Notes from the Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonnenblick

Notes from the Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonnenblick is about Alex, a 16 year old high school student who is living through his parents' divorce. One night he gets the "brilliant" idea to drink alcohol and drive his mother's car over to his father's house to confront him about his new girlfriend. Unfortunately, Alex only makes it up the street a little ways before ending up on his neighbor's front lawn, decapitating her lawn gnome in the process. As his punishment, the judge sentences him to 100 hours of community service at the nursing home where his mother works. His mom assigns Alex to work with Solomon Lewis, an angry old man with emphysema. Through his 100 hour experience, Alex has to write letters to the judge to keep her abreast of his progress. The purpose of this punishment is to hell Alex come "full circle". He is supposed to teach Solomon a lesson, learn a lesson from Solomon, and just, in general, learn from his mistakes. Needless to say, Solomon and Alex don't develop a real fondness for one another at first. 100 hours is a long time, though, and in the end both Alex and Solomon change in ways neither one expected.

I liked this book even more than Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, Jordan Sonnenblick's debut novel. A lot of the same ideas were explored within this book, but to a deeper degree. I really liked the way Alex developed as a strong, caring person who eventually was able to take responsibility for his actions. I also liked the way Solomon changed (but didn't)! I liked the little threads of romance laced within the story - Alex and his best girl friend Laurie, Alex's mom and dad, and even our old friends Steven and Annette (from Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie). This is one of the 2009-2010 Maud Hart Lovelace Nominees.

Wings by Aprilynne Pike

Wings by Aprilynne Pike is about Laurel, a teen who is just beginning her first year of public high school after having been home-schooled by her mother for her first 16 years of life. She and her family move away from the home she grew up in so that her father could realize his life-long dream of owning a book store. At her new school, Laurel has a hard time. She is so used to being outdoors and making her own schedule, it is tough for her to conform to the demands of public school where she is never outdoors. The first few days, she meets David, who instantly becomes her best friend. His friends become her friends, and she finally feels like she belongs. Laurel begins to fall into a routine until something strange happens. She feels a weird lump beginning to grow on her back. At first she thinks it's just a zit, but eventually the bump explodes into a strange flower blossom coming rought out of her spine! Eventually, Laurel confides in David, and they begin to research what might be happening to her. What they uncover seems too crazy to be true, but things start falling into place, and Laurel begins to realize that her life is not what she once thought it was - she isn't even who she thought she was!

I loved this book - I read it in one day. I knew it was going to be about the faerie realm from talking to a student about it, but I wasn't sure how it was all going to come about. I really liked the way the author wove science into the fantasy, making unreal things seem realistic - even possible! This is a great book for anyone who likes fantasy - it's nothing like a "fairy tale". There is suspense, mystery, action, adventure, and a little romance! It reminded me a bit of Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan.

Curse of the Winter Moon by Mary Cassanova

Curse of the Winter Moon by Mary Cassanova is set in 16th century France. It is about Marius and his brother, Jean-Pierre. Jean-Pierre was born on Christmas Eve, and is suspected of being a werewolf because of it. As they grow up, the townspeople in their small village grow increasingly wary of the family. Eventually Marius's father is accused of being a heretic and is jailed. The church officials find him guilty and sentence him to burn at the stake. Jean-Pierre is also apprehended and held in order to determine once and for all if he is a werewolf. In the end, Marius has some difficult choices put before him and has to do some tough thinking for such a young boy. Marius promised his mother on her death bed that he would watch out for Jean-Pierre, but what if he really is a werewolf? How can he help his father escape judgement and execution? Should Marius take the evil Abbott up on his offer to become a monk and play his lute at the monastary?

I really liked this book. Our Vampire Book Club read it for our June meeting, and I can't wait to talk to the other members about it. The story was really more historical fiction - not fantasy, which is what we usually read. The way the village acted reminds me of the Salem Witch Trials. I wasn't familiar with what happened in France when Protestantism began to rise, so it was interesting to learn some new information about that time period. I also enjoyed the author's note at the end that went into more detail about the research that went into writing the story.

Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson

Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson is about Kate, a senior in high school who has always dreamed of going to MIT, just like her mother. Kate is so sure that she'll get into MIT, she doesn't apply to any other 'safety' schools. Kate lives next door to Teri, the big, mean girl who has bullied Kate since elementary school. Teri is the brunt of every joke at school because she is big and has a bad attitude. Most people are afraid of her, but that doesn't stop them from picking on her. One night, Teri's house burns down, and Kate's minister father decides to take Teri and her little brother in while they repair the damage. Teri's mother, who has some brain damage sustained from a brutal beating delivered by Teri's father, will stay with a different member of the congregation. Much to Kate's chagrin, Teri and her toddler brother have to share a room with her. Teri begins to steal personal items from Kate, including the watch her mother gave her before she passed away. In the midst of this, Kate learns she was not accepted into MIT. Things begin to really unravel for her as her home is taken over by Teri and her family, her father spends more time with the church than Kate, she and her boyfriend begin to drift apart, and she starts neglecting school. Then, something terrible happens that ends up bringing Kate and Teri closer than either could have imagined.

This was a great book. It is definitely for high school students - there is some mature content, and the premise is geared more toward older adolescents. I absolutely love this author. I have read many of her books, and they are always completely different. I find myself really identifying with the characters and caring a great deal about what happens to them. This book has really made me think about my own high school experience, and that of my own daughter, who will be applying to colleges in the years to come.

Snatched (The Bloodwater Mysteries) by Pete Hautman and Mary Logue

Snatched (Bloodwater Mysteries #1) by Pete Hautman and Mary Logue is about Roni, a high school student from a small town called Bloodwater. Roni is a reported for her school newspaper, and is always getting into trouble for the things she writes. On her way out of the principal's office one day, she meets Brian, another high school student who can't seem to stay out of trouble. Both earn suspensions for their respective crimes, and instead of using their time to "think about what they've done," they use it to investigate the beating and kidnapping of one of their classmates. Alicia Camden isn't the nicest student at their school, but when she claims she's been attacked by a stranger, and then disappears the following day, everyone is shocked. Roni and Brian use their best investigative reporting to get to the bottom of the story that just isn't adding up.

I loved this book! I read it for our new project in honors reading, and I'm glad this is the one I picked. I don't usually read mysteries, but this one was great! The characters were real people, which is something I really admire. This book had a little bit of everything - mystery (of course), drama, humor, etc. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in reading a mystery. And, I'll be reading the second Bloodwater Mystery very soon!

Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman

excerpt from pg. 179 - "It appears that I'll be sneaking out of the house tonight to see the one person my parents have forbidden me to associate with. The two of us will wander off into the woods at 1:00 in the morning and cut through a chain so we can break into a condemned structure before they born it down. And, meanwhile, her camera will be feeding the footage back to her website so that if we don't come back, the authorities can -- what was her phase? -- oh, yeah -- find our bodies."

Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman is about Ryan and Sarah, best friends who have a history of getting into dangerous situations. Just recently, Ryan and Sarah were exploring an old, abandoned mining dredge near their small Oregon town, and Ryan was seriously injured. Sarah, an amateur videographer, continues going back to the dredge with her video camera, searching for the strange "thing" they saw the night they were there. Ryan is stuck in his hospital bed (then later his bed at home) with a shattered leg, so he begins recording his experiences in his journal. The story is told through Ryan's journal and Sarah's videos. Through the pages of the book and the videos available at sarahfincher.com (with passwords found throughout the book), the mystery of what really happened to them and why unfolds. The last part of the story is told entirely through Sarah's video camera as a "live feed" of their last visit to the dredge in the middle of the night.

I thought this was a really interesting concept - merging a book with videos to support the story. It was fun reading Ryan's thoughts and going to the computer to see Sarah's ideas. I enjoyed this book a lot! The ending was creepy! It definitely made me think about what would happen next. I would not recommend reading this book if you can't watch the videos along with it. The videos are an intregal part of the story and help the reader fill in the gaps of the story. The final video is vital. Cool idea - good book! The next book in this series comes out in October of 2009. Also, for you 39 Clues Series fans, this author (Patrick Carman) wrote the 5th book in that series, The Black Circle, coming out in August of 2009.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson is about Isabel, a young slave girl living in Rhode Island in 1776. When her owner dies, Isabel is sure she and her sister, Ruth, will be freed. Unfortunately, the son of her former owner will not honor the agreement, and Isabel and Ruth are sold to a nasty woman and her husband. They take the girls to their home, far away from Rhode Island, and force them to do the work of the house. Isabel learns that her new masters are fighting on the side of the king in the revolution. Because of this, they are not well liked among the "rebels" of the city. Isabel is asked by another slave to spy on her masters! She fears the risks until one day, Ruth has a seizure. Isabel knew of her affliction (epilepsy), but hadn't told her new masters. Madam is terrified of Ruth and believes she has brought evil into the house, so she sells Ruth. Isabel then makes it her mission to escape and find her. She uses her knowledge of her master's plots against the rebels to try to earn her freedom.

I really liked this book. It reminded me a little of Day of Tears by Julius Lester. It is heartbreaking the ways people were treated. I found this book interesting because I have never read about slaves during the revolution. Most books about slavery take place during the Civil War. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction.