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A Librarian Reads Human.4

Tuesday, May 17th, 2011

Human.4 by Mike A. Lancaster

Today is the day of the big talent show in the village of Millgrove. Kyle always is a little hesitant about the talent show because he once, years ago, he did a stand-up routine that bombed. This year his friend Danny is going to try hypnotizing volunteers from the audience.

Kyle doesn’t know why he volunteers but  he soon finds himself on stage with a girl named Lilly, and two adults. Danny starts to hypnotize them and slowly the world fades away.

When they awake everyone except the four of them are frozen in place. Everything electronic has stopped working properly. Computers can be turned on but they only display a strange language no one can discern.

Kyle, Lilly, and the adults are worried they have gone crazy, or are still hypnotized. But then everyone in Millgrove wakes up. Now no one talks to the four of them; like they don’t exist. Things start to get worse when they see the people of town start growing tendrils from their hands.

Somethings has fundamentally changed everyone in the world except Kyle, Lilly and the two adult volunteers. Can they discover what has happened? Is it able to be reversed? And what do you do when it seems like you have be erased from everyone’s mind?

Human.4 is a quick, engaging, and spooky sci-fi tale, and is recommended if you want to get a peek at what is in store for the future of humanity. It is appropriate for all ages.

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A Librarian Reads Red Glove

Friday, April 29th, 2011

The Curse Workers Book 2: Red Glove by Holly Black

Cassel Sharp and his family of supernatural gangsters are back. Cassel realizes now that he is the rarest kind of curse worker: he has the power to transform other people. He could simply change their looks, or change them into an animal or even a harmless object. His power was already being used for the Zacharov crime family by his older brothers who would erase his memories after he would get rid of any enemy of the mobster. Cassel knows he has made people “disappear” but he can’t remember any of it. Is he still a murderer?

And he has another reminder of how powerful he is when the girl of his dreams Lila begins attending his elite prep school. This is the girl he thought he killed but really just changed into a cat for many years. Plus she is Zacharov’s daughter and heiress to a powerful mobster family. Lila likes him too, but she was cursed by Cassel’s mom (an emotion worker) to love and adore him. So Cassel can’t even trust her feelings for him.

To make matters worse Philip, Cassel’s brother who manipulated Cassel into killing, winds up dead from many gunshot wounds. Now Cassel’s family, Zacharov, and the federal agents are after the killer. And they all think Cassel knows more than he does. Cassel will have to rely on every grifter technique he knows to weasel out the truth. But he will also need to rely on something much worse: his friends. How can Cassel find the killer, please everyone, get the girl, and keep his friends safe? It seems the odds may be stacked against him this time.

Red Glove is an excellent sequel to White Cat. Both have such an excellent mix of mobsters, magic, and mystery. Highly recommended and appropriate for ages 14 and up.

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A Sundry Librarian Reads Heist Society

Friday, April 8th, 2011

Heist SocietyHeist Society by Ally Carter
Review by Maria Levetzow

Katarina Bishop is new a student at the exclusive Colgan School – but she won’t be for long. She’s accused of putting the headmaster’s Porsche on top of the fountain in the school courtyard, water gushing out of its headlights. She didn’t do it, but the evidence says otherwise.

Kat knows she’s been framed, and it doesn’t take long for her to find out by whom. You see, Kat’s family is renowned among a very select, secretive few in society – the society of high-end thieves. Her father is world famous among some circles for pulling off incredibly difficult, high-risk (and high-paying) jobs.

But now a very bad man is accusing her father of stealing paintings from him. Dad didn’t do it, but there’s no telling Arthur Toccane that. So, in order to save her dad, Kat’s pulled back into the world that she longed to escape just a few months ago.

If you’re a fan of heist movies like “Ocean’s Eleven”, “Heist Society” may be right up your alley. I would also suggest Ally Carter’s Gallagher Girls series (about a secret spy school) and Michael Spradlin’s Spy Goddess series. You might also like L.A. Meyer’s Bloody Jack series – not so much spy stuff, but another fun series where the main character is a girl who kicks butt.

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A Librarian Reads The Compound

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011

The Compound by S.A. Bodeen

Eli, a nine year old boy, flees with his family to an underground bunker to escape a nuclear Holocaust. The compound has enough supplies to let the family survive for 15 years. Unfortunately not all members of the family make it to the compound in time. Eli’s grandmother and twin brother were left outside and perished when the bombs hit.

Over the years other things go wrong. The livestock they hoped to raise die after being mysteriously poisoned. Some of the food begins to spoil and rot. It looks like Eli and his family may not survive the whole 15 years they need to be underground.

Six years later and  Eli has turned into a fifteen year old recluse. He doesn’t allow his family to touch him. He is mean to everyone and purposefully pushes his family away. Other strange things have happened over the years. Despite the shortage on food, Eli’s parents start to have more children. Eli’s father is continuously on edge and itches uncontrollably. Then Eli discovers his dead brother’s laptop in the compound. While logging in, Eli discovers the strangest thing of all: the Internet is working.

Are other people alive? Has civilization reestablished itself? Or is something more sinister going on? Eli is forced to discover the truth when his father confiscates the laptop. The compound has secrets and Eli must find them if his family hopes to live a normal  life ever again.

The Compound is a suspenseful thriller and an quick read. It is recommended for those interested in survival, family issues, or just need one of those books that keep you glued to the page.  It is appropriate for all ages.

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A Librarian Reads Siren

Friday, November 26th, 2010

Siren by Tricia Rayburn

Vanessa has always felt lost in her older sister’s shadow, especially during the summer when their family vacations at their beach house. There are a pair of brothers who live next door to their summer home, Simon and Caleb. Vanessa’s sister, Justine, has always been adventurous and each year the four of them jump off a large cliff to the ocean below. Or at least Vanessa tries too. She can never really make it to the cliff’s edge.

Another summer ritual for Justine is hooking up with Caleb. They make eyes at each other, and kiss whenever they can steal a chance. Vanessa is used to boys fawning over Justine, and she just hopes Justine doesn’t break Caleb’s heart, but yet wishes she could be so adventurous in life and not so afraid of everything. Vanessa is comfortable in being the second stringer in the family. But unfortunately fate has other plans for her because this summer after a family fight Justine runs away. Later they find her body on the shore. She jumped from the cliff that night but never came back up and drowned.

Vanessa has a lost a sister and her world is crumbling around her and in her mourning she cannot get Justine’s voice out of her head. To make matters worse more bodies are being found everyday in this beach resort. All of them have drowned. All of them have a macabre grin stretched across their faces. Vanessa can’t help but think that perhaps her sister’s death wasn’t random but connected with the others. But why are people dying? Is it just the chaotic weather they have been having? It seems like the ocean itself  is angry and swallows anyone who swims too deep. But Vanessa might soon lose someone else who is close to her, her last link to Justine, Caleb. He has gone missing. Now, Vanessa and Simon must race to find him before the sea swallows him as well.

Siren was an enjoyable supernatural mystery with plenty of suspense and romance. On one hand it is a story of a young girl coping with loss, and on the other hand is the thrill of solving these seemingly unconnected deaths. Highly recommended for those who need a thrill, a dash of romance, or looking for the next book to satisfy that supernatural fix, and it is appropriate for ages 14 and up.

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