Thursday, December 22, 2011

"No Passengers Beyond This Point" by Gennifer Choldenko

Life is turned upside down when three siblings are forced to move. Their house has gone into foreclosure, and the bank is taking the house away. India, Finn and Switzerland, a.k.a. Mouse, are all named after countries their mom wanted to travel to. But times are harder now, there's no money to travel, and she is forced to send them to live with Uncle Red. Life is so unfair.

Uncle Red lives in Colorado, and India is put in charge of Finn and Mouse on the plane ride. All is going well, until the plane hits some serious turbulence. When they land, a car is waiting for them, and takes them to a strange city called Falling Bird. But there is no sign of Uncle Red anywhere. Everything in Falling Bird seems to be a little too perfect. They have whatever they desire, and people are so excited they are there. Certain things seem out of place, and they soon realize there are many questions left to be answered. Getting home, or even leaving Falling Bird, may not be as easy as they think.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

"Chime" by Franny Billingsley


“This isn’t a proper story, and I’m telling you, I ought to be hanged.” Briony is convinced she is a witch, and that her actions have cast evil upon her family. Her step-mother died and her twin sister is horribly ill, and Briony feels guilty for both. Years ago, Briony started a fire that destroyed the library in her family’s home, and everything she does seems to cast more hardship upon the ones she loves. Unfortunately, she can’t tell anyone she’s a witch, or else the local townspeople will hang her without mercy. Briony looks for solutions to her problems from the Old Ones, supernatural beings that haunt her local swamp. And when handsome Eldric comes to live in her village of Swampsea, Briony’s emotions overwhelm her and she’s forced to come to terms with her true identity.


Monday, December 12, 2011

"Paper Covers Rock" by Jenny Hubbard

Thomas, Glenn and Alex went to the river to relax, and escape some of the stress of their elite boarding school. Someone had a bottle of vodka, and all of them were drinking more than they should Someone bet Thomas to jump off the big rock. Glenn and Alex jumped, but when Thomas did, he didn't have enough clearance. What was supposed to be an afternoon of leisure, turned into one of horror, as Glenn and Alex realize their implication in their friend's untimely death. And they make a pact to not mention alcohol to school officials, in order to cover their tracks. But Alex is not dealing with his grief well. He starts a secret diary, which he keeps hidden in the school library. And his English teacher, Miss Dovecott, suspects he may not be sharing all he knows about the accident. Glenn and Alex devise a plot to get Miss Dovecott fired, and out of their business.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

"All These Things I've Done" by Gabrielle Zevin

Imagine not being able to buy chocolate or coffee! It's the year 2083 and the government has outlawed both. But Anya is able to get as much chocolate as she wants, since her family is involved in selling it on the black market. But when her ex-boyfriend is hospitalized by a bad batch of chocolate, Anya is wrongly charged with trying to poison him. When all of your relatives are criminals, people get suspicious! There is a new boy at school, Win, and Anya finds herself falling for him. The only (big) problem is that he's the District Attorney's son. And he doesn't want him family involved in anything criminal. This is the first installment in a new series called "Birthright."