THE FEAR by Charlie Higson-REVIEW

THE FEAR is the third book in the Enemy series. The reading order is THE ENEMY, THE DEAD, and THE FEAR. The timeline of the novels is a little out of whack, but each novel includes a new main cast of characters so it doesn't matter too much. THE DEAD actually takes place before THE ENEMY and THE FEAR starts after THE DEAD and catches up and passes THE ENEMY.

In this horrifying world, children are battling for their lives against their mothers, fathers, and older siblings. (In THE ENEMY, the reader is introduced to the sickness that has spread through London and affected everyone 15-yrs-old and over, turning them into crazed, diseased killers that feast on the young children left behind.)

This is a frightening world where the children have to fight for survival every minute of the day. In THE FEAR we follow DogNut and Courtney as they travel across London in hopes of finding friends they were separated from a year ago. As they navigate the dangerous streets of London, DogNut and Courtney fight the Mothers and Fathers hiding around every corner.

THE FEAR is filled with death, blood, and violence. It isn't for the faint of heart. Charlie Higson writes one cringe-worthy scene after another.

This one was a tough one to read - so brutal and sad. I can't wait to read the next one, THE SACRIFICE.

NERVE by Jeanne Ryan-REVIEW

BOOK DESCRIPTION FROM GOODREADS:

A high-stakes online game of dares turns deadly
When Vee is picked to be a player in NERVE, an anonymous game of dares broadcast live online, she discovers that the game knows her. They tempt her with prizes taken from her ThisIsMe page and team her up with the perfect boy, sizzling-hot Ian. At first it’s exhilarating–Vee and Ian’s fans cheer them on to riskier dares with higher stakes. But the game takes a twisted turn when they’re directed to a secret location with five other players for the Grand Prize round. Suddenly they’re playing all or nothing, with their lives on the line. Just how far will Vee go before she loses NERVE?

MY THOUGHTS:

NERVE is an thrill-a-minute. As a reader I totally felt the discomfort and nervousness Vee feels during the dares she decides to complete for the game. Introducing Ian as her dare partner is a stroke of genius because he just adds to the thrill, but in a much different way. What makes this book so good is the fact that everyone can relate. Who wouldn’t contemplate standing up in a crowded room and singing Mary Had a Little Lamb if they were going to win a brand new iPhone if they did it. The problem is, once you complete one dare it gets easier and easier to complete the next and the game is designed to get progressively harder. The ending is one that leaves you thinking about what really happens to Vee. There are so many possibilities.

OTHER BOOKS IT REMINDS ME OF:

DASH AND LILY’S BOOK OF DARES by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn
FLASH POINT by Nancy Kress

UNCHAINED by L.B. Tillit-REVIEW

TJ has had a rough life. Both his parents have been hooked on drugs since he was a baby. He's been neglected for as long as he can remember. Being left on his own most of the time it's no surprise he comes into contact with the gangs of the community. He is just about to get heavily involved when disaster strikes at home and he is removed by Child Protective Services and placed in a foster home.

When TJ moves in with Miss Dixie, he is introduced to a world like he never knew existed. There, he learns what family is supposed to be and what is really important in life.

Eventually TJ's mother gets her act together enough to get TJ back. When he goes home his old friends are waiting for him to pick up right where he left off.

Will TJ be able to resist the world of fast money and dangerous people after knowing what life is supposed to be like and how family is supposed to behave?

UNCHAINED is a fast read from the Saddleback Gravel Road series. It is considered a Hi-Lo book - High interest, Low reading level. Hi-Lo books aren't usually very good, but this one is definitely worth reading.

MY FRIEND DAHMER by Derf Backderf-REVIEW

What is the first thing you think of when you hear the name Jeffrey Dahmer? That’s right, GRAPHIC NOVEL. 

Derf Backderf, the author of MY FRIEND DAHMER, actually went to school with the notorious serial killer. Not only does he use his own personal memories of the time they shared the halls together, but he also took the time to interview other classmates and teachers. conducted research by reading/watching interviews with Dahmer after he was captured, and reading the book Dahmer’s father wrote. 

Backderf takes us through Dahmer’s life starting in Seventh Grade. He paints a picture of Dahmer’s isolated life and reveals the loneliness he suffered through every day. Backderf shows Dahmer’s gradual progression of violent and macabre activities that led up to his first murder in 1978 when he was only 18-years-old.

For a book that chronicles a serial killer’s descent into darkness, MY FRIEND DAHMER contains relatively little violence. This is definitely a book for true crime fans. It is a disturbing and tragic story that compels you to read until you get to the gruesome end.

SUCH A PRETTY GIRL by Laura Wiess-REVIEW

Meredith is fifteen and has already lived through nightmares worse than anything most people could even imagine. Her father sexually abused her and her mother didn’t do anything to stop it. Meredith wasn’t alone though; he abused several other young children, but it was Meredith being injured to the point of needing an emergency room visit and Meredith finally admitting to what was going on that put him in jail. Her father received nine years in prison - long enough for her to turn eighteen and move away on her own.

The only problem…the justice system doesn’t always work the way it is supposed to. Because of progress during therapy and good behavior, Meredith’s father is released just three years after his incarceration. Meredith is scared to death. Her only salvation is Andy, a young man with whom she has a strange connection. He makes her feel calm when nothing else can. Andy is fighting his own demons though and plans to leave for Iowa to see a victim soul - someone who takes on the pain and suffering of another. Andy is paralyzed and he and his mother put their faith in God to cure him. He is leaving just when Meredith needs him the most. Meredith will have to find strength in herself to overcome her newest nightmare.

SUCH A PRETTY GIRL is an intense and emotional novel. It will catch the reader’s attention quickly. However, there are a few details will cause the reader to question the plot. For instance, it just so happens that her father’s arresting officer is now retired and lives in the same condo complex as Meredith. Also, her father can’t live with Meredith and her mother right away, but he does buy a condo on the other side of the complex. All in all, SUCH A PRETTY GIRL is a book to read. If you’ve enjoyed Ellen Hopkins’ IDENTICAL or Elizabeth Scott’s LIVING DEAD GIRL you probably will enjoy SUCH A PRETTY GIRL.

CHOPSTICKS by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral - REVIEW

Glory, a young piano prodigy, is missing. 

Glory’s mother died when she was young, leaving her alone with her father and a strict practice schedule. With about an hour of free time a day, Glory lives an isolated life revolving around practice, school work, and recitals. 

When Frank moves in next door, Glory is immediately drawn to him. Frank’s artistic and romantic nature is exactly what Glory needs. Frank nurtures Glory and gives her something she’s been missing from her demanding father – love.

As her relationship with Frank deepens, Glory begins to have trouble at her recitals. For reasons unknown to her or her father, she randomly breaks into playing Chopsticks in the middle of her classical pieces.  

The reader is left to put together the pieces of Glory’s life using handwritten notes, YouTube videos, IM transcripts, etc. The mystery of Glory’s disappearance and the validity of the reality she relies on unfolds in the pages of this unique multi-genre book.

ENVY by Gregg Olsen-REVIEW

The small town of Port Gamble, Washington is rocked by the death of one of their own. Katelyn, found dead by an apparent suicide, was a teenager like many others – having friend trouble, boy trouble, family trouble, but would she kill herself? Twins Hayley and Taylor don’t think so and decide to get to the bottom of what really happened.

So begins the mystery with several twists, turns, and red herrings thrown in.  

As mysteries go, it was fine. The author definitely had me trying to figure out what happened to Katelyn as each new clue was introduced. My problems with the book aren’t necessarily from the plot.  

I have a real pet peeve when books include mentions of real life objects that will date the story.  This book has way to much of that.  There are mentions of Facebook and fashion brands that might not be around in several years and end up pulling the reader out of the story. 

There were too many flashbacks and flash sideways. The flash sideways are due to the fact that the author used a third-person omniscient narrator. The third-person omniscient is presented by a narrator with an overarching point of view, seeing and knowing everything that happens within the world of the story, including what each of the characters is thinking and feeling. I really don’t like this style. It has too much of a Desperate Housewives feel to it. 

Oh, there is also some cyberbullying thrown in for good measure.


I did like the paranormal twist added to the story.  The twins, Hayley and Taylor, have some cool abilities, but…..it seemed like they could do just about anything they wanted to. When they wanted to figure out some part of the mystery they found a way. They can sense what happened from touching things (these scenes appear as flashbacks).  One of them can go under water or drink water and have messages appear. They can put things under their pillows and dream about them. There is even one instance where they foresee the future. Good grief! 

All in all ENVY was okay. 

Be sure to check out the website for the book.  It has a lot of cool extras.

WHY WE BROKE UP by Daniel Handler-REVIEW

Min Green is devastated. She and her boyfriend, Ed Slaterton, broke up. For two months, Min and Ed were practically inseparable. She introduced him to classic movies and he introduced her to basketball. Neither one of them particularly liked the new activities, but they went in order to please the other.

As with most new relationships, friends are neglected, compromises are made, and love is declared.

Everything is great…until it isn’t.

WHY WE BROKE UP consists of Min explaining how her and Ed’s relationship goes wrong. Min kept many mementos from their time together and has decided to give them back. She composes a letter to Ed explaining the importance of each memento and the reasons they broke up. Her final act will be to put the letter in the box with the mementos and dump them on his porch.

Daniel Handler does a FAN-TAS-TIC job of portraying Min as a broken hearted girl. Her devastation comes through perfectly. Anyone who has had their heart broken will be able to identify with Min.

I listened to this on audio and was completely happy with the performance of the narrator, but with the audio I missed out on the unique illustrations by Maira Kalman. Maira Kalman provides illustrations for the mementos throughout the book.

WHALE TALK by Chris Crutcher-REVIEW

T. J. Jones is a smart young man.  He lives with his wonderfully supportive adoptive parents, has the perfect girlfriend, and plays some mean basketball. It has taken him a long time to get to a place in his life where he can say he is happy though. It still takes a lot of self-control to suppress his anger because unfortunately, he lives in a town where people aren’t exactly open-minded. As part African-American he faces daily racism from some of the Good Ol’ Boys in town. He particularly has trouble with the star football player.

When T.J. is approached by one of his teachers to join the swim team he is confused. Cutter High School doesn’t have a swim team. It turns out the teacher wants him to start the team and help him recruit other swimmers. T.J. decides to do it, if nothing else, to spite the school athletics group. T.J. is determined to get his swim team to perform well enough during the season so they can all qualify for letter jackets. The group of misfits he convinces to join the team turn out to need a lot more than a letter jacket – they need friendship.

Chris Crutcher packs in so many emotions in this story that you can’t help but be sucked into it. He uses his wealth of experience to weave together a complex story of love and the true meaning of family. I listened to WHALE TALK on audio and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The narrator did a fantastic job. This is one of the classics of young adult literature.  If you haven’t read it yet, now is the time.

THIS DARK ENDEAVOR by Kenneth Oppel-REVIEW

Victor Frankenstein wasn’t always the mad scientist we know him as today. Once he was simply a rebellious and rambunctious young man living a privileged life. It’s not until his identical twin, Konrad, becomes ill that his mind begins straying to thoughts of alchemy. Well, that and the fact that he, along with his brother and distant cousin Elizabeth, stumble upon a hidden library deep within their chateau. Not an ordinary library though, but one filled with books of recipes for magic potions and elixirs. 
 
When their father finds them in the Dark Library, he asks them to promise never to return because of the dangers of the information they might find. Alchemy is a foolish and dark endeavor and one that is illegal to perform. To Victor, the library is an interesting place filled with mysterious books and Konrad’s possible death provides Victor with the excuse to return. Enlisting the help of their best friend Henry and beautiful Elizabeth, Victor finds a recipe for something called the Elixir of Life and is willing to stop at nothing to find a way to concoct the potion. 

The journey is a dangerous one and filled with much adventure. Not only does Victor have to conquer his fears, but he must also fight his growing feelings for Elizabeth and increasing jealousy of Konrad. Will Victor be able to find a way to save Konrad or is it foolish for him to even try as his father says?

My heart goes out to Victor. Konrad is more charming, smarter, and the favorite of the staff. When he finds out that Elizabeth loves Konrad, too it is almost more than he can take. Will his feelings for Elizabeth get in the way of his desire to save Konrad?

THE DARK ENDEAVOR is an interesting take on the Frankenstein classic. Kenneth Oppel has answered our question, “What led Frankenstein to his fascination with creating life where there is none?”  The sequel, SUCH WICKED INTENT comes out August 2012.

THUMPED by Megan McCafferty-REVIEW

READ BUMPED before you read THUMPED. You will be totally lost is you don’t.

Harmony and Melody are in the spotlight. Identical twins, separated at birth, both pregnant and due on the SAME DAY!!! Of course that is news. The cameras follow Melody everywhere as she goes about her life, sometimes even appearing in public with Jondoe (the sperm donor). Harmony is safe from most of the paparazzi because she is back home behind the guarded gates of Goodside living her life with Ram. 

Even though Harmony and Melody are the most envied girls in the world, neither one of them is particularly happy. While Melody knows what she is doing is important for the world and for her sister, it is costing her more than she imagined – the one guy she really loves.  Harmony always felt she was meant to live in Goodside, but after returning from her time in the outside, things have changed. She wants more out of life and doesn’t feel comfortable with the people of Goodside anymore.

The girls know they are doing the right thing, but as they get closer and closer to the Double Double Due Date life get tougher and tougher. Only telling the truth will set them free, but is the world ready for what they have to say?

McCafferty gives us a nice conclusion to BUMPED, but I really missed all the world building and word play that was in the first book.  Also, we didn’t get enough romance.  I definitely wanted more Melody and Zen, but especially Harmony and Jondoe.  THUMPED really brings the topic of motherhood to the forefront instead of simply the act of getting pregnant like in BUMPED.  The back of the book says this is the conclusion to BUMPED so it seems to me that this is the last one in the series. 

Out of the two books, BUMPED is clearly my favorite.

THE CHILDREN AND THE WOLVES by Adam Rapp-REVIEW

Intense, edgy, disturbing – just a few words that describe THE CHILDREN AND THE WOLVES by Adam Rapp. The reader is slapped in the face with the gritty story on the first page. 

Bounce, an extremely intelligent and wealthy girl meets Wiggins and Orange in detention. Bounce immediately sees them for what they are – weaklings and declares herself boss. She is disrespectful to all adults and authority figures and left alone for weeks at a time to do what she wants. 

The story is told in alternating points of view allowing the reader to see inside the minds of each of the characters. All three of these eighth graders have problems. Orange lives at home with his disabled father. His mother left without explanation and he doesn’t seem to care. 

Wiggins lives alone with his mother, a nurse with a fixation on Craig Ferguson. His father was a Ranger in the war in Iraq. When he finally came home, he didn’t stay. He distrusts several things – including refrigerators. 

When a local poet visits Bounce’s Honors English Class, he makes comments that angers her. She immediately develops a plan to deal with him and enlists the help of her two lackeys. The first stage of her plan involves kidnapping a little girl. Wiggins is the one in charge of keeping her fed and she stays in Orange’s basement because no one will find her there since Orange’s father can’t walk. 

Wiggins calls her Frog and is the only one to develop any type of relationship with her. The only thing Frog has to do all day is play a video game called “The Children and the Wolves.” As Bounce’s plan progresses, changes, and intensifies, Frog gets better and better at the game. 

After a particularly violent incident, Wiggins begins to have second thoughts about the path he is traveling with Bounce and Orange. Is he strong enough to break away from the abusive friendship? Will he be able to save Frog? 

THE CHILDREN AND THE WOLVES is engrossing. It is a very short 151 pages and really pulls the reader in. The fact that Bounce, Orange, and Wiggins are 13-years-old is frightening. Bounce especially is scary and most likely a sociopath. She definitely has a lack of conscience and manipulates others. Orange just wants her attention and approval and poor Wiggins, I think, just wants somewhere to belong. This one will really stick with you.

PERFECT by Ellen Hopkins-REVIEW

Ellen Hopkins does it again. PERFECT, written in her signature novel-in-verse style, follows the lives of four teens as they struggle to live up to the expectations of family, friends, and most importantly, themselves.

Stress leads Cara, Kendra, Sean, and Andre to respond in different ways. Two have secrets from their parents, one stresses to perform athletically, and one is determined to have the perfect body. Their choices lead them down paths they didn't know were possible.

What I love about this book is its connection to IMPULSE. During Cara's sections of the book the reader gets to see what her and her family are going through while her twin brother, Connor, is in Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital for those who have attempted suicide.

PERFECT is one of the best novels Ellen Hopkins has written. It also has one of the BEST covers!!! PERFECT is also the first of Ellen Hopkins' books I listened to on audio. Each character has a different narrator which really adds to the enjoyment of the book. I think I'll go back and listen to her others on audio too.

I HUNT KILLERS by Barry Lyga - REVIEWS and CONVERSATION

Julie and I read I HUNT KILLERS by Barry Lyga about the same time.  I was totally surprised that we both rated it the same. We texted back and forth as soon as I was done.  Here is how it went:

Of course, it is totally up to you guys to make your own decision about the book.  It is due out April 3rd, 2012. Here are our reviews:


Jazz Dent is the son of one of the most notorious serial killers in the United States. Billy Dent proudly killed over one hundred young women and told his son about each and every one of them. He made Jazz responsible for keeping the trophies from the murders in order. Jazz knows how to go about gaining the confidence of a potential victim, ways to kill and torture, and how to avoid being caught. It seems that every time he talks to someone those things keeps running through his mind. Jazz has to consciously think about acting “normal.” 

Jazz relies on his best friend Howie (a hemophiliac) and his strong-willed girlfriend, Connie, to keep him grounded. They know everything about him – all the gory details about his life with Billy and how he struggles to fit in with society. 

When dead bodies start turning up in town, it doesn’t take long for Jazz to realize another serial killer is at work. He does whatever he can to try and piece together the clues to prevent any other murders from taking place. When Jazz makes a startling discovery about the murders, it threatens to turn his world upside down all over again. Will he be able to catch the killer? 

I HUNT KILLERS is a wonderful concept. It is definitely a book that will fly off the shelves since a lot of people crave dark, macabre, suspenseful stories. I liked it and I liked Jazz, Connie, and especially Howie. Howie provides some lightness to a very dark story. People who love Dexter will definitely see the similarities. 

So, why did I only give it 3 Glasses? Well, there were several factors that led to the rating. One was the over use of the term “Dear Old Dad.” Over and over again Jazz referred to Billy in those terms. It grated on my nerves very early in the book. Another is the level of goriness. I know this is a young adult novel, but I thought it should have been more suspenseful and more gory. If the book is going to compare itself to Dexter, have an “in your face” title, and revolve around serial killers then it should scare the pants off of readers. Finally, several years ago I read another book where a teen was racing against time to save a girl from a serial killer and it was soooo suspenseful and I have that to compare it to. If you haven’t read it you should totally check it out – ACCELERATION by Graham McNamee.

"What if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad?"

That's the teaser on the back of this book. Of course it had me hooked!

Jazz is no ordinary teen, although he knows how to act like one. But when you have been raised by the world's most horrific serial killer it is hard to be "normal". Especially when your dad has taught you everything he knows in order to groom you as his successor. 

"Dear Old Dad" is now behind bars. Jazz really is trying to lead a normal life now. He has a girlfriend, he's in the school play. But Jazz' life is anything but normal. He lives with his crazy gramma, trying to keep the child welfare people from sending him to a foster home, his best friend Howie is a hemophiliac, and he lives in fear of becoming just like his father.

When a woman is found dead in a field with 3 fingers missing Jazz knows right away that another serial killer is on the loose. Unfortunately he can't get the law enforcement to agree with him before another murder is committed. Jazz joins forces with the police to catch the murderer. Jazz knows how a serial killer thinks and he wants to prove to himself that he is not like "Dear Old Dad". But it's a fine line he is walking because he understands the cravings to see a person's last breath seep out of them.

This is one of those books where I wish I had half hearts to give out. I would have given this a three and a half rating. I vacillated between really liking it and "it was just okay". I really liked the suspense of the story and the not knowing who the killer was until almost the very end. I disliked that this is a YA book. The theme was pretty horrific and sometimes goes into some gory details about what the killer did to his victims. Surprisingly the author kept the language fairly tame. I was offended by his use of Jesus, and g** d*** but other than that there really wasn't a lot of language, maybe because the theme was harsh enough? 

I Hunt Killers is published by Little Brown and will be out for sale in April 2012- I received my ARC copy at ALA in January.

ROTTERS by Daniel Kraus-REVIEW

When Joey’s mother is killed he is sent to live with the father he never met – Ken Harnett. In addition to dealing with the grief of losing his mother, he has to suffer through high school as the new kid where he immediately becomes the target of ridicule and pranks. No one in town likes Harnett and now, by association, Joey. To make matters even worse, Harnett doesn’t even speak to him. Joey doesn’t have food in the house, he sleeps in the corner of a dark and dirty cabin, and spends most of his time alone since his father leaves for days at a time for “work.” After a while, Joey can’t stand it any longer and decides to follow Harnett to see what he does when he leaves the house. Harnett is a grave robber. Now, Joey knows. He doesn’t know whether to turn in Harnett or ask to go with him.

Eventually, Harnett begins to train Joey in the art of grave robbing. He forces him to practice digging, learn the history of the profession, and research where the best graves will be. Soon, digging is his only relief since school is nothing but continuous torture. Joey learns the ins and outs of being a Digger and even meets others from around the United States. When one of the best Diggers suffers a mental break he begins to endanger all the Diggers. Will Joey and Harnett be able to stop him and prevent the Diggers from being revealed?

ROTTERS isn’t for the squeamish. The book is filled with death and detailed descriptions of what the body goes through during decomposition. The life Joey is forced to live is heart-breaking and I was brought to tears several times toward the end of the book. Never would I have thought I could call a book about digging up dead bodies beautiful, but ROTTERS is. Daniel Kraus does a fantastic job creating characters that you definitely feel for. Harnett is an especially surprising character and maybe even my favorite from the story.

I listened to ROTTERS on audio and it was fantastic. I have looked at this book on my shelf for a while, but finally moved it up my list when it won The Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production from YALSA in January. I’m very glad I did.

Sexual Content: None
Language Content: Moderate
Violence Content: Moderate