The Rose Society

The Rose Society by Marie Lu, 395 pages

“Once upon a time, a girl had a father, a prince, a society of friends. Then they betrayed her, and she destroyed them all. Adelina Amouteru's heart has suffered at the hands of both family and friends, turning her down the bitter path of revenge. Now known and feared as the White Wolf, she and her sister flee Kenettra to find other Young Elites in the hopes of building her own army of allies. Her goal: to strike down the Inquisition Axis, the white-cloaked soldiers who nearly killed her. But Adelina is no heroine. Her powers, fed only by fear and hate, have started to grow beyond her control. She does not trust her newfound Elite friends. Teren Santoro, leader of the Inquisition, wants her dead. And her former friends, Raffaele and the Dagger Society, want to stop her thirst for vengeance. Adelina struggles to cling to the good within her. But how can someone be good, when her very existence depends on darkness?”  This was a good sequel and a pretty good series.  I think I liked the second book better than the first.  I would give this to teens who like science fiction and fantasy.

Malcolm Under The Stars

MalcolmUnder The Stars by W.H. Beck, 257 pages

This is the sequel to Malcolm at Midnight, which I liked a lot.  In this adventure, Malcolm, the rat in Mr. Binney's fifth grade classroom, discovers more problems at his beloved McKenna School.  This time the problem facing the Midnight Academy, the group of classroom animals from the school whose mission it is to protect the teachers and students, is larger than any they have ever seen before.  The school has significant problems that will cost a lot of money to fix and the board is discussing the possibility of closing the school.  This is devastating to the animals and to several of the kids and teachers as well.  There is one hope for the Midnight Academy; the promise of a legendary treasury hidden by Ernie Bowman, a former employee of the school.  If the Academy can find it, it may be enough money to save the school.  I really enjoyed this, maybe even more than the first book.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes animals, especially with a fantastical bent.  This is probably best for fourth through sixth grade.

The Young Elites

The Young Elites by Marie Lu, 355 pages

A blood fever ran rampant through the nation of Kenettra, killing all of the adults who contracted it.  Although some children were spared death, several were left physically disfigured, changing hair color and leaving discolored scars on their skin.  It also changed some of the children so that they had special powers, to create fire, control winds, even control people’s feelings.  People call the ones with special powers the Young Elites, but no one knows their real identities.  Adelina is one of the unfortunate children left scarred.  She is missing an eye but, until she is 16 and finds out that her father is planning to force her to be the mistress of a man willing to pay her father a lot of money, shows no other signs of any powers.  That night, Adelina runs away, and when her father chases her, she uses her power of illusion to cause his death.  Charged with his murder and sentenced to death, Adelina is rescued by the other Young Elites in the nick of time.  Asked to join them only if her talent proves to be strong and she proves she can control it, Adelina is also approached by Teren, the leader of the Inquisition, who is dertermined to stop the Young Elites.   Teren is holding Adelina’s sister hostage and if Adelina refuses to help him, he will hurt her sister.  Adelina must choose, betray her sister, or the Young Elites?  This is a really good start to a new fantasy series that a lot of teens would like. 

Unbreakable

Unbreakable by Kami Garcia, 305 pages

Kennedy’s mother dies of a heart attack one night while Kennedy is out with friends.  The plan is for her to go to boarding school, because she doesn’t want to live with her aunt.  However, right before she is due to leave, she is attacked by a ghost in her home and two boys, Lukas and Jared, show up to save her.  They explain that they, along with two other teens, form a group called the Legion of the Black Dove, formed centuries ago to protect the world from a demon.  They are the newest members, because the last group, mostly their parents or grandparents, were killed the same night as Kennedy’s mother.  They believe Kennedy is the fifth member of the group.  Kennedy, somewhat disbelieving, goes along with the group and helps to get rid of many vengeful ghosts in their quest to find something they believe will destroy the demon once and for all.  However, Kennedy doesn’t really think she is the last member of the group even as she finds herself hoping that she is.  This is a pretty good story that fans of the Beautiful Creatures series will definitely want to read.  Teens who like advebture ghost stories will enjoy this book.

The Land Across

The Land Across by Gene Wolfe, 286 pages

 

As our narrator, a travel writer, is exploring a fictional Eastern European country, he is arrested and his passport taken.  He is imprisoned at the home of a local man, required to spend his nights there but free to wander during the day, much to the displeasure of his host and the pleasure of his host's seductive wife.  In short order, he encounters treasure hunters, a revolutionary group, the secret police, an occult conspiracy, and a man in black who may or may not be Dracula.

 

Although Wolfe is best known as a science fiction and fantasy author (Book of the New Sun), this comic thriller showcases his versatility as the protagonist blunders through a strange land of restless souls and murderous disembodied hands.  Alternately hilarious, confusing, and creepy, this book is certainly never boring.

Belladonna

Belladonna by Fiona Paul              343 pages

This is the sequel to Venom.  I unintentionally read the third book in this trilogy before I read this one and I would definitely recommend reading these books in order.  It took me much longer than it should have to figure out what was happening in the third book than it would have if I had read this one first.  Cass is trying to forget Falco, who she seems to have fallen in love with but is completely wrong for her.  They are from entirely different upbringings and she is engaged to Luca anyway.  Unfortunately, Luca is in jail, accused of heresy and condemned to die.  Cass is determined to prove his innocence by finding the Book Of The Eternal Rose, which may also help her take down the Order Of The Eternal Rose, another of her goals.  This involves traveling to Florence, where the town is apparently besieged by vampires and Cass is forced to interact with Falco once again.  Surrounded by mystery and intrigue, Cass is afraid that she will not find the book in time to save Luca.  A good sequel to the first book, I would recommend the series to teen fans of historical mystery or drama type books.

Starling

Starling by Fiona Paul     326 pages

This is the conclusion to The Secrets Of The Eternal Rose series.  I have read the first book and thought I had read the second.  I realized later that I had not read the second book and it had been long enough since I read the first that I didn’t remember a lot of details and it took me a few minutes to figure out what was going on, so I would recommend reading them in order.  Cass is still trying to bring down the Order of the Eternal Rose., but now that she is a fugitive that most people believe to be dead, she is having a more difficult time.  She is determined to steal the Order’s book, which has proof that they have been killing young women and draining them of their blood.  Her fiancée, Luca, also a fugitive, is trying to help her, but Cass is afraid that he will find out about her interest in Falco, an artist, and far beneath their class, but fascinating in his way.  Cass isn’t sure about her feelings for Falco, but she knows that she loves Luca.  In the meantime, the Order also wants to find her, because they believe her blood holds the key to eternal life.  A solid conclusion to the series, fans of historical fiction, and adventure will probably like this story.  There is a touch of romance, but it is not the main focus of the book.