Dead to Me, by Mary McCoy

I just finished Dead to Me, by Mary McCoy on Netgalley. It's due to be published on March 3, 2015.

The publisher lists as ages 12+, but I think that's far too young for this book - I would put it more along the lines of 14+ as it includes lots of mature content: drug use, mild pornography, abuse, and lots of language. I'm not sure that I would house this book in my classroom because it would be inappropriate for the majority of my students.

HOWEVER, I did enjoy reading Dead to Me, which follows the story of Alice, a 16 year old growing up in the shadow of Hollywood's glitz and glam. Alice's father has always been involved in showbiz, and she grew up watching her parents try desperately to catapult her older sister, Annie, into the family business. Alice, though, was never quite talented or pretty enough. So it was a huge surprise to Alice when her sister disappeared mysteriously 4 years before the novel's beginning. Alice had kind of given up hopes of finding Annie, until she received a mysterious summons and indication that her sister was hospitalized and had nearly died.

After reuniting with her now-comatose sister, Alice vows to figure out the truth about what happened to Annie. This leads her on a sort of wild-goose chase through the very seediest sections of LA, introducing her to dangerous and untrustworthy characters at every turn. Alice is even introduced to drugs, a mildly pornographic photography ring, and the like. She constantly questions who she can and cannot trust.

In the end, things work out as well as they can. I found myself kind of skimming the last third of the book - it just didn't hold my attention and I knew it wasn't something I'd be recommending to my students.

Also Try: Belle Epoque, by Elizabeth Ross; Strings Attached, by Judy Blundell

The Morgue and Me, by John C. Ford

The Morgue and Me, by John C. Ford, has such an interesting plot and cover that I know several of my students will want to try it out. I already had a few students say they wanted to read it just based on the cover...it is a really cool cover!

Main character Christopher lives in small-town Petoskey, Michigan, and is trying to save money for college. Instead of taking a typical employment route, he decides to work part-time as a janitor at the local morgue, under slightly-eccentric Medical Examiner Dr. Mobley. After a short time at the morgue, Christopher discovers that something must be awfully amiss when he witnesses Dr. Mobley falsify a death certificate. He rules the death a suicide, but Christopher knows that the multiple gun wounds the chest can simply NOT be the result of a suicide - it's murder. So, he sets out to find the truth about this supposed nobody's death and set the record straight. Along the way, Christopher learns a lot about his town, his friends, and politics - sometimes more than he'd like to know. Christopher vows to determine the true story behind the death of this mystery man, no matter what it takes.

I loved Ford's characters and the way he developed them, although the strange relationship between Christopher and the reporter he begins to work with frustrated me throughout the entire novel. It did keep me guessing constantly, which I like in a mystery - I never felt like I could predict the outcome, which is fun.
There was some strong language and hints at sex, so I'd recommend this for more mature YA readers. 

Hollow City, by Ransom Riggs

I tried to read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children several times when it first came out. I could never get into it - I think a large part of that was that the photos in the novel looked alarmingly similar to the images in the "American Horror Story" TV show commercials, and I was just too terrified to see the book through. I recently read (and LOVED!) it, though, since its sequel Hollow City came out.

Hollow City picks up right where Miss Peregrine's Home left off, and it's definitely one of those sequels that mandates reading the first installment first. Sometimes you can get away with skipping straight to the second book, but I don't think you'd be able to here.

Hollow City finds Jacob Portman, who used to think he was normal, suddenly bound to the group of "peculiars" that his late grandfather (read about that in the first novel) used to be a part of. Jacob and his new "friends" are determined to save their loop and their ymbryne (read: leader) from destruction and peril at the hands of the evil "wights". Secondary to this cause, Jacob also longs to learn more about his grandfather's life and death. This quest takes them from Wales to WWII London, hoping to find aid amidst the network of peculiars that they know is out there. I realize in reading my summary that it probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense - that's the thing about these books...you just have to read them!

There were lots of things I loved about Hollow City. First, like with Miss Peregrine, I actually grew to love the intriguing and (sometimes) disturbing photographs that accompanied the text. I thought it was such a cool concept and gave the book a really interesting feel. Next, I loved the blend of so many different genres that was going on in Hollow City. First, there's the sort of fantastical idea of children ("peculiars") with magical, mystical powers. Then, that was set against the historical backdrop of World War II Wales and London. Finally, there was this realistic aspect to the novel - Jacob's struggle between his newfound, adventurous life and his old, boring, but comfortable lifestyle with his parents.

Also Try: Freaks, by Kieran Larwood; Wonder Show, by Hannah Barnaby; The Wells Bequest, by Polly Shulman; and (obviously) Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs, and apparently there's a book three in the works!!

Knockout Games, by G. Neri

Given all the news attention that's been on the "Knockout Game" lately, I was really excited to read a galley of G. Neri's newest book, Knockout Games.


The novel is about a used-to-be-innocent girl named Erica who moves to the big city of St. Louis with her mom after her parent's divorce. Erica is one of few white girls in her new school and is struggling to find a niche. One of her new teachers urges her into film, but Erica's crazy talents are discovered by the wrong crowd - a gang of kids run by leader Kalvin who plays the knockout game for fun.

Erica immediately gets wrapped up in the "games", taking videos for the club and uploading them to Facebook for the world to see. But when the gang takes out a community leader and accidentally kills his wife (who just so happens to be the same teacher that turned Erica onto film), Erica realizes just how deep into the terror she's become. She doesn't know what to do to pull her way back out, and she's worried that she's put her entire family at risk along the way.

Overall, the novel wasn't as great as I thought it would be. I thought there would be more discussion of the games, how they started, and the kind of nationwide appeal that they've garnered. But, it was very limited to this St. Louis crowd who had apparently been 'playing' for years. There was a lot of bad language in the novel, and considerable discussion of sex - I don't think it would be appropriate for my middle school classroom.

Publication Date: August 1, 2014

The Tyrant's Daughter, by J.C. Carleson

I don’t know why, but I’ve always been intrigued by novels about the Middle East. The Tyrant’s Daughter is about Laila and her family, recent refugees to the United States after her father’s death in their home nation. Their homeland is never defined, but her father was the leader (read: dictator) of the country. Killed in a coup, Laila and her family have no choice but to flee to safety, in America. 

Upon arrival, Laila is forced to confront the harsh reality of her father’s regime and her old way of life. All she knew of her father was that he was her dad, the man who loved her. But in America, she learned awful news of his many crimes against humanity and his brutal methods of enforcing his agenda. All of this is nearly too much for Laila to handle, especially when she meets a friend’s crippled, mutilated little sister, innocently injured while at school, at the hands of Laila’s father. Trying to assimilate into American culture is, obviously, extremely difficult, and one of the most striking scenes I recall from the novel is when Laila’s school has a bomb threat. The American students rejoice in the occasion, seeing it as a free day off, something that would never actually happen. For Laila though, the fear is all too real and familiar. 

After a while in the U.S., Laila discovers that her mother’s motives were not merely for survival - she’s working with the CIA to bring down the new ruler of her country, her uncle. Laila is sick of the betrayal and the lies, and vows to not let her parents rule her life any longer. 

I did love the novel and I particularly loved the contrast between life in Laila’s home country and life in the United States. I loved Laila’s commentary on how over-the-top things are in America. There was one scene in which she described how cereal in her home land was a luxury; in America, it’s something for everyone and there is an entire aisle devoted just to it at the grocery store. I would recommend this novel to girls, especially those interested in other cultures. Be warned, there was some bad language and mention of sex. 

Publication Date: February 11, 2014

Also Try: Under the Persimmon Tree, by Suzanne Fisher Staples; Sold, by Patricia McCormick; Saving Sky, by Diane Stanley

The Impossible Knife of Memory, by Laurie Halse Anderson

I loved The Impossible Knife of Memory, by Laurie Halse Anderson, from the very first page. The novel opens:

“It  started in detention. No surprise there, right? Detention was invented by the same idiots who dreamed up the time-out corner. Does being forced to sit in time-out ever make little kids stop putting cats in the dishwasher or drawing on white walls with purple marker? Of course not. It teaches them to be sneaky and guarantees that when they get to high school they’ll love detention because it’s a great place to sleep.”

Halse Anderson is just so adept at capturing the teenage psyche and perpetuating it in the voice of her characters. I loved this about her last books and she lived up to my expectation in this one!

The Impossible Knife of Memory is about Hayley Kincain, whose mother is dead and whose father has recently returned from deployment. Suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, Hayley’s dad has a hard time settling down and keeping a job; for this reason, they set out on cross-country trucking jobs, and Hayley is very loosely homeschooled. However, during her senior year, her dad decides it’s time for her to have a normal life and go to a real high school. So, they move back to the town where her dad grew up, into his mother’s old house, and Hayley begins her “normal” life. But, there’s nothing normal about having a dad who is fired more than he works, screams from nightmares in the middle of the night, and wavers between euphoria and depression. Hayley can’t focus on her schoolwork because she’s so worried about her dad. While attempting to avoid making friends, Haley eventually finds someone who can help her deal with her dad's situation. Will she be able to cope before her dad gets even worse?

This was an awesome book, but there were some sex scenes and inappropriate language, so I'd only recommend it for mature readers.

See Jane Run, by Hannah Jayne

See Jane Run took a while for me to get into, but once I got into it I was hooked! The beginning of the novel just seemed a little contrived to me and I almost gave up on it, but I'm glad I didn't. 

See Jane Run is about a girl named Riley Spencer who has overprotective parents - way overprotective. They won't let her go anywhere without them; she even has to bribe them to go on a school-sponsored college tour. One day, Riley and her friend Shelby find a mysterious birth certificate that belongs to someone named Jane Elizabeth O'Leary. Riley has no idea who this person is, or why her parents would have her birth certificate. This makes Riley begin to question everything she's ever known - she doesn't even know if she can trust her parents. 

Riley vows to find out the truth about Jane O'Leary, and encounters some serious trouble and even a kidnapping along the way. She finally finds out the truth - but will she like what she finds?

Also Try: How to Save a Life, by Sara Zarr; Girl, Stolen, The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die, by April Henry