Fat Cat by Robin Brande

Catherine "Cat" Locke is a major science geek. This year she's even taking Mr. Fizer's Special Topics in Research Science class - a class known to cause stress overload in even the best students. And they don't even get to pick their own topic. They must blindly choose a photograph from Fizer's desk and base their project on that photo somehow. So Cat, who spent the summer studying fig wasps, is horrified when she pulls an illustration of Homo erectus - "Early hominins from 1.8 millions years ago." She now has until the end of class to write down a preliminary project idea and turn it in. How in the world can she base an entire year's research project - and science project final - on this?!?!

Eureka!

By the end of class Cat has her answer. It will involve Cat becoming her own science experiment. It will mean giving up the conveniences of modern life and most of the foods she loves. But if she succeeds, it will be one heck of a project. It might even beat Matt McKinney's (as if she cared about things like that).

This story is not about a fat girl losing weight and becoming popular, getting the guy, and ruling the school. It's a story about a girl taking control of her life for an unusual reason, but in the process becoming stronger, more confident and healthier. While her decisions may or may not be ones the rest of us are willing to make, they are definitely inspiring. I highly recommend this title!

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Thomas arrives in the Glade with no memories of his time before. But strangely, things are familiar: the gray walls, the maze, the Grievers with their poison and knives, the Changing, the grounds of the Glade. Somehow, Thomas knows he's the only one who can get everyone out of the Maze. The Maze that has contained them for over two years...

If you enjoyed The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, you will love this book. It has the same plot of survival and leadership, but the circumstances and elements are entirely new and inventive. I highly recommend this one!

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver is an interesting twist to the werewolf story. The wolves aren't monsters, at least, not any more than most humans, and they don't turn to wolves during the full moon. Instead the shift is dictated by temperature. Warm, sunny months are human where the chill of winter is wolf. As time goes on, time spent human becomes shorter and shorter, until eventually there is nothing but wolf time. This is Sam's last summer in human form. And it's the summer he finally gets to know Grace. It's the summer they officially fall in love, though they've loved each other long distance and inter-species for years. But in a few weeks it will all be over...unless they can figure out a way for one of them to permanently join the other's species for good.

I started this one on audiobook, then switched to hardback to finish it off. Audiobooks just don't go as fast as my eyes/brain, and I get frustrated - desperately wanting to know how the situation is resolved and how it all ends. If this describes you, too, check out the book so you can race to the end and find out who loves, who loses, and who finds a new form!

 

FYI: The sequel to Shiver, Linger, comes on on July 20th!

Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Bryn is a pack member, but not a werewolf. At the age of four a Rabid (lone werewolf) killed her parents and would have killed Bryn, but she was rescued by Callum, who marked her and made her part of the Stone River Pack. She has been raised with the pack. Taught to think like the pack. Learned to fight like the pack. Pack. Not Pack. Pack.

Now fifteen, she rebels against the alpha's control. And when she discovers his secrets and betrayal she must make hard decisions about her place in the pack. She must contemplate actions that will put her, and her friends, in danger not only from the Rabid that Bryn thought Callum had destroyed years ago, but from her own pack and packs across the United States.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes has done it again! This masterful storyteller has written a novel that will captivate her audiences with it's power and originality. I highly recommend it to fans of paranormal fiction.

The Secret Year by Jennifer R. Hubbard

For an entire year Colt met Julia by the lake. For an entire year they touched, kissed, talked and shared themselves. For an entire year, they kept it all a secret. Now Julia is dead, and Colt doesn’t know how to let her go.

This short volume told an amazing story. Julia was from the wealthy side of town and Colt is lives in a lower middle-class area. Their love would have raised eyebrows, but it wasn’t exactly Romeo and Juliet. By keeping their relationship a secret, Colt now has no one to help him through his grief and feelings of guilt. The chronicle of his grief, memories, and slow recovery is emotional and realistic. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to fans of romance and drama.

Alex Van Helsing: Vampire Rising by Jason Henderson

I finished this book yesterday and simply could not get my brain to formulate a passable book review. I can say that I enjoyed this book tremendously, and that it is a nice change from the vampire love stories that have saturated the supernatural market. Beyond that, I drew a blank. But I did find this review from School Library Journal that says what I have been unable to articulate:

"Alex Van Helsing always believed he was a normal teen who just happened to possess a legendary last name. All that changes when he begins to experience strange sensations and is involved in the bizarre death of a student at Frayling Prep. His parents decide to send Alex to Switzerland in order to attend Glenarvon Academy near Lake Geneva. Alex's dreams of a new beginning are shattered when he is attacked by a vampire on his second day. He must now face the realization that his instincts about supernaturals have been right all along and that they do indeed exist. Mr. Sangster, Alex's teacher, reveals to him that the Van Helsings have always been an integral part of the Polidorium, a secret organization of vampire-hunters. The Polidorium is in Lake Geneva to find the Scholomance, a vampire stronghold under the leadership of an ancient vampire known as Icemaker. When the vampires take captive two of Alex's friends, the 14-year-old must take action. Henderson references Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to weave a great story line full of action, suspense, and adventure. The satisfying story captivates readers with a modern-day spin of James Bond meets Dracula. It has lots of bite that will have readers thirsting for more."

—Donna Rosenblum, Floral Park Memorial High School, NY

The Kane Chronicles: The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

Sadie and Carter Kane have lived apart since their mother's death six years ago. Sadie lives with their grandparents in London, while Carter travels the world with their Egyptologist father. Carter and Dr. Kane only get to visit with Sadie two days each year, and this Christmas Eve is one of those days. Dr. Kane and Carter pick Sadie up and head straight to the British Museum where Dr. Kane wants a closer look a the Rosetta Stone. He tells Carter and Sadie to lock the curator in his office and stay out of the room. Instead the teens sneak back just in time to see their father blow up the Rosetta Stone and unleash Set, an Egyptian god. Set traps Dr. Kane in a coffin and makes him disappear, and the teens barely get away with their lives. Now, with the help of an uncle they haven't seen for years, the teens travel the globe to find out what happened, escape the myriad of monsters chasing them, and find a way to stop Set and rescue their father...before Set can complete his evil plot of destruction.


The Red Pyramid was not the easiest book to get into. There is so much setup that the plot drags...at first. After about 75 pages the action picks up and it simply doesn't stop until the very last page. I really enjoyed this book and think this series might end up being even better than Percy Jackson and the Olympians.