Rot and Ruin

Holy zombies my friends! If you are a fan of The Walking Dead starring the adorable Andrew Lincoln, you will LOVE this book. It is about Benny and Tom Imura. Their parents were killed on First Night, when the zombies rose. Tom took baby Benny and ran for their lives. Benny thinks this makes him a coward- why didn't Tom go back and save their mother? Now Benny is 15 and has to get a job or have his rations cut in half.  He would rather die than work with Tom, a zombie Bounty Hunter. How could Tom, the coward, be a bounty hunter. He was nothing like Charlie Pink Eye, the most notorious bounty hunter in town. Benny admires Charlie and all his exploits. His best friend Nix, however, can't stand Charlie and neither can Tom. When all other job opportunities fall through, Benny begrudgingly goes to work in the Ruin with Tom to do some 'closure' work. What he sees changes his life and his opinion of his brother forever. When Nix is kidnapped by Charlie, Benny and Tom set off to find her and to find the Lost Girl, who is said to roam the ruins,  where they are faced with death every step of the way. This is a very thought provoking book. It poses the question, who really is the enemy, the dead or the humans who hunt them? Benny thinks he knows his brother and comes to find that Tom is anything but what Benny thought he was. This is really a story of humanity and what it means to be human in a zombie filled world. It is the story of family and bravery and yes a little bit about love. Tom is a fascinating character who shows Benny what it means to be human even when dealing with the undead. I had some tears in my eyes at various points and I didn't expect that. I look forward to Jonathan Maberry's sequel Dust and Decay to see where that jet was going, to see if Nix and Benny can make their romance work, to see if Tom can find some peace and to see if Lost Girl can live in civilization. Well done, well done. Happy reading my friends!

Croak

So I tried to go back to the other book I have been reading, but to no avail. Instead I picked up this little gem by Gina Damico. It is a story about Lex. She is one angry teenager. All of a sudden this straight A student has turned into a truculent, obnoxious brawler. Her parents don't know what to do with her and her twin, Cordy, is beside herself. They decide to send her to live with her Uncle Mort in Croak. She thinks she'll be working on a farm. Guess again! She finds out her uncle is a Grim Reaper and that she  has quite the talent for it herself. She meets lots of interesting people and finally feels like she has found the place she belongs. Along with her partner Driggs, who is of course a super hot guy, they quickly become the best team in Croak. That is, until they start noticing strange deaths that can only be attributed to another Grim. Lex and her friends try and figure out what is happening and wind up in some dreadful situations. This book is filled with humor, which I love. I mean the twins are named after the first battles of the Revolutionary War for goodness sakes! Lex is a smart aleck and her relationship with Driggs is really fun- and at times violent- in a playful way. I have reached that point in my life that I am more interested in her Uncle, who is a fantastic character, than the younguns, but all in all I really enjoyed this book. I look forward to more tales of Uncle Mort and Croak as Lex begins her quest to find a killer. So if you happen to get lost in the town of Croak, prepare to pay a fine and mysteriously be led back on your way. Happy reading my friends.

Fair Coin

I've been shuttling in between two books this week. Neither one of them has really grabbed my attention. I finished this one first. Fair Coin by E.C. Meyers is about a boy named Ephraim who finds a coin that allows him to make wishes. His mother is an alcoholic and his life is not so great. He makes his first wish and off he goes. Of course, you know the saying- be careful what you wish for. Things don't always wind up like the thinks they will and he continues to make wishes to fix the ones before. After one of these wishes, his best friend Nathaniel turns up and informs him the coin does not grant wishes, it allows him to travel to alternate dimensions where his analogs are living their own reality. One of the Nate's is not so nice and takes Eph on a wild ride through the dimensions, while Eph tries to figure out a way to get the device out of Nate's hands. This is an interesting premise, but I was underwhelmed by the book. There were many universes to keep track of, with many problems. It may interest someone who is really into dimension travel and all it can entail. Eph is a likeable enough guy and one of the Zoe's is an interesting girl. I would have liked more of her backstory. All and all this was a flat liner for me. Off to finish the other book I was reading this week. Hopefully it gets better. Happy reading my friends.

Unnatural

Well, it isn't often I am puzzled as to what to do with a book. It goes on my shelf. I don't usually censor unless there is something graphic in the content, and then i just put it behind my desk, like some Ellen Hopkins books. But Unnatural by Michael Griffo has me a little stumped. It is called An Archangel Academy novel. It isn't about Angels. It is about two breeds of vampires who lurk about the halls of this school in England trying to destroy each other. Stuck in the middle of this feud is newcomer Michael, who hales from Nebraska. He has just lost his mother and his father comes to take him back to London to live. Michael is thrilled, as he just doesn't fit in in his small town where he is being bullied because he is gay. When he arrives at the academy, he locks gazes with Ronan and it is love at first bite for both of them. (pun intended) Ronan has been waiting for Michael for what seems like an eternity (again pun intended) and the two quickly embark on a passionate relationship. What Michael doesn't know is that he is surrounded by vampires. When he tells Ronan he wants to be with him forever, Ronan quickly makes that come true. Of course, Michael didn't know that Ronan meant For-ev-er literally. Michael feels betrayed and a little freaked out and Ronan has to find a way to convince him that this is the best thing to happen to both of them. So, the question becomes, do I put this on my bookshelf as there is lots of sex. I just don't know if the immature boys I usually have in my class would be able to handle it. But I also know it may be reaching an audience that there are not a lot of book choices for. I enjoyed the book, it is stylistically different that a lot of books, you know what is going on in  everyone's heads and really have to pay attention to the font etc. to see who is talking. This is a series and I will read the next ones as the story is interesting. I'm mad that I even have to think about where this book will go, but such is the nature of teenagers. I will ponder this a while longer but in the meantime- happy reading my friends.

The Book of Blood and Shadows

So. Where to begin? If you liked the Davinci Code you might enjoy Robin Wasserman's novel. It is complicated, at times confusing, and somewhat interesting. Four students are helping a professor translate a mysterious book. The story is told from Nora's point of view. She and her best friend Chris, his girlfriend Adriane and Chris's roommate Max each are working on their own piece of the puzzle. When Nora stumbles upon a letter and she sneaks it home, she sets off a chain of events that takes her on a journey to Prague. Chris has been murdered and Max has disappeared. She and Adriane sneak away from their school trip to Paris to find Max and solve Chris's murder. They are met by Eli- Chris's cousin, who has some pretty useful skills on this mission, What they discover is a secret society set to build a machine that will allow them to speak to God. Nothing good has ever come of this search and their is a secret society set to thwart this attempt. The only way for Nora to survive is to find the pieces to the machine and save her and her friend's lives. The end reminds me of the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. No one is as they seem and some meet quite melty ends. I don't know what student I would recommend this too, it is more for an advanced reader, or high school reader. It did make me want to visit Prague, but that will be a passing fancy I fear. So, if you are up for secret societies, lots of latin translations and a twisted love story, this may be the book for you. Happy reading my friends.

Silence

I thought this was the final book in the trilogy. I was wrong I think. The story of Patch and Nora will most likely continue. But unlike my feelings about book two, I welcome more of this tale. In this book, Nora awakes in a cemetery with no memory of the last five months of her life. This means no memory of Patch, the fallen angel she is in love with. He made a deal to keep her safe and that included removing her memory of him. True love never dies however, and Nora keeps running into Jev, a mysterious boy who reminds her of someone. Of course it's Patch and as she slowly regains some of her memories, he comes clean. They are up against the Black Hand who is is trying to start a war with the fallen angels. As Nora's true bloodline is discovered, she is forced to make a choice to protect those she loves. This choice may put her at odds with Patch but she has no choice. It was nice to have Patch and Nora working together in this book without all the "does he love me or not" nonsense. They seem to have finally decided that they can figure out a way to overcome the odds. So, I enjoyed this one and didn't want to kill Nora at the end. Much improved. Happy reading my friends.

City of Lost Souls

I put it off as long as I could. I couldn't stand the thought of another Mortal Instruments series ending with Jace and Clary torn apart by evil things. But I bit the bullet and low and behold, not disappointed in this one. The fifth book in this series by Cassandra Clare starts with the search for Jace. When last we left him, he had disappeared from the roof with Sebastian and he had been tied to him. The Clave is looking for him, but Clary isn't satisfied with the effort. She enlists the help of her boy Friday, Simon, Isabelle and Alec and Magnus Bane. Together they form many crazy schemes to get Jace back. Clary, as always, throws herself into the fire by running away with Jace and Sebastian in order to find out what they are up to. Jace isn't himself, he is at Sebastian's mercy and Clary tries to break through to him while fending off the every creepy advances of her brother Sebastian. When in the brief moments Jace returns to his usual sarcastic, loyal, fierce self, he is able to share Sebastian's plan even as he knows he will have to go along with it. Simon does many heroic things to help Clary while cultivating his romance with Isabelle. Magnus and Alec hit some snags in their relationship, (spoiler alert) but if you were paying attention at the end, you know it wasn't Magnus.... Luke almost dies, Maia and Jordan get back together and (surprise) Sebastian might get away again. My favorite parts of this book were the references to Will Herondale...Tale of Two Cities, the little box, the picture Magnus has etc. But I have to ask you my friends- Is Brother Zacariah who I think he is????? I liked the ending of this book and don'f feel let down. Jace and Clary are side by side where they belong, even if Jace is a little changed. He still rates a spot in the top ten. I am now determined to read Silence and finish Becca Fitzpatrick's series about Patch and Nora. It's off to an interesting start. Happy reading my friends.