Review: The Angel Experiment

Title: Maximum Ride

Author: James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Series: Maximum Ride Series

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Publish Date: May 5th, 2006

Genres: Children’s Literature (Middle Grades), Adventure

Six unforgettable kids — with no families, no homes — are running for their lives. Max Ride and her best friends have the ability to fly. And that’s just the beginning of their amazing powers. But they don’t know where they come from, who’s hunting them, why they are different from all other humans… and if they’re meant to save mankind — or destroy it.

Review: Rebel Sands

Title: Rebel of the Sands

Author: Alwyn Hamilton

Series: Rebel of the Sands

Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers

Publish Date: March 8th, 2016

Genres: Young Adult, Magic, Fantasy, Adventure, Romance

She’s more gunpowder than girl—and the fate of the desert lies in her hands.

Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mystical beasts still roam the wild and barren wastes, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinni still practice their magic. But there’s nothing mystical or magical about Dustwalk, the dead-end town that Amani can’t wait to escape from.

Destined to wind up “wed or dead,” Amani’s counting on her sharpshooting skills to get her out of Dustwalk. When she meets Jin, a mysterious and devastatingly handsome foreigner, in a shooting contest, she figures he’s the perfect escape route. But in all her years spent dreaming of leaving home, she never imagined she’d gallop away on a mythical horse, fleeing the murderous Sultan’s army, with a fugitive who’s wanted for treason. And she’d never have predicted she’d fall in love with him… or that he’d help her unlock the powerful truth of who she really is.

Review: The Wrecking Crew

Title: The Wrecking Crew

Author: Taylor Zajonc

Series: none

Publisher: Blank Slate Press

Publish Date: February 23rd, 2016

Genres: Adult, Adventure

In exchange for his freedom from a secret Moroccan prison, deep-water salvage diver Jonah Blackwell agrees to lead a covert search for a missing research team in the dangerous coastal waters of Somalia, an area plagued by pirates and a deadly red tide killing all marine life within its reach. But when his expedition threatens the ambitions of billionaire industrialist Charles Bettencourt, Jonah’s survival depends on hijacking a hostile submarine and assembling an unproven crew who must simultaneously investigate the source of a mysterious oceanic plague and face down Bettencourt’s commandos.

Review: Madly

Title: Madly

Author: Amy Alward

Series: Potion series

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publish Date: September 29th, 2015

Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Adventure, Young Adult, Romance

When the Princess of Nova accidentally poisons herself with a love potion meant for her crush, she falls crown-over-heels in love with her own reflection. Oops. A nationwide hunt is called to find the cure, with competitors travelling the world for the rarest ingredients, deep in magical forests and frozen tundras, facing death at every turn.

Enter Samantha Kemi – an ordinary girl with an extraordinary talent. Sam’s family were once the most respected alchemists in the kingdom, but they’ve fallen on hard times, and winning the hunt would save their reputation. But can Sam really compete with the dazzling powers of the ZoroAster megapharma company? Just how close is Sam willing to get to Zain Aster, her dashing former classmate and enemy, in the meantime?

And just to add to the pressure, this quest is ALL OVER social media. And the world news.

No big deal, then.

ARC Review: House of Eight Orchids

 

Title: House of Eight Orchids

Author: James Thayer

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Publish Date: January 5th 2016

Genres: Adventure, Historical Fiction

In 1912, John Wade and his brother, William—children of the American consul—were kidnapped off the street in Chungking, China, and raised in the house of Eunuch Chang, the city’s master criminal. Twenty-five years later, John is the eunuch’s most valuable ward, a trained assassin and swindler, and William has become a talented forger. On the brink of World War II, China is in chaos. When William betrays Eunuch Chang and escapes to central China, a place of ferocious warlords and bandits, John begins a desperate search to save his brother, while Eunuch Chang hunts them both.

Review: Angelfall

Title: Angelfall

Author: Susan Ee

Series: Penryn & the End of Days Series

Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton

Publish Date: May 23rd, 2013

Genres: Adventure, Dystopian, Young Adult

It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco where she’ll risk everything to rescue her sister and he’ll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

Review: Article 5

Title: Article 5

Author: Kristen Simmons

Series: Article 5 Series

Publisher: Tor Teen

Publish Date: January 31st, 2012

Genres: Dystopian, Action/Adventure, Young Adult, Romance

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don’t come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren’t always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard for her to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It’s hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings—the only boy Ember has ever loved.

Review: I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You

Title: I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You

Author: Ally Carter

Series: The Gallagher Girls

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Publish Date: May 1, 2006

Genres: Adventure, Middle School, Fiction

Cammie Morgan is a student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a fairly typical all-girls school-that is, if every school taught advanced martial arts in PE and the latest in chemical warfare in science, and students received extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class. The Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses but it’s really a school for spies. Even though Cammie is fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways, she has no idea what to do when she meets an ordinary boy who thinks she’s an ordinary girl. Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, or track him through town with the skill of a real “pavement artist”-but can she maneuver a relationship with someone who can never know the truth about her?

Cammie Morgan may be an elite spy-in-training, but in her sophomore year, she’s on her most dangerous mission-falling in love.

Review: The Curse of the Gloamglozer

Title: The Curse of the Gloamglozer

Author: Paul Stewart, Chris Riddell (illustrations)

Series: Edge Chronicles

Publisher: Corgi Childrens

Publish Date: July 6th, 2006 (originally 2001)

Genres: Middlegrade/Children, Fantasy, Adventure

In the floating city of Sanctaphrax, fusty old professors scheme and bicker with each other as they study the weather in minute detail – mistshifting, fogprobing, researching the air blowing in from beyond the Edge. But some experiments are best left alone…

Quint is the son of a sky pirate captain. He arrives in Sanctaphrax at the request of Linius Pallitax, the Most High Academe, who needs an apprentice he can trust to carry out a series of highly important tasks. Just how important, Quint is about to find out as he and Linius’s only daughter, Maris, are plunged into the midst of a terrifying adventure that takes them deep within the rock upon which Sanctaphrax is built.

Review: Altered

Title: Altered

Author: Jennifer Rush

Series: Altered Series

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Publish Date: January 1st, 2013

Genres: Young Adult, Sci-Fi, Adventure

When you can’t trust yourself, who can you believe?

Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who has stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them.

Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities.

Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

Review: Obsidian

Title: Obsidian

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Series: Lux Series

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Publish Date: May 8th, 2012

Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Supernatural, Young Adult

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring… until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something… unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don’t kill him first, that is.

Review: Dorothy Must Die

Title: Dorothy Must Die

Author: Danielle Paige

Series: Dorothy Must Die Series

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publish Date: April 1st, 2014

Genres: Adventure, Retellings, Young Adult

I didn’t ask for any of this. I didn’t ask to be some kind of hero.

But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado – taking you with it – you have no choice but to go along, you know?

Sure, I’ve read the books. I’ve seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little bluebirds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can’t be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There’s still a yellow brick road – but even that’s crumbling.

What happened? Dorothy.

They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.

My name is Amy Gumm – and I’m the other girl from Kansas.

I’ve been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked.

I’ve been trained to fight.

And I have a mission.

Review: All Fall Down

Title: All Fall Down

Author: Ally Carter

Series: Embassy Row Series

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Publish Date: January 20th, 2015

Genres: Young Adult, Adventure, Mystery

A new series of global proportions — from master of intrigue, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Ally Carter.

This exciting new series from NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Ally Carter focuses on Grace, who can best be described as a daredevil, an Army brat, and a rebel. She is also the only granddaughter of perhaps the most powerful ambassador in the world, and Grace has spent every summer of her childhood running across the roofs of Embassy Row.

Now, at age sixteen, she’s come back to stay–in order to solve the mystery of her mother’s death. In the process, she uncovers an international conspiracy of unsettling proportions, and must choose her friends and watch her foes carefully if she and the world are to be saved.

Review: Clockwork Angel

Title: Clockwork Angel

Author: Cassandra Clare

Series: The Infernal Devices Series

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry

Publish Date: August 21st, 2010

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy, Adventure, Supernatural

In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them.

Review: Allegiant

Title: Allegiant

Author: Veronica Roth

Series: The Divergent Series

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Publish Date: October 22nd, 2013

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy, Adventure

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered–fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature–and of herself–while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Timesbest-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

Review: Insurgent

Title: Insurgent

Author: Veronica Roth

Series: The Divergent Series

Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books

Publish Date: May 1st, 2012

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy, Adventure

Insurgent is a 2012 science fiction young adult novel by American novelist Veronica Roth, the second book in the Divergent trilogy. As the sequel to the 2011 bestseller Divergent, it continues the story of Tris Prior and the dystopian post-apocalyptic version of Chicago. Following the events of the previous novel, a war now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. While trying to save the people that she loves, Tris faces questions of grief, forgiveness, identity, loyalty, politics, and love.

The book was first published on May 1, 2012 by the HarperCollins imprints Katherine Tegen Books in the U.S. and HarperCollins Children’s Books in the U.K, a “Collector’s Edition” was published on October 30 in the United States. Insurgent received mostly positive reviews from critics, with reviewers praising Roth’s writing.

Review: Requiem

Title: Requiem

Author: Lauren Oliver

Series: The Divergent Series

Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books

Publish Date: January 1st, 2013

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Adventure, Dystopian, Fantasy

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has transformed. The nascent rebellion that was underway in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight. After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven. Pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels.

As Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain of the Wilds, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor. Requiem is told from both Lena and Hana’s points of view. They live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.

Review: Gone

Title: Gone

Author: Michael Grant

Series: Gone Series

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Publish Date: June 24th, 2008

Genres: Young Adult, Dystopian, Adventure

The first in New York Times bestselling author Michael Grant’s breathtaking dystopian, sci-fi saga, Gone is a page-turning thriller that invokes the classic The Lord of the Flies along with the horror of Stephen King.

In the blink of an eye, everyone disappears. Gone. Except for the young.

There are teens, but not one single adult. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what’s happened.

Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day. It’s a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: On your birthday, you disappear just like everyone else…

Michael Grant’s Gone as been praised for its compelling storytelling, multidimensional characters, and multiple points of view.

Review: Prodigy by Marie Lu

Title: Prodigy

Author: Maire Lu

Series: The Lengend Series

Publisher: G. P. Putnam’s Sons

Publish Date: January 29th, 2013

Genres: Post Apocalyptic, YA, Dystopian

Injured and on the run, it has been seven days since June and Day barely escaped Los Angeles and the Republic with their lives. Day is believed dead having lost his own brother to an execution squad who thought they were assassinating him. June is now the Republic’s most wanted traitor. Desperate for help, they turn to the Patriots – a vigilante rebel group sworn to bring down the Republic. But can they trust them or have they unwittingly become pawns in the most terrifying of political games?

Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Title: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Author: J.K. Rowling

Series: The Harry Potter Series

Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books

Publish Date: July 21st, 2007

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure

Harry is waiting in Privet Drive. The Order of the Phoenix is coming to escort him safely away without Voldemort and his supporters knowing – if they can. But what will Harry do then? How can he fulfill the momentous and seemingly impossible task that Professor Dumbledore has left him?
The epic finale to an epic series.