The Owls Have Come to Take Us Away

by Ronald L. Smith

Simon is really interested in aliens. He's also terrified of aliens. Then on a camping trip with his family, he sees an owl, blacks out, and wakes up with what he believes is an implant in his stomach. When he shares this with his family, they of course don't believe him, and take him to a therapist, who basically gives him a bunch of pills to fix his problems. In between the chapters about Simon, there are chapters of a "novel" that he is writing, which was really hard for me to connect with, and I found myself skimming over. The ending is rushed, and you're left just sort of shocked that the book is over, and that was it. I hate to say it, but what a waste of a beautiful cover.

The Fade

by Demitria Lunetta

Haley's family has moved from Chicago to rural Wisconsin, into a creepy old house with a sordid past. She immediately begins to feel a presence there, and soon learns that several years ago, a whole bunch of pretty girls went missing from her house and some of the surrounding homes. She knows they want something, but can't figure out what, and soon enlists the help of Coop, a cute local boy she meets at a party.

Dry

by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Alyssa has been living under water restrictions in Southern California ever since she can remember, but then one day, the taps actually go dry. FEMA is more concerned about a different natural disaster on the other side of the country, so government help is coming in slow. It doesn't take long for the true nature of Alyssa's neighbors to come out as everyone is struggling to just stay alive for one more day. What's scary about this book is how fast the characters reach a critical situation. Within a matter of days people are dying, and not just from dehydration. The domino effect of having no water and how the Shustermans play that out is interesting. Unfortunately the multiple point of view technique didn't really work here. I had a hard time distinguishing between characters, often having to go back to the beginning of each chapter to remind myself who was talking. Interesting, and a quick read, but not Shusterman's best.