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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon

 A book review by Madeline Soucie

Nick Gautier is a street smart and tough kid trying to survive high school at the private school his mom insisted he attend. Then Nick is almost killed by his friends and saved by a mysterious warrior who brings Nick into a world he never knew existed. One where many of his fellow students aren't who they seem to be and others are being turned into zombies. Now Nick must stop whoever is behind the zombies while trying not to get grounded by his mother.

Series: Chronicles of Nick, book 1

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

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

A book review by Madeline Soucie               

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is told in both words and pictures, making the story more realistic.

After his grandfather dies, Jacob is left wondering about his grandfather's last words and starts looking into his old stories. What Jacob finds leads him to an island -- more specifically an old abandoned orphanage hoping to find answers.

As Jacob explores Miss Peregrine's abandoned home it becomes clear that not only were his grandfather's stories true, but so were the children in them. He also learns that the children were all kept there for a reason. They might have been more than just peculiar -- they might have been dangerous -- and still alive.

   

Read this interesting book to learn more about Miss Peregrine and her peculiar children.

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

I Am Number Four by Piticus Lore

A book review by Kat Seevers

My favorite thing about this book was John. This novel was particularly good at creating a male that was both authentic and likable. Through his perspective we got to see how earth compared to his home planet. I liked that he didn't back down to bullying but was also sweet and devoted to Sarah. The combination of a sense of responsibility and his willingness to be a kid really made his character pop. 

I Am Number Four is stuffed with originality from the different type of legacies, the way the charms work, how the deaths are burned into their legs to the evil races hunting down the Numbers. This was definitely a page turner for me!

This is the first book in the Lorien Legacies.

Find it in APL Teen Fiction YA FIC Lore, P.

Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

A book review by Madeline Soucie



Poison Princess is the first book in The Arcana Chronicles. 







Evangeline or "Evie" as her friends call her, is a normal girl living in Louisiana. Her mother owns one of the oldest houses and farms in the state, she has a great boyfriend, is a cheerleader, and one of the most popular girls in school. What is she hiding?

The previous year, Evie starting having nightmares and seeing apocalypse scenes so her mother sent her to a corrective facility over the summer. Only one problem -- getting help didn't help because Evie isn't crazy, she's having visions of the end of the world -- the Flash -- something her grandmother warned her about. Evie's mother put her grandmother away eight years
ago and told Evie her grandmother was crazy. 

The only one that knows her secrets is a Cajun transfer and trouble maker Jackson Daniels.  Evie is part of a group of teenagers who each represent a different card in a tarot deck and are part of an ancient game. Not everyone knows who they are though, something very dangerous.

The Flash kills almost everyone, and those who survive find food and resources extremely scarce and water almost extinct. Evie and Jack find themselves running for their lives for food and from their enemies. While on the run, Evie is trying to find the source of her visions and her grandmother in hopes that either one will explain her powers and why they have them. The only problems -- whether or not Evie will survive and whether or not she'll learn about her powers the hard way, and of course what she'll do with Jack.


Find it in APL TEEN New Books YA FIC Cole, K.

Haven (Winterhaven #1) by Kristi Cook

a book review by Sophie Messina

 

Haven by Kristi Cook is about Violet McKenna going to a school for gifted people. But she doesn’t realize this until her friends show her their powers. Violet’s visions are becoming stronger and now she thinks she can see the future. She sees visions of her father’s murder, and she wants to control them with the help of her new friends and Aidan.

This book was like Twilight goes to boarding school because Aidan turns out to be vampire, and he and Violet have a romance. Violets friends ( Kate, Sophie, Cece, and Marissa) have to learn to use their powers to face a group of vampires who are plotting to kill Aidan. Violet's visions help her learn about the killers and what’s coming up. They end up killing the vampires at the end of the year.

There are questions that pop up in the book. What do these vampires want? Is there someone on the inside of the school giving away information? What’s going to happen with Violet and Aidan? What will happen in the next book? Read this book and you decide.

Find it: YA FIC Cook, K.