Positive

Positive 

by Paige Rawl

Synopsis:

Paige Rawl was an ordinary girl.

Cheerleader, soccer player, honor roll student. One of the good kids at her middle school.

Then, on an unremarkable day, Paige disclosed the one thing that made her "different": her HIV-positive status.

It didn't matter that she was born with the disease or that her illness posed no danger to her classmates.

Within hours, the bullying began.

They called her PAIDS. Left cruel notes on her locker. Talked in whispers about her and mocked her openly.

She turned to school administrators for help. Instead of assisting her, they ignored her urgent pleas . . . and told her to stop the drama.

She had never felt more alone.

One night, desperate for escape, Paige found herself in front of the medicine cabinet, staring at a bottle of sleeping pills.

That could have been the end of her story. Instead, it was only the beginning.

Finding comfort in steadfast friends and a community of other kids touched by HIV, Paige discovered the strength inside of her, and she embarked on a mission to change things for the bullied kids who would follow in her footsteps.

In this astonishing memoir, Paige immerses the reader in her experience and tells a story that is both deeply personal and completely universal: a story of one girl overcoming relentless bullying by choosing to be Positive.

My Thoughts:

An honest memoir of one girl who overcomes relentless bullying by choosing to be Positive and becomes an inspiration for those who experience bullying.

Born in Indianapolis on 1994, Paige Rawl was an ordinary girl: cheerleader, soccer player and honour roll student. No one knew she was born HIV positive.  Some kids had acne, some had diabetes; she had HIV. That’s what she told her best friend, Yasmine, when they were eleven. Within hours the bullying began. Ignorance, close-mindedness and fear of anything that’s different make the world a cruel place. They called her PAIDS, left cruel notes on her locker and mocked her openly while the adults who should have protected her stood by and told her to stop the drama.  In a desperate attempt to escape the cruelty, Paige finds herself in front of the medicine cabinet contemplating suicide.  But the story doesn’t end here. Paige finds the strength to fight back. She embarks on a mission to change things for the bullied kids who would follow in her footsteps.

This astonishing memoir is highly recommended for middle and high school students as well as teachers and parents.  Paige’s voice is authentic and will engage even the reluctant reader.  The additional resources at the end of the book provide a great starting place for those wanting more information on bullying, what's being done to stop it, facts on HIV and AIDS, as well as where to go for support groups and crisis hotlines.

Jackaby

Jackaby

by William Ritter

Synopsis:

"Miss Rook, I am not an occultist," Jackaby said. "I have a gift that allows me to see truth where others see the illusion--and there are many illusions. All the world''s a stage, as they say, and I seem to have the only seat in the house with a view behind the curtain."

Newly arrived in New Fiddleham, New England, 1892, and in need of a job, Abigail Rook meets R. F. Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained with a keen eye for the extraordinary--including the ability to see supernatural beings. Abigail has a gift for noticing ordinary but important details, which makes her perfect for the position of Jackaby''s assistant. On her first day, Abigail finds herself in the midst of a thrilling case: A serial killer is on the loose. The police are convinced it''s an ordinary villain, but Jackaby is certain it''s a nonhuman creature, whose existence the police--with the exception of a handsome young detective named Charlie Cane--deny.

Doctor Who meets Sherlock in a debut novel, the first in a series, brimming with cheeky humor and a dose of the macabre.

My Thoughts:

JACKABY provides an enthralling 19th-century setting and an incredibly unique title character readers will fall in love with.  Jackaby is told through the voice of Abigail Rook, a young woman who, inspired by her father’s paleontological expeditions, leaves her boarding school to escape her parent’s expectations in search of adventure.  When her trip to a dinosaur dig in the Carpathian Mountains falls apart, Abigail purchases passages with her few remaining coins to New England.  Upon arriving in the city of New Fiddleham with a suitcase of inappropriate attire, little money and no prospects, Abigail meets R.F. Jackaby, a private detective who specializes in spectacular and unexplainable phenomena. With his strange attire, quirky nature and claim that he can see supernatural beings, Jackaby is quite the spectacle. Despite her initial impressions and cautions from several townspeople to stay away from Jackaby, Abigail accepts the assistant position and accompanies Jackaby to his next case.  Jackaby’s quirky disposition and oblivion to social norms both charm and captivate readers.  Abigail’s attention to the everyday serves as a foil to Jackaby’s paranormal perception and make the two a perfect duo.  The cast of side characters, both human and supernatural, are equally engaging.

I thoroughly enjoyed Jackaby. Ritter's debut novel is well deserving of the starred reviews it has received from Kirkus, Booklist and School Library Journal.  It is a cleverly written, fun read with quirky but loveable characters.   I highly recommend this book for those readers who enjoy witty dialogue, magic, folklore, mystery and adventure.

Silver

Silver 

by Chris Wooding

Synopsis:

The final exam is survival.Without warning, a horrifying infection spreads across school grounds, and a group of students with little in common will find themselves barricaded in a classroom, fighting for their lives.
Some will live.
Some will die.
And then it will get even worse.
Fast-paced and frightening, Silver is a tale set on the fringes of science and horror — a story about the struggle to survive in the face of impossible odds.

My thoughts:

Paul arrives half way through the school year at Mortingham Academy after his parents are killed in a plane crash.  Paul, not wanting to deal with anything or anyone, keeps to himself for the most part until two students are bitten by a strange silver beetle with computer chip like markings. The school nurse sends Paul out into a thunderstorm to get help as the two students get worse but Paul quickly discovers that there is no power so no help and the beetles aren’t the only silver monsters on campus. The infection quickly spreads turning both people and animals into aggressive silver machines and as more are infected they start to show more intelligence and begin working as a team.  Paul along with a single teacher and a handful of students barricaded themselves in a science block and try desperate to survive the infected attacks as well as come up some kind of escape plan in what appears to be a completely hopeless situation. Silver is told by several different characters, each with their very own distinct voice and personality.  The English boarding school all alone on the countryside is the perfect creepy setting for this novel add in a night with a storm raging, a horde of crazed monsters, and no hope of outside help it seems like it’s the end of the world and the suspense is all consuming.  Wooding has created a fast-paced zombie-like survival story that both science fiction and horror fans will love.  Once the fight begins readers will not be able to put down this engaging read.

The Girl From The Well

The Girl From The Well

by Rin Chupeco

Synopsis:

I am where dead children go. Okiku is a lonely soul. She has wandered the world for centuries, freeing the spirits of the murdered-dead. Once a victim herself, she now takes the lives of killers with the vengeance they''re due. But releasing innocent ghosts from their ethereal tethers does not bring Okiku peace. Still she drifts on. Such is her existence, until she meets Tark. Evil writhes beneath the moody teen''sskin, trapped by a series of intricate tattoos. While his neighbors fear him, Okiku knows the boy is not a monster. Tark needs to be freed from the malevolence that clings to him. There''s just one problem: if the demon dies, so does its host.

My thoughts:

The Girl From The Well is Chupeco's debut novel which is based on the Japanese legend of "Okiku and the Nine Plates", the same tale that inspired The Ring.  For over 300 years Okiku has been wandering the world taking vengeance on child murderers; half because she wants to free the children that get chained to their murderers and half because death and revenge are almost the only thing that she understands anymore.  When Tark crosses Okiku's path while she is hunting a serial killer, he sparks something in her that she thought was almost impossible: curiosity.  As Okiku observes and slowly befriends him and his cousin Callie, she discovers that something truly dark and malicious is trying to break free of Tark and his strange tattoos are the only thing keeping the spirit bound.  After Tark's mom is violently murdered, Tark, his father, and Callie head to Japan to scatter her ashes on a particular shrine and ended up meeting some women, who were friends of Tark's mother, that might have the answers that Tark and Okiku have been looking for.  The Girl From The Well told from Okiku's point of view is a creepy thriller that people will want to read during the day with the lights on . . . preferably not near any closets or wells.  While this novel would definitely fall under the horror genre Chupeco uses a cutscene technique rather than violent disembodiment to build up the suspense so that by the time the final battle begins the reader is a bundle of nerves that jumps at the smallest sound and is terrified of what will happen when the other shoe drops.  Chupeco has written a haunting tale that is well worth reading and the poetic style that is used when Okiku is hunting is genius.

Unbreakable

Unbreakable

by Kami Garcia

Synopsis:

I never believed in ghosts.
Until one tried to kill me.

When Kennedy Waters finds her mother dead, she doesn''t realize that paranormal forces are responsible--not until mysterious identical twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart break into her room and destroy a deadly spirit sent to kill her.

Kennedy learns that her mother''s death was no accident, and now she has to take her place in the Legion of the Black Dove--a secret society whose five members were all murdered on the same night, leaving the Legion in the hands of the next generation: a misfit group with unique skills.

As the new members race to find the only weapon capable of destroying the demon, they use their individual talents to battle paranormal entities and earn their rightful place in the Legion--except for Kennedy.

If she is truly the missing piece of the puzzle, can she stay alive long enough to find out--without losing her heart in the process?

Protect Yourself.
What you can''t see CAN hurt you.

My thoughts:

Unbreakable is a fast-paced thrill of a ride that will grab and hold onto you from the very first page.  Within only a couple of pages 17 year-old Kennedy Waters meets a scary ghost girl in a graveyard, her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, her cat (possessed by a vengeance spirit) tries to kill her, and she meets gorgeous twins Jared and Lukas when they break into her house to save her from the previously mentioned vengeance spirit. Kennedy didn't even believe in the supernatural and now she must work with Lukas, Jared and two other teens - the only surviving members of the Legion of the Black Dove - to try and destroy the demon Andras before he rises and destroys the world.  But before they can destroy Andras, the teens must assemble the Shift, the only known weapon that can destroy the demon.  In their search for the missing pieces, Kennedy and the Legion members visit numerous haunted locations, such as a haunted mansion, an abandoned magic shop, and even an old prison and must find and defeat the violent ghosts that guard the pieces that they are looking for. In Garcia’s solo debut novel there is suspense lurking on every page and a love triangle between Kennedy, Lukas, and Jared that only adds to the suspense. Just when the novel’s plotline seems to be turning predictable Garcia has written an surprise ending with a twist no one will see coming and that leaves the reader waiting anxiously for the next installment to this ghostly series.

Maybe One Day

Maybe One Day

by Melissa Kantor

Synopsis:

Zoe and her best friend, Olivia, have always had Big Plans: They''ll tour the world as prima ballerinas and live in a swanky Manhattan apartment (where they''ll hang out with their fabulous boyfriends, of course). But when they''re cut from the ballet company, their plans for the future evaporate. Suddenly, Zoe''s dodging cheerleaders who want her and Olivia to go out for the squad, and Olivia''s got a crush on Calvin Taylor, who Zoe can''t stand. 

Zoe can''t imagine anything worse happening . . . until Olivia gets sick. Really sick. Suddenly, not being able to dance is the least of their problems.

Olivia has always been the nice one, the happy-go-lucky one. Zoe has always been the snarky one, the look-on-the-dark-side one. But when your best friend is in the hospital, you better learn to step up fast. Now Zoe needs to put on a brave face and be the positive one. Even when Zoe isn''t sure what to say. Even when Olivia misses months of school. Even when Zoe starts falling for Calvin.

The one thing that keeps Zoe moving forward is knowing that Olivia will beat this thing, and everything will go back to the way it was before. It has to. Because the alternative is too terrifying for Zoe to even imagine.

My thoughts:

Best friends Zoe and Olivia have made Ballet their whole lives until according to Zoe “the worst thing that will happen to us in our entire lives” happens to them; they are cut from their prestigious ballet school. Livvie doesn't seem to fazed by this rejection and finds other activities including teaching a ballet class at a community centre but Zoe is upset and angry and renounces dance especially ballet.  Sadly Zoe’s prediction about being cut from ballet being the "worst things that will happen to us in our entire lives" isn't true when Olivia is diagnosed with Leukemia at the start of the new school year and Zoe’s world is once again shattered.  Kantor does a marvelous job of showing the real life ups and downs that cancer patients and their families and friends have to go through.  Maybe One day is told from Zoe’s point of view which is a change from some of the other “cancer books”; as most of those books are told by the person with cancer. But cancer doesn’t affect just the one person it affects everyone in that person’s life.  Kantor has done a wonderful job of depicting Zoe’s struggles as she simultaneously has to deal with the realities of Olivia’s cancer (that Olivia will not be better over night, as Zoe’s dad says cancer “is a marathon, not a sprint”) but also accept that life still goes on and it’s okay to enjoy it.

Only Everything

Only Everything

By Kieran Scott

Synopsis:

High school romance is tough—even for a bona fide love goddess. Can Cupid succeed as a mortal matchmaker?

When Eros (aka Cupid) is expelled from Olympus for defying Zeus after falling in love with Orion, she is banished to what she believes to be hell. We call it New Jersey. If she ever wants to go back to the comforts of her old life, she will have to find love for three couples—without using her powers.

Eros, now calling herself True, immediately identifies her first project in Charlie and believes finding him love will be a piece of cake. Charlie is new at school and eager to break out of his old image of band geek, so it’s lucky for him when he falls in with the right crowd on his first day. But music is still his passion. That is, until he meets Katrina...

Katrina is floundering after the death of her father and takes refuge with a boy who, while not entirely supportive, will be there when she needs him, unlike her mother. Too bad True thinks any girl Charlie talks to is perfect for him. Can she get out of her own way and help Charlie and Katrina connect, or will she be stuck in New Jersey forever?

My thoughts:

Eros, a minor goddess (yes goddess, no cute cherub baby in diapers in this story), has somehow many to pull Orion out of the sky.  She has no idea how she did it, she's a minor goddess, she's not supposed to have that kind of power!  Scared of Zeus reaction, Eros, with her mother Aphrodite’s help, hides Orion away, visiting him every chances she gets and slowly ends up falling in love with him.  But of course nothing lasts forever and when Zeus finds out he banishes Eros and her mother to Earth with the ultimatum match up three couples without using her love powers (which Zeus strips from her just to be on the safe side) or Orion dies and Eros will be an outcast.  What follows is a light and highly amusing read as Eros tries to navigate high school, relationships and life on earth.  The story is told through three different characters each struggling with their own issues.  There is Eros who takes on the name "True"; she befriends Charlie, the new kid yet again, and tries to help him find his "soul mate" by setting him up with several different girls all of whom are so not compatible and one who is completely crazy.  There is Charlie who wants nothing more than to just be able to play the drums but with a coach for a dad and two older athletic brothers it's a losing battle.  Then there is Katrina, a nice quiet girl who recently lost her father, is having problems with her mom, and has probably picked one of the worst boyfriends she possibly could for herself.  Though it is completely obvious right from the beginning that Charlie and Katrina are the couple that "True" needs to match readers will not be able to put down this page turner. Full of easily relatable relationship drama and funny teenage mishaps Scott has written a wonderfully light hearted romance novel that is sure to please any romantic. Once Charlie and Katrina (finally!) get together it seems like the story has come to an end and everything is wrapped up in a nice neat little bow; However, readers should remember that Eros must match three couples and Zeus won't make it easy for her and nor will Scott who ends Only Everything in a surprising cliff-hanger that will leaving readers gasping at the unfairness of it all and begging for the next book.