Kazumi Reads

Plot Summary:

Critical Evaluation:
I could not believe the twist this story took! I was seriously expecting a dramatic tale of girl wanting nothing more than to live her last moments on Earth by falling in love and being with the people she cares about. I really thought that the countdown was about Scarlet's life expectancy dwindling, but, alas I WAS WRONG! WOW! C.J. Lyon's is one heck of a storyteller because when we thought we get a sad story about teenage love and loss, we get a murder mystery/thriller as well! Along with Scarlet's heart-breaking tale, readers also learn about her friends' life stories which are equally tragic. Lyons does an amazing job exposing readers to a variety of situations that are not only humbling, but very real. For example, Nessa is dealing with her sister's suicide by self-medicating herself; Celine is trying to care for her severely autistic sister while her mother is dying of cancer; Jordan is dealing with a lot of guilt, which forces him become overprotective. Lastly, for Tony, he lost his father long ago and it's always been him and his mom. There is so much readers can learn from these teens because, at the end of the day, they had to force themselves to be brave and deal with the consequences the best they could. Fortunately, for the bully, Mitch, is Scarlet hadn't done what she did, he may not be alive. This story is definitely an eye-opener for those who have no idea what some of their peers are dealing with and I hope they learned a lot of things from this story. Again, I was not anticipating the ending of this story, I am very satisfied that Scarlet was able to take control with her life and have the courage to remain in her home despite everything that has happened. There is a great Q&A section with the author and valuable tips for teens.

Information about the Author:
According to her website:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of twenty-one novels, former pediatric ER doctor CJ Lyons has lived the life she writes about in her cutting edge Thrillers with Heart.

CJ has been called a “master within the genre” (Pittsburgh Magazine) and her work has been praised as “breathtakingly fast-paced” and “riveting” (Publishers Weekly) with “characters with beating hearts and three dimensions” (Newsday).

She has assisted police and prosecutors with cases involving child abuse, rape, homicide and Munchausen by Proxy. She has worked in numerous trauma centers, on the Navajo reservation, as a crisis counselor, victim advocate, as well as a flight physician for Life Flight and Stat Medevac.

A story-teller all her life, CJ has always created stories about people discovering the courage to make a difference. This led her to coin the term: Thrillers with Heart.
CJ has taught numerous live and online workshops as well as given keynote speeches to audiences around the world, including: The London Book Fair, The Frankfurt Book Fair, MWA, RWA, Romantic Times, Oklahoma Writer Federation, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and PennWriters among others. She was also the conference chairperson for the highly successful inaugural ITW ThrillerFest.

Her novels have won the International Thriller Writers prestigious Thriller Award, the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award, Golden Gateway, Readers’ Choice Award, the RT Seal of Excellence, and Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense.

Genre:
Teen Issues, Teen Fiction, Teen Mysteries, Teen Thrillers

Reading Level/Interest:
Grades 9 & up

Books Similar to Broken:

• The Naturals by Jennifer Barnes
• The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die by April Henry

Awards & Recognition:From Amazon.com

"[A] suspenseful thriller laced with medical intrigue and coming-of-age triumph. " - Booklist

"A chilling medical suspense story-Lyons' specialty-expertly entwines with teen-oriented family drama and the eye-rolling social hierarchy that is high school...Not just for teens, Broken effectively addresses many modern issues, including bullying and the pediatric healthcare system. " - RT Book Reviews

""Lyons dives deep into the human soul... Her three dimensional characters resonate with readers long after the final page." --RT BookReviews, on Black Sheep " - RT Book Reviews

"CJ Lyons' new YA novel, Broken, heralds a strong new female protagonist whose history counters the challenges and mysteries ahead. Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak meets Kathy Reichs' Virals. " - Jill Moore, Square Books, Jr., Oxford, MS

"Broken is an intense page-turner. Readers will race to the end to see if Scarlet will uncover the truth about herself and those around her before it's too late." - April Henry, New York Times Bestselling Author

""[A] fast-paced thriller" with a "I-totally-didn't-see-it-coming ending."" - Entertainment Weekly's Shelf Life

""The concept of this book is an interesting and fresh one," and promises that readers "will be happy they kept reading." " - VOYA

""Scarlet is a likable character, smart and savvy, sheltered and innocent. Her friends and enemies are well drawn and the tension feels real . . . Readers who enjoy surprise revelations as in Matt de la Peña's I Will Save You will appreciate the twist here." " - School Library Journal

Plot Summary:
Six is different then the rest of the agents in The Deck. Not only is he super strong, he can heal faster than the average human, he has perfect vision, and he is lethal. More importantly, Six is only sixteen years old. What most people don't know about six, is that he was the product of an illegal experiment at the Lab, which burned down sixteen years ago. Furthermore, if anyone at the Deck found out that he isn't a true human being, he could be hunted and destroyed. In the world that Six lives in, two major corporations have overrun the government and everyone is under the every watchful eye of ChaoSonic. In other words, ChaoSonic requires every citizen to have an assigned ChaoSonic ID, which means they can track every more that person makes. There is no such thing as civil liberties and those with the most money have total power over everyone. In this world, any rich man or woman can create and destroy whoever they want because they have the funds that supply ChaoSonic. For those who desire to defy ChaoSonic form their own syndicates like the Deck. The Deck is is literally a rebellion of cards: the hearts are the enforcers, the Diamonds are the negotiators, and the Jokers are the information resources. The goal of the deck is to expose and neutralize any activity that threatens the innocent and absorbs any assets belonging to those who seek to hurt humankind. In this world, humanity has become an endangered species where technology and greed threaten its very existence. For Six, his goal is to do his job, and do it flawlessly, while staying under the radar from the Lab. However, after being summoned by the King of Hearts to investigate a location that could be housing an operation that terrifies Six--the Lab is back.  Furthermore, when he meets Kyntax, Six's nightmares are about to come true.


Critical Evaluation:
In this stunning debut, Jack Heath has given teen readers an adventure of a lifetime. Not only is our hero a superhuman, he is the hunter who is being hunted. In this world is a very scary reality where no one has control over their own lives or futures. Furthermore, the idea that greed is so powerful that those who possess the money have the freedom to do whatever they want is down right scary. As for Six, all I could think of, as I was reading this, is a mixture of The Terminator and Judge Dread. For those who aren't familiar with these movies, they are old school action flicks starring two of my favorite action stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. Since he isn't a machine, or liquid metal, Six has human DNA that has been altered and mixed with specific genes that make him invincible and powerful. Furthermore, the opening Prologue, is not only creepy, but makes the reader think hard about the possibility of human experimentation. Although its never really stated that Six is a clone, but the idea of altering fetuses is not at all impossible. Clearly, Six was created to be the ultimate weapon, but, at the same time, those who "created" him, didn't count on the fact that Six is capable of thinking and feeling. Six may not be the most personable being on the planet, but he feels fear and loneliness, which convey that beneath all of the superpowers is a teen looking for his place in this world. For me, when we meet Syntak, I had this surge of hope that Six would not be alone in this world. However, I am not so sure of Syntak's motives, but I guess I will find out in the sequel, Remote Control.

Information about the Author:
According to his website, Jack Heath was born in Sydney, Australia, but moved to Canberra, Australia, until he was nine years old. He started writing his first novel when he was thirteen and earned a publishing contract when he was eighteen. His first novel, the Lab, has not only been adapted to a screenplay, hi second novel, Remote Control,  was a shortlisted sci-fi book of the year at the 2007 Aurealis Awards and, in 2009, he was named ACT Young Australian of the Year. When he was 23, he was invited to teach creative writing at the Canberra Institute of Technology and was featured at the the Australian Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo. When he is not writing or writing:

Jack is performing street magic, composing film music, teaching or lecturing at schools and festivals, or playing a variety of instruments including the piano and the bass guitar. He stoically ignores his lack of qualifications or training in any of these areas. Also, now 25, he’s working on his seventh action book and compiling a list of every book he’s ever read.

Genre:
Teen Thriller, Teen Sci Fi

Reading Level/Interest:
Grades 9 & up

Books Similar to The Lab:

• The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
• Double Helix by Nancy Werlin
  

Awards & Recognition:

• Positive review from Booklist
• Positive review from the Bulletin of the Center of Children's Books
• Postive review from School Library Journal
• Positive review from Kirkus Review
  

Plot Summary:
Wally is a rebel. In fact, she is such a rebel that she ran away from her wealthy family and decided to live on the streets of Manhattan in search of a place to sleep and find food to eat. As the new leader of her "pack," this rebel becomes a leader where her friends rely on her for everything, which, for Wally, is a great responsibility and burden. Although her friends know that she was adopted, she is not at all the spoiled little rich girl that she should be.Wally was born in Russia, but was dropped off at an orphanage.Wally enjoyed living with her bother and sisters and her adopted Babushka (grandmother) and caretaker, Mrs.Ivanoa. Babu would tell Wally all sorts about her mother, which told Wally that she had a mother and didn't need anyone else. However, after the sudden death of a former crew member, Wally is being tracked down by NYPD and the Russian syndicate. Although Wally is a runaway and petty thief, she is not at all who she seems to be; now that the notorious Russian mobster is on the lose, his target is Wally. Meanwhile, after attempting to get a new fake ID, Wally makes her way to Brighton Beach, the Little Moscow of New York, is given an envelope that contains a picture of a man, papers, and a rare stone called Alexandrite. In the same envelope is a letter from Wally's birth mother telling her that she loves her, but they may never reunite because of the bad man in the photo. For Wally, this isn't good enough and she and her crew decide to go looking for her. In their search, not only do the uncover the truth about Wally's mother, but how Wally is the key to this mystery, which leads to a series of deadly events.

Critical Evaluation:
In a classic game of cat and mouse, Richter has created a thrilling adventure for teens. For Wally, not only is she searching for herself, she is looking for her mother who has thrust her into some serious trouble. In many ways, readers will feel extremely sympathetic for Wally because not only is she in a mess, she is trying to figure out who her mother is and why she did what she did. In my mind, as I was reading this story, I feel like I have been thrown in to an elaborate Le Femme Nikitia movie where a young girl's life has suddenly taken a dark turn, but instead of working for the government, she is running from the mobsters in search of the truth. Readers are going to get a brief insight to Russian culture, including their mob, which adds the suspense that has building; Wally is in some serious trouble. I really, really enjoyed how Richter incorporated a variety of Russian rhymes and text that not only add to cultural aspect, but serve as clue into Wally's past. As Wally tries to make sense of the clues that have been given to her, we are starting to see the resilience and the power of team work as the whole crew comes together to find the truth about Wally's mom. Lastly, the fact that Wally has extensive knowledge when it comes to guns is just plain awesome. Obviously, readers will know from this fact, just how powerful and strong Wally is, which makes this whole story more exciting.

Information about the Author:
According to the book jacket of Dark Eyes:

William Harlan Richter is a Hollywood screenwriter. He was nominated for an Emmy Award as producer of  "We Stand Alone Together," the documentary episode of the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. William was born and raised in California. Dark Eyes is his first novel.

Genre:
Teen Thriller, Teen Mysteries

Reading Level/Interest:
Grades 9 & up

Books Similar to Dark Eyes:

• Legend by Marie Lu
• Can't Get There From Here by Todd Strasser
  

Awards & Recognition:

•  Starred Review Booklist (2/15/2012)