Library Loot (88 & 89) & review copies

Two weeks worth here as I was away last weekend. Most of these came in the first week.


Library

You Against Me by Jenny Downham

Sarah Jane Adventures: Wraith World by Cavan Scott and Mark Wright (audio book)

Witch & Wizard: The Gift by James Patterson (I didn't order this one - it was supposed to be another Sarah Jane Adventures audio book but as it's partly narrated by Elijah Wood, I thought I'd keep it for a listen!)

Review

Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting (17 March, Headline)
Violet and Jay are finally dating, but adjusting to the new relationship is not as easy as Violet anticipated. Especially when she has to split Jay's time and attention with his new best friend, Mike, and Mike's pesky younger sister - who happens to be obsessed with Jay. Meanwhile, when Violet's special abilities lead her to the body of a young boy, her tip to the police puts her on the radar of the FBI. Violet tries to fend off the FBI's questions while maintaining the semblance of a normal life, but somebody's leaving her threatening notes and an echo around Mike's house reinforces that all is not right. Violet is forced to admit that perhaps the only people who can help her figure it out are the very people she's desperate to avoid - the FBI.

Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr (3 March, HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks)
The fifth and final breathtaking instalment in the darkly seductive and best-selling WICKED LOVELY series, about the collision of mortal and faery worlds…

The Summer King is missing; the Dark Court is bleeding; and a stranger walks the streets of Huntsdale, his presence signifying the deaths of powerful fey.
Torn between his new queen and his old love, Keenan left Huntsdale to wander aimlessly but after centuries of leading his court it was not long before the reality of being Summer King became too pressing. Violence seemed more inevitable by the day and the Summer Court was not yet strong enough to face conflict, so Keenan made a dangerous deal with the water fey. It is a desperate bargain he makes to strengthen his court against the coming war. Aislinn tends the Summer Court, searching for her absent king and yearning for Seth. She knows she must be a powerful queen to hold her court together, while Bananach becomes more and more dangerous, and she is losing faeries to her. Donia longs for fiery passion even as she coolly readies the Winter Court for battle. Her court is still powerful, but she must remain focused on keeping them that way and not get distracted by Keenan when he shows up at her door again. The Dark Court is thrown into chaos when they are rocked by tragedy. And Seth, sworn brother of the Dark King and heir to the High Queen, is about to make a mistake that could cost his life.

They all know what Bananach seeks – the raven-faery is the embodiment of war and discord. She and her growing number of allies want mutiny and murder. Love, despair and betrayal ignite the Faeries Courts, and in the final conflict, some will win… and some will lose everything. The thrilling conclusion to Melissa Marr’s bestselling Wicked Lovely series will leave readers breathless.

A Small Free Kiss in the Dark by Glenda Millard (1 May, Templar)
A haunting story of war that will profoundly affect readers Young teenage boys will engage with the central character and the subject matter *Skip's an outsider. He's never fitted in. So he takes to the streets. Life there may be hard, but it's better than the one he's left behind, especially when he teams up with Billy, an old homeless man. Then come the bombs which bring little Max and Tia, the sad dancer with a tiny baby. Scavenging for food, living on love and imagination, Skip's fragile new family tries to hold out as war grips the city, but too soon tragedy strikes when Tia dies. Max, Billy, Skip and the baby move on, to an old farm where they try to find new hope.

Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien (28 April, Simon & Schuster Childrens Books)
IN THE ENCLAVE, YOUR SCARS SET YOU APART, and the newly born will change the future. In the future, in a world baked dry by the harsh sun, there are those who live inside the walled Enclave and those, like sixteen-year-old Gaia Stone, who live outside. Following in her mother's footsteps Gaia has become a midwife, delivering babies in the world outside the wall and handing a quota over to be "advanced" into the privileged society of the Enclave. Gaia has always believed this is her duty, until the night her mother and father are arrested by the very people they so loyally serve. Now Gaia is forced to question everything she has been taught, but her choice is simple: enter the world of the Enclave to rescue her parents, or die trying. A stunning adventure brought to life by a memorable heroine, this dystopian debut will have readers racing all the way to the dramatic finish.

Brother Sister by Sean Olin (4 August, Puffin)

WILL

How many times do I have to say it? Yes, I see the picture. It’s a body, obviously. It’s a dead body.

ASHELEY

You have to understand, I love my brother. I’m scared of him too, but . . . regardless of what he has or hasn’t done, I feel for him, you know.

WILL

I don’t care what happens to me, really, I don’t. But Asheley . . . she had nothing to do with any of this.

ASHELEY

It’s not like it sounds. He had a good heart. He trusted me. And I always did the best I could to help him.

WILL

It’s not her fault. None of it. Okay then. The guy in the photo. I killed him . . . but I had to. I had no choice. Why? That’s complicated. That’ll take a while.

Divergent by Veronica Roth (28 April, HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks)
One choice can transform you. Pass initiation. Do not fail…
Thrilling urban dystopian fiction debut from exciting young author.

In sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior’s world, society is divided into five factions – Abnegation (the selfless), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent) – each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue, in the attempt to form a “perfect society.” At the age of sixteen, teens must choose the faction to which they will devote their lives.
On her Choosing Day, Beatrice renames herself Tris, rejects her family’s group, and chooses another faction. After surviving a brutal initiation, Tris finds romance with a super-hot boy, but also discovers unrest and growing conflict in their seemingly “perfect society.” To survive and save those they love, they must use their strengths to uncover the truths about their identities, their families, and the order of their society itself.

Virals by Kathy Reichs (12 May, Arrow (Young))
Tory Brennan is as fascinated by bones and dead bodies as her famous aunt, acclaimed forensic anthropologist, Tempe Brennan. However living on a secluded island off Charleston in South Carolina there is not much opportunity to put her knowledge to the test. Until she and her group of technophile friends stumble across a shallow grave containing the remains of a girl who has been missing for over thirty years.

With the cold-case murder suddenly hot, Tory realises that they are involved in something fatally dangerous. And when they rescue a sick dog from a laboratory on the same island, it becomes evident that somehow the two events are linked.

On the run from forces they don’t understand, they have only each other to fall back on. Until they succumb to a mysterious infection that heightens their senses and hones their instincts to impossible levels. Their illness seems to have changed their very biology – and suddenly it’s clear that the island is home to something well beyond their comprehension. It’s a secret that has driven men to kill once. And will drive them to kill again…

Mermaid by Carolyn Turgeon (3 March, Headline Review)
While in hiding at a remote convent, a king's daughter sees a magical being dragging a shipwrecked man to the shore. The creature is a mermaid princess - the youngest daughter of the Sea Queen - but she shares more with her human counterpart than her royal blood.

By saving a young man's life, both women have sacrificed their hearts. In one moment, the lives of the princesses, mortal and mermaid, are transformed forever.