Review of Salt by Maurice Gee

It’s been a while since I’ve read a fantasy I liked as much as this one. The opening scene where Hari’s father, Tarl, is being taken away to be a slave could be straight out of a historical fiction, except for the part where the guards use “their electric hands” to shoot “fizzing bolts” into the air. Is this science fiction? Then comes the part where Harl “sent a questing thread out from his mind to the horses, found them and whispered silently: Brother horse, sister horse, the black fly stings your rump,” causing the horses to lurch forward. Harl has been learning from Lo, an ancient prisoner, how to communicate with animals without using words and although he is unable to prevent his father being taken away, he does manage to escape himself. Another story is unfolding at the same time: Pearl, the daughter of a privileged family runs away to escape an arranged marriage, taking with her Tealeaf, the maid who has been teaching her to communicate wordlessly. It is inevitable (for the story, anyway) that two young people fleeing the same city should meet up in the countryside; what isn’t so obvious is that they would meet when Hari kills Pearl’s brother (who is seeking Pearl, but is only too happy to be sidetracked by hunting and killing a Burrows boy). And so the great adventure begins. Tealeaf knows that the children need each other, but she won’t tell them why. Tarl’s father has been taken to the most dangerous of the mines, Deep Salt, from which no one has ever returned. The quest to save Tarl turns into a race to save mankind from itself. In this first book of The Salt Trilogy there’s plenty of adventure, suspense, fighting and romance to keep most readers happy. Review by Stacy Church

It’s summer in Australia, you know!

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Come check out these books set in Australia:

Genius Squad and Evil Genius by Jinks

Jellicoe Road and Looking for Alibrandi by Marchetta

The Wolf by Herrick

The Sweet, Terrible, Glorious Year I Truly, Completely Lost It by Shanahan

Magic or Madness, Magic Lesson, Magic’s Child by Larbalestier

Things You Either Hate or Love and Follow the Blue by Lowry

The Murder of Bindy MacKenzie, The Spell Book of Listen Taylor, The Year of Secret Assignments by Moriarty

Undine by Russon

all of John Marsden’s books

After Summer by Earls

Saving Francesca by Marchetta

Fifteen Love by Corbet

The Divine Wind: A Love Story by Disher

Walkabout by Marshall

It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me…

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Come in to the Young Adult Dept. and check out some books about music:

Beige by Castellucci

LBD: It’s a Girl Thing by Dent

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Cohn & Levithan

Diva by Flinn

Born to Rock by Korman

Guitar Girl by Manning

Garage Band by Gipi (Graphic Novel)

Avril Lavigne's Make 5 Wishes (Graphic Novel)

New Books!!

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Check out the latest vampire books:

Vampire Kisses 4: Dance with a Vampire by Ellen Schreiber

When 11-year-old Valentine, younger brother of vampires Jagger and Luna, comes to Dullsville looking for them, he threatens goth-girl Raven's younger brother, Billy Boy, as well as her relationship with her vampire boyfriend, Alexander.

Vampire Kisses 6: Royal Blood by Ellen Schreiber

While fending off Trevor, her nemesis at school with whom she must work on an important project, sixteen-year-old Raven is distracted by finally meeting her vampire-boyfriend Alexander's parents and trying to foil their plan that could jeopardize her future with him.

Interested in the supernatural?  Take a look at these:

Sorceress by Celia Rees

In this sequel to Witch Child, 18-year-old Agnes, a Mohawk Indian who is descended from a line of shamanic healers, uses her own newly-discovered powers to uncover the story of her ancestor, a 17-century New England English healer who fled charges of witchcraft to make her life with the local Indians.

Devil’s Kiss by Sarwat Chadda

15-year-old Billi SanGreal has grown up knowing that being a member of the Knights Templar puts her in danger, but if she is to save London from catastrophe she must make sacrifices greater than she imagined.

Or how about a fairy tale?

Ash by Malinda Lo

In this variation on the Cinderella story, Ash grows up believing in the fairy realm that the king and his philosophers have sought to suppress, until one day she must choose between a handsome fairy cursed to love her and the King's Huntress whom she loves

Here’s a new science fiction:

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Sixteen-year-old Thomas wakes up with no memory in the middle of a maze and realizes he must work with the community in which he finds himself if he is to escape.

And lastly, a spy novel:

Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Sally Carter

When Cammie Morgan arrives at her friend Macey's five-star hotel for the Democratic National Convention, where Macey's father is about to receive the vice presidential nomination, she thinks she's in for an exciting end to her summer break. But if you're a Gallagher Girl, 'exciting' and 'deadly' are never far apart.

Review of Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan

It feels so strange to read a book about what happened on 9/11.  It’s been a while since I thought about what it felt like that day to be watching events unfold on the TV, but it sure came back when I started reading this book.  There are 5 parts: What Just Happened, The Next Hours and the Next Days, The Drown of Things and the Swim of Things, Hold Dear, and After; and each section is told in 3 voices: Claire, Jasper and Peter.  After awhile I did get tired of the sort of mystical-speak of one character in particular.  But, at least at the beginning, the voices of the kids rang very true and, like I said, brought back a lot of memories.  Definitely worth reading.  Review by Stacy Church

Review of King of the Screwups by K.L. Going

This is the latest book by K.L. Going, the author of one of my favorite YA books, Fat Kid Rules the World.  Liam Geller is the son of a fabulously wealthy and successful CEO and a formerly fabulous supermodel.  He himself, as the title says, is the King of the Screwups.  His father is abusive and neglectful, seemingly  seeing Liam as an extension of his wife, who he seems to loathe.  The only real insight into this situation comes from the short chapters recounting past events in Liam’s life.  Reading them makes you want to shake Liam and tell him to pay more attention to what has brought him to this point: being kicked out of the house after being caught by his father about to have sex on his desk while he and Liam’s mom are right downstairs.  Instead of getting shipped off to his grandparents (who seem to hate him as much as his father does), Liam’s mom arranges for him to go to his dad’s brother, who was ousted from the family 17 years ago for some unnamed transgression.  And so Liam finds himself living in a trailer park with a glam-rocker/night DJ he calls “Aunt Pete.”  Liam proves to himself that he’s still a screwup by immediately becoming popular in his new school despite his best efforts at being nerdy (joining the AV club, befriending the outsider girl who lives in the next trailer).  I love the description of Liam getting dressed for the first time in the trailer. “…I make a hundred trips back and forth to the tiny, filthy bathroom at the other end of the trailer.  I consider rushing, but getting ready is a ritual, so I do each thing carefully.  I shower, shave, moisturize, and choose cologne –the one that matches my mood – then put together the right clothes.  Nothing high fashion or anything –those are best left for the runway –just the brands and designs that will fit in but are interesting enough to catch people’s attention.  Getting ready is the only part of my day I can be sure I won’t screw up.”  It’s hard to believe that anyone could be so oblivious to the true nature of his situation as Liam is, but Pete and his friends do their best to get him to see his good qualities.  The book has a satisfying ending (which I won’t hint at, except to say that the dad loses out).  Review by Stacy Church

Poetry!

Not sure if you like poetry?  Here are a couple of unusual books to take a look at.

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The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano by Margarita Engle with art by Sean Qualls

Juan Francisco was born into the household of a wealthy slaveowner in Cuba in 1797, and spent his early years by the side of a woman who made him call her Mama, even though he had a mama of his own.  Denied an education, young Juan still showed an exceptional talent for poetry.   His verses reflect the beauty of his world, but they also expose its hideous cruelty.  In this book, Margarita Engle uses her own powerful, haunting verses to evoke the voice of the Poet Slave of Cuba.

The Spoken Word Revolution Redux edited by Mark Eleveld

In the tradition of The Spoken Word Revolution, Redux brings more of the gripping, moving, innovative, often hilarious poetry in the oral tradition.  75 minute CD of live poetry: slam, hip-hop, and musical interpretations.