Tag Archive | family

Solstice, by PJ Hoover (book review) – hotter’n Hades in new Texas?

Nov4

book cover of Solstice by PJ Hoover published by Tor TeenFatal heat waves,
acceptable losses,
is there any solution?

Her mother’s overprotectiveness, her father’s abandonment, the eternal summer that’s killing everything on Earth – and somehow just-turned-18 Piper can fix everything??

As PJ noted at a recent author talk, she actually did have some input on the cover art (most authors don’t) and made sure that the city skyline was truly Austin!

Especially for fans of

  • dystopias (with a twist)
  • Greek mythology
  • growing up stories and finding your own path
  • climate change as a character
  • ancient tales set in modern times
  • love triangles with real tension

Grab this debut novel from a Texas Sweetheart writer today and discover the depth of the choices which Piper must make.

How far would you go to save your family? to save the world?
**kmm

Book info: Solstice / P.J. Hoover. Tor Teen, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [publisher book trailer] [author’s book trailer]  Personal copy; cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk:
Piper endures her overprotective mom and the heat waves sweeping the earth, little realizing that she alone holds the key to solving the global climate crisis and averting the death of humanity!

Mom’s greenhouses protect rare medicinal plants from the heat bubbles that push Austin over the 120 degree mark so often now. But they’re like a prison to Piper, who just wants to graduate and go somewhere, anywhere away from the dark visions which began on her 18th birthday.

At school, handsome Shayne understands her better than her best friend does and new guy Reese promises answers about Piper’s ever-absent father. Her mom’s sudden out-of-town trip gives Piper the chance to go on her first dates – and discover that she’s not just a teen girl from Texas!

Questions about the strange birthday gifts delivered by messenger and her mother’s habit of moving them so frequently have peculiar answers, involving the Underworld and Hades’ motivation, plus Mars plotting to rid the world of humankind forever…

Who is Piper (really)?
How could she stop the Global Heating Crisis?
Which stunning guy should she choose – when her mother hates them both?

Greek mythology meets near-future dystopia in this debut novel where only the relationship stresses are hotter than the everlasting summer.
(One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

My Basmati Bat Mitzvah, by Paula J. Freedman (book review) – Bollywood plus Hebrew School?

Nov1

Book cover of My Basmati Bat Mitzvah by Paula J. Freedman published by Amulet BooksHebrew school – check.
Bollywood movie DVD collection – check.
Punjabi and Yiddish grandparents at the same celebration – oy vey!

It’s worth a special trip to your favorite local library or independent bookstore to meet Tara and friends in My Basmati Bat Mitzvah if you like

  • interesting family dynamics
  • a look into two different cultural heritages
  • guys and gals who are trying to sort out relationships and other complicated things
  • middle school experiences that are both funny and typical
  • a strong-minded main character who still has big questions
  • conversations about faith and God that aren’t self-righteous sermons
  • chances to be “both X and Y” instead of having to be “either X or Y”

Samosas at the bat mitzvah reception and chilies in the matzoh ball soup? Count me in!
**kmm

Book info:  My Basmati Bat Mitzvah / Paula J. Freedman. Amulet Books, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]   Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Tara just wants to add a hint of India to her bat mitzvah ceremony, to stay friends with her best friends, and to win the robotics contest – how can this all be so hard?!

The twelve-year-old loves her Yiddish-speaking Gran and her Punjabi grandpa, Bollywood movies and cheezy monster flicks, the Diwali and Hanukkah festivals of light that each side of her family celebrates.

Attending Hebrew school in preparation for her bat mitzvah at age 13, she’s confused about God – better talk to Rabbi Aron some more. And she’s confused by best buddy Ben-O’s sudden blushes and breath mints, by the class clown’s attentions, by Rebecca wanting to be best friends with her and that snooty Sheila at the same time.

A mishap with an heirloom sari and continuing jibes that her Indian mother’s conversion to Judaism didn’t really make her Jewish collide with problems on the robotics team and a glimpse into Sheila’s not-so-perfect purple life in the hectic weeks leading up to her bat mitzvah.

How can she balance new friendships and old?
Why are boys so weird now?
Can she really mix India and New York City in her bat mitzvah?

The importance of family traditions and questions about faith thread through this coming-of-age story like the golden threads in Daadiji’s beautiful sari.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Two Lies and a Spy, by Kat Carlton (book review) – spy family crisis, doubled

Oct25

book cover of Two Lies and a Spy by Kat Carlton published by Simon SchusterRendezvous point compromised,
agent contacts cease,
where are Mom & Dad?

Yep, spying runs in the family for Kari and Charlie, but something has gone terribly wrong with the pre-arranged emergency plan.

Much more serious than Ben’s tongue-in-cheek adventures at Spy School  and Spy Camp  (my reviews here and here) or Maggie’s undercover gig at a ritzy private high school in Also Known As  (review here), Two Lies and a Spy keeps you wondering what the lies are…and who’s telling them.

**kmm

Book info: Two Lies and a Spy / Kat Carlton. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]   Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: The code black message from her spy parents puts Kari on alert, but when their meet-up plans fail, the teen and her genius little brother are on the run – from their own government!

Kari doesn’t mind leaving school early (even if Luke and Evan the new British guy see her), but she’s concerned when other agents show up at the rendezvous site – her parents would never send someone else to pick up her and Charlie in this situation! After plans A, B, and C for their meet-up all go wrong, Kari is getting frantic with worry.

Her best friend Rita overheard her dad the senator say the Andrews are a now menace to the country. Luke’s dad is CIA director and let slip that her mom is in custody. Kari’s still trying to get in touch with Aunt Rita, the only family they have.

Desperate times, desperate plans – no way her folks are Russian double-agents!

Which are lies and what’s the truth?
Will Kari’s friends help find her parents?
Can she keep Charlie safe until they do?

A spy story with a twist, as Kari tries to ignore Evan’s flirting, stop daydreaming over Luke, and maintain a calm image for 7-year-old Charlie while staying clear of the CIA in the heart of Washington, D.C. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

I’m With Stupid, by Geoff Herbach (book review) – play football where? change life how?

Oct18

book cover of I'm With Stupid by Geoff Herbach published by Sourcebooks FireStress!
Decisions!
Pressure!

Felton’s senior year was never going to be a cakewalk, but knowing that his college choice will be televised live on ESPN!?!? The road trip craziness of the previous summer chronicled in Nothing Special (my no-spoiler review here) was nothing compared to this!

Ask for I’m With Stupid  at your local library or independent bookstore (just saying the title is crazy) and also read YA authors’ own teen-wacky stories at I’mWithStupidStories.

Ever had an out-of-control situation like Felton’s?
**kmm

Book info: I’m With Stupid / Geoff Herbach. Sourcebooks Fire, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Felton’s college choice for football will be televised live! Too much stress, as he visits colleges, looks for something meaningful in his life for those entrance essays, and tries to survive senior year.

He knows he’s a super-fast football player, a sorta-okay big brother and son and grandson, but not sure about anything else. So he decides to do something with his senior year, something worthwhile – then maybe he’ll be able to figure out what college to pick.

Mentoring a bullied freshman boy, visiting colleges where coaches want him to change everything about his game, trying to ignore his mom dating the dad of the girl he wants to date, running over football opponents like crazy, wishing he could ask his dead dad for advice – fall is nuts for Felton.

Too bad he can’t just make wacky videos with Gus instead of worrying about that college commit date looming ahead, can’t keep his girlfriend from breaking up with him, can’t keep a friend from making terrible choices.

Where should he play college football?
What’s with Heather and the peach schnapps?
Why is this all so difficult?

The Stupid Fast  guy who considers himself Nothing Special  off the football field has to figure things out now so future friends won’t be wearing that “I’m With Stupid” shirt in this wild conclusion to Geoff Herbach’s story of Felton Reinstein’s high school years.

(One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Beautiful and the Cursed, by Page Morgan (book review) – danger and dark secrets in Paris

Oct14
UK book cover of The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan published by Hot Key Books

UK cover

US book cover of The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan published by Delacorte Books

US cover

Brother missing,
Gargoyles watching,
Protectors or predators?

A different sort of paranormal creature stalks Paris as the 20th century peeks over the horizon – first novel I’ve read with gargoyles as central characters!

Read this one for

  • a new paranormal hero/villain
  • interesting family dynamics
  • a look into 1899 Paris

Book two in the series, The Lovely and the Lost,  is scheduled for May 2014 publication – more gargoyle intrigue impacting the human world, no doubt!
Hoping its cover is more like the UK cover of The Beautiful and the Cursed.

**kmm

Book info: The Beautiful and the Cursed / Page Morgan.  Delacorte Press, 2013.   [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover images courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Searching for her missing brother in 1899 Paris, Gabrielle finds gargoyles come to life, mysterious alliances, and danger at every turn as time runs out for his safe return.

Grayson was overseeing repairs at the gargoyle-bedecked old abbey that Mama had bought as an art gallery, but he wasn’t there when she arrived in dead of winter with his teen sisters – how unthoughtful!

But Gabby and Ingrid soon discover that his disappearance has interested not only the police, but also the warring factions of unworldly beings – the Dispossessed in human guise and the masters of Underneath, whose hellhounds have burst into the Paris nights.

For the gargoyles are indeed the Dispossessed, forced to stay in the world after their death because of their crimes in life, forever guarding and protecting the humans residing in their building, able to assume human form as needed, yet never letting people see them so.

And as for the hellhounds… their dark masters require more human blood and have broken a long-standing treaty with the Dispossessed to acquire it more quickly.

How can the gargoyle Luc protect Gabby and Ingrid when they keep leaving the abbey grounds?
Did one of the Dispossessed turn traitor and open the way for the hellhounds?
Where does Grayson fit into all this?

First in a series featuring a new type of paranormal hero, The Beautiful and the Cursed  brings the dark corners of the City of Light into sharp focus as two sisters risk much to find their brother.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

This Song Will Save Your Life, by Leila Sales (book review) – will this change work?

Oct11

book cover of This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales published by Farrar Strauss GirouxRepeat suicide risk,
perennially unpopular girl,
or rave-worthy DJ –
which persona would you choose?

Widely available at your favorite local library or independent bookstore, This Song Will Save Your Life is a Fall 2013 “Fierce Read” – catch Leila Sales at the Texas Book Festival in Austin at the end of October.

What songs are on the playlist that keeps you going when things get rough?
**kmm

Book info:  This Song Will Save Your Life / Leila Sales. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2013. [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Elise wasn’t sure what to add to her killing-myself playlist, but never dreamed that she’d finally find friends through a suicide attempt and music.

Being born unpopular was the problem – Elise hadn’t had a friend since grade school, and high school was simply hell. Her remarried mom with the perfect husband and two perfect kids didn’t see it, her rock musician dad didn’t see it, so Elise figured why live at all?

Of course, killing herself didn’t work, made her more of an outcast at school than ever, kept her awake at night. Running in the dark calms her down and one night brings her to a secret dance club in a warehouse. Great DJ, awesome music, folks don’t mind that she’s just 16 – Start is the best thing that ever happened to Elise.

Soon, she lives for Thursday nights at Start (never mind that Mom thinks she’s asleep upstairs)  where Vicki, Pippa, and Char respect her eclectic taste in music, encourage her to try becoming a DJ, and like her for herself – especially handsome Char.

Secrets can be hard to hide, though, and Elise’s lack of sleep and dropping grades trip her up (have her folks ever stopped considering her a repeat suicide risk?).

How can she keep DJing at Start?
What suddenly made affectionate Char so distant?
Why is high school so important anyway?

Her dad taught her about all kinds of music, her mom taught her about social activism – maybe Elise needs her friends at Start to teach her how to live.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Monster in the Mudball, by S.P. Gates (book review) – ancient hunger, on the loose!

Oct9

book cover of Monster in the Mudball by SP Gates published by Tu BooksTrapped for decades,
she awakens hungry,
violently hungry…

Every time ancient Zilombo is reborn, the monster from deep in an African lake has new and frightening powers that help her hunt – this time in England!

Try out three chapters for free here and you’ll be hooked as Jin, Frankie, and Mizz Z go after The Monster in the Mudball  along the Oozeburn River’s littered shores.

Do you hear the shivery jangle of a bottle cap anklet…  or is it just me?
**kmm

Book info:  Monster in the Mudball (An Artifact Inspector Book) / S. P. Gates. Tu Books, 2013.  [author biography]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: A baby, a monster older than the world, and a mysterious inspector – Jin and Frankie need the last one to help them rescue the first one from the middle one, before Zilombo eats him!

No one would expect that dusty old ball of mud contained an African monster which would gladly eat anything, especially when the mudball had been high on a shelf in a small British house for 20 years. How the dried dirt became mud again, hatched out its oversize feet and huge-clawed hands, escaped from its exile just before the Inspector of Ancient Artifacts arrived on her annual inspection… Jin knows, and Mizz Z the inspector knows that his baby brother is in great danger if this Zilombo monster isn’t caught – soon!

After such a long imprisonment, ancient Zilombo needs food and a hiding place, so she runs toward the scent of water, finding a secret spot near the river and sniffing for the delicious scent of that Smiler baby – oh, how she will enjoy eating it!

Jin and Mizz Z are on Zilombo’s trail, recruiting big sister Frankie along the way, but they may be too late, as baby Smiler chooses this night to take his first steps at Grandma and Grandad Tang’s riverside house.

Why does Mizz Z know so much about this ancient monster?
What new powers does Zilombo have in her newest form?
Can Jin and Frankie really save their baby brother?

Wild adventure along the muddy banks of the deceptively calm Oozeburn River as Jin, Frankie, and Mizz Z try to recapture the monster with her jangling ankle bracelet of soda bottle caps before she strikes again.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Linked, by Imogen Howson (book review) – illegal twin, found again

Oct7
US book cover of Linked by Imogen Howson published by Simon Schuster

US cover of Linked

Separated at birth,
each thinking she was alone,
yet connected by thoughts,
their suffering begins again.

“Telepathic twins in space” was UK author Imogen Howson’s working title for Linked,  and it describes the basic plotline well. Looking forward to scheduled 2014 sequel Unravel.

Grab this book if you like:

  • Mystery with a twist
  • Teens against a corrupt society
  • Action and adventure
  • Colonies in space
  • SciFi with grit

How far would you go to save part of your family, if it meant leaving the rest behind?
**kmm

UK book cover of Linked by Imogen Howson published by Simon Schuster

UK cover of Unlinked

Book info: Linked / Imogen Howson. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]   Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Elissa’s nightmares bring pain and bruises with them – not mental illness, but telepathy with her unhuman twin sister. Now they must escape the planet whose government wants to use them, regardless of the costs.

Brain surgery is the teen’s last hope of ending the visions of white-masked figures, the brutal pain, the bruises that bloom on her skin as she watches. Thankfully, their planet-colony has advanced medical care, thanks to the wealth that their unique spaceship engine technology brings in.

When Elissa discovers that her nightmares are the real thoughts and torture of another girl on Sekoia, she has to act. When she finds out that Lin is her sister, she doesn’t even know a word for it – twin? When she helps Lin escape, the girls become wanted criminals, and Elissa’s police chief father must catch them both!

How can two children be born at the same time, yet be separated?
Why are those people torturing Lin and other ‘unhuman’ children?
Can they convince brother Bruce to get them off-planet in a space academy ship?

A mystery, a terraformed planet filled with colonists and secrets, a race to safety… Lin and Elissa are linked through their minds – will they die that way?  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Killer of Enemies, by Joseph Bruchac (book review) – mind, heart, death in future

Oct4

book cover of Killer of Enemies by Joseph Bruchac published by Tu BooksTechnology gone,
New monsters join the old,
Hungry for the people’s blood.

Read this desert-based dystopia for Lozen’s warrior woman spirit, her respectful killing skill, and her tenacious love for her family.

For a taste of  the dangers and monsters that Lozen faces inside and outside Haven, try chapters 17-19 for free here.

Then ask for Killer of Enemies  at your local library or independent bookstore now- you won’t want to miss it!

**kmm

Book info:  Killer of Enemies / Joseph Bruchac. Tu Books, 2013. [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Lozen can sense the monsters on both sides of the compound’s walls and kill the mutants outside skillfully. But those holding her family hostage inside…can only be eliminated with a skill that the teen isn’t sure she has.

The land of Lozen’s Apache ancestors survived the Cloud from space which wiped out all technology, but so many people perished. The privileged Ones who survived meltdown of their implanted enhancements have holed up in secure places and gathered small armies, ‘recruiting’ those with blacksmithing or hunting skills to add to their power.

With her family held hostage in “Haven” Lozen must hunt the freakish Cloud-magnified animals who can batter down the former prison’s walls. The four Ones ruling Haven don’t know that the teen can sense the gen-mod monsters’ thoughts, as well as those of most humans.

Carefully-made plans for her family’s escape from the insanity of Haven may have to accelerate when the Ones declare her only friend is a traitor and plan to execute him.

Can she sway their decision without exposing her telepathic powers?
Can she get her family out of Haven before it’s too late?
Can a monster-killer save herself?

Weaving traditional Chiricahua beliefs with a new Stone Age power struggle, the Killer of Enemies  must remember her heritage while she strives to live long enough to have a future.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

The Chaos, by Nalo Hopkinson (book review) – myth to reality on city streets

Oct2

Book cover of The Chaos by Nalo Hopkinson published by Margaret McElderry Books“Sasquatches, demonic Tinker Bells,
purple hippos wearing party hats;
they were all real now.” (p.167)

Auntie Mryss, cousin of Scotch’s white Jamaican dad, has been waiting for the End Times – looks like maybe they’re here and somehow related to the tarry growths inching along Scotch’s chocolate brown skin.

Hopkinson’s comments on “Noticing Race” are worth hearing, as you can well imagine that questions of race and identity have threaded through Scotch’s life for a long time before the Chaos brings every bedtime story and nightmare to life in Toronto.

Grab this imaginative novel at your favorite local library or independent bookstore and get ready for a mind-blowing ride through the dream-tainted city.

**kmm

Book info: The Chaos / Nalo Hopkinson.  Margaret McElderry Books, 2012.  [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Fitting in at school becomes the least of Scotch’s worries as legendary creatures descend on Toronto with terrifying results and her big brother goes missing.

Scotch (like the Jamaican hot pepper) doesn’t stand out for being biracial at this more-diverse school. Her dancing is stand-out good, like her big brother’s rap poetry. Their conservative parents don’t like either gift. And how they turned in their own son to the police for one joint! Chuh!

The black gooey growths on Scotch’s arm worry her, the hallucinations she sees flying all over worry her, then everything goes crazy as a bubble of light zings her and Rich disappears!

A volcano erupting in Lake Ontario, monsters from myth stomping through the city streets, cell phones not working – Scotch tries to help people as she doggedly makes her way to Auntie Mryss’s house. And those things from nursery rhyme dreams appearing everywhere? Mryss is sure that Scotch is the key to fixing it all…

Why are all these subconscious images becoming real now?
Why is the black goo spreading over Scotch’s skin so fast?
Where is her brother? Where!?

Jamaican author Nalo Hopkinson brings the myths and stories of many cultures into this nightmare reality threatening her adopted Canadian hometown where a heroine who doubts her own strength perseveres amid The Chaos.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)