Don't Even Think About It

Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski, 319 pages

A group of New York City high school students develop telepathic powers after a strange flu shot.  The popular girl struggles to keep her secret from her boyfriend, while her best friend explores the feelings of her long-time crush.  Best of all, the quiet anxious wallflower stops worring about what people will think of her (she already knows) and learns to enjoy life!

I enjoyed following this supernatural soap-opera about teens who discover and explore their new telepathic abilities.  But I wish that the book reflected this diverse NYC school.  The three main female characters were white and middle class, just like the three girls on the cover.  I think this limits the appeal of this story.

Something Real

Something Real by Heather Demetrios, 416 pages

An ex-TV star finds her attempts to regain her private life derailed by a new season of her family’s Reality TV show.

I think I liked this better than A.S. King's Reality Boy. This is the story of a girl regaining control of her life from a controlling mother and a runaway TV show that used her as the Drama Magnet. Her blossoming relationship with her boyfriend is super sweet, but her friendship and solidarity with her brother really made this story stand out.

Hull Zero Three

Hull Zero Three by Greg Baer,  307 pages

A small band of humans on a long journey wake up to find themselves light years from known space, on a ship that has gone mad. The ship is an unmanned terraformer, designed to bring life to dead planets, but not to transport the living. Now, five humans find themselves struggling to understand how they came to be here and just where it is they are going. They must find a way to survive in these cold, dark halls, hunted by monsters out to kill them.

This is the first book I’ve read by Baer, but I loved it. The action was fast-paced, and the hero is a gentle teacher, kind and curious. His guide through the cold bleak ship world is a young girl who turns out to be intricately connected to the mystery of the ship’s problem. She tells him to find His Book, and when he does, the book explains many mysteries but creates even more questions. There were some bleak horror moments that I had to skim past. The surprise creepy twist is wonderful, and the ending is surprisingly happy.

Ghost Hawk

Ghost Hawk by Susan Cooper, read 275 out of 325 pages

At the end of a winter-long journey into manhood, Little Hawk returns to find his village decimated by a white man's plague and soon, despite a fresh start, Little Hawk dies violently but his spirit remains trapped, seeing how his world changes.

 I enjoyed the journey of Little Hawk, and, while sad when he dies 1/3 through, I also like the story of the English boy who witnessed his death. But when the story of that boy followed him into manhood and middle age, I lost interest. I love Susan Cooper, but this story needed better focus.