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The Forest and Hands and Teeth, Carrie Ryan’s debut novel, begins seven generations after the Return, an undead plague that has ended civilization as we know it. The novel’s heroine, Mary, lives in a village surrounded by one last vestige of industrial technology: a chain-link fence, beyond which is a vast forest full of shambling, eternally ravenous zombies –the forest of hands and teeth. No villager ever goes outside this fence, unless they want to die, or worse, be infected and become one of the undead. Mary’s world is bounded not only by the fence but by the archaic traditions of her people, which are dictated by aRead More →

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In the first of a new sci-fi action series by prolific author James Patterson we meet Daniel X.  His secret abilities — like being able to manipulate objects and animals with his mind or to recreate himself in any shape he chooses — have helped him survive. But Daniel doesn’t have a normal life. He is the protector of the earth, the Alien Hunter, with a mission beyond what anyone could imagine.  From the day that his parents were brutally murdered in front of his very eyes, Daniel has used his unique gifts to assume their quest to hunt down the worst aliens hiding out onRead More →

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In the first of 6 projected books, The Comet’s Curse, opens with a quirky narrator telling the story of a “message in a bottle.”  The tail of the comet Bhaktul flew through the Earth’s atmosphere, leaving deadly particles in its wake. Suddenly, mankind is confronted with a virus that devastates the adult population. Only those under the age of eighteen seem to be immune. Desperate to save humanity, a renowned scientist proposes a bold plan: to create a ship that will carry a crew of 251 teenagers to a home in a distant solar system. Two years later, the Galahad and its crew—none over the age of sixteen—isRead More →

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I had fun reading Marked: A House of Night novel by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast.  Quick, fun and sassy, this was a great weekend read. Zoey Redbird’s world is a lot like our own, except that vampyres have always existed. She’s just been marked as a fledgling vampyre and has to go to a boarding school for her kind, The House of Night.  She never really felt like she fit into “normal” life – at school or at home – and so she hopes that she can find friends and acceptance in her new school and in her new life.  She’s in for aRead More →

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Any readers who enjoyed the first two books will certainly want to pick up The Indigo King and follow the continuing adventures of John, Jack, Charles and others.  Like the previous books, Owens has brought in true historical events and philosophies related to the main characters and intertwined them with the plot. The Indigo King contains a separate adventure, but with lots of references to the first two.  Therefore, even though it can be read by itself, it is less confusing and more fulfilling to read the first two books in the series before reading the third.  The storyline is exciting, once it gets started. Read More →

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I have a copy of The Gathering by Michael Carroll and at first I didn’t realize that it was book two in a series (yes, I see the giant “2” on the cover. Whatever.). I’ll definitely go back to read book 1, but I was able to follow along alright. 10 years ago the superheroes were the rescuers of the human race. The supervillain Ragnarok created a device to strip the heroes of their powers. Now, the children of the heroes are finding out that they inherited some powers. If you like shows like Heroes or enjoyed the giant list of superhero movies this summer,Read More →

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“Awesome!!  When is the second book coming out?”  That is what I thought while reading and after finishing The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.    In this age of reality TV, with backstabbing, lying, cheating and humiliation, the idea of the Hunger Games is all too appealing.  Just the description of the Hunger Games will probably interest any student.   From the beginning of the story, Katniss lets us into her life and introduces us to the “future” of North America.  We know her thoughts, struggles and find out how she has survived while many others haven’t.  We meet her community and their way of life.  AfterRead More →

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In Peadar O’Guilin’s first full length novel, The Inferior, “survival of the fittest” is taken to an entirely new meaning and readers should be prepared  for a gripping story about characters who must do whatever it takes to survive.  The story focuses on a young man, Stopmouth, and his tribe of humans who know of no other life than the daily battle to survive. To live, they must hunt rival species, or negotiate live flesh-trade with non-human species to maintain a precarious peace. And for Stopmouth, considered slowwitted because of his stutter, the future looks especially bleak. Their cruel world is not all as it seems however, and on theRead More →

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I thoroughly enjoyed this book including Nicoletta Ceccoli’s beautiful illustrations throughout. The adventure begins when “rivery” magic gives Claire’s bullying cousin Duke a horn instead of a nose. Similar to Pinochio’s nose, whenever he bullies someone, his horn grows as he slowly transforms into a rhinocerous. Only an act of true kindness will return him to himself, but Duke is too mean and selfish to care. He runs away and gets involved with some mischievous trolls who turn his family into stone. Claire agrees to help the trolls so that she can save her stony relatives and attempt to save Duke from himself. It’s aRead More →