The Martian by Andy Weir

This book was recommended to me by several high school boys. It's not something I normally would pick up, but I listened to it as an audiobook, and found it very compelling. It is hands-down the most science-filled science fiction book I have ever read, and as a matter of fact, it's almost nothing but science. The plot is simple. Mark Watley, an American astronaut, is left for dead during a mission to Mars. He's not dead, though, and he must figure out a way to survive on Mars for as long as it takes NASA to rescue him. Things go wrong. He almost dies. He fixes the problems. Then more things go wrong. There's not a lot of characterization or dialogue, but his survival story kept me hooked and all the science sounded believable to me. I'm pretty sure this will appeal to people who don't like novels dripping with symbolism and emotion and deep meaning. Highly recommended to boys from grades 7-up (not that girls won't like it but it definitely has strong guy-appeal).

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

Today's blog entry is from Noah, a high school senior. I wish I could say I wrote this book review, but I must give credit where credit is due. I did read the book and enjoy it more than I thought I would, and this captures why smart high school guys love Steelheart. 

Rarely do stories engender in me as many conflicting emotions as Brandon Sanderson’s sci-fi/fantasy novel Steelheart, the first of the Reckoners series. Tapped by Drew E. as the Galloway Book Club’s choice for the month of February, I approached the 400 page novel expecting a campy, melodramatic plotline with the approximate literary value of Go Dog Go, bound tenuously together by intermittently hard-to-follow action sequences and a poorly constructed romantic subplot. I found exactly what I expected.

And I couldn’t put it down.

Steelheart is a fantastical dystopian novel, set ten years after the appearance of a glowing red star in the heavens, known as Calamity. Roughly a year after Calamity’s appearance, certain humans began manifesting various powers—such as flight, the ability to create forcefields, super agility, impervious skin, and other equally ridiculous capabilities—and, for one reason or another, those individuals became implacably evil with no regard for human life. Such people are known as Epics.

I’m sure that description prompted many of you to role your eyes back into your head; the plot does, I wholeheartedly agree, sound patently ridiculous. But it is a siren, my friends, luring any readers within its range to dash their brain upon the rocks of literary mind candy. Seriously, after the first chapter I began counting down the time until I could read again. My sleep suffered. Had the novel been longer, a significant decline in my academic performance wouldn’t have been surprising. Throughout the course of reading the book, I suppressed the part of my brain that steadfastly reminded me how, objectively, I should find the novel silly rather than engrossing.

Sanderson’s protagonist, David, whose biblical name is possibly the only allusion in the entire book, was an eight year old when the High Epic Steelheart, now emperor of Newcago (used to be Chicago), killed his father. Now, David is an 18 year old with a deep-seated hatred for Epics and an even more intense desire for revenge. He has dedicated his adolescence to studying epics and a mysterious group, the Reckoners, who wage war on them. With incredible predictability, when a Reckoners cell appears in Newcago, David manages to join them and lobby for an attack on Steelheart.

I just read the above paragraph, and once again, I’m amazed at how much I enjoyed the book. I don’t know how it happened. What came over me? Surely IQ points dripped out of my ears whenever I cracked the novel—but, after some soul-searching, I regret nothing. Sanderson knows how to weave a tacky plotline into a web of suspense, wind up his readers, and force them, against their better judgement, to revel in a narrative brimming with superpowers, vendettas, and dramatic confrontations. To read Steelheart is stare down the darker demons of our literary tastes, which we all need to do once in a while.

The Scar Boys by Len Vlahos

This is one of the best YA books I have read this year. I was hooked from the beginning and enjoyed it all the way through. It is the much-longer-than-250-word college essay of a boy named Harry, who in his own words is "ugly and shy and my face, head, and neck are covered with hideous scars." Harry's disfigurement (due to a childhood lightning strike) causes him a lot of social difficulties, but once he starts high school he makes a friend and they start a band. This is the story of the Scar Boys and how they navigate the difficult journey toward adulthood. It's also the story of how four teenagers try to stay friends even as they start to go separate ways. The unequal nature of Harry and John's friendship was the part that really seemed real to me and made this rise above the level of a book about guys in a band. I loved the writing and the characters and even the descriptions of a band on a road trip. Recommended for high school readers (lots of "adult" language).

Phoenix Island by John Dixon

When a high school boy tells me he read a great book, I always want to read it for myself. The kid who told me about this one has never steered me wrong, so I grabbed it right away. He was right. This book was violent and horrifying and perfect for readers who like action and adventure, with a touch of science fiction thrown in. It's about a Carl Freeman, a 16-year-old who is sentenced to a military-style boot camp for teenagers who have broken the law. Carl's problem is his temper. When he sees a bully in action he fights back, and even though he is usually protecting someone helpless, he causes a lot of damage. Carl is also an orphan, so when he is sent to Phoenix Island, he has no family to wonder where he went. What he finds on Phoenix Island is a cruel, physically violent book camp where kids are bullied, tortured, and maybe even killed. Carl, a champion boxer, eventually fights back but he is up against a powerful system that goes far beyond Phoenix Island. Be warned—this book has numerous graphically violent fight scenes so it's recommended for 9th grade-up.

Skink No Surrender by Carl Hiaasen

Malley is a teenage girl who is headed to boarding school because of her wild ways. In typical fashion, she avoids boarding school by running off with a guy she meets on the Internet. Her cousin Richard, also her best friend, is getting phone calls from her and he knows she is in trouble. The problem is, he has no idea how to find her. Fortunately, Richard meets Skink, a quirky old man who used to be the governor of Florida but now is burying himself in turtle nesting grounds and surprising would-be egg thieves. One-eyed Skink decides that he can find Malley, and he brings Richard along for the ride. Of course, since it's Carl Hiaasen and it's set in Florida, there are alligators involved. This book is being billed as Hiaasen's first book for young adults. I would say it's a great read for 7th grade on up. There is a lot of humor and action, and the readers who grew up on Hiassen's books for younger readers (Flush, Hoot, Scat and Chomp) will love Skink No Surrender.

Ship Out of Luck by Neal Shusterman

I am a huge Neal Shusterman fan and I especially love his books about Antsy Bonano (The Schwa Was Here and Antsy Does Time). So of course I read this the minute I saw it at The Little Shop of Stories. It did not disappoint. Antsy Bonano is a teenage boy with a fantastic first-person voice. He's awkward, hilarious, and usually good-hearted. He always manages to turn believably introspective (without being preachy), which makes his stories more substantive than they appear at first glance. This time Mr. Crawley takes Antsy's family on a luxury cruise and Antsy meets up with a cute stowaway who involves him in a majorly illegal scheme to help some people in need. Antsy doesn't intend to become an international criminal and YouTube sensation, but it happens. His friends Lexie and Howie are also there, and having some life-changing experiences of their own that all come together in the end. It's not necessary to read the other Antsy books (but I highly highly recommend reading Antsy Does Time because it is such a fantastic read). Ship Out of Luck is a thoroughly enjoyable and recommended to 7th-10th graders.

The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda

Gene has learned how to survive in a hostile world. He never lets anyone see him sweat. He makes no facial expressions. He scratches his wrists when something is funny. He never eats fruits or vegetables or drinks water in public. If the people around him discover that he is a "heper" (their word for human) they will devour him instantly in a frenzy of blood and gore. Gene goes to high school and tries to avoid notice. But when he wins a lottery and is chosen for the heper hunt, he can't hide any more. He will be expected to hunt and kill the last known hepers in the world. This is the story of Gene's training and the eventual heper hunt. It's full of suspense and action, and is already very popular, especially among guys at my school. The word vampire is never used, but the bloodthirsty people who control Gene's world clearly bear a lot of similarities to vampires. At first glance this didn't sound like it would be my kind of story, but the author really drew me in and made me care about Gene and the other hepers. Fans of dystopian fiction will enjoy this even though it's in a slightly different genre. Recommended for 7th-12th graders.

The Edumacation of Jay Baker by Jay Clark

Jay Baker, the freshman narrator of this book, is so full of jokes and pop culture references that sometimes I could hardly keep up with him. He's secretly in love with his cheerleader best friend, dealing with his parents' separation, and fighting off a bullying homophobic former friend who constantly torments him at school. Although Jay Baker would have you believe he's kind of a wimp, he seems to have no problems with girls falling for him—in fact, he starts up a relationship with tennis-playing Caroline who can match him joke for joke, and then finds he has two girls vying for his attention. It's a very enjoyable, funny book about the trials and tribulations of an unusually smart, funny guy with a lot going on in his life. His interactions with his mom, dad, sister, and history teacher all seemed very true to life—and I appreciated that the adults were meaningful characters in the book. I read through this quickly and liked it a lot—it's Jay Clark's first book and I'm sure he will be a talent to watch. Recommended for high school guys and girls.

Chomp by Carl Hiaasen

Wahoo Cray is missing a thumb. An alligator bit it off in the wildlife sanctuary that is his back yard. And his dad is recovering from a concussion caused by a dead iguana falling on his head. And a reality TV show has asked Wahoo's dad to be the animal wrangler for an episode being filmed in the Florida Everglades. Yes, it's another Carl Hiaasen book that's just perfect for middle schools kids who like adventure and humor. Derek Badger, the totally fake "action hero" from Expedition Survival! wants to wrestle alligators and eat live bats and it's up to Wahoo and his dad to keep disaster from happening as they film the show. But the real danger comes when Wahoo's friend's abusive father shows up in the Everglades with a gun. This will obviously appeal to the same kids who love Hoot, Flush and Scat—which is a good thing. Recommended especially for middle school boys.

The Abduction by John Grisham

This is John Grisham's second book about Theodore Boone, a 13-year-old lawyer wannabe who gets involved in solving crimes in his hometown. In this story one of Theo's best friends, an 8th grader named April, disappears in the night from her home. It is assumed that she has been kidnapped—possibly by a distant relative who recently escaped from prison. The police don't want Theo's help with the case, but Theo can't resist getting involved. While the police track down the escaped criminal and look for bodies in the river, Theo follows another lead and finds April himself. I think some kids might like this book but it lacks the complexity and intelligence of many kids' spy books. It rambles on at times (what was up with the animal court story?) and in the end the plot is pretty simple. I don't believe that the police wouldn't have tried to track down April's father in another state. If they had the crime would have been solved very quickly. I get the feeling that John Grisham is churning these books out without giving them the attention he gives to his adult books. This is a shame, because middle school kids are smart and they can handle action, suspense, and complexity. Grisham also throws in references to booze and gambling and fraternity houses that were jarring to me. I recommend this book to younger middle school readers who want a mystery that won't require too much thinking.

I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President by Josh Lieb

I'm not sure what to say about this book. From the cover, I was expecting something appropriate for younger kids—maybe 4th and 5th grade boys. But when I started reading and heard the funny but trash-mouthed narrator I was a little taken aback. Oliver Watson is a 12-year-old kid who secretly is the third-richest person in the world. He's overweight and underdeveloped and puts on a dumb act at school and at home while he secretly overthrows dictators and blackmails presidents in his underground lair. He rigs his middle school drinking fountains with root beer and chocolate milk and has a transmitter in his jaw that can call for a squadron of jets to bomb the school at a moments notice. But it turns out that what he really wants is some approval from his father, which he thinks he can gain if he can be elected class president of the 8th grade. Of course, getting kids to vote for him is a lot harder than making billions of dollars. The author is a producer of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and it is truly a funny book, just be warned that this wise-cracking evil genius can be pretty crude—so give it to 7th and 8th grade boys who will appreciate it.

Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford

This is the story of a high school freshman with ADHD who badly wants a girlfriend and to be a popular guy at his school. Carter is not a total loser—he has plenty of things going for him, including having some good friends, athletic talent, and a big sister to guide him through social situations. The problem with Carter is that he is obsessed with girls and has no idea how to treat them. When newly-hot drill team member Abby wants to go out with him, he blows it by bragging about his exploits in the locker room. It is frequently hilarious (in a crude high school boy kind of way) and definitely inappropriate for a younger audience. As an adult female I did not like the way Carter treats and talks about girls, but I don't doubt that he has an authentic voice and that guys especially will find him very funny. I did love the ending when Carter gets the role of a lifetime in Guys and Dolls. Recommended for high school guys looking for something funny.

The Loser List by H.N. Kowitt

Doug Shine is a middle school geek who loves comics and drawing. When his name shows up on the "loser list" in the girls' bathroom his effort to erase it get him after school detention. There he has a run in with the toughest bullies in school who take him in and make him inadvertently part of a crime. Doug only wants to do what's right but can he win back his best friend and get the stolen goods back to their owner without getting beat up by "The Skulls"? This book is very much like the Wimpy Kids and Big Nate books. It has lots of drawings and an underdog for a hero. It didn't stand out to me as better than those books but it is entertaining if you're looking for something fun and easy to read.

Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz

I love that Anthony Horowitz can take Alex Rider and put him in situation after situation in which he must save the world and eight times I have come back to read the next story. He keeps coming up with new villains and new plots that only our favorite teenage spy can overcome. This time Alex finds out that a wealthy philanthropist is using genetically modified wheat to release a poison that will kill thousands, maybe millions of people in Kenya. His motive is to collect millions of dollars in donations then disappear with the money. Alex survives near-death disasters at least four times in the course of this book while MI6 and other authorities bumble around and his guardian anxiously awaits his return. Crocodile Tears doesn't break any new ground but it is every bit as fun as the other Alex Rider books. And now there is just one more book to go in this series guaranteed to captivate middle school boys.

Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham

This is the first children's book written by a hugely popular author of legal thrillers for adults. Theodore Boone is not your typical 8th grader—he's the son of two lawyers and he has his own "law office" and he knows every judge and bailiff in town. He's fascinated by the murder trial that is going on in his small town. A guilty man is about to be set free when Theo finds out about a witness to the crime that could change everything. But the witness is afraid to come forward and Theo must decide what to do. I liked all the courtroom drama but there weren't enough twists and turns to keep the plot moving forward and there was no surprise ending, either. It was an enjoyable read and I think some kids will like it but I think it could have been better, especially coming from a great writer like John Grisham.

Big Nate in a Class by Himself by Lincoln Peirce

You can't help but compare this book to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. It's a heavily-illustrated cartoonish story of an middle schooler for whom nothing is going right. Big Nate, who is a 6th grader, receives a fortune in a fortune cookie that says "You will surpass all others." As his day goes on and he gets in trouble in every class in school he wonders how in the world he is going to surpass anyone. Although it wasn't all that memorable for me as an adult reader, it was quick and fun and probably best for kids 6th grade and younger.

Football Genius by Tim Green

Troy White is a football genius. He can watch a football game and predict what the next offensive move will be. It's not ESP or cheating of some kind, his mind just analyzes things and figures out what the opposing team is going to do next. When his mom gets a job with the Atlanta Falcons and Troy gets down on the sidelines he can't resist trying to tell the players and coaches his predictions. Of course, no one believes a kid so he is hauled off the field and banned from football games. This is the story of how he manages to connect with Seth Holloway, a Falcons player, and convince him of his talent. At first I was not a big fan of Troy—he steals a football, sneaks into games, and doesn't go about things in the right way. But somewhere along the way I got into this story and enjoyed rooting for Troy to come out on top (and for Seth and Troy's mom to get together). It was a fun read that I would recommend to 6th or 7th grade football fans.

Swindle by Gordon Korman

Have you ever seen a heist movie where criminals pull off a brilliant robbery? Swindle is the first real heist book for kids that I can remember reading. The kids in this book, with the leadership of sixth-grader Griffin Bing, plan and pull off a very elaborate theft of a baseball card worth one million dollars. The card is in the hands of a shop owner who lied to Griffin about the card's value. Griffin and his best friend Ben just want back what they think is rightfully theirs. However, they have to get past a vicious guard dog, a high tech security system, a strong safe, and a nosy next door neighbor. The cover of the book makes you think it's a dog book or a baseball book, but it's neither of those. It's really the story of a group of kids getting back at an unscrupulous adult who underestimates their intelligence. This will appeal to readers who like action and crime and kids who come out on top. (And don't worry, adults, the kids do realize in the end that they did something seriously illegal)

The Juvie Three by Gordon Korman

Although it has some humor in it, this isn't the usual funny Gordon Korman book. It's the story of three juvenile criminals, all imprisoned for different reasons, who are brought together to a halfway house by a well-meaning guy named Douglas Healy. They must behave perfectly or they will be sent back to prison. Of course, they don't all behave perfectly and when Healy takes a sort-of accidental fall the boys have a choice to make—own up to their part in the accident and get sent back to prison or cover up the accident and try to pretend that everything is normal. Healy goes to the hospital and wakes up with amnesia. Gecko, one of the boys, volunteers in the hospital to keep track of Healy's condition. There he meets a nice girl and they start a relationship. However, she doesn't know Gecko's true story. The ways that the boys cover up their secrets aren't always realistic, and the ending is definitely happier than real-life, but it's an engaging story with interesting characters who have complex motivations. This should appeal to kids who like to read about crime and gangs, as well as kids who like a good story with lots of action.

Chess Rumble by G. Neri

Marcus is a middle school kid with big problems in his life. His dad is gone, his sister died, and he's one fight shy of getting kicked out of school. His first reaction to any bad situation is to come out fighting—he even raises his fist to his own mother. Fortunately for Marcus he meets a chess master who teaches him how to win at chess by always thinking three moves ahead. Marcus uses this idea in his life and finds ways to make better decisions when dealing with bullies, his brothers, his principal, and his parents. The characters in this book talk like real kids on the streets and it's full of illustrations, so it's an easy book to read quickly. Although I thought Marcus's problems were resolved too easily, it's a book that will appeal to kids who might not normally enjoy reading. There's also a lot to talk about here for a book discussion.