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.

The Amulet of Samarkand
The Golem’s Eye
Ptolemy’s Gate

It’s a real treat to be able to read a trilogy straight through from start to finish. If you like Harry Potter…. if you like Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy…..you’ll love Bartimaeus. Nathaniel starts off a bit like Harry, a young talented apprentice magician in London, but Nathaniel isn’t trained very well, and a combination of ambition and a desire for vengence lead him to summon the smart-mouthed djinni Bartimaeus. His task is to steal the Amulet of Samarkand which has recently been aquired by shady means by Simon Lovelace, a magician who humiliated Nathaniel. In the process, the plan for revenge entangles Nathaniel and Bartimaeus in the political intrigues of the magicians that rule Great Britain.

Interestingly, as the series goes on, most readers will become less interested in Nathaniel who has become John Mandrake, a member of the ruling elite, and more involved in the adventures of Bartimaeus and a third character, Kitty Jones, who is a commoner (i.e. non-magician) and a member of the resistence movement that is trying to free Great Britain from the rule of the magicians. She may remind you a little bit of Lyra from His Dark Materials.

Edward is a one-of-a-kind toy: a china rabbit with real fur and a custom tailored wardrobe. 10-year-old Abilene loves Edward completely. Edward, however, is unable to feel anything for her…..until he is cast into the sea and begins a series of amazing adventures.

Edward’s journey brings him to a fisherman’s wife, a hobo and his dog, and into the hands of a dying girl. With each loss and recovery, the china rabbit acquires bits of true human emotions.

From the oversized format to the stuning illustrations to DiCamillo’s beautiful language, this is the kind of book they just don’t make anymore. The Miraculous Journey begs to be read aloud and discussed. Readers looking for a follow up to The Tale of Despereaux may be initially put off by the plot, but should find echoes of Despereaux’s heroic style.

–High School–

17-year-old Becky Martin’s best friend Abby spends her Saturday afternoons doing community service for the local Zen Center. Becky and Abby hand out cards with Zen Koans or riddles like “Are You Aware?” or “If Life Gives It To You, Use It.” The later is what Becky and Abby are all about; they are both working hard at building careers in stand-up comedy where everything that ever happened to them becomes material for a comedy routine. Becky’s working on a routine about the peculiarities of being born on February 29th and only having a birthday every four years on Leap Year.

Becky is envious of Abby’s apparent poise and confidence. Then Becky meets Kip, another teen comedian who is interested in Becky both professional and romantically. But when Kip’s attention becomes obsessive then abusive, will Becky be “Aware” of what’s going on in time to avoid disaster?

This is the second series of off-beat sibling stories by this author. Even if you haven’t read her series, The Exiles, I guarantee you will find The Casson Family–Cadmium, Saffron, Indigo, and Rose–entertainingly wacky. Their parents are both artists (hence the unusual names inspired by paint colors) and if you’re like me and wished that J. K. Rowling had written more chapters about life at the Weasley’s, you’ll appreciate this unusual family.

As this book starts out, Indigo has just gotten over a case of mono that has kept him out of school for almost half the year. He’s not looking forward to it, though, because a gang of kids had singled Indigo out for special treatment at the beginning of the year. When he gets to school, however, there is a new boy from America, who draws the attention of the red-headed gang leader. Eventually Indigo and Tom form a friendship, and even Indigo’s precocious sister gets involved with Tom.

–Middle School/High School–

Nadira has always been the quiet, introspective sister living in the shadows–both in the shadow of her brilliant older sister Aisha, and in the shadow of United States law. Nadira’s family are illegal aliens from Bangladesh. When her father decides the only way they can achieve legal status so that Aisha go to college is to seek asylum in Canada, everything changes. In the post-9/11 hysteria, Nadira’s father is held indefinitely at the border because his name is similar to that of a suspected terrorist. Aisha, who has adapted to America with chameleon-like ease begins to crumble under the weight of all of the lies she’s had to tell over the years. In the end it falls to Nadira to take drastic action.

–High School/Middle School–

Abel Dandy’s mom has no arms, his dad has no legs. His friends are freaks of all kinds. His first kiss is Phoebe the Dog-Faced Girl. Unfortunately Abel is perfectly normal and he feels like he has no future so he runs away “from” the circus in search of a mysterious dancing girl who haunts his dreams. Something mysteriously draws him to a truly shabby traveling freak show run by the sinister Dr. Mink.

Look for both adventure and romance in this unusual book from one of my favorite authors, Annette Curtis Klause. She’s written about vampires in The Silver Kiss, werewolves in Blood and Chocolate, now it’s a mysterious and persuasive mummy.

–High School Only–

This was the unanimous favorite new book in our household this summer and when it was finally my turn, I wasn’t disappointed.

I love vampire stories and I love it when an author does something unique with the familiar plot line. 19-year-old Cal has just arrived in New York City from Texas when he contracts a contagious disease that makes him a “Peep”– parasite positive. Miraculously, Cal avoids becoming a blood thirsty cannibal, and is recruited by a secret police force to track down other peeps.

Campy and creepy, if you love all things gross, you’ll also enjoy the information on various real life parasites that Westerfeld crams in alternating chapters.