At seventeen, Katniss has survived the arena twice and has become the reluctant rallying point of rebellion.   Now living in District 13 since the Capitol destroyed her District 12 homeland, she acknowledges the refuge but can’t be entirely grateful.   Her best friend, Gale, and her sister and mother have also survived the destruction but she has no idea whether the captured Peeta is alive or dead and so many more have been lost.

The rebel side wants much more from her—they want her to be the actual face, the embodiment of the revolution, the Mockingjay.    All Katniss wants to do is to run away, to escape the terrible memories, but she is caught by the question of Peeta.  As long as he might still be alive, she doesn’t really have a choice.  And so it begins.

Her training for war does not go smoothly and, along the way, there are many reasons for Katniss to abandon her apparent destiny.  One goal keeps her focused—the chance to kill President Snow, the man she holds responsible for all the tragedy in her young life.  This will carry her, and her companions, through events no teenager should have to face.  That’s the point, though, isn’t it, that young people are the ones who lose the most in times of war and rebellion.

With the first two books of the trilogy, The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins raised the bar incredibly high for young adult science fiction, and readers of adult science fiction have been just as captivated by Katniss and the horror of the Hunger Games.  This third and final book does not disappoint in any way and, for this reader, the long wait was well worth it.  There were any number of directions the author could have taken with the ending of Katniss’s story but she did not take an easy way.  Some of the events in Mockingjay are shattering and unexpected but, having read it, I have to say I think this is what had to happen.

Ms. Collins brings her secondary characters, even a cat, to life every bit as much as the central figures and  there is much sadness as well as joy in their stories.  Katniss, Gale and Peeta are heroic and tragic and, until the very end, the reader can not be sure how, or even whether, their feelings for each other will be resolved.  As a side note, I must also say that, while I normally detest first person present tense, it works for this trilogy, enhancing the excitement and intensity as no other point of view could do.

Mockingjay will be in my Top 5  for 2010; it’s the first time this year I have cut off the phone and TV and computer and stayed up all night to finish a book, and the entire trilogy is among my favorite series of all time.  I cannot recommend it highly enough for young adult and adult readers.  It is a shining example of how good science fiction can be but it also has strong elements of mystery and fantasy.  In a word, WOW.

P.S.  Now, I’m going to listen to the audio book—Carolyn McCormick has been an outstanding reader of the first two books and I expect no less in this one.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, August 2010.

The Flock is a group of six kids who were an experiment from before birth, genetically engineered to have wings.  Led by Max, a fourteen-year-old girl, the six have escaped but are being pursued by another group of kids whose own experiment was much more sinister.  Known as the Erasers, they are half human half wolf and are incredibly strong and vicious, and an old friend of Max’s is one of them.

The Erasers kidnap the youngest of the Flock, Angel, and take her back to the “School” where they were all born and raised.  Max leads Fang, Iggy, Nudge and Gasman on a rescue mission and they start to learn a bit about their pasts and their destinies.  Max begins to hear a voice in her head telling her she must save the world—but how and from what and where is this voice coming from?

This is Patterson‘s first foray into the young adult world and there are signs he doesn’t quite know how to do it.  The most distracting thing is that these kids frequently sound like adults and they rarely show the vulnerability of children.  The story is a bit overblown, too, and I think the abridged audio edition I listened to may very well be the best because some of the tedium has been cut out.  The abridgement retains enough of the charm and a lot of appealing action to encourage me to try the next installment—I’m compelled to follow all the loose ends—but it will also be an abridgement, by choice.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor.

Imagine you’ve come home and a surprise package is waiting for you.  You’re a high school boy, no money to order anything and it’s not your birthday.  You’re excited opening the book only to discover seven cassette tapes inside.

Cassette tapes — nothing in the house will even play them, but your Dad has an old stereo out on his workbench in the garage.  Listening, you hear the voice of a ghost — Hannah Baker, one of your classmates and a girl you could easily love.  Only a few weeks ago, she committed suicide.

The thirteen sides of the tapes (the last side is blank) take Clay Jensen a night to hear. They include a map, so he can follow along. He learns of the thirteen reasons–and thirteen people–whose actions contributed to Hannah’s death. Clay is one of those people and he dreads learning what part he played in this tragedy. Along the way, he discovers hard truths about his classmates and himself.

I picked up this book solely on Sherman Alexie‘s recommendation.  Alexie‘s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is one of the most inspiring books I have ever read.  I don’t think any young adult library should be without a copy.  I’m adding Th1rteen R3asons Why to that list.

Reviewed by Rebecca Kyle, April 2010

Modo is an abandoned child in Victorian London, a child with such a fearsome appearance that no one could possibly care for him.  Mr. Socrates, though, a mysterious gentleman of means,  takes Modo in and raises him in a somewhat aloof fashion but with a purpose in mind.  A governess and a man with martial skills are his only companions and teachers but the approval of Mr. Socrates is of utmost importance to Modo.

Besides the education and training he has received, Modo has learned to develop and control, to a certain extent, his unusual physical powers.  Unwilling to let the world see his face, he wears a mask, but he also has the ability to transform his appearance for brief periods.  This ability is of special importance when he is suddenly forced to fend for himself as a test of his readiness to take his place as a spy at the age of 14 for the Permanent Association, secretive defenders of Queen Victoria and Great Britain.  Fend for himself he does, finding that he can support himself as a detective, and thus he meets a client, Miss Octavia Milkweed, and embarks on a most unusual case.

The Hunchback Assignments UK Cover

Technically, this is young adult fiction, but many elements make it very appealing to an older reader who will recognize many of the literary shout-outs.  A combination of steampunk, fantasy, mystery, espionage and action adventure lead to great fun and the villainous Clockworld Guild, with the mad scientist Dr. Hyde and his dastardly invention, may prove to be an ongoing adversary for Modo, Octavia and the Permanent Association.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and will look forward to future installments; I wish Mr. Slade would write faster.   I do have to say he has a terrific website (see the link above) and this is one time I think the UK and US covers are equally cool.   Also, Jayne Entwistle, already one of my favorite narrators, has done a great job again.

Very highly recommended for young adults and adults.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor.

When his abusive father kicks him out for having the audacity to fight back, 16-year-old Jace Witherspoon has only one place to go–his older brother Christian in New Mexico. From Chicago to Albuquerque is not an easy trip, particularly if you have only recently gotten your license and  don’t have money, but Jace goes with the faith that his brother will take him in.

1.    The Merlot Murders—Ellen Crosby
2.    Pride and Prejudice and Zombies—Seth Grahame-Smith
3.    Lament—Maggie Stiefvater
4.    The Clockwork Teddy—John J. Lamb
5.    The Chardonnay Charade—Ellen Crosby
6.    The Killer Collection—J.B. Stanley
7.    The Mournful Teddy—John J. Lamb
8.     Shiver—Maggie Stiefvater
9.    The Bordeaux Betrayal—Ellen Crosby
10.  The Book of Lies—Brad Meltzer
11.  Death of a Cozy Writer—G.M. Malliet
12.  Carbs & Cadavers—J.B. Stanley
13.  Haunted Richmond—Pamela K. Kinney
14.  Eight—Katherine Neville
15.  Good Omens—Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
16.  Castaways—Brian Keene
17.  A Test of Wills—Charles Todd
18.  Dating Dead Men—Harley Jane Kozak
19.  House of Night #1: Marked—P.C Cast & Kristin Cast
20.  Posed for Murder—Meredith Cole
21.  Dead and Gone—Charlaine Harris
22.  Killer Hair—Ellen Byerrum
23.  Desden Files #11: Turn Coat—Jim Butcher
24.  The Killer’s Wife—Bill Floyd
25.  Red Rain—Tim Wendel
26.  The Graveyard Book—Neil Gaiman
27.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows—J.K. Rowling
28.  Breaking Dawn—Stephenie Meyer
29.  Watchmen—Alan Moore
30. The Last Embrace—Denise Hamilton
31.  Soulless—Gail Carriger
32.  Un Lun Dun—China Mieville
33.  I Can Haz Cheezburger?—Professor Happycat
34.  Tales of Beedle the Bard—J.K. Rowling
35.  Warriors #1: Into the Wild—Erin Hnter
36.  House of Night #2: Betrayed—P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
37.  Pushing Up Daisies—Rosemary Harris
38.  Mean Streets—Jim Butcher et al
39.  Christmas Is Murder—C.S. Challinor
40.  Hollower—Mary SanGiovanni

Ballad

James, a teen with a remarkable gift for music, is surrounded by other students with artistic talents at Thornking-Ash School of Music, a boarding school in the mountains of Virginia.   His long-time best friend, Dee, is also a student there but they are estranged, torn apart by earlier events involving the faerie world and a text message James sent to Dee that changed everything between them.

Nuala, a soul-snatching faerie muse, is attracted to James and, as they work together on a musical piece, she begins to fall in love with him.  Unfortunately, her time is limited as she is being hunted by the fey while other solitary fey near the school are being murdered.  A battle with the Queen of the Fey is inevitable.

Maggie Stiefvater’s first book in the series, Lament, focused on Dee and her growing awareness that she is a cloverhand, one who sees faeries.  Dark faerie stories are not so common and this author herself has a special talent and an obvious love for music, Irish lore and all things fey.  By making James the central character of the second book, she has greatly expanded the breadth of her storytelling.

Very highly recommended for teens and adults.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor