Redemption

I was excited by the prospect of The Killer's Cousin by Nancy Werlin, even after a few recent duds, mostly because of its promising cover. I was determined to find a novel of hers that I felt was worth reading. This book almost met the challenge. The basic premise is that a teen is acquitted of killing his girlfriend and goes to live with his aunt and uncle, who lost one of their daughters not too long ago in a suicide. However, as he comes to terms with his past, he learns that his other cousin may understand him more than he realizes. It is a haunting ghost story, in part, and a little thrilling. The mystery, as usual, is not too difficult to uncover, which seems to be Werlin's standard fare. However, I did enjoy the open-ended conclusion and bits of the mystery left unresolved.

Meanwhile, I was eager to read Impossible, also by Werlin, which has won scads of awards, which is a realistic fiction interwoven with fantasy. I was FINALLY truly impressed! Basically, a teen finds out that the women in her family are cursed by a fairy king, to become pregnant at seventeen, and go insane directly after their child's birth. However, the protagonist (Lucy) believes she can break the curse by attempting the three impossible tasks. Although parts were a little rushed, the ending was beautiful and well-deserved. As for the covers, I thought that for once, the hardback version kicked the paperback's butt (see here, left; paperback below).

In the meantime, these are several other decent, excellent, and so-so books I've plowed my way through.

The Firefly Letters, by Margarita Engle is a beautiful verse book about women's rights and slavery in Cuba.

Half World by Hiromi Goto is an otherworldly (pun intended) story of life, death, and a creepy man called Mr. Glueskin. Very original and wonderful ending.

Bruiser, by Neal Shusterman is an incredible blend of realistic fiction and fantasy; a story of bullying, victims, and love. Told in two voices.

Stick Figure: A Diary of My Former Self, by Lori Gottlieb is a moving account of anorexia in a young teen. This autobiography may not be the newest thing on the shelf, but the feelings, the attitudes, and the desire to be, "the thinnest," are hauntingly present-day.

The Enemy by Charlie Higson is a dystopian, sci-fi novel about zombies. Yep, zombies. And I loved it. I'm not a sci-fi fanatic, I'm not a zombie person at all, but I loved this book. Great to recommend to your guy readers!

Diary of a Witness, by Catherine Ryan Hyde is a heart-breakingly realistic tale of teen boys who, after being teased one too many times, decide to tackle their bullies in a violent way. The ending is fitting and I appreciated that it wasn't too depressing.

The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade is one of my favorite books of the year. I just loved the main character - how brave, and modest, and strong of heart and mind he was. The steampunk setting was fabulous, too! A little gore, a little adventure, a tiny bit of romance. The opening scene was so horrific, I almost put the book down, but I'm glad I didn't!

The Miles Between, by Mary E. Pearson was another one that I wasn't sure I would like at first. The opening scene seemed so contrived and easy, but as the story unraveled, it was a truly original concept. I loved the mix of fantasy and reality and the ending was very surprising (and sad!).

The Maze Runner, by James Dashner was another fabulous book that took a little time to get going. I was fairly annoyed at Thomas's repeated, "what is this place?" line of questioning and the 'trying to be mysterious' lack of answers. But the concept as a whole was again, very original and thrilling! Loved the ending (although there will be a sequel, this was still satisfying enough).

Num8ers, by Rachel Ward was one of the best books I've read all year so far. I was blown away by the concept of being able to see people's "dates of expiration" and I loved the main character's fortitude. Her hesitation to make connections was worth the possible loss when she met Spider, and what an amazing couple they made!

One Piece: Romance Dawn by Eiichiro Oda is the first in a popular manga series. It would be the last thing I'd normally pick up, but I'm doing my best to expand my horizons. This was actually very cute. A fun series for younger teens, about a boy who dreams of being "king of the pirates" but accidentally eats the fruit of the "Gum Gum tree" and becomes made of rubber but loses the ability to ever swim again (he'll drown/sink). Still, he goes on to conquer his dream with plucky determination. Readers will enjoy how things just keep managing to go his way.

Last but not least, Crimson Hero, volume 1, by Mitsuba Takanashi is another original manga series. This time, it's about a girl who loves volleyball more than anything else, but her mother is determined to have her follow in her footsteps as the hostess of a tea place (not sure of the proper terminology). I've read worse plots, but I really had a hard time keeping the characters straight with the black and white illustrations. Many of the guys looked similar and even some of them looked like girls! Otherwise, a decent book.