Book Review: Ten by Gretchen McNeil

 
When high school senior's Minnie and Meg get invited to the party of the year, they have no doubts that this party will be the one everyone will be talking about for weeks to come.  It seems like the perfect scenario, an empty "McMansion" loaded with drinks and food, some of the hottest high school students, from the jocks to the beauty queens, and three fun days of music and partying.  When an unexpected storm hits the island, the teens suddenly feel secluded from the outside world and mother nature isn't the only one causing havoc on their party weekend.  When the teens decide to watch a mysterious DVD, a sinister message stating "Vengeance is mine" appears and the teens start dying  as their past and secrets catch up to them.  Alliances start to turn and everyone starts to suspect each other.  Can Meg and Minnie and the rest of the group figure out who the killer is before there's no one left alive? 


This re-imaging of the famous Agatha Christie novel, "And Then There Were None." is a very fast and suspenseful read.  If you're looking for a good "who done it" type of novel and don't mind reading this in the dark, this book is for you! I enjoyed how the identity of the killer wasn't given away, and this part kept me guessing till the very end.  There are some typical horror movie cliches in this book, but overall it was fun and suspenseful. 

Recommended Grade Level: 9-12

Genre: Mystery/Suspense

Pages: 294

This book review was written by Library Assistant, Dennis Kuhn.

Book Review: Zoe Letting Go by Nora Price

Elise,

I don't know why I've been driven from the city to the country early in the morning, still wearing my pajamas, with enough clothes packed for six weeks.  Why have I arrived at a gloomy old mansion surrounded by a garden of withered, tangled roses and spotted with foreboding birch and ominous oak trees?  It looks like I suddenly jumped across the pond and ended up in England instead of New England!

Why am I being put in a treatment facility with 5 other girls?  I don't look like them.  I don't act like them.  And I certainly don't have anything wrong with me - like them. 

They tell me I'm here to recover.  From what? 

They took my phone, which is one of the reasons I am writing these letters.  

It's a mystery to me.  I'm sure there has been some big mistake.    

Why?  I don't know, but I'm going to find out - and then I'm going to prove them wrong.   

Zoe


Gain insight into the mind of a girl grappling with an issue that she doesn't even know she has with this slow-moving mystery.  Follow the haunting words in Zoe's letters to her best friend to unravel the enigma that is Twin Birch as she shines a light on a condition that affects thousands of teens across the country, making it the third most common chronic illness for adolescents.  If you liked Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson or Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher, you will probably enjoy this title. 

Check it out in our new books section in the Teen Place!

Recommended Grade Level: 6-12

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Pages: 279

This book review was written by Youth Services and Adult Services Librarian, Chryssi Gumina.

Book Review: How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

When Jill’s father dies, her mother decides to adopt a baby from a pregnant teen whom she meets through an online website while they are still newly mourning.  Jill thinks it’s a bad idea and when Mandy comes to live with them in Colorado, Jill and her mother discover that certain details about the pregnancy were not told truthfully.  Jill is convinced that she needs to hire the intriguing R.J. Desai, a former high school classmate and Loss Prevention Associate for the bookstore where she works, to investigate and prove that Mandy is not trust-worthy.  Jill, who had become withdrawn from her friends after her father’s death, finds a new sense of purpose with this endeavor as well as a way to begin to connect to people who are still living again.  In the process, she becomes surprised by the turn of events and what she learns not only about Mandy, but also about herself. 

On the other hand, Mandy is trying to find salvation for her baby with a family who will not only want, but love and care for her – something her own mother was unable to give her.  However, this outcome would leave Mandy alone in the world without a familial bond.  As Mandy’s feelings for her unborn child grow, she not only questions if this is the best decision for her baby, but also who will save her or if she can save herself. 

Told through alternating chapters of narrating voices by the two teen girls, different perspectives emerge about the whole heart-wrenching situation.  This is the endearing story about the power of love, the struggle to define family, and how to survive loss.

Recommended Grade Level: 6-12

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Pages: 352

This book review was written by Adult Services Librarian, Chryssi Gumina.

eBook Review - The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges

Katerina Alexandrovna, the young Duchess of Oldenburg, otherwise know by her nickname "Katiya," spends her time like any ordinary teenager in her aristocratic position in late nineteenth century Russia would - attending the Smolny Institute for girls, dancing at balls, and waiting to become betrothed.  However, her own dreams conflict with women's roles in Russia under the rule of the tsar.  Katiya longs to pursue a career in medicine, which is not much of a secret to anyone who knows her; however, she does conceal a darker secret that she discovered as a young child: she is a powerful necromancer with the ability to raise the dead.  She has tried to keep this hidden from everyone, including her family, but when others learn of her gift, they want to harness it and use it to to their own evil advantage.  This is a story about Russia, based in well-researched history, that spins a tale of magical powers, light and dark faerie courts, and legends of blood drinkers...who may continue to exist beyond one's imagination after all. 

Check out this book in eLibraryNJ. (Available in Kindle and Adobe EPUB formats)

Recommended Grade Level: 5-12

Genres: Historical Fantasy Fiction

Pages: 400

Series: The Katerina Trilogy

This book review was written by Adult Services Librarian, Chryssi Gumina.

Book Review: Betrayal by Lee Nichols

Emma Vaile returns in the second installment of the Haunting Emma trilogy.  Just when things heat up with Bennet, he's gone again - just like the rest of her family.  At this point, she should have abandonment issues, but there is little time to dwell on obstacles in her love life when her evil enemy is still out there.  As if she doesn't have enough to worry about already, her classmates continue to ostracize her for the consequences in her last battle with Neos.  None of them are privy to the happenings of ghosts all around them, so they do not know the true story.

Emma's training resumes when the Knell, a secret society of ghostkeepers, sends new members to join her team - including a British man who acts as a guardian in Bennet's absence.  This time, Emma has a new weapon to fight Neos - her doppleganger's dagger.  She receives a warning that he has sent a siren though she is not sure what that means - YET.  Will she be lured away from protecting herself and her friends?  And will one of them turn out to be a traitor?  Can she find a way to finally show her classmates what really happened the night of the dance? 

Discover how the author still has a few tricks up her sleeves to astonish the reader at the end.

Recommended Grade Level: 7-12

Genre: Paranormal Suspense

Series: Haunting Emma, Book #2

Pages: 288

This book review was written by Adult Services Librarian, Chryssi Gumina.

Book Review - Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury

In nineteenth century London, Agnes Wilkins, a seventeen-year-old debutante, is invited to the first social event of the season at wealthy Lord Showalter's estate. However, the night's festivities include the unwrapping of an Egyptian mummy where artifacts that are found lead to break-ins within the community and suspicions of a mummy's curse. Agnes sneaks around with a handsome, but aloof, museum assistant to discover the mystery behind the artifact she unwraps. Is there really a supernatural phenomenon at work? Or merely a human being who will stop at nothing to recapture the relic with a secret message inside? This book includes romance, espionage, and a hint of Egyptian mythology that will appeal to fans of Jane Austen as well as those who enjoy historical fiction and mysteries.

Recommended Grade Level: 6-12

Genre: Historical Mystery

Pages: 320

This book review was written by Adult Services Librarian, Chryssi Gumina.

Book Review - The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Capaill uisce. The water horses. As beautiful as they are deadly, they emerge from the sea on the island of Thisby and once a year, in November, male jockeys ride them in the Scorpio Races – or attempt to ride them – if they live long enough to make it to the finish line. Riders include the reigning champion – Sean Kendrick and the unlikely hopeful – Kate (aka Puck) Connolly. Puck challenges preconceived notions that riders must be men when she registers for the race under her birth name. She further pushes the boundaries of tradition when she chooses to ride her own horse, Dove, instead of one of the capaill uisce. From the moment that Puck and Sean cross paths, there is a peculiar and unexpected attraction between these two very different people who eventually find that they have more in common than they think. Both are willing to fight for what they love, but at what cost if one (or both) lose?

Arising from the depths of Celtic mythology, Scorpio Races will appeal to those who aren’t in a rush to get to the finish lines of a book themselves, not for the number of pages, but for the slow pace that it takes to get there. Be forewarned: for a book about a horse race, the plot never reaches a gallop until the competition finally begins (and ends) in almost one chapter alone toward the conclusion of the story, but if you have the patience to see how the story slowly draws you in from the first to last page as it sets up the scene of the island, introduces the people who live there, and reveals how the history (and tragedy) of the past can bring two people together and slowly unfold something special between them, you will be rewarded with a story that will stay with you long after it ends.

There is no sequel and no plans for a series. This is a standalone novel. Because of the pattern of alternating narrating voices, each chapter is short and can be read fairly quickly. Descriptions of the island are balanced with plenty of dialogue, so don't be afraid to give it shot.

If you like it, let us know. If you don't like it, let us know too!

Recommended Grade Level: 7-12

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 416

This book review was written by Adult Services Librarian, Chryssi Gumina

Book Review - Deception by Lee Nichols

Six weeks after Emma Vaile's parents, owners of an antiquities store, suddenly leave in a hurry for what appears to be a business-related trip, a growing sense of the unimaginable sets in when she can't reach them: her parents have vanished, the manager of their shop has quit, and her brother is in another country. She is all alone and having visions that she hasn't had since "The Incident" when she was seven years old. As if seeing people that aren't really there was bad enough, touching an ancient relic that recently arrived in her parents' shop has Emma dizzyingly whisked away into visions of the past - someone else's past. The police are about to place her in a foster home when her brother's old college friend, Bennett, produces papers stating that Emma's parents gave him legal guardianship before they left. What she knew about her life fades into the distance on an airplane from San Francisco to Boston. Bennett drives her to Echo Point to stay at a museum his parents' own and enrolls her in the prestigious private school Thatcher Academy. It is here that she discovers her true identity and her family's relationship to the paranormal realm.

The first book in the Haunting Emma trilogy, Lee Nichol's debut YA novel is a refreshing change from the popularity of supernatural thrillers focused on vampires, werewolves, and zombies. It is a quick, light read with plenty of secrets to keep you curious and a surprise ending that leaves you wondering about the rest of the story that has yet to be told.

Recommended Grade Level: 7-12

Genre: Paranormal Suspense

Series: Haunting Emma, Book#1

Pages: 336

This book review was written by Adult Services Librarian, Chryssi Gumina.