Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Fires of Invention MG


Mysteries of Cove is an awesome new series by Scott Savage.  Fires of Invention is so action packed it is like a steam engine at full speed from the start all the way to the end.  This is such a cool book I would not have guessed from the start anywhere close to what the book was about and that is good because the book was so much better than I ever dreamed.  This book is so much more than a steam punk type book for middle graders, it has twists and turns that make you think.  If you really want to try and figure it out before the end, well good luck.  The characters all come together very well  to pull off everything throughout the book whether it be good or bad, and even some of that can be a surprise.
How would you like living in a world where you can not draw a picture, write a story, make something new, or modify something for the better without risk of being thrown in jail or retraining, as the officials are more likely to call your time with them.  Trenton just couldn't stop building things, and Kallista was driven to find the truth about her father and that brought the two together in a secret so big it could have ended both of their lives as they know it.  But instead, no matter how it turns out,  they end up saving each other.
 
5 STARS 

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Hardwired YA

Lucas tested positive for the warrior gene like his brother before him, I means he possibly predisposed toward violence.  In Lucas' time it means he shipped off to secure government facility to test him thoroughly to make sure he is not one of the ones that will turn violent.  Unfortunately, the tests they put these teens through is enough to turn even the most calmest of the calm violent, but even if they hold it together and make it out they are so changed and the people around them are scared of them just because they carry this gene their lives are now ruined, to the point most often of no return. 
This book is so cool, it makes you think how things can change in our world today as they find new genes and test for this and that and want to do more and more with genetics all the time.  As it is right now, they have half of us thinking whether or not we want or need to have certain medical tests done because what if it shows something off the wall, that in 2 or 3 years might come back to haunt us.  But this  book goes farther and has the government locking kids up and changing their lives forever, until they meet Lucas, Chris and Carly than it all changes in one night.  In one snowy, dark, cold night three kids try to make a difference, the question is do they succeed? 
This book is so action packed and suspenseful, you will think you are locked in the Bake Shop too, where if the guards are the ones out to get you than it is probably your roommate, either way there is nothing you can do.  The characters are perfect together, although there are times you might think why this guy, but keep on going all will become clear.  I really liked this book it kept my interest way past my bedtime, and I think it will become a book that teen book clubs can talk about.

5 STARS

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Edge MG

In this sequel to the book Peak.  Roland Smith kept to his style of writing as in his other books, fast, furious, and totally packed with action at every turn.  There are surprises you won't even guess are  coming and twist and turns that will spin you like your on a twisted climbing rope.  This book is just a mile a minute fun!  Peak and his friends are back after only six months for another climbing adventure, this time in Afghanistan, however, this  is shrouded in more mystery and secrecy than Zopa the sherpa turned monk but sometimes climbing master.  The only constant is the help from the mysterious Shen, snow, leopard.  Will this end up being Peak and his mom's last climb?

5 STARS

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Max The Brave PB

Max is a fearless kitten. Max is a brave kitten. Max is a kitten who chases mice. There’s only one problem—Max doesn’t know what a mouse looks like! With a little bit of bad advice, Max finds himself facing a much bigger challenge. Maybe Max doesn’t have to be Max the Brave all the time…
Join this adventurous black cat as he very politely asks a variety of animals for help in finding a mouse. Young readers will delight in Max’s mistakes, while adults will love the subtle, tongue-in-cheek humor of this new children’s classic.
 This is one of the best picture books I have seen in a while, of course I read it as soon as I got it, than had to run and show it to our children's librarian so she could get her order in right away because I know Max is going to be a big hit with our younger readers.  Characters standing up to and dominating monsters and fears are always a huge hit with parents of the younger children and the children as well.  Max this tiny black kitten who portrays this unknowing, innocent, and one track hero knows what he wants and won't stop until he reaches his goal, there are so many things we can learn from this little ball of black fluff if we just open our minds to the story because each time I read the book I learn something new.  This is such a awesome book on so many levels don't miss out. 
5 STARS
About the Author:
Ed Vere is an author, artist and illustrator with a long track record of success in the picture book category. Max the Brave was named one of The Sunday Times’s 100 Modern Children’s Classics. His book Bedtime for Monsters was shortlisted for the 2011 Roald Dahl Funny Prize and Mr Big was chosen by Booktrust as the official Booktime book for 2009 (and was distributed to 750,000 British schoolchildren making it the largest single print run of a picture book). Vere was the World Book Day illustrator for 2009.

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Saturday, September 12, 2015

Beautiful Star of Bethlehem (Adult)

* If you read my blog a lot than you know I don't usually do adult books but this was a special request from my mom, and it is a Christmas book (and you just thought I was only a sucker for AI books) and it was clean so what the heck.

This is not your typical warm fuzzy all the way through Christmas book.  This book will run through the whole gambit of your emotions at one time or another during the span of this book.  Even though there are sad and disturbing part in this book that might make you mad there are also many warm loving and funny parts the make this book the beautiful gift to us the reader I believe it was meant to be.  It is a awesome and powerful read the kind that will want you to slow down and appreciate what you have and tell the people you love that as well.  Take the time now to give this book a try especially if you have never tried  Traci Copeland before this is a good quick read from her to get you started.

5 Stars

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Dagger (The D.U.S.T. Ops:Mission Book1) YA


When Ultimate Evil engulfs the entire world, only Dagger can pierce the Darkness—even if the Apocalypse falls on a school night!

Dagger Beaumont is a High School senior who’s been recruited by D.U.S.T.—a covert governmental organization dedicated to battling supernatural terrorism all over the globe.

However, Dagger’s unresolved conflict over his missing brother could be his undoing, as he races around the world battling the Dark Reich, a diabolical organization on a quest to possess an ancient artifact and unleash a mystical plague to enslave humanity. If that weren't treacherous enough, Dagger must juggle his life as a secret agent with his social life, where he faces romantic rivalry for the guy of his dreams, a mysterious and handsome new student at his haunted boarding school.

But in a high-stakes world where nothing is as it seems, and death lurks in every shadow, love rides shotgun with survival!
 
This is a wonderful new series by Steven Dos Santos, you might remember him from his other award winning young adult dystopian series, The Torch Keeper, in which he is working on finalizing the third book now.  Like that series this new series, The D.U.S.T. Ops, also shows great diversity that our young adult departments desperately need more of.  Dagger is classified as a young adult paranormal espionage adventure, I was very curious to see how all of that was going to fit together, but it sure did and is so action packed you will have trouble finding time to breath.  Dagger and his friends are typical high school seniors, for the most part , and they have the same family issues, school issues, love issues, and ghost issues (?) as the rest of us.  There is some romance but the spying and suspense will also keep you reading well past you bed time.  Another awesome read from Steven Dos Santos and yes #WeNeedDiverseBooks!
 
5 Stars

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Scorpion Rules YA

This was a very different book than I thought it would be, but I LOVED it! 
Just think the descendants of the world rulers are sent to a special school like place (Precepture) where they stay until either they turn eighteen and are replaced or their country enters into war with any other country than both countries descendants are killed.  But what happens when one country no longer wants to play by the rules and takes the Precepture hostage?
This story is of course set in the future, and has some new and interesting territories.  It also has some really awesome artificial intelligence mixed into the story as well, and they have their own amazing back story.  This is a book of diversity that is found among friends that have been together for many years,, but only just got to know and love each other in the last few weeks during the time the book covers. 
I truly loves this book it was real in ways you wish some things worked today, diverse in ways we need more of, and raw in ways that we need to see more feelings shown.  This book was just awesome and a must read.  My prediction is that it will show up on schools reading list in the near future.

5 STARS

Thursday, September 3, 2015

The Geneva Project #1 YA

 


Captivating from start to finish!  This book had me up way past my bedtime and done in no time at all, thank goodness there are two more to keep me company (when I get the chance).  Jane 65 and her friends take you on a wild action packed ride through the whole book, but those kids are so awesome together even when you think they aren't.  There are so many twists and turns that sometimes you don't even think you could even cut the suspense with a knife, and that makes this story great, there is no guessing the end, but it really isn't the end anyways since Truth is only the first book in the series.  I truly can not wait to see what happens to our little band of friends next. 
How far would you go to find your name if when you where very little there was a flood and everyone who knew your name died, but there was one very dangerous long shot at finding it out? What if a girl picked a fight with you and you blacked out but everyday since you find out new things about yourself and others that you would not have even believed a few days ago?  What if you lived everyday hoping you would be adopted, but now only hoping for the Truth.
 

Third book in the award-wining YA fantasy fiction series, The Geneva Project
Can you live a life of LIES? That’s exactly what Geneva finds herself doing to protect everyone she loves. While Geneva and her friends embark on a dangerous mission to fulfill her destiny, the dark forces that seek her powers are closing in, putting everyone she cares about at risk. Geneva must lie about who she is, what she knows and her true feelings. Are all these lies worth it or will she go too far and lose everything she’s been fighting for?

About the Author:
Christina Benjamin is the Award-Winning Author of the Young Adult series The Geneva Project.
Her debut novel, Truth, has won multiple awards, including the 2014 FAPA Gold Medal for YA fiction.
Benjamin’s writing hooks fans of mega-hit YA fiction like Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, and offers them a new series to obsess over.  She paints a vivid world, where magic and imagination run wild in her epic tale of adventure, courage and friendship.
Benjamin studied English at the University of Central Florida. She’s dedicated to giving back to the community and speaking at schools to inspire creativity in young writers.
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$50 Amazon Gift Card

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