can get her killed and not even time travel can bring her back from that. Will she be strong enough to do what she has to do?
This was a really interesting premise and I was rooting for Zoe the whole time. A fast and exciting read.  If someone knew what day you would die by looking at you, would you want to know??? What about a family member, would you want to know? Maddie doesn't have a choice. Every person she looks at has their death date on their forehead. Only she can see it. She hates this "talent." But her mother makes her use it to make money. All's well until a client's son goes missing on the exact day she predicts as his death date. Maddie gets brought in to the investigation and becomes a suspect. Can she help solve the case, or will she become a victim?
Excellent thriller!!!  Can you imagine losing weight on a cruise? Sounds too good to be true, right? Laurel is going cruising with her best friend Viv. A new diet sweetener being served on the cruise is guaranteed to make you lose weight. So, you can lose weight and meet some great celebrities on the cruise too. Definitely sounds too good to be true.
Laurel decides to forego the sweetener and she and her celebrity crush Tom see very strange things happening to everyone who took the sweetener. In fact, people get wild and dangerous. Tom and Laurel must expose the sweetener and save themselves and their friends before it's too late. This is an exciting book, guaranteed to keep your attention.  One text changes Roo's perfect life forever. When she answers a text from her sister while she's driving,her car flips and she ends up in a hospital. Everyone thinks she's in a coma and doesn't know what's going on around her, but she knows and understands everything. She has locked in syndrome. Can she get anyone to help her? Her sister Tilly is the only one who might, but she is suffering from guilt about many things.
Can she find a way to get to her sister? This book was hard to read, but I couldn't put it down. It is a great story of love between sisters.  What can happen in 54 minutes. This is the story of what happened at Opportunity High school in that time span. Told in precise time segments by Claire, Tomas, Autumn, and Sylv, the reader finds terror unfolding as students are welcomed to the new year in the auditorium and then find they can't leave. The shooting begins and each of the four storytellers tell the tale from their point of view. They each have a relationship with the shooter and each relive moments trying to figure out why he snapped and is doing what he is doing. Each student that is shot feels personal to all four of the storytellers. Who will survive?
 "Even Matt's best friend wants to know what's up with the black suit." Matt has worn it everyday since his mom died. Why....well, he got hired at the local funeral home--his whole life is a mess, so why not. His father's drinking, they need the money, and he hates to admit it, but he's drawn to the funerals. He goes to every one to see the person that cries the most at the end. Then he meets Lovey who will teach him how to be tough, which is all he wants. You can't help but root for Matt and hope he makes it through all the crazy.....
Great book that's on the Lone Star list and the Tayshas list for 2016. My favorite new dystopian book that I read this summer........  Celestine North lives a perfect life. She's a model daughter and sister, she's well-liked by everyone at school and she's dating the most popular boy in school. But in their society, if you are found to be "flawed," you could be branded and imprisoned. Your life is ruined. Celestine is a girl who sees life in black and white-no gray areas for her. When her instinct kicks in and she rights a wrong, will she lose everything and be found flawed?  Glittering Court is a beautiful new fantasy from Rachelle Mead who is famous for her Vampire Academy series.Adelaide is a countess who has a title, but no money. To escape being married off to a man she doesn't love, she poses as her servant and joins the Glittering Court.Here, they make poor and lower class girls into girls that appear to be upper class and will appeal to the wealthy men in the new world.
Adelaide must not let anyone know who she is or where she came from. She must be a good actress and hide her identity well. The only one who knows is the owner's son, Cedric. Everyone at the glittering court has secrets. Will she fool everyone and make the dangerous journey to the New World? Will she find the man of her dreams? |
AuthorMartha Johnson is the Librarian at BCJH in Bay City, TX. She loves to read and wants her students to get excited about reading. Archives
August 2018
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