Variant by Robison Wells

This is a Golden Sower nominee for NEXT year (2014-2015).  What an exciting story.  Benson Fisher has been in foster care almost his entire life.  He is excited to get the opportunity to attend the "prestigious" Maxfield Academy.  But this is no ordinary school...its a trap.  There are no adults here, but the students must follow strict rules, someone is ALWAYS watching.  I liked that Benson continued to "buck" the system.  He was always questioning why the students continued doing what they were expected to do without fighting back.  He is determined to escape his new "home."  This book ends with a cliff hanger, but that is ok, because We now have the 2nd one in the series called "Feedback."  We also have both these books on for the ipod shuffles. 

As Ever, Gordy by Mary Downing Hahn

This is the second (I believe) book about Gordy.  The first one is "Stepping on the Cracks."  I haven't read the first one and I was just fine.  Gordy has been living with his grandma after his abusive dad and doormat mom have left him and his sister June there.  He is doing really well, but then tragedy strikes and he has to return to his hometown to live with his brother.  Everyone in his old town knows him as a trouble maker from a trouble making family and he is not sure he can change their mind.  It never says what year it takes place in, but they talk a lot about people serving in the war so I think it is the late 1940s early 1950s.  You can also tell by the dialogue.  I found it charming.  There is no swearing which is a nice change from some of today's realistic fiction.  If I have time, I do believe I am going to make a point to read "Stepping on the Cracks" to read about Gordy's life before he had to go live with his grandma. 

The Orpham of Awkward Falls by Keith Graves

This was a delightful book.  Well, it does have a murderer that eats his victims...but other than that it is delightful.  13 year old Josephine has just moved to this dinky little town of Awkward Falls and she is none too happy about it!  She just wants and friend, and she is hoping she discovers on in her neighbor Thaddeus.  Thaddeus' background is intriguing and there are all sorts of creepy things that have gone on in the house next door.  Pictures are interspersed throughout the book that add a nice visual to the story, but they are a little dark and some of the details get lost. 

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

Power corrupts.  That essentially is the theme of this novel by the Lincoln native Brandon Sanderson.  This is the same author that gave us Alcatraz Vs. the Evil Librarians.  In David Charleston's world some humans have gained "super powers."  We never find out how they got the super powers, which kind of bothered me and I hope we find this out in future novels.  Just that one day a bunch of people could do some pretty amazing things.  Steelheart was one of these.  He is indestructable AND can turn any nonliving thing into steel.  He has taken over Chicago, now called Newcago and is it's supreme ruler.  10 years ago he killed David's father and David is the only survivor from this attack and he has seen Steelheart bleed.  David sets out to join a group of revolutionaries that are working against these "Epics." He wants revenge.  He knows Steelheart has a weakness and he is pretty sure he can figure it out and kill him if he just had help.  This is an action packed book and I really enjoyed it.  Lots of "techy" new gadgets that the group uses to try to stop the Epics.  I am looking forward to the next book and hopefully finding out why these "Epics" exist.  

The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey

Aliens have arrived.  This book starts AFTER the Aliens already parked their mothership above Earth.  The first wave killed about 1/2 million people with an electronic magnetic pulse.  The 2nd wave had coastal cities and their population falling into the seas.  The 3rd wave was a virus spread by birds that killed almost everyone.  Cassie, the main character, survives when the aliens, hiding in plain site as humans, begin killing off the remainders of humanity.  This is the story of Cassie and her plan to reunite with her brother.  It is exciting and you are never sure who to trust...who IS the alien?  Who SHOULD you be afraid of?  While this book is told in the first person, it changes from character to character.  Unlike other books who label the chapter with who is talking, this one doesn't.  You have to pay close attention to what is happening to each character so you can figure out who is "talking" during the different chapters.  I enjoyed this book and KNOW that more will be coming in this series.  The movie rights have already been sold so I think it will be a big hit like the Hunger Games.  So make sure you READ it before the movie comes out.

Confessions: The Private School Murders by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Tandy Angel is back.  We first met Tandy when her and her brothers were accused of murdering her parents in Confessions of a Murder Suspect.  She has returned to solve a slew of other mysteries in this novel.  I love the character of Tandy.  In the last book, because her parents kept her on a cocktail of drugs, she didn't show much emotion.  Now that she is off the medication, Tandy is trying to figure out how to handle all these new emotions as well as help her brother from being convicted of his girlfriend's murder, figure out who is murdering girls that go to private schools in NYC AND find the boy she was in love with before her parents stole her memories of him.  SO much is going on in this book, but it is fantastic.  I can't wait to read more of Tandy's adventures in the future, as I am sure there will be more.

The Fallout by S.A. Bodeen

This is the much awaited sequel to S.A. Bodeen's 2011-2012 Golden Sower Nominee, The Compound.  If you haven't read The Compound, you probably should before reading The Fallout or you may be just a little confused.  I loved the first book but really wanted to know more about what happened next to this family and the author answers in The Fallout in a surprising and exciting way.  I couldn't put this book down.  I hate to give you too many details because I don't want to spoil anything from either story.