Worth More Than a Passing Mention

Last year, while talking about books that had online components, I mentioned this second in the Skeleton Creek series by Patrick Carman. However, I just finished reading Ghost in the Machine, and realized that it was good enough to deserve its own post. The reader alternates reading chapters of the book with watching online videos, all of which advance the plot instead of being an afterthought. The videos, which are tense and spooky and kind of creep me out (even though I'm an adult and should be much braver), are an integral part of the story. This suspenseful series is good for any kid who likes to be scared.

Leviathan & Behemoth

Barking Spiders!

The best man for a job is a girl; a fifteen-year-old girl posing as a boy that is.

For those who love adventure and science fiction, this is a great new young adult series by Scott Westerfeld. Complete with amazing illustrations, Leviathan is a combination of historical fiction (WWI) and science fiction (advanced machinery of German Clankers and animal cross-breeding of British Darwinists). There are two main characters, Prince Aleksander and airman Deryn Sharp. Deryn, however, steals the show.

Happily, the second in the series, Behemoth, is already here but we will have to wait until October 2011 for the final book, Goliath.

Skulduggery Pleasant

If you are not yet familiar with the world of Skulduggery Pleasant, I recommend that you check it out. Skulduggery is a skeleton detective who has deadly sorcery skills . . . and an even more killer sense of fashion. Aided by his teenage sidekick, Valkyrie Cain, Skulduggery saves the world from the forces of darkness. I just finished reading The Faceless Ones, which is the third in this series by Derek Landy. Full of snarky, intelligent humor, great characters, and plenty of action, the Skulduggery Pleasant books are sure to please. And how can you resist such a wonderful name?!??

An Abduction in Hindsight

It's pretty much a given that a book about an abduction is going to be exciting. What does the abductor want? Will the authorities crack the case in time? One question that is never asked, though, is how the rescued abductee will recover from what has to be one of the worst ordeals you can go through. Until Still Missing by Chevy Stevens, a new thriller that tells the tale of Annie's abduction after she has escaped and gone back to her "normal" life. Told entirely by Annie, in the form of her therapy sessions, this story is gripping and really makes you think. It has touches of a traditional police procedural, mixed with some psychology and a whole lot of thrills.

Elsewhere

Having your life cut short before it has even begun is one thing, learning you will be aging backwards is another. That is the premise of Gabrielle Zevin's book Elsewhere.

On the verge of getting her driver's license, thinking about boys and going to prom, fifteen-year-old Liz Hall is just waiting for her life to begin when it is tragically cut short. Sent to Elsewhere, she is angry over everything she has missed out on in her life and she refuses to accept her death. Complicating things is the fact that everyone in Elsewhere gets younger every year until they become infants and are sent back to Earth to be reborn.

Ranger's Apprentice

I can't believe that I went this long without talking about the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan! We all know how I love a good teen fantasy series, and this is consistently one of the best. I just got done reading number seven in the series, Erak's Ransom, and it was phenomenal. Do you know how I can tell? Because it's a prequel to books five and six, so fundamentally, I knew how it was going to turn out. But still . . . I was on the edge of my seat, reading far past my bedtime so that I could find out where it was going to take me. That's the sign of an excellent book! So if you like stories about underdogs who make good, epic battles, Viking-esque warriors, strong females, and against-all-odds journeys, check this series out.

Kay Scarpetta Returns

Patricia Cornwell's mystery thrillers starring Dr. Kay Scarpetta have been very popular over the years, and her latest, Port Mortuary, is sure to follow suit. As the chief of the new Cambridge Forensic Center in Massachusetts, a joint venture of the state and federal governments, MIT and Harvard, Scarpetta is confronted with a case that could shut down her new facility and ruin her personally and professionally. The Hillsdale Community Library has Port Mortuary available in both the book and CD format.

Through the Years . . .

Do you remember when HBO was pretty much the only premium channel around, and it seemed so revolutionary? If you were a kid, like me, then you sat in front of the TV day after day watching the same few movies . . . Grease 2, Under the Rainbow, 9 to 5, and my favorite, Clash of the Titans. To this day, I can recite huge chunks of dialogue from the original Titans, and these repeated viewings opened up a special place in my heart for Harry Hamlin. Then, decades later, he showed up in a favorite TV show, Veronica Mars. Yay!

Hamlin recently released a book about his childhood, Full Frontal Nudity: The Making of an Accidental Actor. I haven't had a chance to read our copy yet, but by all reports, it's quite good. But if Harry Hamlin is not your cup of tea, perhaps you'd like one of the other new celebrity biographies and memoirs we've gotten at HCL. They cover a wide range of topics, from Dick Cavett to Paul McCartney, and there's sure to be one to pique your interest.