One good thing about holding a Book Fair is that you get to find out about new books. Some of the books I've currently been reading came from our recent Book Fair. They are so new that there isn't even an Accelerated Reader quiz yet for many of these books. I am excited to be one of the first to read them.
So here's what I've been reading...
Lawless by Jeffrey Salane
The cover is actually what drew my attention to this book. The girl in the purple jump suit crouched down with laser beams shooting all around her is M, a twelve year old girl whose parents are art thieves working under the cover of being art dealers, but she is unaware of that fact until she is recruited to join the Lawless School, a school for criminals. Actually recruited might not be the most accurate word to use. You see, anyone whose parent or parents attended Lawless is expected to attend as well. Lawless teaches these legacies all they need to know to be successful thieves. As M was unaware that her parents were thieves, she is finding that she has a lot of catching up to do with the other students whose parents have been giving them firsthand knowledge of the Lawless ways. Not only does M have to keep up with her studies, but she also is uncovering the truth about her father's life and his mysterious death. At first I was questioning why I was reading a book about teaching kids to be thieves, but after only a few pages, I was actually rooting for the characters in the book. They really are likeable despite the fact they are learning to break the law. And the story is action packed! However, I did find that the ending drug out forever. I found myself wishing it would just hurry and wrap up. I did like the ending, once it finally did wrap up. It was a nice twist to what could have been a predictable story. I won't ruin it for you by giving it away here. Buy a copy for your collection. You won't be sorry!
Tomorrow Girls: Behind the Gates by Eva Gray
Lousia and her best friend Maddie live in a future United States that is at war. Maddie's parents are fighting in the war and Louisa's parents have taken her in. The story opens with them saying goodbye to Louisa's parents as they board a bus to their new school, Country Manor School, which is supposed to be a safe place for them to live as the war wages on. Only the most elite can afford to send their children to this prestigious all girls boarding school. Louisa's parents were able to secure a spot for Maddie at CMS by changing her identification to say she is Louisa's twin, a move that later proves dangerous for both girls. On the way to the school, Louisa meets a girl named Evelyn who questions how safe the school really is and believes there is something actually more sinister afoot. Evelyn's fears are somewhat confirmed when the girls have all their digital devices and their ID braces confiscated upon arriving at the school. Louisa, Maddie, and Evelyn end up as suite mates at the school along with another girl, Rosie, from the bus who seems to be a troublemaker herself. Together these four girls find themselves in an adventure that they could never have expected. Will they trust each other enough to be able to survive the tests they are given? And is CMS really what it appears to be? The first in the series is a definite attention grabber.
Tomorrow Girls: Run for Cover by Eva Gray
The second book in the Tomorrow Girls series proves to be just as exciting as the first. This book is told from the point of view of Rosie so you get a different insight into who she really is. This book finds the girls on the run from their boarding school and back to their hometown of Chicago. Along the way they run into some guys from the boys boarding school and together they make their escape, straight into a training camp of the enemy. They manage to escape on a food truck, but without their ID bracelets which were confiscated from them in the first book, how far will they get? This futuristic fiction novel is full of action, suspense, and even a bit of humor at times. I'm very happy I picked this set up at the last Book Fair and will be looking into getting the next books in the series.
The Resisters, book 1 by Eric Nylund
Another action/adventure futuristic fiction story, the Resisters is a story about a boy named Ethan who lives is a storybook neighborhood. He is a typical teenage boy who seems to be living in a typical town, but soon finds out that his neighborhood and the entire world is not what it seems. One night after the big soccer game in which he scored the winning goal, he runs into Madison and Felix, two teenagers who are part of the Resisters, an underground organization fighting the alien invaders who have taken over the world. Apparently these alien invaders have mind control over anyone who has hit puberty because of the way brains work after that age. The adults in the Resisters live underground so that they are protected from the mind control of the aliens. Ethan, of course, believes none of this until he sees it for himself and is attacked by one of the aliens large insect robots. In order to save himself he climbs into a large wasp robot stolen and reprogrammed by the Resisters to fight the aliens. After this adventure, he decides he would rather just go back to his normal life and flies the wasp robot back to his neighborhood. But unfortunately, things will never go back to the way they were because the aliens know that he is aware of their mind control and send in adults to capture him. Will Ethan escape and decided to join the Resisters after all? Well, this is the first book in the series, so you can probably guess what his choice is. A fun science fiction novel tame enough for elementary students.
Clone Codes by P., F. and J. McKissack
Another futuristic fiction book, this one is set in 2170 where clones and cyborgs are considered second class citizens whose job are to serve others without pay...basically they are futuristic slaves. The main character, Leanna, discovers that her mother is a part of an underground abolitionist movement called the Liberty Bell Movement which aims to help free the cyborgs and clones. Leanna's grandfather was actually the scientist who discovered the technology to develop clones, but never intended his discovery to be used to create unthinking humans whose genes are manipulated to create different skin color based on what their job is to be, no hair, and no thoughts of their own. Cyborgs don't have it much better as they are humans who have had surgeries to replace at least three fifths of their insides due to life threatening injuries, but because of these surgeries, they are no longer considered human. Leanna's mom is taken away because of her part in the Liberty Bell Movement and Leanna is forced to hide from the government. Along the way she meets a cyborg teen and the two eventually become friends. Together they narrowly escape being captured by the government, but now where will they go? The next book in the series is sure to answer that question. Looks like I have some book orders to make.
Have you found any great books at your Book Fair this year or in the past? Where else do you find good books for your patrons?
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