11/22/63 by Stephen King

The date that is the title of this book is one of the most infamous in American History.  It is, of course, the date of the JFK assassination.  Jake, a high school English teacher from Maine, befriends the dying owner of a local diner.  But the diner harbors a secret--it is actually a portal to the past, specifically, to 1958.  The owner talks Jake into trying it out.  No matter how long Jake remains in the past, when he returns to the present, only 2 minutes have elapsed.  But the owner has another task for Jake, he wants Jake to return to 1958 and stay there until Nov. 22, 1963, so he can keep JFK from being killed.  We watch as Jake lives his life for 5 years, falls in love, and begins to stalk Lee Harvey Oswald.

It is a long book (over 800 pages), but a wonderful read!  The time travel is done consistently, and King throws in lots of references to his previous books.

THE SCORPIO RACES by Maggie Stiefvater

Every November the "capaill uisce" --water horses--emerge from the sea onto the fictional island of Thisby.  These water horses are much larger than regular horses, and they eat meat, including other horses, sheep, and people.  But some on the island have tamed the water horses enough to ride and race them in the biggest event of the year, the Scorpio Races.  The winner receives much respect on the island and a substantial prize of money.  Tourists from the mainland and from as far away as America flock to the island for the race.  The returning champion is 19-year-old Sean Kendrick, and odds are on his winning again this year.  But another entrant has islanders upset:  16-year-old Kate "Puck" Connolly intends to ride her regular horse, not a "capaill uisce".  She is the first girl to ride and the first not to ride a water horse.  But Puck needs the money and believes that her horse has a chance to win.   The book is told in the alternativing voices of Sean and Puck as they discover each other and begin to train together and to fall in love. 

I surprised myself by liking this book as much as I did.  The beginning is rather slow, but I couldn't stop reading the last 150 pages.  The setting is unique; it feels like a real island, perhaps off the coast of Ireland.  The time is contemporary but has a feel of the past.  Unlike anything else out there, it's full of unique characters, suspense, romance, and horses.  

I'LL WALK ALONE by Mary Higgins Clark

Alexandra "Zan" Moreland is a rising star in interior design in New York City.  But she has a tragic past--her young son was kidnapped in broad daylight when he was with a babysitter in Central Park three years ago.  On the anniversary of his kidnapping, pictures surface that seem to show that Zan kidnapped him herself.  Add to this the fact that someone has stolen her identity, running up charges on her credit cards, and she soon realizes that someone is out to destroy her life.  But does this mean her son could still be alive?

I would categorize this as "junk food" or "a guilty pleasure".  Not much substance, one dimensional characters, unrealistic plot line.  But still kind of fun.

THE DARK DAYS OF HAMBURGER HALPIN by Josh Berk

Will Halpin has attended a deaf school up until this year when he transfers to the regular public high school.  He struggles making friends, but he and Devon Smiley, another "outcast", soon form a friendship.  Will rarely wears his hearing aid because it gives him severe headaches, but he is an excellent lip-reader.  So when he rides the bus, he sits up front where he can see the mirror and reads the lips of the kids sitting in the back of the bus.  He finds a spot in the cafeteria so he can read the lips of the girl he has a crush on.  On a field trip to a coal mine, one of his classmates is murdered.  Will and Devon are soon involved with solving this crime and Will's lip-reading capabilities come in handy.

The common theme of the bullied outsider at a high school is freshened up a bit with the issue of Will's deafness and the murder mystery.

ROTTERS by Daniel Kraus

When Joey Crouch's mother is killed in a car crash, Joey is sent to Iowa to live with his father whom he has never met.  Joey, who has lived in Chicago his entire life, has a hard time adjusting to small town Iowa, and the kids at his new high school have a hard time accepting him and his father whom the town refers to as the "garbage man".  But Joey soon discovers that his father is not really a garbage man.  He is, in fact, a grave robber.  Joey's father earns his living by digging up the recently buried dead, stealing jewelry and other valuables that they are buried with, then selling the goods to less than scrupulous pawn shops.  Joey's struggles with bullying at school and this paired with his father's vocation soon join to create a macabre scene of revenge.

When I first realized what this book was about, I was repulsed and considered not reading it.  Then I thought I'd just read part of it.  But I found myself drawn to finish the book.  The author succeeds in making us care for these good people who do this awful thing.

DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth

Set in the near future in Chicago, citizens are divided into 5 factions:  Abnegation (the selfless), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent).  Sixteen-year-olds undergo an examination to determine which faction they best fit; then during the Choosing Day ceremony, each 16-year-old announces the faction they will join.  However, they must pass the initiation before they can be a full-fledged member.  Beatrice's family were leaders in the Abnegation faction; however, she chose to join the Dauntless faction and changes her name to "Tris".  But can she pass the brutal initiation rites of the Dauntless?   Did she betray her family by not remaining in Abnegation?  A romance soon develops between Tris and Four, one of the Dauntless in charge of the training for initiation.

Of the many dystopian books that have been published since THE HUNGER GAMES, this is one of the best.   I'm looking forward to the 2nd book in the trilogy!

THE BOY WHO HARNESSED THE WIND by William Kamkwamba

Hunger and famine are common occurrences for William and other people living in Malawi, Africa.  Forced to drop out of school at the age of 14 because his father could not afford the tuition, William haunts a local library.   Inspired by a book and his experiences fixing radios with his cousin, William decides to provide power to his home by creating "electric wind"--a windmill.  He scavenges parts--his father's broken bicycle, his mother's clothesline, pipe from his uncle's abandoned outhouse.  Locals think he's crazy, but when his windmill actually works, the media discovers and soon William is a local and international sensation.

This true story details William's life in Malawi.  Interesting details about how the people live, including the politics of famine, make the book larger than one young man's life.  A good read.

MOCKINGBIRDS by Daisy Whitney

Alex, a 17-year-old student at a boarding school, wakes up naked in bed with a boy she cannot remember.  Fragments of the night before begin to return to her.   Going to a concert, drinking, playing a game, drinking, leaving with a boy she just met and returning to his room with him.... She knows they had sex, but also knows that she did not want to.  It was date rape.  Alex's life changes.  She doesn't eat because she can no longer face the smirks and knowing smiles from the boy's friends in the cafeteria.  She skips classes for fear that she might see him.   With the encouragement of her roommate and her older sister, she decides to bring  this case to the "Mockingbirds"--a student created justice system inspired by the Harper Lee novel TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.   The boy claims the sex was consensual; Alex claims that she was too drunk to give consent.  The Mockingbirds will decide.

The opening scene of Alex waking up in the boy's room and realizing what happened is one of the most disturbing and powerful beginnings in a young adult novel that I've read in a long time.   The references to TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD are good and will resonate with students who have read that book.  But it did get a little teachy, preachy in places. 

DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver

Lena is about to turn 18, when she will have the surgery that will cure her from "delirium"--that is, falling in love.   Seems the government has decided that all ills in our society stem from this one emotion.  Lena is satisfied to have the government choose her husband and her job and is looking forward to leaving the home of her aunt and uncle with whom she has lived since her mother committed suicide.  Then Lena meets Alex.  He exposes her to love and a way of living in freedom that Lena never knew existed.  Suddenly, Lena does not want the required "cure" and must decide if this rebellion is worth the price she and her family will have to pay.  Discovering the truth  about her parents also complicates her decision.

This book is another in the current trend of dystopian fiction, and, I must admit, not one of my favorites.  I found the plot to be predictable and the dystopian world not as fleshed out as it could have been.  At around 400 pages,  the book dragged a bit for me.

THE MAPPING OF LOVE AND DEATH by Jacqueline Winspear

Maisie Dobbs runs her own private investigating business in London during the 1930s.  An American couple visit her looking for information about their son Michael who was killed during World War I some 15 years earlier.  His body has just been discovered in a field in France and an examination of the remains is revealing.  First of all, he was not killed in battle--he was murdered.  Also discovered with Michael's body was a pack of letters from a nurse with whom he apparently had a relationship.  Michael's parents want Maisie to find the nurse and to discover who killed their son.  Maisie accepts the case and finds herself immersed in memories of her own time as a nurse during WWI and the loss of her fiance to that war.

Maisie Dobbs is one of my favorite characters.  She is independent, but occasionally finds herself a bit lonely.  She is intelligent and sensitive.  I also always enjoy reading books with this setting.  Our library has only one other Maisie Dobbs book, but several others have been published.

I created a Google Map to show where various events in the book occur.  Here is the link:
Google Map

INCARCERON by Catherine Fisher

Set in the not too distant future, Incarceron is a prison that was created centuries before the book begins.  Originally intended as a perfect place--a utopia--Incarceron is anything but.  People run in gangs, and violence and danger are everywhere.  No one is to enter, and no one has ever escaped.  Maybe.  Finn, a teenager, lives in Incarceron with no memory of his childood, and is convinced that he came from the outside.  He is determined to return there. 

Claudia, the teenage daughter of the warden of Incarceron, is also trying to escape--from an arranged marriage with an older man.  She discovers a mysterious crystal key in her father's study.  When Finn discovers a matching key in Incarceron they discover that they can communicate with each other.

INCARCERON is one of the many dystopian novels that have been published recently, and it's a good one with lots of good versus evil action and even a bit of a romance.  First book in the series.

CUT, PASTE, KILL by Marshall Karp

Two Los Angeles police detectives are called to investigate a murder.  A woman was stabbed with a pair of scissors, and a scrapbook of her life was left at the murder scene.  Lomax and Biggs, the two detectives, soon discover that the murder victim was driving drunk and responsible for the death of a young boy--an event that the scrapbook documents thoroughly.  Lomax and Biggs also soon discover that two other murders also had scrapbooks left at the murder scenes, and the murder victims were anything but innocent.

This book, while no great tome,  is a fun read.  Lomax and Biggs are likable, often spouting funny smart remarks.  The ending gives a nice, satisfying twist. 

Animoto (www.animoto.com) is an online video creator that is free for educators.  Here's a little video about the book: 

THE CARDTURNER by Louis Sachar

Alton Richards' summer is looking bleak.  No job and his ex-girlfriend is dating his best friend.  His parents are worried about money and make Alton work for his wealthy uncle who is a world-class Bridge player but is now blind.  Alton's job is to go with his uncle to Bridge tournaments, telling him the cards in his hand and the cards that are played on every trick, and deal for him.  At first Alton's hates the job and the insults he must endure at his uncle's expense.  But then he begins to understand and enjoy the game.  He even enters a Bridge tournament with a girl he meets through his uncle.

The relationships that develop between Alton, his uncle, and his cousin are effective.  He is distant from his parents with good reason.  I especially enjoyed the sections on Bridge and have decided I want to learn to play the game!

THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST by Mohsin Hamid

At a cafe table in Lahore, a Pakistani man named Changez is telling a mysterious American stranger about his time living in the U.S.  Changez was living the immigrant dream--top of his class at Princeton, dream job with a firm on Wall Street, dating Erica, a beautiful girl from one of the wealthiest families in NYC.  But things begin to go wrong after September 11, 2001, when people begin to look at Changez differently.   Erica can no longer deal with grief from her past, and Changez struggles with his identities as an American and a Pakistani.

Changez is one of the most intriguing characters I've come across in a long time.  The author's decision to begin and end every chapter with Changez talking to the American stranger works well, reminding us where Changez has ended up.  The ending is unexpected and powerful.  It would be a wonderful companion to THE GREAT GATSBY.

SHIPBREAKER by Paolo Bacigalupi

Set in the near future on America's Gulf coast, gangs of young people scavange ships that have been grounded on the shore.  Because of climate change, entire cities such as New Orleans are completely under water and ships run the risk of hitting the buildings hidden at high tide.  After a brutal storm, Nailer discovers a particularly wealthy ship hidden after it is shipwrecked on a nearby island.  This claim could provide him wealth beyond his wildest imagination if he can figure out a way to keep it hidden from his abusive father and his abusive gang leader.  When he discovers a girl wounded but still alive in the ship, he is faced with another difficult decision.  Does he leave her to die so he can claim the wealth on the ship? Or does he help her?  The decision he makes changes his life in ways he never imagined.

Dystopian novels (set in a future society that has degraded and become very repressive and controlling) are quite common right now.  This is one of the best.  The beginning is a little slow as the author sets the mood, the background, and the society.  But once Nailer finds the girl, it becomes a suspenseful adventure story with characters we care about.  Good read!

Prezi (http://www.prezi.com/) is a fun, free presentation tool.  Here is a Prezi on SHIP BREAKER!

SHIP BREAKER by Paolo Bacigalupi on Prezi

THE THINGS A BROTHER KNOWS by Dana Reinhardt

Levi's older brother Boaz has just returned home from a four-year stint in the Marines, included two tours in Iraq.   Everyone in the town and at Levi's high school are congratulating the family, calling Boaz a hero.  But Levi is uncomfortable with this attention.  He's glad his brother is finally home, but Levi, his parents, and his grandfather are concerned that Boaz has some problems.  He rarely leaves his room and refuses to ride in a car.  Boaz tells his parents that he's going to hike the Appalachian Trail,  but Levi knows from the maps in Boaz's room and from the websites that Boaz has visited that Boaz is planning to walk to Washington DC.  But why?  After Boaz leaves, Levi decides to join him.  The two then share the journey.

The theme of relationships and bonding between brothers is rarely presented in books for high school readers.  This is a good one.

CITY OF VEILS by Zoe Ferraris

Set in contemporary Saudi Arabia, Katya is one of the few women working in the medical examiners office of the police department.  She struggles with all of the constraints placed on women by the Islamic culture, but she accepts them.  When she examines a body that is washed up on the beach nearby, she becomes involved with the entire murder investigation.  She soon calls upon the help of Nayir, a man she met on a previous case.  They discover that the murder victim was working on a documentary film that many in Saudi Arabia would object to. 

Nayir is a strict Islam, but finds himself attracted to Katya as Katya is to him.  This tension is played quite well in the book.  Another strength of the book is its respectful treatment of Islamic culture, even as it presents the problems many women face.  This is the sequel to FINDING NOUF by the same author and equally as good.

CROSSING by Andrew Xia Fukuda

Xing Xu is one of two Asian students at Slackenkill High School.  He is quiet and withdrawn, doing anything he can to blend into the crowd.  His loneliness is palpable. His best friend is Naomi Lee, the other Asian student, and even though she moved to the U.S. after Xing, she is assimilating faster.  She speaks English better, makes straight A's, even has a boyfriend.  When students at their high school begin to disappear, then show up dead, Xing finds himself in a position to see things that others in the high school don't see.  He sets out to solve the mystery even as he suffers negligence both at home and at school.

Crossing is a page-turning suspenseful mystery.  The chilling ending will haunt you for quite some time after you finish reading the book!

BATWOMAN: ELEGY by Greg Rucka

Gotham City has become victim to a crime spree by one of its most deadly killers--Alice.  With her father's help, Batwoman wages a battle against Alice and her gang.  Flashbacks give us the story of Batwoman's childhood, and a shocking revelation changes the relationship between Batwoman, her father, and Alice.

The story is well told and the images are mesmerizing.  Black, white, and red dominate, as angles and movement give the story an edge.  I particularly liked that everything Alice says is something from ALICE IN WONDERLAND.

SIR CHARLIE by Sid Fleischman

Still today, most of us recognize the character of the Little Tramp--postage-stamp mustache, formal bowler hat, too small jacket, too large pants, huge shoes pointing out, and a cane twirling.  This character, created by Charlie Chaplin in 1914, has become an icon of American film and American culture.  Sid Fleischman presents a very readable biography of Charlie Chaplin, from his childhood of abject poverty in the slums of London to being one of the highest paid and most powerful movie stars in Hollywood; from his banishment from the U.S. in 1952 to his triumphant return to the Oscar ceremony in 1972.  Chaplin was a genius at physical comedy and an innovative film maker.  But Fleischman also presents Chaplin's personal problems--his multiple relationships with very young women; his distance from his children; his strained relationship with his mother; his unpopular politics.

The book is well written and full of wonderful photographs.  Thoroughly entertaining--almost as entertaining as Chaplin himself!

YUMMY: THE LAST DAYS OF A SOUTHSIDE SHORTY by G. Neri

Eleven-year-old Robert Sandifer--nicknamed "Yummy"--made national news in 1994 for shooting an eleven-year-old girl named Shavon on the street in Southside Chicago.  We learn about Yummy's life and what leads up to this murder.  Yummy usually stays with his grandmother who tries to take care of about 20 other grandchildren, so Yummy turns to a gang to find a family.  The story is told through the character of Roger, another eleven-year-old who knew both Yummy and Shavon.  Roger tries to understand what happened.

This graphic novel is a very powerful retelling of this tragic event.  We see Yummy as both a monster and a child, a murderer and a victim.  Only the illustrations are black and white.

REVOLUTION by Jennifer Donnelly

Andi Alpers lives in Brooklyn, New York, and is a senior at a very exclusive private high school for very wealthy students.   But Andi's life is in shambles.  She is haunted by the death of her younger brother, Truman--a death for which she feels responsible.  Since Truman's death, Andi's parents have divorced, her father has a young girlfriend, and her unstable mother does nothing but paint pictures of Truman.  Despite Andi's intelligence and musical talent, she will not graduate unless she finishes her senior project.   Andi's father decides to take Andi with him to Paris to stay at the home of some old friends.  Here Andi discovers a hidden journal written by a girl who lived through the French Revolution in the 1790s.  So we follow two stories:  Andi struggling to accept her brother's death, her distant father, and her unstable mother.  And  Alex, the caretaker of the King of France's young son, who is doomed.

This is a beautifully written book!  The contrast between Andi's life and Alex's life is striking, yet they both struggle with devastating losses.  Would be a great read for Western Civilization class.

NUMBERS by Rachel Ward

Like many teenagers, Jem struggles.  Since her drug addicted mother died of an overdose, she has lived in a series of foster homes in London.  But Jem is different from other people as well.  When she looks someone in the eye, numbers appear to her.  Her mother's number was 10102001.  When her mother died on Oct. 10, 2001, Jem realizes that the numbers she sees reflect the day that the person will die.  Jem becomes friends with Spider, a boy from school.  One day the two ditch school and visit a tourist attraction with a huge crowd.  As Jem looks at each person, they all have the same number--today's date.  She knows that they will all die that day.  She convinces Spider to run from the center, and witnesses hear her say that something is going to happen to all of those people.  When a terrorist bomb goes off and all of those people do die, the police begin a search for Jem and Spider.

The premise of a character knowing when others will die is an intriguing one; interestingly, the book presents some contemporary issues in a very realistic way.  Jem's isolation and loneliness is touching.

THE MAZE RUNNER by James Dashner

Thomas wakes up in an elevator and can remember nothing about himself or his life except his name.  When the doors open he is delivered to a world inhabited by teenage boys who, like himself, can remember nothing about their lives before they were delivered to the Glade.  The boys have organized a life for themselves with set jobs and set schedules.  Some boys are assigned the job of runner and explore the maze that surrounds the Glade everyday before the stone doors to the maze shut every night.  The boys think that if they solve the maze they will be able to escape the Glade.  The boys were expecting Thomas when he arrives, but they were not expecting Teresa, the girl who arrives the next day.  They begin to suspect that things are about to drastically change in their world.

The book is written in short chapters--every episodic.  It has lots of action and suspense.

ROOM by Emma Donoghue

Jack is a typical 5-year-old.  He likes reading books, watching cartoons, and playing with his mother.  But Jack's life has been anything but typical.  He has lived his entire life in a single room.  In Room, he tells us, he sleeps in Wardrobe, jumps on Bed, and plays on Rug.   But nightly visits from Old Nick terrify him and his mother.  The reader soon realizes that Jack's mother was abducted by Old Nick 6 years before, and Jack was born in this room and has never left it.  But Jack's mother soon picks up on clues that Old Nick will not be able to keep them much longer and she plans their escape.

This is a wonderful book!  Jack's voice as the narrator is believable, endearing, and heart-breaking.  

MATCHED by Ally Condie

Cassia is excited about her Match banquet.  What 17-year-old girl wouldn't be?  It is at this banquet that Cassia will find out who she will marry.  Usually, the matched couple have never met, and they spend some time getting to know each other before they marry, but Cassia is lucky, she knows her match.  In fact, she has been friends with Xander for most of her life.  He is a perfect match.  Or is he?  Why, for just a second, does she see another boy's face on the matching screen?  Cassia knows this boy, Ky, as well, and she finds herself drawn to him in ways that she is not attracted to Xander.  But Society does not allow people to make choices like this.  When Cassia shares a poem with Ky that is not one of the 100 approved poems, the two of them become involved with each other and with a political movement that questions the predetermined life that Society has created for them.

Readers who liked The Hunger Games series will enjoy this book as well.  Matched is the first book of a planned trilogy.