The Missing: Book 1 FOUND

Margaret Peterson Haddix is one of the those prolific authors who just keeps writing good series. Her latest series, The Missing, begins with Found. Siblings Jonah and Katherine join with the new kid in the neighborhood, Chip, to unravel the mystery behind some anonymous mail the two boys have received. The first letter contains 6 words, "You are one of the missing." The second letter warns "BEWARE! They're coming back to get you." (I don't know about you, but I'd be pretty freaked out by now!) As the plot develops, the boys discover they are part of a group of children who were all adopted 13 years ago and something (or someone) is drawing them all together. With a little FBI involvement and the mysterious guy who seems to appear and disappear by magic, the suspense grows. So the question is....who is missing? AND who's coming back to get them?

Read Found, one of this year's Lone Star Books and let me know what you think. Is it possible to go back in time to fix mistakes from the past?????

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

For those of you who've read and loved Epic by Connor Kostick, you'll certainly enjoy this book, too! Set in a future time, North America has been divided into 13 regions based on their natural resources and all the regions are under the thumb of Capital City, a place full of luxury and excess. Once a year, each district is required to hold a lottery, drawing two names from those 12 to 18, one male and one female to participate in the Hunger Games. Only one winner is allowed...and anything goes during the games. We experience the competition through the experiences of Katniss, a 16 year old huntress who volunteered to replace her 12 year old sister, and Peeta Mallark, the baker's son who has been in love with Katniss since he first saw her. The games are televised to all the districts sort of like the Super Bowl. Try to imagine an event that is part beauty pagaent, Survivor, and soap opera and you've got a start on The Hunger Games.

Full of action, adventure, some blood and guts (check out the "tracker jacks"), romance, and psychological elements, this is the beginning of a new series and I can't wait for the second book to be released! Take a read..and let me know what you think!

Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature

Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature ... Whether you're a Christian or not, this books will give you pause to think. The tale begins on Mena's first day of high school, which she begins hopefully and ends realizing that it was a day that could have only been worse if she'd eaten snails. She is snubbed and verbally abused by all of her former "church friends" for having shown compassion to one of their gay classmates who attempted suicide as a result of the church groups attempts to convert him.

Before you think, "Wow! I'm not gonna read this book...it sounds too grim!" Mena's life does get better when she finds she's assigned Casey as a lab partner in Science class and that her teacher is AWESOME. Mena learns a ton about herself, finds herself writing a web column about the Bible, meets a dozen cute lab puppies and gets her first kiss. This book is much better than I'm describing it...It's on the Lone Star list so you know it's got to be good!!

Oh, yeah...after you read it, let me know if you think the cover fits the plot and characters.

The Compound by S. A. Bodeen

The Compound by S. A. Bodeen is another one of those books that is impossible to put down. From the first page to the last, Bodeen keeps you interested.

First of all, the plot is creepy. Imagine a billionaire dad who has built an underground compound (not an itty-bitty storm cellar...we're talking acres of self contained underground living space) "just in case" there is ever a nuclear holocaust. Sure enough, the "big one" drops and the family runs for cover. Except they don't all make it inside....

The story picks up again after six years. All the kids are older, food is running out and dear old Dad is getting creepier by the day. When Eli, the twin who made it to safety finds a computer and realizes he has Internet access, he makes some very interesting discoveries about his world. The question is....will he be able to convince his dad to do the right thing?

This Lone Star Book is well worth the nail-biting suspense! Check it out and let me know what you think....

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Have you ever wondered what an author looks like? Well, here's a picture of Neil Shusterman, who has written a couple of books that made this year's Lone Star Book List. I have to tell you, he may look like a normal person, but he has some very, very scary stuff living in his head. You might ask how I know that.....

Well, let me tell you about Unwind. It's set in the future, in the United States and in a time where abortion has been totally outlawed. As an alternative, parents can made the decision to have their children "unwound" anytime before they are 18. The novel begins with Connor, a 16 year old not known for keeping his temper, and his discovery that his parents have booked a cruise for 3 after Thanksgiving. Sounds cool, right? Yes, unless they're not planning on taking Connor because they've signed the papers to have him unwound. Then there's Risa, a ward of the state, who doesn't perform flawlessly at a piano concert, and learns that her mistakes will cost her her life. And then there's Lev, who has known for years that he was destined for unwinding. As the 10th child in the family, he's been designated as a tithe.

So these three characters hook up in a really exciting beginning and the book just steam-rolls ahead. It's really hard to put down, will give you tons of things to think about, and will, I promise, creep you out. Consider yourself warned.....

I.Q. [Book One: Independence Hall]

Roland Smith is one of my favorite authors and it was so cool to hear him talk about how he writes books last spring at the Texas Library Association Conference. He writes them by hand in little "journal-like" books called moleskins that he can carry around with him while he travels. I can't imagine writing a 300 page novel by hand, can you?




Anyway, I.Q. is the first novel in a series that kind of reminds me of James Bond's 007 (Bet you didn't know there were books before the movies?!). Book One begins with a wedding between two musicians, who each have a teenager. The guy's daughter is Angela, a fifteen year old "wanna be" spy and martial arts expert, and the woman's son is "Q" (stands for Quest), a thirteen year old magician. While the parents are making music and becoming famous, the two kids become partners in unraveling a terrorist conspiracy with the help of some retired intelligence agents and a really old gap-toothed dog named Croc and ends with a trip to the White House. In between, Angela and Q discover a mutual love for Big Macs and use their special skills to save each other.



This is quite a page turner...full of suspense, foreign terrorists, counter-terrorists, and has more twists than a roller coaster. Just when you think you've got the bad guys figured out, Smith throws another curveball into the plot! I can't wait for Book 2! In the meantime check out the IQ series website at http://www.iqtheseries.com/. You can learn Q's magic tricks, here music by the parents' band, and all kinds of really coooool stuff!!

"Trouble"

The trouble with "trouble" is you never know where or when trouble will occur. I bet you've experienced many kids of trouble in your life....friends that talk about you, family members who disappoint you, the death of someone you love, losing something important to you, etc. I always appreciate a book that show me how other people deal with trouble in their lives. Perhaps if I've had the same experience, I get new ideas about how to deal with a situation next time. Or perhaps I might learn something to use when I run head first into a new kind of "trouble."

Gary Schmidt's new book, Trouble, is one of those books. There's plenty in the story that I have never experienced (like going to a preparatory school where everybody is really smart or living in Massecheusetts) but there's a lot I can relate to.

For Henry Smith, the main character in Schmidt's novel, trouble shows up with a capital "T" on the eve of his 14th birthday. Henry's father is fond of saying "If you build your house far enough away from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you." I'm not sure I agree with Henry's dad. I think trouble can find you wherever you are. Trouble is just a fact of life. Things don't always go the way we want them to, and people don't do the things they should. Sometimes they do bad things for good reasons.

Henry's world is turned upside down when his older brother is critically injured an a car accident. As he and his family struggle to cope, they learn alot about each other and Henry learns the truth about the accident.

One part of the book that I could really relate to is Black Dog. Henry saves this dog from drowning. This part is kind of sad. She wins over the whole family and provides a way to help them cope with their grief. My own good black dog is named Ellie and she behaves just as crazy as Black Dog does. You'll be surprised when you find out how Black Dog ended up in the water.

I'm anxious for you to read this book and let me know what you think.