Prodigy

If you haven't read Legend yet, STOP READING NOW, find a copy, read it, and then return!  I really liked Legend, so I've been looking forward to reading the sequel since it came out earlier this year.  I hoped it would be good, and I was not disappointed.  It is awesome!  Prodigy is the perfect blend of action and character development.  The plot never lags, and the characters become even more developed and refined.

June and Day are on the run from the Republic after Day's supposed execution at the end of Legend.  Day is suffering from an extreme leg injury which makes their journey to Vegas even more difficult.  If they can make it, they'll join up with the Patriots and do whatever it takes to  get Day's little brother, Eden, back.

But is June prepared to do what the Patriots want?  The Elector Primo is dead, and his son, Ander, is now in power.  The Patriots have a plot to assassinate the new Elector and start a revolution.  June will have to become a double agent to lure the new Elector into the Patriots trap.  She's willing to do it for Day.

Day has no problem with the assassination plot.  He hates the Elector, the Republic, and the entire elite class for all they've taken from him.  Besides, the Patriots have promised to help him get Eden back when all this is over.  Then they can all escape to the Colonies.

Both Day and June had to face revelations and question realities in Legend, but now the world seems to fall apart and reorganize at every turn.  Who can they trust in this world falling apart?  The Patriots?  The Colonies?  Each other?

Read Marie Lu's fabulous sequel to find out!

Ender's Game

If you've never read Ender's Game and you're a sci-fi fan, get reading!  The movie is about to come out, so you need to get busy with your reading now.

In the future, Earth is at war, and Ender is one of a group of children recruited for military and tactical training.  He will find friends and enemies in his new life, but these children are our last hope for survival.  Can they save us, or are we doomed to death at the hands of hostile alien invaders?

That is a short promo because it's been a while since I read it, but this book is so good!  Not only is it a great story, but there are some completely awesome training scenes.

Read it!  And visit Orson Scott Card's website find some of his other titles.

New Trailer for City of Bones!

Serendipity and Me

Sara loves cats.  She has cat posters, cat slippers, stuffed animal cats, everything  but an actual cat.  Her dad's answer is always no.

They are both struggling with grief over her mother's death when Sara gets the flu.  She is home feeling sick and alone when a kitten appears at their front door.  Sara just knows she can convince her dad to fall in love with this sweet little kitten named Serendipity, but her dad doesn't want to budge.

Sara and her dad feel separated from the world and each other by their grief, and Serendipity is warm and soft.  The kitten comforts Sara in a ways she hasn't felt for a long time.  It will rip her heart out all over again if she has to give Serendipity up.

In her quest to find a way to keep Serendipity, Sara discovers some truths about her parents' past and the reason her dad refuses to get a cat.  Maybe Serendipity can help both of them to begin to heal after all these years.

Judith L. Roth's new book is a bittersweet little verse novel about the debilitating and isolating power of grief and the love and companionship we can find with our pets.

Strands of Bronze and Gold

When Sophia's father dies, she and her older siblings are left in difficult financial circumstances.  It seems like a stroke of good luck when she receives an invitation from her mysterious and wealthy godfather.  Not only does he want to support Sophia, but he might be able to help her brothers and sister, as well.

Sophia leaves Boston for Wyndriven Abbey in Mississippi, and in 1855 the two are worlds apart.  Monsieur de Cressac plies Sophia with beautiful clothes, fine food, and the wonders of his home and estate.  He is charming and attentive, and Sophia is quick to overlook the problems in her new life.

Sophia has always been opposed to slavery, but she has never really been confronted with the practice before.  She is unsettled by M. de Cressac's reliance on slavery, but he waves her objections away.  When she headed for her new life Sophia believed she would live with de Cressac and his wife, but once she arrives, she discovers his wife is dead, and she silently questions the propriety of living with an unmarried man.

At first M. de Cressac's charm sweeps away her objections, but the longer she lives at Wyndriven Abbey, the more she discovers about her godfather, his disturbing past, and his volatile temper.

Jane Nickerson's Southern Gothic version of the Bluebeard fairy tale is lush, dark, beautiful, and dangerous.

Unspoken

The longest friendship of Kami Glass's life is with someone she's never met.  For as long as she can remember, he has been there as a presence in her mind to comfort and cajole her.  She learned a long time ago to stop talking to her parents and other friends about Jared.  Only crazy girls hear voices in their heads, right?

Life is about to get a little crazier for everyone in the small town of Sorry-in-the-Vale in the English Cottswolds.  The Lynburns, who own the manor house outside the village, have been gone for years, but now they're back.  The murmurs from older generations that even Kami's mother won't explain are now becoming more frequent.

Things get more intense when Ash and Jared, the Lynburn cousins, join Kami working on the school newspaper.  Her mother, and everyone else, warns her to stay away from them, but Kami just can't. Ash is beautiful and light and charming.  Jared is dark and brooding and handsome.

Kami and her team are investigating a series of strange events starting with slaughtered animals and progressing to attacks on people.  Is this violence connected to the return of the Lynburns?  Could it be there is more to the world than Kami ever dreamed possible?  And will her new friends lead to romance or danger?

Fans of The Mortal Instruments, Beautiful Creatures, and The Wolves of Mercy Falls will love Sarah Rees Brennan's new series starter!

Etiquette & Espionage

Sophronia has always been more interested in taking things apart and climbing trees than proper dress and conversation, so she is horrified when she learns her mother is sending her to Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But it doesn't take long for for her to realize this is no ordinary finishing school.  for one thing, the school is tethered to a series of balloons floating around the moors.  One of her teachers is a hot werewolf, and another is a fashion obsessed vampire.  She is learning to be a lady, but she is also learning self-defense, knife skills, and intelligence gathering.  Graduates learn to finish in more ways than one.  To top it all off, she seems to have made an enemy on her first day there.

With a mysterious prototype missing and the school menaced by flywaymen, Sophronia isn't waiting around for someone else to have all the adventures and solve this mystery!

Set in a steampunk Victorian England, this novel is full of mystery, adventure, evil plots, and even a few mechanimals.  Read Gail Carriger's debut novel for young adults and join in the fun!  Plus, how awesome is that cover!  I knew I had to read it as soon as I saw it!

True Legend

Drew "True" Robinson is already a star, and he's headed for NBA.  Everyone knows it including the ultra  rich Seth Gilbert who "discovered" Drew playing street ball in New York and moved him and his mom to California complete with a private school, a house, and a job for his mom.  But Darlene Robinson isn't buying all the hype; she knows Gilbert wants to be the man next to man.

Even Drew's best friend covers for him in school making sure his grades are high enough and giving him rides.  And his high school coach leaves pretty much everything up to Drew from practice schedules to plays on the court.

The problem is Drew is starting to believe the hype.  Why should he worry about school when it's just a stepping stone to the NBA?  Why should he worry about being a team player when everyone knows he's the real star?

One night Drew will meet someone on the playground who will force him to face reality, to see the truth of what his life has become.  Is it too late for Drew to become the real "True" Robinson?

Read Mike Lupica's latest sports story about living with integrity, especially when you're a star.

Smart Girls Get What They Want

Gigi, Neerja, and Bea have been best friends since kindergarten. They do everything together, and they're three of the smartest girls in their class.  Maybe they aren't the most popular girls in school--ok, most people don't even know who they are--but they aren't too worried about it.  They know the real fun will start in college.

But something happens to show them that maybe they are missing out on too much by not participating in high school life, and they make a plan.  They are the smartest girls in school, and there's no reason they can't have everything they want including grades, athletics, arts, student government, and maybe even cute guys!

Join these three friends on their journey to get the most out of life as they realize smart girls may not know everything, but they can get what they want if they put their minds to it.

This is Sarah Strohmeyer's first book for YA's, and it's a great ride through high school and teen romance.

Wonder

When Auggie was born, the doctors didn't expect him to survive, but he did, and now, even after multiple surgeries, he has so many facial deformities that he hates going out in public.  He's never even been to school before.  All that is about to change.

August Pullman is beginning his fifth grade year at Beecher Prep.  He knows it will be a challenge, but for some reason, he's ready to move on.  There's no way he can blend in, and at first he struggles to find a place for himself in the sometimes heartbreaking world of middle school.  People can be cruel, sometimes even your friends.

Told from multiple perspectives, R.J. Palacio's first book explores what the world is like for someone who is constantly in a negative spotlight because of his appearance.  I can't really tell you much more than that because I don't want to ruin the story, but you MUST read this book and always remember to be a "little kinder than is necessary."



And because I haven't been able to get this song out of my head since Palacio quoted it at the beginning of the book, here's a little Natalie Merchant for you.  :)

Girl Stolen

Imagine you are sick and sleeping in the back seat of your mom's SUV while she goes into the pharmacy to pick up your prescription.  A stranger casually gets in the car, starts the engine, and drives away without even realizing you are there.  Now imagine you are blind.

This is exactly what happens to Cheyenne Wilder one cold December day.  Cheyenne is terrified and miserably sick with pneumonia.  As she struggles to think of some way to save herself, she finally realizes she will have to let the carjacker know she is there.  Maybe he will let her go, especially once he knows she can't recognize his face.

Griffin can't believe his luck!  A practically brand new Cadillac Escalade just sitting there in the shopping center parking lot with the keys in the ignition.  Surely his dad will be proud when he sees this beauty.  Once he notices Cheyenne in the back seat, everything changes.  Griffin isn't a kidnapper, but he doesn't want to go to jail.  Can he keep Cheyenne from harm and protect himself?

Things quickly spiral out of control in April Henry's story of a carjacking gone awry.  I read this suspenseful book in one sitting because I couldn't wait to find out what would happen next!

Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different

Do you have an iPod, iPad, or iPhone?  How about any of the many devices that are modeled after these products?  If so, you should thank Steve Jobs.  Karen Blumenthal's new biography follows the
Apple co-founder and CEO through a life filled with moments of brilliance and insight as well as defeat and frustration.

Steve Jobs's path in life was never easy.  He was adopted as an infant, struggled to make friends in school, and dropped out of college after just one semester.  He struggled to find his path.

But when he reconnected with Steve Wozniak who was trying to build a computer for an individual to use, Jobs quickly recognized the genius of this plan, and soon Apple Computers was born. 

Blumenthal's biography is highly readable and fascinating revealing the innovative thinker as well as the demanding control freak.  If you were ever curious about how your iPod came to be or about how computers evolved from massive behemoths largely confined to academia to the tools for business and life we use today, this is a must read!