Three Great Titles

I was thrilled to read not just one, but three great YA books on a recent vacation. I really don't read much on vacations, except in the car, a talent that I'm coming to realize is quite useful. Not only does it whittle away the many long and often boring hours, but it gives me huge stretches of time in which I can finish entire books. Being able to be absorbed into a story without being distracted by traffic, music, and even my husband talking (which can go awry when he's asking for directions or needs change for the tolls), is a beautiful gift, especially when I know so many people who get carsick or headaches when they try to read in this environment.

At any rate, I had time to finish three entire books (OK, I had already read more than half of Heroes of the Valley, which is pretty long), all of which I will be voting "yes" for during our Cafe Book selection (Cafe Book is a popular public to school library connection program, where we read and discuss YA books during middle school lunch time). The Chosen One, by Carol Lynch Williams (pictured above), is a beautiful but disturbing story of family and survival. Thirteen year-old Kyra lives on the Compound, a religious community whose leader dictates the word of god, including polygamy. Kyra finds out that she must marry not only a 60 year-old man with 6 wives already, but the man who is also her uncle. Instead of making this disgusting all over, Williams portrays the love and unity that Kyra finds in this community, showing how hard it is for people, especially children her age, to break free when things go terribly wrong, as it soon does for Kyra. Four stars ****. This wasn't too graphic, dealt with the religious aspect carefully and honestly, and touched on women's rights as well.

The Tomorrow Code, by Brian Falkner, was another four star **** hit for me. This sci-fi YA novel deals with time travel (in a way), humankind's relationship with the earth, love, family, animal rights, the past and the future in one mesmerizing story. The science part of the book isn't too complicated to understand, and is explained fairly well - it's believable. The ending was perfect - not too tidy, not too tragic and leaves the reader with hope. It had me racing through the pages, a nail-biting end. The only fault I could find with it was the beginning, where they are so easily let into the facility on the island, and the ending, where the main characters seemed to let go of their families a little too easily. Otherwise, loved it! There will be lots of topics for discussion with this book.

Last, and certainly not least, Heroes of the Valley, by Jonathan Stroud also left me happily satisfied. It is the story of legendary heroes who created a valley of families, who beat back the Trows (vicious creatures) and then vowed to live without fighting and battles. Yet they are stuck behind their stone walls, not leaving the valley for fear of the Trows beyond the walls. Halli, our young star, is born short and stubby and certainly not attractive. He grows up on the stories of the heroes and thinks the farming life in the valley is boring and restrictive. This four star **** fantasy was a little slow in starting, but once Halli started taking action instead of being sneaky and playing tricks, it flew by. I loved the way that Halli's character developed, especially as he realized the faults of the legends, and the limitations of his own dreams. A strong girl character, Aud, helps draw in female readers. The ending was superb - surprising but satisfying. Great high fantasy - may not appeal to non-fantasy readers, though.