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Singing Librarian Books

Young Adult Blog

Rise of the Elgen (Michale Vey #2) by Richard Paul Evans

4/14/2015
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Summary
Michael’s mother was kidnapped by the Elgen.  Now he must rescue his mother while protecting his powers and his friends.  Michael and his friends, Taylor (who also has electric powers) and Ostin create an Electroclan or alliance to protect them from the multiplying Order of Elgen.  They must destroy Dr. Hatch who plays a large role in controlling the Elgen, as well as kidnapped Michael’s mother.  Michael and his Electroclan must journey into the deep jungles of Peru, where they must bring other electric teens to their side to be rid of the Elgen and their way of wanting to rule the world.

Review
This fun and exciting next novel in the Michael Vey series by Richard Paul Evans comes highly recommended.  Well written and enjoyable, this novel continues with themes of family, friendship, and adventure.  Both boy and girl teens will enjoy this continuing story and adventure of Michael Vey.

Series: Michael Vey
Number of pages: 335
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Mercury Ink
Publication date: January 1, 2012
Age: 12+
Grade Level: 7th+
Genre: fantasy; science fiction; adventure

Other books in the Michael Vey series:
1-The Prisoner of Cell 25
3-Battle of the Ampere
4-Hunt for Jade Dragon

The Prisoner of Cell 25 (Michale Vey #1) by Richard Paul Evans

4/14/2015
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Summary
Michael, unlike other teens his age, has “electric powers.”  He is unaware that there are other kids like him until Michael discovers a cheerleader at his school, Taylor, who also has powers similar to his.  Michael and Taylor, along with Michal’s friend, Ostin, set out on a journey to discover how they became electric and if there are more people like them.  But when they begin their investigation, it attracts the attention of the Elgen, a group that wants control of all electric children.  Now Michael and his friends are on the run and must use their powers to help save them all.

Review
This fun and exciting series by Richard Paul Evans comes highly recommended.  This novel discusses ideas of family and friendship and contains lots of adventure.  Well written and entertaining, this novel is for both boys and girls alike.

Series: Michael Vey
Genre: fantasy; science fiction; adventure
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Mercury Ink
Publication date: August 1, 2011
Number of pages: 326
Age: 12+
Grade Level: 7th+

Other books in the Michael Vey series:
2-Rise of the Elgen
3-Battle of the Ampere
4-Hunt for Jade Dragon

Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth

4/14/2015
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Summary
Beatrice Prior’s world is divided into five factions, Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent).  Each year every sixteen-year-old must take a test and then select the faction in which to spend the rest of his/her life.  When Beatrice takes her test, what she discovers could mean life or death no matter what faction she chooses.  Beatrice selects Dauntless, renaming herself Tris.  Here she must prove herself through tests of physical endurance and intense psychological simulations.  Through it all, will Tris be able to survive to protect those she loves, or will her secret tear her apart? 

Review
Although an intriguing idea for a dystopian society novel, this book was a bit disappointing.  This novel seems to be just another spin off of books similar to it, such as The Hunger Games or Maze Runner series.  Although, in general, this novel seems to be getting decent review ratings and appears popular in juvenile and teen fiction right now, I personally expected more from the author and the storyline.  In some places the story seems to drag, adding numbers of pages to the novel instead of getting to the point of the story.  Overall, the story has an intriguing idea, but was a disappointing derivative of other similar novels.

Genre: fantasy; science fiction; adventure; dystopian
Literary awards: Evergreen Teen Book Award (2014), Milwaukee County Teen Book Award Nominee (2012), Children's Choice Book Award Nominee for Teen Choice Book of the Year (2012), Sakura Medal, Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2014), DABWAHA Romance Tournament for Best Young Adult Romance (2012), Goodreads Choice for Favorite Book of 2011 and for Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2011), Green Mountain Book Award (2013)
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication date: February 28, 2012
Number of pages: 487
Age: 14+
Grade Level: 9-12

Other books in the Divergent series:
2-Insurgent
3-Allegiant

Posse of Princesses by Sherwood Smith

4/14/2015
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Summary
Many princesses and princes are invited to a masquerade/coming of age party for the Crown Prince of Vesarja, a central and important kingdom.  Here they can have fun, gain new friendships, flirt, and maybe even fall in love.  Rhis, the main girl in the story who is from a small, insignificant kingdom, goes to the masquerade just to have fun and maybe fall in love.  When Princess Iardith, the most perfect and beautiful princess of all gets abducted, Rhis and her friends come to the rescue.  The prince also chases after them.  But is the abduction really what it seems?

Review
This is a fun novel that teaches about friendship, politics, and love.  It is well-written and holds the attention of the reader.  The plot develops at an enjoyable pace, so the reader does not get bored.  Rhis, the main character, demonstrates various emotions throughout the book as different events take place, such as being invited to the Masquerade, traveling to the party with her cousin, making friends and possibly enemies at the party, etc.  This book would be good for middle school girls who deal with an array of emotions during the multitude of changes and experiences associated with adolescent development.  They can relate to the different feelings of the princesses in the story, as well as enjoy the adventure.

Genre: fantasy; romance; adventure; magic; fairytale; historical fiction
Publisher: Book View Cafe
Publication date: March 1, 2008
Number of pages: 256
Age: 12+
Grade Level: 6th+

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

4/13/2015
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Summary
This story is written from the perspective of Death in Nazi, Germany in 1939.  It is about a young girl, named Liesel Meminger who is orphaned and sent to live with foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, near Munich, Germany.  The Hubermann’s were expecting a boy and a girl, but on the way there, Liesel’s brother dies, causing her much grief for many years.  In the town of Himmel, Liesel and her foster parents work for adequate food and shelter for survival.  Throughout the course of the book, Liesel steals several books, some of them from Nazi book burnings and others from understanding an understanding book loving friend, because she loves books so much and cannot resist.  With the help of her foster father, Liesel learns to read, and she loves to share the stories with others.  For example, she is able to share them when at one point in the story, the Hubermann’s and Liesel hide a Jew in their basement, and during several bombing raids, many people hide in their basement, hoping everything will be alright.




Review
This is a well written book, with the interesting take of being written from the point of view of Death. It is engaging, touching, and informative. It gives the reader a feel of Nazi, Germany without getting too graphic. This book is recommended for mature teens or even adults who enjoy history and learning about Nazi Germany and Jews but don’t necessarily want all the graphic details of all that was going on during that time period with concentration camps. The emotional attachment to the characters who enduring unthinkable events tugs at the heart strings of readers.

Genre: historical fiction
Literary awards: National Jewish Book Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature (2006), Book Sense Book of the Year Award for Children’s Literature (2007), Buxtehuder Bulle (2008), Prijs van de Kinder- en Juegdjury Viaanderen (2009), Printz Honor (2007), Exclusive Books Boeke Prize (2007), The Quill Award Nominee for Young Adult/Teen (2006), Zilveren Zoen (2008), Teen Read Award Nominee for Best All-Time-Fave (2010), Deutscher Jugenditeraturpreis for Preis der Jugendjury (2009), Association of Jewish Libraries New and Notable Book for Teen Book Award (2006), Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2010), Kathleen Mitchell Award, Margaret A. Edwards Award (2014)
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication date: March 14, 2006
Number of pages: 550
Age: 12+
Grade Level: 7th+

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