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. 

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 

Shadowlands, by Kate Brian

I read the second book in the Shadowlands series, called Hereafter, this summer on Netgalley, not realizing it wasn't the first in the series. It was AMAZING and I couldn't wait to read the first installment.

Honestly, Shadowlands was not as awesome as I was expecting it to be, which is kind of disappointing - I'm worried that some of my students would be bored with Shadowlands and not want to read the rest of the series; they'd really be missing out because Hereafter was so good!!

Anyway, the novel is about a girl, Rory Miller, who is targeted by a notorious serial killer, who just happens to be her high school math teacher. Rory is able to escape his clutches, but after several days of FBI protection, it is discovered that the killer - Mr. Nell - has infiltrated Rory's family's home. So, they are sent to an FBI safe house in the elusive beach town of Juniper Landing. Rory's family quickly settles into the community, but Rory can't help but notice that something's slightly "off" about the town. Everyone seems to know everyone, yet no one seems to care when a teenage girl (Rory's friend) goes missing. Rory can't shake the feeling of strangeness, and is determined to figure out what's really going on in Juniper Landing.

Also Try: Tumble and Fall, by Alexandra Coutts; If You Find Me, by Emily Murdoch; "Private" series by Kate Brian

Poor Little Dead Girls, by Lizzie Friend

Secret societies, lacrosse, exclusive private boarding schools, and secrets are at the heart of Poor Little Dead Girls, by Lizzie Friend. Sadie Marlowe is essentially a "nobody" from Portland, Oregon, who's been extended a full scholarship to an upper-echelon, all girls boarding school called Keating. Her scholarship is for lacrosse, and Sadie is excited about the idea, but also nervous, knowing she won't fit in with the other girls, who have all led lives of privilege.

However, Sadie's worries are proven wrong, and she fits in all too well: she's pursued and inducted into a historic secret society called the Sullas - only the richest of the rich get into this society. From the get-go, Sadie feels mildly uneasy about participating in this society, but the members don't really give her a choice; not to mention the fact that the extravagances ($2000 ball gowns, anyone?) and lifestyle are hard to pass up. Before long, though, Sadie begins to see that the Sullas are not innocent - they're working on something deep and dark, something that may have caused the death of her mother - who also attended Keating - and another student named Anna. As Sadie uncovers the missing links and information, she's troubled with who she can actually trust and how she can bring the secrets of the Sullas to light without endangering herself or her friends.

I really loved this novel, and was drawn in from the start. The suspense that Friend built in was awesome, and the novel really kept you guessing. I do think, though, that it's a little too mature for my classroom - there's lots of bad language, drug/sex references, and some questionable topics. For instance, part of the Sulla's operation is that they harvest the eggs of their members in order to preserve an impeccable gene pool and create a perfect race. I think that this novel could spark some really interesting ethical discussion at the upper high school level, but it's not appropriate for my middle school students.

Also Try: "Pretty Little Liars" series, by Sara Shepard; The Disreputable History of Frankie of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart

The Naturals, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Naturals, the first in a new series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes and due out in November, is about a group of gifted kids recruited by the FBI to investigate (and potentially solve) cold cases. The group's gift lies in their natural ability to read people - to read emotions, to detect lies, to profile. Main character Cassie is a profiler; she can make accurate conclusions about a person's personality and lifestyle based upon seemingly minimal observation. At the start of the story, it's been five years since her mother's (unsolved) murder, and she's living with her father's family, but with the lingering feeling that she just doesn't belong. So, when she's approached by an agent to join the experimental project and move to Washington, D.C., she sees 'YES' as the only answer. She hopes that this will somehow eventually connect her to her mother's case, but she could never have expected how closely linked to it she will become. I won't spoil anything, but before long, Cassie herself is being pursued by a serial killer.

I found the more psychological aspect of the novel so interesting. Obviously, there's analysis of killers, crime scenes, and 'victimology' which was interesting, but more than that I liked the interactions of the various participants in the Naturals group. They're all late teenagers, they all live in a secluded house, they all have an inherent gift, and, of course, they all carry their own unique load of baggage. I love watching their interactions and personalities unfold.

I often pride myself on the fact that when reading mysteries, I can usually figure out 'whodunit' if you will, but this time I really couldn't! I was utterly convinced that the killer in the novel was one of two characters, neither of whom actually turned out to be the culprit. I'd like to think that I just wasn't reading carefully enough, since I was also watching my 13-month-old son while reading, but I don't think that's the case - I think that Jennifer Barnes's plot, characters, and writing are JUST THAT GOOD.

Amazon recommends this novel for ages 12 and up on their website, but I think I'd go more with 14 or 15 and up. The killing scenes are quite graphic - carving off of facial skin and keeping lipsticks as mementos of the kill - and there's some motivation behind a sexual motivation for the murders. I do think that it's these details that make the novel so great though - they make it seem so real.

Also Try: The Name of the Star, by Maureen Johnson; Shadowlands, by Kate Brian; "The Squad" series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Release Date: November 5, 2013

Ripped, by Shelly Dickson Carr

Ripped by Shelly Dickson Carr makes the THIRD Jack the Ripper-themed novel I've read in the past few months. All three of the Ripper novels I've read have taken different approaches: The Name of the Star, by Maureen Johnson, explored a modern-day copycat of the Ripper killings; Ripper, by Amy Carol Reeves, was a historical novel that chronicled the murders as they occurred; finally, Ripped is a time-travel novel in which the main character, Katie, attempts to go back in time to solve the murders and change the course of history, hopefully impacting her life in the present. I really liked taking a look at this topic from such different vantage points! 

Katie is a recent transplant to London - she finds herself living with her grandmother following her parents' untimely death. Her older sister, Courtney, is part of a girl group rock band; this lifestyle upsets their grandmother and has alienated Courtney from the family. Katie wants nothing more than to have things back to normal within her family and be able to see her sister more often. When she discovers a family link to the Jack the Ripper murders - an ancestor of hers named Lady Beatrix Twyford was murdered by the Ripper - she goes back in time via a time portal in the London Stone in an attempt to change history and save her family. The plot is filled with twists and turns, and I honestly did find myself constantly guessing who the Ripper would turn out to be - the culprit wasn't as obvious as is sometimes the case.

Overall, I enjoyed the novel but found it a bit too long. I couldn't really tell how many pages it was since I read it on my kindle app through NetGalley, but Barnes and Noble has it listed at 520 pages. My favorite parts were the inclusion of Cockney rhyming slang and the theme of the morality and potential complications of altering the past. The Name of the Star is still my favorite Ripper novel, but I think those interested in the subject would enjoy this one as well. 

Also Try: The Name of the Star, by Maureen Johnson; Ripped, by Amy Carol Reeves; Wrapped, by Jennifer Bradbury; The Future of Us, by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler (it explores similar themes of changing our past/future)