Teen Picks (14-19yrs)

It is no secret that I am a fan of Jasper Fforde’s writing; you should see the happy dance I do when an advanced reader copy of a new book is unwrapped in the store!

However many of his first in series books have a single fatal flaw… the first third of the books are slow, seriously slow---but, after you get thru this first third, they zip by and you can’t wait for the next book to come out! (The rest of the books after the first in series do not suffer from this flaw.) It’s proven to be a significant hurdle for less patient readers (I do what I can to reassure them to stick with it).

The Last Dragonslayer does NOT possess this flaw. The book reads like a song; from beginning to end it is graceful and flowing.

Jennifer Strange lives in a world where metal, machines and magic live side by side. She runs the Kazam, an employment agency for wizards, since her boss disappeared a few months back…. add to this the fact that magic has been slowly fading from the world, making her magicians harder and harder to hire out, Jennifer has enough problems on her plate.

Then the visions start.

Around the world wizards with the ability to foresee the future are inundated with a single vision, the death of the last dragon is at hand. With this vision Jennifer’s world tilts, all the signs point to Big Magic and Jennifer is in the thick of it!

While this book is billed as a Young Adult, it is suitable for any age. It would read a bit on the cozy side for an adult, and there isn’t any teen age angst in sight!

This book is all about choice. Choosing to do the right, best or necessary thing, because Jennifer understands the value of this freedom. As a foundling, she works as an indentured servant at Kazam, and will work there until her eighteenth birthday (unless she chooses to stay). So when presented with a choice it is important to her to actively make a decision, instead of just doing her duty or letting it flit away. This theme is repeated through out the book, in great ways, never with a heavy hand.

I seriously cannot say enough great things about this book! If you are a fan of any of Jasper’s series, or need one to cut your teeth on, I would recommend this book for you!

This summer, sixteen-year-old Violet is staying wither her dad, who is an up-and-coming Seattle Area artist. Violet is over the moon when her father’s biggest client, the Yamadas, commission him to paint a mural in their corporate headquarters in Tokyo. Being a huge fan of all things Japanese, including manga (she is in the process of inking her own book; she’s an artist herself) this is a dream come true. Plus she can hang out with her friend, who is also in Tokyo all summer! However the trip takes a darker turn when the Yamadas’ house is broken into and three Van Gogh sketches are stolen.

Emulating her favorite manga detectives, Violet begins to investigate the theft, leading her thru the streets of Seattle, Tokyo and Kyoto; meeting artists, businessmen and Yakuza members. This is a trip she will never forget!

This is a fantastic book. Leading the reader through an action packed series of clues, events and blind alleys, Violet is a strong character, relying on herself to find solutions to the problems facing her, as well as showing passion for her art and the evolution of her own story line. Showing how every day events can influence and inspire someone when writing a story. Even when she is down, she is never a shrinking violet.

I also enjoyed reading the street scenes in Japan, the interactions between the characters (which are not always what they seem to be) and viewing Seattle thru someone else’s eyes. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a fun, fast and action-packed read this summer. This is a great book. (YA 12 - 16).

Griff Shaw is a Centurion, an angel who escorts the souls of those who have been victims of violent murders the other side. Being a murder victim himself, and unable to let go of his past landed him his current assignment. While on a routine retrieval, he takes pity on a prostitute whose been murdered in a seedy motel. Since the dead keep whatever they look like right before their death including their clothes (and she wasn‘t wearing a whole lot) he bends the rules and thru some jiggery pokery she is allowed to change her final appearence.

This lands him in hot water with his bosses since she wasn’t a prostitute; but an investigative reporter who wrote her killer’s name down while Shaw’s back was turned for her partner to find, thus changing her partner‘s, Kit Craig’s fate, to one filled with rape and murder. Now Griff has a choice, does he follow his bosses plan, or team up with Kit to nail the exposé and solve her best friend’s murder……..and perhaps his own.

I had some trepidations when I started this book, I have read some really bad books based around angels. However this one surprised me, I really enjoyed reading it. Kate is a Rockabilly reporter who fits well with Griff Shaw’s ‘50’s hardboiled P.I. mindset. Kate is snarky, clever, hard-headed reporter who won’t stop until she gets truth. This is a dark, gritty and twisting story which does not shy away from violence, but doesn’t use it gratuitously either. It does not dwell on religion or uses the angel angle with a heavy hand.

The book is an urban fantasy edging towards noir and geared more towards the female audience, I think, than to a male. I would recommend this to any urban fantasy mystery reader looking for something new to read!

When Sophie discovered the truth powers as a witch, the fact they come from a less than angelic source, she makes the decision to have them removed. So never has to worry about her demon based powers posing a threat to those she loves. However when she arrives in London for the ceremony she discovers, that she isn't the only one whose powers demonically based, and they don't seem to have the same moral dilemma Sophie has about using them. To make things even more complicated The Eye is bent on hunting her down and will kill anyone who gets in there way......and they are sending Archer Cross, her former crush, after her. But its' not like they have any feelings for each other anymore....

I recommend this for girls 15 and up.

12 AR ponts

Ronnie’s life has recently gone through a massive upheaval; her father burnt out in his job moved the entire family to a rural town in Oregon to open a B&B. The ray of light in her life is Karen, a ten-year old girl Ronnie baby-sits who shows her the wonder of her new world. However all of this comes crashing down when on a run Ronnie finds Karen’s lifeless body floating in the river.

This is a fantastic book, I could not put it down! This is not a light read, it is an atmospheric story which deals with death, isolation, friendship and drug abuse. The novel tackles these topics in new and interesting ways, without succumbing to the clichés you see in many teen novels. I would recommend this to female readers (since it is told exclusively from Ronnie’s point of view) around 15-18.

7 Accelerated reader points

 2010 Edgar Award Nominee

 NW Author

 On Mary Shane’s 17 birthday didn’t start out anything like she had hoped- waking up naked in a display bed in Crate & Barrel, with a monster hang over, bleeding and being gawked at through the windows. He day goes from bad to worse as it progresses, culminating in her own murder. But as they say, Death is only the beginning…. She returns and views her life through the eyes of seven people, all she discovers had plenty of reasons to want her dead. However only one actually pulled the trigger and she only has one chance to stop her own murder.

During lunch, a nine-millimeter hand gun goes off. While the gun is found, the culprit is not. However high school being high school, everyone knows Wayne Connelly is the one who brought the gun to school. He is a bully, a tough guy, and all around obnoxious to his fellow classmates. Even the police have zeroed in on him and believe he is the culprit. Colin knows Wayne is innocent and sets out to prove it.

Did I mention Wayne has terrorized Colin for years? And that while Colin’s powers of observation and intelligence are far superior to most people’s, he does have a couple of problems: he doesn't like the color blue, shrill noises and needs to use index cards with facial expressions drawn on them as cheat sheets to know what people are feeling….this mystery will push Colin beyond where anyone thought he could go.

I enjoyed read this book. It is Sherlock Holmes-meets Monk-meets Harriet the Spy. While it has bits from each of these, the voice of the story is unique and strong enough to keep those influences from ever becoming distracting.

I also enjoyed how the authors took situations in which you expect a stereotype to occur and fooling you by avoiding them. A prime example is Colin and his PE class. Colin has a note from his parents asking that he be excused from participating due to his Asperger’s Syndrome. However, the gym teacher is having none of it. This is where you expect of any number of fictional encounters with unpleasant and sadistic PE classes. Turning the situation on it’s head, in the class Colin learns how to throw a free throw by a teacher who is good at his job and listens to his students;

“There, Fischer," Mr. Turrentine said. His expression was blank. “Like that. You’re a damned basketball prodigy. Now retrieve your ball and get back in line.” Colin turned to chase after the basketball, then stopped as a thought occurred….”Mr. Turrentine,” he asked. “Are you God?” “No…I’m a gym teacher. I work for a living.”

I also enjoyed there was a back story which was alluded to (previous cases and enemies) but never fully explained. They give the book added depth and allowing for growth of the characters in what I hope will become a series. This is a great guy book (ages 11-15). Plus is has some great humor in it as well!