Untitled Project

The trailer our Tween Time group made for Ally Carter's I'd Tell You That I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You.

Untitled Project

Girl, Stolen

Girl, Stolen
by April Henry

Sixteen year-old Cheyenne Wilder is sleeping in the back of a car while her mom fills her prescription at the pharmacy. Before Cheyenne realizes what's happening, their car is being stolen--with her inside! Griffin hadn’t meant to kidnap Cheyenne, all he needed to do was steal a car for the others. But once Griffin's dad finds out that Cheyenne’s father is the president of a powerful corporation, everything changes—now there’s a reason to keep her. What Griffin doesn’t know is that Cheyenne is not only sick with pneumonia, she is blind. How will Cheyenne survive this nightmare, and if she does, at what price? (description from Amazon.com)

This was a really well done book. I was impressed by how Henry really gives insight into what it's like to lose your vision and then having to relearn how to do everything without sight. Cheyenne's struggles to have a regular day to day life and completely compounded by her victimization. She is a strong character that you couldn't help but root for through and through.

This book also brought up a lot of really great questions - about morality, about what makes a person good or bad, whether or not you can be forgiven for making a serious mistake. Can Griffin overcome the horrible things he was taught by his father? If Griffin kidnapped Cheyenne, but then tries to help her, is Griffin a good guy or a bad guy? Is anyone really good or bad?

Finally, as a dog lover and someone who has two dogs that are both part bully breeds (pit bull, basically), I loved the dog component in this book. Not only do you hear a lot about Cheyenne's seeing eye dog, but she ends up rescuing a junk yard pit-bull. She proves that dogs are not inherently mean, but are taught to be by bad people... I loved it!

Traitor's Son

Traitor's Son
by Hilari Bell
The Raven Duet, book two

Publication Date: March 20, 2012

When Jason catches the small bag that a girl throws to him at the Canadian/Alaskan border during a gun fight, all he can think is that the bag must contain drugs. But if the small, brown powder is some sort of illegal substance, it's certainly nothing he's ever seen before.

Jase is half right. He's never seen this stuff before, but it's not drugs. The bag contains magical dust, a substance so powerful, it can heal the earth.

So powerful, certain creatures think nothing of killing him to get it. (description from back jacket)

I have to admit that I have not read the first book in The Raven Duet, Trickster's Girl, but now having read its counterpart, eventually I want to go back and eventually get to it. I haven't actually read anything by Hilari Bell before, but I liked her writing style.

First of all, this book was surprisingly short. In the new days of most YA books coming in easily at 300 pages, this one is only just over 200. And yet, it packed a lot of punch. The characters were interesting, the world was intriguing, and the danger was scintillating.

This book is set in Alaska in the 2080's. The world has become very technologically advanced and dependent, yet because of the native Alaskan tribes, Jase's world is a mixture of the old beliefs and magics, and the new. His family is in turmoil, precisely due to this dichotomy.

The world is also suffering. Humans have literally poisoned the planet (the environmental message is strongly present in this duet) and it's up to the mysterious Raven to get humans to help heal the earth. The spirit worlds lie alongside ours and certain people, like Jase, can actual travel them.

This book will not appeal to everyone, but if you are intrigued by the idea of spirit travels, magic, and environmental issues (almost like Fern Gully!), you might want to check this book, and its predecessor, out!

Full disclosure: ARC received to review for SLJ