At the end of the sixteenth century, religious upheaval brings fear, superstition, and doubt to the lives of mortals. Yet unbeknownst to them, another world lies just beyond the Veil: the realm of the Sithe, a fierce and beautiful people for whom a full-mortal life is but the blink of an eye. The Veil protects and hides their world…but it is fraying at the edges, and not all think it should be repaired. 

Discarded by his mother and ignored by his father, sixteen-year-old Seth MacGregor has grown up half wild in his father’s fortress, with only his idolized older brother, Conal, for family. When Conal quarrels with the Sithe queen and is forced into exile in the full-mortal world, Seth volunteers to go with him.

But life beyond the Veil is even more dangerous than they expected, and Seth and Conal soon find themselves embroiled in a witch-hunt—in which they are the quarry. Trapped between the queen’s machinations at home and the superstitious violence of the otherworld, Seth must act before both of them are fed to the witch-hunters’ fires…

Hardcover, 368 pages  Published February 19th 2013 by Tor Books (first published 2010)

In his youth Seth is an outcast in his own village and his older half brother Conal takes him under his wing. It’s not long before Seth develops an unbreakable bond with Conal and becomes tenaciously devoted to him. When Conal is cast out to the Otherworld Seth follows unable to live a life without Conal in it.

Beyond the Veil in the Otherworld, humans are in the midst of hysteria surrounding witchcraft. Under the guidance of Conal, Seth must learn the ways of the mortals and how to stay under their radar. When Conal is taken by the Minister, under the allegations he has been practising witchcraft, Seth must make the decision to show his brother mercy and kill him, or watch him burn.

Neither side of the Veil are ideal worlds. The Sithe are also going through a time of war and anarchy. Disagreements between Queen Kate and Lenore the witch cause upset within the Sithe families and sides must be taken.

It is a time of war and rampant paranoia. Love and compassion are hard to come by and laughter is almost completly unknown and most enjoyment found in teasing and antagonizing your friends for reactions. When love does come into the picture, it is more for companionship than romance.

Firebrand is a dark, depressing and often times war-fuelled story of the evolution of the Sithe and Mortal worlds during a time of darkness and fear. Though both sides of the Veil are dangerous, the Sithe’s actions are by far the scariest and the mortals have no clue what’s in store for them. Heartbreak abounds and yet determination to fight against the evil is what pushes the story forward. The book leads into the hint of a prophecy and hopefully book 2 will focus on finding the answers to prevent the utter destruction of both worlds. 

Seventeen-year-old Lauren is having visions of girls who have gone missing. And all these girls have just one thing in common—they are 17 and gone without a trace. As Lauren struggles to shake these waking nightmares, impossible questions demand urgent answers: Why are the girls speaking to Lauren? How can she help them? And… is she next? As Lauren searches for clues, everything begins to unravel, and when a brush with death lands her in the hospital, a shocking truth emerges, changing everything.

With complexity and richness, Nova Ren Suma serves up a beautiful, visual, fresh interpretation of what it means to be lost

Hardcover, 354 pages  Published March 21st 2013 by Dutton Juvenile  ISBN  0525423400 (ISBN13: 9780525423409)

Our main character Lauren is becoming obsessed with local girls who have all gone missing. They have one thing in common, all disappeared at the age of 17. 

Lauren begins to collect the flyers that are posted around town with the details of the missing girls. But one girl in particular has become a fixation. When Lauren begins to have dreams, as well as visions of Abby, she begins to look into her disappearance, going to places she was last seen, talking to her family and friends. But what really gets to her is when she begins hearing and feeling Abby’s emotions. Is this all in her head? Or is Abby somehow guiding her?

There are several missing girls mentioned and the story is also filled with research on missing girls in general. Although Lauren shows an interest in a variety of girls, the main focus of this story lies with Abby and Fiona. Her detective work is so focused that it puts stress on her relationship with her mother, her boyfriend and school. But the deeper that Lauren looks into the disappearances, the more danger she finds herself in. And to top it all off the visions are getting scarier and affecting her physically.

Nova Ren Suma takes on this topic in an interesting way. I would have liked to see how some of the other missing girls stories had played out, but we only get answers to a few. I would recommend this book for fans of the The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer books, as well as those that enjoy a good psychological mystery. 

So what’s the game now? This, or the life I used to know?

When Miki Jones is pulled from her life, pulled through time and space into some kind of game—her carefully controlled life spirals into chaos. In the game, she and a team of other teens are sent on missions to eliminate the Drau, terrifying and beautiful alien creatures. There are no practice runs, no training, and no way out. Miki has only the guidance of secretive but maddeningly attractive team leader Jackson Tate, who says the game isn’t really a game, that what Miki and her new teammates do now determines their survival, and the survival of every other person on this planet. She laughs. He doesn’t. And then the game takes a deadly and terrifying turn.

Hardcover, 361 pages  Published June 11th 2013 by Katherine Tegen Books  ISBN  0062192132 (ISBN13: 9780062192134)

This was a book that left me with more questions than answers, which is not necessarily a bad thing, especially when it comes to a series. It is also a story that will one moment be in a normal high school setting connecting with friends, and the next in a high-paced fast action fight scene. .

Gamers will appreciate the way this world is put together. There are points that can be gained and lost; energy or power gauges that maintain whether you stay in the game or die. There’s also the fact that in the end it’s always your life that is at risk and not all team members are team players.

The chapters vary between Miki’s life at school and knowing that any moment she can be pulled from it. The real world pauses while the game is played, to return exactly to the moment she left, having to resume as if all is normal again. There is little to no contact with the other team members while in the real world, and if you die in the game, you die in real life. The jumping back and forth between each world was a little off-putting to me, because personally, I couldn’t understand how anything besides fighting the Drau was important any more once you learn of their existence. But it’s all part of the game, you don’t get to choose when or where. It just is.

It is a plot driven story with a focus on the Game. Characters and world building come next, right in time to get you pumped up for the continuation for what will happen next. With very little downtime to develop any more than basic friendships and least of all a romance, Rush is a science fiction adventure story of survival.

On Day 56 of the pandemic called BluStar, sixteen-year-old Nadia’s mother dies, leaving her responsible for her younger brother Rabbit. They secretly received antivirus vaccines from their uncle, but most people weren’t as lucky. Their deceased father taught them to adapt and survive whatever comes their way. That’s their plan as they trek from Seattle to their grandfather’s survivalist compound in West Virginia.

Using practical survival techniques, they make their way through a world of death and destruction until they encounter an injured dog; Zack, a street kid from Los Angeles; and other survivors who are seldom what they seem. Illness, infections, fatigue, and meagre supplies have become a way of life. Still, it will be worth it once they arrive at the designated place on the map they have memorized. But what if no one is there to meet them?

Hardcover, 288 pages  Published June 11th 2013 by Delacorte Press  ISBN 0385739737 (ISBN13: 9780385739733)

After Nadia and Rabbit’s parents die, they must travel to find the only family they have left, their Uncle who helped them survive the BluStar pandemic. But as Rabbit and Nadia begin their journey, they come across many different types of survivors, all paranoid and all watchful of their possessions. They find friendship and help from Zack, who soon joins them.

I have read a lot of young adult survival stories this year, each one as good as the next. This is the first one written with a younger age group in mind. There are subtle references to the danger of the outside world, but nothing too gruesome or uncomfortable. There is also a strong influence of family and for the most part, a firm belief in rebuilding communities rather than further destruction. They do, however, come across a couple of situations that they must run from or fight dangerous gangs.

Rabbit, the younger of the two, takes the lead in guiding them in their travels. He is smart, has read the manuals and keeps in mind how many supplies they have left. Nadia is the protector, does most of the interacting with other people and makes the final decisions.

The pacing of the story is stop and go. They come up against several different blockades, and when they find a safe place they stay for awhile, this allows for some of the character relationships to grow. Through flashbacks, and Nadia’s memories from before her parents had died, we also learn about the BluStar virus and its effects on the world population.

I have become a huge fan of survival stories and the close relationship of Nadia and Rabbit in A Matter of Days is comforting. The fact that there are suspenseful yet not too intense moments made this a very entertaining read. The author’s research on the effects of pandemics shows throughout the story. Even though their parents are no longer with them, the lessons their uncle taught them, carries them on and helps them to survive every day. 

What if the world’s worst serial killer…was your dad?

Jasper “Jazz” Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.

But he’s also the son of the world’s most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could—from the criminal’s point of view.

And now bodies are piling up in Lobo’s Nod.

In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret—could he be more like his father than anyone knows?

Hardcover, 361 pages  Published April 3rd 2012 by Little, Brown and Company

ISBN  0316125849 (ISBN13: 9780316125840)

Jazz has witnessed things no young person should ever see. His father not only gave detailed information about his procedures as a serial killer, but show and tell was a common past time in their house. In the opening scenes of this story we witness as Jazz watches the police procedures as they discover a murdered woman. Jazz uses the knowledge he’s obtained through his father to walk the reader through details of what is looked for in a crime scene, and what may have been missed.

I was a little surprised at how much information the police department revealed to Jazz throughout the story. Jazz not only seemed very comfortable in his several interactions with the detectives, but they, for the most part were very open to revealing aspects of the case. Aside from my own doubts that such events could really happen, it does lead to a very interesting plot.

The story starts off at a pretty high point and that continues throughout the story. The tension builds and the connections between characters and their involvement sets a good pace. The feel of this book reminded me of the movie Murder by Numbers starring Sandra Bullock. The reader is given details of each case, not only from Jazz’s perspective, but from the detective’s as well. 

Jazz may look to have a normal teenage social life, but his time outside school is beyond anything normal. He is a very likeable character with an unusual pastime. The story is a very fast paced read with twists, thrills and mystery.