"Under the Harrow" by Flynn Berry

In Under the Harrow by Flynn Berry, Nora is on a train to visit her sister, but when she gets there, she finds an unspeakable horror!  Her sister has been brutally killed.  Nora will not and cannot return to her normal life until she discovers who killed her sister and why.

I thought this book was okay.  Nora was a good character, but the other people in the book were not developed very well.  The ending was a surprise though.  It's not a "must read" in my opinion, but an okay book.
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)  

Teaser from pg. 8:  I am hyperventilating, though everything around me is calm and still.  It is urgent that I do something, but I don't know what.

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"Nyxia" by Scott Reintgen is First in this Sci-Fi Series

Nyxia by Scott Reintgen reminded me a lot of Ender's Game which I loved!  A group of teens are chosen by Babel Communications to train to travel to Eden, an inhabited planet, to mine an amazing new mineral called Nyxia.  If they are chosen, they will be paid lots more money in addition to what they got just for signing the contract.  Out of ten trying out from around the world, only the top eight will be able to actually go on the mission.  All have hard luck stories and are from poor families so the money is a great incentive.  Emmett, the narrator of the story and one of the recruits, is from Detroit and really wants to go bad to help his parents.  Can he make it without sacrificing his morals?

This book had my interest right from page one and kept it all the way through.  I loved the adventure, the competition, getting to know all the contestants and the drama of the dynamics among the characters.  Emmett is a good guy but wasn't the best at challenges.  I liked the twists throughout the book and the surprises Babel created.  The only thing I didn't care for was when the one character who I liked very much got killed.  I thought the challenges were fun and interesting!  If you like competition, lots of interaction among competitors and science fiction, I would highly recommend this book!  I can't wait to read book 2 in this series!
(Karen's review, 5 stars)


Teaser from page 51:  "I know you'd be a good person to team up with, Kaya, but why would you want to team up with me?  I'm in ninth place."
 
Gerard's review:
Nyxia by Scott Reintgen is told by Emmett.  He is one of ten young people picked for a very special assignment!  He has a chance to go on a hidden planet.  Besides that, a huge money payout will be rewarded also!  But only eight will get to go.  Let the games begin!

This book is sort of a mix of Hunger Games and Divergent minus all the killing.  I thought it was interesting how the ten players interacted with each other.  Emmett is a good guy and I was rooting for him.  Could have used more action in my opinion; however, it picked up in that at the end.  I enjoyed it enough to read book 2 in this series.
(4 stars)



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"The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls" by Claire Legrand is creepy and far out

The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand is a very creepy children’s book mystery. Victoria, a 12-yr-old girl who is very smart and conceited investigates why kids are turning up missing, including her one and only friend, Lawrence. Victoria likes everything to make sense and to be in order so I doubt if she would actually like this book. It makes no sense! It has a house that appears to be alive, lots of bugs that are everywhere, and a mean lady who lived long ago that runs the children’s home.

This book started out slow and progressed to stupid and unbelievable, but kids might find it a fun read. One thing I really did like about this book is the cover and the pictures of the tiny bugs on pages throughout the book and on the inside covers.
(Karen's review, 2 stars)

Teaser from pg. 31: Unacceptable. That wouldn’t happen. It couldn’t. She would find a way to win.


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"Now I Rise" by Kiersten White

Now I Rise by Kiersten White is the follow-up to And I Darken.  Lada failed to secure the throne of Wallachia and now she will not stop until she gets it and woe to anyone who gets in her way.  She wants her brother, Radu, to help her, but he rejects that to hook up with Mehmed, the Sultan, to serve him instead.

This book is told by Lada and Radu.  Lada is still her "bad ass" self going after people!  Radu becomes a spy for the Sultan and his part is very exciting also.  I enjoyed this book as much as the first one and look forward to reading book 3, the last in this series.  This book was action packed!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Teaser from pg. 43:  Lada smiled.  She knew that should not please her, but it did.  The prince thought her a big enough threat to warrant an assassin.

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"Baby Teeth" by Zoje Stage (We Both Liked This One)

Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage is the story of a dysfunctional family, Crone's disease, and a little girl who wants her mother gone.  Hannah feels as though her mother, Suzette, doesn't really love her and is constantly trying to come between her and her father!  Suzette, on the other hand, feels as though Hannah is coming between her and her husband.  The little bratty girl behaves nicely towards her father, so he doesn't see her evil side and thinks teachers exaggerate when reporting behavior problems with his precious little Hannah.

Some chapters are written from Hannah's perspective while others are from the mother's perspective which makes for a very interesting read!  Hannah is manipulative, sneaky, smart, devious, mean, and mentally ill.  She can talk, but refuses to do so except for when it serves her purpose of scaring her mother by things she says.  Hannah is determined not to go to school because she can cause more problems for her mother at home.  She has figured out that if she acts up and is bad enough, the school will kick her out and she wins! 

This book kept my interest all the way through because I had to see if the mother was actually going to get killed and what was going to happen to Hannah.  I didn't like Hannah because she was so mean to her mother for no reason.  If you like stories about dysfunctional families, this is a wild one for you!
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Gerard's review, 5++ stars:
Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage is told by Suzette, a stay-at-home mom and Hanna, her 7-yr.-old daughter!  They do not get along at all; in fact, Hanna has not spoken to her mom her whole life!  She acts better toward her dad, so much so that Alex does not believe his wife when she tells him how Hanna acts toward her.  Can this become a happy family?

I thought this book was very good!  I enjoyed Suzette and Hanna very much!  I liked how the author kept adding new things one after another and hope there is a second book--job well done!


Teaser from page 7:  Suzette felt her face reddening, as if her hands had moved to her throat, squeezing the life from her.  "I--we--don't know what to do.  We can't go on like this."

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