Graphic Pick: The Witch Boy

The Witch Boy
by Molly Knox Ostertag
graphic novel; full color illustrations
Graphix
2017
224 pages
ISBN: 9781338089523

Masterful illustrations by debut author Molly Knox Ostertag position The Witch Boy to be the graphic darling of 2018. The late 2017 publication date insure that this title will be considered for both years.

Aster's family has always taught their daughters and girls magic. It is the rule. When Aster shows his interest, he is berated and bullied by his male relatives and chastised by his female relatives. Aster is headstrong and actually shows a penchant for "girl's" magic. He has not yet been able to see his shape. Boys in his family are shapeshifter, yet Aster has not had any luck realizing his shape. Then two of his boy cousins disappear and the family worries that a dangerous spirit may be at work. It may be up to Aster to discover his cousins' plight and rescue them from an evil entity. For him to be successful, he'll have to embrace magic and find his power.

The Witch Boy  and Aster embrace the differences in children. Aster won't accept his family's social norms and he breaks them. By breaking out, he is able to save his cousins, show his family that he is normal and show them that different is okay.

Recommended grade 4 and up.

Reluctant Reader Pick: Dog Man Unleashed (book 2)

Dog Man Unleashed
by Dav Pilkey
Graphix
224 pages
2016
ISBN: 9780545935203

Kids don't need to be told: Dog Man Unleashed is the real deal! Dav Pilkey just keeps getting it right for those reluctant readers who just need a reason to pick up a book. This second book is even more fun than the original.Inane, silly, charming, ridiculous, and did I say silly? Well, fun then. Sheer fun!

 Pilkey does the amazing: he makes everything possible: a T. Rex skeleton becomes reanimated and dances around , a cat can be an evil genius, a police chief is so bumbling that he needs the assistance of Dog Man to solve even the silliest of crimes. In a graphic novel that reads more like a "Rocky and Bullwinkle" cartoon with evil Natasha and Boris, Dog Man is your hero. Pilkey must have spent every Saturday morning glued to his television watching the roadrunner outsmart Wile E. Coyote.

Poor Dog Man. He is half Dog (the head and dog instincts) and half human (the human body). In a  freak accident, Officer Knight and Greg the Dog get blown up, and  the ambulance takes them to the hospital with the siren sounding, "Wee-OOO-Wee_OOO" --never has anyone found a way to write a siren sound that was legit before Pilkey--so applause for that alone! The ER doctors say that the only way to fix Greg the Dog and Officer Knight is to combine them into one. This seems far-fetched, but it is laugh out loud funny!

Dialog is tongue-in-cheek with 80's and 90's references. It is irreverent and hysterical. Two kids are  passing by, a boy and a girl, and see the cat villain stealing treasure chests. A  mysterious stranger wants to stop him by  using  his mind powers to pick up a phone booth to throw at the cat. The kids ask, "What's a phone booth?" Next he picks up a stack of newspaper and a mailbox then "he grabs some other stuff with his brain" from Lulu's Obsolete Goods. The kids wonder what each obsolete item is and that's the fun of it! Adults will chuckle along with their reluctant readers--if they are lucky enough to be reading along, that is!

Dog Man is the perfect cop...except for the fact that every time he sees a bone, he wants to lick it and every time he sees a ball, he wants to chase it and catch it. Pilkey has included flip pages with instructions for readers to flip the pages and see the "action" cartoon. Readers will be delighted!
How to draw pages in back teach readers how to draw main characters and Pilkey's website has more content to interest young doodlers and dreamers.

Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants series made readers out of a generation of reluctant readers two decades ago; Dog Man will take this generation by storm. Hooray for Dog Man!

Highly, highly recommended for all reluctant readers and anyone who needs a laugh. This is sheer silliness for the fun of it! Don't fight it! Give in to Dog Man!

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

Stephen King Pick: Revival

Revival
by Stephen King
Scribner
2014
403 pages
ISBN: 9781476770383

Masterful in weaving an epic tale of good versus evil,  Stephen King delivers a fine story like no other writer is able to. Revival is a story of a long ago--long ago though not forgotten time--of small towns and even smaller churches, of prayers and praying, of preachers and church going, of church suppers and sing-alongs, and hymns on Sunday, funerals and baptisms, and a mountain of human suffering. The past is not all rosy and bright Garrison Keiller and Lake Wobegon.

 In small town Harlow,  Jamie Morton grows up in a loving family with older siblings, a doting mother and hard working father. This was a time when boys played with plastic soldiers and set up battlefields all over the dirt yards and fields. A time when the family ate supper at the same table, where children were expected to eat what was put on their plate and be thankful for it. When Jamie is six, a new preacher comes to town. Reverend Jacobs  is young for the job, but the town is happy to have him and soon they are captivated by his youth and charisma. His pretty wife and young son complete the Norman Rockwell family portrait.

When a terrible accident happens, the community shaken. The young pastor's world is rocked and he forced to leave  town after giving a sermon criticizing God. Blasphemy being preached in the church by their very own pastor? In small town New England, this is the worst sin.

Years and years later, miles and miles of honkytonks,  the bottom of too many bottles, and at the end of too many needles, Jamie wakes up in a heroine hell. Outside of Tulsa and nearly broke, he knows he needs to score in order to feel better. He wastes time until dark and goes in search of a fix at the local carnival. It is here he runs into the pastor of his youth.  This second encounter with the man who gave up on God will change both of their lives forever.

After getting clean Jamie takes a job in Colorado with an old "friend" of  Charles Roberts (aka Reverend Jacobs). Befriended  and taken in by Hugh Yates, Jamie begins to investigate the life his savior/nemesis Charles Roberts. While it is true that Roberts has "cured" many a sick person, others he has helped  have exhibited strange behavior and suicidal tendencies. Just what is it that the "pastor" is delivering? What is Roberts gaining from his strange studies?

King delivers an epic tale of religion and sin, of redemption and forgiveness, of pain and suffering, of love and hurt, and of the survival and revival of the human spirit. In The Stand (1978), the end of the world is near and armies are being formed for the good and the evil. In Revival, the same struggle is again visited by King on a much deeper level. In fiction, you may never see a character as charismatic and evil as Reverend Jacobs/Charles Roberts again. Real life, however, is full of examples of enigmatic, maniacal egotists. Just pick up any history book--you'll see them there.

King relates his own love of music and playing live through Jamie. I loved King's asides about age, getting older, and young people looking younger., and I love that King says, "Key of E. All that xxxx starts in E."

Highly, highly recommended grade 9 and up. Recommended for any King fan and any book club.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Magical Pick: House of Ivy & Sorrow

House of Ivy & Sorrow
by Natalie Whipple
HarperTeen
2014
362 pages
ISBN: 9780062120182

Magical, mesmerizing, melodious, and macabre, House of Ivy & Sorrow is a witchy, devilish good book!

Seventeen  year old Josephine Hemlock lives with her grandmother in a little house under the bridge guarded by magic. There are only two doors in and they are hidden to the outside world. Magic keeps Jo and her grandmother safe from the outside world and away from other witching families. Jo's mother Carmina died years ago, and her grandmother casts a number of spells to keep Jo safe. When a stranger from the past shows up, he brings an evil danger with him.

Jo's friend Kat witnesses her magic and it is agreed that the two girls be bound together with a binding spell. This will keep both of them from harm, they hope.  The evil is getting stronger and the girls are in a race against time to find something...anything in the Hemlock history that will help explain who might be after Jo.

Digging into a witch family's history is a arduous task. As they uncover ancestor after ancestor, new questions surface. How long can Jo keep her friend safe from danger? A witch can never love or marry; does it make sense for Jo to date swoon worthy and nice guy Winn knowing that she can never experience lasting  love?

Cover design with trailing ivy is repeated on chapter numbers and on page numbers throughout the book. I like the idea that magic exists in all things and that witches learn to control energy. The witches in this book aren't the sunshine-y witches of Bewitched; these witches mean business and they're not afraid of eye of newt or wing of bat.

Recommended grade 7-up. Some kissing. Magic. Spells.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Series Pick: Michael Vey: Battle of the Ampere

Michael Vey: Battle of the Ampere (Book 3)
by Richard Paul Evans
Simon Pulse/Mercury Ink
2013
307 pages

Riveting, rollicking, and rocket paced, the third book in the series will hold readers on the edge of their seats. Michael wakes up in a Peruvian jungle surrounded by stangers. The tribe nurses Michael back to health after his escape from the Elgen. The rest of the Electroclan are nowhere to be found. After destroying the Elgen's Starxsource Plant, they have gone into hiding.

Michael meets another electric teen named Tesla (Tessa). Dr. Hatch kept her as a prisoner for two years. She managed to escape and the Amacarra tribe has kept her hidden in the jungle. The tribe takes the two of them down the river where they meet up with Jaime, Michael's friend in Peru. Jaime warns them that not only is the Elgen after them, the entire Peruvian government is hunting them. They are now considered dangerous terrorists for blowing up the country's electric plant.

Michael plans to find the Electroclan and his mother. He needs Jaime and he needs Tessa's help; she is able to multiply electricity, something that is sure to come in handy in overthrowing the Elgen and rescuing his friends. Meanwhile, the Electroclan are planning their escape from the authorities. Ostin, super rocket scientist geektastic nerdster figures out how to rewire the RESAT machines they are forced to wear.

The teens are on the run from the authorities and the Elgen. Jaime is contacted by the Voice who tells them that the best time to strike the Elgen is when they dock their ships in port. The Ampere is the Elgen's finest "fortress" ship. Evil Dr. Hatch takes over the ship imprisoning the council.

Michael knows that they have to sink that ship. Once again he turns to his friends. Who will join him on his dangerous quest? Who is the Voice and why is he helping them? What does Jaime really know? Where is Michael's mother and why are the Elgen holding her?

Highly, highly recommended for anyone who loves a great adventure. Michael Vey is captivating and fun. Fans of the series will HAVE to have this one, and if you've never read this series, what are you waiting for?

Grade 6-up. Teens acting like 007; what could be better?

FTC Required disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Horror Pick: What the Night Knows

What the Night Knows
by Dean Koontz
Bantam Books
2012
442 pages

Read an excerpt here


An open letter to Dean Koontz:

Dear Dean,

You totally creep me out! I mean it—I have never been more terrified—What the Night Knows is your creepiest, most fantastical, bizarre, and terrible thing of beauty you have ever written. We have been through a lot over the years and over the many, many books. You were only toying with me with The Face and Dark Rivers of the Heart—playing with comedy through Odd Thomas, Forever Odd, Brother Odd and Odd Hours, introducing me to characters I could love with Seize the Night and Fear Nothing, painstakingly building your craft with The Vision and The Face of Fear, but toying no more, not with this opus—you have me as a fan forever.

What the Night Knows preys upon people’s darkest fears: evil in its most incarnate--evil able to enter anywhere and do anything. Evil that can enter anyone and use them. Evil that can lay dormant in a dwelling and wait. No one can escape it; no one can be saved.

John Calvino is a police detective with a wonderful, loving family, but twenty years ago, he was just a boy when his entire family was murdered by a man named Alton Turner Blackwood—a man with three names—just like all infamous murderers in history. Blackwood is the most savage killer the police have ever seen. Now, it’s twenty years later, and John Calvino discovers a family murdered in exactly the same fashion as twenty years prior. This time, the murderer is fourteen year old Billy Lucas who murders his own family. Calvino visits him at the state hospital to interview Billy. He leaves disturbed by Billy’s answer: “Ruin.”

Dean, the way you built upon the character of each of the children: dear, sweet Zach who wants to be a brave marine someday, fanciful and naïve Naomi who lives in a world of unicorns and wizards, and wonderful, all-knowing, all-seeing Minette, “don’t call me Mouse,” gives the reader hope that this family can be saved. The appearance of their trusty golden retriever Willard is a ray of sunshine that this family can depend upon. The strength of the marriage between Nicolette and John has to--just has to-- survive this ghostly and ghastly peril.

I must say, Dean, you had me at, “What year these events transpired is of no consequence. Where they occurred is not important. The time is always, and the place is everywhere.” This gentle and SCARY reminder that evil is always and everywhere is downright cryptic and horrible. I spent a few toss and turn-y nights while reading What the Night Knows. I slept with the nightlight on, and like Zach, I had a “weapon” at my bedside—although a baseball bat is no match for any ghost demon. I turned on lights before entering darkened rooms and I was careful not to peer too long into any mirrors lest I catch a glimpse of something I really didn’t want to see. I heard noises and thought of an evil so great that it could be anywhere and everywhere. Yeah, Dean, I lost sleep!

Dean Koontz, you are truly the master! I applaud your literary prowess. It’s a huge undertaking to mix a ghost story, a story of evil, a police drama, a fairy tale, a psychological thriller and a murder investigation, yet you do all of this with a deft hand and make the story plausible.

I have always loved your word choice and What the Night Knows is no exception. Just when I think I know your favorite, oft used words like ululation and susurration, you come up with seldom used words. What other writer uses words like louche, outré and effulgent? Reading your prose is a spectacular exercise. You never fail to amaze me.

Oh, and let me comment on your use as dogs as symbols of good. Your short piece written as an homage to Trixie, your beloved golden lab, brought me to tears. Trixie (and Willard) will always be an angel. Kinky Friedman once said that all your pets will come running to greet you in heaven; I know Trixie will be there for you, Dean.

So highly, highly recommended that I will shout it from the rooftops: Read What the Night Knows! Don’t miss this one. You’ll be sorry you did. Any fan of Koontz will love this latest scary tale.

Grade 9 and up. Not suitable for middle school due to adult themes, violence, sex, and language.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I purchased this book for my own reading pleasure. It was a pleasure that scared me nearly to death! I will send this book over to the high school.

Horror Pick: What the Night Knows

What the Night Knows
by Dean Koontz
Bantam Books
2012
442 pages

read an excerpt here


An open letter to Dean Koontz:

Dear Dean,

You totally creep me out! I mean it—I have never been more terrified—What the Night Knows is your creepiest, most fantastical, bizarre, and terrible thing of beauty you have ever written. We have been through a lot over the years and over the many, many books. You were only toying with me with The Face and Dark Rivers of the Heart—playing with comedy through Odd Thomas, Forever Odd, Brother Odd and Odd Hours, introducing me to characters I could love with Seize the Night and Fear Nothing, painstakingly building your craft with The Vision and The Face of Fear, but toying no more, not with this opus—you have me as a fan forever.

What the Night Knows preys upon people’s darkest fears: evil in its most incarnate--evil able to enter anywhere and do anything. Evil that can enter anyone and use them. Evil that can lay dormant in a dwelling and wait. No one can escape it; no one can be saved.

John Calvino is a police detective with a wonderful, loving family, but twenty years ago, he was just a boy when his entire family was murdered by a man named Alton Turner Blackwood—a man with three names—just like all infamous murderers in history. Blackwood is the most savage killer the police have ever seen. Now, it’s twenty years later, and John Calvino discovers a family murdered in exactly the same fashion as twenty years prior. This time, the murderer is fourteen year old Billy Lucas who murders his own family. Calvino visits him at the state hospital to interview Billy. He leaves disturbed by Billy’s answer: “Ruin.”

Dean, the way you built upon the character of each of the children: dear, sweet Zach who wants to be a brave marine someday, fanciful and naïve Naomi who lives in a world of unicorns and wizards, and wonderful, all-knowing, all-seeing Minette, “don’t call me Mouse,” gives the reader hope that this family can be saved. The appearance of their trusty golden retriever Willard is a ray of sunshine that this family can depend upon. The strength of the marriage between Nicolette and John has to--just has to-- survive this ghostly and ghastly peril.

I must say, Dean, you had me at, “What year these events transpired is of no consequence. Where they occurred is not important. The time is always, and the place is everywhere.” This gentle and SCARY reminder that evil is always and everywhere is downright cryptic and horrible.

I spent a few toss and turn-y nights while reading What the Night Knows. I slept with the nightlight on, and like Zach, I had a “weapon” at my bedside—although a baseball bat is no match for any ghost demon. I turned on lights before entering darkened rooms and I was careful not to peer too long into any mirrors lest I catch a glimpse of something I really didn’t want to see. I heard noises and thought of an evil so great that it could be anywhere and everywhere. Yeah, Dean, I lost sleep!

Dean Koontz, you are truly the master! I applaud your literary prowess. It’s a huge undertaking to mix a ghost story, a story of evil, a police drama, a fairy tale, a psychological thriller and a murder investigation, yet you do all of this with a deft hand and make the story plausible.

I have always loved your word choice and What the Night Knows is no exception. What other writer uses words like louche, outré and effulgent? Reading your prose is a spectacular exercise. You never fail to amaze me.

So highly recommended that I will shout it from the rooftops: Read What the Night Knows! Don’t miss this one. You’ll be sorry you did. Any fan of Koontz will love this latest scary tale.

Grade 9 and up. Not suitable for middle school due to adult themes, violence, sex, and language.


FTC Required Disclaimer: I purchased this book for my own reading pleasure. It was a pleasure that scared me nearly to death! I will send this book over to the high school.

Action Pick: The Serpent's Shadow

The Serpent's Shadow(Kane Chronicles, book 3)
by Rick Riordan
Disney (Hyperion)
2012
401 pages with glossary of Egyptian terms

Exciting, fast-paced, and brilliantly executed, the newest, and last, book in the trilogy wraps up the story of Sadie and Carter Kane, squabbling siblings who have each other's back, no matter what.

Sadie and Carter are once again joined by old friends Walt--who is fighting for his life, Bes--who is in a nursing home for gods--which is pretty funny in and of itself, Ra, the sun god, who is losing his marbles, and tending the home fires--cat goddess Bast--who looks after the kids.

The giant snake Apophis is evil and threatens to end the world but Carter and Sadie have to gather their friends and figure out how to defeat him. Chapters are told by Sadie and Carter with funny digs and satirical comments and asides from each of them. Riordan is at his comic best when describing Ra's behavior as a doddering old man or the gods residing at the nursing home.

Fans of Riordan's earlier books will HAVE to read this one for the ending to the series. What can't Riordan do? He's already tackled the Greek gods and now the Egyptians. Hmmmm... that leaves the Viking gods, I guess.

From one librarian and reader who met Riordan early in his writing career just before the release of The Lightning Thief, I couldn't be happier for his success! He continues to bring entertaining stories, imaginative characters, intriguing plots, and biting wit to nearly forgotten myths.

The entertainment value of The Kane Chronicles is huge--many readers, including me, are not as familiar with the Egyptian gods as we are with the Greek gods. I had a great time reading the novels and learning about the Egyptian myths.

Highly, highly recommended grades 5 and up and for Rick Riordan's fans! You must read books 1 and 2 to have any idea of what is happening in the series. If you're a parent or grandparent and haven't heard of these books, grab the set for your sons, daughters, or grandkids. The books are hugely entertaining and will help develop better and more interested readers.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I purchased this book for my library. I did not received monetary compensation for this review.

Spooky Pick: Morpehus Road: The Light

Morpheus Road: the Light
by D.J. MacHale
Aladdin
2010
341 pages

Book Two: Morpheus Road: The Black just published in April 2011

Spooky cool and heart-pounding, Morpheus Road: The Light is a thriller not to miss!

This is the first book in the series and after reading this one, readers will surely want to read more of Marshall Seaver's strange adventure of being haunted by a figment of his artistic imagination: Gravedigger. Marshall is a fan of graphic novels and comics and reads them with an artist's eye; art seems to run in his blood. His mother was an award winning travel photographer until her tragic death in an earthquake. Marshall keeps drawing the same character over and over again: Gravedigger.

When things start going bump in the night and Marshall sees visions and creepy faces at the window, he knows he's got to get out of his house. Marshall agrees to team up with Sydney, sister of his best friend Cooper to find out where Cooper could be. Cooper has been missing for two days when the pair set out to find him. Weird forces from beyond seem to be helping them, but evil forces seem to want to harm them. In a classic battle of good versus evil, who will win?

The book ends in an open question: Can Cooper help Marshall find the answers? What will Marshall have to risk? Who or what is behind Gravedigger? Who will travel Morpheus Road?

Highly, highly recommended grades 7-up.
FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

High School Pick: Clockwork Angel

Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, Book One)
by Cassandra Clare
McElderry Books, 2010
496 pages

Cassandra Clare just keeps getting it right! Fresh off great success with her best-selling series The Mortal Instruments (City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass), Clare begins the back story with the prequel: Clockwork Angel.


Set in Victorian England and beautifully imagined, Clockwork Angel is a richly constructed fantasy novel which stands among the best fantasy of our time. Clare is on par with writers like J.K. Rowling and J.R.R. Tolkien.

When sixteen year old Tessa Gray arrives by steamship in London to meet her brother, she is met instead by two creepy women from a dark, gloomy mansion. Only when they show her a letter handwritten by her brother does she agree to accompany them to their lair. Tessa becomes their prisoner. They teach her to use her unknown powers to shape shift. Unbeknowst to Tessa, she was born with powers to become anyone or anything. This quality, or gift, makes her highly valuable to the mysterious and terrible Magister. The Dark Sisters tell Tessa that they are to deliver her to this evil man, but Tessa is grabbed and spirited away by two young men who tell her they are Shadowhunters, trained warriors with special gifts who fight Downworlders like vampires and warlocks to save humans.

Tessa yearns to find her brother and fears for his life. The Shadowhunters agree to help her find him, if she will use her shapeshifting powers to help them infiltrate a vampire clan. Tessa finds herself torn--does she love the dark and brooding Shadowhunter who saved her from the Sisters? Or does she truly hate him?

Readers who like otherworldly novels with paranormal creatures and just the right amount of love interest will LOVE Clockwork Angel. It should appeal broadly to both male and female readers--both the male and female characters are well-developed and have admirable traits. It is hard to say who is more likeable: Will, the Shadowhunter, or Tessa, the shapeshifter.

Highly, highly recommended. Grades 8-up. Some violence (it is vampires, after all).

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the novel from the publisher. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review. I had this novel for about four months before I started reading it. I was somewhat put off by the cover which I found didn't draw me in as a reader. Once I read the first few pages, I was hooked. Don't let ya readers walk past this novel because of the cover. Tell them to give it a chance.

Young Adult Pick

Epitaph Road
by David Patneaude
Egmont, 2010
266 pages


Edgy, provocative, gripping and forceful, Epitaph Road delivers as a chilling thriller set in the near future. In 2067, a plague descends upon the world killing nearly all the world's male population. Thirty years later, Kellen gets a weird lesson in history from his teacher. It seems through her lesson, she's hinting that the plague may have been planned-- that someone wanted to kill off the male population.

When a second launch of Elisha's Bear seems imminent, Kellen runs off to save his own father and a few other men known as loners--those who survived the first plague and now live away from the female population.

Boys growing up in this matriarchal society are considered inferior beings. In the thirty years since most men died, society has little or no crime, no prisons and no wars. Women live in peace but not in freedom. Kellen has a chance to expose the truth about the plague and the new government.

The novel is built upon an interesting concept and could easily lead to lively book club discussions or classroom discussions on gendercide, sexism, and prejudice.

Highly, highly recommended grades 8-up.
some mild language

FTC Required Disclaimer: I purchased this book for my middle school library. I received no monetary compensation for this review.

High Schol/Adult Thriller

Relentless

by Dean Koontz

Bantam Books, 2010

428 pages.

Koontz's latest novel is thrilling, provocative, and shows his finesse as a wordsmith. He is a magician, a wit, a curmudgeon, a surgeon, a master, a poet, a keen observer, a biting satirist. Never has Koontz been this spot-on. He slays literary agents and book reviewers with equal punning intended.

Cubby is a celebrated novelist and makes quite a good living churning out best sellers. His wife writes children's books. Together they parent an eight-year old genius named Milo and a dog Lassie--named by the eight year old, of course. Life is good, until Cubby's latest book gets a bad review from a literary critic. Sherman Waxx can make or break novelists. He is an enigma wrapped up inside a mystery! Koontz is at his comic best when he takes swipes at an on-line encyclopedia--could it be Wikipedia???--and quotes that "Waxx is an enema..." the site meaning "enigma," of course.

This literary critic is not just your average mean-tempered snoot--he is an evil madman who will stop at nothing until Cubby and his family are dead. Relentless is as thrilling as it gets. You won't be able to put down this page-turner. I would say this is Koontz's best novel, by far.

Koontz offers his insight into writing prose as well when Cubby says, "Outlines are a waste of time. If you give your characters free will, they will grow in ways you never anticipated and they will take the stories places your could not have predicted" (p. 79).

Koontz offers his view on fine dining establishments and the kind of foodies they attract. "Such restaurants seek and attract a type of customer whose very existence, in such numbers, proves our civilization is dying: boisterous and free-spending egotists taught since infancy that self-esteem matters more than knowledge..."

Koontz may well become the Will Rogers wit of his generation. He turns a phrase as deftly as a maestro, and he is becoming the voice of the intelligent, although outnumbered by the scores of ignorant boors and wanna-be intellectuals.

Recommended for high school collections, adult collections. Violence, some language.

YA Picks

Ninth Grade Slays (The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, Book 2)
by Heather Brewer.
Scholastic, 2008.
278 pages.

The second installment in this series does not disappoint. Readers are "sucked" (pun intended) into the story by the second paragraph. A hunter for hire is after Vlad. Not only that, a vampire slayer shows up in town looking for any vampire to slay. Vlad truly has his hands full--trying to fool a hunter and a slayer and yet keep up his grades and try to get Meredith to notice him. This is no small feat--even if you are super-human!

Vlad learns skills from the greatest teacher in vampiredom. He is now able to read people's thoughts and to plant thoughts into their minds. He is even able to communicate telepathically with his Uncle Otis and Henry, who is not only Vlad's best friend, but has become his drudge--a faithful servant of a vampire.

This novel is even stronger than the first and much more fun. Readers who enjoyed the first novel will like the second and chomp at the bit to devour (again, pun intended) books three and four. Great fun, and recommended for YA collections. Grades 7-high school