Whittier Warriors

I am fast becoming a fan of Gordon Korman.  I’ve enjoyed SCHOOLED and BORN TO ROCK and I’m looking forward to his installment in the 39 CLUES series.  When I saw THE JUVIE THREE on the shelf I knew I had to give it a try. I wasn’t disappointed.

As I read the book I almost had the feeling that I was reading a young adult version of the 1989 movie The Dream Team starring Michael Keaton.  Douglas Healy, a former juvenile delinquent, gets approval from the state of New York to start a unique halfway house for young criminals.  Healy hand picks three young men serving sentences in juvenile detention centers to be the first to try out his program.  All three boys are going to get out of the detention centers and live in an apartment with Healy, go to school, do community service, and attend regular group therapy sessions.  There are very strict rules in place.  Just one broken rule and back to jail they’ll go.

The three boys are:

Gecko – in trouble for being the get away driver during a robbery planned by his older brother.

Arjay – in trouble for accidentally killing a boy during a fight even though it was totally self defense.

Terence – in trouble for planning a robbery job.

The boys have been given a second chance, but Gecko and Arjay seem to realize that better than Terence. One night when Terence is trying to sneak out there is a terrible accident.  Mr. Healy falls off of the fire escape and hits his head on the pavement in the alley outside their building.  The boys panic.  They load Mr. Healy in the car and take him to the hospital and take off.  They don’t want to go back to jail so they devise a plan to go about business as usual and hope that Mr. Healy comes home quick and forgives them. So, Gecko, Arjay, and Terence continue to go to school, attend their therapy sessions, and do their community service – hoping no one realizes Mr. Healy isn’t around.

You’ll develop feelings for the boys and hope that everything turns out for the best.  The story is touching while at the same time sprinkled with humor.  You’ll want to know more about the boys when the story is finished.

I am fast becoming a fan of Gordon Korman.  I’ve enjoyed SCHOOLED and BORN TO ROCK and I’m looking forward to his installment in the 39 CLUES series.  When I saw THE JUVIE THREE on the shelf I knew I had to give it a try. I wasn’t disappointed.

As I read the book I almost had the feeling that I was reading a young adult version of the 1989 movie The Dream Team starring Michael Keaton.  Douglas Healy, a former juvenile delinquent, gets approval from the state of New York to start a unique halfway house for young criminals.  Healy hand picks three young men serving sentences in juvenile detention centers to be the first to try out his program.  All three boys are going to get out of the detention centers and live in an apartment with Healy, go to school, do community service, and attend regular group therapy sessions.  There are very strict rules in place.  Just one broken rule and back to jail they’ll go.

The three boys are:

Gecko – in trouble for being the get away driver during a robbery planned by his older brother.

Arjay – in trouble for accidentally killing a boy during a fight even though it was totally self defense.

Terence – in trouble for planning a robbery job.

The boys have been given a second chance, but Gecko and Arjay seem to realize that better than Terence. One night when Terence is trying to sneak out there is a terrible accident.  Mr. Healy falls off of the fire escape and hits his head on the pavement in the alley outside their building.  The boys panic.  They load Mr. Healy in the car and take him to the hospital and take off.  They don’t want to go back to jail so they devise a plan to go about business as usual and hope that Mr. Healy comes home quick and forgives them. So, Gecko, Arjay, and Terence continue to go to school, attend their therapy sessions, and do their community service – hoping no one realizes Mr. Healy isn’t around.

You’ll develop feelings for the boys and hope that everything turns out for the best.  The story is touching while at the same time sprinkled with humor.  You’ll want to know more about the boys when the story is finished.

Alexis lives a dysfunctional high school existence.  She keeps to herself taking and developing her own photographs in a darkroom at home.  She doesn’t have any friends at school.  She watches her parents grow farther and farther apart while they focus on their careers instead of home, but most unsettling of all is her younger sister’s fascination with her doll collection. Kasey won’t allow anyone near them and Alexis knows she has heard Kasey talking to them in the middle of the night.

Strange things have been happening around the old house they live in.  Water boils on its own, doors open and close automatically, and Kasey’s eyes begin to change from their normal blue to a fiery green.  With the help from an unlikely ally, Alexis begins to put together the pieces of a mystery that will lead to the cause of the disturbance in her house and the cause of her sister’s evil possession.  

As far as ghost stories go, this is a good one.  There are several layers to the mystery and the author generates a completely creepy feeling throughout the entire book.  Be sure to pick up this book as soon as it comes out in April of 2009.  You won’t be disappointed.  Plus – what a cool cover!  Even the cover is creepy.

Alexis lives a dysfunctional high school existence.  She keeps to herself taking and developing her own photographs in a darkroom at home.  She doesn’t have any friends at school.  She watches her parents grow farther and farther apart while they focus on their careers instead of home, but most unsettling of all is her younger sister’s fascination with her doll collection. Kasey won’t allow anyone near them and Alexis knows she has heard Kasey talking to them in the middle of the night.

Strange things have been happening around the old house they live in.  Water boils on its own, doors open and close automatically, and Kasey’s eyes begin to change from their normal blue to a fiery green.  With the help from an unlikely ally, Alexis begins to put together the pieces of a mystery that will lead to the cause of the disturbance in her house and the cause of her sister’s evil possession.  

As far as ghost stories go, this is a good one.  There are several layers to the mystery and the author generates a completely creepy feeling throughout the entire book.  Be sure to pick up this book as soon as it comes out in April of 2009.  You won’t be disappointed.  Plus – what a cool cover!  Even the cover is creepy.

Daisy Giordano is back for another installment of Nightshade, CA wierdness.  This time, a beloved teacher has been murdered and it looks like a werewolf is to blame.  To top off everything else, a new and handsome student named Duke Sherrad moves into town proclaiming to be a fortune teller descended from Gypsies.  Daisy doesn’t believe he is authentic and hopes to prove he is a fraud.  She suspects he is connected to the teacher’s death in some way and works with her sisters to solve the case.

Daisy’s relationship with Ryan is put to the test and Poppy finds love in a very strange place. All of this takes place while Daisy is in charge of planning the Prom’s After Party. DEAD IS A STATE OF MIND is just as enjoyable as the first book in the series, DEAD IS THE NEW BLACK.  While you will probably enjoy this story if you were to pick it up first, it would be better if you had the back story from the first book.  Look for the third in the series, DEAD IS SO LAST YEAR, to be published sometime in 2009.

Daisy Giordano is back for another installment of Nightshade, CA wierdness.  This time, a beloved teacher has been murdered and it looks like a werewolf is to blame.  To top off everything else, a new and handsome student named Duke Sherrad moves into town proclaiming to be a fortune teller descended from Gypsies.  Daisy doesn’t believe he is authentic and hopes to prove he is a fraud.  She suspects he is connected to the teacher’s death in some way and works with her sisters to solve the case.

Daisy’s relationship with Ryan is put to the test and Poppy finds love in a very strange place. All of this takes place while Daisy is in charge of planning the Prom’s After Party. DEAD IS A STATE OF MIND is just as enjoyable as the first book in the series, DEAD IS THE NEW BLACK.  While you will probably enjoy this story if you were to pick it up first, it would be better if you had the back story from the first book.  Look for the third in the series, DEAD IS SO LAST YEAR, to be published sometime in 2009.

Daisy Giordano is the youngest in a family of powerful women.  Her mother is a well-known psychic and often helps the police with difficult cases.  Her oldest sister, Rose, can read minds and Poppy, who is a year older than Daisy, has the ability to use telekinesis.  Daisy feels left out since she is the only one in the family that doesn’t have psychic powers.

The Giordano sisters live in Nightshade, CA, a town known for being strange, but when Samantha Devereaux, the queen bee of the school, shows up after summer break with a new style, things really start to get weird.  Teenage girls are being attacked all over town and Daisy starts to believe that a vampire might be the culprit.  Daisy is sure that the key to solving the mystery lies with Samantha.  Daisy enlists the help of her best friend, Ryan, and begins to get to the bottom of the problem.

DEAD IS THE NEW BLACK is the first of a new series following the Giordano sister and their creepy hometown.  The story is simple and predictable, but still very enjoyable.  The sequel, DEAD IS A STATE OF MIND is coming out in January of 2009 and a third in the series, DEAD IS SO LAST YEAR, is also planned.  If you enjoy stories with a little mystery, a little romance, and a lot of supernatural activity then DEAD IS THE NEW BLACK is for you.

Daisy Giordano is the youngest in a family of powerful women.  Her mother is a well-known psychic and often helps the police with difficult cases.  Her oldest sister, Rose, can read minds and Poppy, who is a year older than Daisy, has the ability to use telekinesis.  Daisy feels left out since she is the only one in the family that doesn’t have psychic powers.

The Giordano sisters live in Nightshade, CA, a town known for being strange, but when Samantha Devereaux, the queen bee of the school, shows up after summer break with a new style, things really start to get weird.  Teenage girls are being attacked all over town and Daisy starts to believe that a vampire might be the culprit.  Daisy is sure that the key to solving the mystery lies with Samantha.  Daisy enlists the help of her best friend, Ryan, and begins to get to the bottom of the problem.

DEAD IS THE NEW BLACK is the first of a new series following the Giordano sister and their creepy hometown.  The story is simple and predictable, but still very enjoyable.  The sequel, DEAD IS A STATE OF MIND is coming out in January of 2009 and a third in the series, DEAD IS SO LAST YEAR, is also planned.  If you enjoy stories with a little mystery, a little romance, and a lot of supernatural activity then DEAD IS THE NEW BLACK is for you.

IT WOULD BE BEST TO READ THE FIRST THREE BOOKS IN THE SERIES BEFORE YOU READ UNTAMED. 

UNTAMED is the fourth book in the House of Night series.  The story picks up just a few days after the ending of third book where Zoey Redbird is left isolated after disasters in her complicated love life and trouble with her friends because of her need to keep secrets from them.  Everyone around her feels betrayed.  Zoey’s only support comes from Aphrodite – the girl who started out as her worst enemy.

Aphrodite has a vision that foretells death and destruction on earth.  What makes this vision even worse is the fact that Zoey’s death is what starts it all.  Together, Zoey and Aphrodite must put together a plan to prevent her death and hopefully save the world.

New characters appear in this installment of the story in the forms of a new student, a powerful High Priestess, some nuns, and even a dog.  The story is fast-paced and interesting.  I didn’t want to put the book down.  UNTAMED is much better than the last two books in the series and contains less boyfriend drama than CHOSEN, which is a good thing.  You’ll need to read the other books in the series to know what is going on; as a stand alone book so much wouldn’t make sense.  There is an issue with language.  The “f” word is used several times so be aware.  It would be nice if the authors could tone down the language in the future novels because the story is definitely going to continue and I can’t wait to see what is going to happen next.

Claire can always tell when an electrical storm is brewing.  Her body is tuned in to the lightning.  Ever since she hit her teens, lightning has caused her to switch bodies with people.  She doesn’t keep the bodies long and she always gives them back.  Until one night.

Claire is an average girl.  She is a star swimmer, has a best friend, and dreams of having the perfect guy notice her.  Unfortunately, Nate thinks of her as a sister, but everything changes for her when she makes a switch with a new girl, Larissa, who is working as a nanny for a family staying on the beach for the summer.  

In the blink of an eye she is blond and gorgeous with a closet full of clothes. She feels like a Barbie doll and enjoys trying on clothes that she knows would never look right on her “real” body.  Another perk to the switch is Nate.  He notices Larissa and through Larissa’s body she experiences the beginnings of a relationship with the boy of her dreams.

There are problems though.  Swim tryouts are looming on the horizon and if she doesn’t get back into her own body she won’t make the team, her best friend is feeling completely left out, and she is missing her mother.  Claire has to figure out why she isn’t switching back automatically like she normally does and get back to her real life before it is too late.

SWITCH by Carol Snow is an interesting story with kind of a Prince and the Pauper feel.  Claire gets the opportunity to feel what it is like living the life of someone she considers to have it better than her.  She has the chance to find out if the grass really is greener on the other side.  For a fast-paced story read SWITCH.