Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

I can't remember the last time I've had such an enjoyable experience reading a book! This gem of a novel has layers upon layers to keep readers guessing and strategizing about the elusive messages hidden in the mysterious paper-wrapped volumes of Mr. Penumbra's magical bookstore.

Clay Jannon is a youthful out-of-work website designer living in San Francisco. It's been years since he actually touched paper, but he takes a job anyway as a desk clerk working the graveyard shift at a quaint little book shop in the city. The store doesn't really sell much merchandise, but seems to have a clientele of mostly older, eccentric customers who come in at all hours to borrow mysterious tomes from the store's expansive stacks which literally stretch to the ceiling. The cast of characters--and the store itself--intrigues young Clay, and eventually he begins to wonder what these people seek inside the pages of these enigmatic volumes arranged precariously among towering shelves. His questions are soon shared with friends old and new. Together, the group comes to one conclusion:  technology can solve any riddle. Incorporating elements of computer science, art, cryptography, mathematics, design, typography, and the history and evolution of printing, Clay and friends will not give up until they find the answer they seek.

Full of subtle humor, gentle fantasy, realistic friendship, exciting adventure, and an air of mystery, Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore has something for everyone. Readers and bibliophiles will love it. Techno geeks will appreciate it.  Mystery fans will devour it.  Art and design afficionados will dig it.  Cryptographers and math nerds will puzzle over it.  And did I mention that the cover glows in the dark?

I want to start reading this book again from page one right now just to experience it one more time. You will too! I firmly believe author Robin Sloan is the gifted lovechild of Sue Grafton and Dan Brown (or possibly Michael Scott?) and I am thoroughly impressed with this, his debut novel. I'm absolutely looking forward to his next work.

Althought written for adults, this book could easily find an audience with savvy teens who are into the areas mentioned above. There is very little "questionable content" in regard to language, sex, or violence.

Books I Read in 2012

My annual post about the books that caught my interest during the past twelve months beginning at the end:

• 43. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller [YA, AF}
• 42. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys [YA]
• 41. The Bartimaeus Trilogy, book 1: The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud [MS, YA]
• 40. The Round House by Louise Erdrich [YA, AF]
• 39. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: the Third Wheel by Jeff Kinney [E]
• 38. The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson [E]
• 37. The Lilies of the Field by William E. Barrett [MS to Adult]
• 36. Such Wicked Intent by Kenneth Oppel [YA]
• 35. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn [AF]
• 34. The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin [AF]
• 33. Burrows : a Red River Mystery by Reavis Z. Wortham [AF]
• 32. The Rock Hole : a Red River Mystery by Reavis Z. Wortham [AF]
• 31. The Charming Quirks of Others by Alexander McCall Smith [AF]
• 30. The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday by Alexander McCall Smith [AF]
• 29. The Careful Use of Compliments by Alexander McCall Smith [AF]
• 28. The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch [MS, YA]
• 27. The Enchantress by Michael Scott [MS, YA]
• 26. The Right Attitude to Rain by Alexander McCall Smith [AF]
• 25. Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith [AF]
• 24. All My Friends Are Still Dead by Avery Monsen and Jory John [H]
• 23. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection by Alexander McCall Smith [AF]
• 22. The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle McQuerry [MS, YA]
• 21. Dave the Potter by Laban Carrick Hill [E]
• 20. The Book of Jonas by Stephen Dau [AF]
• 19. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness [MS, YA]
• 18. Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell [AF]
• 17. The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon [ANF]
• 16. Miracle Cure by Harlan Coben [AF]
• 15. Dean Koontz's Frankenstein series, book 1 : Prodigal Son [AF]
• 14. Transfer of Power by Vince Flynn [AF]
• 13. All the Earth, Thrown to the Sky by Joe R. Lansdale [YA]
• 12. The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry [AF]
• 11. Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos [MS]
• 10. The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott [AF]
• 9. The Great Cake Mystery by Alexander McCall Smith [E]
• 8. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green [YA]
• 7. Bread by Eric Treuille [NF]
• 6. V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton [AF]
• 5. The Brotherband Chronicles, Book 1 : The Outcasts by John Flanagan [MS, YA]
• 4. Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say [E]
• 3. Tea with Milk by Allen Say [E]
• 2. Tree of Cranes by Allen Say [E]
• 1. The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman [MS, HS]

Billy Lynn's Long Half-Time Walk by Ben Fountain

A "guy's book" if ever there was one. It's got the war in Iraq, football (specifically, America's Team--The Dallas Cowboys, drinking and swearing (lots of both), fist fights, weaponry, family dynamics, male friendships and brotherhood, questions about religion, and girl trouble. What more could a man ask for?

Billy Lynn is a small town Texas boy who finds himself in a bit of trouble at school. As a way out, he is given the option to join the Army. He enlists and finds himself a part of "Bravo Squad" on the front lines of the Iraq war. A surprise bloody confrontation is filmed live by a Fox News crew that has been embedded with their unit, and once broadcast, makes heroes of the unit, with Billy as the unintentional star. Now Bravo Squad is doing a Victory Tour of the USA to drum up support for the war effort. Along the way the soldiers are asked the same questions ad infinitum and ad nauseum by well-meaning citizens. Their words of encouragement becoming a litany of phrases that are high-lighted in the book like random e.e. cummings poetry: terrRrists -- uhMERicuns -- PAY-tree-uts -- nina leven, and so on... And the question on some lips: Are we really doing any good over there?
The only tour break for the Bravo Squad is when they are allowed to go home for a couple of days to visit family. To nineteen-year-old Billy, this means playing with his little nephew Brian, trying to form a genuine emotional bond with his mother, hanging out with his sisters, and observing his wheelchair-bound and distant father. It seems family members are the only ones who actually DON'T want him to go back to Iraq to finish the last year of his service contract. Everyone else in the community and the country thinks he and his cohorts are doing the right thing.
The final day of their Victory Lap is spent at Texas Stadium being ushered in and out of meetings with rich dignitaries, Texas oil billionaires, area celebrities, and being a part of a spectacle of a half-time show with bands, fireworks, and the music group Destiny's Child featuring the talented Beyoncé . To make things even more urgent for their final day, a Hollywood movie producer is tagging along with their entourage in hopes of selling their story to a studio or production company and making the boys some money for their act of heroism. But who should play the lead? Hilary Swank? Is casting a good star in the role more important than telling the true story? Everyone on the planet has seen the footage already on tv, so why would they make a fictional movie about the incident in the first place? So many questions swirling in young Billy's mind, he doesn't know what to think anymore.
This book has been described as the Catch-22 of our generation, and for good reason. It makes the reader take a good, hard look at fanatical patriotism and questions why we go to war. Religion, relationships, family, friendships, the various medias, and society in general are also under the microscope. Billy Lynn's Long Half-Time Walk is sure to get some conversations started, and maybe that's what the author was trying to do all along. This is Ben Fountain's first novel, and it is a 2012 National Book Award finalist.

THE ROCK HOLE : A Red River Mystery by Reavis Z. Wortham

I was fully prepared NOT to enjoy reading this book, because the only writing of Reavis Z. Wortham's that I had previously experienced was his outdoor humor column that's syndicated to several newspapers in the region. I occasionally read his hunting and fishing articles in The Paris News when the mood strikes me, and I like down-home anecdotes as well as the next man, but I can only take so many of them and in small doses. I wasn't sure if I could make it through an entire book full of colloquialisms and redneck pranks. Turns out Mr. Wortham is full of surprises. THE ROCK HOLE is not a collection of Wortham's folksy humor, but a full-fledged murder mystery novel.

The story is set in the Red River Valley of NE Texas--specifically Lamar County and points slightly north--in the mid 1960s. The Vietnam conflict is heating up and America is coming to grips with racial inequality at home. Rural farming communities still exist, but are fading from view as more people move to cities like Dallas and its suburbs. Life is still simple in the small town of Center Springs, Texas. That's why Constable and part-time farmer Ned Parker likes things quiet and peaceful in his jurisdiction.

Dealing only with the occasional moonshine ring, or a drunken domestic disturbance, Ned's world is fairly predictable, until one day the remains of a tortured bird dog are found in a field nearby. Gradually, more animal mutilations start turning up and Ned and his law enforcement colleagues notice that they are escalating in frequency and in brutality. The lawman worries that it's only a matter of time before "The Skinner," as the lunatic is known, progresses to humans, and he's leaving clues that children will soon be his next victims. How can Ned protect his community from such a crazed madman? Do the footprints in the dust outside his own grandchildren's bedroom windows mean his family is in the most danger? Will Ned and the others stop The Skinner before he kills again?

Wortham's writing takes readers along for a roller coaster ride as we first meet Ned Parker's family and friends in the town of Center Springs, and share their down-home fellowship and good-natured fun with each other. Then things turn unpredictable when an unknown terror starts spreading through the community. Ned suspects everyone--even members of his own family.

THE ROCK HOLE is one of those rare books that leads you in with gentle humor, then drags you through the woods and brambles to come face-to-face with a cold-blooded killer. I wasn't able to put it down. The book was even more meaningful for me because I live literally right up the road from where the story takes place, so the various settings, names, and characters were all instantly familiar. I think the book will entertain readers no matter where they are from, though. A companion book, BURROWS, is now available as well, so I guess I'll be reading more of Mr. Wortham's words in the future... You should, too!

The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle McQuerry

The Peculiars takes place in an alternate North America near the dawn of the 20th century.  Lena Mattacascar decides on her 18th birthday to leave home in search of her father who left when she was only five.  He supposedly killed a man years ago and has been running from the law ever since in an inhospitable and barely inhabitable wilderness known as Scree.  The region is popular as a hiding place for 'peculiars', creatures said to have no soul, because their unusual physical features such as long feet and extra joints in their hands mark them as different from 'normal' folk.  These 'goblins' and other unusual creatures often work as slave labor in the mines of the area. Lena seeks not only to find out the truth about her father, and whether he is in fact a murderer, but about her own ancestry as well.

On her long train journey, Lena meets Jimson Quiggley, a young man on his way to accept a librarian position with the eccentric Mr. Beasley who lives in Zephyr House, a bizarre construction on a cliff overlooking the sea. She also meets a young federal marshal intent on 'helping' the peculiars, or at least that's what he leads Lena to believe. Taking a job as Jimson's assistant, Lena begins spying on Mr. Beasley, then confides in the marshal that there are strange things going on at Zephyr House. She soon discovers that the young marshal's idea of 'helping' peculiars is by ridding the earth of them.  Mr. Beasley has not been experimenting on the creatures, but helping them instead.  Narrowly escaping a raid on Zephyr House by the marshal and some local vigilantes, Lena, Jimson, and a ragtag band of near strangers barely escape and embark on a journey into the wild outlands of Scree. 

The underlying lesson of this story is that everyone is different and has strengths and weaknesses just like everyone else, regardless of physical characteristics such as skin color, whether we have long feet or extra finger joints, wings that grow out of our backs, or whatever.  Who are we to judge what is 'acceptable' or not?  A middle grade steampunk adventure, The Peculiars should easily appeal to readers looking for moral lessons mixed in with their fantasy survival stories. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Books I Read in 2011

Another New Year's Day and time to reflect on the books I read over the course of the past year. This is by far the most books I've read in one twelve month period. Maybe I'll read even more in 2012. Here are the 72 titles in reverse order of when I read them, starting with the most recent:

1. One of the Survivors by Susan Shaw
2. The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse by Eric Carle
3. This Dark Endeavor : The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein by Kenneth Oppel
4. The Apothecary by Maile Meloy
5. The Chronicles of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg & 13 other contemporary writers
6. Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich
7. Open Season (Joe Gunther mystery #1) by Archer Mayor
8. Where the Lilies Bloom by Vera & Bill Cleaver
9. The Litigators by John Grisham
10. The Affair : a Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child
11. The Dog Who Came In From the Cold by Alexander McCall Smith
12. Diary of a Wimpy Kid : Cabin Fever by Jeff Kinney
13. The Race by Clive Cussler & Justin Scott
14. Mill Rivcer Recluse by Darcie Chan
15. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
16. Ranger's Apprentice : The Lost Stories by John Flanagan
17. Dirt Road Home by Watt Key
18. Shelter by Harlan Coben
19. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
20. Dead Men Kill by L. Ron Hubbard
21. True Grit by Charles Portis
22. Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs
23. The Second Son by Lee Child
24. Addie on the Inside by James Howe
25. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger
26. Hummingbirds: Facts & Folklore from the Americas by Jeanette Larson & Adrienne Yorinks
27. In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson
28. Ashes of Roses by Mary Jane Auch
29. Payback Time by Carl Deuker
30. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, & Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
31. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
32. Little Bee by Chris Cleave
33. Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich
34. The Warlock by Michael Scott
35. The Absolute Value of Mike by Kathryn Erskine
36. Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen
37. Thunderstruck by Erik Larson
38. A Small White Scar by K.A. Nuzum
39. The Year We Disappeared : a Father-Daughter Memoir by Cylin Busby & John Busby
40. Take Me to the River by Will Hobbs
41. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
42. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith
43. War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
44. The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
45. Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt
46. Live Wire by Harlan Coben
47. Ranger's Apprentice 10: The Emperor of Nihon-Ja by John Flanagan
48. Alabama Moon by Key Watt
49. Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
50. Close to Famous by Joan Bauer
51. Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
52. A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz
53. Hour Game by David Baldacci
54. Slog's Dad by David Almond
55. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
56. This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer
57. The Dead & the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
58. Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
59. Play Dead by Harlan Coben
60. After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick
61. The Witch's Boy by Michael Gruber
62. The Confession by John Grisham
63. Rules by Cynthia Lord
64. Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins
65. The Recruit by Robert Muchamore
66. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
67. The Witch's Guide to Cooking With Children by Keith McGowan
68. John Cena by Tim O'Shei
69. Worth Dying For by Lee Child
70. Crossfire by Dick & Felix Francis
71. Silks by Dick & Felix Francis
72. Dead Heat by Dick & Felix Francis

This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel

Canadian author Kenneth Oppel is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers of middle grade and young adult fiction. His Airborn trilogy with its elements of steampunk adventure is recommended for both boys and girls in middle school. (His female leads tend to be spunky and independent.) His language is perfectly suited to his topics, and his characters are always balanced and believable.
Like several recent notable YA series (Hunger Games and Twilight for example), I was hesitant at first to read a book about a young "monster." But as with these two hit series as well as all of Oppel's other work, I was hooked almost from page one.
This Dark Endeavor tells the story of twin Frankenstein brothers Victor and Konrad, who is older by a mere two minutes. They live a life of intellect, education, and privilege near Lake Geneva in a peaceful part of Europe. Home tutored and pampered by servants, the Frankenstein family is also liberal in their politics and skeptical in their religious beliefs. There are two younger siblings who also appear in the story, but the teenage twins spend most of their time with a distant cousin, Elizabeth, of similar age who was rescued from a convent as a child and grew up with them almost like a sister. Henry Cherval, a close friend and bit of a coward but with the heart of a poet, rounds out their mischievous quartet.
The group frequently goes exploring together and one day finds a secret passage in their vast castle-like home that leads to a hidden basement laboratory and "dark library" full of strange books with mysterious writing in them. Their father learns of their little adventure and immediately puts a stop to their clandestine snooping. Soon, though, Konrad becomes gravely ill and even the best doctors in the region cannot cure his sickness. The remaining trio of Victor, Henry, and Elizabeth decide that the dark library may hold answers to reverse Konrad's mystery sickness, so together they scheme to find a cure for him. Guided by Maria, a trusted servant, the three seek out an old alchemist in town to help them decipher the coded recipes for healing elixirs that may return Konrad to good health. The only question...will they survive the dangerous process of finding bizarre ingredients for this strange potion?
This Dark Endeavor is well-written and the pacing is quick enough to keep readers engaged in the action all the way through. I already look forward to the next title in the series! This book is highly recommended for seventh grade to adult. There are a couple of brief mentions of "enflamed passions" over which brother is more in love with Elizabeth, and a couple of mild oaths uttered in their various trials and tribulations, but overall the book is PG. A scene of violence near the end might leave a couple of weak-stomached readers queasy, but it only lasts a few pages. A copy of this book has been ordered for Stone MS library and it will have a YA label on the spine due to content mentioned above.

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

I'd been wanting to read this book since the TV ads for the movie started airing several months back. I still haven't seen the movie yet, but I'd definitely like to now that I've finished the novel, just so I can see what they did with the story.

Basically, this book is straightforward science fiction. Lorien is a planet similar to--but smaller than--Earth, in a distant galaxy. The citizens of Lorien look like us, act like us, and talk like us...but they can do so much more. Lorien has been taken over by the evil Mogadorians who only want to use up its natural resources for themselves, because they've already destroyed their own planet. Just before Lorien society is wiped out, the ruling leaders send 9 children of their elite Garde caste, along with 9 Cepan guardians to raise them, by rocket ship to Earth in hopes they will survive in order to rebuild their home planet in the future. Before they are launched into space, these select nine are blessed with a charm that they cannot be destroyed except in numerical order. Hence the tagline: "Three are dead....I am number four."

Ten years later, posing as a 15-year-old and his father, 'John' and 'Henri Smith' are constantly on the move, trying to stay one step ahead of rogue Mogadorians who have followed them to Earth and have now killed numbers 1, 2, and 3. The pair's latest place of residence is in the village of Paradise, Ohio. John enrolls in school and in stereotypical teenage fashion, befriends the nerdy conspiracy theorist, Sam, is enraptured with the local beauty, Sarah, and is picked on by the school jock bully, Mark. John has never had such close personal ties in previous towns they lived in, but in Paradise, things are different. He falls in love for the first time in his life with Sarah. He finds a true human friend in Sam, and eventually even works things out with Mark. This is where the plot thickens. Do they move on as in the past, or stay and fight for the survival of themselves and their home planet? Will they eventually be found and have to battle with their Mogadorian enemy?

This book would never be considered great literature (it was penned by James Frey and Jobie Hughes under the pseudonum Pittacus Lore), but it IS action-packed and fast-paced, with the reader forcefully grabbed from the first page until the end. There's enough going on in the plot to interest the majority of teen readers, some teen angst and romance for others, a loveable dog named Bernie Kosar for the PETA crowd, and plenty of standard sci-fi fare for the rest.

While this book would be acceptable at many urban middle schools, I think due to the language it will not find a place on our conservative, rural school library shelves. I will most likely pass it on to our high school library instead. It's a good read if you want to kick back for a few hours. Those who truly enjoy it will be happy to know it is the first book in a planned series. The first sequel is called "The Power of Six."

Payback Time by Carl Deuker

I really wanted to like this book--and parts of it are likeable--but overall I felt cheated at the end. Which is kind of ironic considering that the two main characters think they are on the trail of a suspected cheater through the majority of the story.
Daniel "Mitch" True is talented writer and a fat kid who expects to be named editor of his high school newspaper. Surprise! The supposedly airhead blonde gets the job instead. She immediately names Mitch as the paper's sports writer. This turns out to be a smart move on her part, and Mitch realizes he'll be partnered with a smart, cute girl photographer for much of the sports season, which is an unexpected bonus.
Head football coach McNulty is on a mission to have a championship season so he can catch the attention of college athletics programs and climb his way out of coaching high school football. He wants all articles and stories about the team to focus on the star quarterback, Horst, who is his ticket out of Lincoln High. But there's a new player named Angel on the team that seems to have much more talent than the wunderkind Horst. So why doesn't the coach use this new guy more? He's bigger, stronger, and has the skills, so why is he warming the bench? He looks oddly older than the other Lincoln players, too. Could there by a story behind Angel? Mitch starts his investigation into Angel's mysterious past. What dark secret will he discover?
If you're into play-by-play action on the football field, then this book is for you. I on the other hand got bogged down in all the minute details and just skimmed over most of the game descriptions. I was distracted by the constant feuding by the volleyball team, which was never really resolved, and I thought the ending was too contrived to be satisfying. Since it was written for a middle/high school audience, I'll just say that I hope it finds its intended readers. I wasn't overly impressed. A copy is available at SMS Library. It has a YA sticker for mild language use and a couple of references to drugs and gang violence. This book is on the 2011 Texas Lone Star Reading List.

"The Last Survivors" trilogy by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Book 1 - Life As We Knew It : Sixteen-year-old Miranda, her divorced mom, and two brothers, live in a small town in rural Pennsylvania. Like the rest of the world, they are awaiting a rare opportunity to view an asteroid that scientists predict will crash into the surface of the moon, an impact expected to be easily visible on this clear spring evening. Neighbors are planning block parties to go outside and watch it. Unfortunately, the scientists did not predict what would happen afterwards. The moon is knocked slightly off its orbit and moves closer to Earth, instantly triggering coastal flooding, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, power outages, and clouds of smoke and ash that blot out the sun, thus killing plant life. Attempting to cope with it all, Miranda's BFF suddenly finds religion and forgets about her. Miranda's mom realizes what is happening and logically starts planning ahead for the bad days she knows will be there all too soon, stockpiling food and water, wood for the stove, and other anticipated supplies. She scoffs when President Bush urges Americans to remain calm and just pray before tv reception goes out completely. Miranda's mom knows the only way they are going to survive is from their own ingenuity and preparation. They try to warn Miranda's dad and his pregnant new wife to stay put, but they insist on taking a chance on traveling west to see if things are better there. Just in case some one does survive this world-wide tragedy, Miranda keeps everything documented in a journal so others will know what happened the final days of her life.

Book 2 - The Dead and the Gone : The same event as told from the point of view of 17-year-old Alex Morales. Alex is aware there's some big astrological event going on, but he figures it is something only science nerds would be interested in following. Besides, he's more concerned about whether he'll make class president next year at his all boys private Catholic prep school. Alex and his two younger sisters are in their NY city apartment when the chaos starts. His dad, the building superintendent, is in Puerto Rico for a family funeral, and his mom is across town working night shift as a nurse at the hospital. When neither parent returns home, Alex alone must take on the responsibility of caring for his sisters. Communications are soon cut off, subways are flooded, tidal waves have wiped out coastal areas, and now volcanic ash is blocking out the sun, plunging the world into constant shadows and numbing cold. What will Alex do to insure his family's survival? Anything and everything.

Book 3 - This World We Live In : It's been a year since the incident of the asteroid hitting the moon. Despite devastating climate changes and bizarre weather patterns, Miranda and her family have managed to survive. One day, her father and stepmom, their new baby, along with a trio of strangers, arrive in Howell, PA, seeking refuge at their home. One of the strangers is Alex Morales from New York City, and if you think this is going to be one of those romantic "thrown together by circumstances" relationships with violin music and doves cooing, you are mistaken. Miranda and Alex both have issues, and both are too independent and stubborn to compromise. What readers are left with is a sort of microcosm of our western world today: blended families, racial diversity, and a need to understand each other's point of view in order to get along. The tension builds until yet another atmospheric phenomenon forces them all to confront their situation and decide to band together to survive. This 3rd book is supposed to be the final book that neatly wraps up the storyline of the first two, but the ending is still vague enough there could potentially be another title published in this series.

In a nutshell, this trilogy is one of the most wonderfully disturbing and haunting series I have read in a while. While I was reading the first book, the major earthquake hit New Zealand, so it was on the news a lot. While I was reading the second book, the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan. During the third book, we were in the middle of massive winter storms across North America, with blizzards knocking out power and cities at a standstill. To say I was freaked out a bit by all this coincidence is an understatement. I could NOT get these books off my mind! It was as if I was suddenly swept up into the story myself and could not extract myself from the plot. It was THAT real/surreal.

I told many of my reading buds about them. One friend I recommended them to said he wouldn't finish the first book because of the "obvious leftist slant" and "anti-Bush" attitude of one of the central characters. (Hello? It's a work of fiction. It's called character development.) And for the record, the second book is exactly the opposite with a conservative, pro-church protagonist. Another friend--who'd just had a baby--couldn't finish the second book because of the blunt descriptions of dead bodies found on the streets of the city; one gruesome scene in particular happens to involve a small child. A third friend couldn't get into them at all because she found them "depressing overall and just sad." Granted, these books may not be for everybody, but I think they are the perfect prescription for a hot summer day. The action is literally nonstop, and by the middle of the first book, you'll be laying on blankets and trying to stay as warm as the characters themselves long to be. Like watching a train wreck, the stories unfold as a series of small events that you can't take your eyes off of. Just when you think, "What else could possibly go wrong"...something does. Written for a young adult audience, this series is finding fans among adults, too. A copy of each title is available at SMS Library and each is recommended for 8th grade and above due to graphic description. Fans of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games trilogy might enjoy reading this series as well.