W.A.R.P. The Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer

Find it at the Chandler Public Library

Life in Victorian London is hard for anyone, but Riley has the special misfortune of being apprenticed to an illusionist turned assassin: Albert Garrick. Problem is, Riley doesn’t really want to be a murderer. So when Garrick’s latest victim transports him into the future in his dying moments, he’s somewhere between elated and terrified. Modern-day London is a pretty cool place, but Riley knows that his master is coming for him.

Meanwhile, seventeen-year-old FBI agent Chevron Savano is getting pretty tired of her new job in London. That is, until a young boy and a dead man from the past show up in the device she’s supposed to be guarding. Soon, her mentor is dead and she’s on the run with Riley, fleeing from an Albert Garrick who’s not only managed to travel to the future, but has also merged with and absorbed the memories of a scientist working on the time travel project. Garrick is eager to get back to his time and make a mint off all the technology designs he’s picked up from the future, but first he has to get rid of all the witnesses. Riley wants to be out of the shadow of his villainous master forever. And Chevron, who just wanted something interesting to do over the summer, gets a lot more than she bargained for.

This book starts out a bit confusing and tedious at first, but after it picks up the pace I was completely absorbed. Pretty much everything by Eoin Colfer is a guarantee for a good read, and this was no exception. It also helps if you’ve read one of his other book, Airman, because it makes the character Otto Malarkey much more interesting. - Susanna (Sunset Teen)

Book Review: A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty



Find it at Chandler Public Library

 The worlds presented in Moriarty's A Corner of White, while almost overly-goofy and caricatured, seem real enough and welcoming enough, but it is her characters Madeleine and Elliot that really endear you to her story.

We all have dealt with the loss of family, but Moriarty parallels the two teen's heartbreak and self discovery in a way that so genuine that the other-worldliness and magic of the way in which they communicate and the differences between the two worlds fit seemlessly and perfectly. Battling disbelief and deception, Madeleine and Elliot work together to heal not only their broken families, but also the worlds in which they live.

I look forward to the next adventure of Madeleine and Elliot in The Colors of Madeleine series! - Elisia (Sunset Library)

Book Review: The Absolute Value of 1 by Steve Brenzoff

In The Absolute Value of 1, Lily, Noah, and Simon are typical teenage delinquents  at a Long Island high school. Family issues and the pressures of growing up complicate their friendships, and each deals with the changes differently. Lily worries that her love of math will challenge her slacker reputation, Noah retreats to his basement to avoid an abusive father, and Simon joins the track team to get healthy and pursue a girlfriend. The characters each narrate the same events but from their own perspectives. A series of misunderstandings, unspoken truths, and angry outbursts claw away at the group. As they drift apart, they struggle to balance emotional wounds with the need to create their own identities. - Amelia (Downtown Teen)

Book Review: Party by Tom Leveen

On the day after school ends for a group of Southern California high school students, everybody is preparing to attend the same end-of-the-year blowout. The events of the day, beginning in the afternoon, are revealed through the eyes of a dozen or so narrators, each with a different reason for attending the evening's party: Some see the event as a chance to hook up, others to let go and one or two see it is a final chance to fit in before the school year ends. Most of the book feels, largely, like an homage to any number of films aimed at teenagers (Dazed and Confused comes to mind), but Leveen manages to bring the tension up a few notches as it becomes clear that these characters' paths are going to cross in a startling way.

The author skillfully writes from multiple perspectives, giving each character a distinct voice. While not terribly original, the novel is a safe bet to have widespread appeal: I would recommend it to both guys and girls looking for stylish, realistic teen fiction. - Nick (Downtown)

Book Review: Dust of 100 Dogs

Somewhere in the 17-century Caribbean, just as she is about to escape with her true love, feared pirate Emer Morrisey is murdered and mysteriously cursed with the “dust of one hundred dogs.” Three hundred years later, teenager Saffron Adams agonizes over disappointing her overbearing parents with the news that she does not intend to go to college; after all, it would be unreasonable to expect them to understand her desire to seek out buried treasure (much less her desire to torture every typical teenager she encounters). The reader soon learns that Emer is destined to live the lives of one hundred dogs before returning to this world in human form, as Saffron. The Dust of 100 Dogs, by A.S. King, follows the lives of cynical Saffron and (initially) naive Emer in alternating chapters interspersed with anecdotes about what can be learned from living as a dog. The result is a highly original and entertaining YA novel that should appeal to fans of fantasy, historical fiction and more typical young adult “problem” fiction.

In January, 2011, A.S. King was awarded a Printz honor for her most recent novel, Please Ignore Vera Dietz. - Nick (Downtown)