New Yorker Clary Fray gets a shock when she witnesses three tattooed teens murder a boy at the Pandemonium Club. She gets a worse shock when the body disappears and no one else saw the murderers even when they walked through the busy club. As she tries to make sense of what she saw, she discovers that there is a whole world that she didn’t know about. The tattoo covered teens are Shadowhunters, and she shouldn’t be able to see them either. When her mother is kidnapped (she is the only person to know where find the Mortal Cup, a magical object sought by Shadowhunters and their rivals) Clary must go into danger and discover the secrets about her family.

This urban fantasy is entertaining, though the characters are not as three dimensional as one would like. There are multiple types of nonhumans, including demons,werewolves and vampires; competing or cooperating with humans to save the world or destroy it.

There are three books in the series The Mortal Instruments: 1.  City of Bones, 2. City of Ashes, 3. City of Glass

Fire is set in the same world of Graceling, with a new cast of characters. Fire is a human monster with fiery hair and the power to control the minds of others. She lives across the mountains in the Dells, on the same planet as Katsa’s seven lands, but it is so different as to be another world. Here there are no Gracelings, but there are monsters—both animal and human. Monsters are recognized by the unusual color of their hair, and Fire is named for the bright oranges and reds of her hair. Other monsters seek her in order to feast on her especially delicious flesh, as she is the only human monster alive. Men desire her, women hate and fear her, except for those who have come to know her and love her for her many good qualities. 

Raised in bizarre fashion by her father, the twisted human monster Cansrel, she is trying to live in a way to make up for her father’s cruel excesses. Her friend Archer is obsessively controlling, in order to protect her. When she must travel to King City to help the royal family save their kingdom she learns a lot about herself, the truth, independence and loyalty.
 
While this is a young adult book, it will be enjoyable to adult readers of fantasy as well. The characters are complex and interesting and more mature than many of those in young adult literature. Characters are not just focused on what affects them—their emotions run the gamut of guilt, love, hate, patriotism, loyalty and betrayal. The plot includes adventure, romance and intrigue. The writing is even better than Graceling, which I enjoyed very much.

Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy are now married, and have gone to the Continent for an extended honeymoon. Elizabeth is concerned because while Mr. Darcy professes his love and treats her with care and consideration, he has limited his passion to an occasional kiss.

Their visit to Paris is wonderful—Darcy has many friends and an amazing number of houses and hunting lodges spread throughout Europe. The trip becomes more perilous as they proceed. Wolves howl as they traverse the Alps on their way to visit Darcy’s uncle—who is a Count, with a mysterious castle surrounded by a deep moat. Their visit is cut short when they must flee the castle as an angry mob approaches. Strange frightening dreams begin haunting Elizabeth’s nights after they arrive in Venice, despite (or perhaps because of) the masquerade ball held in her honor. When they are invited to Prince Ficenzi’s villa near Rome even more perilous events test Elizabeth’s courage, and the love between Elizabeth and Darcy. 

Obviously the characters and setting are very important to Jane Austen fans. The story builds on Pride and Prejudice but this paranormal sequel does a good job of complementing the original work.

Popular for Jane Austen fans and lovers of paranormal romance, but would also be fine for those looking for historical fiction with a slightly different aspect. Not as graphic as many of the newer paranormal romance.

A memoir in the sense that Sultana (a code name) is the Princess who told her story. It was written and published by someone else to protect the Princess and her children.

Sultana is member of the Saudi royal family, so she is privileged compared to most women living in Saudi Arabia—but as with any other woman, she has no right to go anywhere without a man to escort her, she can be killed by her male family members for small infractions, she can’t vote or control her own life. This description of the world behind the veil is interesting but sometimes shocking. The contrast between the riches—multiple palaces (rich men usually have 4 wives, each with their own richly furnished main palace plus vacation palaces), unlimited money to spend on clothing and jewels, and how the servants and lower classes live is immense.

Since it was published in 1992, one hopes that conditions for Saudi women have improved.

Readers who enjoy an exotic setting and are politically & socially active might want to read this, though there are some descriptions of abuse of women and children that are hard to read.

Flavia de Luce is eleven years old, one of three motherless sisters, living in 1950s England. When she finds a stranger dying in the manor’s cucumber patch Flavia decides to investigate in order to save her philatelist father, who has been arrested. Her ability to dissemble and keen interest in chemistry allow her to roam the countryside on her bicycle to search for clues and then interpret what she finds.

This book is somewhere between Harriet the Spy and Sherlock Holmes. It is full of period details, delicious humor, and definitely a book to recommend.

Author Alan Bradley is 70 years old, and this debut novel won him the 2007 Dagger Award. He did not plan to write with the main character being a young girl, but Flavia entered his detective story and took it over. Fortunately he plans a series of books about her.

The reader, Jayne Entwhistle, does a great job of portraying Flavia’s enthusiasm and moods, as well as those of the other characters. Such glee at the thought of getting back at her snooty older sister! The soft voice while plotting devious interrogations!

This is my favorite audiobook for 2009.

Marion was born in Australia, but lived mostly on cruise ships with her traveling mother after her parents split up. Her father was a captain on a freighter, and later worked at the shipyards along the Canadian west coast. When she was five, her mother gave her up to be raised by her aunt and uncle in Canada.

Marion was 14 in 1960. Turquoise was the fashionable color, and the writer uses the vivid color to tie together the time she spent at the beach (turquoise bathing suit), the unused living room (turquoise carpet and pillows), holiday meals (using the special turquoise plastic dishes) and other events. Family photos start each chapter. Readers who were teens in the 1960s will recognize many of the cultural references.

Victory Conditions is the fifth book of the fast-paced Vatta's War series.  Young Kylara Vatta was thrown out of the Space Academy and though she disappointed her merchant family by becoming a privateer, in this volume she has risen to command of a multi-system Space Defense force.  

Political intrigues, personal conflicts with company-oriented cousin Stella and former spy turned CEO Rafe Dunbarger, and front-line views of battles contribute to the complexity and depth of this space opera. 

Excellent plotting, technical details, and well-developed characters are found in this military series.  Elizabeth Moon has degrees in history and biology, and was formerly a Marine, which contributes to the realistic portrayal of battle and it's psychological toll.

A pregnant calico cat, abandoned in the bayou by her family, finds refuge in the crawlspace where the hound Ranger lives. He is chained and mistreated by his cruel master, but befriends the cat and her kittens Puck and Sabine. As he grows older, curiosity drives Puck to explore outside the safety of the Underneath, causing the tragic death of Mama Cat and Puck to be lost in the forest. 

Woven through this story are thousand year old myths of shapeshifters and stories of the Caddo Indians who once lived in this area--Grandmother Moccasin and the Alligator King; Hawkman and Nightsong; thinking trees and a hummingbird who is not just a bird. Through rhythm and repetition, the story flows with magic and allegory, sadness and tenderness. David Small's drawings complement the text. 

The Underneath is a Teen National Book Award Finalist. It appeals to readers because of its writing and setting. Read aloud, it might appeal to fifth graders, but may be enjoyed by readers through adulthood.

Juliet Ashton--a writer in the grim world of London just after World War II ends--is looking for a new idea for her next book.   A chance letter from Dawsey Adams, a resident of the isle of Guernsey, tickles her sense of curiosity and she begins to correspond with members of the Society to learn how the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society came to be.

Written as a series of letters and telegrams between Juliet, her friend Sophie, Sidney (her publisher and friend) and the residents of Guernsey, these brief messages bring the characters alive in all their quirkiness.  Like all humans they have their flaws as well as their good points.   Bits of trivia and carefully researched historical events are interwoven to flesh out the story.

Madeline Hammond, a rich Eastern socialite, is bored with her life--too many parties, golf games and smooth-talking men.  She escapes her usual life by traveling to New Mexico to see her black-sheep brother Alfred, who has a cattle ranch.  Her unheralded arrival late at night means she is accosted by a cowboy and witnesses a murder.  Despite this rocky start, the longer she stays, the more she learns to love the land and people. 

Written in 1914, the prose is more florid than today and contains terms which currently are not politically correct.  The main appeal--the beautiful description of the land and appreciation for the Western life--makes it still readable as a Western classic.  It was made into a movie four times, the last with Alan Ladd, JoAnn Sayers and Victor Jory in 1940.

Simon, age 15, has just completed third grade for the fourth time.  Miss Rogers, his third grade teacher, thinks Simon is ready to go out in the world, away from his aunt and uncle who call him a pea-brain. When Simon has a great idea, she lends him her life's savings to buy 1000 bronze turkeys.  He has a plan to walk them a thousand miles from eastern Missouri to Denver and sell them for a fortune. 

There are numerous adventures along the way--turkey rustlers, his no-good father, helping a runaway slave, and rescuing a girl on the prairie. 

A fast, humorous read.  A good choice for a reluctant reader or to read aloud, due to lots of action .  The story is inspired by actual turkey treks which took place in the 1850s and 1860s, when there were no roads or railroads to bring turkeys to market.

Daisy Kutter has gone respectable--she has given up her bandit life and runs a general store.  When she loses her store to rich Mr. Winters in a high-stakes poker game, she is forced to use her gunfighting skills to test the robot security on his train by robbing it. 

A rare female protagonist, and unusual plot combining the Wild West with futuristic robots, make this graphic novel a good read.

Centipede-like, peace-loving parasites have taken over the earth, inserting themselves into and replacing the human minds of the bodies they invade. A few humans survive intact, hiding to escape the fate of their loved ones. Wanderer, one of the most traveled and famous aliens, finds herself in the mind of a strong human named Melanie, who won't give up her mind. Melanie struggles to keep her mind intact and in charge. Her drive to find her younger brother convinces Wanderer to search for him and Melanie's boyfriend Jared.

Human bodies are much stronger in their emotions and needs--leading to something Wanderer has not experienced before--she is immersed in human feelings, including love for Melanie's brother and attraction to Jared. As she meets and learns about humans she wonders about the philosophy of her kind--are they really as altruistic as she had always believed? Certainly the bodies they inhabit will never get sick, there is no more crime or war--but what about the minds that are lost?

A very unusual approach to the Aliens-Invade-Earth scenario. Once I saw Wanderer as an individual rather than an emotionless invader I got caught up in the story. As in the Twilight saga, the characters are memorable, the emotions tangible, and the writing excellent.

A plague is raging in Pern, killing dragons, riders and holders. Thread is falling and the dragonriders fear they will not have enough dragons flying to save Pern from destruction by Threadfall. Lorana provides a link to the past that may help them survive.

The story goes back in time to Windblossom, one of the original settlers and the last of the geneticists who created the dragons and watchwhers. Those early years found the settlers struggling with the lost of their technology, worries about the future and adjusting to a more primitive lifestyle. Somehow the connection must be made to save Pern and all its inhabitants.

Todd McCaffrey is the son of Anne McCaffrey, and has collaborated with her on a previous book. He does a good job of fitting his story around previous (or future) events. Fans of the Dragonriders of Pern series will enjoy this book, though readers new to the series might want to start with one of the first books to get an understanding of the world of Pern before reading this volume.

Sebastian Darke, 17, has set out to seek his fortune in the faraway city of Keladon so he can support his Elvish mother after his human father, a Jester, has died. Unfortunately Sebastian isn't funny, not even when reciting his father's best jokes. A talking buffalope named Max draws the wagon, giving a running commentary on Sebastian's lack of talent and what they should do next. Along the way they meet a pint-sized warrior named Cornelius who has perfected the Golmiran Death Leap. Together they rescue Princess Kerin, heiress to the throne of Keladon, from Brigands and her evil uncle Septimus's plans.

Interesting characters and lots of adventure make a good story. Max was my favorite, due to his sardonic comments. Though the British author previously was famous for his horror novels for adults, he has made a great transition to young adult books. This story will appeal to guys or girls from middle school on up, especially if they enjoy humor like that of The Princess Bride or Donkey in Shrek. The second in the series has already been published in England--Sebastian Darke: Prince of Pirates.