The Inquisitor's Apprentice by Chris Moriarty

This story takes place in late 19th Century New York but it's an alternate history.  In this New York everyone uses magic.  Well, at least in Sacha's Jewish, Hester Street neighborhood they do.  That is until the police come around.  You see, magic is against the law in the US.  In fact there are special police that are in charge of investigating magical crimes called Inquisitor's.  Sacha makes the mistake of letting people know that he can see when people use their magic so he is made an apprentice to Inquisitor Maximillian Wolf and their first crime to investigate is to find out who is trying to kill inventor Thomas Edison.

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the second one that we have in the library.  I LOVED Sacha's family.  They survived the pogroms (anti-Jewish campaigns) in Russia and are making a new life in America. I love all the Yiddish words they weave into the conversation.  I also really enjoyed Lily, the other apprentice to inquisitor Wolf.

Blood Red Road by Moira Young

What a great adventure story.  It IS set in a futuristic wasteland, but the focus is not what happened to make it a waste land.  The focus of the book is the "quest" that Saba goes on to get her kidnapped brother back.  I liked Saba.  She is pretty prickly, but she grows on you as she grows in her understanding of herself and others and how to treat them.  One thing about this book that I must note is that the whole thing is written exactly the way Saba speaks...which is not always grammatically correct.  Lots of "I ain't gonna do that...," "just" becomes "jest" and "get" become "git."  Many of the words are spelled phonetically (spelled like they sound).  For example: "exact" is spelled "ezzack" in the story.  I found it tricky at first, but it really gave Saba a voice I could hear in my head.  There is a book #2 that follows this called "Rebel Heart" that we have in the library, and I hear that this is being made into a movie.

The Book of the Dead (Tomb Quest bk 1) by Michael Northrup

This is a new series by Michael Northrup that is like the 39 Clues series and the Infinity Ring Series that includes an online game that you can play to continue the adventure after you read the book.  I didn't play the game, but I read the book in one day over spring break.  I couldn't put it down.  I love books about mummies and curses and I think I've spoken before about my fascination with death rituals.  The Egyptians were masters of death rituals.  This book has a lot of action as Alex's mother tries to save his life using the book of the dead but she ends up raising some "death walkers" also and they start wreaking havoc.  I just bought this book at the book fair and can't wait for Mr. Northrup to publish the next in the series.  Other exciting books by this author offered in our library are "Trapped" and "Surrounded by Sharks."

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Wow! This is quite the intense historical fiction novel.  Queenie is a British spy in Allied France during WWII and she has been captured by the Nazi's.  She will do anything to avoid the torture that is leading up to her inevitable death. (because that is what happens to spies when they are caught).  In an attempt to avoid torture and prolong her life, she decides cooperation is her best course of action, but she still does it on her terms.  Instead of easily spelling out what the Nazi's want, she is giving it to them in narrative form.  She is writing her story.  You learn about her unbreakable friendship with Maddie a civilian pilot working for the British government.  This is a wonderful story of friendship and bravery.  There is a lot of detail about the role of some women during WWII as well as spies and pilots.  I can't go into much more detail in the summary because, just like a spy, I don't want to give any secrets away.  I CAN tell you this...there are lots of twists at the end that I did NOT see coming. This book kept me reading because I just had to find out what happened to Queenie and Maddie.

The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

This is a great fantasy book! Callum has been taught his whole life by his father that doing magic and going to the Magisterium (a school to train to control one's magic) is pretty much a death sentence, at least it was for his mother.  Once he gets there, however, he meets friends for the first time and learns to enjoy his new home away from home.  He learns, however, the his father may not have been telling him the whole story and what he does know about his early life and the death of his mother may not be true. Lots of interesting twists and revelations make this a book that you just can't put down.  I can't wait for the next one.

The Space Between Trees by Katie Williams

This is a mystery, but not in the usual sense.  Yes, there has been a murder but the book is more a focus of how we relate to each other and the lies that we tell ourselves and others and the lives we touch.  Evie, the main character, is an odd girl.  When a girl in her class is killed she finds a way to work herself into the dead girls life to try to find out what happened to her.  I found this page turning and suspenseful because I just thought Evie was a little creepy and it kept me reading to put things together.

Skink No Surrender by Carl Hiaasen

Carl Hiaasen has done it again!  Carl Hiaasen is one of my favorite authors.  I have read everything he has written for both adults and kids.  This book does not disappoint.  Richard's cousin Malley has done a most dangerous thing...she has run off with someone she met in a chat room and Richard is extremely worried about her.  This story follows Richard's adventure of finding Malley.  Skink is one of my favorite characters.  He is a reoccurring character in many of Hiaasen's adult novels.  Skink USED to be the governor of Florida...till he lost it.  Now he is a slightly crazed, "ragged, one-eyed wandering vigilante." This is one of those laugh out loud Hiassen mysteries that I love so much!