Marked (House of Night Series #1) by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Marked (House of Night Series #1) by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast is about Zoey, an average high school student, complete with ex-almost-boyfriend, annoying best friend, religious zealot step-father, and perfect siblings. Zoey's life turns upside down the day a vampyre comes into her school and "marks" her with a crescent moon tattoo on her forehead. Zoey's destiny is to go the The House of Night school and to make the change into a vampire. Once she arrives, Zoey realizes that she has a very special destiny to fulfill. She has a special mark, different from the other fledglings. This puts her in a strong rivalry with the leader of the Dark Daughters, an exclusive group who is being groomed to be the next generation of vampire elders. Not to mention the fact that the current leader, Aphrodite's ex-boyfriend is now interested in Zoey. Zoey has a lot to prove to her new classmates and to the Dark Daughters.

This was a great book. It was a very quick read because the story was so engaging. I really liked the feeling that I was going through everything for the first time right along with Zoey. It was as if I was learning all the secrets of the vampire world as she learned them. I do need to caution younger readers that there is some VERY mature content in this book - both physically and verbally. This book is definitely for older readers.

Demon in My View by Ameila Atwater-Rhodes

Demon in My View by Ameila Atwater-Rhodes is the sequel to In the Forests of the Night. This novel is about Jessica, a teenage author who wrote a book called Tiger, Tiger, which happens to be the story in In the Forests of the Night. Little does Jessica know that the characters she dreamed up are real - including the vampires and witches. The most fearsome vampire in the story is Aubrey. Jessica is shocked to find the new student at her school, Alex, is the epitome of her "made-up" character, Aubrey. Soon, however, everything begins to click for Jessica, and she realizes that she isn't crazy - the things that are happening to her are real and the "characters" she though she'd imagined are alive... and they're after her for spilling their secrets.

This was a fun read. I actually began to like Aubrey in this book! Having the characters from the previous book return in a more modern setting was interesting. I liked it better than In the Forests of the Night. I recently found out that there is another book in this series. I think it is worth checking out!

Dr. Franklin's Island by Ann Halam

Dr. Franklin's Island by Ann Halam is about Semi, Miranda, and Arnie, the sole survivors of a plane crash. The three teens were part of an environmental group that was traveling to South America. When the plane crashed, Semi, Miranda, and Arnie were able to swim to a nearby island just as the remains of the plane exploded. They spent many days on the island, thinking it was deserted and working out ways to survive on their own. One day, Arnie disappeared while Semi and Miranda were out exploring. The girls thought he had gone off on the raft he made, until they found his machete abandoned in a strange place. While exploring, they girls came across a huge rock formation that hid an entrance to a secret scientific compound. The girls were kidnapped by Dr. Franklin's orderlies and operated on. They found out later that Dr. Franklin was a geneticist interested in coupling human DNA with that of animals. Semi was infused with the DNA of a manta ray while Miranda was infused with bird DNA.

This was a very interesting novel. It was survival, science fiction, and adventure all rolled together. I thought it was pretty realistic until the girls actually "morphed" into new creatures. That just sounds too far-fetched to me. The action was great, though, and I liked the way the three survivors continued to survive - all the way to their escape at the end.

Hush by Donna Jo Napoli

Hush by Donna Jo Napoli is the story of Melkorka, a wealthy Irish Princess growing up during the 900s. During her birthday trip to Dublin, Melkorka's only brother (and heir to the throne) has his hand cut off as a result of a Viking gambler losing a bet. To pay the family back, the man responsible for the gambler proposes marriage to Melkorka. Their father agrees, but only to lay a trap. His plan is to send his own army to the Viking ship, disguised as women, and slaughter his enemies. All the while, Melkorka and her younger sister, Brigid, would flee and hide. Unfortunately, as they execute this plan, Melkorka and Brigid are captured by some Russian slave-traders and whisked away from Ireland. On the voyage, Brigid manages to escape by jumping overboard. Melkorka, on the other hand, remains with the Russians. Because she has refused to speak from the moment she was captured, the Russians both fear her and are in awe of her. She is treated differently than the rest of the slaves. Melkorka comes to realize that despite being a slave, she has power over her voice. Throughout the rest of the story Melkorka remains mute. She sees and experiences many horrific things through the rest of the story, including being sold to a Viking who uses her as a mistress, witnessing a man put through a gruesome "test" to reveal whether or not he is trustworthy, and even watching as her Viking captors throw one of their own wounded friends overboard when they learn he will not survive his wounds.

I really liked this book. It was really interesting to read about this time period, of which I know little. I liked the way Melkorka changed throughout her experiences. In the beginning she relied on her 8 year old sister, Brigid, to know what to do next. By the end of the story, Melkorka had grown much wiser and was self reliant. It was also very interesting to realize how much pleasure one can get from something simple under dire circumstances, like how Melkorka was so excited to see the same bird over and over while at sea. This is a book for a more mature audience due to some violence and physicality.

The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray by Chris Wooding

The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray by Chris Wooding is about Thaniel and Cathaline, two wych-hunters living in a futuristic London. During one night of wych-hunting, Thaniel finds Alaizabel, a young girl who is possessed by an ancient and evil spirit. The rest of the story revolves around Thaniel and Cathaline trying to help Alaizabel find out who she ism who is taking possession of her body, and why. Also, there is a serial killer stalking the streets of London, called Stitch-face because of his gruesome appearance. He is furious with someone for "killing in his name". Someone else is killing people on the streets of London in a very particular pattern. Two detectives are trying to solve these murders. All of these seemingly unrelated things come together by the end of the story, where Thaniel, Cathaline, one of the detectives, a Beggar King, and a blind Devil boy try to defeat the "Fraternity" and all of the wych-kin forever.

This was an excellent book! I read some of Chris Wooding's other books last summer (Poison and The Storm Thief), and liked this one just as much. The fantasy worlds the author creates seem so realistic - right down to the strange and scary creatures that inhabit them. Like The Storm Thief, this book left me really thinking about humanity and human traits/characteristics.

Heartbeat by Sharon Creech

Heartbeat by Sharon Creech is about 12 year old Annie. Annie is a runner - she runs barefoot just because she likes it. Sometimes she runs with her best friend, Max, but lately Max has been in a bad mood. He's joined the track team at school and keeps trying to convince Annie to join as well. He doesn't understand that Annie doesn't want to be a part of a team. She likes to run alone. Meanwhile, at home, Annie's mother is pregnant. Annie, her mom and dad, and her grandfather who lives with them, are all eagerly awaiting the arrival of the "alien baby". Annie's grandfather used to be a champion runner, but he gave it up a long time ago. Now, he is old and forgetful, but Annie still loves chatting with him. At school, Annie is completing an interesting art project. Her teacher gave all of the students apples and told them to draw a picture of the same apple every day for 100 days. Throughout the school year, Annie finds that her apple changes in ways she never expected, sort of like her own life.

I read this book because I recently read Hate That Cat by the same author. I really like Sharon Creech's free verse style of writing. This book was a quick read, but so full of thought! I really identified with both Annie and Max. I understand what it's like to want something that seems out of reach, trying and feeling like it doesn't do any good. I also understand what it's like to see things a little bit differently from everyone else. This was another great book!

Scat by Carl Hiaasen

Scat by Carl Hiaasen is about Nick, a freshman at Truman, a fancy private school. He and his friend, Marta, are in biology class together with the worst teacher of all time, Mrs. Starch. She is rude, mean, strict, and worst of all, she makes fun of the students. Mrs. Starch picked on the wrong student one day (Duane Scrod Jr., otherwise known as Smoke). He bit her pencil in half and ate it - lead and all! The following day, the class went on a field trip to the Black Vine Swamp, near their Florida home. Smoke didn't show up for school that day. Soon after the groups of kids marched into the swamp, they smelled smoke and heard Mrs. Starch's blowhorn, signaling danger and for everyone to return to the bus. One student left her asthma inhaler in the swamp, so Mrs. Starch went back to find it. That was the last time anyone saw her. Some strange things began happening after that... Libby Marshall's inhaler mysteriously showed up on her back porch, a letter arrived at Truman stating that Mrs. Starch needed to take a leave of absence for a "family emergency", and Smoke came back to school wearing clean clothes and toting his homework. Nick and Marta decided it was their duty to figure out exactly what happened in the swamp and where their teacher actually went.

I really liked this book. Carl Hiaasen always writes about Florida, and he always writes about saving the environment. In Hoot, he wrote about saving some burrowing owls and their habitat from a pancake house development, in Flush, he wrote about a shifty casino boat owner dumping human waste into the Florida ocean waters, and in Scat he wrote about saving the endangered Florida panther and the Everglades. I always like reading about the ingenious ways his characters find to solve the mystery and defeat the "bad guy". This book, like Hoot and Flush, was funny, touching, and had a positive message about preserving our environment.

Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech

Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech is the sequel to Love That Dog. In Hate That Cat, Jack has moved on to the next grade in school, and his teacher, Ms. Stretchberry has moved up with him! The poetry that Jack writes this year focuses on cats. First, on how much he hates them, but then, when he gets a tiny black kitten for Christmas, his poems change. Jack also struggles with what poetry means. His Uncle Bill doesn't think any of the poems Jack likes or writes are true poetry. Jack, however, thinks a lot about what's in his heart. He thinks about hearing and seeing and feeling the words. This is especially meaningful to Jack's mother, who is deaf and communicates through sign language.

I was SO excited to read this book! I have loved every book I've ever read by Sharon Creech, this one included. It was a quick read because it is written in free verse format. There were parts where I laughed out loud and one part where I was close to tears. Any time I have reactions like those to a book, I know it's a good one. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who likes poetry, anyone who doesn't like poetry, anyone who likes animals, and anyone who doesn't like animals (especially cats!).

The Sword Thief (The 39 Clues Series #3) by Peter Lerangis

The Sword Thief (The 39 Clues Series #3) by Peter Lerangis is the third installment in Amy and Dan Cahill's adventures in trying to solve the mystery their grandmother left in her will. There are several Cahill family members trying to find the clues, which will lead to fame, fortune, and power, but only for the first team to solve the clues. This third book takes the teams to Japan and then to Korea, where they are trying to find the lost ninja swords of Hideyoshi, one of the Cahill ancestors. Amy and Dan team up with their Uncle Oh and their cousins, Ian and Natalie Kabra to find the third of the thirty nine clues.

This book was a quick read, just like the two before it. I always find myself wanting more when I finish these! This one, just like the others is full of twists, turns, betrayals, and surprises. The fourth book comes out in June!