Loki:God of Mischief by John Christian Hopkins

I love reading stories about different gods that is why I really enjoyed [Loki: God of Mischief] by [John Christian Hopkins]. The story telling was wonderful and the way everything flowed kept the plot moving. Some of the action was predictable but that did not take away from the story.

[Hopkins] also had a very tongue in cheek sense of humor that really made me laugh out loud at parts (Herr Ball). He is aware of current culture and beliefs and tests them with his story as well as makes a few jabs at the modern media(Godzilla could be good for the economy).

I would recommend this book to anyone. It was easier to read that [American Gods] with less adult content so I can safely recommend it to my students who love [Rick Riordan]. I will be looking for more from [Hopkins]

One is Come by C.H. MacLean

I am looking forward to the next one in the series. [One is Come] by [C.H. MacLean] is a wonderful mix of magic, adventure and lore. The characters suffer from the typical teenage angst that is common everywhere and similar growing pains. The difference is the issue of puberty brings with it a secret that normal kids don't deal with.

The only people around the kids that can understand are their parents who have taken an oath not to speak of the magic. The conflicting powers fighting for control over the kids and their gift leads to more intrigue. I am still not sure who is good and who is bad, or even if there is a good or bad. Any book that has magic and dragons is always a good bet.

The Terminals:Spark by Michael F. Stewart

Wow! What a ride! I read this book in under twenty four hours. It was a great mix of mystery, sci-fi, and suspense. I love the character of Christine. She is the perfect antihero. I get tired of all the super optimistic characters sometimes a character that just is fed up with life works well. Charlie on the other hand seems to be the opposite but in truth they are very similar with demons of their own. 

I would recommend [The Terminals] to almost anyone who likes a good read. Unfortunately due to some of the content I can not recommend it to my students since they are 12-14 yrs old. I would really like to see [Michael F. Stewart] continue on with this idea or similar concepts.

In stores 4/15/14!

Going Home by A. American

[Going Home] by A. American was an interesting post apocalyptic, survivalist story. It showed the main character, Morgan, as an everyman who only wanted to get home to his family. The problem was that he was stranded far away when something stopped everything from working. Luckily for him he was prepared for the worst.

I love this type of story although I am not of the survivalist mindset but the author makes his characters out to be just normal people who want to survive and do the right thing. I would hope that those are really the mentality of most people. Almost everyone in this book who gets killed was on the wrong side of humanity.This book was not overtly political but rather quite humanistic.

Star Chamber Brotherhood by Preston Fleming

[Preston Fleming] continues his Kamas trilogy with [Star Chamber Brotherhood]. This one did not seem to have the confusion that the first one did which leads me to believe that was intentional in the first book. This book is about justice or revenge depending how you view it. The sense of responsibility the characters have to the idea of justice formed in the labor camps is very strong and carries the tone of the story.

I read the two books back to back and vaguely remembered the main character of Frank from the first book. I like how the story is consistent between the two books but [Fleming] uses a different character as the lead in book two. I am looking forward to reading the third book.

Forty Days at Kamas by Preston Fleming

In the beginning [Forty Days at Kamas] it was a little difficult to follow. I understood that this was the United States in the future and a totalitarian government was in place that was persecuting people. The question was why? I don't think that was ever fully cleared up but the plot and the characters were strong enough to keep the story moving.

I think the confusion may have been intentional so the reader could feel what the characters were feeling. The parallel story lines of the characters worked well.

I bought this book since I had received [The Star Chamber Brotherhood] as by [Preston Fleming] and wanted to read the whole trilogy. I recommend it for a deeper read. It definitely is not a light read.

Ultraviolet by Joseph Robert Lewis

[Ultraviolet] by [Joseph Robert Lewis] was a fun fast paced read. The main character Carmen is a very independent young woman who just wants to make a better life for her and her parents. She has played by the rules but apparently the rules change to benefit the rich corporations.

She becomes a heroine to many people when she decides to fight back but also puts those she cares about in danger. With the help of another victim of the corporate greed she works to make a change for those she cares about.

The questions that Carmen struggles with about where is the line between vigilante and terrorist adds a very humanistic twist to this story. I also love to see strong women protagonists. For too long girls were always the weak and helpless in need of rescue. I am glad to see that changing.