The Scorch Trials

by James Dashner

Summary: This sequel to The Maze Runner leaves off exactly where the first ends. The guys are told they have been infected with The Flare, a disease that will turn them into Cranks, crazied zombie-like creatures intent on killing whatever is in their path. WICKED gives them a new trial--make a 100 mile trip in two weeks, and they will be given the cure. No Grievers this time, but if you read the The Maze Runner, you know there's no way all the boys will survive to the end, and the horrible deaths are spine chilling. Betrayal, adventure, suspense--these books have it all!

My thoughts: Great sequel! Not quite as good as the first book, but that's usually the way it works. I still enjoyed revisiting these characters, though, and there are definitely some surprises. Fair warning: the story isn't over yet, so don't expect to get all the answers this time.

All We Know of Heaven

by Jacquelyn Mitchard

Summary: Bridget and Maureen are alike in so many ways. Petite, blonde, cheerleaders, best friends forever. A horrible accident--one lives, one dies. But the doctors get it wrong. They tell Maureen's family to plan a funeral, and Bridget's family sits at the bedside of a comatose girl they think is theirs. After realizing the devastating truth, the doctors must give miraculous news to one family, and destroy the lives of another. Maureen must overcome not only her physical issues, but come to grips with the grief and resentment of Bridget's family. Bridget's boyfriend stays by Maureen's side, however, and even though it seems wrong to both of them, they seem to be falling in love. Is he simply replacing Bridget, or can this love possibly last through all of the difficult times ahead?

My thoughts: I was fascinated with this story when it came on the news a few years ago. Something very similar actually happened, and while this is a fictional tale, the real event was pretty close to what Mitchard has written here. Even though the story veers off to be mostly a romance (which I normally don't enjoy reading as much) the story unfolds so dramatically that I couldn't help but be drawn in. Maureen's painful recovery, both physically and emotionally, is a strong testament to the power of love and family bonds.

The Replacement

by Brenna Yovanoff

Summary: The town of Gentry has a dirty little secret. The children here have a pretty high mortality rate--they're dropping like flies. Mackie Doyle knows why. He knows that the children in the town's cemetaries aren't the same children the parents raised and loved. Those children ended up somewhere else. Underground. And he knows this because he's one of them, only he survived. He's slowly dying, though, and when a friend of his sister's gives him a serum that makes him better, he learns there is a price to pay. What he finds in the world of the underground will gross you out, fascinate you, and haunt you for quite some time.

My thoughts: The Replacement is the first novel by this author, and I'm impressed! With a pretty horrific cast of characters, both dead and alive, this is a very original story that plays on one of humanity's greatest fears. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. Check out a cool book trailer here http://got.im/q5d.

Full Tilt

by Neal Shusterman

Summary: Brothers Blake and Quinn couldn't be more different--Blake is the good boy, and Quinn is the troublemaker. When a strange invitation to an eerie theme park comes for Blake, he wants to ignore it, but Quinn intercepts it and goes in alone. Blake and their friends Russ and Maggie follow Quinn in to try to get him home, not realizing quite what they're signing up for by walking through the gates. They must each complete seven rides--rides that are composed of their greatest fears--by dawn, or they become a part of the theme park...forever.

My thoughts: Whoa! Talk about creepy! Shusterman has a gift for creating suspense. I couldn't stop turning pages, because I was so nervous for these characters!

Another Whole Nother Story

by Dr. Cuthbert Soup

Summary: In this rip-roaring follow-up to A Whole Nother Story, Ethan Cheeseman, his three children, a sock puppet, and a dog named Pinky head back in time to 1668. Their goal? To break a centuries-old family curse by returning the White Gold Chalice to its owner, and to stop the murder of their wife and mother Olivia Cheeseman just before it happens. Unfortunately, landing in 1668 damages their egg-shaped time machine, and the family must go in search of a blacksmith to find materials for its repair. Meeting a lively, and mostly underdeveloped cast of characters along the way, including Big, a Pocahontas look-alike, and the Mailman (so named because his many piercings resemble chain mail) the Cheeseman family and company wreak havoc wherever they go. To complicate matters, Olivia’s murderer, Mr. 5, is right on their tails. The story is narrated by the self-described “incomparable” Dr. Cuthbert Soup, and punctuated by his mini-chapters, which usually have only loose connections to the story, but are hilarious on their own. It’s over the top with a sometimes annoyingly frantic pace. However, the laugh out loud moments are many, and the puns are clever and sarcastic. Should appeal to fans of titles like A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Name of this Book is Secret, and other stories that capitalize on the absurd.

My thoughts: You like silly? This is the book for you. It won't be published until December.

Num8ers

by Rachel Ward

Summary: Jem has a big problem. She sees numbers floating over every person's head, and she has seen them her whole life. These numbers represent the date that person is going to die. She's never seen the numbers lie, and it's a terrible burden for her to bear. Jem's own life is less than perfect, jumping from foster home to foster home, and more or less living the street life. When fellow outcast Spider comes along, she tries not to let herself feel close to him, but a mass tragedy at the London Eye causes them to become the focus of a nationwide manhunt, and they find themselves on the run from the law. Jem starts to fall for Spider, but there's just one catch: his numbers don't look so good. Can she figure out a way to save Spider in the week he has left?

My thoughts: This book is sort of like a cross between a horror movie and an episode of CSI. It's very, very, British, so you'll have to get past the English slang, but it's easy to figure out pretty quickly. I love the concept, and the story was pretty good. Not my favorite book this year or anything, but worth reading for the great ending.

Glimpse

by Carol Lynch Williams

Summary: On the opening page of this novel in verse, Hope finds her older sister Lizzie holding a gun with her finger on the trigger. She has completely given up, about to attempt suicide. While Hope knows their life isn't rosy with a dead father and a grieving but selfish mother, she can't imagine what is so terrible for Lizzie that it would drive her to want to die. As the story unfolds, Hope begins to see through her mother's lies to get to the truth about the horror in their house.

My thoughts: You won't figure out until the very end what's happening to Lizzie, but you know it isn't good. This is a very sad story, but it's a quick, intense read. I had to know what happened. Carol Lynch Williams is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.