The Hollow by Jessica Verday

This excellent book is the first in a trilogy. It mixes paranormal romance and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow with a little mystery in a modern-day setting. Abbey's best friend, Kristen, has died in a tragic drowning accident. But the real question is why she was even at the river that day? Abbey searches for answers but what she finds is an elderly couple, Nikolas and Katy, and a gorgeous but unusual teen, Caspian. Caspian may be her soul mate - if she can ever figure out his secrets. And Nikolas and Katy are as dear to her as the grandparents she lost at age six, but they are also good at hiding the truth. When Abbey learns the secrets of these people she's come to love, it nearly unravels her - making her doubt her own sanity.

The book starts out slowly, but don't give up on it. It will definitely reward the patient reader!

Great for fans of Twilight!!

The Fast & the Furriest by Andy Behrens

Kevin Pugh is a 12-year-old couch potato. Cromwell is his beagle, a couch potato dog. Kevin’s looking forward to spending his summer sitting on the sofa, playing video games and generally doing as little as possible. Unfortunately, Kevin’s father, a former Bears star football player and super-sports fanatic, feels differently. So does Cromwell, who has suddenly and mysteriously developed a fascination with dog agility competitions: running up seesaws, leaping over hurdles, and attempting to soar through hoops (he usually gets stuck in the middle). If he has to do anything, Kevin would rather do something for newly obsessed Cromwell, but dog agility lessons cost money, and Kevin’s dad won’t pay for something that he doesn’t even consider a real sport. So he signs Kevin up for football camp instead. But some well-timed events collide, literally, and Kevin finds a way for he and Cromwell to take classes. Team Cromwell is born.

The Pickle King by Rebecca Promitzer

Bea Kludnik lives in Elbow, where it rains 24/7 during the summer. Most people leave Elbow in the summer. The ones who can't afford to hit the road end up growing mold between their toes from the constant rain and mud.

This summer starts out the usual way - with rain. But then Sam shows up and takes Bea and her camera to an old, dilapidated house. Up the front stairs, into the foyer to a hole in the floor. Bea can see water in the hole - and something else. Something floating up toward the hole. It turns a bit and Bea realizes that she's seeing a dead body. A dead body of a man who's missing an eye! She quickly takes a few pictures then she and Sam scram. But Bea leaves with more than just a few snapshots. The ghost of the dead man is following, and he wants Bea, Sam and their friends to avenge his murder.

This was a good mystery with twists and turns, memorable characters, and a plot intricate enough to keep my interest. I recommend it to mystery fans, but be warned that it is a bit on the gross side.

Heist Society by Ally Carter

Katarina (Kat) Bishop is descended from a long line of thieves and con artists...and she wants out. So she cons her way into boarding school and tries to lead a normal life. Just a few months later her family sets her up, gets her kicked out and picks her up to give her the bad news: Someone stole five paintings from mobster Arturo Taccone, and Taccone believes that someone was Kat's father. He wants his paintings back within two weeks or he'll do unbelievably horrible things to Kat's father and her entire family. Against the advice of the family patriarch, Kat goes to work, swinging back into the lifestyle she tried so hard to leave. But how will she even find the painting, much less pull off the biggest heist of the century?

I'm familiar with Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls series and I thought this title would be more of the same: an enjoyable light read with romance, humor and wit. While this was definitely an enjoyable read, it was more mature and serious than what I was expecting. Kat is a sympathetic character who reads like a typical teen - though admittedly a teen with more on her plate than most high school girls. There is a hint of romance, an intriguing plot and enough action to keep a reader turning the pages to find out what happens. And then the twist....perfect! I highly recommend this book to teen girls who want more than the typical chicklit book.

The Percy Jackson Countdown: Day Ten: Beka Cooper

16-year-old Beka Cooper is a product of the rough-and-tumble Lower City. Having spent the first half of her life in the slums, she is driven by the need to do what is right and see justice done. To that end, she has become a "Puppy," or trainee, in the Provost’s Guard, commonly known as the Provost’s Dogs. These guards serve the King as protectors of the city of Corus. Beka requests an assignment in the notoriously dangerous Lower City, her former home, and becomes the puppy of guards Matthias Tunstall and Clara Goodwin. These teachers are two of the best and toughest "Dogs" in the guard, and they set Beka straight to work, cracking heads and enforcing the law. As a puppy, Beka’s job is to chase down criminals and help bring them to justice; her only weapons are her wooden baton, her wits, and her ability to listen. This latter skill is helped by her magical ability to hear the ghostly whispers of the dead, carried by pigeons and dust spinners. She is also befriended by a supernatural cat named Pounce, and has a few loyal human friends to make life more bearable. As Beka settles into the routine of work in the Provost’s guard she begins to hear rumors of a nefarious criminal called the Shadow Snake.

The Snake kidnaps young children of the Lower City and holds them ransom for unique trinkets and family heirlooms. If the ransom is not paid, the children are either returned dead or are simply never seen again. Beka is outraged that the Shadow Snake has been preying on the city’s poor and unnoticed. And there’s something else. Among the spirits Beka hears are those of adults killed by poison and buried in the basements where they fell. Even though the old neighborhood has always been troublesome, this increase in crime is intolerable to Beka, and she aims to protect it against all odds. As she and her Dogs keep getting stymied in their pursuit of the killers, it is Beka who refuses to give up, pursuing even the smallest clue with the tenacity of a terrier, from which she gets her nickname.


Beka Cooper by Tamora Pierce
Book 1: Terrier
Book 2: Bloodhound
Book 3: Mastiff (due to be published sometime this year)

Ms. Heather's Note: Though Beka Cooper is my favorite, I really enjoyed all of Tamora Pierce's books. Her heroines are strong and courageous and all of her characters are very real. Though the different series' relate to each other, they don't have to be read in order...but it is more fun that way! For a list of all of the books in all of the series, check out her website: http://www.tamora-pierce.com/books.html

The Percy Jackson Countdown: Day Nine: Alcatraz Smedry

Alcatraz Smedry doesn't seem destined for anything but disaster. He has a unique talent -for breaking things. It is not something that endears him to the foster parents to whom he has been assigned. On his thirteenth birthday, Alcatraz receives an unusual gift: a bag of sand. The accompanying note from his parents explains that it is his inheritance. Alcatraz does not know who his parents are, where they are, or why they have sent him a bag of sand. He then burns down his current foster mother’s kitchen. Before his caseworker can relocate Alcatraz to yet another foster home, the bag of sand is stolen, he is attacked by a gun-wielding stranger, and he is rescued by a man claiming to be his grandfather. It turns out that Alcatraz is not living in the real world but trapped in the Hushlands, controlled by the cult of evil librarians plotting to take over the world. In a place where swords are more potent than guns, dinosaurs are proper English gentlemen, and only special glasses enable Alcatraz to see the truth, a talent for breaking things might be the only thing that can save the world.

Like Percy Jackson, Alcatraz is just finding out who he really is and his place in the world. These titles have a lot more humor, though, and lots of sarcasm!

Alcatraz Smedry series by Brandon Sanderson

Book 1: Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians

Book 2: Alcatraz versus the Scrivener's Bones

Book 3: Alcatraz versus the Knights of Crystallia

The Percy Jackson Countdown: Day Eight: Artemis Fowl

Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl took over his family's evil criminal empire after his father's disappearance and his mother's nervous breakdown. The family’s fortunes are dwindling, though, following a bad business deal by Artemis’ now missing father. What does a millionaire boy genius do when the family is teetering on the brink of destruction? Hatch an evil plan, of course. And since Artemis is no ordinary boy, it’s no ordinary evil plan.

Having obtained the Book, a volume containing all of the fairies' secrets, he cracks the coded text and acquaints himself with fairy magic and technology. With the knowledge of the true existence of fairies and their magic, Artemis hatches a wicked scheme to steal their gold. Using the knowledge from the Book, he locates and kidnaps an elf, Capt. Holly Short, intending to hold her ransom. Capt. Short, however, is not the old-fashioned kind of fairy, but a member of the Lower Elements Police (or LEP). As a result, Artemis finds himself up against the thoroughly modern LEPrecon, an armed and dangerous branch of the LEP. This wisecracking team of satyrs, trolls, dwarfs and fellow fairies, led by Commander Root, will do anything to ensure Capt. Short's safe return. This story has lots of action, interesting gadgets and nefarious plots. More than a fantasy, it is the story that might result if James Bond were mixed with legends and the folklore of fairies, trolls, and goblins.

The Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
Book 1: Artemis Fowl
Book 2: The Arctic Incident
Book 3: The Eternity Code
Book 4: The Opal Deception
Book 5: The Lost Colony
Book 6: The Time Paradox
Book 7: The Atlantis Complex (not out yet – due to be published July 2010)