Monday, February 23, 2015

No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale

A book review by Madeline Soucie


    
Friendship, Wisconsin, is a small town, population now 688. Everyone knows everyone else, no one locks their doors at night, and people are always smiling. Even the police cars have smiley faces on them. In the town of Friendship, there aren't many problems besides missing pets until high school student Ruth Fried turns up dead in a cornfield.

    
Since the police are convinced they have the case closed and the suspect locked up, best friend Kippy Bushman takes it upon herself to find her friend's real killer. The only problem is in a town this small, everyone seems innocent, even the killer.
Book Cover

Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC Hale, K.

Monday, February 16, 2015

When We Wake by Karen Healey

A book review by Madeline Soucie


Tegan Oglietti lived her first life until 2027 when she was killed by a would-be assassin. But instead of dying, she wakes up a century later, much to her surprise.

Book Cover    
It's hard to believe at first, especially when the footage is so crappy and could be anyone, but it's her. Life in the future is hard for Tegan to adjust to -- so much has changed. Tegan is supposed to be part of a government project, but she's not exactly on board with that. How could she go from her normal life of playing the guitar with her brother and going to environmental protests with her friends to the future she woke up in? Tegan is faced with the choice to keep her head down and go along with everything or make some big waves.


Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC Healey, K.

Monday, February 9, 2015

The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion & the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming

A book review by Madeline Soucie


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The Romanov family rules Russia for 300 years. Tsar Nicholas II was its last. He turned a blind eye to the poverty of his country during its time of need.
    
Empress Alexandra was a shy religious woman believed to rule behind her husband.
    
Their daughters, the Grand Duchesses, were isolated from the world, taught by tutors and had very little interaction outside the palace. They were dependent on their parents.
    
Tsarevich Alexi was the son and heir to the throne of Russia. He was a hemophiliac, which was kept a secret to the world, as he was often sick and bed-ridden.
    
This book tells the tale of the Romanov family, life at the palace and during their rule, and their eventual murder during unrest and the start of a civil war.



Find it in APL TEEN Nonfiction YA DK 258 .F5725 2014

Monday, February 2, 2015

The Young Elites by Marie Lu

A book review by Madeline Soucie


If you have read Marie Lu's Legend series or are reading it, try this book next. The Young Elites is a good book that looks like the beginning of a series that could go in multiple directions if you know what I mean.
     
Adelina Amouteru survived the blood fever that swept through her land a decade ago, killing many people, but like so many children, she was left with a unusual markings. Her black hair turned silver and she lost an eye. Her father believes she is no good and wants her gone. Some children who survived the fever are rumored to have mysterious powers and call themselves the Young Elite.
     
Teren works for the King as part of the Inquisition Axis hunting down the Young Elites and will stop at nothing until he sees them all put to death.
     
Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society, a group of Young Elites who look for others like them and try to save them before the Inquisition Axis gets them, which is how he finds Adelina. Adelina, whose powers are unlike any he has ever seen before, could be the group's demise if they aren't careful.


Book CoverFind it in APL TEEN New Books YA FIC Lu, M.