Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles (sequel to Rules of Attraction)

Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles (sequel to Rules of Attraction)'




I do suggest you read Perfect Chemistry and Rules of Attraction before reading this novel so that you know the Fuentes brother's back story.

This novel follows Luis in his senior year of high school as he deals with moving back to Chicago; his attraction to Nikki, who doesn't like him; and the Latino Blood (LB) gang that wants him to become a member.

Elkeles alternates chapters between Luis and Nikki so I knew they were going to end up together just like his older brothers end up with their future wives, but I was clueless along with Luis on his connection to the LB gang, except that his older brothers used to be gang members too.  I vaguely remember the secret Luis finds out from the earlier novels, but I'm not sure if I am imagining it or not.

After reading other novels these past couple of weeks in which the teachers at the school turn a blind eye to the bullying that goes on in the classroom, I can say that I enjoyed the interaction Luis has with his chemistry teacher, Mrs. Peterson, who shows tough love in the classroom with the students but also shows she cares about them too.  

This is Not a Drill by Beck McDowell

This is Not a Drill by Beck McDowell



This is not like the school shooting novels I have read previously (Nineteen Minutes, Hate List, She Said Yes).  Emery and Jake are high school seniors who go to Mrs. Campbell's first grade class three mornings a week to teach them French. Emery and Jake used to date so they have a little conflict before the hostage situation occurs.

McDowell alternates between Emery and Jake's perspective with them letting readers know what is happening in the present as Stutts holds the class hostage and with flashbacks to their personal relationship and their family relationships.

After the Connecticut elementary school shooting, this puts a little more perspective on how elementary children react in this situation.  These two situations are not alike, but I wonder if the children in Connecticut acted the way these first graders acted. 

On the first page of the novel, Emery states: "And by the afternoon, three people were dead", but by the end of the novel only two people are dead.  Is this an editing error or is Emery speaking metaphorically? I know we joke and laugh when we have the various drills in school, but if we were in the same situation as Emery, Jake, and Mrs. Campbell would we be able to keep our cool to protect the students in the classroom?

Insignia by S. J. Kincaid

Insignia by S. J. Kincaid



If you liked Brainjack, you should like Insignia too.  Some people may think this has a slow start with the training and Tom making friends, but when Kincaid leads to the climax, I couldn't put the book down because I wanted to know what the outcome of the battle would be.

Tom's father is a compulsive gambler and they have never stayed in one place for very long.  Tom is supposed to attend a virtual school (an alternative school), but he would rather play video games than anything else.  He is approached by the military to become a recruit as a combatant in World War III.  World War III is fought in space with humans operating combat machines. In the future war humans do not die but machinery is destroyed. 

All recruits have a neural processor installed in their brains to make them smarter and faster to fight with the machines.  As Tom goes through training, he has to learn to work as a team in the various simulations, but his maverick qualities do not allow him to do this.  As with any science-fiction idea of a computer installed in your brain, computer hacking is brought into play.  Tom not only has to fight to outwit his enemies but also has to decide if giving up his freedom something to sacrifice to be important?

Period .8 by Chris Crutcher

Period .8 by Chris Crutcher



I am a fan of Crutcher, but this is not his typical novel that I have read before.  My favorite is Running Loose.  Yes, this has sports in it: swimming. Yes, this has well-rounded characters with a adult mentor. BUT this is a mystery novel that we have to figure out who the bad guy is.  In Crutcher's other novel, he lets readers clearly know who the jerk of a school bully is, but this bully is sneaky and sly.  Is that what bullies have to be today to not get caught?

I thought Period 8 would be at the end of the day like at our school, but it is during lunch in which students meet in Mr. Log's room to discuss whatever is on their mind.  What is said in Period 8 stays in Period 8 so no one has to fear that their viewpoints or opinions will be spread around the school. Mr. Logs is about to retire, but Paulie and Hannah have trained with him in swimming and the skull, so they have a comfortable relationship with him to speak their mind without fear of judgement or rejection. 

When Paulie tells the truth to his girlfriend Hannah, who he thinks will listen to the whole story but she doesn't, he  has to live through the consequences that not only affect him and Hannah but several of his classmates too.  After Mary who has had a perfect attendance for four years goes missing for a couple of days and when she returns, she wants to have Paulie act like they are an item, Paulie has to decide what to do.  He tries to have Mary explain the situation to him but she won't, so he has to put the pieces together. 

Crutcher has readers along with Paulie and Mr. Logs figure out the truth behind the half truths except the Mary story is left hanging at the end.   

Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs

Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs



When I read this is about three teenagers, I kept reading to find out when the third teenager would come in to the story.  Childs has the novel flip between Gretchen and Grace as they tell their story about seeing monsters that ordinary humans cannot see, fighting them, and learning about each other identities.  Each of the three sisters has a distinct personality to them, and I enjoyed reading how they interact with each other and learn to accept their fate. 

While Childs leaves several questions unanswered, it makes me want to continue reading to find out the answers. 

Childs keeps the readers guessing about what is going to happen and what secrets the characters have.  I think Nick can see the monsters too but hasn't let Gretchen know about it yet.  Why would a monster recognize Nick, and why would Nick tell Gretchen to watch out for a scorpion tale on a monster if humans cannot see the monsters?  

What is Thane's secret and where did he go??? Did he choose  leave on his own or was the choice made for him? 

These three girls are kind of like triplet Charlie's Angels who all have their own specialty.  I look forward to seeing how sweet the next installment is and having more of my questions answered.

Pop by Gordon Korman

Pop by Gordon Korman


I am a fan of Korman and enjoyed his comedy Son of the Mob.  Like Volponi's The Final Four, Korman expresses his viewpoint about how the sport affects athletes, but while Volponi has a character vehemently express his opinion, Korman provides a kernel of information and the reader has to decide for himself or herself how to feel about the affects of football on athletes.

Marcus is a sixteen-year old how has moved from Kansas to the East Coast during the middle of summer.  He doesn't know anyone but does know that the football team had an undefeated season last year, and he wants to make the team and play. 

While practicing in the park, he meets a fifty-year old man who teaches him how to tackle and be a tougher football player.  Marcus has no idea who this guy is, but he is willing to protect his identity when Marcus is arrested a couple of times for what they do a business owner.

Besides his criminal record, Marcus does not have good luck at school either.  The starting quarterback does not like Marcus trying to take his starting position or how his on-again-off-again girlfriend Alyssa keeps coming on to him.  Troy's sister, Chelsea, is rude to him.  Not a good way to begin the year.  When Troy and Chelsea figure out that their father, Charlie, is friends with Marcus, they are even more rude to him to try to keep them apart.  Marcus does not understand what the big deal is, and he has to figure out how to help his friend Charlie while not ending up in jail.

This is a good book about football that all football players should read.

Article 5

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons
 

Even though Ember lives in a dystopian society, I would consider this more of a survival novel that focuses on Ember and Chase's relationship.  This has a little of the TV show Revolution, a little of the Taliban laws that I remember from A Thousand Suns, a little of Ray Bradbury's "The Pedestrian" with the controlling government and the Regressive Tendencies.   The government as we know is no more and now Americans have to follow the Moral Statues. 

Ember's mother is taken away because of Article 5: having children out of wedlock.  Ember's best friend from childhood, Chase, comes to transport Ember from the Girls Reformatory and Rehabilitation Center to her mother's trial but she finds out that he is really taking her to a safe house to meet up with her mother.The rest of the novel is about Ember and Chase trying to survive by avoiding the Moral Militia.  They do not have much down time, and I do not know if I would be able to survive on as little sleep as they do.

I did find it a little unbelievable that this new government would just release soldiers who do not live up to their standards or do something wrong instead of killing them like they do the rest of the population.  Why would the government want to let trained killers go, who are mad at the government in the first place, and then not expect them to fight back? 

This novel is worth reading to see how the tension between Ember and Chase escalates, but I think I would have liked to know what Chase is thinking at times too.  I know this would eliminate the situational irony, but I would like to know what is going on in his head too.

She Said Yes

She Said Yes by Misty Bernall



This is another one of those books that I have been meaning to read and just never got around to it.  Maybe part of the reason I didn't read it is because I am paranoid that this will happen to one of my own children.  Yes, I do read, and I worry that some of the incidents will happen to my own family.  I do not want to open my door to the law enforcement who tell me that my child has been in a horrible accident. 

Students who have read this and saw me reading it told me they really liked it.  I like how Bernall uses her own words and words from Cassie herself and her friends to tell the story.  Cassie's mom does not paint a perfect picture of her daughter Cassie.  She lets us know the problems the family has in dealing with her rebellious behavior and the aftermath of the Columbine shooting. 

As parents, we do what we can to protect our children, but we are not ultimately in control (and that's what scares me).  I wonder if this would be a good "therapy" novel for loved ones to read after the other shootings and bombings.  One Sunday school class, we gave the children the scenario that a person would kill their mother if they said they did believe in Jesus, but would kill their father if they said they didn't believe in Jesus.  (We obviously did not choose a sibling because at the age they are, they would willingly give up their brother or sister.)  None of the children could make a clear decision on who they would be willing to sacrifice, but Cassie was willing to sacrifice herself like Christ did for us and her family has to live with it.