THE NEW KID by Temple Mathews – REVIEW

 

 

Teen Libris – March 2009
(Borders Exclusive)

Will Hunter is no stranger to moving.  He has been to five schools in three years.  You might think his parents are the ones uprooting him all the time, but you’d be wrong.

Will is a demon hunter like his father and grandfather before him.  He has developed a way of making enough money to support his development of new weapons while at the same time providing a cover for his mother being “transferred” wherever he needs to go next.

Will spends his time monitoring demon activity, constantly looking for the tell-tale signs of evil.  His latest stop is Harrisburg, WA.  This once quiet town has recently suffered from disappearances, instances of severe bullying, and outright deviant behavior.

The only trustworthy person Will meets is Natalie.  Natalie’s sister is one of the teens to recently disappear.  She has always had a feeling something sinister was involved and once she sees the things Will deals with on a daily basis, her suspicions are confirmed.

In spite of his better judgement, Will decides to let Natalie into his world.  Never before has he trusted someone with his secret.  Doing so would put an innocent person in danger and as his feelings for Natalie grow, he realizes just how dangerous it can be.

Will and Natalie face the ultimate evil on their journey to find the people they’ve lost.  Will is confronted with knowledge that threatens his sense of self and is forced to make some big decisions.

Can Will face his demons and rid Harrisburg of its evil?

Personal Note:  I had a hard time debating between a 3 glasses rating and a 4 glasses rating.  On the one hand, I don’t think the writing was spectacular, but on the other hand, I wanted to keep reading.  I really enjoyed the story.  So, I went with the higher rating.

 

POISON INK by Christopher Golden

Sammi is a floater.  She has friends in every clique at school, but doesn’t really fit in with any one of them.  Her only close friends are four girls just like her.  They started hanging out together because they didn’t fit in anywhere else.  Just hanging out has turned into four of the strongest friendships Sammi has ever had.

Sammi, Caryn, Letty, TQ, and Katsuko are inseparable.  One night during a sleepover, the idea of getting a tattoo to represent their bond to each other develops.  Immediately they are all excited – except for Sammi.  She knows her parents wouldn’t approve and with them teetering on the edge of divorce already, she doesn’t want to give them anything else to fight about.  Sammi hopes the idea of the tattoo just falls by the wayside and eventually is forgotten.  Unfortunately, that isn’t the case.

Together they come up with a plan to get out of the house and go to a tattoo shop close to Letty’s house.  The creepy tattoo artist doesn’t ask to see their IDs and they all start to plan where they will place their tattoo.  Each girl chooses a different location, but all will have the exact same design.  After all of her friends have already been tattooed, Sammi decides she can’t go through with it.

Immediately, Sammi is shunned and becomes on outcast in her group.  They even go so far as to defriend her on her Instant Messaging Buddy List.  Soon after the application of the tattoos, Sammi notices a change in TQ, Caryn, Letty, and Katsuko for the worse.  They become violent, promiscuous, and horribly mean.  In the middle of a fight that lands Sammi in the hospital, she spots the tattoos on her friends’ skin and sees that they have changed.  Tendrils have started to emerge and cover more of their bodies.  Sammi realizes something sinister is going on and that the creepy tattoo artist must be behind it.  She decides to find a way to save her friends and get them out from under the control of the poisoned tattoos.

 

POISON INK by Christopher Golden

Sammi is a floater.  She has friends in every clique at school, but doesn’t really fit in with any one of them.  Her only close friends are four girls just like her.  They started hanging out together because they didn’t fit in anywhere else.  Just hanging out has turned into four of the strongest friendships Sammi has ever had.

Sammi, Caryn, Letty, TQ, and Katsuko are inseparable.  One night during a sleepover, the idea of getting a tattoo to represent their bond to each other develops.  Immediately they are all excited – except for Sammi.  She knows her parents wouldn’t approve and with them teetering on the edge of divorce already, she doesn’t want to give them anything else to fight about.  Sammi hopes the idea of the tattoo just falls by the wayside and eventually is forgotten.  Unfortunately, that isn’t the case.

Together they come up with a plan to get out of the house and go to a tattoo shop close to Letty’s house.  The creepy tattoo artist doesn’t ask to see their IDs and they all start to plan where they will place their tattoo.  Each girl chooses a different location, but all will have the exact same design.  After all of her friends have already been tattooed, Sammi decides she can’t go through with it.

Immediately, Sammi is shunned and becomes on outcast in her group.  They even go so far as to defriend her on her Instant Messaging Buddy List.  Soon after the application of the tattoos, Sammi notices a change in TQ, Caryn, Letty, and Katsuko for the worse.  They become violent, promiscuous, and horribly mean.  In the middle of a fight that lands Sammi in the hospital, she spots the tattoos on her friends’ skin and sees that they have changed.  Tendrils have started to emerge and cover more of their bodies.  Sammi realizes something sinister is going on and that the creepy tattoo artist must be behind it.  She decides to find a way to save her friends and get them out from under the control of the poisoned tattoos.

 

GONE by Michael Grant

As a fan of apocalyptic science fiction, I was very excited to read GONE by Michael Grant. 

In the blink of an eye, everyone over the age of fourteen disappears.  POOF!  Teachers in the middle of a lesson, mothers preparing their babies’ bottles, people driving down the road – all just GONE!  Panic begins to spread and no one knows what to do.  Sam, who proved himself a hero in the past, is automatically given the role of leader in Perdido Beach or the FAYZ as it becomes known. 

Sam, together with Astrid, her autistic brother Little Petey, Quinn, and Edilio  begin to attempt to piece together what happened.  They eventually discover a transparent barrier surrounding the area and the power plant at its center.  The barrier forms a ten mile radius around the plant.  It is painful to the touch and there don’t appear to be any openings. 

On top of being forced to care for themselves, Sam and the others must make sure that the young children are cared for.  Several people take up the task of caring for the babies and toddlers at the day care.  One young man even inventories stock and continues to run the local McDonalds so people can come in for something to eat.  Everyone is nervous, but things seem to be under control – until the kids from Coates Academy show up.

Coates Academy is the prestigious boarding school up the hill from Perdido Beach.  The Coates Academy leader is Caine and he makes it very clear that he intends to take charge of the town.  Things start to take a turn for the worse shortly after Caine takes charge.   Bullies are the ones running the town and many don’t feel safe.

Three other things are causing everyone to feel scared:

1) Some of the kids are gaining powers.  Some can heal wounds, others can move things around with their mind, and some develop super speed.
2) Animals are mutating.  There are seagulls with talons, coyotes that can talk, and cats that can teleport from place to place.
3) Once you hit your fifteenth birthday (exactly to the minute you were born) you POOF!

It’s a frightening world.  Bullies against the weak; Rich kids against the townies.  Lines are drawn and sides are chosen and everyone prepares for battle.  If you enjoy science fiction or liked LORD OF THE FLIES , this is a book for you.  Don’t let the length scare you off because it is definately worth the read.  My only complaint is the ending.  It leaves you with many unanswered questions.  Nothing was really solved.  Michael Grant has said that he plans this to be a six book series and is finishing up book #2 now.  He intends for a book to be released every summer until the series is complete.

 

GONE by Michael Grant

As a fan of apocalyptic science fiction, I was very excited to read GONE by Michael Grant. 

In the blink of an eye, everyone over the age of fourteen disappears.  POOF!  Teachers in the middle of a lesson, mothers preparing their babies’ bottles, people driving down the road – all just GONE!  Panic begins to spread and no one knows what to do.  Sam, who proved himself a hero in the past, is automatically given the role of leader in Perdido Beach or the FAYZ as it becomes known. 

Sam, together with Astrid, her autistic brother Little Petey, Quinn, and Edilio  begin to attempt to piece together what happened.  They eventually discover a transparent barrier surrounding the area and the power plant at its center.  The barrier forms a ten mile radius around the plant.  It is painful to the touch and there don’t appear to be any openings. 

On top of being forced to care for themselves, Sam and the others must make sure that the young children are cared for.  Several people take up the task of caring for the babies and toddlers at the day care.  One young man even inventories stock and continues to run the local McDonalds so people can come in for something to eat.  Everyone is nervous, but things seem to be under control – until the kids from Coates Academy show up.

Coates Academy is the prestigious boarding school up the hill from Perdido Beach.  The Coates Academy leader is Caine and he makes it very clear that he intends to take charge of the town.  Things start to take a turn for the worse shortly after Caine takes charge.   Bullies are the ones running the town and many don’t feel safe.

Three other things are causing everyone to feel scared:

1) Some of the kids are gaining powers.  Some can heal wounds, others can move things around with their mind, and some develop super speed.
2) Animals are mutating.  There are seagulls with talons, coyotes that can talk, and cats that can teleport from place to place.
3) Once you hit your fifteenth birthday (exactly to the minute you were born) you POOF!

It’s a frightening world.  Bullies against the weak; Rich kids against the townies.  Lines are drawn and sides are chosen and everyone prepares for battle.  If you enjoy science fiction or liked LORD OF THE FLIES , this is a book for you.  Don’t let the length scare you off because it is definately worth the read.  My only complaint is the ending.  It leaves you with many unanswered questions.  Nothing was really solved.  Michael Grant has said that he plans this to be a six book series and is finishing up book #2 now.  He intends for a book to be released every summer until the series is complete.