Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder

A book review by Madeline Soucie

A year ago Brooklyn's boyfriend, Lucas, died and now their friend, Gabe, has just killed himself a year later by overdosing. Brooklyn can't sleep because every time she closes her eyes, Gabe is there haunting her for reasons she doesn't know. She wonders why she sees him and Lucas.

         

Nico was Lucas's brother. He's not coping well so he just runs and runs wishing he could outrun all the pain. Then Lucas starts sending him messages he doesn't understand to help Brooklyn.

         

As the hauntings continue, Nico and Brooklyn learn that the only way to stop them and make things better is to open up and help each other.

Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC Schroeder, L.

Far, Far Away by Tom McNeal

A book review by Madeline Soucie

This is a story about a boy, a girl, and a ghost. The ghost is someone everyone has heard of at on point or another, but in his afterlife he becomes the protector of the boy.

         

Jeremy Johnson Johnson is quiet and shy and very studious. From time to time he hears voices. One voice in particular is that of his ghost.

         

Ginger is a wild girl always looking for an adventure and getting into trouble along the way. She and Jeremy become friends when she includes him in her next adventure of breaking and entering.

         

As this story unfolds and the trio carry out plans together, they will come upon an adventure they never expected and realize that far, far away can be so much closer than they expected.

Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC McNeal, T.

In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters

 A book review by Madeline Soucie

             

The year is 1918. World War One is raging in Europe and the Spanish Flu is killing by storm. Mary Shelly Black (yes, named after the author of Frankenstein) has just moved to San Diego to live with her aunt.

      

It is here that she will be enveloped by the craze of spiritualism - something she doesn't believe in despite the amount of people that flock to get their pictures taken with dead loved ones.

      

Of course that could very well change for Mary Shelly. After all, anything is possible.

      

This historical fiction tells a tale of love, loss, and the fight to live during World War One and the Spanish Flu and the craze of spiritualism that kept hopes and spirits up in desperate times in a story you won't want to put down.

Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC Winters, C.

The Summoning by Kelly Armstrong

A book review by Madeline Soucie

               

Chloe sees dead people... plain and simple. She learned this the hard way at school and now she's locked up at Lyle House, a home for troubled teens. But Chloe soon learns there is more to Lyle House and its residents than meets the eye.

Is Chloe the only one or are there others? And more importantly can Chloe uncover the secrets of Lyle House or will they get the best of her?

     

The Summoning is the first book in the "Darkest Powers" trilogy and combines different elements of the supernatural scene in a new take. If you like modern supernatural stories try this one out and you may -- like me -- end up rereading it from time to time when you just need a good book to read.

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

Chime By Franny Billingsley

A book review by Maddie Soucie

Briony believes she is a witch, something she hasn't told anyone despite how much she wants to. She believes that she used her powers to ruin her sister's mind and to kill her mother. But if she tells anyone this she will be hanged, and she wants to live.

Then Eldric arrives.  Eldric who has golden hair and lion's eyes. Eldric doesn't believe anything dark or bad about Briony despite what she says. He is, though, curious about the deep secrets which she refuses to tell him. He also cares deeply for her and makes her want to cry and spill her guts -- if witches could cry that is. Briony wonders about the Old Ones and half-secrets and clues Rose leaves, hoping others will figure them out.

A story of love and secrets and witchcraft, Chime will have you turning page after page.

Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC Billingsley, F.

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

A book review by Faith Thompson

Aza has been blessed with a beautiful voice, and a skill called illusing -- or voice manipulation. Her greatest problem is that she is not beautiful. The jealous queen, Ivi, will use Aza’s skills in any way she can to get what she wants -- namely complete control over the kingdom of Ayortha.

Add to the mix a prince whose ears are a smidgen too big and who is interested in Aza. If that’s not confusing enough, a magic mirror is using Ivi for its own ends, and the king -- who didn’t know Ivi’s true nature -- is ill and can no longer speak after a grievous blow to the head. 

Aza is determined to make herself beautiful, and will stop at nothing… Not even the chance of death. 

Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC Levine, G.

Breathe by Sarah Crossan

A book review by Madeline Soucie

Bea has been friends with Quinn for ages. Despite the fact that he's a premium and she's not, they've stuck together. When Quinn invited her on a camping trip outside the pod, she was excited and hoped he'd finally see her and realize that she likes him.

        

Quinn should be worried about Alina -- and himself for that matter -- she's dangerous. Imagine how much trouble he could get in... But she wants him to help save her and he likes her...when does that ever happen?

       

Alina has been stealing for a long time. She's part of a resistance group that wants to regrow trees. Right now all she needs to focus on is staying low and not getting caught.

       

Everything has died in the world -- the plants, trees, animals  -- gone. As is the oxygen. The surviving humans live in a pod that is generated by Breathe - a corporation that generates oxygen-rich air for people to breathe.

Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC Crossan, S.

Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock

A book review by  Madeline Soucie

                                

Mac and Amy were best friends until Amy was killed by a werewolf. She was one of multiple attacks in Hemlock. Now Amy haunts Mac in her dreams and the Trackers -- a group that hunts werewolves -- has come to town to find the white werewolf that killed Amy and the others.

        

Lupine Syndrome has spread and become an infectious disease in the last decade. Efforts to fight it aren't going well, despite the fact that the disease is hard to hide, especially the bloodlust.

        

Mac decides that in order to stop her nightmares about Amy she has to find her killer. A highly dangerous task, Mac will recruit her friends Jason and Kyle and will stop at nothing to find the werewolf who did this.

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

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.

    

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.

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.

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

Far From You by Lisa Schroeder

A book review by Madeline Soucie

Alice's mother died and her father has since remarried and has a new baby. Alice doesn't like her stepmother or that her father is creating his perfect family without her. Trapped in her life she can't wait to move out and get away from her family. The only people that keep her sane are her best friend and her boyfriend, and of course her music.

When Alice gets stuck in the car in a snowstorm with no way out and no help, she will not only learn the true meaning of lonely, but will learn that hope isn't that far away; that she has an angel watching out for her.

     

Far From You is a quick, but really good book that may tug on your heart-strings a bit. It's a lot of loss and hope and new beginnings.

Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC Schroeder, L.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

A book review by Madeline Soucie                

Based on an idea by Siobhan Dowd, who died before she could write a story, this was finished by Patrick Ness. A Monster Calls is like Miss Peregrines's Home for Peculiar Children if anyone has read it. It's not like most books and has events that could be real or happen to anyone but has a fictional twist to it.

Conor has nightmares about his mother that have been going on ever since she got sick, and he has been waiting for them to come to life. So when a new monster comes to visit one night, it's not what Conor was expecting. This monster is worse; he wants the truth -- something Conor won't admit.

Conor is haunted by a monster who won't stop until he gets the ultimate truth that in the end will put Conor at peace with himself.

Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC Ness, P.

The Eye of Minds by James Dashner

A book review by Madeline Soucie

          

If you read and liked the Maze Runner or are reading it then I recommend you either put this book on your list or start reading it. By the same author, The Eye of Minds takes place in the future and the virtual gaming world -- the VirtNet -- is a huge part of human life.

   

Like everyone else, Michael is an avid gamer and spends most of his time on the VirtNet paying virtual games that feel real thanks to the stimulations and technology that it uses. He can do just about anything -- hang with friends, play fantasy worlds -- the possibilities are endless, especially if you're a hacker and can get around the rules like Michael and his friends.

   

Rules that are there for a reason, as Michael soon finds out when he is recruited by VirtNet Security. They want him on their side to catch a hacker who has figured out how to blur the line between reality and games and is using it to his advantage. 

Book 1 of the Mortality Doctrine series.

Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC Dashner, J.

Hungry by H.A. Swain

A book review by Madeline Soucie

In the future, there is no food. Only special medication that hides the feeling of hunger. Thalia's parents helped developed the system that ended hunger and fighting, so as a result they are living pretty well off. Until one day Thalia starts feeling these pangs in her stomach that no one else feels.  Then she meets a poor boy working with an underground resistance who opens her eyes to the world.

   

Together the two work to discover real food -- the only thing that will quell their hunger -- and embark on a journey that will reveal new worlds to them.

Find it in APL TEEN New Books YA FIC Swain, H.

Death Sworn by Leah Cypess

A book review by Madeline Soucie


Ileni used to be one of the most powerful sorceresses of her age. Now she is
slowly losing her magic, her status, her life, and her home.  Ileni is forced into exile and must teach magic to assassins hidden in the mountains.

She is sent, and expected never to return, to follow the fate of her successors, both of whom were killed within weeks of each other. Ileni is determined to find the truth behind their deaths before she follows their fate. This may not be easy if the mystery doesn't want to be uncovered and her only friend and ally can only protect her so much.

Read more about how Ileni will risk everything in Death Sworn.


Find it in APL TEEN New Books YA FIC Cypess, L.

A Creature of Moonlight by Rebecca Hahn

A book review by Madeline Soucie


Marni is the heir to the throne of the kingdom, but lives in exile with her grandfather on the edge of the woods as the flower girl -- the girl with the green thumb who everyone visits. She lives at the edge of the woods so she hears its calls often.  You see, the woods are alive with creatures and critters that whisper and beckon to young girls wishing for freedom. Just as they called out to her mother, they call out to Marni, but she ignores them until they become too loud to be ignored.

Now Marni must choose between her birth rite to live at the castle with her uncle, the king, or choose the woods and the father she never knew.



Find it in APL TEEN New Books YA FIC Hahn, R.

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

A book review by Madeline Soucie



Amy Gump is a normal girl living in Kansas. She goes to school where she tries to stay out of trouble and then goes home to take care of her mother and dreams of getting out of this town. Little does she know how soon her dream will come true...

Just like Dorothy, Amy is swept away in her house by a tornado and left in Oz, only it's not the Oz she heard about in the story. Oz is dead, the magic sucked out of most parts, and there are no happy munchkins. What happened you ask? Dorothy happened.

Yes, Dorothy. After she left Oz, Dorothy came back and took over. She became power hungry and wanted more. Now Amy must train with the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked to kill Dorothy.

This is not your average story; this is not the Wizard of Oz you grew up with. This is war.


Find it in APL TEEN New Books YA FIC Paige, D.

This Wicked Game by Michelle Zink

A book review by Madeline Soucie


Claire Kincaid's family lives in New Orleans and is part of a secret society of
voodoo practitioners. Her family is one part of the International Guild of High Priests and Priestesses and runs one of the underground voodoo supply stores. 

Though Claire doesn't believe in any of this, she goes along with it for her parents' sake until she can escape to college and put this all behind her.  
That is, until a mysterious order is put in at Claire's parents' store for a black market item that raises everyone's alarms. Claire soon finds out that she doesn't know everything that's going on in the voodoo world, and if she wants to know, she'll have to find out for herself. So Claire teams up with her boyfriend Xander and the other firstborns and discover an enemy that just might kill them all.



Find it in APL TEEN New Books YA FIC Zink, M.

Glass Houses by Rachel Caine

A book review by Madeline Soucie

Claire is super smart. As in the girl who graduated high school and is starting college at sixteen. She could have gone to schools like MIT or Caltech, that type of thing. Instead she is attending Texas Prairie University, a small school in a small town that everyone either transfers out of or disappears from. She didn't want to go here, but her parents were against her going far away at such a young age. 

From the beginning Claire had it rough, but it only got worse when she accidentally got on the wrong side of the mean queen bee of school.  Now Claire is looking for a place to live off campus and finds the Glass House and its tenants Shane, Eve, and Michael. Though they are hesitant to take her in, after seeing how she is attacked at school, they let her in and her world soon turns upsidedown.

To start, the town is run by vampires. Secondly, there is more to her new

roommates than meets the eye. Lastly, Claire just signed on to a ride with no end without even realizing it.

Glass Houses is the first book in the Morganville Vampire series. The books are

short and quick, but really good, especially if you like vampire/supernatural stories. This series takes a new turn on the vampire legend.

Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC Caine, R.

Proxy by Alex London

A book review by Madeline Soucie


Knox is a wealthy boy in one of the wealthiest families of the Upper City. He has everything he could ever want or need. If he gets into trouble, well, he has a proxy who can take the blame -- that's what they're there for.

Syd is a proxy -- Knox's proxy to be exact. His whole life has been about taking punishments for his patron's crimes. He lives in the Lower City, just barely scraping by.  When Knox crashes into a car, killing one of his friends, Syd is sentenced to death.  When the boys meet and realize the consequences, they make a run for it hoping to make it to a secret society across the country. If they succeed, it could reset society and make everyone equal. But as the boys later find out, not all debts can be repaid.

This book is set in the future and is a really good sci fi for anyone who likes this genre. This book was interesting in how it took on servitude and a futuristic society gone wrong. 

For those who read and like Proxy try it's sequel Guardian.


Find it in APL TEEN New Books YA FIC London, A.