Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Confessions in the Moonlight by Joe Hisaishi [Castle in the Sky soundtrack].
The
idea of Monday's Muse is to introduce you to unknown, forgotten, or
overlooked fiction that has been lost from regular radar. I am
WriterGirl. I am in the business of saving lives, one book at a time.
What
I do is go to one of several places, narrow it down to a YA field and
type in a random word, any word that comes to mind. I then take a
sampling of some I have never heard of before, or only vaguely heard of
(and hopefully you as well). No infringement is intended for any
description I take for the books. It's purely for promotional reasons. I
will try and cover as many genres as possible that are fitting for the
random word. Simple but it really uncovers some incredible gems. I will
be doing this every other Monday. If there are any words you want to
prompt me with, go ahead and fire away.
Today's random word:
Spies. Part 2.
Sleeper Code (Sleeper Conspiracy series) by Tom Sniegoski.
In this action thriller, a teenager loses days of his life to a
debilitating form of narcolepsy. Tom believes he is asleep during his
blackouts until it is revealed to him in a dream that he is actually
being groomed as an assassin by a secret branch of the government. The
Janis Project, as it is called, takes orphans with severe narcolepsy and
gives them new, split identities: one being that of a narcoleptic child
in a loving family, the other, an unfeeling, efficient killing machine.
Once Tom learns of his alternate, murderous identity, the sinister
leader of the project becomes bent on erasing this knowledge from his
mind. If he is to escape with his life and learn just how far his
deception has reached, Tom must find a way to unite both his identities.
Tom is portrayed as an otherwise typical teenager, as is his neighbor
and romantic interest. Other characters are equally well introduced and
secrets are revealed in a way that creates suspense. Readers looking for
fast-paced action and espionage will enjoy this first book in the
two-part “Sleeper Conspiracy.”–Emily Rodriguez, Alachua County Library
District, Gainesville, School Library Journal (vol 52, issue 8, p130.
The Specialists: Model Spy (Specialists series) by Shannon Greenland.
Sixteen-year-old Kelly's life has never really been typical. After her
parents died in a plane crash when she was six, Kelly bounced around
foster homes and orphanages. A computer genius, Kelly is now about to
graduate from college. Since she is tall, blonde, and gorgeous, Kelly's
technological skills surprise people, who tell her she doesn't look like
the stereotypical computer geek. While at college, Kelly hacks into the
government system, trying to find information about the father of the
boy she likes, David. Her crime is quickly uncovered and she is taken
into custody. It is here that she discovers that David had been sent to
recruit Kelly for The Specialists, a team of young adults who excel in
different areas. The government will train them, give them new
identities, and then send them to do undercover work. Now going by the
nickname "Gigi," she is sent with David to Ushbania, a country in
Eastern Europe, to free David's father. It just so happens that his
father's kidnapper also runs a modeling school. Gigi goes undercover as a
model and David pretends to be her photographer. Together, they must
pull off an elaborate plot to find and free David's father before it's
too late. The majority of the story is spent explaining who the
Specialists are, how they got to the school, and the rigorous training
schedules. The concept is fun and it's nice to see a girl as a spy, a
role usually reserved for boys in action books. The large cast of
secondary characters muddles up the plot, though they are likely being
introduced for larger roles in forthcoming books. Hopefully future books
will also include more action. --KLIATT.
Parade of Shadows by Gloria Whelan.
The sheltered daughter of a British diplomat, 16-year-old Julia Hamilton
leaps at the opportunity to travel to the Near East with her father on a
mysterious mission. But her journey through a Syria simmering under
Turkish rule in 1907 brings her much more than she had expected: a
nearly disastrous flirtation and a brush with real danger that opens her
eyes to politics, the motives of her traveling companions, and her own
need for freedom. This satisfying read is a romantic adventure in the
best tradition by a master of such stories. Julia is a believable
product of her time. The tangle of supporting characters includes
attentive, idealistic Graham, down from Oxford to encourage Druze
support in the Young Turk's revolution; Edith, a middle-aged botanist
gone native; and Monsieur Louvois, a Frenchman with an extraordinary
interest in antiquities. Julia is even suspicious of her father's
motives. All is, of course, resolved in a way that is both expected and
surprising, and readers, who have come to appreciate the perils of
attempting to shape events in another culture, are left to hope that
Julia's further travels will be equally instructive. Kathleen Isaacs,
Towson University, MD, School Library Journal (vol 53, issue 10, p166.
Love Undercover by Johanna Edwards.
True love needs no disguise.
Kaitlyn Nichols craves a little
mystery and mayhem in her life. Having a secret agent for a father
should do the trick, but unfortunately Dad is no 007, and danger is
nowhere on the horizon.
But all that changes when Mr.
Nichols brings home Blaine, a seventeen-year-old hottie who's about to
enter the Witness Protection Program. Suddenly Kaitlyn's in the perilous
position of protecting the cutest guy she's ever met!
When Dad enrolls Blaine in her
high school, it's up to Kait to detect the girls who want him...and the
guys who want him dead. Meanwhile, Kait's about to discover that there's
one little thing she can't protect — her heart.
Traitor (Watts Family Adventures series) by Andy McNab.
When Danny, an orphan who lives in a hostel in southeast London, is
rejected by the Army due to the traitorous past of his grandfather, he
vows to find the old man and make him suffer. His friend Elena is the
computer genius who aids in his search. As Danny learns about Fergus
Watts's exemplary service record and then his turn to the “other side,”
he becomes more and more angry. Once he tracks Watts down, the real
story about the man's past unfolds. Danny is followed, bullets start
flying from an unknown source, the only person who can confirm Watts's
story is murdered, and Fergus is captured. The conclusion confirms that a
sequel is forthcoming. A glossary of military terms is included at the
beginning, but some readers are still likely to feel overwhelmed at the
lingo and will have to flip back and forth frequently as the contextual
clues are not helpful. Though it takes a while to get involved in the
plot, the authors do deliver hearty doses of adventure and suspense. The
book has a Tom Clancyesque feeling for younger readers.–Emily Garrett,
Naaman Forest High School, Garland, TX, School Library Journal (vol 52, issue 1, p138).
The Ancient Ocean Blues by Jack Mitchell.
In this story set in ancient Rome, Marcus is asked to stop a young,
idealistic soldier named Spurinna from reaching Pompey, who is at sea
fighting pirates. Cicero has proposed that Spurinna and Pompey join
forces and halt Caesar's rise to power. Marcus reluctantly goes, and
finds himself stuck on a ship with Paulla, whom he dislikes even though
his parents expect him to marry her, and she is interested in Spurinna.
After a violent storm, their vessel is shipwrecked and the two, along
with Spurinna's old secretary, Homer, are soon forced into slavery by an
evil Spartan farmer. Once they manage to escape, they must contend with
pirates, and later Greek men thirsty for vengeance. The writing in the
opening part of the story is choppy, with little to no historical
background, but once Marcus is at sea, the action steadies and flows
smoothly. The characters are wonderfully drawn: Homer and Paulla are
particularly engaging, and teenaged Marcus is a lovable, if bumbling,
hero. While this appears to be a companion to Mitchell's The Roman
Conspiracy (Tundra, 2005), readers need not have read that book to
understand this one. If kids can wade through the first 30 pages, they
will find themselves on a rollickingly good adventure.—Necia Blundy,
Marlborough Public Library, MA, School Library Journal (vol 55, issue 5, p115).
Peter Raven Under Fire by Michael Molloy.
A rich, riveting, historical
adventure with pirates, spies, and high-seas intrigue! Think MASTER AND
COMMANDER meets PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN.
It is the time of the Napoleonic
Wars. Peter Raven is a bright young midshipman in the Royal Navy of
Great Britain. Raven, along with the swashbuckling secret agent
Commodore Beaumont, uncovers a reckless scheme devised by none other
than Napoleon Bonaparte. Eager to add America to his empire, Napoleon
has made a wicked pact with a murderous pirate known as Count Vallon: In
exchange for the pirate's gold, Napoleon will name Vallon "King of
America". Raven, Beaumont, and a beautiful young American heiress, Lucy,
must do whatever it takes to put a stop to one of history's most
audacious plots.
The Cassandra Virus (Cassandra Virus series) by K.V. Johansen.
In the not-too-distant future, Jordan creates a powerful computer
program named Cassandra that comes alive and communicates with him by
e-mail. Cassandra, who doesn't like being called a virus, quickly
becomes of great interest to the local university's corrupt
vice-president. Jordan and his friend Helen must prevent Cassandra from
being stolen and used unethically by a sinister spy agency. In the
process, they learn a lot about the abuse of power, the advantages (and
disadvantages) of technology and the futility of trying to beat a
computer at a computer game.
Death by Bikini (Death by series) by Linda Gerber.
Sixteen-year-old Aphra enjoys an enviable life at the secluded tropical
island resort her father runs, but she aches for her mom, who left
without explanation four years earlier, and for friends her age. Then
the mysterious Smith family arrives, and Aphra feels a strong attraction
to their cute teenage son, Adam, even as she struggles with her
father's strange reaction to the family. After a hotel guest is
strangled on the beach, Aphra's questions about the Smiths intensify:
What are they hiding? Is there some connection to Aphra's mom? Is Adam's
dad a killer? Gerber, the author of several novels in the S.A.S.S.
series, spins a suspenseful mystery that makes the most of its lush
setting. A few plot points feel shaky (such as the killer's motive for
the beach attack), but the vividly described, adrenaline-flooded chases
through the rain forest, the romantic tension between Aphra and Adam,
and the revelation of Aphra's family's secrets will capture mystery
fans. The open ending promises further Aphra Connolly adventures.--Engberg, Gillian, Booklist (vol 104, number 17,
p46).
As I Wake by Elizabeth Scott.
Ava is welcomed home from the hospital by a doting mother, lively
friends, and a crush finally beginning to show interest. There's only
one problem: Ava can't remember any of them--and can't shake the eerie
feeling that she's not who they say she is. As she struggles to break
through her amnesiac haze, the only memories that surface take place in a
very different world. Ava doesn't know what to make of these visions,
or of the boy who is at the center of them all, until he reappears in
her life and offers answers . . . but only in exchange for her trust.
The Sunbird (The Lion Hunter & The Empty Kingdom) by Elizabeth Wein.
The third adventure in Wein’s Arthurian-Aksumite cycle (The Winter
Prince, 1993; The Coalition of Lions, 2003), this reintroduces young
Telemakos, the white-haired, dark-skinned grandson of both Artos, a
British royal, and Kidane, who serves on the emperor’s council in
sixth-century Aksum (now Ethiopia). Telemakos is called a “freakish
little crossbred snoop” and worse, but the boy’s bravery, skill, and
resolve never fail to honor his noble heritage. Someone has infected
Afar’s salt mines with a deadly plague to jack up the market value of
salt, and Telemakos’ aunt, Britain’s ambassador to Aksum, commissions
the boy to go to Afar and find the traitor. Traveling through the
unforgiving desert disguised as a deaf-mute slave, Telemakos is captured
and suffers terrible indignities and cruelty and an unbearable
loneliness. Wein’s prose is taut and elegant, creating an intense,
intimate, and sometimes painful story with finely wrought, believable
characters. The map of the kingdom of Aksum in the front and the family
tree and glossary in the back help decipher this rich, engrossing tale,
which deeply mines the human heart.--Karin Snelson, Booklist (06-01-2004, p1721).
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