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In the not-too-distant future, the world has been baked dry and select people live a fairly comfortable existence in walled colonies, dependent on hoarded technology, water reserves, and the resourceful masses who exist outside the enclave walls from whom life-sustaining resources are taken on a regular basis.  Aside from foodstuffs and other tangible goods taken in by the Enclave, the most unsettling quota the masses outside the wall have to provide is newborn babies. That’s the world 16 year old Gaia Stone occupies; she lives outside the Enclave walls and is apprenticed to her mother, one of the few midwives whose sworn duty is to take hours-oldRead More →

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I just finished Matched by Ally Condie and loved it! I rarely read a book cover to cover but I read this one in two days. I had to see where it was going to go! A little bit Hunger Games and a whole lot The Giver, Matched is the story of a 17 year old girl figuring out that the utopian society she lives in might not be as flawless as she always thought. Cassia feels as if she’s waited forever to turn 17 and be “matched” with her perfect mate. At the ceremony, Cassia is both surprised and excited that she is matchedRead More →

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Australian author Richard Harland’s newest book, Worldshaker, is an action-packed, fast-paced thrill ride that grabs the reader from the first page and keeps you riveted until the satisfying conclusion. Col Porpentine is the grandson and heir to the supreme commander of the juggernaut Worldshaker. A technological marvel, Worldshaker carries over 10,000 people, including the nobility from the Old Country (formerly England) on an endless trip around the world, consuming resources and leaving a trail of destruction behind.  Col is a privileged member of the upper decks and has never questioned the order of things, the mastery of his people, and the mission of Worldshaker.  But then he meetsRead More →

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  The book Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater is a romantic love story about how two people will do anything to keep each other. I like how the author  portrays Grace’s character in the story as a normal teenager. Until she gets attacked by wolves, like any real-life situation if you live near the woods.  I really liked how that one wolf saved her because he loved her and then how she saved him at her doorstep. That’s romantic! I think this is one of my favorite love stories that I’ve read so far in the past year. I hope she writes more sequels to this love story or evenRead More →

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I’ll be the first to admit that when I picked up this book I immediately assumed that it would be yet another girl falls in love with mysterious boy who ends up being supernatural in some way (in this case, a werewolf.) I am happy to say that I was very wrong. Kristen Chandler’s debut novel is the story of KJ — a little-bit nerdy, little-bit of a tomboy, 16-year-old girl who lives in the small town of West End, Montana-right on the edge of Yellowstone National Park. Her dad is a fishing guide and works in the local fly shop, and KJ spends herRead More →

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The paranormal romance genre has a steamy new edition in Andrea Cremer’s Nightshade.  Of all the “Twilight-alikes” to date, Cremer’s sexy tale of lust, forbidden love, menacing evil, supernatural wolves, warlocks and ghouls comes the closest to capturing the steamy, angst-filled essence of the Bella-Edward-Jacob triangle and the bone-chilling, otherworldliness of the Volturi, the Cullens, and the Quileute Pack.  Calla Tor is no shrinking violet; she’s the 17 year old alpha of her pack of shape/dimension shifting human/wolves  (known as The Guardians) whose sworn duty is to protect and defend the mission and sacred places of the powerful, secretive, and menacing Keepers.  Calla is bold, strong, and determinedRead More →

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 Sophie Masson’s Elizabethan romantic mystery, The Madman of Venice (Aug 2010), is the perfect companion for a summer trip, poolside escape, or as an enjoyable journey from the summer doldrums. The canals of Venice in 1603 are exciting, mysterious, and dangerous.  Celia, the spunky, smart daughter of a prosperous London merchant, and Ned, her father’s like-able but somewhat stubborn clerk, find themselves quickly caught up in two mysteries: the deadly pirate attacks that have been plaguing English ships; and the search for Sarah Tedeschi, a Jewish girl who has vanished from the Venetian Ghetto after being accused of witchcraft by the powerful Countess of Montemoro. As Celia and Ned, alongRead More →

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The Tension of Opposites, by debut author Kristina McBride, balances on the razor thin line between numerous opposites: pain and relief; expectation and reality; choice and fate; caution and recklessness; love and hate; and selflessness and selfishness. Noelle was abducted from her sleepy Midwestern town two years ago. And ever since, her best friend Tessa’ life has been on hold. Guarded, isolated and basically living in suspended animation, now-sophomore Tess won’t allow herself the life that Noelle can’t have.  Her only outlet and solace has been her love of photography.  When the novel begins, Noelle has escaped her captor and been able to get himRead More →

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When two people have as much talent as John Green and David Levithan, when they have so much fun doing what they do, and you combine that with humor, wisdom, sarcasm, and an eye for seeing the truth and the fearlessness to tell it in just the right way, well, you get something spectacular.  In 4 words, you get: Will Grayson, Will Grayson. When David Levithan was at PBC last year for a dinner with local educators, he shared some background about how this book came to be: the funny coincidences of having another person whose name is almost the same as yours and what happensRead More →