Brody's Ghost by Mark Crilley

This is listed on Amazon and Chapters
as the cover of book 2, but this is
 the cover on my book 1. Go figure!

Pages: 181

Intended Audience: Teens

Genre: Graphic Novel

Notes for parents: Some scenes of violence

The Back Cover

Being dead sucks.

Talia would know—she’s been a ghost for five years, stuck on earth until she completes her “life task”: a good deed that’ll allow her to move on.

Brody doesn’t know the first thing about death—all he wants is to slack off, make some cash, and get back together with his ex-girlfriend. But when Talia turns to him for help hunting down a brutal serial killer, Brody comes face to face with a dangerous world of street gangs, spectral samurai, and his own latent supernatural powers.

What the Back Cover doesn’t tell you:

The author is a thirteen time nominee of the Eisner Award (comic book equivalent of the Oscars).

What’s good?

The illustrations are fabulous, the characters are well done, and the story is intriguing. I’m not a big reader of graphic novels, but this one kept my interest and had me wanting more at the end.

Best part: When Sensei Kagemura made Brody take his shirt off. I laughed out loud at the picture.

What’s not so good?

Very little actually happens. Luckily, this was just a set up for what promises to be a more exciting series of stories. We still have to find out if Brody chooses to continue his training, if he and Talia catch the killer, and if Brody can change what he saw in his vision.

Worst part: The 12-year-old. I was disturbed by his participation.

Recommendations þþþþo

This is a clever and exciting first book in the series.

Crilley, Mark. Brody’s Ghost, Book 1. Milwaukie: Dark Horse Books, 2011.

Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari

Pages: 341

Intended Audience: Teens and Mature Tweens

Genre: Post-apocalyptic adventure/romance

Notes for parents: Some violence.

The Inside Cover

Smallpox epidemics, floods, droughts – for sixteen-year-old Lucy, the end of the world came and went, stealing with it everyone she ever loved. Even the landscape of her beloved New York City is ever-shifting and full of hidden dangers. As the weather rages out of control, she survives alone in the wilds of Central Park, hunting and foraging for goods and making do with the little she has, while avoiding roving scavengers and thieves. But when an unrelenting pack of vicious hounds begins to hunt her, Lucy is not sure she can continue on her own. Then, suddenly, she is swept to safety by a mysterious boy named Aidan, who helps her escape the hounds and urges her to join a band of survivors. Reluctantly, she finds him after her home is destroyed; however, new dangers await her.

An army of Sweepers terrorizes the camp, carting off innocent people and infecting them with the plague. Lucy and Aidan realize that it’s up to them to save their friends, but Lucy doesn’t know that the Sweepers have laid a trap – for her. There is something special about Lucy, and the Sweepers will stop at nothing to have her in their clutches.

What the Back Cover doesn’t tell you:

It pretty much tells you everything so there will be few surprises if you actually read the book.

What’s good?

The premise was promising – a strong, capable teen, living on her own in a post-apocalyptic world with the help of a tattered survival manual (smart!), her dad’s hunting knife, and her 10^th grade high school yearbook (huh?). It’s too bad the story just doesn’t deliver. I did like Sammy and the idea of the S’ans (people who were infected but survived the plague).

Best part: The map at the beginning of the book is cool.

What’s not so good?

With a slow, meandering plot and overly detailed scenes, I was quickly bored. There was no depth to the characters and very little sustained suspense. The few bits of action were well written, but led nowhere. The drama was light, the love triangle was lame, and the point was rarely discernible. I think this author’s writing has potential; she just needs to focus a little more on the mechanics of the story and a little less on the description.

Worst part: The math. If only 1 in every million people in the world survived and the world population is approximately 7,000,000,000 that means there are only about 7000 people alive worldwide. New York has a population of about 8 million people. Shouldn’t there only be about 8 people in New York? Where did all the people come from?

Recommendations þoooo

I have to admit that I spent a lot of time skimming the paragraphs rather than drinking in the words. I could picture what was happening way faster than the author could write it and I felt like I was waiting for the story to catch up to me. It was predictable and evoked very little emotion from me. There are way better apocalyptic survival stories out there than this one.

Treggiari, Jo. Ashes, Ashes. New York: Scholastic, 2011.

Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans

Pages: 326

Intended Audience: Teens and Mature Tweens

Genre: Supernatural Thriller

Notes for parents: Some violence, but it’s never gratuitous.

The Inside Cover

To everyone at Meridian High School, Michael Vey is just your average, ordinary fourteen-year-old. But Michael is anything but ordinary—in fact, he is electric.

When Michael’s best friends, Ostin Liss and cheerleader Taylor Ridley, make an accidental discovery, the three of them learn that there are other kids with similar powers—and that someone, or something, is hunting them.

After Michael’s mother is kidnapped, Michael will have to rely on his wits, his unique power, and his friends to combat the hunters, free his mother, and save the others.

What the Back Cover doesn’t tell you:

This is the first book in the Michael Vey series.

What’s good?

Michael Vey is a reluctant but likeable hero, Ostin is his charming and intelligent side-kick, Taylor is a strong female lead, and Jack & Wade nicely round out the members of the Electroclan. This is an engaging, well-paced classic battle between good and evil that sees a group of powerful children tempted to ignore morality in favour of superiority and material gain. There is a lot of action and adventure mixed with mystery and suspense packed into short chapters which makes this an easy and enjoyable read.

Best part: I like that all of the “electric” have different powers.

What’s not so good?

I was a bit unnerved by the depth of cruelty. Hatch’s manipulative method was too obviously malicious to be believable as a successful technique. His I bought you something pretty so now you have to hurt someone for me seems very...lame. Similarly, Nichelle’s relentless brutality is a bit over the top. She must be psychotic to be so cruel. While it didn’t ruin the story, I prefer my antagonists with a little vulnerability, which these two don’t seem to have in any amount.

Worst part: Hatch’s attempts at manipulation. It’s hard to believe they worked on anyone.

Recommendations þþþoo

Richard Paul Evans is best known for his conservative, Christian-themed books for adults and children. This is his first book for teens. It’s an edgy, action-filled adventure with moral quandaries and power-hungry bad guys. This should appeal to most teens.

Evans, Richard Paul. Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25. New York: Simon Pulse/ Mercury Ink, 2011.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Pages: 404

Intended Audience: Teens and mature tweens

Genre: Fantasy

Notes for parents: Some violence.

The Back Cover

Some race to win. Others race to survive.

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line.

Some riders live.

Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a choice. So she enters the competition—the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

What the Back Cover doesn’t tell you:

The water horses are the capall uisce (pronounced CAPple ISHka) of Gaelic mythology. They are flesh-eating, water-bound horses active in November that, if lured away from the ocean, are prized mounts better than any land horse.

What’s good?

This is a tense, slow-building story of courage, loyalty and love. The main characters are brilliantly drawn. Sean Kendrick is a quiet young loner with a talent for horses and an uncommon kinship with the capall uisce. Kate Connelly, better known as Puck, is a brazen, high-spirited girl with a love of horses and a strong sense of family. The supporting cast of islanders is equally vivid and the island itself, somewhere off the coast of the British Isles, is captivating with its steep cliffs, sandy shores and quaint small town charm. The suspense builds evenly from the first capall uisce sighting to the day of the race—then it’s a full out chase to the finish.

Best part: Kate’s brother, Finn.

What’s not so good?

It started slow—I almost gave up on it. The only thing that kept me going was Sean Kendrick. I was intrigued.

Worst part: The beginning. If you can get past the few chapters, it gets better.

Recommendations þþþoo

This story will appeal to horse lovers, fantasy readers, romantics and adventure seekers. It’s well written and worth the read if you have the patience to wait for the story to unfold.

Stiefvater, Maggie. The Scorpio Races. New York: Scholastic, 2011.