True Blue by Deborah Ellis

True Blue by Deborah Ellis is about best friends Casey and Jess and their truly horrific ordeal that resulted after one of the campers they were responsible for goes missing and is found dead.  Casey is arrested and accused of murder.  Jess doesn't know how to react nor what to do.  She knows more than she's sharing but for some reason can't bring herself to talk.  In the mean time, her emotionally unstable mother is spiraling into another one of her collapses which typically end in hospitalization and electroshock therapy.  The rest of the people in town have already decided Casey is guilty and are terrorizing her family.  And, the very group of popular kids at their school who used to shun them is inviting Jess to spend more and more time with them.  As the days lead up to the trial, only a few people (Jess's mother, Casey's parents, and a sympathetic teacher) are still convinced of Casey's innocence.  Even Jess begins to waver in her thoughts about what her best friend might be capable of.

This was a thrilling mystery!  I couldn't put it down!  It is told through Jess's perspective, in both narration and through her camp journal, chronicling the events leading up to the little girl's ultimate disappearance and murder.  Parts of this book reminded me of Mary Downing Hahn's Wait Till Helen Comes, because the character of the little girl (Stephanie) who was killed is so obnoxious and annoying! As a reader, you feel terrible that you don't like her simply because you know she's going to die eventually!  I also really liked the way the author showed the changing relationship/friendship between the girls.  The ending is unexpected and the character who changes most as a result of this terrible experience isn't who you would think.  I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery or suspense story.

Nowhere Girl by A. J. Paquette

Nowhere Girl by A. J. Paquette is about Luchi, a thirteen year old girl who was born and raised by her mother in a prison in Thailand.  When her mother dies, the warden allows Luchi to stay in the prison for several months, but eventually, she has to leave.  Luchi doesn't know anything about her father nor any other family she may have except one tiny clue provided by her mother's cellmate: the name Payne Industries.  The warden's nephew, Luchi's old playmate and friend, agrees to drive her to the city where she plans to research what she knows and find some way to reach family.  Unfortunately, Luchi was not well equipped to make it outside the prison.  She speaks the language and knows the customs, but she's a skinny blonde girl who just doesn't fit in.  She gets taken advantage of, stolen from, and left with little hope.  Things start to unravel and Luchi learns about her mother and father's past and exactly what happened to put her mother in jail.  She does meet up with family, but in a most unexpected way.

This was a very interesting story.  I really felt for Luchi, being so naive and alone.  As a reader, I was able to predict what would happen to her that she was unaware was even possible.  Though the story about her mother and father turned this realistic adventure into a murder/mystery story that will appeal to people who enjoy all genres!

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher is about Finn, a prisoner in a unique prison, and Claudia, the prison warden's daughter.  In this future, the government has forced changelessness on the society, forcing them to live as people lived hundreds of years earlier.  One hundred years ago, Incarceron was conceived.  It was meant to be an experimental prison that most people in regular society thought was somewhat of a paradise for the prisoners.  This couldn't be further from reality.  Finn awoke in the prison when he was about 12 with only snippets of memories.  He immediately fell in with a band of thieving, murdering, partying gang and became oathbrothers with Keiro, a strong but somewhat untrustworthy boy.  When one of their raids produces a strange key, the boys set out to find escape with a healer/teacher, a Sapient, named Gildas.  Tagging along is a small slave girl who owes her life to Finn.  They are following the old stories of Sapphique, the only person (a Sapient) who has ever escaped the prison.

Claudia, while raiding her father's study with the help of her personal Sapient, Jared, finds a matching key.  There is a direct link between the keys and Finn and Claudia meet.  Claudia is promised to the younger half-brother of the former prince of their land.  The first born prince, and true heir died in an accident several years prior.  Claudia does not want to marry Caspar, but know she must follow "Protocol".  However, Claudia is also convinced that Giles, the rightful heir died under strange circumstances and is determined to learn the truth, without attracting the attention of her father and the evil queen.  Together, Finn and Claudia work to find escape from Incarceron, rid the world of the Protocol rules, and find out the truth about what happened to their kingdom.  Will they succeed?

I absolutely loved this book!  I cannot wait to read the sequel, Sapphique!  I loved the way the book alternated between Claudia's story and Finn's story, and how the two came together in the end.  I also liked the idea that the prison was its own living entity and completely in charge of the prisoners and completely unaware of what happened on the outside.  I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good science fiction, fantasy or adventure novel.

Dirt Road Home by Watt Key

Dirt Road Home by Watt Key is the companion novel to Alabama Moon, one of the 2010-2011 Maud Hart Lovelace nominees. Dirt Road Home is about Hal, a fifteen year old boy who, though a series of bad decisions, winds up in Hellenweiler, a home for seriously troubled boys. Hal was sent to Pinson, a different home for boys after stealing some bikes and disrespecting his mother. He and two friends, Moon and Kit, escaped from there and lived off the land in rugged Alabama until Hal split from the others and made his way home to his father. He would have been home free, but Moon needed his help, so he came forward and ended up helping Moon, but being sent to Hellenweiler in the end. Determined to get out right away, Hal decides to straighten up and follow the rules. His father, also determined to be reunited with Hal decides to clean up his act and stop drinking. They have been told by their lawyer that if they can both stay out of trouble, Hal will be out before they know it. Unfortunately, the two ruling gangs at Hellenweiler are just as determined to force Hal to choose sides. They pick fights with him, steal his things, and make life miserable. The worst news of all comes when Hal realizes that even the guards at Hellenweiler are corrupt and have been falsifying his behavior reports! Unable to prove his innocence, Hal is near the breaking point and ready to give in to the constant provoking by the other boys. But, two unlikely friends and a crazy plan give Hal hope that he still may be able to leave Hellenweiler for good.

This was a great story! I was expecting it to be like Alabama Moon, but it was completely different. Most of the story takes place at the boys' home and deals with Hal's struggle to do the right thing. I really liked the way the author wove parts of Alabama Moon into the story. I also liked the way I got to know the other characters in the story through their actions and discussions with Hal.

Lockdown: Escape from Furnace by Alexander Gordon Smith

Lockdown: Escape from Furnace by Alexander Gordon Smith is about Alex Sawyer, a troubled teen who was at the wrong place at the wrong time. He and his best friend, Toby, broke into a house to rob it, but were attacked by mysterious looking men in black suits and a monstrous "being" who appeared to be stitched together and wearing a gas mask. The blacksuits shot killed and framed Alex. As a result, Alex was sentenced to life imprisonment in Furnace, a new prison built into a deep rocky crevice especially for violent kids. Every night something new and horrifying awakens Alex from his sleep - skinless, vicious dogs terrorizing and eating the inmates, the "wheezers" marking certain cells and taking the inhabitants after stabbing them with a needle, and of course, the taunts and jeers from the resident gangs within the prison. And the day isn't much better - having to perform "hard labor" chipping rock walls, cleaning toilets, doing laundry, or preparing the prison food which is a mush made from rotten and moldy left-overs. Alex contemplates suicide nearly every day until he and his roommate, Donovan, and friend Zee figure out a plan for escape. If they get caught, they will be killed - they may be killed anyway! But they believe it is worth the risk for just the chance to escape the Furnace.

This was a really exciting book. It reminded me of an angrier cross between The Maze Runner and The City of Ember. At first, I didn't really even like Alex. He was a jerk and a bully. But then, as he tried to live through the horrors of Furnace, his character changed and he began standing up for the same kinds of kids he would have tormented in his old life. The book ends on a huge cliff-hanger, which makes me want to read the second book, Solitary, right away - it comes out December 21st, 2010!

Shock Point by April Henry

Shock Point by April Henry is about Cassie Streng, a teenage girl who finds out a shocking secret her step-father, Rick is trying to hide. He's a psychologist and has been prescribing a drug to his patients that causes them to commit suicide! When Cassie finds out, she wants to tell someone... anyone... to put a stop to it. Unfortunately, Rick finds out that Cassie knows and convinces her mother to send her to a "private boarding school" in Mexico called Peaceful Cove. Peaceful Cove is really a prison camp meant to break rebellious teens through power and control and sometimes even pain. Cassie is desperate to escape so she can be reunited with her mother and tell the truth about her stepfather and what he has done. The only problem is, it's nearly impossible to get out... people have even died (or been killed) trying.

This was a great action story and a really quick read. I finished it in a few hours one Sunday afternoon! I really liked the way the author used flashbacks to what happened just before Cassie was kidnapped and transported to Peaceful Cove. It was a really cool way to provide the back story! I also liked the way everything fell into place at the end.

Rash by Pete Hautman

Rash by Pete Hautman is set in the year 2074 when just about everything fun is illegal - french fries, football, owning a large dog, even walking without a helmet! Just calling someone a name could get you locked up in prison. In fact, the USSA (United Safer States of America) runs on prison labor because so many citizens are in jail! Bo is a sixteen-year-old high school student who has already incurred two infarctions. With the three strikes you're out law, he is on his way to a work camp in northern Canada after trying to punch out the guy who wants to steal Bo's girlfriend. At the camp, Bo and several other students are forced to play football illegally (without protective gear!), just for the head guard's amusement. Luckily, Bo created an artificially intelligent (AI) lifeform on his laptop (WindO) who is working hard to get him out. Bork seems to be Bo's only friend and only hope.

This was a great book! I'm not a huge sci fi fan, but this futuristic look at society was really interesting. People in the USA decide it would be better to be safe than free. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in computers, football, and/or sci fi adventures. There is some mature language.

Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko

Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko is the sequel to Al Capone Does My Shirts (a Maud Hart Lovelace nominee from the 2007 - 2008 school year). It takes place at Alcatraz, the island prison just off the coast of California, in 1935, during the time Al Capone was imprisoned there. The civilian residents on the island have their laundry done by the convicts. As a result, Al Capone is able to slip a note to Moose, the main character, asking for a favor. Moose is reluctant to do a favor for a criminal, knowing he might end up in really big trouble - either with his parents, the warden, or in debt to Al Capone! But, Moose feels obligated to help because he knows Al Capone somehow got Natalie (Moose's autistic sister) into a special school from which she had previously been denied entrance twice. Moose decides to do the favor, which is to buy yellow roses for Al Capone's wife and deliver them to her on the ferry from the main land. Unfortunately, this starts a chain of events which Moose never could have predicted - ending in an escape attempt by three convicts!

I liked this book, though not as much as Al Capone Does My Shirts. The sequel had the same characters - Annie, Moose's baseball playing friend from the island, Piper, the warden's scheming daughter, Jimmy, Moose's fly-breeding friend on the island and his sister Theresa, Scout, Moose's friend from school on the main land, and Janet, the most hated guard's daughter. There was a lot more drama from the prison in this book. It really showed more of the 'nastiness' of the prisoners. I really liked the author's note in the back, explaining the research behind the story and the facts about Alcatraz and its residents through the years. This book comes out in September, 2009.