The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses by Ty Drago

Click here to find this book at your library.

Whatever you do, don’t call them zombies. They are invaders, wearing the bodies of the dead as a disguise. Everyone just sees a regular person, with the exception of a few kids. When Will first sees them he thinks he’s going crazy, but soon he learns that he’s not the only one. He is rescued from his school and taken to a secret place filled with other kids like him who can see the undead for what they really are. Now he is a part of the Undertakers and he has to help fight these hidden monsters before they take over everything.


I liked the book. It’s written for a younger teen audience (ages 11-13). It’s an easy read and boys will really get into the story. There are a lot of fights to keep everyone interested, and no one has any special powers, except the ability to see through the disguise to the rotting corpse underneath. You know typical teenage stuff. It’s a different take on zombies and it’s not a survival story. It’s definitely set up for some sequels and the writing makes me care enough about the characters to want to see what happens next.

Blink and Caution by Tim Wynne-Jones

Click here to find this book at your library.

Blink is a sixteen year old runaway who spends his time stealing rich kid’s clothes so he can sneak into hotels and eat left over room service before housekeeping cleans up the hallways. Caution is a runaway living with an abusive, drug dealing boyfriend. When Blink sees a not quite kidnapping, and Caution runs away with some serious drug money their lives are thrown into turmoil. Fortunately they find and try to help each other. Unfortunately they are facing double the trouble trying to solve the kidnapping mystery and stay alive.


Why is it that whenever I read a gritty and unusual urban fiction book it’s almost always set in Canada? Those Canadians know how to keep me interested, even without spells or the walking dead. This book is written in a fast and exciting way. Guys who don’t want to read will be sucked into Blink’s story. There’s no flowery prose here, but somehow the story gets told…and it’s told well. The blunt way the story is told mirrors the blunt and rough way these teens are living, without being to over the top.  There’s some cussing, and drugs, and a whole lot of violence, but what do you expect from a mystery book written about runaways. My advice is to Read It.

The Anti Prom by Abby McDonald

Click here to find this book at your library.

The cool girl, the outcast, and the wall flower. What do they all have in common? Prom of course. All three girls show up expecting different things and none of them get exactly what they thought they were going to out of their prom night.


Told in alternating chapters we see from each girl’s point of view. I like the way the story is told, and the way it’s all wrapped up. Each girl is incredibly believable and I think a lot of teen girls will see themselves or someone they know in the book. I would recommend for 9th grade and up because of some mild language and implied sexual content. (Nothing explicit in the book and no F bombs.) This is a good girlie teen book.

Drums Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick

Click here to find this book at your library.

Steven is an eighth grade drumming phenom. He practices like crazy and is really big in jazz band. His life is typical, with crushes and homework, until his five year old brother Jeff gets cancer. Steven’s life starts spinning out of control as his brother gets more sick, and his parents try to work out the best treatment. This is the story of the year of treatment that happens and what it takes for a family to deal with sickness.


I liked the book because it’s honest. It’s not all sad or all happy. It is just a realistic look at a family, told from the point of view of the older brother. When his little brother gets sick, the whole world revolves around making him better. Grades slip, parents ignore other problems, the family struggles, because that’s what really happens. Even though the little brother is fighting cancer, this is overall a happy book with a lot of heart. I also really like the sequels, especially Tales of the Midnight Driver!

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Click here to find this book at your library.

In Tally’s world everyone normal is an Ugly. It’s ok, because when you turn 16 you get an operation and you become a Pretty. You get to leave your ugly life behind and move to New Pretty Town, where you can party and have fun. Tally has snuck out and seen the parties and the pretty people for herself so she can’t wait for her operation. When there are only a few weeks left until her operation she makes a new friend who challenges what Tally thinks about being pretty. Soon Tally is given an ultimatum; she can turn on her friend or stay ugly forever.


This is one of those books that I read so long ago, and I just assume everyone has read it, but of course not everyone has. I LOVE THIS BOOK!! If you only read one book I recommend this is the one. It’s set in the distant future. The old governments failed, and a virus destroyed all of the worlds’ oil. New ways of living and doing this had to be created. The government decided that the reason people hated and made war was because people where jealous and hated people who were different, so their solution was to make everyone the same; Beautiful. I love the concept and the delivery. This is a clean read, with a lot of action. I recommend it for guys and girls. I predict you will get sucked in.

This is my favorite cover for the book.  It's been reprinted and recovered a lot.

 

The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie by Jaclyn Moriarty

Click here to find this book at your library.

Bindy is an eleventh grader in an exclusive Australian school, but this is not your typical high school story. Told exclusively through notes passed, journal entries, and school assignments you get to find out what is happening to Bindy and her classmates. She is a weird and mostly unsympathetic character. She spies on fellow classmates and writes the oddest things. She is paranoid that someone is trying to kill her, and more than a little obsessed with her classmates. This is the sequel to The Year of Secret Assignments, and readers will see a lot of the same characters, but Bindy is the focus of this story.

I loved this book. When I read it I didn’t know it was a sequel so I read it first. The twist ending is amazing and it fully changes the story. Things that seemed meaningless at the beginning turned out to be really important. I won’t give it away, because I’m against spoilers, but I will say the book is not predictable at all. This book is not for everyone, I know because I have recommended it before and been disappointed, but if you like quirky characters and an unusual story you will enjoy this book. It’s a mostly clean read with not much romance or swearing. If you like it read the first book.

Click here to find this book at your library.

Sleepless by Thomas Fahy

Click here to find this book at your library.

After a school sponsored community service trip to New Orleans goes awry the teens all realize that they are not able to sleep. Emma and her friends, who were all on the trip, join a secret society run by their teacher, Dr. Beecher's. He thinks that by meeting they can talk about fine art and support each other. Soon classmates start turning up dead and they are trying to figure out who is doing the killing and why.


I thought I would love this book. The cover is so cool and I really liked one of Fahy’s other novels Unspoken, but this one just didn’t do it for me. For whatever reason, I just couldn’t get into the story or muster up any kind of sympathy for the characters. I know that a lot of other people really liked it. It is a thriller and if you like books that take lots of turns, and a story that jumps around, you might really enjoy this book. One teen liked it so much he made a book trailer that I have poster below. This book is definitely for an older teen crowd. There is some sexual content and swearing.

Dull Boy by Sarah Cross

Click here to find this book at your library.

Avery has superpowers. He can fly and is crazy strong. There may be other powers but he needs to keep a lid on his abilities because if the wrong people find out, he could end up being dissected by guys in white lab coats. Avery has some trouble controlling his powers, which leads to property damage and parent drama. He even has to quit the wrestling team because he can’t control his strength. As soon as he switches schools things really start to change for him. He meets some other people with abilities. Are they good guys, bad guys, really hot girls with evil plots to rule the world?


I liked the book. It was a fun read, and gave a more realistic look to what might happen if you really did have special abilities. I would recommend it to guys that are looking for something fast and exciting to read. The internal conflict is a little reminiscent of the Smallville T.V. series Superman. I’m hoping for a sequel. You can check out the author’s blog for more info and some cool extras about the characters.