My favorite part of the novel is the romance that Verity finds herself in. She has a love-at-first-sight moment with one of the Rebel Mechanics, Alec, which is the beginning of her work as a spy. Alec quickly wins her over and her relationship with him is what leads her to continue to give information to the Rebel Mechanics so she can keep him safe. At the same time, Verity develops an affection for her employer, the scatter brained scientist, Lord Henry Lyndon. She knows that there is no chance of a governess and magister being together but finds herself drawn to him and him to her. There is also plenty of action in the book as the revolution begins between the Rebel Mechanics and the British soldiers. The books ending is such that readers will eagerly await the second book in the series.
Rebel Mechanics is my first experience with a Steamppunk novel. Steampunk- according to google- is “a genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery rather than advanced technology.” In this book the Rebel Mechanics are a group of individuals who are seeking to overthrow the British, who are still ruling the American colonies. The British are able to control the colonies because they have magisters, individuals who can use magic. The Rebel Mechanics try to develop non-magical sources of power, via steam engines, to free themselves from British control and rule. Verity, a 16-year-old governess, gets a job in a high ranking magisters’ home. She comes in to contact with the Rebel Mechanics and becomes a spy for the Rebel Mechanics as she reports back to the Mechanics the things she hears at the magisters.
My favorite part of the novel is the romance that Verity finds herself in. She has a love-at-first-sight moment with one of the Rebel Mechanics, Alec, which is the beginning of her work as a spy. Alec quickly wins her over and her relationship with him is what leads her to continue to give information to the Rebel Mechanics so she can keep him safe. At the same time, Verity develops an affection for her employer, the scatter brained scientist, Lord Henry Lyndon. She knows that there is no chance of a governess and magister being together but finds herself drawn to him and him to her. There is also plenty of action in the book as the revolution begins between the Rebel Mechanics and the British soldiers. The books ending is such that readers will eagerly await the second book in the series.
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Will Shea grew up with con artists. Now he’s conned himself into one of the finest private schools in the country. Then Will meets Andrea who also conned herself into the school. Connaughton Academy isn’t big enough for two con artists, so who will have to leave? Will challenges Andrea to one final con- a race to see who can swindle $50,000 out of Brandt Rush, the most powerful and biggest jerk on campus. The winner gets to stay at Connaughton Academy. Will is a likable character- you can’t help but hope that he is able to turn his life around. His dad is such a jerk that it’s nice that he has a supportive uncle who has his best interests at heart. The last part of the book has a lot of twists and turns but has a very satisfying ending. Julia has exciting plans for the summer- hanging out with her best friend, Taylor, lounging by the swimming pool, and maybe hanging out with her crush, Peter. When a new girl, Alyssa, moves across the street, all of her plans come crashing down. Taylor and Alyssa start hanging out, and Taylor doesn’t want to have anything to do with Julia. And Alyssa is just plain mean to Julia. Julia’s mom decides to send her to music camp for two weeks and Julia is dreading it. How did her summer go so wrong? This is a pleasant, realistic fiction novel about growing up- especially from a girl’s perspective. I really related to Julia’s experiences- it seems like with teenage girls- three is inevitably a crowd- and I had the same experience growing up of feeling left out with girls on my block. I love the way that Altebrando gave Julia supportive parents who were able to help her through some tough social situations. Overall, this is a nice novel for those who enjoy realistic fiction. Tamaya and Marshall are trying to outrun a bully by taking the “shortcut” home through the woods. Tamaya notices a puddle of some “fuzzy mud” in the woods. When Chad, the bully, starts to attack them, Tamaya shoves some fuzzy mud in his face so that she and Marshall can get away. The next day when Tamaya wakes up with a rash on her arms and hands, and Chad is missing, Tamaya knows there is something suspicious about the mud she saw in the woods. But can she get anyone to believe her, before it’s too late? Sachar alternates between the story of Tamaya and Marshall and the government hearings regarding the creation of biolene, a new source of clean, affordable energy. It appears that the creation of biolene and the appearance of the fuzzy mud are linked. This is a fast-paced, engaging read told by a masterful storyteller! I highly recommend it! Lyric’s world is turned upside down the night that the Alpha appear on the beach- a civilization that has lived in the depths of the sea and now has been forced onto land. Her city of Coney Island is turned into a military state where they only way to leave is if you have an ID, a passport, and a social security card. Unfortunately, because of a secret that Lyric’s family is trying to hide, Lyric’s mother has none of these and so they are forced to stay in the most dangerous of places. Then one day the government decides that the Alpha’s teenagers will start to go to school at Lyric’s school. People strongly oppose the integration and Lyric and her best friend, Bex, have to have a military escort to arrive in school safely. Then Lyric is chosen as an ambassador- someone who will help Americanize one of the Alpha teenagers. She is paired with Fathom, the Alpha prince. She finds his traditions and beliefs strange and has trouble communicating with him, but as she gets to know him better, finds herself beginning to fall in love with him. When she learns the real reason that the Alpha appeared on their shores three years ago, she realizes that the humans and Alpha’s must form an alliance, if there is any chance for humans to survive. I love Lyric. She is strong, loyal to her friends, independent. Even though Fathom’s character isn’t super developed, I wanted them to get together. I really enjoyed the story but felt like the end of the story was a little rushed. It felt like the author thought- I better wrap this up- and then the last 50 pages were crazy. The second book in the series, Raging Sea, has already been released and looks fantastic. If you like survival fiction, then you will love Undertow! Laurel is excited to spend the week on an all-expense paid trip on a luxury cruise with her best friend, Viv. The cruise is going to release the miracle weight loss drug, Solu. The passengers on the cruise are promised that with the help of Solu they will lose 5-10% of their body fat in one week! Everything is going great! Laurel runs into her celebrity crush, Tom Forelli, who seems to be into her as well! But as the cruise progresses, things begin to go wrong. Everyone who is taking Solu starts to act moody and irritable- almost like drug addicts. No matter how much Solu they get, they still want more. The cruise goes from a dream experience to a nightmare as life on the ship begins to unravel and people do anything, even kill, to get their hands on more Solu. Marie Lu, author of Legend, said “Simultaneously terrifying, hilarious, and action-packed, Sweet is a wild ride that holds up a warped mirror to our society. I loved it from the first line to the last.” If you like horror novels, you should definitely read Sweet! Cassie’s whole world has turned upside down. Her dad came to pick her up from school and then they start getting shot at and her dad tells her to find someone named Brother Gregorio and that she can trust no one. Then Cassie finds out that she is the descendant of an ancient bloodline that can control the Spear of Destiny- a tool that allows the user to change the future. The only problem is the Hastati, a group sworn to destroy those who can use the Spear of Destiny, are after her and Cassie has to find the spear before they find her. Cassie will go on a quest to find the spear with only the help of her best friend, Simone, and Asher, a boy who is sworn to protect her. Cassie gets chased and shot at and betrayed by those she thinks she can trust. And in the end finds out something that turns her world upside down. If you like action and adventure, you will love this fast paced novel, Moving Target! May never believed that Libby really died. Everyone said Libby had died. They even found the body that had Libby’s ID card with it. May has started to move on with her life, but then she is visiting her dad in Seattle and she starts seeing Princess X stickers everywhere. Princess X was the story that Libby and May created when they were children. No one else knew about Princess X. Why would these stickers be showing up now? May has to solve the mystery of who has raised Princess X from the dead. With the help of her new computer hacker friend, Trick, May uses clues from the Princess X website online- clues she is sure that Libby has left for her so that May can find Libby and save her. But the search turns dangerous and May is afraid she has gotten in over her head. But she asks herself, what would Princess X do? Princess X would continue on no matter how dangerous it gets! If you like a fantastic mystery, you will love I Am Princess X! From the Publisher From New York Times bestselling author Jennifer A. Nielsen comes a stunning thriller about a girl who must escape to freedom after the Berlin Wall divides her family between east and west. With the rise of the Berlin Wall, twelve-year-old Gerta finds her family suddenly divided. She, her mother, and her brother Fritz live on the eastern side, controlled by the Soviets. Her father and middle brother, who had gone west in search of work, cannot return home. Gerta knows it is dangerous to watch the wall, to think forbidden thoughts of freedom, yet she can't help herself. She sees the East German soldiers with their guns trained on their own citizens; she, her family, her neighbors and friends are prisoners in their own city. But one day, while on her way to school, Gerta spots her father on a viewing platform on the western side, pantomiming a peculiar dance. Then, when she receives a mysterious drawing, Gerta puts two and two together and concludes that her father wants Gerta and Fritz to tunnel beneath the wall, out of East Berlin. However, if they are caught, the consequences will be deadly. No one can be trusted. Will Gerta and her family find their way to freedom? I love historical fiction books and I really liked this one. I knew very little about the Berlin Wall or the people who were stuck in the east part of the city during this time period so I found that very interesting- interesting enough that I went and found additional information about the Iron Curtain. The book has kind of a slow pace as Fritz and Gerta struggle day to day to keep their tunnel concealed, but the pace really picks up towards the end where they have to complete the tunnel and try to leave the city before Fritz is captured by the East German soldiers. The book is held together by the strong relationships that Gerta has with her family and by the fact that she will risk everything- including her life- to be together as a family again. From the Publisher Everyone says that middle school is awful, but Trent knows nothing could be worse than the year he had in fifth grade, when a freak accident on Cedar Lake left one kid dead, and Trent with a brain full of terrible thoughts he can't get rid of. Trent's pretty positive the entire disaster was his fault, so for him middle school feels like a fresh start, a chance to prove to everyone that he's not the horrible screw-up they seem to think he is. If only Trent could make that fresh start happen. It isn't until Trent gets caught up in the whirlwind that is Fallon Little--the girl with the mysterious scar across her face--that things begin to change. Because fresh starts aren't always easy. Even in baseball, when a fly ball gets lost in the sun, you have to remember to shift your position to find it. The cover of this book has a bright and colorful sun design and so I was really thrown when the book has a pretty dark tone. Trent has trouble everywhere he goes- keeping his temper, handling his dad and step mom, with kids at school, with the teachers, even trying to play baseball- one of this favorite things. So it’s a great thing when Fallon Little comes along because she and his relationship with his mom are the two bright spots in his life. The author, Lisa Graff, does such a great job of developing Trent and Fallon’s characters and of leaving things open for interpretation. I liked how some things were resolved by the end of the book, but not everything was resolved because it makes it more realistic that there are still problems that Trent is having to deal with. A great realistic fiction novel that I highly recommend! |
Mrs. DeJongLibrarian, Avid reader, Reality tv lover, Runner, Philadelphia Eagles fan Archives
February 2016
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