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Flush by Carl Hiaasen

Noah's Dad is in jail and his family's reaction is, "Oh, no, not again." It seems Dad is always getting into trouble for fighting with people who destroy the environment on the Florida coast. Dad is in jail for sinking the casino boat, the Coral Queen. He suspected them of illegally dumping their bilge tanks in the basin.

Noah and his sister Abbey set out to find proof that this is true with the hopes of getting Dad out of jail. Mom seriously considers the "D" word because she is tired being married to a jailbird - not to mention that half the town thinks her husband is a lunatic.

Flush is a charming, funny story dealing with very real environmental issues and people who care about keeping the world pollution free.

This book is the One Book Crossroads selection for 2009-2010.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The Graveyard Book begins with a really gruesome event. A man savagely kills an entire family except for a baby who unwittingly crawls his way to the nearby graveyard. The baby is quickly adopted by a resident ghost, Mrs. Owens, who renames him Nobody Owens. Thus, young Bod grows up in the graveyard and is taught ghostly skills like fading, haunting and dream walking as well as reading and writing by a whole cast of ghoulish creatures.

Neil Gaiman crafts a rich story that often makes the reader stop and say, I never thought of this before. What struck me is the idea that the ghosts go back to Ancient Roman times (the story takes place in England.) Nobody is thus schooled in history and has various learning experiences from different centuries.

In spite of the horrific first few pages, the rest of the book is scary but not grotesque. It is also quite suspenseful when the killer returns to the graveyard seeking to kill the one survivor, Nobody.

Gaiman is an incredible writer!

Heat by Mike Lupica

I have wanted to read a book by Mike Lupica and Heat did not disappoint.

Star Pitcher Michael Arroyo has always had dreams of pitching in the Little League World Series. Just when it appears his dream might come true, an opposing team challenges his age. As a Cuban born immigrant, he has trouble proving his birth date. This is further complicated by a family secret which he cannot reveal.

Heat is a true baseball lover's book. Lupica, a sportswriter for the Daily News, definitely gets into the head of a pitcher in a most realistic way. This is not just a boy's book either. There is a good bit of romance with Ellie, the daughter of a very famous pitcher.

Heat is well written and entertaining, with many subplots, which make it a very quick read.

Feed by M.T. Anderson

I only recently discovered the work of M.T. Anderson, and he has quickly become one of my favorite authors. He explores such diverse genres as vampire novels (Thirsty), young adult serial novel satires (Whales on Stilts, The Clue of the Linoleum Leiderhosen), and futuristic worlds-gone-wrong (Feed), all with humor, adventure, and empathy.

Feed paints a picture of Earth perhaps 1000 years in the future. Almost everyone on the planet has been implanted with a "feed," essentially a wireless Internet connection that connects directly into the brain. People can listen to music, instant-message, watch movies, see advertisements, and buy things simply by tuning into the "feed." While this might sound idyllic to those of us who are glued to our computers and hand-held "wired" devices, Anderson illustrates the downside of a constantly plugged-in and literature-free world. The characters, even the adults, speak in a childish, unsophisticated blend of "likes" and "you knows," and the one character who isn't plugged into the feed (and not coincidentally the only character who can read) is the object of distrust and isolation.

The dystopia depicted in Feed may sound bleak, but in our present existence of incessant text-messaging, "Twitter," and Facebook, it might not be too far away.

London Calling by Edward Bloor

Having really enjoyed Bloor's Tangerine, and being a big fan of the classic Clash album, I was excited to read London Calling. Bloor's novel is a tale of courage, forgiveness, and family that crosses decades and oceans by means of a time-traveling radio.

Martin is a student at a prestigious private school in central New Jersey. He is content to spend his summer vacation cooped up in his basement, instant-messaging with friends and reading. When his grandmother passes away, though, and Martin inherits her 1940's Philco radio, his hermit tranquility is turned upside-down. Martin is thrown into a 60-year-old mystery that will reconnect him with his alcoholic father, his larger-than-life hero grandfather, and his genius older sister. He will also meet Jimmy, a boy about his age who died in the 1940 German bombing of London.

I highly recommend this spine-tingling book. Anyone who is interested in World War II or ghost stories, or who has ever felt wrongly accused of a misdeed, will find this a great read.

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson

Imagine what it would be like to have wings and be able to fly like a hawk? On the one hand, you may feel a bit weird and awkward. On the other hand, it is pretty cool to be able to escape any situation by flying away.

Maximum Ride, the title character of this book, does just that. Max and her buddies are "birdkids." They grew wings as a result of a genetic experiment. The book begins with an attack on the "Flock" by a group of mutant wolf hybrids called Erasers. The Erasers kidnap Angel, the youngest of the "birdkids." Much of the story revolves around the search for Angel. As Max and her extended family fly off to rescue their genetically enhanced sister, she uncovers clues to their past and the experiment which left them 98% human and 2% bird.

Maximum Ride is a well written, fast paced adventure that is difficult to put down. The author, James Patterson, is famous for his many popular adult mystery thrillers. This is his first venture into young adult literature. We are very lucky he made the leap. Enjoy!