Janner, Igiby, Tank, and their disabled sister Leeli are gifted children living in a cottage above the Dark Sea of Darkness. But even with their gifts and the help of their mother and former pirate grandfather, they still struggle to survive as the evil Fangs of Dang pursue them and take over the land by killing anyone who stands in their way. For these children are not only special, but the Fangs believe they hold the secret to finding the legendary jewels of the former king.
Megan Henske is not a normal teen, her family owns an undertaker business, which makes her a perfect candidate to land a job at a Chicago ghost tour company. But soon she realizes her boss isn’t joking about killing people at stops to make them more haunted, and she might even help. Then come the mysterious deaths of prominent figures in the ghost tour industry, and she discovers she looks exactly like woman who disappeared in 1922. She also receives a mysterious warning that she might be the next ghost on the tour.
Life on Hayling Island seems isolated from the outside world for 14 year old Alix. Problems like terrorism, wars, and refugees seem worlds away. But one day at the beach, Alix and her friend find a drowning illegal immigrant who was tortured by the rebels in Iraq for helping the allied forces. Mohammed is desperate to not be deported and now his life falls in her hands. She must face this moral dilemma on her own, one mistake and they will be discovered.
In this futuristic novel, young Andrew Wiggin is singled out from a young age as different. He is a child of great ability; those in charge, as well as jealous peers, notice. Because of this, he is ostracized and targeted -- this hardens young Ender and prepares him for battle in Battle School. Here, he is forced to prove himself against all odds.
Overall, the book was a fast-paced, interesting read. It kept me engaged and was fun and easy to follow, but also had plenty of plot twists.
When Grace is called to work in the Big House from the slave cabins, her family warns her to keep her eyes down and watch her mouth, or there could be disastrous consequences. But she makes a grave mistake, and she and her family must flee deep into the dangerous woods, braving slave patrollers, deadly wild animals, and the uncertainty that they will ever be free.
This is a book of ideas. A slight character story overlaid on a world of big ideas. Amusingly sad; sadly amusing. Consider, for instance, its beginning:
Sexual Responsibility is boring.
It isn't Ms. Brody's fault. She's a good teacher. She switches channels at appropriate moments, tases students who need tasing--zizzz-ZAAPPP!--and she only once got stuck in the garbage can beside her teaching station. She was a teeny bit weepy that day, but no drunker than normal . . .
Fifteen year old Aya has learned to hide from the men who hunt females, then auction off their breeding rights to the highest bidder. She has avoided capture and lived freely with a rag tag group of women in the mountains. But when she is caught by businessmen on a hunting trip, she must learn to fight to survive in a whole new way.
Michael O'Shaunessey, like all his other classmates, is part of the Hitler Youth. He participates in their book burnings and horrific games, but he secretly despises everything the Nazis stand stand for. He has a dangerous secret that he must protect at all costs, he and his parents are spies. He is just playing the part so he can get insider information. Soon he hears about Projekt 1065, a secret Nazi war mission that he has to stop. But to do that he must prove his loyalty to the Third Reich no matter the cost...
