Novels Now

Trackers by Patrick Carman
Trackers, Book 1

Pages: 224
Ages: 10+
First Published: May 11, 2010
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Rating: 4/5

First sentence:

How far back can you go Adam?

Acquired: Received a review copy from Scholastic Canada.

Reason for Reading: I became a huge fan of Carman’s after reading the Atherton series and was excited to read another book by him.

A book entirely written as an interview, an interrogation. 15 year-old Adam is being questioned by someone to go back to the beginning and tell them what happened. We have no idea who is doing the interviewing, though the assumption is that is that it is high ranking officials, either military or government. Though whether that assumption is true I have not ascertained and part of me highly doubts. Right from the beginning we are teased with foreshadowing, told that something awful has happened and this foreshadowing continues throughout the book. Adam’s three cohorts are used as bargaining chips to keep him talking as he does not know what has happened to them, if they are well and if these “officials” also have them, as they claim.

Through this Q&A format Adam tells the story of how he, a computer high-tech savvy expert with multitudes of invented gadgets and access to any computer in the world meets up with three other teens of various abilities who join together to help the world by tracking down online hackers and fixing weak security systems while leaving behind anonymous notes. They call themselves “Trackers” and they also physically go out on test runs with the gadgets Adam has invented while he stays back at the control room running the operation. They get pulled into a dangerous game when Adam is contacted by an attractive female teen who challenges him to a cyber game he can’t refuse. Next thing he knows his system has been hacked, all his inventions and files stolen and now he is at the mercy of this young woman and a menacing man named Laslo who force him and his team to participate in criminal activities but Adam thinks he can outsmart them in the end. Obviously, due to the current interrogation, something drastically went wrong.

I loved this story. It was a page turner. Each of the four teens were exceptional individuals, from different backgrounds and each was extremely likable in their own unique way. I am very eager to get on with the story in book 2.

Trackers is very unique itself in that it combines video with text. Throughout the book, as the interview was progressing a file would be introduced and Adam would pull up a video that proved what he was saying was true. At this point the reader who has already been directed to a website inserts the password and has the opportunity to watch an actual video of the characters in action. There may also be other things for the reader to do such as examine items in evidence, schematics, etc. I must say this is extraordinarily cool. Unfortunately, I only have internet access on a PC shared with family members. I did watch the first couple of videos this way, but if I had had to read a bit then wait a turn on the computer before continuing to read on it would have taken me weeks to finish the book! Fortunately, for those not able to enjoy the instant gratification of the videos each is included as a written transcript as an appendix at the back of the book and this is the way I eventually ended up reading the book. It did not deter my enjoyment at all. A very exciting, unique, intriguing story!

The Secret Fiend by Shane Peacock
The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His 4th Case

Pages: 244
Ages: 12+
First Published: May 11, 2010
Publisher: Tundra Books
Rating: 5/5

First sentence:

There have been many late knocks on the old apothecary’s door.

Acquired: Received a review copy through LibraryThing’s Early Review Program.

Reason for Reading: Next in the Series.

Shane Peacock has made it to the 4th book in this series and in my opinion the best one so far. I’ve been consistently rating the books a 4/5, knowing that Mr. Peacock had something more to give that was waiting for my full five rating and “The Secret Fiend” fits the bill. Oh, the case is a bit out there but then some of Doyle’s cases were also so I won’t hold that against an author who can hold it all together.

Sherlock, who has decided to wait until he has become a man to resume detecting, has been spending his time on his studies: academic, mental and physical, when a very close friend from childhood, Beatrice, arrives at his door saying she and a friend have been attacked. She tells a wild tale and will he come and help find her friend. One thing leads to another and Sherlock decides that this time the case has chosen him and he takes it on. Apparently, all over the East Side of London a figure who may be (or is just dressed like) the legendary character Spring-Heeled Jack is on the loose frightening women, leaving notes about chaos and finally seems to be the culprit in a gruesome murder.

Sherlock is older now, at 14 years-old his studies are quite academic and he sees his future ahead of him, but unfortunately feelings keep getting in his way, interfering with logical deduction. So he continues to struggle with giving up personal feelings. Holmes’ character has grown very much over the four books where he is now poised on the edge of the Sherlock Holmes character we know from the source.

Peacock presents us with a fast-paced, action packed, atmospheric and at times dark mystery. The usual character’s from the past books return but there are changing dynamics between friends and foes that are very different from earlier books. We get a good inside look into the political and social arena of the times as Disraeli, the first ever Jew, becomes Prime Minister. Peacock also throws a nod out to Robert Louis Stevenson in this book by having a secondary character known only as Louise for most part until eventually her last name is revealed to be Stevenson and further on we are told her father’s name is Robert.

I really enjoyed the mystery and was so involved in all the activities going on between Sherlock and the various characters, that while I had the suspects listed in my head I never bothered to try to figure out whodunit as I was having too much fun being wrapped up in all the other story threads. Peacock gives a major clue (to the overall story arc of the series) in this book that Holmesian fans will have solved in a heartbeat, but will make no sense to those who haven’t read (or watched) Holmes before. I was excited with this reveal as I had been guessing at it for the last couple of books now and it makes book five an even more eagerly anticipated read. This book (along with the others) is well-written and I don’t hesitate to recommend them to adults as well as teens.

The Water Seeker by Kimberly Willis Holt

Pages: 309
Ages: 13+
First Published: May 11, 2010
Publisher: Henry Holt
Rating: 5/5

First sentence:

Jake was known as the dowser.

Acquired: Received a review copy from Macmillan.

Reason for Reading: I love frontier life western historical fiction and the dowsing aspect caught my eye.

It seems strange to call a book with just over 300 pages an epic story but that really is the best way to describe “The Water Seeker”. It is the story of a family starting with the meeting of the mother and father and ending with their child married, with his own youngster. The main character is a boy who we meet at birth and he grows to manhood, but for the most part of the book he is a young teen and in a way this is his coming of age story. But even though the boy may be considered the protagonist, his father shares that position equally, plus the story is just as much about the adults who surround the boy and their lives that I often forgot I was reading a YA book. Which makes me recommend the book as much to adults as to teens.

Amos Kincaid’s father, Jake, is a dowser but he hates the “gift” that was passed down to him from his father and only does it when times are hard. Otherwise he is a trapper and loves the life. Amos’ mother died at his birth and he was sent to be raised by his Uncle and Aunt, with his father coming to visit each year for a few months when the trapping season is over. Eventually, the boy grows and the father comes back, with a wife, and they set off with a group going along the Oregon Trail. The story deals with very real life and death. Death much more so and Amos experiences guilt, jealousy, anger, joy, happiness and ultimately love before the journey west is complete.

I loved this book, one of the best I’ve read this month. All the characters are so real. Some are filled with the pioneer spirit and others are bitter over the hardships dealt them in this life. We see how tragedy can break a man to nothing but a shell of his former self and we see how the same tragedy can make another pick herself up and continue on because of her love for life. The book is filled with tragedies, heartbreak, illness and despair. Pioneer life was tough no matter how much spirit you had. But we follow a family made up of unique individuals who rise above each hardship creating a magnificent epic novel. I’d love to see “The Water Seeker” up for some awards this year; it’s truly worthy. A great historical.

Countdown by Deborah Wiles
The Sixties Trilogy, Book One

Pages: 388 pages
Ages: 11+
First Published: May 1, 2010
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Rating: 5/5

First sentence:

I am eleven years old, and I am invisible.

Acquired: Received a review copy from Scholastic Canada.

Reason for Reading: I enjoy historical fiction but the amount of photographs and media images in the book was what intrigued me the most.

If anybody had told me I was going to absolutely love a book that’s main historical setting was the Cuban Missile Crisis I would have said “Sorry, I don’t even read that kind of political book” then the next thing I’d say would be “BTW, what is the Cuban Missile Crisis?”

The book takes place over the last few weeks in October, 1962 and is somewhat autobiographical using the author’s personal life and memories to tell the story of growing up in the sixties. Taking the author’s place is Franny Chapman, an ordinary girl with a little brother who can do no wrong in her parents’ eyes. It’s the story of Franny’s life; her best friend is starting to avoid her and becoming friends with a girl whose mother is divorced who Franny is not allowed to have anything to do with. Her uncle, great uncle really, lives with them as he raised her father, but he is slipping into dementia, calls everyone soldier and is embarrassing the whole family to the neighbourhood. Franny’s father is in the Air Force and always going off on trips seeming never to be there when the worst family crises arise. Franny’s older sister, who is in college, is up to something mysterious, something she has disagreed with their mother about, and then one night she just doesn’t come back home.

The background is the height of the cold war. The children are inundated with the “duck and cover” routine should a nuclear bomb hit. They have practice drills and watch in class movies to make sure that instinctively they know what to do. The Bay of Pigs has ended and there is talk of the Russians attacking with a nuclear bomb. Then President Kennedy comes on the TV and explains the situation in Cuba involving the Russians and nuclear missiles aimed at the United States. The media quickly label this the Cuban Missile Crisis. Also spread throughout the book are the rumblings of the beginning of the Civil Rights movement. As the book ends, I believe the set up has been made that the background of the second book will be Civil Rights.

The story is just simply fantastic. I read the book in a day as I just couldn’t put it down. The relationships between all the children were very real and the attitudes and lifestyle of the sixties shone through making the story very authentic. A very unique aspect of this book, which has been called a “documentary novel” is that in the middle of the ongoing story it will suddenly turn to a non-fiction essay on a person who has been mentioned. These are very interesting and flow right along with the story feeling perfectly natural in their placement. We learn of both Jack and Jackie Kennedy this way, along with Harry S. Truman, Pete Seeger, Fannie Lou Townsend Hamer and others.

What makes this book truly amazing though is the combination of text with photographs and graphic media. Every so often, there is a graphic section which enhances the story telling through photographs, quotes, headlines, cartoons, posters, song lyrics and much more. These follow the storyline and political events are introduced through the graphic media before it becomes a part of the textual story which really enhances and makes clear the understanding of otherwise potentially difficult topics. But the photos also just immerse you in the culture and era with sports events, space accomplishments, popular singers and stark photos of reality.

I’ve never read anything quite like this before and think the combination of text and media has been put together brilliantly and with a compelling, well-written story this is a fantastic book. I am eagerly await the second book!

Dark Life by Kat Falls

Pages: 297
Ages: 11+
First Published: May 1, 2010
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Rating: 4/5

First sentence:

I peered into the deep-sea canyon,hoping to spot a toppled skyscraper. Maybe even the Statue of Liberty.

Acquired: Received a review copy from Scholastic Canada.

Reason for Reading: I’ve read a couple of other books about permanent settlements on the sea floor and find the concept quite interesting.

It is the future and an experimental colony on the sea bottom is flourishing. Ty was the first child born sub-sea and it’s the only life he knows. When Gemma comes from Topside looking for her brother she joins him in a journey to safe the colony from a force that seems to be out to get the pioneers. A band of Outlaws are attacking pioneer homes, killing their livestock, invading their homes and deflating them, plus Ty and Gemma have evidence they might have killed someone. Things are taken to such a point that Ty and other sub-sea children must reveal a dark secret they have been keeping.

This was a fun read. I read the book in a day and carried it with me everywhere. The descriptions of underwater life sound plausible to this layman. The way the community is set up is very intriguing and makes one want to visit such a place. I’ve always thought that underwater living would make a much more sensible next step than colonization of another planet. Ty has a whole family who play a part in the book’s plot but Gemma is the one who brings the popular orphan theme into play. I found Ty to be a bit of a whiner, disrespectful to his parents and authority so I never particularly liked him but, nevertheless, the book did have an easy to read, pleasant narrative with a sense of humour. The plot becomes quite involved as we have Ty and Gemma searching for the Outlaws, the Outlaws running amok with the pioneers and the government eventually gets involved leaving the colonists in a worse situation than before. Be prepared as the secrets are revealed make this a compelling read.

My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira

Pages: 364 pages
First Published: May 13, 2010
Publisher: Viking
Rating: 5/5

First sentence:

“Are you Mary Sutter?” Hours had passed since James Blevens had called for the midwife.

Reason for Reading: I’m very interested in this time period especially involving stories of women. The doctor angle grabbed me right away.

Mary Sutter is a twenty-ish young woman who is an experienced midwife. She comes from a long line of maternal midwives. Her twin sister was trained for a while too but she was pretty, flighty and not interested in midwifery while Mary, on the hand, was not satisfied with midwifery. She wanted more, she didn’t want to nurse, she wanted to be a doctor and was determined to become one, no matter what. Medical schools would not accept her application, she could find no doctor to apprentice her. Then the Civil War happened and she snuck onto a train full of male “nurses” (really any volunteer who would go, mostly drunks) being sent to the front. Thus begins Mary’s apprenticeship and journey from charwoman to doctor.

The historical setting is wonderfully done. It is genuine yet the war aspect, meaning the political/tactical aspects of war are kept to a minimum. We’re given enough information to know and understand what is going on but not bored to tears with a “war book”. Medicine is the focus of this book. For the first part of the book we experience childbirth in the 1860s. The complete use of midwives for this situation unless something horrible goes wrong and then a doctor is called in with his dreadful chloroform and forceps. Mary is known as the best midwife in Albany, even better than her mother, now that she’s grown older. Then we see how a doctor (a male) gets his license as a surgeon: a year of apprenticeship with another doctor and then 6 months of courses at a college where he would be lucky if he even got close enough to a body to touch it.

Women of course were not doctors at this time. In fact, only certain kinds of women, would be nurses. No self-respecting girl from a reputable home would become a nurse. When Dorothea Dix put out her first call for nurses wanted during the Civil War she was only allowed by the government once her call described the type of woman wanted as over thirty, hard working, plain looking, wearing black or brown with no jewelry, sober and “can exercise entire self-control”.

The history of medicine as it grows through the War is fascinating as they know little of diseases and infections. There is one surgeon who gets laid up by having his hands burnt who is already a proponent of microscopy who goes around collecting samples so he can perhaps learn more from this tragedy. The descriptions of the wounded, the unsanitary conditions in the makeshift hospitals and non-stop amputations is sickening.

Mary is a determined figure who sets out to do what she wants to do. But at what price? She has many decisions to make along the way. What we want to do and feel compelled to do may not always be the right thing to do and Mary often has to look back on her past decisions and wonder. This makes Mary a real, flawed character who though she is an admirable woman of her time fighting for her rights and those of women everywhere is also someone who has to make choices, some right, some wrong, to get where she wanted to go and she ruminates upon this often.

The final component of the story is a love triangle involving three men with Mary at the centre. Plain, tall, certainly not attractive Mary, has three men in love with her. Mary knows she is plain, her mother knows she is plain and each of her suitors definitely mentions she is plain but there is something that attracts them to her, especially her determination and loving nature. Which of the three she ends up with may be a surprise but I was overjoyed.

A fabulous read, compelling, hard to put down. I did find it somewhat of a slow read, not for any bad reason, but simply I had to slow down my natural reading pace to simply take it all in. Riveting!

Never Let You Go by Erin Healy

Pages: 344 pages
First Published: May 4, 2010
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Rating: 4/5

First sentence:

For seven years, Lexi Solomon had been as cold as the wind that raced down the mountain above her home.

Reason for Reading: I enjoy Healy’s work with Ted Dekker and was excited to read her first solo venture.

This book has two themes. The first is the confession of your sins, *all* of them without holding back and the second and more central theme of forgiving others and not judging them for the sake of our own spiritual well-being. Lexi Solomon has spent the last seven years holding down two jobs to raise her daughter on her own. Life is hard but she has her faith to keep her going. Seven years ago her world fell apart, she was having a secret affair, her husband was dealing crystal meth, he brought his “partners” into their home and then her sister was randomly murdered. After this her affair ended, her father lost his mind and went into a home, her mother left her father and took a job that sent her globetrotting around the world, and worst of all Lexi’s husband got in the car and drove away never to return.

But now her past is suddenly back to haunt her. The man who killed her sister is up for a parole hearing, an unwelcome old “friend” reappears demanding money that is owed him that Lexi hasn’t a clue about nor could she ever repay, and her husband suddenly reappears wanting back into her daughter’s life with her mother apparently on his side. If that wasn’t all, Lexi also feels something evil around them all, something not of this earth.

A very exciting book that I could hardly put down. Lexi is a realistic character who is sure of her faith and yet has times of self-doubt. The bad characters are evil and there is no greying around the edges. On one hand the story is a fast-paced, exciting thriller with Lexi’s nine-year-old daughter in the centre of all the danger. While on the other it is a showdown of spiritual warfare as Lexi must rise above her human weaknesses to fight pure evil with the love her faith expects of her.

While I wholeheartedly recommend this book, I don’t think this is a book for everyone. The Christian elements are integral to the story. There is a secret identity that is so obvious from the very beginning that I think the author should have revealed it much sooner as it did become a bit of an eye roller for the “secret” to last so long. As a Catholic, there was nothing disparaging. A great thriller and a successful solo novel. I will be watching for Erin Healy’s next book.

She lay on her side afraid to move until the silence filled the dark. She focused on a tree trunk a few feet away. She knew she should be cold. She wasn’t. She knew she should hurt. She didn’t.

[. . . ]

A phrase she remembered played in her head, and she let it spin as she began walking. Keep on truckin’. You got to keep on truckin’. She repeated this phrase until she reached The Habit miles away. [pg 38 & 39]

You can learn more about Loretta Stinson and her books on her website.

Source: Book provided by the publisher for review.

Early to Death, Early to Rise by Kim Harrison
Madison Avery, Book 2

Pages: 228 pages
Ages: 13+
First Published: May 2010
Publisher: Harper Teen
Rating: 5/5

First sentence:

The car was hot from the sun, and I pulled my fingerprints from it as I slunk past.

Reason for Reading: Next in the series.

A fabulous sequel to Once Dead, Twice Shy! An exciting story from beginning to end that had me glued to the book until I was finished. Once again Kim Harrison finished off with a nice, neat, satisfactory ending without the use of a cliffhanger, though leaving the loose threads and plot direction for the next and what may be the last book of a trilogy. All the characters from book one return so that even though we’ve had to wait a whole year for this book, their familiarity quickly comes back to mind and the author does give quick mentions throughout of events that happened in book one to refresh our memory without going into a rehash of book one except for a quick half-page prologue.

I really don’t want to say a lot about the plot in the book as it carries on from book one taking the main character Madison Avery, who is dead, further along with the job she has been assigned and I don’t want to give plot spoilers for either book. We get a greater insight into the workings behind the scenes and while this actually is an angel book where the angels come from heaven and god (with a little g) is once mentioned, the author has taken great liberty to create her own fictional vision of how death works and what part angels play in helping souls to reach heaven. Harrison’s vision is fantastical (having nothing to do with Christianity) but does pose some seriously tough questions about free will.

The characters are wonderful. Madison grows into some of her powers and finds it’s not all fun and games to be a supernatural being. Madison grows to connect closer and even bond with some of her supernatural friends, Barnabas the light angel and Nakita the dark angel and Grace the guardian angel. Madison’s love interest Josh, is not an integral part of this story, but in the brief page time he gets at the beginning and end their relationship does take a step in the right direction.

Some very cool ideas at work in this sequel which not only entertained me but had me thinking and and seeing the point of view of both sides, the Dark and the Light. While, morally, I know where I stand, I can understand the various points of view. It will be very interesting to see how all threads and issues are resolved though I do have an idea as to a possible direction. A great series that I am really enjoying. Just wish I didn’t have to wait a whole year for the next book!

The Turning: What Curiosity Kills by Helen Ellis
Sourcebooks, 2010
Fantasy (YA); 224 pgs

The Singer’s Gun by Emily St. John Mandel

Unbridled Books, 2010

She giggled.
He hated her. [ excerpt from The Killing of Mindi Quintana]

Keeper by Kathi Appelt

Pages: 409 pages
Ages: 8+
First Published: May 18, 2010
Publisher: Atheneum
Rating: 3/5

First sentence:

Keeper leaned over the edge of the boat.

Reason for Reading: Mermaids are another of my favourite mythological creatures to read about in novels. I actually had no idea the author was a newbery honor winner, although I have heard of her other book, I have not read it and didn’t know who wrote it.

The book has a simple plot. Living on the Texan Coast in an isolated area close to a small town in three houses are Keeper and a young woman who is not her mother, an old man who has forgotten how old he is and a young man who runs a surfboard rental shop. These people are Keepers “family” and she loves them very much but one day Keeper has a bad day and everything she does goes wrong and she hurts each one of these people. Living a life filled with tales of the sea and a strong belief in mermaid lore, since she herself is half merfolk she sets off under the stealth of night, on the night of the blue moon, to make her way to a sandbar out in the ocean with her dog BD and a segull named Captain to call her mermaid mother back to ask her help on fixing everything that has gone wrong.

The book is well written and has a dreamy, calm atmosphere even when Keeper feels that everything has gone wrong. The pace is slow. The book starts with Keeper in the boat and then goes back to explain everything that happened that day to get her to this point. Along the way, we get the backstories of the people (and animals) inhabiting her world. This takes perhaps the first half of the book. Then the second half takes Keeper on her journey out to sea and reveals secrets of those back on shore culminating in the worst bad thing that has gone wrong all day. There are some magical elements to the story which are not explained in any sense as to whether they are real or dreamings. It is up to each reader to decide for themselves.

I’m having a hard time coming up with a rating for this book as I’m caught in the middle as to whether I really liked it. I certainly enjoyed the characters, they were all brought to life for me and I appreciated who they were and what they had experienced very much; I just wish something actually happened to them in this book. The plot is simple and dragged out but the book does leave one feeling tranquil most of the time. I think what I may be trying to say is that the writing is almost like poetry and that just may be my problem; I’m not big on poetical writing. I think this may be one of those books that you’re either going to love or just could do without.

White Cat by Holly Black
The Curse Workers, Book 1

Pages: 310 pages
Ages: 14+
First Published: May 4, 2010
Publisher: McElderry Books
Rating: 5/5

First sentence:

I woke up barefoot, standing on cold slate tiles.

Reason for Reading: I’m a fan of the author.

Set in an alternate reality almost identical to the Earth we live in with one small difference, some people are born with a special ability which is called a “curse”. One must touch another’s skin for the effects to take place. These “curse workers” are a minority of the population and their curses range from luck to changing emotions to causing death. In this world everyone wears gloves to keep everyone safe from “curses”. No one knows who may be a “worker” but working itself has been deemed illegal.

In this world Cassell finds himself the only non-worker in a family of workers. His family, along with others who have a strong heritage of workers, are what we would call organized crime families, mobsters and con artists. Since Cassell can’t “work” he at least has honed his skills as a con artist. But his life starts to unravel when he finds himself sleepwalking, having dreams sent from a white cat and beginning to notice some unaccounted for events in his life. His brothers act strangely when he asks them about it and Cassell begins to feel that perhaps he is the subject of a huge con himself.

I loved every word of this book! I was hooked from the first sentence and couldn’t continue with my regular life until I had finished the book. The world Black creates here is very dark and dangerous. One wonders if any character can truly be trusted and the main character himself is not exactly an honest citizen. The direction the story takes is surprising and makes compelling reading. The unexpected actions of characters, including Cassell himself, are shocking and yet as one gets to know them not out of character at all. In this world of dark magic and crime the back stabbing characters are always at each other and it’s as matter of magic against magic and wits against wits. The ending is absolutely brilliant and so appropriate! Don’t expect any happy, happy, joy, joy ending here! I can’t wait for book two!