I'm back

This is my first posting in over a year.  The reason for this is that it has been blocked in school.
Now it has been unblocked.

I'm reading two very interesting books. The first is Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry.  This is a futuristic novel in which the world has been infected by a disease that has caused its citizens to turn into zombies. First Night is the beginning of the infection that seems to be caused by a bite from an infected individual.  The story centers around two brothers.  Tom is a zombie hunter.  On First Night after their father was infected, he takes his brother and runs, following his mother's instructions. Benny, the younger bother, only remembers that his brother ran and does not remember the circumstances behind it.  As a result, Benny thinks his brother is a coward.  Since Benny is approaching his 15th birthday, he must find a job or see his rations cut in half.  Benny and his friend try many different jobs, but Benny is running out of options.  He finally chooses to apprentice with his brother.  As the story unfolds, Benny and Tom go out into the Rot and Ruin so Benny can learn what his brother's job is really like.  I am about half way through this book and enjoying it.  Although a little bit tamer, readers who have read The Forest of Hands and Teeth would enjoy this book.   The second book in the series has already been published.

Boost by Kathy Mackel

The second book I'm reading is Boost. Savvy's family is forced to move from Arizona to Rhode Island to live with Aunt Betty. Her father, a pro golfer, can no longer play golf due to an accident.  The family moves from a 4 bedroom, 4 bath, roomy home to two rooms at Aunt Betty's sheep farm.  I didn't know that there were sheep farms in Rhode Island. Savvy loves playing basketball, while her older sister Callie is a cheerleader.   Savvy tries out for the U18 team and meets Gonzo, a Hispanic girl, who becomes her only friend on the team.  Both sisters need to "boost" their games, I'm guessing steroid use will be involved at some point in the story.  This book would appeal to basketball fans and people who enjoy realistic fiction.

True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet by Lola Douglas

Recently release from rehab after overdosing on drugs, 16 year old movie star Morgan Carter has been sent to live in Fort Worth Indiana.  Staying with an old high school friend of her mother, Morgan will be attending the local high school for the next year long with attending Narcotic Anonymous meetings.  As Claudia, Morgan is expected to live as a normal teenager, something Morgan has never done.  Morgan has a hard time fitting in, the teachers give her a hard time, and her only friends are twins, Emily and Eli.  During her year in Fort Worth, Morgan is keeping a journal of her experience, which her agent and her mother hope will be published and be Morgan’s way to return to Hollywood. 

This book was recommended to by a student who told me it was the best book she read this summer.  The book is written is a diary format, which made it a quick and enjoyable read.

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Finn is a prisoner of Incarceron, a prison that only one man, Sapphique, has escaped.  Even though other people in Incarceron don't believe there is anywhere else to go, Finn plans to escape.  With no memory of his life, Finn believes that he was born outside of the prison. The outside world becomes more real when he discovers a crystal that leads him to Claudia.  Claudia claims to live on the outside and is the daughter of the warden of Incarceron.  Their story is told by the characters in alternating chapters with an introduction from Sapphique's Journal.  The book is full of surprises and twists.

I found this book a little confusing in the beginning, but couldn't put it down once the story became clearer. It is truly fascinating.
Readers who would like this are those who have read the Maze Runner, Uglies series and Hunger Games.  The second book called Sapphique is due out Dec 28, 2010.

Jump by Elisa Carbone

P.K.'s  parents are just not listening to her. Before they can send her to a boarding school, she is leaving, heading west to climb. After trying to commit suicide, Critter's parent have him committed to a psych ward. Critter escapes from the hospital. They meet behind the climbing gym,Critter and P.K and they have decided to escape.  Hopping the first bus out of town, the two set off on an adventure climbing in Yosemite National Park, with the cops following close behind them.

A realistic fiction that appeals to readers who like adventure and are interested in rock climbing.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Thomas wakes up in a elevator, his only memory is his name.  When the door is opened, Thomas is greeted by a group of kids who live in the Glade.  The Glade is a large area of land that is surrounded by high walls where everyone has a job to do.  The doors close every night to protect the group from the Grievers, monsters that kill those found in the maze after dark.  The group has been trying to figure out a way to escape through the maze, which changes every night.  Eight runners go into the maze every day to map it and try to solve the maze.  A new resident is add to the group every 30 days.  The group is totally surprised when the day after Thomas arrives, a second person arrives this time a girl bringing an important message to the group.

For those who enjoyed the Hunger Games, this would be a good series to try next.  The second book is due out in October 12, 2010.

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

The story takes place on the Gulf coast where ground oil tankers are stripped for their valuable materials.  Nailer is a teenage who works on the light crew taking copper from the grounded ships.  Nailer's mom is dead and his dad is an addict, so Nailer is basically on his own and just barely surviving.  When Nailer discovers a beautiful grounded clipper ship and he must decide whether to help the girl he discovers on it or savage the ship and the valuable materials it contains.

This story hits close to home with the oil spill in the Gulf and the description of New Orleans, where Nailer and "Lucky Girl" travel in search of her father and his allies.