What's Left of Me? by Kat Zhang

I was so intrigued by this book. In the future everyone is born with two souls, at about age 5 one becomes dominant and the other disappears.  This is the story of Addie and Eva two souls that remain "unsettled" and they are trying to hide this fact.  I loved the relationship between Addie and Eva, it was like a really intense identical twin relationship because they are sharing one body.  I would have liked more information about how this "two souls" came about.  It seems to be a futuristic novel, but they never tell you if this is far in the future and how the two souls issue came about.  This was a nice twist in the ever growing list of dystopian literature.

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

This is the second book in a great new science fiction series called: The Lunar Chronicles.  The first book is titled "Cinder," and I have written about it in an earlier blog entry.  Just as Cinder is a loose retelling of the traditional Cinderella, the new characters we meet in Scarlet remind us of the Little Red Riding Hood tale.  Cinder continues to try to save Emperor Kai and her world from the evil Lunar queen.  The story switches back and forth between Cinder and Scarlet's stories until they finally intersect at the end of the story. These two characters and their friends are going to have to work together to save Earth from the Lunar's that are trying to take over with their mind-controlling abilities.  This one leaves us hanging again and now we have to wait for book #3 in this trilogy. This series is a must read if you like
futuristic science fiction.

Choke by Diana Lopez

Windy is an 8th grade student who, if her parents would let her, would change a lot of things about herself.  She wants to be part of the "in crowd."  Nina, the new girl, maybe Windy's way in to the popular group but it may cost her her life.  This is a novel that explores a game that I hope NONE of the young adults I know ever try to play; the choking game.  It has quite the unexpected ending.  Through a lot of the book I wanted to just shake Windy because she had a really great friend but she didn't see that as enough.  She still wanted to part of the "popular crowd." I really liked the character of the best friend.  She was goofy and loyal and forgiving and very comfortable with herself and that is what I wish for everyone...just be comfortable with yourself!

Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

If you have not read Rick Riordan's series Percy Jackson and the Olympians or his follow up series Heroes of Olympus...I really must insist that you do!  While the adventures in the Percy Jackson series focus on the Greek gods and myths, the follow up series Heroes of Olympus adds in the Roman gods.  Mark of Athena is the third book in the Heroes of Olympus series.  In this novel, the Greek demigods work along side the Roman demigods on a quest.  These books are always exciting with lots of action.  I love the Greek myths and I have equally enjoyed getting to know the Roman counterparts to the Greek gods and that set of stories.

Every Day by David Levithan

This novel takes teen romance problems to a new level.  In this story "A" lives life in a new body every day.  "A" has made peace with the fact that every day is a new life that has to be figured out.  "A" sets up some rules to live by to manage this, but then "A" meets Rhiannon and falls in love.  As "A" travels from life to life, body to body the want to meet with Rhiannon is always there. Can they make it work?  Is it fair to the bodies that "A" inhabits if they try? Is it fair to Rhiannon?  A great story about what makes you...you.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Maggie Stiefvater is one of my favorite authors.  She wrote Shiver, Linger and Forever, the werewolf series as well as The Scorpio Races.  This book has A LOT crammed into it:

1. a search for a mystical king

2. unknown father figures

3. ley lines

4. psychics

5. ghosts

6. domestic violence

                                7. families not getting along

                                8. mysterious deaths AND much more!  

I thought this was a "stand alone" book and would have a nice tidy ending like The Scorpio Races, but I was wrong.  This looks like it is going to be a series, so I was disappointed at the ending because I have so many more questions!!  Can't wait to get the next one.  

Department 19 by Will Hill

I like vampires, I like action, I like the stories of Frankenstein and Dracula.  This book had all those elements.  This is a story of a secret government department that is charged with fighting vampires.  The story is told through a 3rd person narrator that tells us what is happening in present day as well as flashbacks that fill in the back story.  Some of the back story interrupted the action of present day, but helped clarify things.  This book has LOTS of gore and blood so be prepared.  Killing vampires is a messy business, so if gore and flying body parts in not your thing this is not the book for you.  There is a 2nd book in this series that I have just purchased for the library that should be here before the end of the year.