Reviewed by Teresa G (May 15, 2012)

Code Name Verity tells the dramatic story of two friends who find themselves in dire circumstances when an espionage mission to occupied France goes astray. Maddie, a tough, self-reliant pilot finds herself stranded in occupied France. She becomes a part of the local resistance unit and works to bring down the local Gestapo agency. Julie, a well-healed member of a prominent Scottish family, finds herself a prisoner of the local Gestapo agency and must reveal all she knows of British code and airfields. Both Maddie and Julie must rely on their wits and must take great risks in order to stay alive throughout their ordeal. Beautifully written, Code Name Verity paints an intimate portrait of WW II seen through the eyes of the brave women who actively worked as pilots and spys during the war. Elizabeth Wein gives the reader a perspective on the war that is not often portrayed. Lives are changed forever by the brutality of war and friendship sometimes means sacrificing everything for another.

Reviewed by Teresa G (May 15, 2012)

Read for May 2012 book discussion group. Liar is the intriguing story of a girl with a mysterious illness that sets her apart from others at her school. When her secret boyfriend, Zach, dies a brutal and violent death details about Micah's life begin to surface. But she is known to be a liar so is what she's saying really true? The consequences of her "illness" are graphically and realistically portrayed. The ending was too neatly tied up and seemed a bit rushed, but the first two-thirds of the book was engaging and kept me turning the pages. Did Micah kill Zach? You will have to decide for yourself after you finish reading Liar.

Reviewed by Tamoul Q (May 7, 2012)

Sequel to I am number Four. John Smith has learned quite a bit about his heritage in the last several months. Not only has he discovered that his home planet is Lorien, and that the men hunting him are called Mogadorians, he has learned something miraculous: he has pararnormal powers. Best of all, he isn’t alone. Number Six, (a street wise survivor with her own super skill set), and Miranda (number seven) now stand with him in their struggle to evade capture and death.

Aided by their loyal but completely human friends, the Loriens continue to move from place to place. Their powers are evolving but danger is never more than a slip away. Instead for waiting for the inevitable, the teens decided to change tactics and take the fight to their enemies.

Reviewed by Bashir H (Apr 27, 2012)

Though a little slow in the beginning, the book offers a very poignant view of class systems and our indulgence in "Reality Television" with a twist towards the macabre. The characters are well written, but keep in mind it's teen fiction, so the chapters are short and written with a juvenile perspective. A great, quick read. The second book builds off the first, picking up where it left off and is even better than the first.

Reviewed by Tamoul Q (Apr 27, 2012)

Graphic Novel movie tie-in to the Disney hit John Carter of Mars. In snappy text and color- packed graphics this story follows the ex-confederate soldier as he is whisked from the earth to the world of Barsoom. Pitted against the might of a tyrant, Carter helps to free the oppressed natives of Mars. In the process, he finds Barsoom to be the one place where his life has meaning. Amid the battles and hardships, John finds the one element he never dreamed to possess –love.

Reviewed by Teresa G (Apr 16, 2012)

What I Was is a meditation on a life, a life that was forever changed by one person. Hilary has spent many rebellious years getting thrown out of boarding school. When he comes to St. Oswald's he expects his life there to be more of the same, and, in many ways, it is. But, while out running with a class he sees a young man with whom he becomes obsessed. Finn lives a life of freedom that Hilary can only dream about. Finn is self-sufficient and has managed to become invisible and, thus, does not have to attend school or participate in a life like Hilary's which is profoundly ordinary and suffocating. Finn works in the village, catches fish and crabs to sell in town, and has no one to answer to. In Finn, Hilary sees what he wants to be, an idealized life he cannot have. The stulifying atmosphere of the boarding school and his cold, dispassionate family crushes Hilary's spirit. Soon Hilary is devising ways to spend more and more time sneaking away from St. Oswald's in order to be with Finn. Tragedy ensues as a consequence of Hilary's selfish behavior, but there is no going back. What I Was is more than a novel about life-shaping events. While others believe they understand what happened between Hilary and Finn, the only people who actually KNOW what has happened are Hilary and Finn. Truth, we suppose is irrefutable and absolute. Looking back on his life, Hilary learns that truth is anything but absolute and irrefutable. At the heart of this book is a meditation on memory and on what happens when people invest themselves in what they believe to be true.

Reviewed by Teresa G (Dec 1, 2011)

I liked this book's setting--a dairy farm in Wisconsin. I liked this book's main character--D.J. Schwenk, a teenage girl who is doing the bulk of the farm work while her father recuperates from an injury. I liked the unusual relationship between D.J. and a football hunk from the rival team. Brian comes to the farm at the behest of his coach, jimmy Ott, a longtime friend of the Schwenk family. Brian, the privileged only child of a wealthy family, has talent but needs an attitude adjustment. He learns about team work and work in general as he spends time with D.J. over the summer. D.J. whose two older brothers were star football players, knows football inside out. She agrees to train Brian to get him ready for the upcoming football season. During the process D.J. realizes she loves the game of football and decides to try out for her school's football team. She has spent her life doing what she must to keep the farm going, doing what she must to keep harmony in her family. She compares herself to the cows she tends. Playing football is a way to escape the endless rut she is in. D. J. is a unique and well-developed character. She carries this book. As someone who has no interest in football I found the last third of the book pretty boring as it centers on D. J.'s work with the football team and the annual scrimmage game between D. J.'s school and Brian's school.

Reviewed by Jamie W (Nov 28, 2011)

In this debut novel, two young people, a boy and a girl, are unknowingly bound by their dueling magician guardians to a life-or-death contest of magical skill. The venue for their rivalry is a traveling, enchanted circus that first appears, unannounced, in an empty field at the close of 19th Century. As they grow and mature, the young magicians are drawn together and inevitably fall in love. As the novel reaches is its exciting close, they discover their tragic common bond and must then try to save the circus and each other before it's too late. While the plot here is sure to appeal to fans of Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell and the Harry Potter series, it is the circus itself, with its enigmatic black and white striped tents, awe inspiring illusions, and cast of enchanting performers that steals the show. Erin Morgenstern has succeeded in creating a world so imaginative, so appealing, and so captivating that at times it threatens to eclipse the plot of her story. It hardly matters though, as each page presents us with a fresh opportunity to plunge into a setting every bit as inventive and richly detailed as J.K. Rowling's Hogwarts.

Reviewed by Jeff B (Oct 24, 2011)

An uncommon read which is witty, economical, inscrutable, and by turns brash, unforgettable and utterly delightful. The ending will cause you to exclaim, "Oh, Snap!" Because Her Majesty is like that. If you didn't know that before starting this gem of a read, you will most assuredly come to that realization by the time you reach the all-too quickly arrived at fini.

Reviewed by Jeff B (Oct 24, 2011)

Applying the determination, persistance, and creativity people will apply to game-playing to the resolution of real life crises and issues will most likely solve those problems in short order, according to Jane McGonigal. Put another way, if the experts, politicians, and world leaders had the same attitude that gamers bring to their games, the world would be a much cleaner, safer, and better place. She lists real life examples of this in Part III such as "The Lost Ring" for the purpose of involving more of the world population in the World Olympics and "Evoke" for the purpose of resolving broad issues and concerns on the African continent.See http://olympics.wikibruce.com/home and www.urgentevoke.com respectfully. McGonigal postulates that the social media site Foursquare is in reality a life-management game. Something to think about. And that's why I loved this book, it was wide-eyed inspirational and really sparked the imagination.