The Roar

The Roar by Emma Clayton

Summary (from book jacket)
Mika lives in future London, behind The Wall, safe from the Animal Plague beyond.  Or so he's been told.  But ever since Ellie vanished a year ago, he's suspected his world may be build on secrets - and lies.  When a mysterious organization starts recruiting mutant kids to compete in violent virtual reality games, Mika takes the chance to search for his twin sister - and the truth.

Personal Thoughts
I really enjoyed this book.  It was a fascinating read...it was also a completely scary because I could see it happening in the future if we're not careful.  I think Clayton did an excellent job of weaving this particular tale.  Like many of the other books I read over break, I'm wondering if there will be a sequel.  And, yes, it is called The Whisper and is due out in Fall 2011.  I'm excited to read it and see how Mika and Ellie work through the Secret and find out what lies beyond The Wall.  Highly recommended for fans of Sci-Fi and Dystopia.

The Scorch Trials

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner (sequel to The Maze Runner)

Summary (from Horizon)
After surviving horrific conditions in the Maze, Thomas is entrapped, along with nineteen other boys, in a scientific experiment designed to observe their responses and gather data believed to be essential for the survival of the human race.

Personal Thoughts
That summary absolutely does not do this book justice.  In fact, if the book jacket summary hadn't been so long I would have copied that one.  The Maze Runner was a fabulous book and The Scorch Trials is a fitting sequel.  The characters are splendid, the scenery is described (but not to death), and the plot is fantastic and mystifying all at the same time.  WICKED, while they keep saying they're good, are just...well...wicked-sounding.  Although, without being a spoiler, this novel throws in some bizarre flashback twists that will blow your mind!  If you liked The Maze Runner, you'll love The Scorch Trials.

100 Cupboards

100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson

Summary (from Horizon)

Twelve-year-old Henry York and his cousin Henrietta discover 100 hidden portals to other worlds in the bedroom wall of his aunt and uncle's house.

Personal Thoughts
I'm usually a huge fan of books with cubbies, and shrinking, and magical places...but this book seemed to drag.  I didn't hate it, but I felt that it skipped around, lacked a lot of character development, and ended very suddenly.  In addition, there were lots of things that made absolutely no sense within the plot line, but appeared anyway.  For example, (spoiler alert) at the end, there's an appearance of an evil old witch that was nowhere in the story previously.  It made absolutely no sense to me.  Not a book I would recommend strongly.

The Gardener

The Gardener by S.A. Bodeen

Summary (from book jacket)
Mason isn't supposed to know about the Greenhouse.  He isn't supposed to meet the beautiful girl who is part of the experiment, and who doesn't need food or water to survive.  Now Mason is on the run with the girl.  And the Gardener, who is the mysterious mastermind of an institution that grows humans, wants them both, dead or alive.

Personal Thoughts
I really like the concept of this book.  And for the most part I thought it was well-written.  However, there were things left unexplained and the action scenes seemed a little lack-luster.  I'm interested to know if there will be a sequel to help answer some of those questions.  I would recommend this book to anyone who likes sci-fi.

Ship Breaker

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Summary (from book jacket)
In America's Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts, Nailer, a teenage boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quota-and hopefully live to see another day.  But when, by luck or chance, he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, Nailer faces the most important decision of his life: Strip the ship for all it's worth or rescue its lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl who could lead him to a better life.

Personal Thoughts
This was a good read that went pretty fast.  Despite the sometimes awkward and new terminology, it was easy to read and understandable.  The characters were well-fleshed out and the plot interesting and fast-moving, too.  Overall,  I liked this book.  I'm curious to know if there will be a sequel...Aha!  According to sixboxesofbooks.blogspot.com, Bacigalupi is planning a sequel called The Drowned Cities due out in 2011.

Book Trailer: The Summer I Turned Pretty

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pXvIzb0c68
This is the link directly to YouTube if this video is not loading fast enough in the blog.

The Sixty-Eight Rooms

The Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone

Summary (from book jacket)
Almost everybody who has grown up in Chicago knows about the Thorne Rooms.  Housed deep within the Art Institute of Chicago, they are a collection of sixty-eight exquisite-almost eerily realistic-miniature rooms.  Each of the rooms is designed in the style of a different time and place, and every detail is perfect, from the knobs on the doors to the candles in the candlesticks.  Some might even say the rooms are magical.

Imagine...what if, one a field trip, you discovered a key that allowed you to shrink so that you were small enough to sneak inside and explore the rooms' secrets?  What if you discovered that others had done so before you?  And that someone had left something important behind?

Personal Thoughts
As an avid fan of miniatures and shrinking people in stories, I was looking forward to this book.  I always believed that dollhouses (with their roomfulls of miniature furniture) housed secrets us larger people where never destined to know.  I enjoyed this book.  It wasn't packed full of action or even a lot of mystery, but it was an enjoyable read.  I do have to say that it was a little predictable and left several questions unanswered.  However, despite this, I would recommend this book to anyone who ever wished they could eat off of those pefect, tiny china plates with their dolls.