Interesting Reader Society - Book Reviews by Young Adults

Interesting Reader Society -- School Library Journal, 04/21/2010

Jill Jekel’s father was murdered, but before he died, he managed to spend her college fund on illegal activities. Now Jill really needs a scholarship, and, in fact, there’s a chemistry prize that she stands a chance of winning—but her chances are even better with the help of Tristen Hyde. Jekel and Hyde, recreating experiments from Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel: What could go wrong?

This book has a smart, engaging concept. I loved how Fantaskey mingled science (albeit far-fetched science) with what’s essentially a fantasy story. I was also impressed by its unpredictability; apart from the pairing that the title gives away, nothing in this book is what I expected. The cover was beautifully done, with a certain darkness to it that mirrored the story’s darkness. The brilliant green solution in the beaker contrasts with the shadowed purple of Jill’s shirt, and the water effect evokes a sense of drowning—which, in a sense, happens to both Jill and Tristen.

I have to reiterate the power of the surprising plot twists. Every time I thought I had something figured out and that all would be well, Fantaskey threw another well-crafted monkey wrench into my expectations.

The only thing I didn’t like was that the title is not particularly clever, like the title of Fantaskey’s first book, Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side. And honestly, I’m sure there are better titles for this one out there somewhere.—Lisa M., age 16

Campbell, Chelsea M. The Rise of Renegade X. Egmont. May 2010. ISBN 978-1-60684-060-3. Gr 7–12.

Damien Locke lives in a world where your DNA structure decides whether you become a hero or a villain. On each inhabitant’s 16th birthday, the hero/villain’s thumb fingerprints change to an H or a V. But when Damien’s thumbprint becomes an X, everything changes.

This story was fast, exciting, and fresh. I thought the cover was good, and it showed an important scene when Damien is being forced to jump off a building. The confusion of Damien throughout the book is so real.—Madison C., age 13

Falls, Kat. Dark Life. Scholastic. May 2010. ISBN 978-0-545-17814-3. Gr 5–8.

Ty has lived in the deep sea all his life on his family’s underwater farm in Benthic Territory. It’s more freedom than they’d ever find Topside, where land is at a premium and people live crammed together in “stack cities.” Below, however, there are outlaws, and they’ve started attacking settlers. To stop them, Ty has to team up with a Topside girl searching for her lost brother—and what they find is far more than just outlaws.

This book was... smart. That’s the first word that comes to mind. I loved the premise: the oceans rising and earthquakes sending the East Coast into the deep. It helps that, unlike most other YA post-environmental-apocalypse novels, this one only mentioned the human contribution to the problem once, a very refreshing change. As someone with a keen interest in marine biology, I also appreciated how much Kat Falls got right in her depiction of the oceans, and the way that even the little bits of almost-fantasy were still somewhat logical.

The space-age font on the cover was excellent. The eye-catching jellyfish was both intriguing and apt, and the bubble background was just plain cool. In fact, the cover was what first attracted me to this book. I could tell immediately that it had something to do with the ocean just by glancing at it. I loved its undersea world. From the Liquigen (which someone needs to invent) to the manta boards, it was great sci-fi mixed with practicality. These people are still farmers, after all. It was a cool concept, and a place I wouldn’t mind living.

I was a little bit frustrated with one thing—the use of the word “biosonar.” While I realize it’s technically accurate, the term most people are familiar with is “echolocation,” and it might make the concept of a human using this ability seem a little less far-fetched.—Lisa M., age 16

Hauge, Lesley. NoMANSland. Henry Holt. June 2010. ISBN 978-0-8050-9064-2. Gr 7–10.

Set in a land far to the north and far in the future, this title tells the story of a society made up entirely of women. Focusing on a girl training to be a Tracker, the reader is taken on an adventure not through the world, but through the mind. Keller lives in a world where men are viewed as the Enemy, and where friendship and happiness are against the law. When she and her fellow Novices find an old house full of relics from our time, the magazine images and the clothes they see open up an entirely new world for them.

NoMANSland challenges the ways we think about our world by examining it through the lens of brainwashed and disillusioned teenagers looking for answers. Hauge stands every cultural norm on its head. The chaos on the cover definitely made me pick up the book, but there’s actually no physical chaos in the story. All of the “battles” take place within Keller’s mind as she tries to figure out what’s really going on around her.