The Fault in Our Stars

Mature young adult readers will be moved by John Green’s book The Fault in Our Stars. Never is it easy to talk about cancer. This is even truer when we think of children or young adults contracting cancer. What kind of pain and despair must be felt by teenagers who have cancer and their families who love them?

Hazel Grace Lancaster is the narrator of The Fault in Our Stars. At age sixteen Hazel has been battling thyroid cancer for three years. There is no known cure for the type of cancer she has and only through the use of an experimental drug is she still alive. Hazel is realistic and knows her life is definitely limited. Being an only child, she worries constantly about her parents and what will happen to them when she dies. Her mom has given up working to help care for her. Once Hazel is gone, where will her mom find her purpose in life?

Hazel’s parents encourage her to attend a support group. Against her better judgment, she attends where she meets a very carefree and handsome young man named Augustus Waters. They are quite a pair--Hazel with her oxygen tank and Augustus with his artificial leg.

Although Augustus still attends school where he was once a standout basketball star before his amputation, Hazel doesn’t. Rather she attends classes online. Augustus and Hazel become fast friends.

They discuss typical teenage issues, books they have loved, etc. It is through the reading of Hazel’s favorite book that Augustus learns she wishes to meet the author—who lives impossibly faraway—Amsterdam, Holland.

Despite the normal teenage angst of any teens that are dating, these two try to make the most of their lives for as little or as long as they have left to live.

Pandemonium

Fans of Delirium, the first book in this dystopian trilogy written by Lauren Oliver, will be easily swept into this sequel entitled Pandemonium.

Lena is alive--but just barely. Alex was the one who knew how to survive in the Wilds, but he didn’t make it into the Wilds with her. They caught him at the fence. Alex is lost to her. Lena is lost to her grief at having lost the love of her life.

Rebirth is how Lena describes how Raven rescues her. The Old Lena is dead. The new Lena is now learning survival from a band of Invalids living in the remains of a bombed out development.

The Homestead is unlike anything Lena has ever seen. Life is so primitive—lived on the edge. Nothing is wasted. Food is scarce. The snaring of a rabbit is the most welcome food Lena has had in days. Being free from the repressive society from which she has run isn’t exactly how she imagined it would be.

Life lived in the Wilds is a very hard life--a life without the luxuries of running water, clean clothing, or electricity. With winter setting in, the settlement will need to travel south to warmer quarters. Raven hopes they will all survive the journey. Without proper shelter along the way, without medicine and food supplies, the going will be very tough.

There is no going back for Lena. She is part of the resistance. She is an Invalid.

This story is told in alternating chapters--Lena's adjustment to the Wilds, Lena's life in Manhattan as part of the resistance trying desperately to stop the lowering of the age at which the cure for deliria is administered.

There is a lot of action in this book compared to Delirium. There are many twists and turns to the plot. Fans will be anxiously awaiting the third book in the trilogy!

First Descent

Looking closely at the cover of this book entitled First Descent, the reader sees a kayaker through the scope of a high powered rifle in what appears to be a rainforest or jungle. This cover couldn’t have been a better choice to encapsulate this high paced adventure story.

Seventeen-year-old Rex lives with his mother and grandfather in Milltown, Alberta in Canada. He has trained relentlessly to become a world class kayaker. His goal is to complete the descent of a river in Columbia, South America that his grandpa had attempted in his younger days.

 When his grandpa decides to sponsor him on the trip, Rex is thrilled! The area where he will be attempting the descent is very remote. The Tourism Board of Columbia has said it is a safe area for travelers to explore or his gramps and mom would never have allowed Rex to travel there.

Rex will have to depend on others. His Spanish is sparse. He will need trained kayaking companions and a local guide as well as an outfitter from whom to rent equipment.

The reality of the political turmoil in Columbia near the El Furioso River is quite different from reports that the tourism board shared. There are paramilitary forces fighting guerrilla forces. The indigenous peoples are being threatened daily. The soldiers of Columbia are not able to control the area.

Will Rex be able to trust the indigenous girl named Myriam Calambás who is guiding him? Will Rex’s kayaking companions stay the course when the going on the river becomes more challenging? Will the guerrilla forces in the region seek out this white skinned boy? Is the El Furioso a deadly river? Read this adventure story to find out!

Reel Life Starring Us

Chelsea has always lived in the wealthy part of town that feeds into Rockwood Hills Middle School. Her father has had a prominent job in banking. Chelsea wants for nothing. Whatever the latest fashion for teens is she has. Clearly she is one of the most popular girls in the school. She and her clique of the other most popular kids in the school rule it. However, Chelsea has a secret this year that she feels she must keep from her friends at school or she will lose her social status. Since she has had mono for the first several weeks of school, when she returns, she is paired with Dina who has just moved into the district. 

Dina’s family decided to move closer to her grandparents who live in the area. Dina’s previous middle school was small and had an artsy flare. Dina developed a talent for creating videos.  Everyone at her previous school knew each other and cliques did not rule the school. She is in for a big shock when she is “chipped” the first day of classes. Students crush potato chips and dump them in unsuspecting kids backpacks.

In social studies class Dina and Chelsea are paired to create a video for the fiftieth celebration of the school. Will Chelsea be able to give this new girl a chance or will she be worried about what her friends think of Dina? Will Dina be able to trust Chelsea after one of Chelsea’s friends posts an unflattering video of Dina on Facebook?

Girls who are fans of chic lit will enjoy this title. Watch the video of the author, Lisa Greenwald. She could name a character in her next book after you!

The Education of Hailey Kendrick

When people use the word education, often it is assumed it is academic education that is being referred to yet there are many ways that a person becomes educated. In the book The Education of Hailey Kendrick this is really true.

After Hailey’s mother is killed by a car while she is crossing the street, Hailey and her father have an adjustment to make. Hailey thinks things are fine when her father believes she should attend a boarding school called Evesham Academy in Vermont and spend the summers with her grandparents. As the years pass, Hailey sees less and less of her father. As a senior, she is facing choices about college. She hopes her grades will help her attend prestigious Yale University. Since she is an excellent, disciplined student, Hailey’s chances are pretty good.

When her father scuttles her end of the year party scheduled for the summer and calls off their plans to spend time together over the summer, Hailey has a major meltdown. She and her boyfriend Tristan’s best friend Joel commit an act of vandalism by dismembering a statue outside the school. When a maintenance worker identifies Hailey as one of the culprits, she protects Joel because he is on scholarship at the school. Things really unravel for Hailey when her very popular and extremely handsome boyfriend Tristan becomes jealous. Although Kelsie is her best friend, can she really trust her?

What are the chances that Hailey will learn more through these difficult situations about herself and her relationship with her father than she has had school for the last four years? Who will be the unlikely person to help her once the school administers its punishment for her vandalism? What will be her biggest life lessons? Read The Education of Hailey Kendrick by Eileen Cook to find out.