Ford, M. (2011). The Poisoned House. Park Ridge, IL: Whitman. This short novel (the trim size makes it look a bit longer than it is) begins with fourteen-year-old Abi’s attempted escape from the British mansion where she works “in service.” Caught and returned to Greave Hall, Abi must face the harsh discipline meted out by…
Sedgwick, Marcus (2011). White Crow. NY: Roaring Brook Press. 234 pages. A noted writer in Britain, Marcus Sedgwick is one of those YA authors that deserves more attention across the pond. Although the first American edition of his novel, Revolver (2010, Roaring Brook), was a Printz award nominee, this–and his latest, White Crow–are not Sedgwick’s…
Higson, Charles (2010). The Enemy. NY: Hyperion. 440 pages. Take one part Michael Grant’s Gone (Harper, 2008) and mix with one part Jonathan Mayberry’s Rot and Ruin (Simon and Schuster, 2010), set it in contemporary London, and you’ve almost got the setup for Higson’s The Enemy. This book begins a little more than one year…
Wells, Dan (2011). I Don’t Want to Kill You. NY: Tor. 320 pages. This is the third book in what I believe began as a planned trilogy but which, considering the somewhat open conclusion of this novel, may be extended indefinitely. Wells’ novels (I Am Not a Serial Killer, Mr. Monster, and I Don’t Want…
Reeves, Dia (2011). Slice of Cherry. NY: Simon Pulse. 512 pages. Dia Reeves’ long second novel is set in the same somewhat haunted town in which she set her debut, Bleeding Violet; however, Reeves assures us via her blog that Slice of Cherry is not a sequel to Bleeding Violet. That said, readers of Bleeding…
Block, Francesca Lia (2010). The Frenzy. NY: HarperTeen. 258 pages. I do love me some Francesca Lia Block and, with The Frenzy, Block has added a somewhat anomalous entry to the current young adult supernatural romance genre: a short werewolf fantasy romance. If you thought, as I did, that we YA readers were doomed to…
McBride, Lish (2010). Hold Me Closer, Necromancer. NY: Henry Holt. 352 pages. So, I always go into a reading of an “award winner” (Lish McBride’s Hold Me Closer . . . was the recipient of the ALA’s 2011 William C. Morris YA Debut award) with a smidge of wariness. You know me, I can’t stomach…
Maberry, Jonathan (2010). Rot and Ruin. NY: Simon and Schuster. 464 pages. Holy shit, man, this book is definitely a standout in the YA zombie horror genre. Rot and Ruin is, I think, the first young adult novel produced by prolific horror and thriller author Jonathan Maberry. According to the FAQs on Maberry’s website, this…
Wells, Dan (2010). Mr. Monster. NY: Tor. 288 pages. Oh, man, this sequel to Wells’ 2010 I Am Not a Serial Killer is much more hardcore than the first novel. Following the death of the supernatural serial killer who had plagued his small town of Clayton, fifteen-year-old John Wayne Cleaver continues to struggle with his…
Ford, Michael Thomas (2010). Z. NY: Harper Teen. 276 pages. It’s been decades since the last of the zombies–victims of a strain of flu that affected the brains of the afflicted, lowering their inhibitions and increasing their appetites (for human blood, natch)–have been eradicated and since then, a virtual reality “hologame” placing players in the…