Month: August 2016

Tell the Wind and Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan

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Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Book Group,  Clarion Books, 2016.

Tell the Wind and Fire is a Charles Dickens tale (A Tale of Two Cities) re-imagined. Sarah Rees Brennan creates a dark and magical world. The influence of Dickens was clear. Unfortunately, I’m not a Dickens fan. I will look for other Sarah Rees Brennan books as she has a great reputation as a writer.

This might provide interesting fodder in a high school English class that was studying A Tale of Two Cities.

I received an electronic copy of Tell the Wind and Fire in exchange for an honest review.

Against All Silence: an SOS Thriller by E.C. Myers

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Against All Silence (SOS, #2)Adaptive Books, Culver City, CA, 2016

As eager as I am to read a second book in a series when I’ve loved the first book, I’m often a bit reluctant to start. Many times the second novel simply doesn’t hold up to the promise of the first, especially in a thriller format when the stakes are high. I needn’t have worried about Against All Silence, the sequel to The Silence of Six. In fact, I think I enjoyed this second book in the series even more.

Max Stein is back after recovering from his harrowing adventure that began with his best friend’s suicide and only ended after a breathtaking physical and cyber race to uncover government corruption. After a quiet semester abroad in Paris, he’s about to return to the US for Christmas when instead he’s drawn into the race to expose an international plot that could change the Internet, and the world as we know it, forever.

Against All Silence had the action, excitement, and travel of an adult cyber thriller, but with teenagers fully embroiled in the action. The content and situations will catch young readers’ attention and keep them reading and rooting for Max and his crew. Highly Recommended.

I received an advance reader copy of Against All Silence courtesy of Adaptive Books in exchange for an honest review.

Added 8/26: This just in! Here’s the trailer for Against All Silence:

The Siege by Mark Alpert

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Sourcebooks Fire, 2016

The team from The Six are back again. They’re still learning and using their supercomputer brains to make innovative robot bodies for battle. But inside the glitz and glamour, they’re still teenagers who are struggling to find their place in a world that doesn’t even know they exist. When their nemesis Sigma reappears, this time with biological weapons, the team will be tested to their limits once again. Can they prevail?

I enjoyed The Siege as much as I enjoyed The Six, the first book in the series. Alpert continues to explore ordinary teen existential questions through this group of teens turned robots. Their innovative robot bodies were easy to picture from the clever descriptions. The pace throughout is fast and thrilling.

I received an electronic copy of The Siege from Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire in exchange for an honest review.

Genius by Leopoldo Gout

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Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends, 2016.

Three online friends from different parts of the world are drawn to Massachusetts for a contest of the youngest, brightest minds of the world. Though most of the contestants are simply there to win a tech contest, each of the friends has their own important agenda. And before they know it they’re in a race to save themselves, their families, and the world.

With alternating chapters by character I had a difficult time getting into the book. Two of the characters’ voices were very similar and the other startlingly different. I persisted, though, and was glad I did. It’s a high-stakes adventure that may especially appeal to kids who travel to participate in science and technology competition.

I received a copy Genius courtesy of NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review.