Tag: thriller

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Teen, Uncategorized, Young Adult/New Adult

Blog Tour: Poet Anderson … Of Nightmares – and a Giveaway!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Poet-Anderson-Blog-Tour-Banner_not-cbb

Jonas Anderson is a teenager who’s had a recent run of hard luck. His parents are dead, recently killed in a plane crash, and his older brother, Alan, is in a coma after a car crash. Jonas is no ordinary teen, though – he’s also Poet Anderson, a Lucid Dreamer – someone who can walk around in dreams and interact with other dreamers – who’s on the run from REM, an evil being who lives in the Dreamscape. Poets like Jonas are special dreamers; they can guide lost dreamers who accidentally find themselves in the Dreamscape. And REM wants to use Jonas to gain entry into the Waking World, where he can spread his terror net even wider, controlling everyone’s dreams and trapping them in a world of nightmares.

PAON-cover-640

Poet Anderson …Of Nightmares is the first book in a new YA/New Adult series by musician Tom DeLonge, who you may remember from Blink 182, and New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Young. Conceived of by DeLonge as a multimedia experience, there’s also a soundtrack, a comic book series, and an prequel animated film, Poet Anderson: The Dream Walker, which won Best Animation at the Toronto International Short Film Festival last year. And the animation is truly gorgeous, just take a look:

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Poet Anderson …Of Nightmares is kind of like The Matrix, but with dreams. We live in two separate realms, but a handful of people can move between the Dreamscape and the Waking World, fighting evil and protecting the rest of us regular dreamers here in the Waking World. Jonas, despite having a brutal run of it recently, deals with his grief, knuckles down to stay in school and hold down a job while learning more about his talents. Jarabec, a Dream Walker who becomes Jonas’ mentor in the Dreamscape, helps keep him safe while educating him and training him for battles to come. Jonas is a likable character who you want to root for; you want this poor kid to catch a break for once.

The characters surrounding Jonas are also vivid, coming off the page and taking up space in your imagination. Jarabec is a gritty, curmudgeonly mentor that you respect and ultimately love. The Dream Walkers – the foot soldiers in this battle – will both irritate and impress, like the antiheroes they kind of are. Night Terrors will make you think about all the crazy times you thought of the monsters in your closet or under your bed and wonder whether you were maybe just a little right after all.

I thoroughly enjoyed this first book, and was very happy with the way DeLonge and Young left a thread for the next book hanging there, dangling, waiting for readers to take the bait.

The first book is available right now, and for more information about the graphic novels, music, and full animated video, check out Tom DeLonge’s website, To the Stars Media. To join the book club community, find out about the director’s cut of the book with rich media content, visit the Eden Hotel Book Club.

Want your own copy of Poet Anderson? There’s a giveaway! Good luck!

giveaway2

Just click here to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway!

Poet Anderson …Of Nightmares, by Tom DeLonge and Suzanne Young
Hardcover, 368 pages, $17.99
ISBN: 978-1-943272-00-06
Publication Date: November 1, 2015
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

Posted in Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Uncategorized, Young Adult/New Adult

What do you NEED and what are you willing to do to have it?

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

needNeed, by Joelle Charbonneau (Nov. 2015, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s), $17.99, ISBN: 9780544416697

Recommended for ages 13+

A social network promises you whatever you need – but nothing comes for free, and the teens at Wisconsin’s Nottawa High School discover just how far they are willing to go for concert tickets, gym equipment, or just the thrill of a mission. Kaylee Dunham, social outcast at Nottawa, needs a kidney for her sick brother, but she discovers pretty quickly that the site is causing havoc around her. When things turn deadly, Kaylee starts digging to find out who’s behind NEED, but what happens when you’re up against a social network that can send someone to kill you in exchange for someone’s greatest wish?

NEED is a fast-paced thriller that teens – boys and girls – will enjoy. Everyone’s life seems to revolve around a multitude of social networks, so joining one more – that promises to give you free stuff for just one little task – will click. The tasks start off almost innocuously – more like pranks, really – but as the situations escalate and everything starts falling into place, the book becomes tense and unputdownable. The pervasiveness of social media and a seemingly invisible antagonist who can contact you anywhere, anytime – and can assemble your own classmates against you – is truly unsettling.

NEED is a good addition to collections for fans of tech fiction and a good thriller. It also lends itself to a good discussion on wants versus needs.

Joelle Charbonneau is a New York Times bestselling author of the Testing trilogy. Her author website offers links to social media, information about her books and appearances, and a section dedicated to authors united in support of Ferguson, Missouri’s youth by supporting their library, which stayed open and provided a safe space for the community during the riots. NEED will be available in November 2015, but you can pre-order a signed copy from Ms. Charbonneau’s site.

Possible booktalk: Kaylee signs up for NEED because she wants a kidney for her sick brother. Other classmates sign up for NEED because they want material possessions like concert tickets and gym equipment. What is a want versus a need? If someone offered you the chance to have something you really wanted, but you had to complete an anonymous task, would you blindly do it? Would you question it at all? Is there always a price to pay for something that appears to be free?

Posted in Fiction, Teen, Tween Reads, Uncategorized

The Dogs is a gripping YA thriller with a touch of the paranormal!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

thedogsThe Dogs, by Allan Stratton (Sept. 2015, SourcebooksFire), $16.99, ISBN: 9781492609384

Recommended for ages 12+

“Mom and I have been on the run for years.  Every time he catches up with us, we move to a new place and start over. But this place is different.  This place is full of secrets. And they won’t leave me alone.”

Cameron and his mother are on the run from his abusive father. They make their way to their latest home, a broken-down farm with a history that no one wants to talk about. Their next door neighbor/landlord has secrets of his own, and he’s bullied by the kids at school who taunt him about the dogs they say haunt the farm. Tired of pulling up stakes at a moment’s notice and living an invisible life, Cameron is drawn to Jacky, a young boy he sees on his property. The thing is, Jacky isn’t there – or is he? Is Cameron imagining things, or is he talking to a ghost? What are the mysteries surrounding the house and the dogs, and are Cameron’s memories about his own past able to be trusted?

I love a good thriller, and The Dogs is one of the best ones I’ve read this year. Cameron, as an unreliable narrator, keeps the readers on their toes as he shifts between memory, imagination, and reality. The plot and subplots are woven together beautifully to give readers a creepy, often chilling, adventure that left me with a clenched jaw and the cold sweats. Stratton takes the mental and emotional toll that domestic violence takes on a family; the constant fear that a mother on the run deals with, and weaves them into a murder mystery, adding a dash of ghost story to the mix. There’s something for everyone here, and I can’t wait to get this book into my teen patrons’ hands. There are so many great topics for discussion here; I’m thinking of featuring this as a kickoff selection to a Teen Reads book club I want to begin this Fall.

Posted in Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Book Blitz: They Call Me Alexandra Gastone, by T.A. MacLagan

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis
 Books can show us visions. Have you ever found your mind beginning to imagine the characters you meet within the pages? Have you experienced a film projector of scenes in your
head as you read about the girl who travels to the fifth dimension, or the boy who’s trying to graduate from being a wallflower? When you read, your mind naturally creates images, almost like watching a movie.  Why not turn those images into a reality by making a movie poster?
Full Fathom Five and T.A. Maclagan are hosting a movie poster design contest to celebrate the
release of T.A.’s debut, They Call Me Alexandra Gastone, a novel heralded by Booklist as “An intricate, debut spy thriller…” The contest will run from July 7th to August 15th.
One winner will receive a $100 gift card to the retailer of their choice, a book from FFF’s
list of authors, and Alexandra Gastone swag! All participants will be featured on T.A. Maclagan’s blog and Tumblr, and the winner will be featured on the Full Fathom Five website! Artists may use any medium from crayon to Photoshop.
They Call Me Alexandra Gastone
by T.A. Maclagan 
Release Date: 05/20/15
Full Fathom Five Digital
226 pages
Summary from Goodreads:
When your life is a lie, how do you know what’s real?Alexandra Gastone has a simple plan: graduate high school, get into Princeton, work for the CIA, and serve her great nation.

She was told the plan back when her name was Milena Rokva, back before the real Alexandra and her family were killed in a car crash.

Milena was trained to be a sleeper agent by Perun, a clandestine organization from her true homeland of Olissa. There, Milena learned everything she needed to infiltrate the life of CIA analyst Albert Gastone, Alexandra’s grandfather, and the ranks of America’s top intelligence agency.

For seven years, “Alexandra” has been on standby and life’s been good. Grandpa
Albert loves her, and her strategically chosen boyfriend, Grant, is amazing.

But things are about to change. Perun no longer needs her at the CIA in five
years’ time. They need her active now.

Between her cover as a high school girl—juggling a homecoming dance, history
reports, and an increasingly suspicious boyfriend—and her mission in this
high-stakes spy game, the boundaries of her two lives are beginning to blur.

Will she stay true to the country she barely remembers, or has her loyalty shattered along with her identity?

Buy Links:

Amazon|
Barnes
& Nobles| iTunes|
Kobo| Goodreads

Praise for They Call Me Alexandra Gastone:
“An intricate, debut spy  thriller…readers will keep turning pages, and the surprise ending will have them anxiously awaiting a sequel.” —Booklist
“…the intersection of action, espionage, and drama makes for solid…entertainment: readers will gladly sit back and watch Alexandra navigate the obstacle course that comes with playing her role too well. It’s a strong debut for New Zealand author Maclagan.” —Publisher’s
Weekly

“Death-threats, global takeover, double-agents, hidden files and a blown cover—by the time you get to the shocking conclusion of this cliff-hanger, you won’t know who to trust…” —Girls’ Life

About the Author
T.A. Maclagan
is a Kansas girl by birth but now lives in the bush-clad hills of Wellington, New Zealand with her Kiwi husband, son and four pampered cats. With a bachelor’s degree in biology and a Ph.D. in anthropology, she’s studied poison dart frogs in the rainforests of Costa Rica, howler monkeys in Panama and the very exotic and always elusive American farmer. It was as she was writing her ‘just the facts’ dissertation that T.A. felt the call to pursue something more
imaginative and discovered a passion for creative writing. They Call Me Alexandra Gastone is her first novel.
You can find her online at:
Website: www.tamaclagan.com 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tamaclagan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tamaclagan
Tumblr: tamaclagan.tumblr.com/ 
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/tamaclagan/

YA Bounk Tour ButtonBook Blitz Organized by: YA Bound Book Tours

 

 

Posted in Animal Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

The Cat’s Maw gives middle graders a good, creepy story!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

catsmawThe Cat’s Maw, by Brooke Burgess (2015, CreateSpace), $10.99, ISBN: 9781500971656

Recommended for ages 10-16

Billy Brahms has luck, all right – it’s all bad. He’s an accident looking for a place to happen, and an easy target for bullies. His parents don’t know what to do with him, but they don’t seem to try too hard to connect with him, either. When he’s struck by a car and risks losing his leg, they’re all at the end of their respective ropes. One day, though, Billy wakes up to discover a cat has adopted him – he just shows up at Billy’ bedside. His mother puts up a fuss, but the neighborhood cat lady manages to talk her into letting Billy and the cat have some time together to bond, saying it will be good for poor Billy, who’s stuck in a cast all summer.

That’s when the dreams start. He’s talking to cats, he’s hearing talk of Watchers, Shadows, and the Enemy that Awakens. He’s been given a mission, a mission that will remove the curse he seems to have hanging over him – will he finally be able to be a “normal” kid? Billy knows his parents will never believe him if he tells them that he’s communicating with his cat, and they’ll never let him go anywhere by himself, especially with that cast on his leg. He’s got to figure out how to break this curse, and he turns to the local veterinarian’s daughter for help.

The Cat’s Maw is one of those books that’s better read when you can talk about it with other readers. There’s a lot going on, and you need time to sit, read, and work things out to really appreciate the book. It’s a narrative that builds, never really giving anything away – rather, it gives you little peeks here and there, little glimpses, building toa tense finale that leaves you waiting for the next book. And there will be one; this is the first in the Shadowland Saga by Burgess.

Billy is a sympathetic kid. His parents are fairly awful, even though you get the feeling that they don’t want to be. He’s a bully magnet. Even his friend, the vet’s daughter, is happiest when she’s bossing him around. You want to see things work for Billy, and if a link to a cat is the key to this, let’s go there.

The ending left me with more questions than answers, which means that I need to read it one more time, and that I need the second book in the series to come out soon.

The Cat’s Maw is available in eBook, audiobook, or paperback.  Check out the author’s website or information about his other books, and more information about The Cat’s Maw.

 

Posted in Espionage, Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Tabula Rasa – can you ever truly wipe the slate?

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

tabula rasaTabula Rasa, by Kristen Lippert-Martin (Sept. 2014, Egmont USA), $16.99, ISBN: 9781606845189

Recommended for ages 14+

A teenage girl undergoes a procedure in a hospital. She doesn’t know who she is, has no memories, doesn’t even know what she looks like, but she’s pretty sure the soldiers who just attacked the hospital are after her. Someone has slipped her three pills and instructions, and she’s pretty sure she’s recovering her memories – is she a murderer? A vigilante?

Sarah – she knows that’s her name – was part of a Tabula Rasa (Latin for “blank slate”) program that medically and surgically wiped the memories from teenage delinquents considered beyond help, but as Sarah’s memories return, the story goes far deeper than that. There’s someone in the hospital who knows Sarah’s real story, and wants her dead. With the help of a computer hacker and a group of soldiers – themselves, a botched test group – she may be able to put together the pieces of the puzzle before her time runs out.

Tabula Rasa is a tense, fast-paced story that teens will like. There’s a touch of Bourne Identity here, and a mystery buried under layers of narrative, slowly peeled away until the truth is revealed. While the “big bad” in this is a bit of an over-the-top villain, it was a book that kept me committed. The idea of a society rehabbing anyone, let alone teens, by wiping them clean, is downright horrifying and can be fodder for a great book group talk. Dystopian fans, espionage/thriller readers, and Divergent fans will enjoy this one.

Kristen Lippert-Martin’s author page links to her social media, and blog, provides information about Tabula Rasa, and promises some extras in the near future.

 

Posted in Science Fiction, Teen, Uncategorized, Young Adult/New Adult

Caragh M. O’Brien’s The Vault of Dreamers is an unsettling YA thriller

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

cover46937-mediumThe Vault of Dreamers, by Caragh M. O’Brien, (Roaring Brook Press, Sept. 2014). $17.99, ISBN: 9781596439382

Recommended for ages 14+

In a not-too distant future, environmental upheaval and economic collapse have left many Americans in poverty. For creative teens who want a way out, the Forge School is the answer. A school for the most creative minds, and a reality show all at once, The Forge School/The Forge Show accepts students and keeps 50 out of 100 based on their “blip rate” – how many viewers watch their feed. After making it past the first cut, students’ popularity allows them banner ad income that they can receive, upon graduation, along with opportunities for success. Rosie Sinclair, aspiring filmmaker, is a student at the Forge School, and has discovered that the school has some big secrets. What is going on while the students sleep?

Vault of Dreamers is one of those books that takes a few chapters to build as O’Brien builds a solid story. We learn about Rosie’s background and the backgrounds of other students; we see family dynamics come into play, and we understand the motivation for many of these students to take part in a reality show that not only films you everywhere but the bathroom and shower, but a school that distributes sleeping pills to the student body on a nightly basis to assure that they will have a full 12 hours of sleep for maximum creativity. By the time the story kicks into high gear, we see what Rosie risks in order to learn Forge’s secrets: she’s putting her future and the future of her family on the line.

By the time we understand all of this, the story goes white-knuckle, non-stop. Is Rosie an unreliable narrator? Who can we trust? The reader is just as thrown off as Rosie is, and the need to know what was going on consumed me. The reality show setting will click with teens who have grown up with reality TV and popularity based on “likes” and approval ratings.

The ending nicely sets up a sequel, and even as a standalone work, offers a conclusion that will fuel some great discussions. You may howl in frustration, but you’ll be waiting for the next installment of this series.

The Vault of Dreamers will be published on September 16, but you can pre-order it from Amazon now.

Posted in Fiction

Eerie Elementary: The School is Alive, and the Hall Monitor is Your Only Hope!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

eerie elementaryEerie Elementary #1: The School is Alive! (A Branch Book), by Jack Chabert (Scholastic, June 2014). $4.99, ISBN: 9780545623926

Recommended for ages 7-10

Scholastic is great for putting out affordable series that keep kids reading, and Eerie Elementary is firmly in that camp. The first book in their new Eerie Elementary series, The School is Alive! introduces us to elementary school student, Sam Graves, and his friends, Antonio and Lucy. The school year is starting, and Sam is bemoaning the fact that he’s been named a Hall Monitor. On his first day of duty, he almost sinks into quicksand on school property and hears strange noises coming from the school itself. He finds out pretty quickly that the school is alive, and it’s evil – and that the Hall Monitor is the last line of defense in keeping the students safe. Naturally, his friends think he’s crazy, but he’s determined to see his job through and keep his friends and fellow students out of the clutches of the evil school building.

The series is part of Scholastic’s new Branches line of books – chapter books aimed at newly independent readers. The books feature illustrations on every page, easy-to-read text, and fast-paced stories. I liked seeing main characters of elementary school age; many characters in series books are in middle school or older, relegating elementary school characters often to the role of annoying younger sibling. Establishing these characters early on will connect with readers new to chapter books and give them some exciting reading. I can’t wait to get these on my shelves for my younger patrons who are ready for a thriller, but have a hard time finding them at their reading level.

Posted in Fiction, Tween Reads

The Haunted Museum – a new series for fans who like scary history!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

haunted locketThe Haunted Museum #1: The Titanic Locket, by Suzanne Weyn (Scholastic, 2014). $6.99, ISBN: 9780545588423

Recommended for ages 8-12

Samantha and Jessica’s parents take them on a cruise on the Titanic 2, which will take the same route that the fated Titanic took in 1912. Right before they board, the visit the Haunted Museum, where they both touch a locket – despite reading the “DO NOT TOUCH” signs. Once they get on board, things get weird – their room number keeps changing, they hear a scratching and a crying at their door, and there seems to be a ghostly maid who has it in for Samantha? And how did the locket from the museum show up in Jessica’s bag?

I have to be honest, I was expecting a perfectly cute little middle-grade mystery when I picked up Haunted Museum #1, but got so much more. This book has some bite! There is some great historical background on Titanic in here (to satisfy any Common Core issues), including bits about the time period – clothes, people who sailed on the ship, and descriptions of the ship itself – especially that gorgeous  Grand Staircase – really give the book life. I loved that the sisters actually got along, rather than falling back on the old love/hate sibling rivalry formula. There is a good mystery wrapped within a mystery here, too – it’s an all-around great read.

Kids in my library love mysteries and scary books, but they’ve gone through all the ABC Mysteries, Capital Mysteries, and Goosebumps books I’ve got. This will be a great new mystery to put on my shelf and get the kids enjoying for summer reading.

 

Posted in Historical Fiction, Horror, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Of Monsters and Madness – Alternate Historical Fiction, starring Edgar Allan Poe

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

monsters and madnessOf Monsters and Madness, by Jessica Verday, (Egmont USA) 2014. $17.99, ISBN: 9781606844632

Recommended for ages 14+

Horror and gothic fans will love this book! Annabel Lee – yes, for all intents and purposes of this book, this character is THE Annabel Lee of Edgar Allan Poe fame is a teenage girl, who finds herself moving from Siam to Philadelphia when her mother dies, and she must live with the father she’s never known. Unfamiliar with life and customs in the 1820s United States and confronted with a cold father who keeps her at a distance, Annabel feels left out and pines for her mother and her life in Siam. Her father, once a brilliant surgeon and scientist, now spends most of his time in his laboratory, assisted by Edgar, who unnerves Annabel – yet bears an uncanny resemblance to his cousin, Allan, who Annabel finds herself falling for. Annabel is living in a house full of secrets; when a rash of murders breaks out in Philadelphia, and her father’s strange behavior becomes more erratic, Annabel is determined to unravel the mysteries that consume her life. But finding out answers could put her life in danger.

I loved this book. The idea of making Edgar Allan Poe a character in a gothic mystery, taking place in the United States, is such a great idea – how did no one think of this sooner? We get glimpses of Poe’s writing – he tortures himself over writing The Raven, and bits of The Tell-Tale Heart make an appearance – and the toll that such dark ideas takes on the man. There are some key plot twists that will leave readers staying up all night to finish the book, and then – like me – demand a sequel. Ms. Verday is a New York Times bestselling author, and she knows how to construct a well-paced thriller with smart characters. I’m looking forward to this book hitting shelves in September, and I would recommend it for adults as well as teens.