Review: THE WHISPERING SKULL (Lockwood & Company #2) by Jonathan Stroud

4.33 STARS from 1,224 GoodReaders

"Don't look now," Lockwood said. "There's two of them."

I snatched a glance behind me and saw that he was right. Not far off, on the other side of the glade, a second ghost had risen from the earth. Like the first, it was a pale, manshaped curtain of mist that hovered above the dark, wet grass.  Its head, too, seemed oddly skewed, as if broken at the neck.

I glared at it, not so much terrified as annoyed. For twelve months I'd been working for Lockwood & Co. as a Junior Field Operative, tackling spectral Visitors of every horrific shape and size. Broken necks didn't bother me the way they used to. "What?" I said. "Where did he come from?"

There was a rasp of Velcro as Lockwood pulled his rapier clear of his belt. "Doesn't matter. I'll keep an eye on him. You keep watching yours."

I turned back to my position. The original apparition still floated about ten feet or so from the edge of the iron chain. It had been with us for almost five minutes now, and was growing in clarity all the time. I could see the bones on the arms and legs, and the connecting knots of gristle. The wispy edges of the shape had solidified into flecks of rotted clothing: a loose white shirt, dark tattered breeches ending at the knee.

Waves of cold radiated from the ghost. Despite the warm summer night, the dew below the dangling toe bones had frozen into glittering shards of frost.

THE WHISPERING SKULL is the second installment in Stroud's Lockwood & Company series. And if you loved the first book you'll be pleased as punch with this one too.

If you remember, in THE SCREAMING STAIRCASE we were left with a hint that George's Skull in a Jar wasn't done talking with Lucy. And indeed, in this book he does play a fuller role. And in fact we find out who the skull belongs to. Not that he dominates the story in any sense, but the skull becomes an active player, as does a very peculiar Flo Bones.

Flo --who Lucy describes as a grubby, shambling figure -- is a relic-woman who works the shores of the Thames looking for bits of haunted material that she can sell. She is one of Lockwood's informants.  She joins the cast of familiars which include Quill Kipp and the rest of the Fittes crew. 

I swung the rapier up.

The mouth gaped, the sockets flared with greenish fire. With terrible speed, it flung itself forward. I screamed, jumped back. The ghost collided with the barrier a few inches from my face. A bang, a splash of ectoplasm.  Burning flecks rained down on the muddy grass outside the circle.

Now the pale figure was ten feet further back, quivering and steaming.

"Watch it, Lucy," George said. "You just stepped on my head."

Lockwood's voice was hard and anxious. "What happened? What just happened back there?"

I'm fine," I said. "He attacked, but the iron drove him off. If he does it again, I'll use a flare."

The whispering skull might whisper but the item that is the center of a massive hunt is a mysterious black glass mirror housed in a casing of bone. Haunted bone, of course. And this mirror has been missing since the night Bickerstaff was forced to look into it. He died that night and the be-robed parties that waited expectantly to find out what he saw, fled. Some went home or abroad, while some merely went mad.  

And when the mirror once again comes to light, DEPRAC sends Kipps and his Fittes team, and Lockwood and Company searching for it.

I didn't find THE WHISPERING SKULL quite as tension fraught as the first book. I suppose this might be due to the fact that I'm more convinced of the team's abilities. The writing, of course, is excellent and the world totally convincing and believable.

Highly recommend this series.

Pam~


The Whispering Skull
(Lockwood and Company #2)
(Disney/Hyperion)
by Jonathan Stroud

Reading Information:
Word Count: 105,585
Page Count:  400
Accelerated Reader: 5.2 / points: 16.0
AR quiz: 168794
Lexile: 670L
--sample pages and reviews available

See the Review and Reading info for THE SCREAMING STAIRCASE

updated December 2014

Review: BREAKING BUTTERFLIES

3.30 avg rating — 156 ratings

BREAKING BUTTERFLIES is one of the books that I'm revisiting at the end of year.

From ChickenHouse/Scholastic, BREAKING BUTTERFLIES is one of those books that has somehow been overlooked by too many readers. Not to mention dissed by quite a few at GoodReads.  

I-personally thought the writing was excellent and that the characters were very well drawn. The story unfolded with subtlety, and an every increasing sense of creepiness kept me turning pages.

The story begins with a description of Sarah's (Sphinxie's mother) childhood and how she met the charismatic Leigh.  It's a relationship founded on dominance with Leigh being the brighter star and Sarah being the awkward child desperate for friendship and acceptance.  Their relationship evolves over time as they become adults, but strikingly they are compelled to stick to their childhood plan. That they would each marry and each have a single child. And that those children would grow to adulthood and marry.

This is the legacy that Sphinxie and Cadence have inherited. A plan that they were indoctrinated with; that they accepted the way children will accept the plans of the parents. And it all goes according to plan until the children hit their 10th birthdays. Then Cadence does the unthinkable. He hurts Sphinxie. He takes a knife and cuts her face. And after that Leigh escapes to England with the boy, harboring the hope that a different environment and school system will change Cadence.  For in truth there is something wrong with this beautiful, intelligent child.

But nothing changes and the disturbed boy begins to see a series of doctors and at the end they deliver two diagnoses.  As we suspect, one is that he is a brilliant psychopath.  The other though is unexpected.  Cadence is dying and has only weeks to live.

It's the death of Cadence and the ultimate death of 'The Plan' that brings the four characters together again.  For one last time.

WHO WOULD GO?  I think that's the question that plagued some readers. They couldn't accept that anyone would go and visit someone so dangerous. Someone who had already proven that they would hurt them.  

But I understood why Sphinxie would.  She had loved Cadence and still loved him. Moreover she had been indoctrinated from babyhood with 'The Plan'. And now it was over. It would be impossible for The Plan to come to fruition, and perhaps she was hoping that given a chance, Cadence would redeem himself at the last moment.

Needless to say that won't happen.

I found BREAKING BUTTERFLIES to have a powerful voice in Spinxie, and I thought this book was an amazingly subtle work of literature. The subtlety of the plotting, the subtlety of the characters and how this drama unfolds: M. Anjelais builds a world that's convincing. Her/his characters are brilliantly drawn. So fatally weak.

Pam~


BREAKING BUTTERFLIES
(Chicken House/Scholastic)
by M. Anjelais

**all ratings from GoodReads 
**all links to Amazon.com

Reading Information:
Page Count: 272
no Accelerated Reading information currently available
Lexile: 870L
--sample pages and reviews available

Review: SMOKELESS TOBACCO: NOT A SAFE ALTERNATIVE by Katie John Sharp

SMOKELESS TOBACCO is a book from the YA section of my local library and I have to think that it's mostly meant for book reports--although it would hopefully be used by young adults to educate themselves before they decide to pick up an expensive habit.

The font in this book is fairly large, but there is no getting around the fact that the content is dense, with lots of facts and factoids.

CONTENTS
Introduction
A Closer Look At Smokeless Tobacco
Why Chewers Choose To Chew
Chew On This: The Health Effects Of Smokeless Tobacco
Smokeless Tobacco And Sports
Advertise Smokeless Tobacco
Time To Quit

Further Reading
For More Information
Bibliography
Index
Picture Credits
Author/Consultant Biographies

note that each chapter starts with a glossary of terms teens might not be familiar with

What you'll find in this book is a brief history of tobacco usage which leads into current statistics.  This is followed by explanations of why tobacco is so additive and what effects --short term and long term-- it has on the human body.

Did you know it effects how your body utilizes sugar?  Many smokers are hypoglycemic and end up being diabetic.

All of this information is presented with a strong anti-smoking bent. To drive home the fact that there are real world consequences to smoking there are images of men with lip cancer, and there are stories about tumors and cancers in sports figures and regular teens.

The book also discusses addiction. Not just that it happens, but why. The changes to the body that makes nicotine additive, the reasons it is hard to quit.

The most recent statistic I remember reading was from 2005. Despite that this is good, comprehensive book, and students can cherry pick the information they want; updating the statistics using government data.

Pam~
 
SMOKELESS TOBACCO: 
NOT A SAFE ALTERNATIVE  
by Katie John Sharp
Series Consultant: Wade Berrettini, MD, PhD
Mr. Berrettini is Director, Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, U of Penn.

Reading Information:
Page Count:  119
no Accelerated Reader reading information available
Lexile Measure: 1110L

Review: CRUSHED by Eliza Crewe

4.18 avg rating — 1,151 GoodReaders

Like most things, fun is better when it's stolen. A fortunate coincidence, considering that's probably the only kind I'll ever have again.  Stupid Crusaders with their stupid rules. For a homicidal group, they're appallingly restrictive.

No, Meda, you can’t leave campus.

No, Meda, you know we have a curfew.

No, Meda, you can’t eat that guy.

But as they're the only thing standing between me and the demon army that wants me dead, I have no choice but to obey–or at least, like tonight, not get caught disobeying.

Fortunately for me the fun doesn't have to be stolen. It's all just laid out before me by Eliza Crewe in her new installment in the Soul Eaters saga.

And like CRACKED before it, CRUSHED deals out perfect snark throughout.  (As compared to other books where there's just a sprinkling of snark here and there.)

------------------------------------------------------------------
Review:  CRACKED
Review:  BLACK DOG
Review:  THE STRANGE MAID
Review:  THE SCREAMING STAIRCASE
Review:  GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE
------------------------------------------------------------------

I thought CRUSHED was a little more intense and serious than CRACKED.  The decisions before Meda are less clear cut and she finds herself divided in her loyalties to Jo and her new crush Armand.  Okay, Armand was in the last book, but he wasn't much more than a side character, whereas in this book the heat is on and he's turning up the cuteness.  All of which leaves Meda's two halves, demon and human, battling for domination.

And what turns things inside out and a bit upside down is the 'good' and 'bad' guys.  Here's Armand being a total sweetie --at least as much as a demon can be-- while the Crusaders are not behaving very nicely. They lie to Meda. They use Meda. They betray Meda.  So it's not difficult to see why she takes the path she does.

But seriously, what do you say to your best friend when you stand at the gates of the gates of hell?

CRUSHED was a good read. It didn't sit on it's CRACKED laurels but bumped up the story to become more personal and more complex.  It's not perfect --there are at least two aspects of the story that are annoying. One that deals with one of Meda's Crusader bullies... --but the good far outweighs the bad.  Read it. Read it. Read it.

Pam~



CRUSHED
(Soul Eaters #2)
by Eliza Crewe

Reading Information:
Page Count: 336
no reading information currently available
-- sample pages and price


CRACKED
(Soul Eater, #1)
by Eliza Crewe

My review of Cracked

Reading Information:
Page Count: 336
no reading information currently available
-- sample pages and price
-- read dunning 1-star review of this book I liked a lot
-- read a 5-Star review that gets it right

Review: WELCOME TO THE DARK HOUSE (Laurie Faria Stolarz)

3.71 STARS from 1,031 GoodReaders

Beware of directors bearing gifts.

ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO MEET LEGENDARY FILM DIRECTOR JUSTIN BLAKE AND GET A BEHIND-THE-SCENES LOOK AT HIS CONFIDENTIAL NEW PROJECT

Dear Dark House Dreamers,

Greetings from the Nightmare Elf. I'm sending this note to say, if you tell me your worst nightmare, I can make it go away.

When director Justin Blake runs a contest it's like none other.  The horror movie maker wants teens to tell him about their real nightmares and if they are interesting and creepy enough he'll choose them to be the winner of an all expense paid trip to a preview screening of his new movie.

I have to tell you the 7 Winners get more than they bargained for. 
 

WELCOME TO THE DARK HOUSE is fast paced creepy novel from horror princess, Laurie Faria Stolarz.  (She grew up in Salem, Mass. Really.)

The story ought to appeal to fans of the Goosebumps series who have grown up and want something more mature.  There is cursing and making out... and clowns.  I hate clowns.

WELCOME TO THE DARK HOUSE begins with Ivy, a girl whose parents were murdered one night while she lay awake hearing strange noises.  She is not a particular fan of the horror genre but she is desperate for a get-away from her family for awhile, and so she enters the contest.  The other contestants are different in that each one is a huge fan of movie-maker Blake and his nightmarish characters. And they all are enjoying themselves as they fly into the remote location, are whisked off to a duplicate of Blake's horror hotel in a hearse.

The fun pretty much continues until the gang get to the amusement park. Then it gets so weird that the kids figure that they must be contestants in a new Reality Show.  But it's not a Reality Show at all, but their nightmares come to life.


WELCOME TO THE DARK HOUSE is told from multiple points of view as each character fills you in on their background and why they entered. I thought the plot was interesting but derivative, so probably better for middle-graders and young adults than older readers like myself.  First book in a series.

NOW WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? PACK YOUR BAGS... AND PREPARE FOR THE SCARE OF YOUR LIFE.

Pam~


WELCOME TO THE DARK HOUSE
by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Reading Information:
Word Count: 62,601
Page Count:
Accelerated Reader:  5.1 / points: 9.0
AR quiz: 168103
--sample pages and reviews available
--all links to amazon.com

updated by Pam
August 2015

Review: NEVER ENDING by Martyn Bedford

4.09 STARS from 56 GoodReaders

**Starred Review** Kirkus
**Starred Review** ALA Booklist

Death.  NEVER ENDING is about death and life, guilt and the choices people make. It's about how microscopic missteps can lead to catastrophes that carry people beyond their abilities to cope. And as you can expect, it takes finesse to make stories like this work. John Greene can do it. And so too can Martyn Bedford. 

BACKSTORY

In the wake of 12 year old Declan's death, Sioban (Shiv) and her family break down. Her mother becomes silent and distant while Shiv acts out, having spells of destruction that she can't even remember. And when local therapies prove to be insufficient, Shiv's father signs her up for a different sort of in-patient therapy.  This is how Shiv finds herself with 4 other young people at the Korsakoff Clinic.

Siobhan's story is told through two time lines.  Shiv's (Siobhan's) torturous journey through therapy is intertwined with the tale of her family's sun kissed vacation in Greece.  The first time line made her tragedy very real to me. The second kept me chained to the book so that I read it all in one day.  I was so curious about exactly what had happened that led to her 12 year old brother's death. I was also curious about whether the other participants could make it through their 60 days of therapy.  Whether they could shed enough of the guilt that they could finally resolve to go ahead and live their lives.

------------------------------------------------------------------
Review: INFINITE SKY
Review: CHASING SHADOWS
Review: REALITY BOY
Review: FANGIRL  
------------------------------------------------------------------

NEVER ENDING is a fast paced contemporary novel. Part drama, part mystery. There's humor and good writing.  The ending flowed naturally from the narrative but it was almost anticlimactic after all the characters had been through.

Definitely recommend this to readers looking for a smart drama. 

Pam~


Never Ending
by Martyn Bedford

Reading Information:
Page Count:  304
no reading information currently available
--sample pages and reviews available
-- read review by Outlaw Poet

Review: INFINITE SKY by C.J. Flood

3.79 STARS from 462 GoodReaders

You can't tell that the coffin holds the body of a boy. 

He wasn't even sixteen, but his coffin's the same size as a man's would be.

It's not just that he was young, bu because it was so sudden. No one should die the way he did: that's what the faces here say.

I think about him, in there, with all that space, and I want to stop them. I want to open the box and limb in with him. To wrap him up in a duvet. I can't bear the thought of him being cold.

And all the time the same question flails around my head, like a hawk moth round a lightbulb. Is it possible to keep loving somebody when they kill someone you love?

This is the prologue to CJ Flood's INFINITE SKY.  The narrative by thirteen year-old Iris Dancy gives readers the bitter sweet story of young love. A forbidden love that ends in murder.

------------------------------------------------------------------
Review: CHASING SHADOWS
Review: REALITY BOY
Review: FANGIRL  (light-hearted drama)
------------------------------------------------------------------

BACKSTORY

The Dancy family is self destructing.  Iris' mother upped and left. In her absence the household routine has ceased. Meals are haphazard and the house is a mess. Iris and her brother, Sam, struggle with their feelings of abandonment.  And their friends and father don't make the situation better. Mr. Dancy is drinking heavily, so when Gypsies move onto their property, it's possible for anything to happen. Even love. Even death.

It was three months after Mum left that the Gypsies moved in. They set up camp in the paddock one Sunday night while we were asleep.  My brother Sam was excited when he saw them.

"Gypos!" he shouted.

Sam used to have a Gypsy in his class: Grace Fitzpatrick. She'd been famous at school because she could do as many things with her feet as with her hands. She could even write her name with them, which was funny because she couldn't read. Sam, who'd sat next to her in assembly, said she smelled like cat piss and fire smoke.

The prolog sets the stage of INFINITE SKY.  As the book unfolds the reader is left wondering who was killed and how.  Is it Sam?  Is it the gypsy boy, Trick? 

The story is bitter-sweet and many of my friends loved it. To be truthful though it wasn't for me. The writing was excellent, but I just couldn't connect with Iris.  But don't keep you from investigating this debut novel.  

http://www.telegraph.co.uk  review

amazon reviews

theguardian.com review

Pam~


INFINITE SKY
by C.J. Flood

Reading Information:
Page Count: 256
no reading information currently available
--sample pages and reviews available

Review: THE RIVERMAN by Aaron Starmer

Adult Worthy~

3.92 STARS from 107 GoodReaders

**Starred Review** Kirkus
**Starred Review** GoodBooksforKids

THE RIVERMAN was amazing. I received it as a review copy and I have to say that it's one of the best books I read this year. And if I get a chance again in my schedule, I'd love to read it again.  It was that good!

BACKSTORY

It all sounds rather sweet at first. There's a small town where children bike in the summer and throw rocks and do the things that are reminiscent of gentler times. But it all goes scary and scarier when a girl named Fiona Loomis asks 12 year old Alistair Cleary to write her biography.

It's such a curious request that Alistair agrees. And that is how he discovers that there's a land called Aquavania and that Fiona and other children have been escaping there on-and-off for months. It's a wonderful place on the surface of it. A place to get away, where every imagining can come true. ONLY there's a problem. The Riverman.  As Fiona spins the tale she tells of how the Riverman is stalking her -- threatening to suck her soul out with a straw.


The wonderful, wonderful part of this story is that like Alistair it's difficult to tell how 'disturbed' Fiona is. And thus we follow Alistair as he waits and watches and tries to find Fiona's real world threat.  He's down to studying the relatives that Fiona lives with, when his own life becomes jeopardized.

So I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THE RIVERMAN.  It's a layered story that is very well written. The author captures the feel of growing up in a small town, and he draws the characters --good, bad, first- and second-string-- perfectly.  Alistair and Fiona's relationship is realistic and charming. And perhaps most importantly, it's not clear what's real and what's fantasy --who or what the danger is.

Creepy enough for adults and young adults. It might be too intense for some middle-graders.

DEFINITELY RECOMMEND.

Pam~

THE RIVERMAN 
by Aaron Starmer

Reading Information:
Page Count: 320
no Accelerated Reading information currently available
 Lexile: 730L
--sample pages and reviews available

BEFORE

Every town has a lost child. Search the archives, ask the clergy. You’ll find stories of runaways slipping out of windows in the dark, never to be seen again. You’ll be told of custody battles gone ugly and parents taking extreme measures. Occasionally you’ll read about kids snatched from parking lots or on their walks home from school. Here today, gone tomorrow. The pain is passed out and shared until the only ones who remember are the only ones who ever really gave a damn.

Our town lost Luke Drake. By all accounts he was a normal twelve-year-old kid who rode his bike and got into just enough trouble. On a balmy autumn afternoon in 1979, he and his brother, Milo, were patrolling the banks of the Oriskanny with their BB rifles when a grouse fumbled out from some bushes. Milo shot the bird in the neck, and it tried to fly but crashed into a riot of brambles near the water.

“I shot, you fetch,” Milo told Luke, and those words will probably always kindle insomnia for Milo. Because in the act of fetching, Luke slipped on a rock covered with wet leaves and fell into the river.

It had been a rainy autumn, and the river was swollen and unpredictable. Even in drier times, it was a rough patch of water that only fools dared navigate. Branch in hand, Milo chased the current along the banks as far as he could, but soon his brother’s head bobbed out of view, and no amount of shouting “Swim!” or “Fight!” could bring him back.

Experts combed the river for at least fifteen miles downstream. No luck. Luke Drake was declared missing on November 20, and after a few weeks of extensive but fruitless searches, almost everyone assumed he was dead, his body trapped and hidden beneath a log or taken by coyotes. Perhaps his family still holds out hope that he will show up at their doorstep one day, a healthy man with broad shoulders and an astounding tale of amnesia.

I saw Luke’s body on November 22, 1979. Thanksgiving morning. I was almost three years old, and we were visiting my uncle’s cabin near a calm but deep bend in the Oriskanny, about seventeen miles downstream from where Luke fell. I don’t remember why or how, but I snuck out of the house alone before dawn and ended up sitting on a rock near the water. All I remember is looking down and seeing a boy at the bottom of the river. He was on his back, most of his body covered in red and brown leaves. His eyes were open, looking up at me. One of his arms stuck out from the murk. As the current moved, it guided his hand back and forth, back and forth. It was like he was waving at me. It almost seemed as though he was happy to see me.

My next memory is of rain and my dad picking me up and putting me over his shoulder and carrying me back through the woods as I whispered to him, “The boy is saying hello, the boy is saying hello.”

It takes a while to process memories like that, to know if they’re even true. I never told anyone about what I saw because for so long it meant something different. For so long it was just a boy saying hello, like an acquaintance smiling at you in the grocery store. You don’t tell people about that.

I was eleven when I finally put the pieces in their right places. I read about Luke’s disappearance at the library while researching our town’s bicentennial for a school paper. With a sheet of film loaded into one of the microfiche readers, I was scanning through old newspapers, all splotchy and purple on the display screen. I stopped dead on the yearbook picture of Luke that had been featured on Missing posters. It all came rushing back, like a long-forgotten yet instantly recognizable scent.

My uncle had sold the cabin by then, but it was within biking distance of my house, and I went out there the following Saturday and flipped over stones and poked sticks in the water. I found nothing. I considered telling someone, but my guilt prevented it. Besides, nine years had passed. A lot of river had tumbled through those years.

The memory of Luke may very well be my first memory. Still, it’s not like those soft and malleable recollections we all have from our early years. It’s solid. I believe in it, as much as I believe in my memory of a few minutes ago. Luke was our town’s lost child. I found him, if only for a brief moment.

yes... it's as good as this.

Review: BLACK DOG by Rachel Neumeier

~ ADULT WORTHY

 Book Blurb
Natividad is Pure, one of the rare girls born able to wield magic. Pure magic can protect humans against the supernatural evils they only half-acknowledge - the blood kin or the black dogs. In rare cases - like for Natividad's father and older brother - Pure magic can help black dogs find the strength to control their dark powers.

But before Natividad's mother can finish teaching her magic their enemies find them. Their entire village in the remote hills of Mexico is slaughtered by black dogs. Their parents die protecting them. Natividad and her brothers must flee across a strange country to the only possible shelter: the infamous black dogs of Dimilioc, who have sworn to protect the Pure.

In the snowy forests of Vermont they are discovered by Ezekiel Korte, despite his youth the strongest black dog at Dimilioc and the appointed pack executioner. Intrigued by Natividad he takes them to Dimilioc instead of killing them.

Now they must pass the tests of the Dimilioc Master. Alejandro must prove he can learn loyalty and control even without his sister's Pure magic. Natividad's twin Miguel must prove that an ordinary human can be more than a burden to be protected. And even at Dimilioc a Pure girl like Natividad cannot remain unclaimed to cause fighting and distraction. If she is to stay she must choose a black dog mate.

But, first, they must all survive the looming battle.

BLACK DOG  was one of my favorite YA reads of 2013.  (I thank Strange Chemistry for providing an ARC *kiss-kiss*)

WHAT WORKED for me was the world building. The werewolves, vampires and pure were incorporated seamlessly with contemporary times. And the struggles within the packs of werewolves, and between packs was well done and interesting.

I also loved the tender affection between the siblings.  Too often in YA books all the affection is directed to parents --usually deceased.  But in this book the teens are looking out after each other.

The secondary characters, with the exception of the villains, were exceedingly well done. Loved them.  Loved their politics.  There's hardly a one I didn't/don't want to know more about.

On the DOWNside, what didn't work for me was the main villain.  A little too flat.  Plus, Natividad was given the role of the 'girl who makes stupid decisions' in order to move the plot along.  And I really hope we don't see more of this in the second book.

But all together, these issues were far outweighed by the shear fun of the story. And I'll probably re-read this book in 2014 --something I just don't do on a regular basis.

~

If you'd like a fun urban-fantasy and you enjoyed Written in Red, think about reading BLACK DOG.  It's a good solid read.

It's a smart, interesting book with good world-building and an interesting premise.  It's not perfect, but I thought the writing and storyline more than make up for any flaws.

One of the best YA books I've read in 2013.  I can't wait for #2.

Pam~


BLACK DOG
by Rachel Neumeier

Reading Information:
no reading information currently available
--Read Chapter One

2014 BEST YA BOOKS

Here's the best selling Young Adult lit for 2014 (as reported by the New York Times). This list will grow as the weeks pass.

Updated September 2014

******All ratings from GoodReads (not updated monthly)
***** a new feature shows Weeks on NYTimes Best Seller List in blue
**** Note that in alphabetizing, we ignore 'the' in titles
*** Bold = Are books on the Best Seller list this week
** Bold/RED = new books on the Best Seller list this week
*You can find the original NYT list here

AN ALPHABETIZED SUMMARY LIST:

1. 13 REASONS WHY weeks - 51
2. ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN  weeks - 10
3. ALLIANCE   week - 1
4. AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES weeks - 46
5. ASYLUM  week - 2
6. BEING A TEEN  week - 2
7. BOOK THIEF  weeks - 93
8. CONFESSIONS OF A MURDER SUSPECT (Confessions #1) 10 weeks
9. DANGEROUS CREATURES   week - 1
10. ELEANOR AND PARK weeks - 41
11. FAULT IN OUR STARS weeks - 94
12. HOLLOW CITY weeks - 17
13. IF I STAY  weeks - 24
14. ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER  week - 1
15. THE IMPOSSIBLE KNIFE OF MEMORY 1 week
16. INDEPENDENT STUDY 1 week
17. LOOKING FOR ALASKA weeks - 94
18. MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN weeks - 69
19. PANIC week - 1
20. PAPER TOWNS weeks - 80
21. PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER weeks - 71
22. SEA OF SHADOWS  week - 1
23. STEELHEART 13 weeks
24. THE RULE OF THOUGHTS  week - 1
25. THE SELECTION  2 weeks
26. THE TREATMENT  week - 1
27. THIS STAR WON'T GO OUT  3 weeks
28. UNCAGED   week - 1
29. WE WERE LIARS  week -13
30. WHERE SHE WENT   weeks - 14
31. WHITE HOT KISS  week - 1

13 REASONS WHY
by Jay Asher

4.07 avg rating — 240,960 GoodReaders 

Before she commits suicide, a girl sends recordings to 13 people. A compelling read.

(see Jay Asher's reading information page)

Reading Information:
Word Count: 62,496
Page Count: 336
Accelerated Reading level: 3.9 / points: 9.0
AR quiz: 119218
Lexile: 550L


ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN
by Sherman Alexie

**Starred Review** Kirkus
**Starred Review** PublishersWeekly
**Starred Review** HornBook
**Starred Review** VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates )

4.11 avg rating — 95,563 ratings

A boy with a flare for art leaves his reservation to live in an all-white community. (Ages 12 and up)

Word Count: 44,275
Page Count: 228
Accelerated Reading level: 4.0 / points: 6.0
AR quiz: 117771
Lexile: 600L

AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES
by John Green

Michael L. Printz Award
**Starred Review** Kirkus
**Starred Review** HornBook

3.82 avg rating — 119,172 ratings

Having been recently dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine, recent high school graduate and former child prodigy Colin sets off on a road trip with his best friend to try to find a new direction in life.

(see reading info for other John Green books)

Word Count: 61,412
Page Count: 272
Accelerated Reading level: 5.6 / points: 10.0
AR quiz: 108588
Lexile: 890L

• sample pages
• audio also available

ALLIANCE
(The Paladin Prophecy, #2)
by Mark Frost

4.05 avg rating — 676 ratings

Middle Grade.  Book #1 was at the AR 5.1 level.

In book #1, Will West loses his parents but discovers that he has amazing abilities that might be needed in the upcoming battles between titanic forces.  In this book Will seeks to develop his skills and find out more about the Knights of Charlemagne.

Word Count: 89,254
Page Count:  352
Accelerated Reader: 6.0 / points: 14.0
AR quiz: 163573
Lexile: 850L

ASYLUM
by Madeleine Roux

3.18 avg rating — 235 ratings 

A 'photo-novel', ASYLUM has Dan and his friends, Abby and Jordan, spending their summer at a place that used to be an asylum.  As the description goes, "they soon discover it's no coincidence that the three of them ended up here. Because the asylum holds the key to a terrifying past. And there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried."

Word Count: 60,307
Page Count:  320
Accelerated Reader: 5.1 / points: 9.0
AR quiz: 162491
--sample pages and available
--other reviews available 
--currently 1.99 for Kindle

BEING A TEEN
You, Your Body, Your Life: Everything You Need to Know About Being a Teen: Relationships, Sex, Love, Identity, Empowering Yourself & More
by Jane Fonda

3.90 avg rating — 10 ratings 

This one is bound to be controversial. As a mom I suggest you check this out of the library first to see if sounds reasonable to you and your family.

Page Count:  288
no reading information available yet


THE BOOK THIEF
by Markus Zusak

**Starred Review** Kirkus
**Starred Review** PublishersWeekly
**Starred Review** School Library Journal
**Starred Review** HornBook

4.37 avg rating — 519,144 ratings

In this tale Death tells the story of Liesel, a young German girl who begins stealing books as she struggles to survive Nazi Germany/WWII.

Word Count: 118,933
Page Count: 576
Accelerated Reading level: 5.1 / points: 18.0
AR quiz: 106101
Lexile: 730L


CONFESSIONS OF A MURDER SUSPECT
by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

3.88 avg rating — 9,954 ratings

On the night Malcolm and Maud Angel are murdered, Tandy Angel knows just three things: 1) She was the last person to see her parents alive. 2) The police have no suspects besides Tandy and her three siblings. 3) She can't trust anyone--maybe not even herself. Having grown up under Malcolm and Maud's intense perfectionist demands, no child comes away undamaged. Tandy decides that she will have to clear the family name, but digging deeper into her powerful parents' affairs is a dangerous-and revealing-game. Who knows what the Angels are truly capable of?

Word Count: 58,257
Page Count: 384
Accelerated Reading level: 5.4 / points: 9.0
AR quiz: 154425

DANGEROUS CREATURES
(Dangerous Creature #1)
by Kami Garcia and  Margaret Stohl

 3.98 avg rating — 501 ratings

A return to the world of BEAUTIFUL CREATURES.  This story begins with Link heading to New York City to start a rock group. Ridley tags along and the pair find that things are complicated. Especially since Link has a price on his head and his band mates are full of secrets.

Word Count: 75,056
Page Count:  368
Accelerated Reader: 4.1 / points: 11.0
AR quiz: 166857


ELEANOR AND PARK
by Rainbow Rowell

**Starred Review** PublishersWeekly

**Starred Review** Kirkus

**Starred Review** ALA Booklist

4.22 avg rating — 88,423 ratings

Cute cover but this is a YA book suitable for adults. 

The setting is 1986 and this story covers two star-crossed teens, bullying, and families.

Word Count: 78,179
Page Count:  336
Accelerated Reading level: 3.8 / points: 11.0
AR quiz: 157569

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS

by John Green

**Starred Review** PublishersWeekly

**Starred Review** Kirkus

**Starred Review** SchoolLibraryJournal

4.49 avg rating — 660,161 ratings

Sixteen year old Hazel has cancer. At a support group she meets Augustus. The teens fall in love. They wonder what their legacy will be after they are gone. Profanity and sexual references.

(see reading info for other John Green books)
Word Count: 65752
Page Count: 386
Accelerated Reading level: 5.5/ points: 10.0
AR quiz: 148461
Lexile: 850L

HOLLOW CITY
(Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, # 2)
by Ransom Riggs

4.09 avg rating — 10,962 ratings

At the end of book #1, the children's island home was destroyed, and Miss Peregrine was left in her bird state.  In this book, Jacob and the others flee to London (remember this is during the war) and they seek help for Ms. Peregrine.

Word Count: 95,667
Page Count: 400
Accelerated Reader: 5.7 / points: 15.0
AR quiz: 163783
Lexile: 850L


IF I STAY
(If I Stay series)
by Gayle Forman

**Starred Review** Booklist
**Starred Review** School Library Journal
**Starred Review** PublishersWeekly

While in a coma following an accident that killed her parents and younger brother, seventeen-year-old Mia, a gifted cellist, weighs whether to live with her grief or join her family in death.

Word Count: 49,653
Page Count: 272
Accelerated Reading level: 5.3 / points: 8.0
AR quiz: 129747
Lexile: 830L

THE IMPOSSIBLE KNIFE OF MEMORY
by Laurie Halse Anderson

**Starred Review** PublishersWeekly

**Starred Review** ALA BookList

**Starred Review** SchoolLibraryJournal
**Starred Review** Kirkus

3.98 avg rating — 4,550 ratings

Another striking book from Ms. Anderson.  In this one she examines the lasting effects of war, as a father and daughter struggle with his Post Traumatic Syndrome.

Word Count:  83517
Page Count: 321
Accelerated Reading level: 4.7 / points: 12.0
AR quiz: 163323

INDEPENDENT STUDY
(The Testing, #2)
by Joelle Charbonneau

4.03 avg rating — 2,711 ratings

Middle Grade.  The TESTING was at AR 5.6

The world has been destroyed by war, and now it must be rebuilt.  In book #1, Cia Vale was chosen as a Testing candidate.  To her surprise her father tells her to trust no one.   Enter Tomas.

In book #2, enter Will, plus a series of revelations that expose the dark side of the government.

Word Count: 89,814
Page Count: 320
Accelerated Reader: 5.8 / points: 14.0
AR quiz: 164208

ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER
(Anna and the French Kiss #3) 
by Stephanie Perkins

Book #3 in this cute Contemporary Romance featuring Isla (eye-la) and the boy she's had a crush on forever, Josh.

Word Count: 78,536
Page Count: 339
Accelerated Reader: 4.1 / points: 11.0
AR quiz: 167612


LOOKING FOR ALASKA
by John Green

• An ALA Best Book for Young Adults Top 10
• An ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers
• A 2005 Booklist Editors’ Choice
• A Kirkus Best Book of 2005
• A 2005 SLJ Best Book of the Year

4.23 avg rating — 298,652 ratings

Another brilliant book by John Green. This one takes place in a school academy in Alabama.

Word Count: 69,023
Page Count: 256
Accelerated Reading level: 5.8 / points: 11.0
AR quiz: 86391
Lexile: 930L

MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN

(Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, # 1)
by Ransom Riggs

3.76 avg rating — 194,607 ratings

An island, an abandoned orphanage and a collection of curious photographs.  This book is being revisited since book #2 is out and on the NYTimes Best Seller list.

Word Count: 84,898
Page Count: 352
Accelerated Reading level: 5.7 / points: 13.0
AR quiz: 145802
Lexile: 890L

PANIC
by Lauren Oliver

3.65 avg rating — 6,159 ratings

In a dismal small town teens contribute money to a prize that will allow one winner to escape and have a chance at a better life. The contest consists of a set of challenges which have become increasing dangerous over the years.

Oliver delves into the minds of the teens desperate to escape. 

Word Count: 77,339
Page Count:  408
Accelerated Reader:  5.2 / points: 12.0
AR quiz: 164557

PAPER TOWNS  
by John Green

**Starred Review** ALA BookList 
 **Starred Review** SchoolLibraryJournal

4.10 avg rating — 168,742 ratings

Quentin Jacobsen has had a thing for Margo Roth Spiegelman for ages.   So when she appears at this window one night he follows her on a romp, only to find out after she disappears that she was extremely unhappy.  Typical John Green Genius.

(see reading info for other John Green books)
Word Count: 81,739
Page Count:  320
Accelerated Reading level: 5.4 / points: 13.0
AR quiz: 125323
Lexile: 850L


PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER
by Stephen Chbosky

4.19 avg rating — 465,520 ratings

This is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. MTV books.

Word Count: 62,376
Page Count: 213
Accelerated Reading level: 4.8 / points: 9.0
AR quiz: 32374
Lexile: 720L

SEA OF SHADOWS
(Age of Legends, #1)
by Kelly Armstrong

3.63 avg rating — 412 ratings

Sort of a horror/fantasy.  Twin sisters Ashyn and Moira are the Seeker and Keeper in the world of of the dead. They talk to spirits and their jobs are to keep the spirits of the dead happy and contained. Only now. Suddenly. The dead won't be calmed.

Word Count: 91,859
Page Count: 416
Accelerated Reader: 4.8 / points: 14.0
AR quiz: 166171
--sample pages available


THE SELECTION
(Selection - Trilogy #1)
by Kiera Cass

4.13 avg rating — 108,320 ratings

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks. Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

Word Count: 80,248
Page Count: 336
Accelerated Reading level: 4.7 / points: 12.0
AR quiz: 151515

STEELHEART
(Reckoners, #1)
by Brandon Sanderson

4.12 avg rating — 25,438 ratings

When "Calamity" struck, certain humans became "Epic".  Which is to say that they miraculously acquired super abilities.  Unfortunately, ethics were on the lists, and the Epics want to dominate normals.

Opposing the Epics are the Reckoners.  And David wants to be one of them, because an Epic named Steelheart murdered his father, and he wants revenge.

Word Count: 107,599
Page Count:  384
Accelerated Reader:  5.0 / points: 16.0
AR quiz: 161310
Lexile: 680L
--sample pages and reviews available

THE RULE OF THOUGHTS
(#2 Mortality Doctrine)
by James Dashner

YALSA Teen Top Ten Pick
4.17 avg rating — 204 ratings

Book #1 was  The Eye of Minds.  In this book the danger escalates as Sarah's parents are kidnapped by Kaine and Michael, Sarah and Bryson) are accused of murder.

Page count: 336
Lexile: 750L

THE TREATMENT
(The Program #2)
by Suzanne Young

 4.06 avg rating — 8,357 ratings

The follow up book to The Program, The TREATMENT picks up with Sloane and James in possession of one of “the treatment” pills.  They are on the run and soon meet up with some of Michael Realm's rebels.

Page Count: 352
no reading information available yet

THE PROGRAM  was at Accelerated Reading level: 4.3 / points: 14.0
AR quiz: 160847 
Lexile: HL660L

THIS STAR WON'T GO OUT:
The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl
by Esther Earl with Lori and Wayne Earl

4.55 avg rating — 1,929 ratings

Esther Grace Earl was only 16 when she passed away in 2010.  This book is filled with her insight, wisdom and humor.  She was inspiration for John Green's THE FAULT IN OUR STARS.  John wrote the introduction.

Word Count: 68,323
Page Count: 432
Accelerated Reader: 6.4 / points: 11.0
AR quiz: 165474

UNCAGED
(The Singular Menace #1)
by John Sandford and Michele Cook

**Starred Review** ALA BookList
3.83 avg rating — 211 ratings 

NOT for the Squeamish. Animal torture and human torture.

Kids versus corrupt companies.  Shay and Odin are orphans living with foster parents.  Oden is older and when he turns 18 he joins a radical animal rights group.  The group breaks into a lab and finds some horrific stuff.

Odin, who is a high autistic, makes a frantic call to Shay and tells her he's scared and needs to hide. Shay takes off to find him, knowing that nothing will stop her from saving her brother.

Word Count: 106,743
Page Count: 416
Accelerated Reader: 6.1 / points: 17.0
AR quiz: 167315
 Lexile: 870L
--other reviews available
--audio version available
--sample e-chapters available

WE WERE LIARS
by E. Lockhart

**Starred Review** PublishersWeekly
**Starred Review** Kirkus
**Starred Review** SchoolLibraryJournal
**Starred Review** HornBook
**Starred Review** ALA Booklist

4.03 avg rating — 3,916 ratings

We Were Liars is a suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.

Cadence is recovering.  She washed up on the shore with no memory of how she got there, nor if it's connected to her Grandfather's house burning down. But hopefully coming to her rich family's private island and hanging with 'the Liars' will help.  Or will it only make matters worse?

This appears to be one of those love/hate books that divide readers.

Word Count: 50,189
Page Count: 240
Accelerated Reader: 4.4 / points: 7.0
AR quiz: 166195
Lexile: HL600L

WHERE SHE WEN
(If I Stay #2) 
by Gayle Forman

**Starred Review** PublishersWeekly

 4.17 avg rating — 64,621 ratings  

Do they have a second chance at love?  After 3 years, cellist Mia runs into Adam the rocker in NYC.  

I've come to realize there's a world of difference between knowing something happened, even knowing why it happened, and believing it. Because when she cut off contact, yeah, I knew what had happened. But it took me a long, long time to believe it.  Some days, I still don't quite believe it.

Word Count: 55,415
Page Count: 288
Accelerated Reading: 5.1 / points: 8.0
AR quiz: 143768
Lexile: 800L

WHITE HOT KISS
(The Dark Elements #1)  
by Jennifer L. Armentrout

4.23 avg rating — 4,983 ratings

New Adult Romance: Seventeen-year-old Layla is half demon and half gargoyle which makes life difficult enough. But her kiss kills. At least it kills anyone with a soul. 

She tries to live normally until she meets a red hot demon named Roth.  Things heat up with him, and the demon uprising...

Word Count: 107,765
Page Count: 400
Accelerated Reader: 4.7 / points: 16.0
AR quiz: 1645
--sample pages available


You Might Also Be Interested In...
------------------------------------------------------------------
► 2013 BEST YA BOOKS

► 2014 BEST YA SERIES
► 2013 BEST YA SERIES
► 2012 BEST YA SERIES

ALL NY TIMES BEST BOOKS...
------------------------------------------------------------------

compiled by Pam
updated September 2014