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Period .8 refers to Mr. Lodgson's class, where honesty is the best policy and everything is confidential, where you can talk about anything or nothing, and where you can skip without getting in trouble, but nobody ever does. Period .8 is the "safe place." Mr. Logs has respect for his students, and they have respect for each other. Everybody trusts that what they see is the truth.
Everything starts to go to hell when Paulie admits to his girlfriend Hannah that he cheated on her. He loves her and wants to explain himself, that it really isn't what she thinks, but she won't give him a chance at redemption. She's pissed, and he should definitely have known better. But as the story begins to unravel, more and more questions are raised without any clear answers. There's one guy, Arnie Stack, who seems to want to reassure everyone that everything is fine, and Paulie is convinced that Arnie knows more than he's letting on. And when Arnie sets his sights on the now single Hannah, Paulie sets out to prove it.
This is a mystery of a different sort, combining the traditional with the psychological, and mixing our emotions up all along the way. There's really intrigue here, and more than anyone's fair share of danger. It seems that nobody and nothing is off limits.
Recommended to high school readers. There are lots more titles available from classic YA author Chris Crutcher.
With every read -- A Great and Terrible Beauty, Going Bovine, Beauty Queens -- I am reminded that I truly and utterly adore author Libba Bray.
And now I also truly and utterly adore Miss Evie O'Neill. Evie has a secret, and a powerful one at that. Just by holding an object that belongs to you, she can tell you what you had for breakfast that day, or she can reveal your deepest secret. She doesn't flaunt this power, but sometimes when she's had a bit to drink and is trying to liven up a party, she might sneak in a reading or two. And this is precisely what gets her kicked out of Ohio.
Fortunately for her, her parents have sent her to live with her uncle in Manhattan. Manhattan! Where the world comes alive with speakeasies, flappers, dapper men, music, drinks, and glorious madness. And what also comes along with Manhattan, apparently, is a ghostly murderer.
The Diviners begins an intricate series that involves a group of individuals who each have special powers that they do not understand, and they do not know that others like them exist. This historical, supernatural mystery is fascinating in its storytelling, unbeatable in its character development, and completely intriguing in every way. You'll be left breathless for more! Recommended for high school and older.
Reviewed by kate the librarian.
And don't miss out on some amazing sights to see: http://thedivinersseries.com
Agnes Wilkins has little interest in her upcoming debut into society. She'd rather be listening in on the secrets of the house than being measured for ribbon to adorn her fancy new dress. And she'd much rather be reading than humoring the supposedly-amusing advances of high society men.
In the middle of entertaining the interest of one very highly-regarded prospect, Agnes finds herself in the middle of a much more interesting mystery. She has found something that it seems someone is going to great -- possibly violent -- lengths to recover, and if she doesn't figure out the final pieces of the puzzle first, there might be great consequences.
This story is mixed with a great deal of mystery, romance, and history (both that of ancient Egypt and of the notorious Napoleon), not to mention thrilling adventure. Absolutely recommended to all. (Note: a few suggestive scenes might limit the novel to an older teen audience.) (And another note: The story gets off to a slow start, but it pays off to get through the first few chapters. You need the foundation in order to get wrapped up in the real meat of the novel.)
Reviewed by kate the librarian.
Amy isn't sure that she agrees with her parents' decision to be frozen for 300 years in order to board a spaceship that is venturing out to colonize a new planet. Her mom's expertise with genetic biology and Dad's military background make them "essential" to the future colony's success. Amy has been given special clearance to accompany her parents as "nonessential cargo." And though she doesn't necessarily agree with the decision, she can't imagine NOT going with her parents . . .
But 250 years later, aboard Godspeed, Amy is woken unexpectedly, prematurely, and perhaps accidentally. Now she's on a spaceship that isn't even going to land for another 50 years, and she feels completely alone. She's frustrated by the weird structure of the population aboard the ship, especially the unbalanced dictatorship of the Eldest. But little-by-little, she learns a bit about the life of those whose entire existence is breathing recycled air, never setting foot on real soil or seeing real stars. And little-by-little she is even more convinced that this life just isn't right.
Across the Universe is the first in a trilogy, completed with A Million Suns and Shades of Earth.
Reviewed by kate the librarian.
Liza has been raised as a lady, to enter into London society, to meet and marry a gentleman, and to live a life of relative comfort. When her parents die in an accident during her seventeenth year, she is left in solitude and with a large debt with which she has no means to pay.
She is lucky enough to secure a position at Kensington Palace as a maid to sixteen-year-old Princess Victoria and her Baroness, even though such a position is inappropriate for a lady. Liza doesn't much enjoy bathing in cold dank quarters with the servants or wrestling with her own dresses. But because of her education and knowledge of languages, the Baroness asks Liza to spy on the princess's mother, and as a result Liza uncovers a very deliberate plot is brewing to keep the princess from establishing her own regency when she turns of age. Having empathy for the princess, as well as knowing that her mistress might be the only one who can restore Liza's financial independence, Liza reaches out to a few key players -- a spy with knowledge of the palace, a newspaper man, and the maid whose position she replaced -- and if all goes well everyone might end up getting exactly what they deserve.
This charming story of the pre-Victorian history of the London regency has it all -- colorful characters, espionage and trickery, kidnapping and murder, true friendship, and true love. Recommended to most middle grade readers.
Reviewed by kate the librarian.
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