Killer Thriller Pick: Project Cain

Project Cain
by Geoffrey Girard
Simon & Schuster
2013
352 pages
ISBN: 9781442476967

Terrifying, taut, terrific, tragic, and tremendous! Project Cain is a tour de force that grabs you up and won't let you go until you turn the last chilling page. Even then, you are destined to think about the premise of cloned serial killers and secret government genetic testing.

Fifteen  year old Jeff Jacobson's life goes from "normal" to nightmare in minutes. His whole life has been a lie. Not only is he NOT Jeff Jacobson, he is a clone of famous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Jeff's "father," a scientist and famed geneticist has raised hundreds of clones of famous serial killers for the government. Now, his father is hell bent on releasing the clones into the public and witnessing their killing spree. His father deserts Jeff and leaves behind a folder explaining Jeff's existence. He warns Jeff to stay away from his company and the government.

Jeff hides out at home and barely escapes government agent types who break in and take his dad's papers and computers. Later, Jeff hides from another killer, but Castillo finds him and takes him away. Castillo isn't the government and he isn't a good guy, but he's not a bad guy either.

Jeff learns just how dangerous the government can be from Castillo. The U.S. government has always done secret testing on various unknowing populations. The government admits to more than 100 illegal genetic tests and biological weapons studies. Military scientists have released toxins in the subways of New York just to see how many people would get sick. Jeff learns the U.S. did secret drug tests with LSD and other psychotic drugs just to see how people would act. Now, the government wants to clone the clones and use them in warfare as the perfect killing machines.

Jeff also learns that Castillo is an ex-soldier who spent time in Afghanistan, and now works as a "contractor" of sorts. Castillo is hunting for the escaped clones and he needs Jeff's help to find them.

As Jeff's grasp on sanity begins to weaken,  he has terrible nightmares...or are they really memories? Surely being the exact replica of a monster named Jeffrey Dahmer comes with some shared likenesses. Jeff starts seeing things that aren't really there, but at least he knows he's seeing things. When will Jeff become a killer? When will he lose his humanity?

Trying to decipher his father's secret code, Jeff realizes a chilling fact: his father expected him to solve the puzzle all along. Is that why he used things that Jeff would remember? Is his father testing him or toying with him? Castillo and Jeff  plan a trap for the killing clones. They travel the Murder Map together coming closer and closer to evil. The two "men" share more than they care to admit. Both are broken and bruised, but both are willing to die righting the wrongs of Jeff's father, whatever it takes.

This is a must read for horror and thriller fans. Project Cain is riveting and terrifying; brilliant storytelling and an adrenaline fueled plot will force teen (and adult) readers to burn the midnight oil to finish this one!

Highly, highly recommended grade 9-up. Mature situations, violence, language. Not for middle school.

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)

Zombie Pick: Red Hill

Red Hill
by Jamie McGuire
Atria
2013
356 pages

Utterly enjoyable, unputdownable, and hugely entertaining, Red Hill is an adult zombie book that you can really sink your teeth into! (pun intended)



Scarlet drops off her daughters at school and heads to her job at the hospital. She had no way of knowing if she would ever see them again. Suddenly, the hospital is overrun with sick people. The news reports begin coming in from all over the world. There is an outbreak of some kind and the infected are contagious. Scarlet knows enough to flee the hospital and try to find her girls.

Nathan flees the city with his young daughter Zoe. Sisters Miranda and Ashley are supposed to meet their dad at their country getaway, Red Hill. They grab their boyfriends and head to the countryside encountering hordes of sick "people."

Scarlet prays that her girls will remember the Red Hill location where she did some cleaning for a doctor at work. The girls made up a song about the directions, so she's banking on the fact that they will remember that song. Joey, just back from Afghanistan, joins Miranda, Ashley, Bryce and Cooper as they all head for sanctuary.

Can a group of strangers work together to survive the zombie outbreak? Will Scarlet ever find her daughters again? Will romance blossom amid terror?


Recommended for mature readers high school and up. Language, mature situations, zombie gore and guts.

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

Early Reader Pick: Year of the Jungle

Year of the Jungle
by Suzanne Collins
Illustrations by James Proimos
Scholastic Press
2013
40 pages

A New York Times Editors' Choice

“In this picture book, Collins sensitively examines the impact of war on the very young, using her own family history as a template."


--Publishers Weekly,STARRED REVIEW





“With a notable lack of patriotic rhetoric or clichés about bravery and honor, Collins holds firm to her childhood memories, creating a universal story for any child whose life is disrupted by war. Important and necessary ."

--Kirkus Reviews,STARRED REVIEW


“Collins’ unflinching first-person account details the fears and disappointments of the situation as a child would experience them. And where more realistic illustrations would feel overwrought and sentimental, Proimos’s flat, cartoony drawings, with their heavy lines and blocky shapes, are sturdy and sweet, reflecting a child’s clear-eyed innocence."

--Booklist,STARRED REVIEW


“But though post-traumatic stress disorder is often spoken of these days, the more subtle effects of war on the children of men and women serving abroad are less well known. ....While Sue is not able to formulate her feelings in words, James Proimos’s excellent illustrations capture her confusion....'Year of the Jungle” may take place in the late 1960s, but with more than 2.3 million Americans deployed abroad between 2001 and 2012, the mixture of anxiety, excitement, fear, boredom and confusion Sue experiences on the home front will be sadly familiar to many children. For them, Collins’s picture book may be a good tool to discuss the complex feelings war brings into a household ."

--The New York Times



A father goes to war, a child is at home wondering if she will ever see her father again. She knows the jungle is where her favorite cartoon character lives so it can't be that scary. They tell her Viet Nam is where her father is and he is going to be away for one year. The child is unsure how long a year is. Her father sends her postcards from the jungle and photos, too. Christmas comes and her father sends her Vietnamese doll. It's winter and snowing outside when she receives a birthday card, but her birthday isn't until summer. Her mother tells her the card is probably for Joanie, her sister, and that her father is "...busy and just got confused." The child worries that her father makes "...such a serious mistake"--he must be very busy and confused. Television news shows scare her; there are men dying in Viet Nam, and her mother rushes to turn off the t.v. After a long time, the father finally comes home, but he acts a little strange at first.

Like Suzanne Collins, my father fought in the Viet Nam War. In fact, he spent three tours there since he was a real adrenaline junkie. Each time he left, we saw my mom worry. We saw the news every night on television. We wondered why my dad was in the jungle. We wondered when he was coming home. He sent home movies to us. My dad standing by his tent, my dad on a boat traveling up a yellow brown river, monkeys fighting and rice paddies. My dad waving and flexing his muscles with his buddies and everyone smiling. My dad always came home, but thousands of young Americans didn't and their kids were forever scarred. Today, thousands more American children have a parent or sibling on active duty either at home or in a war zone. The impact of Year of the Jungle will be felt by any child who has experienced a loved one in combat.

Illustrations by James Proimos are light-hearted and even whimsical even when depicting a helicopter or tank. The story may be frightning and awful, the main character worried and lost, but the artwork takes the painful story of Viet Nam and makes it tangible even to very young children. When the father returns, the girl says, "...I stand in the doorway watching him. He stares into space. He is here but not here. He is back in the jungle."

Highly, highly recommended for everyone. This book should have a place in every library and on every book shelf. It is an important book and will likely begin conversations about war and military service.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the F & G 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)

Cool Graphic Pick: Dogs of War

Dogs of War
by Sheila Keenan and Nathan Fox
Graphix
2013
208 pages
full color illustrations

Available November 2013

If you purchase one graphic novel this year, make sure it's Dogs of War! Did you know that dogs have trained and have gone to battle with armies as far back in history as the height of the Roman empire? Navy SEAL team 6 traveled with war dogs, too. Dogs used by the military often carry messages, ammunition and supplies. Because of their incomparable sense of smell, dogs can be used as scouts to sniff out danger like bombs and traps.

Dogs of War tells the stories of three brave dogs. Boots shows bravery in World War I. Loki serves in World War II and Sheba serves in the Vietnam War. Each story is brilliantly brought to life by talented illustrator Nathan Fox.

Reluctant readers will be drawn to this book. Who doesn't love a great dog story?

This graphic novel brings to light the valiant canines who fought alongside American soldiers. In Vietnam alone over 5,000 dogs served as sentries and trackers. Some dogs were trained to signal booby traps. Sadly, very few dogs came home from Vietnam since they were considered "equipment."

Today, there are over 2,700 war dogs helping military forces. These are the heroes who save soldiers lives on a daily basis and they are the true Dogs of War.

Highly, highly recommended for all graphic collections grade 6-up.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC 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)

Tween/Teen Pick: The Summer Before Boys

The Summer Before Boys
by Nora Raleigh Baskin
Simon & Schuster
2011
208 pages

Moving, poignant, and simple, yet satisfying and sublime, The Summer Before Boys is a novel about relationships--childhood friendship, mother/daughter relationships, strained relationships, and adolescent relationships.

Two girls are ready to leave childhood behind but worry that boys will ruin their long childhood friendhip--a true friendship where they promised to be "friends forever." Eliza and Julia spend long summers on the mountain, swimming and hiking, playing with dolls, slipping into the Mohawk Hotel, and gossiping with Pam, the gift shop lady who secretly slips them ice cream, telling them it's her treat "just this once." The summers seen to last forever, and the girls are inseparable.

Julia's mother signed up for the National Guard thinking that the extra money would be great and that a few week-ends away was just like going to summer camp. This all changes when she's called up for a tour in Afghanistan, and Julia is terrified her mother may never come home. When people tell her what a hero her mother is and how brave and patriotic she is and how proud she should be of her mom, she doesn't feel any of that. She just wants her mother home...safe and alive. Julia's father works long hours and never seems to be around for her.


The summer she is twelve, Julia has her first crush; she spends hours daydreaming and writing Micheal's name in her diary, and Eliza feels left behind. The two "friends forever" have a major falling out that may be unfixable.

Sometimes wars take more than human lives. Simply because the soldier comes home "unharmed" doesn't mean she is the same person. On the last day of being twelve, Julia and her mother play make believe in the attic with her mother's old Cabbage Patch dolls, and life seems good.

Recommended for tweens and teens grades 5-9. This novel will resonate with those readers who have a parent who is deployed.

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