Amberly Media Center

–H S / M S –

14-year-old Max is the leader of a group of six genetically enhanced children who have escaped from “school,” the top secret government lab where they were created. When 6-year old Angel, specimen #11, is recaptured by the Erasers, wolf-enhanced mutants, the older three, Max, Fang, and Iggy cross the continent to rescue her. Fortunately all three have large thirteen foot wings so flying is no problem.

In book one of the series, five of the six learn about their past and their real parents….except for Max, who only discovers a voice in her head that mysteriously assures her that she will save the world. Book two is coming out this month.

Have you ever noticed how the reading of one book influences the reading of another? This week I read two oddly related books: The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown and So B. It by Sarah Weeks.

I resisted reading The DaVinci Code until the very end, but I often spout off about how you can’t see a movie until you’ve read the book so I decided I shouldn’t be a hypocrite. Great puzzles, plot, suspense….I was disappointed with how flat some of the characters were, though. A great book for teens interested in the big questions. Yes it’s controversial, but I think the author should be given credit for letting the reader make up his or her own mind about what is fiction and what is not.

Which brings me to So B. It by Sarah Weeks which is also about a girl trying to solve a mystery about her past. There is a name similarity, too, but that would be giving away too much of the plot. Heidi’s mother is mentally disabled and has a vocabulary of just a couple dozen words. Heidi is raised in part by Bernadette, a neighbor who suffers from agoraphobia which means she is scared to death of leaving the house. As a result, Heidi has grown up with a lot of responsibilities yet she has never gone to school.

When Bernie finds an old camera with an undeveloped roll of pictures, the mysterious photos provide tantalyzing clues to where Heidi’s mother came from, including the sign for a mental institution in Liberty, NY. Like the characters in The Da Vinci Code, Heidi can’t resist the challenge of putting the pieces together and uses her “luck” to come up with the money to make the cross country bus trip; a quest that she hopes will answer the question of who she is and most importantly, what is the meaning of her mother’s mystery word: “Soof.”

Two years after being released from Camp Green Lake, Armpit is still digging holes….this time for money working for a landscaping business. He’s set five goals for himself: five small steps.

1. Graduate from high school.
2. Get a job.
3. Save his money.
4. Avoid situations that might turn violent.
5. Lose the name Armpit.

After three months on the job, “Theodore” is well on his way to achieving all five goals. Summer school is going well, he has almost $1000 saved in the bank, and he’s earning respect in the neighborhood for helping out his 10-year-old disabled neighbor Ginny.

Then X-Ray shows up with a get rich quick scheme that results in more trouble with the police and an unexpected meeting with teen pop singer Kaira DeLeon.

Don’t miss this hillarious sequel to Holes.