ARENA ONE

by Morgan Rice   (LWH)  (NOT ON OUR SHELVES YET)

Talk about fast paced book. If you enjoyed The Hunger Games then you'll love this great new series. Another Dystopia type YA fiction which I mostly enjoyed reading. Morgan Rice is a #1 best selling author who also wrote The Vampire Journals.

Seventeen year old Brook and her younger sister, Bree, are living in the wilderness trying to survive after a civil war has broken out in New York and everyone is living in a post-apocalyptic world, with few survivors. Those who still live in the city are Slaverunners, who roam the countryside trying to find survivors on the run, or crazies who are like zombies attacking those who venture out of the city walls. There are also the bio-chem guys who have been terribly burnt and disfigured from bombs during the war.

When Bree is kidnapped, Brook must risk her life to try to find and rescue her sister from certain death. There are plenty of chases, shooting and danger, including a battle to the death in Arena One, much like Hunger Games.

I mostly liked this book however I did find a few annoying factors. Firstly I felt it was trying to be a little too much like Hunger Games and it fell terribly short. The writing was no where near as good, and at times Brook was doing things that were quite unrealistic, and in fact completely unbelievable. I didn't think it was necessary to include very young girls becoming sex slaves in a YA fiction. The ending didn't really excite me which was disappointing, however I would probably still read the next two in the trilogy.

TIGER'S QUEST

by Colleen Houck   (LWH)

This is the second book in the Tiger Saga series which finds Kelsey settling into life back in Oregon, going to College and trying to forget Ren. This is short lived however, as she soon must return to India and start another quest to save Ren, who has been taken hostage by evil Lokesh, and help Ren's brother, Kishan, who is also under the same curse.

Although I enjoyed the story, it didn't capture me as much as the first book, but that could've been partly due to reading it in several sittings over a few months, rather than in a couple of days. The story is still full of adventure and finding clues to aid her, and Kishan this time, to continue her quest to break the curse on the Princes. Danger is around every corner and Kelsey must use all her faith she can muster to continue along the path. Once again the ending left you up in the air a little so you can't wait to explore book #3. 

TIGER'S CURSE

by Colleen Houck   (LWH)

Wow, what a series! I started reading this series because a friend of mine (a book guru) said I'd love them and gave me the whole set to read. Although I adored the cover of 'Tiger's Curse', I was doubtful I would really enjoy them as I'm not really into fantasy much, but was willing to give them a try... glad I did!

Full of adventure and danger that's on a par with 'Indiana Jones',  the story starts with a teenager, Kelsey Hayes, who has just finished school and decides to get a summer job. A circus wasn't what she had in mind but straight away she grew to love the atmosphere and the people. Little did she know that her job of looking after a beautiful white tiger named Ren, would change her life forever. She is asked to escort the tiger back to India by a mysterious man and when she accepts she is soon half way across the world starting an unbelievable adventure full of mystery, magic, fear, danger, ancient prophecies and of course... romance... but not just any old romance that's for sure. She must deal with issues of 'fate', 'passion' and 'loyalty' as she finds out she is the only one who can break the ancient curse put on Ren and his brother.

A great read that you can't put down. Thanks 'book guru' for recommending it to me... I'll never doubt you again! The other books in the series are Tiger's Quest, Tiger's Voyage and Tiger's Destiny.

Watch the book trailer to get you excited about the journey.

CLARA IN WASHINGTON

CLARA IN WASHINGTON   by Penny Tangey   (LWH)

The main reason for wanting to read this new release YA novel was because it was written by the daughter of one of our teaching staff, Marilyn Tangey (who is currently on leave and teaching in East Timor). This is not Penny's first novel but as I hadn't ever read one of her novels I thought I'd give it a try, especially being a young Australian writer.

Clara, who has just finished VCE and has decided to travel with her mother to Washington and spend the Summer holidays rediscovering herself and to be someone else other than 'a studious geek' which some of her friends describe her. Clara's mum was always working long hours so Clara, who is sick of staying indoors watching TV, decides to don the gloves and scarf for the chilly Winter weather in Washington, to venture out on her own in a new and strange country, where at times she is fearful and very nervous getting around on the subways by herself, and constantly scared she may be mugged. She decides to overcome her fear of leaving the apartment and visit a few museums and do some 'tourist' thngs.

She eventually decides to join a few charity groups to get to know people and stop from getting board. She helps serve breakfast at a women's homeless shelter each morning and makes a few friends, and joins a group called 'Reading Beyond Bars' which sends books to prisoners. Through this group she meets Campbell, falling head over heals for him, and can't wait for the next time they can meet. He is a member/leader of an anarchists group and Clara is swayed into their teaching and ideas, mostly to impress Campbell and his friends. Clara has to comes to terms with what she really believes and what really matters to her.

It wasn't a bad read but I got a little bored with it. It is a 'coming-of-age' story I guess, which I think based was on the author's personal experiences in Washington. Clara wanted an adventure and thought moving to the other side of the world would do that for her but she didn't have much confidence and everything became very overwhelming to her. It was interesting when she joined the Anarchists group and was determined when her VCE results came not to open them as that would put labels on her. I don't think I could've left the envelope unopened if it was me waiting for results. Most YA would identify a little with Clara I suppose so it's worth a read.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:   CLICK HERE to read an interview with Penny and Tristan Bancks and learn more about her writing.

Penny's first YA novel 'Loving Richard Feynman' was shortlisted for the CBCA Book of the Year Award for older readers and shortlisted for the WA Premier's Book Award for Young Adults. Penny lives in Melbourne.

H.I.V.E. ZERO HOUR

H.I.V.E.  ZERO HOUR   by Mark Walden

(HIGHER INSTITUTION OF VILLAINOUS EDUCATION)

(Review by:  Zac Abbott)

This is the sixth book in the H.I.V.E. series. It is a very enjoyable book with a couple of laughts and it is a very involved book with a storyline that takes you around the world. The main character is a boy named Otto Malpense and he was created to be a home for the A.I. Overlord who is evil. The book is based around his adventures with his friends and his mentor Nero.

Book rating:  8/10

Book Blurb: Otto Malpense is in peril. The evil A.I. Overlord has developed the ability to move from body to body, but only Otto can contain him and survive. Overloard will cease at nothing to locate him. Then no one will be able to stop him. Nero must activate Zero Hour, a plan designed to elimate any villian on the brink of global dominatin. Nero also knows that Otto must not be allowed to fall into the Overlord's hands. The stage is set for a final battle.

To find out more about the other books in the HIVE series click here

H.I.V.E.
1. H.I.V.E.: Higher Institute of Villainous Education (2006)
2. The Overlord Protocol (2007)
3. Escape Velocity (2008)
4. Dreadnought (2009)
5. Rogue (2010)
6. Zero Hour (2010)
7. Aftershock (2011)

About the author:  After spending ten years as a video games designer and producer Mark has recently left the games industry to write and be a full-time dad to his daughter Megan. He studied at Newcastle University where he received a BA in English Literature and an MA in Twentieth Century Literature, Film and Television. It was here he met his wife, Sarah. H.I.V.E. won the Confident Readers 9+ category in Richard and Judy's Children's Book Club in October 2007.

MUD, SWEAT & TEARS

MUD, SWEAT & TEARS by Bear Grylls     (LWH)

I'm not a huge fan of Bear Grylls (although I did watch the TV series and know I WON'T be able to survive if lost because I WONT EAT those crazy things he does!) however, I was interested in reading his autobiography to see the man behind the TV series.
 It was an interesting read. Telling of life growing up in Wales, his love of adventure from an early age, his training in the SAS and surviving an accident which broke his back and almost caused him to never walk again. Climbing Mt Everest may have been his greatest challenge but being the ambassador for Scouts is his proudest and most rewarding. This was a good read which I downloaded onto my Kindle. When my eyes got a little weary of reading I would set the Kindle to 'Text to Speech' and listened to the story. (Love the flexibility of my new Kindle!)