Struck

Jennifer Bosworth

MacMillan Children’s

Publishing Group

ISBN 13: 978-0374372835

$17.99
2012

After a devastating earthquake, downtown L.A. is left in ruins, with the exception of one untouched tower. Downtown becomes a focal point for a traveling party that moves to a different building every night; the partiers drawn by an irresistible force. Homeless gangs roam the streets; the beaches have become tent cities and two groups vie for power over the lives and souls of those fortunate, or cursed enough, to be left alive.

Teen Mia is a lightning rod; literally. She has been struck not once or twice, but many times. But rather than fearing lightning; Mia craves the energy that could kill her one day. To prevent future strikes, her mother, brother Parker and Mia have moved to L.A. because lightning rarely strikes there. However, she still covers her body completely before going out to avoid both the lightning she attracts, and to conceal the vivid lighting scars that cover her body.

Mia’s mother is battling mental illness caused by the devastation of the quake, and Mia and Parker must buy her meds on the black market. This sends them out to the beach, and a confrontation with Prophet’s people.
The two warring groups are convinced that Mia is connected to the freak electrical storm that caused the earthquake; and the two groups; one led by a school teacher, and the other, a cult lead by the charismatic but creepy Prophet, try to get her to join them. The Prophet’s massive tent city covers the beach; and his followers, dressed in angelic white, are everywhere. Then there is the mysterious Jeremy, who has promised to protect her. Can she believe him? But just as she begins to trust Jeremy, and her feelings blossom into love; she learns that he is Prophet’s adopted son; sent to “trick” her into joining his cult. Worse yet, the Prophet has convinced Mia’s mother to marry him on the night when he plans to use Mia to call the lightning; and begin the Apocalypse. And if Mia doesn’t do as Prophet wishes; her mother will be killed. As night falls, Mia must decide who to sacrifice; and whether to risk unleashing the full extent of her powers to save those she loves, a power that could destroy her, and ignite the Apocalypse.

A straight arrow, Mia is a tough, determined heroine; but one who is plagued with doubts. Buffeted by those who want her powers, she must rely on her instincts to make the right choices to survive, and save the world. Fast paced, compelling and electric; this can’t put down novel offers a gripping view of an apocalyptic future.

The Keening by A. LaFaye

The Keening

A. LaFaye

Milkweed Editions

ISBN-10: 1571316922

ISBN 13: 978-1-57131-692-9

Pages: 224
2010

Lyza Layton was born into an artistic but eccentric family that lives in the small Maine coastal town, Kingsley Cove. Her father, Pater, (Evan) carves beautifully; her mother, Mayra, plays cello but Lyza herself has only workman-like skills. At fourteen, both herself and her father contracted influenza during the epidemic that raged during 1918. Both survived, but many did not. Lyza comments how common the funeral marches became that year, “When the marches became as regular as the tide that winter, I stayed inside”.

The relationship between her parents is touching; her Mater understands that her husband is totally consumed by his work, to the point that he will not take care of himself. She plays her cello on the cliff to draw him out and remind him to eat. She is a tender mother to Lyza, reminding her to study for her examinations; her ticket away from Kingsley Cove.

Pater has a talent, a talent to see and hear the dead. Because of this, he carves small mementoes he puts in the ocean to help send them to the other side, and writes mysterious letters he posts without a return address to take care of their unfinished business.

But his peculiarity has endangered him, and there are those in the town, and even in the Bradley’s, his former wife’s family, that want him returned to the work farm; which is an asylum, a place where those with feeble wits were put to work. And it was there that Lyza’s mother met Pater, who was carving into the work table. She recognized his talent, and she married him, bringing him out to her house in Kingsley Cove.

Now Lyza, full of grief and longing for her mother, must confront the ugliness of her family, and find a way to protect both her father and herself. When her father tells her he is waiting for Mayra to return, Lyza knows she must get help.

She undertakes an almost Herculean task for one so young, courageously rowing across stormy seas to locate the one person that might be able to help them; and encountering those that have passed on herself. And in doing so, she discovers her own path, one that walks on both sides of the veil that separates the living from the dead.

This is an atmospheric thriller about the bonds of family and friendship, and the lengths that a daughter will go to to protect her father and her heritage. The writing is so subtle, it wasn't until the end of the book that I realized that Lzya was communicating with ghosts. An excellent read for both young adults and their parents.

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

20th Anniversary Edition
256 pages

ISBN-10: 054739117X

ISBN-13: 978-0547391175
March 2010

This book is based on O’Brien’s tour of duty in Vietnam, and delves acutely into the emotional baggage that the soldiers who served carried both during and after the war. A fictional retelling of factual occurrences, this novel is presented as a series of short stories, and recounts events experienced by O’Brien and the men in his unit.

You are there as he faces down his doubts in a small fishing boat close to the Canadian shore, where a gruff old man has brought him to give him a chance to escape the draft. This is the moment he realized that he was too embarrassed not to go to war and admit he was a coward. You are also with him on a jungle trail looking at the first man he ever killed, experiencing the horror and guilt that paralyzed him. He details the revolting task of removing his buddy’s body parts from a tree after a live grenade he was playing with exploded. Then there is the unexpected transformation of a young American civilian woman into a deadly soldier; who walks into the jungle one night and becomes a legend. He describes the horror of watching his best friend, Kiowa, sink into a field of putrid mud. All of these awful moments, encapsulated into short narrative chapters, produce quite an emotional wallop.

This war story is filled with the immaturity, cruelty and ignorance of young men that at times committed disturbingly senseless and violent acts to balance the horrible monotony and weight of being at war. However, the camaraderie between the men buffers their rage and bitterness and allows their basic goodness to surface. There is respect for an old papa-san who guides them through a minefield and gratitude for the monks that shelter them in their temple. But there is also the adrenaline of being in a battle with the Viet Cong with gunfire and bombs exploding around them; countered by the emptiness of returning home without a sense of purpose.

The bonds forged in war between these men lasted long after the fall of Saigon and the end of the war, just as the images from this book will stay with you long after the final page is read. A visceral and introspective read, The Things they Carried is being republished twenty years after its original publication by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

This is a most excellent book! Although it's been promoted as a young adult novel, this has a lot of cross generational appeal, so adults should enjoy it as well. I liked this book so much I read it in one sitting, it was that good. I can hardly wait for the release of the sequel, Chasing Fire, on September lst. Happily, I'm the first on the list for it at my library!

In a takeoff of the Greek legend of Theseus and the Minotaur, Collins imagines a future in which the world has been ravaged by natural and human made disasters. Panem, what remains of the United States, is ruled by the Capital, and divided into 13 districts. But the districts revolted and now only 12 remain, because District 13 was obliterated by the Capital for rebelling. As further.punishment, from each of the districts is taken (reaped) 2 individuals a year, drawn by lottery, to fight to the death in the Games until only one remains alive. In a grotesque version of reality TV run amuck, the Games are televised and are required viewing for all citizens of Panem. From District 12, the mining district, a boy, Peeta and a girl, Prim, are chosen. But Prim is just 12 years old, and her sister, Katniss, 16, takes her place. Brave, calculating Katniss is a skilled hunter, savvy to the ways of the woods and game. Peeta is a boy from the merchant class, the son of the local baker, and has few survival skills. Taken to the capital, they are groomed and prepared for the games by a fussy woman with pink hair and Haimich, the only previous winner of the games from District 12. The strategy that Hamich advises is that Peeta and Katniss pretend to be in love. For Peeta this is no hardship, because he has always loved Katniss “…from the moment I saw her.” But Katniss, who remembers that Peeta saved her family from starvation years ago, has grown attached to her hunting companion of many years, Gale, and has conflicted feelings. Because, she’s supposed to fight him to the death, isn’t she? When the Games begin, and the unevenly matched opponents begin to die, Katniss knows it will take all of her resources to stay alive. Their loyalties are tested, and when Peeta is badly wounded, it is up to Katniss to care for him. As the number of opponents dwindle to 5, 4 and then to 3, they find they must truly bond in order to survive. This first in a trilogy is top shelf entertainment that will make you stay up all night reading. You won’t want to put it down! The second in the series is Catching Fire, due out in September 2009.