Shelter: a Mickey Bolitar Novel

Shelter : a Mickey Bolitar Novel by Harlen Coban

Life hasn't played fair with Mickey – his mother has fallen apart after the death of Mickey's father. She became a drug addict and is in a rehab facility. His father and his uncle got into a huge fight years ago, but he's the only relative that can give Mickey a home. And as a result, as a sophomore, he's starting a new school. The only thing that makes life tolerable is a girl he's met, named Ashley.

The janitor's son has keys to all the doors in the school. He helps Mickey find out where Ashley lives and when he goes to her house, the people there have never heard of her. Then they decide to scan the security tapes by her locker. The tapes reveal a tattooed man breaking into Ashley's locker. They trace the man through his tattoos and all hell breaks loose.

Aside of the mystery which is excellent, I loved reading about his relationships with Ema, a fat goth girl and Spoon, the janitor's son, who always has some odd factoid to begin every conversation. They balance out his being gorgeous and a great basketball player.

The Silence of Murder 
by Dandi Daley Mackall

Hope Long and her brother Jeremy are being raised by an abusive alcoholic mother. Jeremy stopped talking years ago after being slapped hard by his mother. His one joy is working at the stables where he can hang out with Coach Johnson. The coach has even gotten him a Panther's uniform and his own special wooden baseball bat.

When the Coach is found dead at the stables, suspicions become indictments and Jeremy is arrested and put on trial for the murder. He was seen leaving the stables covered in blood, holding his bloody baseball bat. No one knows Jeremy as well as Hope. She knows his sweet nature and that he loved the coach. There must be some other explanation, but can she find it before he's sent to jail or to a mental hospital?

Kill You Last 

      by Todd Strasser

Have to read more of his books, if this one is a sample of his writing. Shelby has a spoiled rich girl's life  thanks to her  father's fashion photography business.  However, he's never home which has affected her parent's marriage. Her luxury life style isn't enough to sustain her when there are three missing girls in the area and they all had their model portfolio pictures taken at her Dad's. Soon their life is shattered as reporters stalk the family and the police search his studio. Shelby believes him and looks at the people who work at the studio - Janet and Gabriel. The first missing girl's body is found. She's been murdered. And Shelby gets weird texts from vengeance13773288gmail.com. Wre I 2 die today, my dying wish would B 2 C Ur dad get what he deserves. She doesn't know what to believe especially when she discovers her Dad has been scamming girls her age.

The Name of the Star: Shades of London
            by Maureen Johnson


I almost gave up reading this book when I saw Book One on the title page.  I won't read a book that leaves me hanging. I flipped, skipped through the book and then slowed down and read, when I discovered it's a complete story, in and of itself.

Rory Deveaux accompanies her parents to England, where they are going to work and she is going to a boarding school in London. At the same time, someone mimicking Jack the Ripper's killings is on the loose in the city quite near her school. 
She settles into the routine of school and into a relationship with Jerome, a senior student. He takes her and her roommate Jazza to the scene of the second murder. There Rory bumps into a strange gentleman who is astonished when she apologizes to him. Later, looking out her window, she catches a glimpse of something or someone, but when she looked again, it was gone. 
She doesn't realize it, but everything changes for her after she has a near death experience. She and Jazzy sneak out one night and return to the dorm at 2:00 a.m. The same man appears as she's sneaking back in. He says, "Should you be doing that?"to which she replies "It's okay, I go here." He says "good night, girls" and walks off. Rory has a problem - Jazzy did not see the creepy man even though he was right there. From here, the book takes off a supersonic speed and you won't be able to put it down.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

It doesn't really matter that this is the first book. Why? This one will keep you reading for hours. The next one is The Evolution of Mara Dyer. There is book three in the works. 

It is also paranormal and a romance in addition to the mystery Mara tries to figure out. It concerns her. While exploring a closed insane asylum, the ancient building collapses, killing three of her friends and sending her into a coma for five days. She has post traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) and it's so bad the entire family moves to a different city in a different state. She is trying to remember what happened, that night but can't. Then weird things start happening. She looks in a mirror and sees her best friend's face. She comes home from a dance one night and things in the house have been moved, the bath she started has been turned off and she sees her earrings appear on the bottom of the tub.

She and her brother have transferred to an elite private school. On her first day, she enters her Algebra class and distinctly sees the walls collapsing in front of her and she falls to the floor to avoid a falling light.  Of course, it wasn't happening and everyone thinks she's weird and avoids her. 

Except this one very tall, slim beautiful boy. She's heard he's a heartbreaker and she resists getting involved, but she does. He cares for her. Even when it appears that she has killed her Spanish teacher just by imagining her choking to death. Maybe it's a coincidence. Or maybe not.

SHINE by Lauren Myracle

She is a miracle.  She has written a book that gives intimate portraits of life for teens in a distressed small town. It's a community where the industry has departed and meth is the preferred way of dealing with depression. The main character, Cat, had a traumatic experience three years ago and rather than telling about it, she has withdrawn from her friends. Especially painful was withdrawing from her best friend Patrick, unable to let him know her shameful secret.
As the book starts, Patrick has been a victim of a hate crime. He's in a coma. The fact that he was gay has been known in the community for a long time, but no one seemed especially vindictive towards him. Cat tries to make up for the time she abandoned him by trying to find out who did this. ]Among the suspects are: the meth dealer Wally; the group her brother Christian hangs around with: Beef, Tommy ( who she hates for a very good reason), Dupree, and Bailee-Ann; and perhaps some college boys passing through that Patrick pissed off by not selling them beer. She needs to do this because the sheriff will only to pretend to investigate. She is warned to drop it by almost everyone.
My synopsis sells the book short. I don't post many books because they don't live up to a great YA mystery. This one does.
Go to this website to see why the National book award committee screwed up by nominating her for a National book award.
http://www.salon.com/2011/10/18/the_national_book_award_nominee_that_wasnt/

What a shame that the label on the spine says Historical when it should say Mystery. Yes, it takes place during World War II. Yes, it has great descriptions of the clothes e.g. zoot suits and saddle shoes. Yes,  there are tons of things that are signs of the times. But it's a mystery, and a good one.

Iris's father is trying to run his own detective agency, but he's hindered, having lost part of one leg in the war. He can't walk fast or climb lots of stairs. Iris decides to help him out. She succeeds and instead of being grateful, he is irate. "You're a child. Be a child." She tries to be good, but can't. One of her father's new cases is about Tom Barney, someone she just met at her new high school. He's missing.

She starts hanging around with Tom's old crowd, a fast crowd, hoping to get information. She gets one piece that stuns her. Her former friend Grace dated him just before he disappeared. Iris, no longer attends an expensive private school as they are living on the edge of poverty. Grace is one of those rich girls from the upper east side of Manhattan. How did she meet Tom?

She ends up really liking the people in Tom's crowd. They take her to Harlem to dance at the Savoy, lending her their clothes and make-up. However, the lies she told to get into the crowd, catch up to her just as she's beginning to discover what she needs.

t's been quite awhile since I posted. Now that I look at the blog, I see it's missing something. I discovered that I need to hear your favorites.

Kiss Me, Kill Me by Lauren Henderson

Scarlett Wakefield is dying to kiss Dan McAndrew. Unfortunately, after kissing Scarlett, Dan starts wheezing, choking and then dies in Scarlett's arms. Scarlett is blamed by everyone, including herself and can no longer attend the private school with a powerful clique headed by Plum. She's forced to change to the private school her grandmother runs in order to escape the constant bullying.
This isn't a happy place for her as she has to live with her aunt who finds any interaction with Scarlett, painful. And there's a hot guy that she doesn't dare kiss.
 Then one day she finds a note in her desk that says "It wasn't your fault." She needs to find out who wrote the note and what they know so that she can clear her name. It's only then that she may be able to forgive herself.

image fromhttp://www.tumblr.com/tagged/lauren-henderson

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart

Okay, so it's not thought of as YA, but I think anyone of any age would love it.  The four main characters have special gifts, but not unbelievable out-of-the-realm of reality gifts - e.g. Sticky has a photographic memory: Kate who is exceptionally fast and carries a bucket filled with a variety of things that help them on their quest. Their mentor Mr. Benedict has been captured by the evil Mr. Curtain.  Without parental permission, they sneak away.  Originally they were to follow clues that Mr. Benedict left for them.  This would lead them to a wonderful mysterious location where they would have a holiday with him.  They decide to follow the clues, thinking they will lead to his last location. They have a small problem, these bad guys - the ten men -are after them.  In a Dr. Who-ish way, they have devices of torture that they use to stun, incapacitate, kill, etc. They dress like business men with brief cases, but they have hidden things of destruction, e.g. large silver watches under their shirt cuffs.  They have electric wires which come out and deliver severe shocks.  How will they escape from the Salamander, a huge tank, driven by smartest of the ten men, McCracken? And more more more

Listen by Nancy Cofelt

Brilliant depiction of three separate characters whose lives intertwine.  Kurt lives with his grandmother and his intent in life is to get enough money so he can travel to live with his father.  And he hasn't heard from him in months.  He meets Carrie who appears normal to him when he first meets her. She wants to rescue neglected animals.  A godsend - she will pay him for every neglected animal he brings her.  It appears normal that she talks to her animals, but Kurt doesn't pick up that she hears them talking to her.
Will, a good student, whose brother is in jail, lives by himself. He's dropped all his friends. He becomes Kurt's tutor.
Things gradually unravel for all three.  Kurt brings a dog to Carrie and sees that this dog isn't really neglected and is unhappy at her house. Will dislikes Kurt at first, but then sees him out late at night in a strange location.  He doesn't know if he should get involved.  And Carrie is getting stranger and stranger. Then there's a neglected baby.  And Carrie rescues her.

photo of cover from http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Listen/Nancy-Coffelt/e/9781934813072

Buried by Robin Merrow MacCready

It's a fascinating look at someone disintegrating with little clues along the way.  Claudine's mom has disappeared and she's handling things by organizing her empty home - cleaning, vacuuming, but there's that reddish spot near the door.  She starts using post-it notes with reminders of what she has to do, but gradually this A+ student starts remembering to clean but not about the big test on Monday.
Spoiler alert.  Don't read any further in case you want to read this book.

Of course I wish I was published, but none-the-less as a writer, I have to critique two things.
1. The teachers that don't notice her raw red hands, her dirty clothes, etc.  Must suspend disbelief and plow on.
2. No way she could be at her mother's funeral after being in the shape she eventually was in.  I'm not sure that denial of that magnitude goes away in two weeks.....

image from http://www.richardsonsbooks.com/shop_image/product/9780142411414.jpg

Madapple by Christina Meldrum

Confession.  This book made me so nervous, I skipped pages and read the ending.  I rarely do this - honest. Aslaug is being raised by her brilliant, troubled mother who keeps her totally isolated from the rest of the world.  They spend time collecting herbs, preparing them for medicine or food. Aslaug has been taught Danish, Sanscrit, Greek, world religions and mythology, but nothing prepares her for the reality that faces her when her mother dies.
The book is arranged in alternating chapters of court testimony against Aslaug for the murders of three people and the real story of Aslaug's life as she tells it.  The story builds and builds suspense and worry.  Try to resist skipping to the end like me, and hold on for the truly fascinating story.

Jude by Kate Morgenroth

This is a terrific page turner as long as you can overlook one thing - he's still alive even though he was there when his father was gunned down.  Then settle in for a character you can admire and see what happens to him when he goes to jail.  His mother's good friend persuades Jude that if he goes to jail for a crime he didn't commit, it will ensure his mother staying state's attorney and help her in her run for mayor.\  It will make her look good because she is willing prosecute her own son. He's willing for his mother to despise him, until the truth comes out. Unfortunately, the friend appears helpless to lessen Jude's sentence as he had promised.

Paper Town by John Green

Must confess - this is one of my favorite YA books, mystery or regular fiction.  And if you want a hilarious version of what the book is about go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5ppwMTErrc and watch John Green tell you.  As a matter of fact, go see all of them. I think there are at least 5.
Margo Roth Spiegelman is the next door neighbor to Quentin "Q" Jacobson.  They have been friends until junior high, but not since she became the most popular girl at their high school.  "Q" and his two buddies aren't.  When she shows up at his window one night and asks him to drive her around while she does preposterous things involving large dead fish and hair remover.  Then she disappears, leaving clues which Quentin follows.  The biggest is paper towns which are towns which don't exist but listed on maps.  Go on the journey, it is sooooh worth it.

What I Saw and How I lied by Judy Blundell

What genre is this book?  Suspense, mystery, romance, coming of age, realistic, family, racial relations?  The novel has them all, intricately woven in a fast moving plot.  It's worth rereading just to get all of it. The main character, Evie (Evelyn) didn't see but she figures it out.
Her mother is gorgeous and in comparison, Evie feels that next to her she's"like wallpaper as usual".  All of a sudden there's a "fun" vacation to Florida that doesn't quite seem like a vacation. It starts after some strange phone calls.  While in Florida, she is taken shopping for clothes suitable for her age 15 going on 16.  When she appears in one of her new dresses, her moonlight dress, her mother makes Evie go upstairs and change into her regular clothes - plain pink dress with lace around the collar.  What's that about? Then her stepfather becomes a different person - drinking heavily, grouchy.  What's going on?  Read and find out.

IMAGE from http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://lahslibrary.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/what-i-saw.jpg&imgrefurl=http://lahslibrary.wordpress.com/2012/08/06/what-i-saw-and-how-i-lied-by-judy-blundell/&h=600&w=406&sz=28&tbnid=vvII8txUZ20MOM:&tbnh=186&tbnw=125&zoom=1&usg=__3V40BJnCtt_hBjWUgRTOEvVf8h8=&docid=rTtQvZVBmEzxiM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ZGXfUKSRC4yXqAHNioCYBg&ved=0CDMQ9QEwAA&dur=140

Reality Check by Peter Abrahams

Sorry I've missed his other two YA books - Down the Rabbit Hole and Lights Out.  I instantly bonded with the main character, Cody, as he struggles with a bad home life and not much money.  His girlfriend Clea is at the other end of the socio-economic ladder, she's rich.  She gets a bad grade and her father removes her from this small town high school and sends her to an elite school out east.  Cody leaves home when he finds out she's missing and can't be found.  He arrives in the small Vermont town and starts searching.  What makes this book interesting is that it constantly shifts who is good and who isn't. Just when you think you know who the good guys are, Abrahams stirs things up.

Sophomore Undercover by Ben Esch

Wow.  A book that makes you laugh out loud.  And even though you know some of it is preposterous, it's easy to relax and see where is the author taking you next.  Dixie Nguyen, small for his age, has been adopted by a family that loves him - however, his brother is a football player and his father is a cop - so he isn't an easy fit.  He witnesses one jock injecting another jock with a hypodermic needle and Dixie has decided that this will be the story of the decade for him in the school newspaper.
Unfortunately he is tackled by one of the security guards before he can hide the syringe.  The security guard ends up with the needle sticking out of his neck and Dixie is up to his neck in it.  Soon he is destined to be sent away to a 3 month outdoor camp to cure him and he needs to prove his innocence in less than a week.
My favorite of his adventures:  sneaking under the bleachers trying to get the drug packet out of the jeans of the jock.  Yes he does get his hand in the pants, but then ...  Of course, there's always the scene with him in a bar with a fake beard, and I could go on and on.