Hereafter, by Kate Brian

I received a galley of Hereafter through NetGalley - it's not due to published until October 1 - and I somehow didn't realize that the novel was the second in a series, not the first. That explains the mild air of confusion I felt throughout the novel! The first book is called Shadowlands, and I can't wait to read it and fill in the gaps.

Despite being a little confused, I loved the idea behind the novel and I love Kate Brian's style. I've known her name for a while, as her Private series has been very popular. I never read any of the Privates books, and I think that this new series is quite different than they are.

The novel takes place on Juniper Landing Island, which turns out to be a sort of in-between place. It's where people go after they die, while they're awaiting their fate - to infinite life in a good place, or in the evil Shadowlands. The thing about Juniper Landing, though, is that no one there knows they're dead; they all think they're on vacation. When people are "escorted" to their beyond, the other vacationers just assume they've gone on home. That brings up the "escorts". There are people on the island who are called "Lifers", and they escort the newly dead to their afterlife.

Main character Rory and her family are new to Juniper Landing, after having Rory's serial killer teacher. Rory quickly learns that she is a Lifer, but her father and sister, Darcy, are awaiting their fate. Rory quickly bonds with several of the Lifers, but all can tell that something is amiss on Juniper Landing. Rory looks to the oldest Lifer, Tristan, for help when one of the others, Nadia, turns on her. Things take a turn for the worse when everyone starts going to the Shadowlands - not just the awful people who deserve to. Can Rory figure out what's going on before it's too late?

Sylo, by DJ MacHale

I read several reviews of Sylo, by D.J. MacHale that said the book was terrible, but I disagree! A lot of people complained about the erratic pacing of the novel, but I felt like it kept the novel fresh and propelled me to keep reading.

Anyway, the novel's main character is a kid named Tucker Pierce. He's just average - he pulls a solid B average in school, sits the bench on the football team, and doesn't really have anything to set him apart from the crowd. However, that all changes the night a member of his football team dies. Suddenly, Tucker is shot into the spotlight as he takes over the kid's position. He learns more and more about his teammate's untimely death, specifically the part that a mysterious crystalline drug called "The Ruby" played in it; what he learns could be the downfall of his quaint hometown, Pemberwick Island, Maine. Before long, Pemberwick is under government-enforced quarantine, and no one can figure out why. Except, that is, for Tucker and an odd crew of his peers. They're not sure if they'll be able to save their island, but they sure will try!

This novel was a bit violent, and there was some bad language, but I wouldn't let that keep me from recommending it to my students next year, especially boys. I saw some big parallels between this novel and The 5th Wave, by Rick Yancey. For instance, the way main character Tucker describes the deaths on his island is very similar to the way the protagonist describes the "waves" of death in 5th Wave.

I know Sylo is the first in a series, but I can't find anything about the second book...anywhere!

Also Try: The 5th Wave, by Rick Yancey; Hero, by Mike Lupica

The Raft, by S.A. Bodeen

A while ago, I read another of Bodeen's books, The Gardener and loved it, as did all the students I lent it out to. This book, The Raft, is entirely different from The Gardener, which I liked - I love when authors are able to pull off all genres and types of stories.

The Raft is about a girl named Robie who lives in the Midway Atoll, a group of islands somewhere near Hawaii. Midway is extremely isolated, and when Robie gets sick of the lack of civilization, she goes to visit her aunt "AJ" in Honolulu. Robie's return trip to Midway, though - via cargo plane - goes terribly wrong and she finds herself surviving a plane crash (or, as the airlines would call it, a "water landing"), trying desperately to survive in the middle of the ocean, hopefully making it to shore. To make matters worse, Robie's parents did not know she was on the flight, so they don't know to look for her. Robie's sole companion is the co-pilot of the plane, named Max, who fared much worse than her in the crash. The relationship between Robie and Max made me think a lot of Pi in Life of Pi...I couldn't tell throughout the novel if Max was really there with Robie, or if he was a hallucination, or just a coping mechanism. You'll have to read to figure it out!

For me, this book wasn't one of my favorites. I can't really put my finger on why, it just didn't do it for me. But, my kids are obsessed with survival stories, so I'm sure this one will be a hit in my classroom when school begins in August.

The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater

I've been wanting to read The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater for a long time, mainly because I love horses and I love the ocean. This book centers around those two things, but in unexpected ways.

The "Scorpio Races" take places on the first of every November on a remote island called Thisby. They're horse races, but not your typical horse races. They involve racing the mysterious "capaill uisce", or water horses - vicious, man-eating, predatory horses captured out of the sea to be trained for their sheer speed and mysticism. As you can imagine, racing these beasts is quite dangerous, and in Thisby's history, only men have entered the races. Well, that all changes when the book begins, as main character Kate "Puck" Connolly seeks to enter the races on (gasp!) her pony - not a capaill uisce. Puck has to win the races to save her home, but can she beat the dangerous capall?

To be honest, it took me a while to really get into The Scorpio Races. The first page grabbed me, with the opening line, "it is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die." But then I got lost/bored for a little bit. I kept at it though, and by about a third of the way through the novel, I was totally hooked. I loved the idea behind the race, and the way the island of Thisby was described. I am sad the school year's over because I can think of two students who would absolutely love this book!