Half-Minute Horrors

This is a fantastic little collection of horror stories by lots of big name authors! There are over 70 clever and sometimes gruesome, but always smile-inducing, vignettes of horror. Most are the usual one or two page stories, but others are poems, comics, or just a picture. This is a great, quick read. And with so many stories, it's worth re-reading over and over. Creepy and fun!

The Maze Runner - by James Dashner

If you liked "The Hunger Games," you'll like this book, as well. It has that same sort of post-apocalyptic feel to it. It's a world created by adults to manipulate the kids into doing what they want. The world itself and the motivations behind it are, of course, different here in "The Maze Runner." But that is a mystery until the end.

The book starts out with Thomas coming up into the Glade through the Box, and he can't remember anything other than his name. A group of boys gruffly welcome him to this strange, terrifying world. Outside of the Glade is a maze that after two years hasn't been solved yet, as it changes every day. And wandering through that maze, especially at night before the gates of the Glade close, are Grievers, mechanical, deathly slugs.

Then, a day after Thomas arrives in the Glade, a girl is sent up through the Box bringing the message that everything is going to change. And everything does. Her arrival sets off a chain of events signaling the end of life in the Glade as everyone knew it. Will Thomas be able to figure out why he and the girl seem so important? And will the Gladers be able to figure out the Maze before starvation and the Grievers take them all?

With gruff but likable characters, "The Maze Runner" is intriguing and full of action, all the way through to the shocking ending. A great read that you won't be able to put down. I can't wait for the sequel! "The Scorch Trials" reportedly comes out in October 2010.

Xombie Reanimated - by James Farr

Xombie Reanimated is about a colony of people who are surviving amongst a world of zombies. They are in trouble, as their machine that covers up the living scent and protects them is about to run out of power. So the leaders call on a young girl who, when she was little, told a story of a zombie who rescued her and brought her home. He was also a talker. And zombies don't talk.

So they take Zoe out into the world to find this hybrid zombie, and find him they do. So Zoe and the hybrid Dirge set out to rescue the interrupted return of a power source to the colony to prevent all of zombiedom from descending on the colony and ending what's left of civilization. And so the troubles begin.

This was a fun read. After reading a couple of other zombie novels, I'm starting to get into this genre. It's full of post-apocalyptic goodness. This one has the cool twist of a hybrid zombie that can think and talk. It also brings up the philosophical idea of good and evil, and past and present. It was also just full of action and zombies!

Geek Charming - by Robin Palmer

This was a fun take on the Frog Prince fairy tale. Dylan is a princess. She's a self-centered popular person who passes judgment on the whole student class at Castle Heights High. She has a popular jock boyfriend and a little entourage who seem to bend to her selfish whims, including trying to fish out her expensive, stylish purse that she drops into the fountain at the mall. Insert Josh, who is a film geek with asthma, who makes a deal with Dylan. He will get her purse out of the fountain if she agrees to being the subject of a documentary on popular people that he will use for his entrance project for Film School.

Dylan agrees, but shortly after, reneges on the deal, until Josh speaks to her father. What follows is Josh and his friends filming Dylan and her friends a couple of times a week. At first they just capture how horrible popular people can be, especially Dylan, but Josh quickly starts to see the insecurities and worries she has, just like everyday people, and that they are not so bad, after all. Dylan and friends also begin to realize that geeks aren't all that bad, either.

Dylan eventually gives Josh a makeover that raises his status at school, even while staying true to himself. Dylan loses her boyfriend and popular friends, and things blow up when Dylan sees the wrong version of the documentary. Everything works out in the end with a realistic and feel good ending.

I didn't actually like either Dylan or Josh at the beginning, and wasn't sure if I'd like the book. But it quickly won me over with the character development and fun plot. I was rooting for both characters by mid-book, and was very satisfied in the end.

Fun chic-lit!

Jolted: Newton Starker's Rules for Survival - by Arthur Slade

Stories about people being plagued with lightning fascinate me. This was a fun story about a kid named Newton Starker whose family seems to be cursed with lightning. On Newton's mother's side of the family, everyone except his mean grandmother has been killed by lightning. This means Newton is always taking precautions by staying indoors and checking the weather, and checking the weather again.

One a particularly unpleasant trip to visit his grandmother once, Newton's family discovers Jerry Potts Academy for Survival, a boarding school whose entire campus is made of safe, sturdy stone. Newton immediately this safehouse is the school he wants to attend. After his mother's passing, he begins school at this strange new place, where all the classes have an added focus on survival, in addition to the fact that they wear kilts and eat haggis.

Newton has always been homeschooled, and so is excited for the chance to learn how to survive, learn more about cooking, make some friends and shine as #1 in the class. On his first day there he does make a friend, Jacob, but also makes an enemy in Violet, who embarasses Newton by knocking off his kilt in front of everyone.

I have to admit I wasn't sure I liked Newton in the beginning, though I was intrigued by his circumstances. He has a high opinion of himself and feels destined for glory, as long as he can keep from being struck by lightning. But as the story moves on, I liked Newton more and more. He develops his friendships with Jacob and Violet, and acquires a truffle finding pig named Josephine. Through some trials in the end, Newton learns some things and comes out of it all a better person.

It was a light, quick read, and I recommend for anyone looking for a nice little jolt.

The Reformed Vampire Support Group - by Catherine Jinks

This vampire book was different than any other vampire tale I'd read before. Instead of vampires being strong, powerful and menacing, vampirism is considered an infection that makes you sickly. Too much bright light makes you bleed from the eyes, you are often nauseous and throwing up blood, etc. Instead of becoming the strong version of whatever age you are, you stay in the exact same state. So if you are a 70 year old with a hunched back and feet problems, that's how you stay. The only time you might be stronger and menacing is if you drink human blood.

But that is where the Reformed Vampire Support Group comes in. Nina is a 15 year old (30-something vampire age) who weekly attends group therapy with a bunch of other vampires. The group is led by Father Ramon, and they focus on not succumbing to the desire to drink human blood, and on trying to be normal citizens without getting noticed. Despite that they are not really a threat to anyone, society still sees them as one, which probably isn't helped by the fictional vampire hero that Nina creates for the books she writes.

As they trudge through their weekly lives, Nina gets more and more annoyed with herself and the others and the state of their lives. But then someone in their group winds up staked, and everyone is immediately frightened that they might be next. Nina, Dave, Sanford and Father Ramon set off on a series of misadventures to try and figure out who the killer might be, and to prevent him from killing again.

They come across Nefly, an inept, super geeky vampire hunter, as well as the McKinnons, who are a father and son duo who exploit werewolves in fighting rings. They end up saving Reuben, the McKinnons' prize werewolf, as they try and stop Nefly, adding the McKinnons to their list of problems. Nina and a couple of the others find some strength in themselves they didn't know they had, and after a string of exciting turns, things things work out in the end.

This was a good read. It started a little slow, but once it got going was really very interesting and fun. I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a vampire book that's a little different than all the rest.

Jump the Cracks - by Stacy DeKeyser

This was a good story. It's a quick read with a good hook, having a teenage girl become an accidental kidnapper. It brings up the serious issues of childcare and the rights and protections for children.

Victoria leaves her mother at the start of the summer and is on her way to visit her Dad in New York City. She is still bitter about her dad having missed some of her softball games, and some of her highlights during those games.

While on the train, she notices a young woman and her 2-year old boy. The mother doesn't seem to care much about her kid, and Victoria sees bruises on the boy's arms. When the train arrives, Victoria notices the woman gets off the train alone. Concerned, she searches until she finds the boy in the bathroom. By the time she calls her dad to see where he is, the train begins moving, with Victoria and the little boy still on the train.

Victoria soon learns that the mother was meeting someone dangerous, and that he has reported Victoria to the police as a kidnapper. With the more Victoria learns, and the lack of assurances from the police, Victoria keeps the little boy because she fears for him, and wants him to have a safe home where he can trust the adults in his life.

It was a good read, and it ended realistically. I wasn't sure if I liked either Victoria or the baby at first, but once the train pulls away and situation becomes much more serious, both characters become much more likable, as well as more interesting and sympathetic with the more you learn about them. The interesting question is: what would you do? Would you turn the boy in right away knowing he has a bad home life? Or would you keep him to try to hold out for better? I'm not sure what I would do...