Violet's Secret

Title: Violet’s Secret

Author: Lori Rill

Year: 2012

Genre: Fantasy

Age: 7th grade up

Summary: A young girl faces challenges and uncovers her history by learning how to use her gift, reading others' thoughts through their colors.

Review: I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Violet and her world in this book. Middle school girls will be especially drawn to her because of the every-girl characterization. Don’t think Violet is unremarkable just because she’s relatable, though! Her ability doesn’t make her a superhero, just a very special and observant girl.

Lori Rill (full disclosure: she’s a friend and a teacher here at Susquehanna Township Middle School) really shines in her description of colors and settings. Though I first read the book months ago, specific turns of phrase have stuck with me, including the descriptions of objects as simple as a seat or a desk. I look forward to reading what else she comes up with!

I recommend this book to students here at STMS and STHS (they’ll see a lot of their lives in the world Rill created). Also, readers who enjoy fantasy and realistic fiction.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

Title: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

Author: Jennifer E. Smith

Year: 2012

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Age: 7th grade up

Summary: Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything? Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A. Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it. (text from publisher)

Review: I can describe how I felt about this book in one word: Meh. It was okay. I’ll probably forget about it by next week, but I don’t regret reading it. Hadley was a bit annoying, but not the worst. Oliver was too good to be true in the way that boys in young adult novels usually are. Reading this is an okay way to spend a few hours, but don’t go out of your way to find it.

I recommend this book to girls whose parents are getting divorced and they’re bitter about it. You’ll make a better emotional connection to Hadley than I did.

Pandemonium

Title: Pandemonium

Author: Lauren Oliver

Year: 2012

Genre: Science Fiction

Age: Middle
school up

Summary: After falling in love, Lena and Alex flee their oppressive society where love is outlawed and everyone must receive "the cure"--an operation that makes them immune to the delirium of love--but Lena alone manages to find her way to a community of resistance fighters, and although she is bereft without the boy she loves, her struggles seem to be leading her toward a new love.

Review: Where Delirium was all heat and passion, Pandemonium is cold and calculating. Lena is a resistance fighter, flashing back to her time outside the city walls in the Wilds. This story telling conceit gives Oliver the opportunity for beautiful contrasts in her prose and world building. Lena herself is aware that she’s shuttered up her old self, become someone hard and cold. Secrets are revealed a bit clumsily (for example, if Oliver is going to spend that much time describing someone who really doesn’t do anything, I know it’s important later) but I didn’t care. The new characters are interesting and fleshed out, especially important with only Lena carrying through with us. Some parts show that this wasn’t really a planned trilogy (major plot points never mentioned in Delirium which should have been) but I’d still follow Lena (and Oliver) anywhere. When’s book three???

I recommend this book to those who liked the first book.

Before I Die

Title: Before I Die

Author: Jenny Downham

Year: 2009

Genre: Realistic fiction

Age: 9th grade up

Summary: Tessa has just months to live. Fighting back
against hospital visits, endless tests, and drugs with excruciating side
effects, Tessa compiles a list. It’s her To Do Before I Die list. And number
one is Sex. Released from the constraints of “normal” life, Tessa tastes new experiences to make her feel alive while her failing body struggles to keep up.

Tessa’s feelings, her relationships with her father and brother, her estranged mother, her best friend, and her new boyfriend, are all painfully crystallized in the precious weeks before Tessa’s time finally runs out. (summary from Amazon.com)

Review: I couldn’t stand this book. I read it (or rather, started reading it)
right after I finished “The Fault in Our Stars.” Big mistake. Hazel makes Tessa look selfish, stupid, and rude. I loved Hazel, but I loathed Tessa. I read about 1/3 of this book before I gave up. Tessa was a character I had no desire to spend time with.

I recommend this book to no one.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Title: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Author: Ransom Riggs

Year: 2011

Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy

Age: 6th grade up

Summary: A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive. (summary from amazon.com)

Review: This book took me right to the edge of my creepiness tolerance. I’m easily scared when reading—no Stephen King for me—so I’m impressed with myself for finishing this one. What makes it particularly creepy are the photos. At pertinent points, Riggs illustrates the story with old photographs he collected from yard sales and flea markets. Girls float, the back of a head has a mouth (REALLY CREEPY!) and a beanstalk shoots to the sky. Sometimes, the plot feels a bit too much like it was cobbled together to fit the photos, but it mostly works. The characters are not particularly memorable, but they serve the plot. Read this one for the atmosphere and the creepy moments.

I read this on my Kindle, and I must say the pictures lose some of their creepy on the tiny e-ink screen. Pick up a print copy of this one for maximum enjoyment.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in a creepy mystery.

Stolen

Title: Stolen

Author: Lucy Christopher

Year: 2010

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Age: Grades 8 and up

Summary: Gemma is 16, just had a fight in an airport with her parents, and is drinking a cup of coffee with a hunk she just met. However, something about this older guy being so nice to her just doesn't feel quite right. The next thing she distinctly remembers is waking up in an unfamiliar room and realizing that she has been kidnapped. Can she ever get back home?

Review: Almost everything about this story took me by surprise. This is not an average story of a person being abducted. It explores the motivation of a captor, and the malleability of their victim. This is a fascinating cautionary tale for all young people.

The Art of Racing in the Rain

Title: The Art of Racing in the Rain

Author: Garth Stein

Year: 2008

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Age: Grades 11 and 12

Summary: This is the story of a race car driver and his dog, told from the point of view of the dog. Set in Seattle, this novel can be summed up with the permeating mantra of, "that which you manifest is before you."

Review: There is a true pattern to the books that I love; they all make me cry. This is a hilarious and heartbreaking story of life told from the point of view of a dog. This is a story that will appeal to any reader because it covers everything from sports to romance to the human condition. I would highly recommend this book to older students who are looking for a novel that can truly reflect life.