In My Mailbox 5/1

IMM is a weekly meme hosted and created by Kristie at The Story Siren and was inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie.

I am not doing a vlog today since I only got two books. And who wants to watch a video with only two books in it?.. In fact, I wasn't even going to do a post, because up until Friday, I hadn't received any books in the mail. But, the fedex man came and brought me...

Nightshade

By: Andrea Cremer
Release Date: October 19, 2010

Isn't that cover delicious?! I've seen some pretty positive buzz for this book, so I'm excited to read it. And, I know The Literati will love it. (The teenage reading and writing group I'm an adviser for). It's a pretty hefty ARC at 450 pages.

Also, I might be getting this wrong, but I'm pretty sure that Andrea had to change her main character's name from Calla to Cassia. I thought I read that on her website, and now I can't remember where I found it. So, if I'm wrong, I'm sorry...  Here's the synopsis of the book from Goodreads:

While other teenage girls daydream about boys, Calla Tor imagines ripping out her enemies’ throats. And she wouldn’t have it any other way. Calla was born a warrior and on her eighteenth-birthday she’ll become the alpha female of the next generation of Guardian wolves. But Calla’s predestined path veers off course the moment she saves the life of a wayward hiker, a boy her own age. This human boy’s secret will turn the young pack's world upside down and forever alter the outcome of the centuries-old Witches' War that surrounds them all.

And... the book trailer:



Doesn't that look awesome? Look for it in October.

I stopped by the Wandering Wardrobe also to see if they had any new (used) books in. I think I cleaned them out last time... I did pick up Among the Barons by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Love her stuff! Even though this book is in the middle of the series, it's one I like, and one fewer I have to borrow from the library!

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix: Review

Found

By: Margaret Peterson Haddix

Description: Thirteen-year-old Jonah has always known that he was adopted, and he's never thought it was any big deal. Then he and a new friend, Chip, who's also adoped, begin receiving mysterious letters. The first one says, "You are one of the missing." The second one says, "Beware! They're coming back to get you."

Jonah, Chip, and Jonah's sister, Katherine, are plunged into a mystery that involves the FBI, a vast smuggling operation, an airplane that appeared out of nowhere -- and people who seem to appear and disappear at will. The kids discover they are caught in a battle between two opposing forces that want very different things for Jonah and Chip's lives.

Do Jonah and Chip have any choice in the matter? And what should they choose when both alternatives are horrifying?

Review: Man, can Margaret Peterson Haddix write a YA thriller or what? I have no idea where she comes up with these ideas for stories, but they are phenomenal.

Jonah is a great character. He's very much a teenage boy. His parents have worked very hard to make his adoption a normal thing for him. Chip on the other hand has never been told that he's adopted. Frankly, it seems like his parents are pretty disconnected in a lot of aspects of Chip's life.  I was really interested in the two totally different ways these families handled the adoption situation.

The book was incredibly suspenseful. Haddix does a wonderful job of giving just enough information to be clear, but not enough to guess what is going to happen next. This book, like many of her others, is pretty short. I read this book in about two hours.

I wish I could go more into the details of the story, but any further information would really ruin the story. Basically, I loved this book.

Book-A-Likes: This book is good for readers that enjoy modern-day fiction, and science fiction. Frankly, I can't think of another book similar to it.

Rating:
I gave this book 5 stars.

Profanity: None that I can remember
Drugs and Alcohol: None
Sexuality: None
Violence: Mild. At most, there is a fistfight.

Among the Hidden: Review

Among the Hidden

By: Margaret Peterson Haddix

Young Adult Fiction

Luke is illegal. Not because he's ever done anything wrong, but because his very existence is against the law. He's the third child of his parents when they are only allowed two. In this futuristic society (or alternate reality, you decide), the government is totalitarian. They control the population with population police, the land, what can and can't be farmed, and the type of food that can be produced. The woods around Luke's house are sold to the government, and new houses go up. One day, while looking out the vent in the attic, Luke thinks he sees the face of another child. Is it possible there are more third children?

With the government banning and controlling everything from trans fats to farm subsidies, this book has some very strikingly similar parallels to our time. The book was thought provoking. Sometimes the plot was a little choppy and the character development left a little to be desired. I think my biggest complaint is that this book is clearly a sequel. There is a lot that still needed to be explained, and it wasn't done sufficiently in the first book. But, it's a short read, only 153 pages, and overall very good. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars.