Ripper, by Stefan Petrucha

I've been waiting to read Ripper for a while - my interest in books about this subject was piqued after reading The Name of the Star, by Maureen Johnson, last year.

Ripper is the story of Carver Young, an orphan living in New York City. At the beginning of the book, Carver's orphanage is told it's being shut down, and he is hurriedly adopted by a man named Mr. Hawking. Despite the fact that Mr. Hawking is eccentric and not in the best of health, Carver is excited by this opportunity because Mr. Hawking is a detective,  and Carver has always been intrigued by detective work, especially with the recent "Library Murders" that have been going on.

Soon after his adoption, Carver is thrown into the world of the "New Pinkertons" - a world of gadgets, spying, and doing anything possible to stop a criminal. He's also been given an incredible test by his new "father" to find the Library Killer, but along the way he finds that he may be more connected to the murders than he originally thought.

Ripper really gripped me in the beginning, but I kind of lost steam in the middle of the book. The plot seemed to slow down a little bit, and there were lots of subplots that were kind of distracting. Overall, I enjoyed the book and some of the twists in it, but Name of the Star is still my favorite Jack the Ripper book!

Also Try: Name of the Star, by Maureen Johnson; Ripper, by Amy Carol Reeves

bully.com, by Joe Lawlor

When I picked up bully.com, I honestly wasn't too sure I was going to like it - mostly because of the cover. I know, I know...you can't judge a book by its cover. BUT, you know how you can tell when a movie is really low-budget because the picture quality absolutely stinks and the special effects are laughable? Yea, well that's how I felt about the cover of bully.com: LOW-BUDGET.

However, I was totally impressed with the plot of the novel, and with the way a male author was able to so expertly capture the true antics of middle school "mean girls".

The novel's protagonist/hero/sleuth-in-training is 7th grader Jun Li, a complete nerd who generally flies under the radar, unless he's arguing with teachers about extra credit, of all things. Jun's low profile all changes, though, when defamatory pictures of stereotypical "It Girl" Kimmie Cole are published to his school's website. Jun is instantly blamed, because he was logged in to a school computer at the time of the security breach, and it's common knowledge that he is a very capable hacker. Jun pleads innocence with the principal, who's feeling tremendous pressure to crack down on cyberbullying. So, the principal leaves Jun with an ultimatum: uncover the true perpetrator's identity in a week's time, or face expulsion. And so begins Jun's journey into a land he never thought he'd inhabit - the land of the Middle School Mean Girls. There are hiccups along the way, but Jun and his trusty sidekick, Chris, make sure justice is served. I was actually really shocked at who the offender was proven to be.

At first, as I read, I was honestly thinking, "wow, these characters are way too stereotypical - their actions are so predictable." But, the more I thought about it, I could see some of my students fitting into these tight molds - the predictability was totally accurate.

Some parts of the novel were underdeveloped and there were some sections that felt annoyingly repetitive, but overall it was a good read, and a great first novel for author Joe Lawlor.

The Gardener, S.A. Bodeen

Have you ever heard the word autotroph before? Well, an autotroph is an organism that can generate its own food source, and that's what this novel is all about.

A group of scientists in The Gardener have become increasingly alarmed by the dwindling food supply. So, they've made it their mission to create human autotrophs - humans that are capable of making their own food - for when the inevitable food crisis occurs.

The main character, Mason, happens to meet one of the kids involved in this experiment, a mysteriously beautiful girl named Laila. Not fully understanding the experiment and determined to save her, Mason goes on an adventure-filled quest to figure out exactly what's going on at the laboratory that she came from, and just who "The Gardener" that Laila is so terrified of is. You'll be shocked when you realize "The Gardener's" identity!

The book presented an interesting concept (the food crisis) and had lots of plot twists that I didn't expect. It has a little bit of everything - dystopian themes, romance, mystery, and adventure. I'd recommend it to both boys and girls.

On another note...I only have TWO Book Award nominees left! They are Boys Without Names and Camo Girl. Do you think I can finish?! I think I can!!

The Future of Us, by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

Well, I'd hoped to read more over Christmas break but I was only able to finish one book. It was an awesome one, though! I read The Future of Us, by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler. I picked it up because I'd read (and LOVED) another book by Jay Asher before (Thirteen Reasons Why) and because the premise sounded really interesting.

The novel is about two teenagers in the late 1990s, Josh and Emma. They get an America OnLine CD-ROM in the mail - I know, before your time - and are shocked when they open it up. They're expecting just a classic internet homepage, but instead, Facebook appears! Facebook hasn't even been invented yet. At first Josh and Emma think it's just a prank that someone from school is playing on them. But, as their status updates and posts change daily, they realize that no way can this be a prank. They are looking into the future.

At first, they think Facebook is really strange. They can't fathom why people would post intimate details about their lives for the world to see. But, before long, Josh and Emma (well, mostly Emma) become absolutely obsessed with their futures, logging on a few times a day to see what's changed in their future, adult lives. They become so obsessed that they sort of seem to forget about their lives in the present.

That part made me think a lot...in middle school, I was always thinking about what I would do in high school. In high school, I was always looking forward to the future, to college, and to new freedom. In college, I was thinking about future jobs, marriage, etc. We never truly live in the present, and The Future of Us is a great reminder about how important it is to do so.