Sylo by D.J. MacHale

Super exciting book!! A secret branch of the US Navy has quarantined an island off the coast of Maine.  The townspeople are being told it's a virus...but is it really?? Tucker believes there is more going on than they are being told.  He has seen people drop dead with no warning, and a bizarre midnight explosion over the ocean as well as weird aircraft in the sky.  Can Tucker and those he has befriended figure out what is going on???  Guess you will have to read it and see.  This is, of course, the first in a series.  I have ordered the others and can't wait to see how the story continues.

Confessions: The Paris Mysteries by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

RIVETING!!  That is how I find these books.  We met Tandy Angel in the first book, "Confessions of a Murder Suspect," followed by the next one, "Confessions: The Private School Murders,"  and now she is back for her third mystery. I feel like each book gets better and better.  In this book, the family has moved to Paris and Tandy starts looking for answers about her sisters death (mentioned in previous books) and how much her "evil" uncle really knows about things. Although I have read all three, I think you could read them without having read the previous ones.  The authors give you enough details about what has happened previously without giving anything away about those mysteries in case you wanted to go back and read those also.  I really enjoyed this book, there is lots going on and I LOVE books that talk about all the places in Paris...it's one of my favorite cities.  

The Rule of Three by Eric Walters

A couple of weeks ago the street lights went out at 70th and A streets.  Traffic was backed up for blocks, no one seemed to know what to do.  Now imagine something like that on a worldwide scale and you have the premise for The Rule of Three.  Everything that has any type of computer in it has shut down in some type of viral catastrophe.  No one knows why it has happened, but the longer the situation goes on, the worse and more dangerous things get.  16 yr. old Adam and his neighbors work together to keep them and their little part of their world safe, but they are not sure how long it will last.  I enjoyed the way the author built suspense throughout this book.  You could tell that the situation was getting worse and worse and it just kept you reading to see how they were going to make things work. I am pretty sure there will be another book coming.  

I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora

This has been my favorite read so far this year!  It is just a delightful read!! 3 friends all finishing 8th grade have the goal to get as many people as they can excited to read the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird."  They decide the best way to do it is to create what people will think is a conspiracy to get rid of the book, because "wanting what you can't have is the American way, right?"  It is funny and light hearted and has some great one liners that I loved, like..."good manners never hurt anybody."  Reading this might also inspire you to go on and read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

The Only Thing to Fear by Caoline Tung Richmond

Lots of action in this book...not a dull moment.  This is a novel that reimagines what the world would be like if the Allies had lost WWII.  The Nazi's are in power on the eastern part of what used to be the US, and the Japanese govern over the west.  A rebellion is brewing to overthrow the Nazi Regime. This book also has a little Sci Fi thrown in for good measure.  The nazi's, with all their experimentation, created "super soldiers" with different powers.  Zara is the main character and she may be the KEY to brining down the Fuhrer.  The action in this book makes it a very quick read.

The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fford

I loved this latest read.  This story takes place in what seems to be modern times, but in a created world, "The Ununited Kingdoms," where magic exits.  BUT...the magic is draining away and no one is quite sure why.  Jennifer Strange, a 15 yr. old foundling, runs Kazam Mystical Arts Management, an employment agency for magicians.  She is trying to keep them in business now that the magic is drying up.  Then the prophecies start about the destruction of the last dragon.  What will this mean for the world of magic and the last of the Dragons?  I love the characters in this book.  Jennifer is noble and brave, but also angry at what is happening.  She also has a mysterious and fun/scary pet called a "quarkbeast."  We see Jennifer and the Quarkbeast return in book 2 of the "Chronicles of Kazam," "The Song of the Quarkbeast."  I am looking forward to taking this home over the break to read.

The Watcher in the Shadows by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

This book has lots of chills and thrills.  It will be well liked by readers like me who like to read scary stuff!! Irene's family relocates from Paris to Normandy when her father dies.  Her mother has taken the job as a housekeeper for a man who used to be a famous toy maker.  He has lots of rules of where Irene and her family can and cannot go so you KNOW that something is up with this guy.  The story moves very quickly as you try to figure things out.  The story takes place in the late 1930s so the language is more formal than what we might hear today, this doesn't make it hard to read, just something I noticed.