Scarlet by A. C. Gaughen

http://www.acgaughen.com/scarlet/

Scarlet has escaped her past in London, but it continues to haunt her.  Her scar is a constant reminder of what she left behind.  As tensions with the Sheriff of Nottingham and Guy of Gisbourne increase, the villagers are finding it more and more difficult just to survive.  In disguise as Will Scarlet, she helps Robin Hood steal from the rich to give to the poor.

I am a sucker for a good Robin Hood tale.  Always have been.  From the singing rooster in the Disney cartoon, to Kevin Costner and his thieves...I love them all.  Even wrote my Gr. 13 English ISU on Robin Hood as a hero.

So, when I saw that Scarlet was one of the Teens' Top Ten nominees, I was pretty excited.  Also a little skeptical - how could you retell the story of Robin Hood yet again?

Quite well, as it turns out!!  In fact, I'd give it 5/5 on the Rez Recommends list.  There's action, adventure, plot twists...enough to keep readers of either gender engaged.

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

www.betweenshadesofgray.com

Many World War II stories take place in Europe.  Between Shades of Gray sheds light on the little-known annihilation of the Lithuanian (and Latvian and Estonian) people by Stalin at the beginning of the war.  People were murdered or sent to work camps in Siberia, where the conditions were nothing short of horrific.  The Baltic states lost one third of their populations during this time. 

In Between Shades of Gray, Lina, her mother and her little brother Jonas are taken from their homes in the middle of the night, with only moments to gather a few belongings.  They are herded onto cattle cars with hundreds of other people - scholars, lawyers, teachers, and other "anti-Soviet" people - who were considered dangerous to the Kremlin.  As they attempt to survive through unbearable situations, Lina writes down their story - in the hopes of sending messages to get help.

I couldn't put this book down. Between Shades of Gray is such a beautiful, powerful book.  It's one of the Teens' Top Ten nominees - and I will be surprised if it doesn't make it into the top ten.  I personally give it a 5/5 on the Rez Recommends scale.

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

I had such high hopes for this book!!  I've loved Gabrielle Zevin's two other young adult novels - Elsewhere was particularly brilliant.  But sometimes high expectations lead to greater disappointment.

With that harsh opener, let me still say that All These Things is still an enjoyable read.  Another solid addition to the dystopian genre.  And, like many others in this style, turns out that it's the first of a trilogy. (Is it wrong to want just a few really great standalone novels?!)

The year is 2083 in New York City.  Caffeine - and chocolate - are illegal.  Anya is the daughter of the head of the Balanchine crime family - let's call them the chocolate mafia.  She and her two siblings are orphans - her mother was killed in an attempt on Anya's father's life, and her father was murdered - a murder that she and her sister witnessed.

Anya keeps getting tangled up in situations and getting into trouble...which is only made more complicated by the fact that she's falling for the son of the new District Attorney.

Good plot, good pacing, solid characters...but it just lacked some of the depth or cleverness of Zevin's other two books.  I'd give it a 3/5 on the Rez Recommends scale.

All These Things I've Done is one of this year's Teen's Top Ten nominees and book 1 in the Birthright trilogy. Book 2, Because It Is My Blood is scheduled to be released this September. 

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

The future is bleak...World War III has devastated the earth as we know it...to the point where only the continent of North America survived (I'm sorry, I rolled my eyes a little at that one - but that was the only eye rolling for the rest of the book, so I can overlook that "flaw").  Because of genetic manipulations, a virus has infected the population so that every girl born, dies at the age of 20; boys at the age of 25.  To try and save the human race from extinction, rich first generation men (those who were born prior to the virus and therefore live past 25) kidnap young girls and sell them as wives whose responsibility is to procreate.

Rhine Ellery is one of those kidnapped and sold into slavery.  Although she is pampered and treated well by her captor, she is a prisoner.  She longs to escape and find her twin brother (her parents, both geneticists who were searching for an antidote, were killed years earlier).  While imprisoned in the mansion, she falls in love with one of the house servants, Gabriel.  They are both in danger...will they manage to escape?  What other secrets lurk behind locked doors, controlled by her father-in-law?

Although Wither was a little slow at the outset, it still managed to hold my attention.  The premise is interesting, the characters are becoming more developed, and I do want to see where it leads.  That being said, it wasn't particularly earth-shattering or new.  I did enjoy it, and think others will too, but I'm afraid that because The Hunger Games is so hugely successful, publishers are going to inundate us with so many dystopian novels that we'll get sick of them.  I give Wither a 3.5/5 on the Rez Recommends scale. 

Wither is book one in the Chemical Gardens trilogy - and is on this year's list of Teens' Top Ten nominees.  Book two, Fever, is also available - I just put a hold on it at the KPL and am looking forward to reading it.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

After being completely creeped out by "172 Hours on the Moon" I wanted to read something that was going to make me laugh.

A book with "Dying Girl" in the title? Really?!

Yup. The "author" (main character, Greg Gaines) sums it up best:

"I do actually want to say one other thing before we get started with the horrifyingly inane book.  You may have already figured out that it's about a girl who had cancer.  So there's a chance you're thinking, 'Awesome! This is going to be a wise and insightful story about love and death and growing up. It is probably going to make me cry literally the entire time.  I am so fired up right now.' If that is an accurate representation of your thoughts, you should probably try to smush this book into a garbage disposal and then run away...My point is this: This book contains precisely zero Important Life Lessons, or Little-Known Facts About Love, or sappy tear-jerking Moments When We Knew We Had Left Our Childhood Behind for Good, or Whatever."(p 2-3)

Awesome.

As promised, there were no real life lessons.  There was a whole lot of cursing (mostly by his crazy friend, Earl).  And it made me laugh out loud...a lot!!  Greg is dry, sarcastic, self-deprecating, and extremely funny. 

This really isn't a book about "the Dying Girl"...but much more about a teenage boy trying to navigate life in general.  I give it 4/5 on the Rez Recommends scale.

As a side note, if you are looking for a "wise and insightful story about love and death and growing up", you MUST read John Green's "The Fault in Our Stars".  I didn't review it on this site...mostly because I was too overwhelmed to write about it at the time.  It's brilliant.  Extraordinarly funny and smart.  And I cried my eyes out.  It's now at the top of the "Ms. Martin's Favourites" list over on the side.  As another reviewer put it, "I was undone by this novel." 

172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad

After reading Mary Roach's "Packing for Mars" (about all the quirky things about space travel) I was in the moon for something space-y.  So, I picked up the creepy-looking "172 Hours on the Moon" by Johan Harstad (no one should ever take photos of an eye that close up...eyelashes that zoomed in look like some kind of weird spider legs!!).

Harstad is a Norwegian author, and this book has been translated into English (and a bunch of other languages - it's an award winner back in Norway).

The premise?  It's 2018 and NASA is trying to rebuild interest in the space program.  So, with the popularity of reality TV, they decide to hold a lottery, where three teens - chosen by lottery from entries all over the world - will join a four astronaut crew and land on the moon for a one week trip.  Oh, and the real reason?  There's a secret base on the moon that was built back in the 1970s, and there's been some kind of signal received by NASA and they need to investigate.

The three teens chosen - Mia from Norway, Midori from Japan, and Antoine from France - all have different reasons for wanting to make the trek.  But they have no idea what they're getting themselves into.  As soon as they arrive on the moon, things start going horribly wrong.

"172 Hours on the Moon" was a fast-paced read, with a lot of suspense and spine-tingling creepiness.  But, I do need to ask...what it is with Scandanavian authors and dark, depressing novels?  I don't want to give anything away, but if you're looking for a neatly tied up, happy ending, this is NOT the book for you. I'd give it a 4/5 on the Rez Recommends scale.

Summer reading begins!

Even librarians have difficulty finding time to read a lot during the school year (well, at least this one does!).  I've been doing a bunch of reading on food and cooking - and most recently, space travel (Mary Roach's "Packing for Mars" is awesome!).

But, now that summer holidays are here, it's time to dive back into some fiction reading...and I can't wait.  Soon, I'll be working my way through the 2012 Teens' Top Ten nominees.  Plus some of the other titles that have been on my "to read" list all year!

So, grab some sunscreen, a comfy chair and a great book...and let's get reading!