Robert Charles Wilson

Just finished Gypsies by Robert Charles Wilson and "A Bridge of Years," and am now reading The Chronoliths. "The Chronoliths is set in the near future (about 2020) where a giant monument appears mysteriously in the middle of a jungle. Examination of the object show that it is a monument to an unknown military leader celebrating a military victory - 20 years in the future. More of these objects begin to appear, some with catastrophics results when they land on cities and kill hundreds of thousands of people. As the date on the monuments draws closer, people try to ignore their appearance or desperately try to figure out their meaning. Julian Comstock, set in a post-appocalyptic North America, follows a charismatic young military hero who is deemed a threat to the status quo by his uncle - president of the country.

Curse of the Blue Tattoo: being an account of the misadventures of Jacky Faber, midshipman and fine lady By L.A. Meyer

Disguised as a boy, Jacky Faber has been having a grand time as a midshipman aboard H.M.S. Dolphin. Now the masquerade is over, and she has been packed off to a private school to learn to be a lady. But Jacky is not the type of girl to sit quietly learning to embroider. Soon she is embroiled in adventures such a horseracing (to win a bet and save her the estate of her best friend's father), sneaking out at night to sing at a local tavern (to earn money to get back to England) and solve the mystery of a maid who died in suspicious circumstances.

Jacky is a great character - plucky, a bit crude, energetic, and also underneath her streetwise exterior - vulnerable.

There is adventure, humour, mystery, and a bit of romance in this energetic novel that keeps zipping along to the last page.

Night Runner by Max Turner

Zack Thomson is 15 years old and lives in the pschychiatric ward of a hospital in Barrie. He's not mentally disturbed although he certainly has some unusual problems. For instance, he has a severe allergy to sunlight which means that he can only go outside at night. And he can't tolerate any solid food - he only drinks a frothy red beverage that Nurse Ophelia whips up for him every night.

His monotonous life, enlivened only by visits from his friend Charlie, changes abruptly when an elderly man on a motorcycle crashes into the lounge room of the ward. From him, Zack learns that his condition is vampirism, and further, that another vampire is out to kill him.

Zack bolts from the hospital, and with an unknown person (thing?) on his heels ends up at Charlie's family cottage in the Muskokas. Here, his would-be killer is still on his heels, but at least he gets to do some late-night partying with other teens and a tiny bit of a romance before the action heats up again for him.

Short chapters, lots of action, humorous dialogue make this a fast and absorbing read even for the reluctant reader.

Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier

Reason Cansino has spent her whole life on the run from a grandmother who supposedly practices black magic. Now, she is forced to live with her grandmother and learns that she herself has inherited magical powers. But she faces a terrible dilemma. If she practices magic she will shorten her life by many years. If she doesn't use her magic powers, she will go mad. Determined to find a way to avoid either fate and to escape her grandmother, Reason steps through a portal which leads from sunny Australia into wintery New York. Only now she is being pursued not only by her grandmother, but also her grandfather who seems much, much worse.

This is a wonderful book, first in a trilogy.

Cybele's Secret byJuliet Marillier
"Wildwood Dancing" introduces us to five sisters who have managed to find their way through a portal into a Faerie Kingdom. At the end of the the story, the eldest sister remains in the kingdom, with the others seemingly barred from ever returning.
"Cybele's Secret picks up six years later with the scholarly sister Paula on a hunt in Istanbul with her father for an ancient artifact which supposedly brings good fortune to its owner. Paula begins to catch glimpses of a mysterious veiled woman who may be her sister and who passes cryptic messages to her about Cybele.
Marillier creates a strong character in Paula, who was very much a secondary character in "Wildwood Dancing." However, the plot concerning Cybele, is rather a weak one. The first part of the book offers only glimpses of who and what Cybele is. This in itself, might have been intriguing if only the second part of the book had followed through with a Cybele worthy of the build-up. But after a harrowing ocean trip, journey through the jungle, and a descent into an Otherworld where the main characters must undergo a bizarre series of tests the payoff seems disappointing.
Not a bad book - readers may enjoy the romantic angle - but not a great one.

The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex

Where to start with Smekday? Okay. The earth is invaded by a bunch of aliens called Boovs. The Boovs generously "give" Americans Florida so that they can have the rest of the country. When eleven-year-old Gratuity Tucci's mom is taken by the Boovs to be a translator, she decides that she will drive to Florida by herself with only a cat named pig for company. Along the way, they meet a Boov who calls himself J.Lo (he's been hiding out in the magazine section of a store). J. Lo is on the lam from other Boovs, although Gratuity doesn't know this at first. Eventually, when another group of aliens called Gorgs arrive, J.Lo has to admit that he accidentally sent out radio signals to the Gorg. The Gorgs are much worse than the Boov and will not only kill all humans but will completely destroy the planet. But Gratuity, with the help of J.Lo and Pig manage to save the day.

At over 400 pages, there are alot of detours into side adventures, meeting with quirky characters, and lots of humour. But Gratuity and J. Lo are always at the heart of the story, their initial fear and antagonism gradually giving way to respect and frlendship. A fine book whose story and characters will remain with the reader long after the last page is finished.

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

With five minutes before my kids got home for lunch and fifteen minutes before I had to head to work I was racing through the last few pages of Life As We Knew It. I really wanted to know how things were going to turn out for 16-year- old Miranda and her family who are trying to survive after a meteor knocks the moon into closer orbit to the earth, resulting in tsunamis, earthquakes, illness, and starvation (among other things).

As a reader, you know from page one that disaster is just around the corner. But of course, everyone is looking forward to viewing this night-time spectacle - many of Miranda's neighbours are hosting parties to coincide with the meteor's arrival. Maybe not such a bad idea, since no-one's going to be celebrating again for a long time - if ever.

As the year progresses, things get progressively worse for the family. While not directly affected by tsunamis, volcanoes erupting around the world block out the sun and cause food shortages. The local and national infrastructure is fractured and gradually oil, internet, radio, and medical help disappear. Through it all, life becomes increasingly precarious for the family but they are determined to survive if at all possible.

Dead Girls Don't Write Letters by Gail Giles

After Jazz supposedly dies in a fire, her mom sinks into a deep depression and her dad is drinking heavily. Younger sister Sunny is struggling to run the household and keep up with her school work. Then a letter arrives - supposedly from Jazz - saying that she is still alive and is coming home. Trouble is, the girl who shows up looks like Jazz, acts like Jazz, but isn't Jazz. Who is she and why is she doing this?

The plot of "Dead Girls" reminded me a lot of Lois Duncan but with more substance. The relationships between family members is what makes it stand above other books in the suspense genre. Although a quick read , Giles manages to convey a lot about the complex interactions between family members and between family members and the Jazz impersonator.

Named an American Library Association Quick Pick for Reluctant readers.

Keepers of the Flame by Jennifer Armstrong

Five years have passed since a virus killed most of the world's adults. The children who have not died, scavenge for food and shelter in the ruins of towns and cities. They cling to their memories of the pr-virus (fire-us) world, but these memories are distant and distorted. A small group of teens and children are travelling up the coast of Florida and for the first time in five years they have come across adults. Living in a mall, these adults welcome the group warmly and invite them to stay. However, there is something peculiar about these adults....

While this is a trilogy, it was easy to jump into book two without reading the first book. It's a great seat-of-pants adventure with some real depth to the characters and their will to survive.

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

15-year-old twins, Sophie and Josh are working at summer jobs in San Francisco when they are inadvertently pulled into a struggle between alchemists Nicholas Flamel and John Dee for a book that will give immortality and unlimited power to whoever owns it. After a fierce battle in a bookstore, the twins flee for safety with Flamel. But is he really concerned for their well-being and the survival of humanity or does he have a much darker agenda, as Dee suggests? Lots of action, lots of great fantasy.

Those Who Hunt the Night by Barbara Hambly

Someone is killing the vampires of London, England by exposing them to sunlight while they rest and then draining their blood. Simon Ysibro, who has been a vampire since before the Renaissance, wants to know who is responsible for these murders. Because he and his cohorts must avoid daylight, he seeks the assistance of James Asher, former agent for the British government, currently an Oxford professor. To Asher, the vampires are monsters, and deserve their fate. But Asher agrees to search for the murderer, since Ysibro has threatened to harm his wife if he refuses.

Hambly successfully creates an eery1907 London and Paris with flickering gaslight, swirling fog, and shadowy characters. Her vampires are indeed murderers - not exactly the type you'd want to invite to dinner. But they are not card-board characters - Ysibro especially, exibits a certain faded old-world charm and noblesse oblige. Nor are the humans two-dimensional. As a government agent, Asher has committed acts which make him wonder if he is any better than the vampires. A word about Asher's wife Lydia - she is a brave, intelligent woman who is willing to take things into her own hands. For those who can't stomach Bella, from the Twilight series, she comes as a welcome changes.

A good book for teens who enjoy the vampire genre.

Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman

Shawn has cerebral palsy. He is unable to dress himself, feed himself, or communicate with anyone, due to the severity of his condition. He has frequent seizures. Specialists have determined that he has the mental capacity of a three-month-old baby. But locked inside this unresponsive body is a highly intelligent teenager. As an observer of life he is humorous, astute, sometimes wise - mostly however, he is a fourteen-year-old boy. Because people think that he is in a near-vegetative state, they say an awful lot of things in front of him that they might not otherwise say. And one of the things that he seems to be hearing is that his dad might kill him, because he believes that Shawn's life is tragic and painful.

This is a lovely little book - there are no black and whites in this story - no villains - no heroes. A good book to provoke thought and discussion.

London Calling by Edward Bloor

Martin hates the private school he is attending. Henry Lowery and his gang are bullying him, but school officials won't help because Henry's family donates much-needed money to the school. When a bullying incident leads to a statue of Henry's great-grandfather, World War 2 hero General "Hollerin' Hank" Lowery, being damaged, Martin and his friends are unfairly blamed. Depressed, Martin retreats to his basement bedroom feeling that his life has no purpose, but when he inherits a 1940's radio from his grandmother his , perspective begins to change.

As he is drifting off to sleep one night, he hears the voice of a little boy over the radio, and suddenly he finds himself in London England during the blitz. Jimmy needs his help but for what?

This is a marvelous book on many. It gives young readers a gripping glimpse of a period in London's history where every moment of life to mattered because it was so precarious. It provides reflection on the nature of history - who determines how it will be seen by future generations. And it is shows a boy learning to determine his own path in life rather one that has been determined by others. Oh yes - and all written beautifully

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix

A plane mysteriously appears on a tarmac. Inside the plane, there is no pilot, no crew, no adults. However, there are 36 babies strapped into the seats and after the last baby is removed, the plane vanishes as mysteriously as it appears.

Thirteen years later, Jonah and his new friend Chip, both of them adoptees, begin to receive odd and threatening notes in the mail. When they start to investigate, with the help of Jonah's sister, Katherine, the FBI tries to discourage them with threats such as deportation. Next, strangers offering help appear and disappear mysteriously but are friends or enemies? Jonah, Chip, and Katherine scramble to find out what is happening, and, more important, to discover the true identity of the boys.

This one pulls in readers right from the start and with a cliffhanger ending, has them looking forward to the next installment.

First in a series

Farthing by Jo Walton

In an alternative world of the 1940's, Europe has been taken over by Nazi Germany. England has made peace with Hitler and political control is in the hands of a facist upperclass group that calls itself the Farthing Set. Against this backdrop, Lord and Lady Eversley, members of the Farthing Set, host a weekend party, during which another member of the Farthing Set is murdered. A Star of David has been pinned to his chest and suspicion immediately falls upon David Kahn, the Jewish husband of Lucy Eversley, daughter of Lord and Lady Eversley. Lucy and David realize that he has been set up to take the blame, as does Inspector Carmichael from Scotland Yard. As the Kahn's and Carmichael attempt to find the real killer, it appears that the crime is a political one with huge implications for the future of England.

While not a book about teenagers, and not marketed to teens, this should have cross-over appeal to those look for an engrossing mystery which also provides a lot of food for thought.

The Squad: Perfect Cover by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Bayport High School's varsity cheerleading team is composed of the most beautiful, the most athletic, the best-dressed, and the most popular girls in town. Toby Klein may be a black-belt in karate and an expert computer hacker but she has no school spirit, dresses badly, and has a tendency to beat up the guys who pick on her younger brother. She is horrified to be invited to join the cheerleading team until she learns that the girls are actually highly trained spys for the United States government Their cover is perfect - who would expect anything from a cheerleader?
What follows is lots of great clothes and accessories that double as spy gadgets, lots of girl bonding and gossip, lots of wildly improbable technology (a huge spy complex under the school). The reader really needs to suspend disbelief for Squad books (their is mention of Charlie's Angels but it reminded me even more of the Teletoon show "Spy Girls), but this looks like a fun series for those who are happy to do so.

Staying Fat For Sarah Byrne by Chris Cructher

Since grade school, obese Eric (Moby) has been best friends with Sarah Byrnes, a girl who was horribly disfigured by an accident at the age of three. In high-school Eric joined the swim team and began to slim down. Fearing that Sarah would feel alienated by his new appearance he tried to "stay fat" for her for almost a year, until Sarah pointed out to him that their lives were bound to eventually go in different directions but that their friendship would not be affected by his weight loss. But now Sarah is in a near-catatonic state in the pychiatric ward of the hospital and Eric is desperate to help her. As he hopes for a break-through with Sarah, he and his friends question why this is happening to her and what they can do - and there are no easy answers.

While the hardcover book jacket is a little dated, the characters and situations are as fresh and relevant as when the book was published in 1993.

The 13th Floor by Sid Fleishman
In attempting to find his sister Liz, who has disappeared, Buddy steps off the elevator onto the 13th floor of the old building and finds himself 300 years in the past on a pirate ship. And it just happens to be a ship belonging to an infamous ancestor, Captain Crackstone who according to family history was hanged for piracy. When the ship is set upon by other pirates in search of treasure, Buddy and the captain are set adrift in a small boat. Fortunately, they are washed ashore in New England, but only to face new problems. Another of Buddy's ancestors, 10-year-old Abigail, is being charged with witchcraft and Buddy's sister Liz, who happens to be a lawyer is defending her. Unfortunately, Liz is a little too modern and ends up under suspicion of witchcraft herself. Somehow, they need to save Abigail, save Captain Crackstone, and get themselves home, preferably with some of the Captain's treasure.
There's lots of action in this fast-paced story, but it's all kept pretty light-hearted with Fleishman managing to sucessfully juggle all these sub-stories and neatly wrap everything up in a little over 200 pages.

Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

Ruby is living by herself in a broken-down old farmhouse after her mom takes off on her. In a few months she will be eighteen and legally independent but when social services learns of her situation she is obliged to live with her older sister, whom she has not seen for many years. Suddenly, she is living in a beautiful house and going to a private school, but Ruby is uncomfortable with the situation. Because she feels that everyone she has ever cared about ultimately leaves, she is determined not to get close to anyone or to rely on anyone. But life doesn't work that way. As the people around her, including the popular guy next door, begin to find their way into her life, she finds that they too have problems and secrets to deal with. While Ruby and other characters are well-developed and the plot an interesting one, I found that the dialogue was a bit unbelievable. Lessons about relationships are provided through conversations and I kept thinking that people really don't talk like this. However, Sarah Dessen is tremendously popular and this would be a good bet to recommend to teen girls who like books about working through problems in relationships. Another one, in the same genre, but much shorter is Sweethearts by Sara Zarr

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Poor Percy. He's been kicked out of six schools in six years for being a troublemaker but he doesn't begin to know the meaning of trouble until his math teacher turns into a monster and tries to kill him while on a class visit to the museum. It turns out that Percy's dad is a Greek god, Poseidon, no less, and life for the offspring of the immortals tends to be dangerous and short. Percy must head to Camp Half-Blood where along with other children of Greek gods he can learn skills that will help him to survive. But after being accused of stealing Zeus's lightning bolt he must set out on a quest to find it before all-out war breaks out between the gods with humanity as the casualty.

There is plenty of action in The Lightning Thief but it is also laced with lots of humour, much of it emanating from the modern twist Riordan gives the Greek gods. The Camp Director happens to be Dionysius, punished for some past infraction by being forced into doing good works with youth; Mount Olympus is on the 60oth floor of the Empire State Building; chapters have amusing titles such as "Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death".

Kids who are not familiar with Greek mythology may be tempted to do more background reading. Those who are, will be amused by how Riordan incorporates the ancients into a modern story.

Highly recommended for tweens.