Fantasy Pick: Dividing Eden (Guest Reviewer Erin Sanchez)

Dividing Eden
by Joelle Charbonneau
HarperTeen
2017
336 pages
ISBN: 97800032453846

Guest review by Erin Sanchez, library media specialist at Helen Ball Elementary School in El Paso, Texas. Follow Erin on Twitter @librarian_HBES

Twins Carys and Andreus have always been close, so much so that Princess Carys hides her brother's secret, tarnishing her own reputation and watching as her brother gains his way into the hearts of their people. Older brother Prince Micah is to inherit the throne of their father, but when their father, the king, and the crown prince are assassinated, the Queen is next to ascend tot he throne.

The Queen is mad with grief and it is left to the Council of Elders to make the drastic decision of trusting Imogene, a seer, who reveals an option for crowning the successor. Carys and Andreus will compete for the throne of Eden.

The kingdom of Eden is on a dark path. Andreus betrays his twin as tragedy and secrets unfold. A hidden curse comes to the surface. Many things are possible as the first book ends. Readers will have to wait until book two to discover Eden's secrets.

Dividing Eden is the first of two books in this YA fantasy duology.

Recommended grade 8 and up.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation nor did guest reviewer Erin Sanchez.

YA Pick: Here Lies Daniel Tate

Here Lies Daniel Tate
by Cristin Terrill
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
2017
400 pages
ISBN: 978148148076

On sale date: June 6, 2017

Here Lies Daniel Tate is an amazing whodunit for the YA crowd. A nameless narrator bad boy from Canada takes over the identity of a missing boy who disappeared from his upscale neighborhood years ago.

When Daniel Tate went missing, his wealthy family is distraught and searches for him. Sadly, he is not found. Years pass. A boy in Canada is taken in by authorities. He is Daniel Tate. What has happened to Daniel all those years he was missing? The Tate family is thrilled and rush the teen home. With their wealth, he clears international borders easily.

Daniel is quiet and a bit strange to everyone. The family gives hims space. He has been through an ordeal. It's understandable that he is shy and reserved. Maybe his captors tortured him. Or worse.

But someone knows the truth. That is because someone killed the real  Daniel Tate. This new boy, whoever he is, is in danger. This family has secrets. Secrets that if exposed will change everyone's lives. Someone is the killer, but everyone seems to want the new boy to really  BE Daniel. Daniel needs to find out who he can trust and fast!

This is a solid book ripe for movie adaptation. Clever cover art and the word "lies" in another print color emphasize that "lies" can be used in two ways. The marketing team gets kudos! 

Highly recommended grade 9-up. Mature content. Profanity.

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

Middle Grades Pick: Brightwood

Brightwood
by Tania Unsworth
Algonquin Young Readers
2016
260 pages
ISBN: 9781616203306


Compelling and mesmerizing, Brightwood is a dazzling middle grades read sure to captivate!


Eleven year old Daisy is still waiting for her mother to return to Brightwood. It has been five, or was it, six hours ago that she left? Daisy knows her mother would never go away and not return. Daisy hunkers down in their moldering mansion and awakens to find her mother still missing. It is just the two of them, and Daisy has never left the grounds of Brightwood, not once. Her mother has made it painfully clear that there is nothing out there in the world beyond the gates for Daisy. What can she do now?

There is enough to eat--more than enough. Daisy's mother buys in bulk--everything in bulk. In fact, it is hard to maneuver in the mansion. Even the once grand ballroom is stuffed with boxes and old furniture. Daisy has to clear paths to walk. Keeping her company is her pet rat Tar (aptly named Tar because it is rat backwards) who not only talks but  has a wicked sense of humor. After the first day, Daisy meets a specter of a black and white girl named Frank. Frank has been around the world on expeditions with Daisy's own kooky grandfather. As Daisy begins to panic, Frank is the voice of reason who calms Daisy and talks her through problems.

A stranger shows up and acts like he is right  at home. Daisy is afraid of the newcomer and talks it over with Frank who warns her that the stranger seems to be taking over Brightwood. Daisy looks for clues not only to where her mother could have gone, but also who this newcomer could be and what could he want. When she realizes that the stranger is her mother's cousin--the estranged black sheep of  the family--Daisy goes into defense mode. his words are chilling:  "Nobody  knows you exist."  What are the odds a sheltered eleven year old, a pet rat and a made-up friend defeating a maniacal killer?

Brightwood is everything a story should be! The setting is a creepy, near abandoned mansion located far from help. There is a  missing mother, a scared eleven year old girl who has to rely on herself to save her own life and that of her mother, a family secret, generations of mental illness, strange ancestors, strange family portraits, and rooms full of boxes that hold the clues that will save Daisy and Brightwood.

Cover art is beautiful and evokes a sense of gloominess: the mansion in the background, trees and grass overgrown, the massive iron gate holding Daisy inside the grounds, a girl at the window looking out hoping to see her mother. 

Highly, highly recommended for all middle grades and anyone who gets lost in a great story. I LOVED Daisy! If you know readers 8-up, give them Brightwood. They will love it.

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

Prank Pick: Don't Get Caught

Don't Get Caught
by Kurt Dinan
Sourcebooks Fire
2016
336 pages
ISBN: 9781492630142
Available April 2016

Debut author Kurt Dinan entertains with this prank war book that will keep readers laughing. Max is the normal fly under the radar high school boy who is not the cool kid or the smart kid or the athletic kid or the talented kid. He's the average kid. When he receives an invitation to meet the Chaos Club at the water tower and to "tell no one," he is intrigued and a little excited. Why would the epic and super secret Chaos Club invite him he wonders?

Max arrives and sees other students who received invites. As the kids are figuring out what to do next, they are busted for being on school grounds after hours and for defacing the water tower. Max is not going to take this! He's going to fight back. It's the Chaos Club's fault that he was caught. He bands together with the others to form a new prank group designed to upstage and out prank  the Chaos Club.

The team decides to have a prank off and the loser will pay dearly. Max goes along with the other's pranks, and the team becomes legendary. When the odds are upped, Max gets suspended from school.  Outsmarting the vice principal Stranko is pretty easy, and the kids get away with several hilarious pranks that have the school in an uproar.

Just who is the Chaos Club? Max plans to find out and when he does, he'll be surprised.

Classic bad high school behavior, profanity, mature subject matter.

Recommended grade 9 and up.

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

Adutlt Book Club Pick: Orhan's Inheritance

Orhan's Inheritance
by Aline Ohanesian
Algonquin Books of  Chapel Hill
2015
337 pages
ISBN: 9781616203740

Brilliant, gorgeous, intelligent, rare!

Deeply moving, tragic yet hopeful, layers and layers of human history unfold in Aline Ohanesian's epic tale of love lost in Orhan's Inheritance. When Orhan's beloved grandfather dies, Orhan travels to his village for the reading of the will. Orhan's father is outraged and violent  when it is revealed his own father left their family home to a stranger who lives half a world away in Los Angeles. Orhan is intrigued: why would his grandfather--stoic, hard-working, reasonable yet lately a bit eccentric--give away the beloved familial home? There must be some good reason. Orhan agrees to make the long journey and locate the mystery lady named in the will. His father tells him that he must get the woman to sign the rights to their home back to them.

Over the course of months, Orhan finally convinces the elderly woman to tell her story of a broken heart, an abandoned home, a ponce safe childhood, a family of wealth and honor, a war that purged Armenians from Turkey, a forced exile, brutality, and death. The story moves to the past: 1915 Turkey.  Armenian men are being forced from their homes and taken away never to be seen again. Soon, the army makes the women and children leave. They are marched to the point of despair and sometimes death. The mystery woman named in the will is a young girl growing up Armenian in Turkey and the war is all around her. Her home was once a safe place, luxurious even. "Within hours, Lucine's world and everything in it turns to dust."  Now, she is spit upon and treated worse than an animal simply because she's Armenian. Kemel (Orhan's grandfather) is  in love with her and vows to protect her. He does his best to protect her and her family, but the army takes them away. Their mother makes the girls  rip their clothing and rub mud on their faces. The army is known to take away "...the pretty ones."

Lucine is finally  able to escape her captors after the deaths of her family. She finds solace with a kind hearted prostitute who allows her lodging. Lucine changes her name to Seda  and becomes a completely different person. The girl of her youth is gone; the war makes certain of that. A chance meeting with Kemel allows Lucine (now Seda) an escape from Turkey.

The surprising will, the long trip, the history of war, names changed and families lost and buried family secrets finally come out. Orhan is dumbfounded. His grandfather has had the last say in all their lives.

Orhan's  Inheritance is a story that will stick with you, and you will not forget the pain and tragedy. This forced evacuation and genocide of Armenians in Turkey has been hidden away for decades, but Aline Ohanesian captures her grandmother's memories to tell the story for us today and that is a gift.

Highly, highly recommended for adult book clubs everywhere. NOT for middle school readers.

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)

Thriller Pick: Cold Calls

Cold Calls
by Charles Benoit
Clarion Books
2014
288 pages
ISBN: 9780544239500



A late night phone call, a disguised voice, a threat. The caller knows him and has been in his room. Eric is afraid to trust the caller, but he's more afraid of what the caller will do if he doesn't do what is expected of him. The caller has ammunition and is willing to use it if Eric doesn't do his bidding. Eric follows through with the prank and finds himself in a detention class at the community center  for bullies.

Fatima and Shelly are in the class with Eric. They discover that each of them has had a threat from an unknown caller who directed them to pull similar pranks at their schools. Suddenly, it becomes clear that the caller is the same person for each of them. How does the caller know them and how are they tied together? They were all threatened and blackmailed by the same caller but now the kids join forces to try and discover  who is threatening them. The more they discover, the tighter they each hold their own secret.

The book is marketed as "Pretty Little Liars meets The Breakfast Club," but fans of the Liars series may be left wanting more as far as fashion and love interests. The main characters are likeable enough but a bit one-sided. Maybe not enough time passes in the book for the characters to fully develop and experience change. Although the kids  learn to work together, their  "friendship" appears fleeting. The cell phone/cyber bully is an interesting addition to YA lit but not a welcome one. The fact that Cold Calls seems like familiar territory  makes this book real for readers.

Recommended grade 9-up. Mature subject matter and cyber bullying and talk of explicit cell phone photos.

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)

Teen Pick

Dirty Little Secrets
by C.J.Omololu
Walker Publishing Company, 2010
210 pages

Life has its secrets--everyone has secrets. Lucy, however, lives a secret. She has never had a best friend, or a sleepover, or had friends come over and just hang out. Her older sister and brother have both moved away, leaving sixteen-year old Lucy alone in the house with her mother and the STUFF. After her parents' divorce, Lucy's mother became a different person. She has filled their lives and their home with junk and trash.

If you've seen the t.v. show "Hoarders" and thought "How does someone get like this?"--or "How does someone live that way?"--Dirty Little Secrets may answer those questions.

When her secret is about to be front page news, Lucy decides to take things into her own hands. Her mother may have forced them to live like that when she was young, but now Lucy is older and she can find a way to deal with the problems.

Readers will like Lucy and empathize with her plight; some may even pity her, but all readers will want her to rise above her circumstances and excel.

Recommended grades 6-up.
Some mature subject matter. Lucy is basically mentally abused by her mother.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I bought this book for my middle school library. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review.