Synopsis: Bruiser literally feels everything for those he cares about, making it dangerous for him to fall in love–but, of course, he does. Review: I’m pretty bullish on Neal Shusterman but Bruiser didn’t do it for me. I didn’t like the multiple POVs, especially because Bruiser’s were written in free verse poetry.
Synopsis: Allie the Outcast, the Chocolate Ogre, the McGill, and Mary Queen of Snots meet up with Jackin’ Jill and Zach the Ripper and discover that there’s a lot more to Everlost than just limbo after death. Review: In Everwild, Neal Shusterman deepens the mythology he created in Everlost, adding new characters and concepts with tremendous panache. Allie the Outcast has discovered the power to leap into the bodies of the still living, and when she joins forces with a small group of fellow skinjackers,…
Synopsis: Two teens find themselves in a limbo world between life and death. Review: I first read about Everlost on It’s All About Books and was totally intrigued by Suey’s rave review. Nick and Allie were victims of a fatal car accident, but instead of making it to the bright white light they were bumped into Everlost. They learn quickly that they have to keep moving or else they will sink through the ground all the way to the center of the earth. There are…
Synopsis: Edgar must leave Atherton, the only home he’s ever known, to finish his creator Dr. Harding’s work on the poisoned Dark Planet. Review: The Dark Planet, a stirring conclusion to the Atherton trilogy of science fiction adventures for middle grade readers, finds Edgar heading off his home planet towards the Dark Planet, where children like him are worked as slaves tilling a despoiled earth. It’s his own journey into Mordor–except the plot of the Atherton trilogy owes more to “Lost” than Tolkien. The world…
Synopsis: A boy marked for termination and organ harvesting escapes into a world where he has no legal right to live. Review: I heard about Unwind from the Queens Library, in an email newsletter talking up good new young adult books. I’m so glad that I did, because it’s a dystopian thrill ride in the same vein as Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies trilogy, only with the same intellectual depth and emotional heart that you find in Lois Lowry’s The Giver. Here’s the deal with unwinding. Anyone…