The 5th Wave

by Rick Yancey

Maybe I'm biased, because I love me some aliens, but this book was SO. MUCH. FUN!

Basically, there's an alien apocalypse. They're wiping out the human race, but they're doing it in stages. We pick up the story at the end of the 4th wave, or, if you prefer, stage of human destruction.We meet Cassie first. She's alone, and trying to survive in this crazy new world. She's being hunted. She doesn't know who she can trust, which makes her very dangerous.

I just don't feel like I can say any more about the plot without stealing away the suspense for you!

This is definitely a thriller. A just for fun, escape from your daily life, get totally absorbed type of book. So the pages turn themselves, and it's awesome when that happens. But it's even greater because it's Rick Yancey. He can tell a killer story, but (shock and awe!) the man can also WRITE!

I hate books that set out to be a series opener, and this clearly is. However...it's so good that I forgive Mr. Yancey. Can't wait to see what happens next!

Counting by 7's

by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Willow is a genius, but not just any genius. One of the off-the-charts, totally weird, super crazy smart about the strangest things type of genius. She's socially awkward, but doesn't care. She's an adoptee, and an only child. She loves her garden and her parents more than anything. But then something terrible happens, and her carefully constructed world falls apart. This is a story about grief, and it's a story about healing, told in the voice of a girl like no one you've ever known.

I loved I'll Be There, Ms. Sloan's other book, so much that I was almost scared to read this one for fear of disappointment, but I shouldn't have been. You'll cry your eyes out and laugh out loud with Willow. One of my favorite books so far this year.

I Hunt Killers

by Barry Lyga

Jazz's dad is a famous serial killer, and has been in prison for the past few years. The murders weren't a secret from Jazz. In fact, his father basically trained him how to follow in his footsteps. Jazz doesn't want to be like his dad, but he isn't sure if he can trust himself, or if anyone else should. And that's where this book gets annoying. Fast. I couldn't get past Jazz's self-doubt to truly enjoy the mystery, even though that part was paced really well, and I did care enough to keep reading. When you finally get to the conclusion, though, you find that it's not really much of a conclusion at all, and that it's all set up for the next book in the installment. Sigh.

This one is only in the high schools, guys, so if you still want to read it, you'll have to find it at a bookstore.

The Fairy Ring

by Mary Losure

This could have been a great book, because it's a fascinating true story. In 1917, Frances moved to England to live with her older cousin Elsie and her family. One day the girls were playing in the field behind the house, and Frances swears that she sees fairies frolicking around. (Interestingly enough, even to her dying day, she maintained that her sightings were real.) On a whim, Elsie, who is an artist, draws a fairy, mounts it on a hat pin, and asks to take the family's camera into the field. (At this time, the camera is a new invention, and it's very complicated to get even one good photo.) They pretend the fairy photo is real, and show the photo to their family.They take a few more in this manner, and it eventually catches the attention of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the famous author of the Sherlock Holmes novels. He believes they are real, and begins communicating with the girls, who are a little freaked out by all this attention. They become known nationwide. Some are believers, but others denounce the girls as frauds.

I loved the story. The fact that these girls caused such a ruckus with a painted fairy on a stick is hilarious. There were just a few areas that I felt needed further clarification from the author. Several times it seemed there had to be more to the story, but we, as readers, weren't getting it. A kind of cool read anyway, just to get the details on this famous hoax.