This is two stories which seem to alternate, but come together magically at the end. A calico cat meets a hound dog and an unusual friendship begins. When Sabine and Puck are born to the calico cat, the four become an odd family. Gar Face is the owner of Ranger, the dog, is mean and causes tragedy to the new family. In the other story, a shape-shifting water serpent has been asleep in the Piney Woods mystical forest and is coming to life again. Although it seems like a typical animal story or a good versus evil story, it is more.

The cover is not fitting of the book. Keep in mind the old saying, “Don’t judge the book by it’s cover.”

There are two types of Vampires, Loners and Leaguers. Morning McCobb is a leaguer which means he doesn’t need to subsist on human blood. He is graduating from the IVLeague which is the International Vampire League. Since he is a vampire, he will remain sixteen forever which means his life will be moving from city to city and high school to high school (the only place for a sixteen year old). Birnam has another idea. His idea is for the leaguers to “come out” and let the world know they’re vampires. He wants to use Morning as an experiment. This is how morning becomes involved with Penny, his new PR (public relations) person and her daughter Portia (coincidentally a teenager like Morning). Penny, and Portia, take Morning to various talk shows and let’s Morning prove himself as a vampire. This is when the troubles begin. Is Morning able to keep from drinking human blood and stick to his Blood Lite (protein type blood drink)? Is the country ready to acknowledge there are vampires living amongst the public? Will the Loners appreciate the Leaguers trying to “come out”?

Honor doesn’t fit in with the other ‘H’ kids in her class. Part of the reason is because her name doesn’t start with the ‘H’ sound. This is not the only reason she doesn’t fit in. Her parents have had a second child which is not OK in this new community. The corporation has taken over this community and made life better by protecting people from the changes in weather. Although Honor doesn’t fit in, she does conform and is learning what the corporation wants her to learn in school. When she meets a boy Helix, she soon realizes his parents are nonconformists like hers, but his parents are taken away making him an orphan. What will happen to Honor and her little brother?

This book is recommended to those who liked City of Ember and/or The Giver. It is a futuristic novel.

Mastepiece

Marvin is a beetle who lives in James’ house. Although the two do not know each other at the beginning of the novel, they become a set of unusual friends, boy and bug. James’ mother is a bit overbearing as is his stepfather. His father is an artist who gives James a pen and ink set for his birthday. This is how Marvin, the beetle, enters into James’ life. This turns into a mystery concerning missing art. Readers will learn more about a famous artist (Durer) and follow the unlikely pair of friends on an adventure.

Mississippi (Mip) Beaumont is excited to be a teenager, excited to turn 13. When she turns 13, she will get her “savvy.” Her older brothers have already turned 13. Fish has the savvy of controlling water, rain and hurricanes. Rocket has control over electricity. Even their mom has the savvy to do things perfectly. Excitement grows for her party, and her savvy, until something horrible happens to Mip’s dad. Mip will not be around her entire family when her savvy comes, but maybe it will be able to help her dad. An adventure will ensue before anyone has the answers.

The Postcard

Jason is basically forced to go to Florida for his grandmother’s funeral even though he has never met his grandmother. He is sent with a directive from his mother to keep an eye on his father and make sure he doesn’t drink. As soon as he gets to Florida things get quite strange. The funeral if full of odd people, and he even gets strange phone calls. Of course his dad does drink. This conveniently leaves time for Jason to follow clues to a mystery with a girl from his grandmother’s neighborhood.

It may seem a bit strange, but it is a mystery in a mystery. The book, itself, is a mystery, but Jason also follows clues and reads letters (shown in the book) which are a mystery. Reading the letters and following the clues helps Jason solve the mystery of the letters helping with the mystery of the novel.

Mau was just returning from his coming-of-age experience and would be coming home to the island ceremony initiating him into manhood.  Daphne (real name Ermintrude) has escaped living with her very proper and controlling grandmother and was on the ship heading to be with her father on another British-owned island.  Then the tsunami hit and now they’re alone on the island, forced to learn each other’s language so they could help treat the other tsunami victims who found their way to the island.

I expected to read just another fantasy book by Terry Pratchett.  Instead I found a book that takes place in a parallel universe, and looks at what human beings can do when everything else is taken away, and all customs, traditions and rituals need to be examined for what they really mean.  When the anger Mau feels at his gods who might have caused the tsunami and the death of his people, he can open his eyes to other realities on his island, along with Daphne whose curiosity and accumulated knowledge help make sense of the secrets they find.

Lots of adventure, especially when the Raiders led by British mutineers arrive on the island to cause problems.  It’s a thick book but one I just couldn’t put down until it was done.  And now I’m left with much to think about when people can change how they see the everyday things around them.

Shift is a good name for this novel for three reasons: 1) It involves two teenagers who bike across the United States. 2) It shifts from bike trip (present) to college (future). 3) One of the characters could be considered “Shifty.” When Chris and Win graduate from college they decide to take bike (pedal) across the United States. Along this bike trip, Win leaves Chris. Chris continues on his own and returns in time for his first day of college. Suddenly the FBI is talking to Chris about Win’s location. Win has not been in contact with anyone, and his family is worried. Shift is a mystery in the sense that the reader must read and figure out what happened to Win and how Chris is involved. It is also a story of friendship, family, and most importantly adventure. The book also follows the teenagers bike adventure across the United States.

The Juvie Three by Gordan Korman

Gecko, who is incarcerated for driving a stolen get-away car, is surprised when a stranger comes to visit him in the juvenile detention center. This stranger, Mr. Healy, has “a deal” for Gecko. Instead of being in the detention center, he would be in a half-way house. Half-way between jail and freedom. As he leaves with Mr. Healy he is joined by two other juvenile delinquents, Terence and Arjay. The three will live together and depend on each other to stay “on the outside.” This is difficult for all three, especially Terence. Their lives are confined to school, group therapy, and community service. A nosy neighbor and a social worker who follows the rules, maybe a bit too closely, make life difficult for the three. They are also faced with challenges such as school and staying out of trouble. Life soon gets more complicated.

This is a quick read and an engaging book from the beginning to the end. Readers will not be disappointed as they follow these three on their adventures as they try to stay out of trouble.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

One can count one Neil Gaiman to come up with something weird and creepy. The Graveyard Book fits with his other books such as Coraline although I believe it is better than Coraline. As a baby Bod (Nobody) survives as his entire family is killed by Jack. He somehow escapes to a graveyard where is he is raised by its inhabitants who let him live in their tomb. The story takes Bad from a baby to a teen and follows his adventures as he lives in and sometimes leaves the graveyard. Jack, however, has been looking for Bod since he was an infant and appears to cause problems for Bod.