This Thing Called the Future

This Thing Called the Future by J. L. Powers



This is another book that I didn't think I would like, but I did enjoy reading a book from the point of view of a fourteen year old South African, and what her life is like every day living in a shantytown.  She has to deal with the prospect that her mother and father have the disease (AIDS) that is killing everyone in Africa and fighting off old men who believe if they rape a virgin, they will be cured of AIDS.  I can tell that Powers has done the research to make this novel so believable. 

Khosi is torn between the old Zulu traditions her grandmother follows and the modern beliefs and medicines her mother believes in.  She does not want to upset either of them, but she also wants to be her own person like Jing-mei in "Two Kinds."   

After reading this novel, I am glad that my own children do not have to endure this type of lifestyle, but I know other children in America do have to deal with parents dieing of AIDS, rape, and poverty. What type of future do these people have, and will they make the right choices to help them have the possibility of a future?

The Probabilty of Miracles

The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder














Campbell (Cam) has been in and out of hospitals with cancer, but she is the only one in her family who has accepted the fact that she will not survive.  Her mother searches for a "miracle" to cure Cam, and when she finds out about Promise, Maine, where miracles happen, they leave Disney World where her mother is a Polynesian dancer to find a cure for Cam.

Cam is pessimistic about moving to Promise, but after her best friend Lily sends her a list of things Cam needs to do before she dies (kind of like a bucket list), she begins to see the miracles that can occur. Lily also plays a joke on Cam by applying to the Make a Wish Foundation, in which Cam and ten of her friends can visit Disney World.  Oh, the irony. 

This is not a tear jerker like The Fault in Our Stars, but it was a nice read to help me see the miracles around me and to believe in the possibility of miracles. 

Anna Dressed in Blood (ghosts)

Anna Dressed in Blood  by Kendare Blake





 Of all the ghosts books I have read--and I haven't read many--this is the best one.  Blake begins the first chapter with Cas Longwood on a mission to kill a ghost who has been killing humans.

Cas's father killed ghosts before him, and Cas thinks that is his destiny in life too: to rid the world of ghosts who murder humans.  Cas travels around the world with his witch mother and spirit-sniffing cat using his father's athame to destroy these ghosts, and he even tells us he doesn't know what happens to the ghosts because they are all ready dead.

When he arrives in Thunder Bay, Canada, to kill Anna, he finds out that she is not the typical ghost he has encountered before.  When he meets her, she beats the "you know what" out of him.  She has killed everyone who has entered her house (that at times is like Monster House) but allows Cas to live when she  kills another person who is with Cas.  Cas is intrigued by this and begins to research who Anna is and what really happened to her.

I didn't think this was a book that I would like, but once I started reading, I didn't want to put it down because I wanted to find out who the next person to be killed would be and if Cas would be able to "save" Anna so that no more blood would be shed. 

Ashes (survival, zombies)

Book Title: Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick



If you like gore and The Walking Dead, this book will appeal to you.  The first part is gory when Alex witnesses teenagers eating another human, and the novel ends with gore.

Alex has a brain tumor and has decided to hike toward Lake Superior.  We don't find out until later in the novel why that is her destination.  While hiking she meets a grandfather with his granddaughter Ellie, who is a brat.  While they are talking, something happens and Alex has a major headache and nosebleed.  Ellie's grandfather dies, and the animals around go crazy and commit suicide.

Now Alex is stuck with Ellie, and they both travel toward a ranger's cabin for help.  On the way they are attacked by wild dogs and a zombie but are saved by Tom a former soldier.  Those three travel together trying to survive.  At one point Ellie is kidnapped, Tom is shot, and when Alex goes to try to find help, she is held against her will.  Alex struggles to find Tom and Ellie, and Bick ends the novel with Alex in another predicament that I am going to have to read the next book to find out what happens. 

Shelter (mystery)

Book Title: Shelter by Harlan Coben

Thoughts: Coben pulled me in with the first chapter of this book.  To me it doesn't seem like Mickey Bolitar's life could become any worse: he saw his father die in front of his eyes in a car wreck; his mother is in rehab because she cannot deal with life without Mickey's father; he has to move in with his uncle Myron who he doesn't like; and he makes an enemy of the senior basketball team captain, whose father happens to be the sheriff of the town who also holds a grudge against Mickey's uncle Myron.

Mickey does eventually acquire a girlfriend, Ashley, who mysteriously disappears. Mickey ends up befriending two social misfits Ema and Spoon, who help him with his investigation to find out what happened to Ashley.

Even though I don't find the plot completely realistic with Mickey's fighting ability, he does not safely escape from all incidents without a few bruises.

I found out this weekend that Mikey was introduced in Coben's Live Wire, so I am going to check out this series and read it too.   While this doesn't have the comedy of Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick, Mickey trying to shelter his friends from being hurt is a page turner that I did not want to put down because I wanted to know what the next incident Mickey would find himself in. 

Cleopatra's Moon

Book Title: Cleopatra's Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter

Thoughts: This novel took me a little while to become interested in, maybe because I knew Cleopatra and Marc Antony were going to die, but I did not know the rest of the story.  Shecter has written a biography on Cleopatra, and this is her first fiction novel.  She admits that she took poetic license to change the story to fit her plot line.  At the end of the novel, Shecter shares historical information about several characters in the novel that are interesting to read. 

Several of us are familiar with the tragic ending of Cleopatra and Marc Antony, but I did not realize that they had four children together. 

This novel focuses on Cleopatra's daughter Cleopatra Selene and what happens to her after her parents commit suicide when Octavius declares war on Cleopatra.  I think after students read Julius Caesar, they may find this interesting to read what happens when Octavius comes into power.  I did not realize that Octavius hunted down and killed Julius Caesar and Cleopatra's son Caesarion.  Octavius removes Cleopatra's children from Egypt and takes them to Rome.  I liked the description of how open and clean Egypt is compared to Rome.  I could visually see the picturesque gardens in Egypt and smell the death, blood, and garbage in Rome. 

Cleopatra Selene struggles to survive in this strange environment and plots how to become queen of Egypt like her mother.  After reading this novel, I would be fascinated to meet either Cleopatra or her daughter as they wanted to learn as much as they could and help their people.  Instead of ruling by fear as the Romans did, these women believed in doing what is right for everyone.  This book is based on historical facts and includes information about both the Roman and Egyptian gods that some will find interesting.