Divergent by Veronica Roth

Pages: 487

Intended Audience: Teens

Genre: Dystopian thriller

Notes for parents: Scenes of cruelty, fighting and gun violence.

The Back Cover

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

What the Back Cover doesn’t tell you:

This is the author’s first novel, and the first book in a series.

What’s good?

This is an easy read with an uncomplicated yet unpredictable plot and an edgy, even sexy, feel. While the extremism concept is a bit flawed, it’s still interesting and unique and the ultimate conclusion is a good one. The characters are strong and intriguing and develop consistently while the plot unfolds slowly with a steady rise in tension, leading to a violent, forceful, and exciting ending.

Best part: Tris’s mom.

What’s not so good?

There’s not a lot of depth. The premise is weak if we’re to believe that this society evolved from present day. It’s hard to believe that everyone would be so easily convinced that there are only five ways to live their life. The politics is too simplified and trust is too easily given to each group in charge of different aspects of the community’s infrastructure.  In essence, all of the citizens are brainwashed. Also, if the reader starts digging deep enough, the story’s foundation is full of holes and several aspects defy logic. The trick is not to dig deep.

Worst part: The name Four.

Recommendations þþþoo

It started a little slow for me but it eventually picked up and by the last quarter of the book I couldn’t put it down. The trick to enjoying this book really is to not think too much about the whys and hows of everything. I couldn’t give this more than three checkmarks because I’m the type of reader who questions things and requires answers. If you can read this without digging too deep, it’s very good.

Roth, Veronica. Divergent. New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2011.

Gone by Michael Grant

Pages: 558

Intended Audience: Teens and Mature Tweens

Genre: Supernatural Thriller

Notes for parents: Contains cruelty and violence.

The Back Cover

In the blink of an eye.

Everyone disappears.

Gone.

Everyone except for the young. Teens. Middle schoolers. Toddlers. But not a single adult. No teachers, no cops, no doctors, no parents. Gone, too, are the phones, internet, and television. There is no way to get help.

Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day.

It’s a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen and war is imminent.

What the Back Cover doesn’t tell you:

Everyone over the age of 15 in the nuclear power plant town of Perdido Beach has disappeared and chaos ensues. This is the first book in a six part series.

What’s good?

“Welcome to Perdido Beach, where our motto is: Radiation, what radiation?” (Love this quote!) This is a fast-paced, action-packed, witty, violent saga. There is no rest for the wicked as this Lord of the Flies meets X-men a la Maze Runner story unfolds. The five hundred plus pages fly by quickly as these youngsters are forced to survive in a post-adult world. Have I mentioned it’s fast-paced? It’s also witty, engaging and a whole lot of fun.

Best part: When Albert goes to the library: "He found a set of encylopedias—like Wikipedia, but paper and very bulky ... He jumped from volume to volume…It was exactly like following hyperlinks, but slower, and with more lifting." (p. 198)

What’s not so good?

The short, choppy sentences effectively increase the pace to the point of exhaustion. It was like playing a video game where the action only stops if you die. The simplified characters are mostly stereotypes of the average teens and tweens and their development is stunted in favor of, you guessed it, more action. Their capacity for such maturity is also a bit dubious.

Worst part: Fallout Alley Youth Zone.

Recommendations þþþþo

This book is written for the reader who needs constant action. While that’s not typically my style of book, I enjoyed this one immensely. However, exhausted from having read it, I didn’t reach for book two. Instead I’ll be looking for something, hopefully, a little less high-speed for my next book.

Grant, Michael. Gone. New York: HarperTeen, 2008.

Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel

Pages: 267

Intended Audience:  Tweens

Genre: Graphic Novel; Supernatural

Notes for parents: Some scenes of violence and themes of death and the afterlife

The Back Cover

When Garth Hale is accidentally zapped into the ghost world by Frank Gallows, a washed-up ghost wrangler, he discovers that he has special powers. Soon he finds himself on the run from the evil ruler of Ghostopolis, who wants to use Garth’s newfound abilities to tighten his grip on the spirit world. After Garth meets Cecil, his grandfather’s ghost, the two search for a way to get Garth back home, nearly losing hope until Frank Gallows shows up to fix his mistake.

What the Back Cover doesn’t tell you:

This is a stand-alone graphic novel.

What’s good?

The graphics are well-done and the characters are very entertaining. The dialogue is witty and even made me laugh out loud a few times. The story itself is has many subplots, but they’re all kept fairly simple. Although the book is quite dark, the humour lightens it up. There’s violence, but it’s the comic book whomp and pow kind.

Best part: Skinny the skeleton horse.

What’s not so good?

This is not a complex story. The main character doesn’t get emotional at all about being diagnosed with a fatal disease, being ripped away from his mother and pulled into the afterworld, meeting a skeletal horse, etc. In fact, he doesn’t get emotional about anything. If it weren’t so dark, I’d call it a cute, little story.

Worst part: There was nothing terrible.

Recommendations þþþoo

This is mostly a story for male tweens who have enjoyed other graphic novels. The ghost creatures are fun and the story is a quick, enjoyable read.

Tennapel, Doug. Ghostopolis. New York: Scholastic, 2010.

The Cardturner by Louis Sachar

Pages: 315

Intended Audience:  Teens and Tweens

Genre: Real life

Notes for parents: None.

The Inside Cover

The summer after grade 11 looks bleak for Alton Richards. His girlfriend has dumped him to hook up with his best friend. He has no money and no job. His parents insist that he drive his great-uncle Lester to his bridge club four times a week and be his cardturner—whatever that means. Alton’s uncle is old, blind, very sick, and very rich.

But Alton’s parents aren’t the only ones trying to worm their way into Lester Trapp’s good graces. They’re in competition with his longtime housekeeper, his alluring young nurse, and the crazy Castaneda family, who seem to have a mysterious influence over him.

Alton soon finds himself intrigued by his uncle, by the game of bridge, and especially by the pretty and shy Toni Castaneda. As the summer goes on, he struggles to figure out what it all means, and ultimately to figure out the meaning of his own life.

Through Alton’s wry observations, Louis Sachar explores the disparity between what you know and what you think you know. With his incomparable flair and inventiveness, he examines the elusive differences between perception and reality—and inspires readers to think and think again.

What the Inside Cover doesn’t tell you:

The inside cover doesn’t tell you that by the time you finish reading this book you’ll know how to play bridge.

What’s good?

Sachar is a great storyteller. The story is engaging and at times can be downright comical. Alton is a typically awkward teen and his great-uncle Lester is a typical grumpy old man. Alton’s sister, Leslie, is a great supporting character. Sachar created a clever way for those (like me) who were uninterested in the finer points of bridge. If you come to a little drawing of a whale, you can skip everything after it until you come to a summary box. In the summary box would be the short and sweet version of everything you just skipped over. Ingenious.

Best part: I liked the short chapters. It was a very quick and easy read for a book over 300 pages.

What’s not so good?

There was SO much bridge jargon! I can appreciate a good card game, but I didn’t share the growing fascination Alton had for the game. Maybe if this had been about horse racing or poker or anything less complicated than bridge I may have been able to get into it a little more, but as it was, I felt like I was reading a foreign language half the time. Yes, I skipped the opportunities to learn more about the game by going straight to the summary box after the whale. I loved the summary box.

Worst part: Alton’s greedy parents were a little over the top.

Recommendations þþþoo

I would love to give this book four checkmarks because of the fabulous writing, great characters, humour, and inventive devices, but all the bridge playing, bridge talk, and undecipherable bridge strategy kept it from being enjoyable for me. Unfortunately I can’t imagine too many teens and tweens who would be drawn to this card-playing adventure. I hope I’m wrong because it does deserve an audience.

Sachar, Louis. The Cardturner. Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2010. (Hardcover)

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Pages: 358

Intended Audience: Teens

Genre: Dystopian

Notes for parents: Contains mature themes of polygamous marriage, sex and pregnancy, kidnapping, confinement

The Back Cover

Thanks to modern science, every newborn has become a ticking time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden’s genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden’s eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant she is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.

What the Back Cover doesn’t tell you:

This is the first book in The Chemical Garden trilogy.

What’s good?

This is a beautifully written, visual story full of emotion. The plot unfolds slowly and deliberately with fluid and lyrical language. The suspense rises and falls rhythmically, sustaining interest without forcing action. Each character is distinctive, with his or her own important motivations and goals. While the story itself is not unique, it’s told in a fresh and poetical style that reveals the contrasting worlds of those who live free in poverty and those who are confined in wealth.

Best part: The attendants. These young, disposable servants make only a few, brief appearances but they make a huge contribution to the mood and setting.

What’s not so good?

The story moves slowly. This is intentional on the author’s part, but can get a little tedious for those who prefer more action. I found Linden impossible to like. His naïveté was grating and his sheltered childhood was no excuse for the horrible things he allowed to go on around him.

Worst part: Just once I’d like a character to seize the chance to tell the truth when it’s presented to her. “What made you want to be a bride?” Linden asked. Rhine should have answered: “I didn’t want to be a bride! I was kidnapped and drugged and forced to marry you!!”

Recommendations þþþþo

It’s a typical dystopian story told with an original and passionate style. I definitely recommend it for anyone who enjoys good writing. However, impatient readers may want to skip this unhurried tale.

DeStefano, Lauren. Wither. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011. (Hardcover)

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Pages: 278

Intended Audience: Mature Teens

Genre: Real life / Social Issues

Notes for parents: Strong and mature themes of anorexia and other mental and social issues.

The Back Cover

“Dead girl walking,” the boys say in the halls.
“Tell us your secret,” the girls whisper, one toilet to another.
I am that girl.
I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.
I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame.
Lia and Cassie were best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies. But now Cassie is dead. Lia's mother is busy saving other people's lives. Her father is away on business. Her step-mother is clueless. And the voice inside Lia's head keeps telling her to remain in control, stay strong, lose more, weigh less. If she keeps on going this way—thin, thinner, thinnest—maybe she'll disappear altogether.
In her most emotionally wrenching, lyrically written book since the National Book Award finalist Speak, best-selling author Laurie Halse Anderson explores one girl's chilling descent into the all-consuming vortex of anorexia.

What the Back Cover doesn’t tell you:

It tells you everything you need to know.

What’s good?

A lot. This is a deep, disconcerting, emotional look inside the mind of a young girl fighting for control of her life. Lia is consumed with stripping herself bare—being the skinniest she possibly can—and the reader becomes a witness to the vivid details and the twisted logic that is anorexia. While Lia deserves compassion, the story never demands sympathy and instead provides a heartbreaking view of her downward spiral and the depths to which she’ll have to reach to survive.

Best part: Anderson’s writing. Here’s an example from page 190 when Lia is hoping to reach her goal of 85 pounds: “But 85 makes me want 75. To get there I’ll need to crack open my bones with a silver mallet and dig out my marrow with a long-handled spoon.”

What’s not so good?

Lia is not likeable. She’s selfish, foolish, and often cold. It’s not always easy to identify these traits with her illness. Some of the author’s storytelling techniques (e.g. strike outs, repetition, numbers) can get a little arduous.

Worst part: Lia never truly takes responsibility for her actions.

Recommendations þþþþþ
Laurie Halse Anderson is one of the best young adult fiction writers around. Anyone looking for quality fiction should be reading her books. Wintergirls is a deep, emotional journey that I highly recommend.

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Wintergirls. New York: Viking, 2009. (Hardcover)

Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow

Pages: 293

Intended Audience:  Mature Teens

Genre: Supernatural Science Fiction

Notes for parents: Coarse language and scenes of violence

The Back Cover

Dad? Zombie.

Mom? Long gone.

Me? Well, that’s the scary part.

The Real World is a frightening place. Just ask sixteen-year-old orphan Dru Anderson, a tough girl who has taken down her fair share of bad guys. She’s armed, dangerous, and ready to kill first and ask questions later. So it’s gonna take a while to figure out who she can trust…

Dru Anderson has been “strange” for as long as she can remember, traveling from town to town with her father to hunt the things that go bump in the night. It’s a weird life, but a good one—until it all explodes in an icy, broken-down Dakota town, when a hungry zombie busts through her kitchen door. Alone, terrified, and trapped, Dru’s going to need every inch of her wit and training to stay alive. The monsters have decided to hunt back—and this time, Dru’s on their menu. Chances of survival? Slim to none.

If she can’t last until sunup, it’s game-over.

What the Back Cover doesn’t tell you:

This is the first book of a series. Dru and her father are paranormal hunters. When she loses her dad (I’ll let you read about how that happens), she has to figure out on her own how to escape the strange creatures that are hunting her. She soon learns that there is a lot more to the Real World than she thought.

What’s good?

The story is fresh. Dru is a kick-butt character with a long list of skills and a quick wit. The supporting characters, including Graves and Christophe are well-drawn and interesting. The setting is harsh and well-suited to the cold evil that lurks after dark.  

Best part: The flaming dog.

What’s not so good?

The story is slow. While there are definitely some exciting parts, I found I had to slog through a lot of banter to get there. Also, I’m not found of a lot of her word choices. Her use of uncommon phrases like “water plashed,” “gormless idiots,” and “barked my hip,” felt awkward and a bit pretentious since it was supposedly coming from a sixteen-year-old. As well, I found the author’s overuse of religious curse words bordered on offensive.

Worst part: Ineffective similes and metaphors.

Recommendations þþþoo

It was good, but sluggish. The story itself was suspenseful and the plot was quite unique. Hopefully the pace picks up in future books in the series.

St. Crow, Lili. Strange Angels. New York: Razor Bill, 2009.

The Morganville Vampires: Vol. 1 by Rachel Caine

Pages:  452

Intended Audience: Mature Teens

Genre: Supernatural Science Fiction

Notes for parents: There is strong language, violence, and other mature themes.

The Back Cover

GLASS HOUSES

Morganville is a small college town in the heart of Texas that has its share of quirky characters—and some evil ones too. When student Claire Danvers moves off campus into one of Morganville’s oldest houses, she finds that her roommates don’t show many signs of life. But they’ll have Claire’s back when the town’s deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood.

THE DEAD GIRLS’ DANCE

Claire Danvers has her share of challenges—like living among creatures of the night. On the upside, she has a great roommate (who tends to disappear at sunup) and a new boyfriend. Now a fraternity is throwing its annual Dead Girls’ Dance and—surprise!—Claire and her equally outcast friend have been invited. When they find out why, all hell breaks loose, because this time both the living and the dead are ready to tear up the night.

What the Back Cover doesn’t tell you:

GLASS HOUSES

This volume covers the first two books in the series, originally published in 2006 and 2007. Sixteen-year-old Claire is super smart and starting university. Her parents don’t want her to go too far, so they send her to a state college in the small town of Morganville to get a little experience being away from home before going off to a bigger school. It turns out Morganville is populated by bullies, crooked cops, and a lot of vampires.

THE DEAD GIRLS’ DANCE

The description of this second story leaves out pretty much everything! The dance is a blip in the story. The real story is about Shane’s father coming to town looking to avenge the deaths of his daughter and wife. Shane struggles with his part in his father’s plans.

What’s good?

GLASS HOUSES

Caine’s characterization is fantastic. She does a great job of establishing Claire as a sympathetic heroine right from the start. Her roommates at the Glass House are vivid and very likeable, and Monica and the rest of the bad people are wonderfully believable, despite the fairly stereotyped personalities. The story’s pacing barely affords a moment to breathe, and the capacity for violence adds suspense and a considerable shock value. Besides the violence, there is a fair amount of other mature content, but it’s never gratuitous and complements the story well.

THE DEAD GIRLS’ DANCE

The tireless pace continues in The Dead Girls’ Dance. Several new characters are introduced and well done. The city of Morganville becomes a character of its own as the characters explore it.

Best part: Michael

What’s not so good?

GLASS HOUSES

The setup for the premise is pretty lame. Basically Eve tells Claire that Morganville is full of vampires, Claire laughs, spends half a day wondering if Eve is crazy, and then just seems to accept it all without asking too many questions. Luckily once that’s out of the way, the story gets good.

THE DEAD GIRLS’ DANCE

Why title this book The Dead Girls’ Dance? There’s nothing paranormal about the dance and they’re only there for a chapter. Besides that, my only other complaint is some inconsistency with the characters: Claire flashes between mousey and courageous; Monica flips from heartless to weepy; Shane is good, then bad, then good… It was a bit tedious.

Worst part: GLASS HOUSES – The beginning. THE DEAD GIRLS’ DANCE – the title and description.

Recommendations þþþoo

Vampire lovers will enjoy this series. Vampire likers will like this unique approach to the classic vampire tale. Vampire fence-sitters may appreciate the fast pace. Vampire haters should skip it.

Caine, Rachel. The Morganville Vampires: Volume 1. New York: New American Library, 2009.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Pages: 387

Intended Audience: Teens and Mature Tweens

Genre: Science Fiction

Notes for parents: None

The Inside Cover

Sixteen-year-old Cinder is considered a technological mistake by most of society and a burden by her stepmother. Being cyborg does have its benefits, though: Cinder’s brain interface has given her an uncanny ability to fix things (robots, hovers, her own malfunctioning parts), making her the best mechanic in New Beijing. This reputation brings Prince Kai himself to her weekly market booth, needing her to repair a broken android before the annual ball. He jokingly calls it “a matter of national security,” but Cinder suspects it’s more serious than he’s letting on.

Although eager to impress the prince, Cinder’s intentions are derailed when her younger step-sister, and only human friend, is infected with the fatal plague that’s been devastating Earth for a decade. Blaming Cinder for her daughter’s illness, Cinder’s stepmother volunteers her body for plague research, an “honor” that no one has survived.

But it doesn’t take long for the scientists to discover something unusual about their new guinea pig. Something others would kill for.

What the Back Cover doesn’t tell you:

This is the first book in The Lunar Chronicles. Book two won’t be out until 2013.

What’s good?

I love a strong female character. Cinder is a smart, resourceful, talented mechanic who happens to have a few motorized parts which makes her a cyborg – the bane of her society. Cinder is highly likeable, her “step” mother is deliciously hateable, and Prince Kai is perfectly charming. The fairy tale “evil queen” is the Lunar Queen Levana who is appropriately creepy and volatile. The setting itself is a great character with its crowded market, hovers, portscreens, androids, and, of course, a royal ball.

Best part: Iko, the android.

What’s not so good?

The main plot was totally predictable. I don’t imagine anyone will NOT see what’s coming. Luckily there are enough twists and turns to make it highly readable and several subplots that entertain. There were many little details that annoyed me: like how her she calls her adoptive family her step family, or how she hides her cyborg status from the prince which seems to go against her strong personality. It was never enough to ruin the story, but I found it distracting at times.

Worst part: Predictability.

Recommendations þþþoo

Modern fairy tales are all the rage, and this futuristic Cinderella (which at times seems a little more Anastasia) is fresh and imaginative. It’s gritty and high tech, and very engaging.

Meyer, Marissa. Cinder. New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2012 (Hardcover)

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Pages: 335

Intended Audience: Teens and Mature Tweens

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Notes for parents: Nothing, really. Even when they swear they say “bleep.” There is some mild violence but nothing even slightly graphic.

The Back Cover

Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie’s always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours, but still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie’s dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

What the Back Cover doesn’t tell you:

The cover pretty much tells you everything you need to know.

What’s good?

This is a unique, refreshing paranormal story. It had a good balance of teenage angst and first love jitters, with a suspense-driven plot and a sarcastic, highly likeable main character. Oddly, as I read this, I kept thinking, Wow, this would make a great movie. Eventually I looked it up on imdb.com and sure enough, a movie is in the works.

Best part: Lend – even I had a crush on him!

What’s not so good?

This is the first book of a trilogy—thank goodness—because a lot of things were left hanging.

Worst part: IPCA’s indifference to the power of faeries seemed a little far-fetched.

Recommendations þþþoo

It was very entertaining, but I have to admit that I’m not very motivated to go out and find the next two books. However, if they were sitting in front of me and I didn’t have a whole stack of other books to read, I’d probably continue with the series. It was good. In fact, it was a lot of fun. And if it ever becomes a movie, I would definitely go see it.

White, Kiersten. Paranormalcy.  New York: HarperCollins, 2010.

Heist Society by Ally Carter

Pages: 287

Intended Audience: Teens

Genre: crime caper

Notes for parents: Elements of criminal activity

The Back Cover

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her to the Louvre...to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria...to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own--scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.

Soon, Kat’s friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring her back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has good reason: a powerful mobster’s priceless art collection has been stolen and he wants it returned. Only a master thief could have pulled off this job, and Kat’s father isn’t just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

For Kat there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it’s a spectacularly impossible job? She’s got two weeks, a teenage crew, and, hopefully, just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family’s (very crooked) history—and with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

What the Back Cover doesn’t tell you:

The cover covers it pretty well. Kat is a teenaged professional thief who gets out of the business, but is pulled back in when she’s called on to pull off a tough job in order to help her father.

What’s good?

The story has a quick pace and a great cast of characters. The plot was simple and fairly predictable, but had enough twists and turns to keep it fresh. I was particularly impressed with how well most of the characters were drawn—even minor characters like Marcus, Mr. Stein and Gregory Wainwright were interesting!

Best part: World War II art history lesson.

What’s not so good?

The main character was lacklustre. The other characters are so well-drawn and charismatic that Katarina comes up flat in comparison. Her personality was so even she seemed almost emotionless.

Worst part: Kat’s father didn’t seem like a father worth helping.

Recommendations þþþoo

I read another review that called this “Oceans Eleven for teens.” I think that’s a pretty accurate description. It’s an uncomplicated crime adventure with style and good characterization. It’s a quick, fun read.

Carter, Ally. Heist Society. New York: Disney-Hyperion, 2010.