Thursday, August 8, 2013

The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington

The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington
Publisher: Scholastic Point
Publish Date: January 1, 2013
Pages 295
ISNB# 978-0545333023


I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.



Jade just moved into a new house with her dad, stepmom and brother. New house, new school!  Jade loves the house, it's huge and gorgeous.

Then she notices a lot of kids at the school whispering and staring at her all the time. She learns that the house is supposed to be haunted.  A very popular, although mean, girl from the school died there.  Her name was Kayla. 

When Jade's brother reports seeing a 'glittering girl' in his room, Jade vows to protect him.  He's only five years old and she's worried he'll get hurt.

The plot is good, it builds slowly and hints at several conclusions, but the ending is a surprise.

Jade is determined and nice. There are two boys that are interested in her, but there's no love triangle, the whole thing is pretty low-key and the mystery keeps center stage.

There's a sub-story too: Kayla's diary. Kayla gave people numbers, instead of using their names.  Jade (and you) have to figure it out to find out what happened.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Data Runner (Data Runner #1) by Sam A. Patel

Data Runner (Data Runner #1) by Sam A. Patel
Publisher: Diversion Books
Publish Date: June 25, 2013
Pages: 231
ISBN#978-1626810600


I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.



 The only way to transport sensitive info is by Data Runners.  Jack Nill works as a Data Runner to pay off his father's debts. But someone gave him info to carry that everyone wants.

The story is very fast-paced and gets pretty technical. The plot is detailed and keeps you reading.

The characters and world building need some work - unless we're going to get all that information in the second book.

In a way, the book reminded me of SNOWCRASH by Neal Stephenson.  Very technical, in language and computer knowledge and not huge on character development.  It's a good story, but perhaps for a very specific crowd.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Scrap (The Grimmic Chronicles #1) by Emory Sharplin

Scrap (The Grimmic Chronicles #1) by Emory Sharplin
Publisher: Green Leaf Book Group
Publish Date: May 17, 2013
Pages 350
ISBN# 978-1938416354


I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.



King Ibis is cruel and doesn't care about anything. Tucker is a 12 year old girl that lives in an orphanage and works at a bakery. She has a rough life, but it's the only one she knows. When her friends disappear, she's worried. A woman named Vivian shows up and tells her that she must learn to live and act like a rich girl to resolve the kingdom's issues.

Tucker is sassy and never gives up. For being a 12 year old, Tucker certainly understands things and feel things in a much more mature way. I kept thinking she was at least 16. She also went from dirt poor to rich so easily. She only knew poverty, that isn't an easy transition.

Some of the language, slang and ways things are said just didn't fit in a medieval story. Be medieval or don't.  You can't mix it all up.

A great fantasy story has layers...like an onion...or an ogre...this story didn't use enough layers and history, but did use a lot of convenient magic to explain things.

Monday, August 5, 2013

New Books out this Week: August 5 - 11, 2013

August 6th

Wise Young Food by Sean Beaudin
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

From Amazon:  Teen rocker Ritchie Sudden is pretty sure his life has just jumped the shark. Except he hates being called a teen, his band doesn't play rock, and "jumping the shark" is yet another dumb cliché. Part of Ritchie wants to drop everything and walk away. Especially the part that's serving ninety days in a juvenile detention center.

Telling the story of the year leading up to his arrest, Ritchie grabs readers by the throat before (politely) inviting them along for the (max-speed) ride. A battle of the bands looms. Dad split about five minutes before Mom's girlfriend moved in. There's the matter of trying to score with the dangerously hot Ravenna Woods while avoiding the dangerously huge Spence Proffer--not to mention just trying to forget what his sister, Beth, said the week before she died.
 
 Second Impact by David Klass and Perri Klass
Publisher:  Farrar, Strauss and Gireaux

From Goodreads:  About a boy who sustains serious head injuries while playing football, told in alternating voices by a brother-sister writing team.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Maybe Tonight? (Snap Decision) by Bridie Clark
Publisher:  Roaring Brook Press

From Amazon: 
Maybe Tonight? opens as the reader is getting ready for the most exciting party of the year—Midwinter’s Night Dream, set in the frosty woods just off campus—with her roommates and best friends Annabel Snow, Spider Harris, and Libby Monroe. Choices unfold quickly and the reader must decide which risks to take in pursuit of social status, adventure, success, and love.
 
 
 
 The Uprising (The Forsaken #2) by Lisa M. Stasse
Publisher:  Simon & Schusters Books for Young Readers

From Goodreads:  Alenna escaped. It was expected that she would die on the wheel, the island where would-be criminals are sent as directed by the UNA—the totalitarian supercountry that was once the United States, Mexico, and Canada. But Alenna and her boyfriend, Liam, made it to safety. Except safety, they will soon learn, is relative.

In order to bring down the UNA, they must first gain control of the wheel. If the mission succeeds, the wheel will become a base of revolution. But between betrayals, a new Monk leading a more organized army of Drones, and the discovery of a previously unknown contingent, Alenna, Liam, and their allies might be in over their heads. One thing Alenna knows for sure: There will be a reckoning. And not everyone she loves will make it out alive.
 
 Infinityglass (Hourglass #3) by Myra McEntire
Publisher:  EgmontUSA

From Goodreads: 
The Hourglass is a secret organization focused on the study of manipulating time, and its members — many of them teenagers -­have uncanny abilities to make time work for them in mysterious ways. Inherent in these powers is a responsibility to take great care, because altering one small moment can have devastating consequences for the past, present, and future. But some time trav­elers are not exactly honorable, and sometimes unsavory deals must be struck to maintain order.

With the Infinityglass (central to understanding and harnessing the time gene) at large, the hunt is on to find it before someone else does.

But the Hourglass has an advantage. Lily, who has the ability to locate anything lost, has determined that the Infinityglass isn't an object. It's a person. And the Hourglass must find him or her first. But where do you start searching for the very key to time when every second could be the last?
 
 The Golden Day by Ursula Dubosarsky
Publisher:  Candlewick Press

From Goodreads: 
The Vietnam War rages overseas, but back at home, in a year that begins with the hanging of one man and ends with the drowning of another, eleven schoolgirls embrace their own chilling history when their teacher abruptly goes missing on a field trip. Who was the mysterious poet they had met in the Garden? What actually happened in the seaside cave that day? And most important — who can they tell about it? In beautifully shimmering prose, Ursula Dubosarsky reveals how a single shared experience can alter the course of young lives forever. Part gripping thriller, part ethereal tale of innocence lost, The Golden Day is a poignant study of fear and friendship, and of what it takes to come of age with courage.
 
 TMI by Patty Blount
Publisher:  SourceBooks Fire

From Amazon: 
Best friends don't lie.
Best friends don't ditch you for a guy.
Best friends don't post your deepest darkest secret online.

Bailey's falling head-over-heels for Ryder West, a mysterious gamer she met online. A guy she's never met in person. Her best friend, Meg, doesn't trust smooth-talking Ryder. He's just a picture-less profile.
When Bailey starts blowing Meg off to spend more virtual quality time with her new crush, Meg decides it's time to prove Ryder's a phony.
But one stupid little secret posted online turns into a friendship-destroying feud to answer the question: Who is Ryder West?

 Chasing Shadows by Swati Avasthi
Publisher:  Knopf Books for Young Readers

From Goodreads:  Before: Corey, Holly, and Savitri are one unit—fast, strong, inseparable. Together they turn Chicago concrete and asphalt into a freerunner’s jungle gym, ricocheting off walls, scaling buildings, leaping from rooftops to rooftop.

But acting like a superhero doesn’t make you bulletproof…

After: Holly and Savitri are coming unglued. Holly says she’s chasing Corey’s killer, chasing revenge. Savitri fears Holly’s just running wild—and leaving her behind. Friends should stand by each other in times of crisis. But can you hold on too tight? Too long?


 Broken by Elizabeth Pulford
Publisher:  Walker Books Australia

From Goodreads: 
Critically injured in a motorbike accident, Zara Wilson lies in a coma. She is caught between many worlds: the world of her hospital room and anxious family, and that of her memories and a dream-like fantasy where she searches for her brother Jem. Jem proves elusive but Zara s adventures in her subconscious unlock dark secrets of a troubled childhood. Zara must face up to her past in order to accept her future.


August 8th

Charmed Vengeance (The Aether Chronicles #2) by Suzanne Lazear
Publisher:  Flux

From Goodreads:  In the Faerie realm, Noli Braddock's relationship with her best friend V has grown into something more. But V's mother, Faerie Queen Tiana, has ruled that they are forbidden to see each other. Returning to the mortal realm, Noli joins the crew of her brother's air-pirate ship, the Vixen's Revenge. There she discovers that her brother has hired the scallywag Faerie huntsman, Kevighn Silver. While serving as shipmates, Kevighn and Noli learn that the Earth Court King plans to find a forbidden artifact--one that will bring destruction to everyone Noli loves.