For teens ages 12 through 17; all supplies provided!
Finally a book for folks who love the outdoors and would love to enjoy it with their furry partners. My neighborhood isn’t a safe place for unsupervised exploring much to door dashing Gracie’s disgust. I now have a system for getting her leash trained and outdoor approved. I don’t know if she’ll ever take on a surf board or skis, but this summer, Grace is getting out!
Can one find happiness behind the wheel of a Lamborghini? How about in an nursing home? A dojo? Paula Poundstone’s not entirely scientific inquiries of these and many other pressing questions are answered in this latest book. From getting connected to getting outdoors, she pursues each possibility with total abandon and laugh out loud results. And down under the mirth, there’s some meat as well. I know which experiments I’ll be exploring.
Atmospheric and eerie, The Beast is an Animal is a tale of power and suspense, prejudice and fear. When the village is faced with hardship, the blame is placed upon twin daughters, born to the farmer who lives at the edge of the forest. In order to save them from death, the farmer moves his wife and daughters into the forest, promising to bring them back when the village is more prosperous. Over the years, he comes to visit less and less, and soon the girls find themselves alone, living in the forest. And becoming part of the forest, something new, yet old. Something terrifying. And they are set to take revenge upon the village that cast them out.
In the village, Alys is the only one awake when the sisters come, and she alone is left to discover the carnage they leave behind. All children were spared, and a traveler sends word to a neighboring village of their plight. But all is not well, as the new village does not accept these children as their own, and they are left outside the Gate to defend the town. Can they fight off the evil lurking in the forest? Or will the sisters finally get their prey? Only Alys stands between life and total destruction.
This was a great read. The writing was very descriptive, pulling the reader into the setting and creating tension and suspense. I recommend it for fans of gothic tales as it had much the same feelings of oppression and impending doom.
In this fantasy series, instead of one London, there are four: Black, Red, White, and Grey. Each London had it’s own magic source, and travelers could move freely between the different cities. Now that has changed. Many years ago, the magic of Black London overcame its people, and that city was sealed off to protect the other three. The results of that action was to create three very different cities that only a few people can travel between. Red London still has its amazing power source and is full of magic. Grey London lost all access to magic and has forgotten about its existence. And White London, the barrier between Black London and the others, has become corrupt and overrun by tyrants. All of this was accepted and stable until Kell, the traveler for Red London, makes a horrible error in judgement, sending him on a life and death adventure. Along the way, he meets Lila, self-proclaimed pirate and street thief. Can this mismatched pair save the world?
This book has so much going on. A strong hero and heroine. Plenty of action and suspense. And a unique premise that really makes the reader think.
I loved what Schwab did with the parallel cities and how they could interact. The world building was well done and everything was explained nicely. Lila and Kell are awesome characters, each with their faults and strengths. Can’t wait for book 2 of this series to see what happens next!
Professional Review:
“Schwab (Vicious) creates an ingenious set of nesting alternate Londons in this imaginative, well-crafted fantasy. Confident prose and marvelous touches-a chameleon coat, a scarlet river of magic, a piratical antiheroine-bring exuberant life to an exhilarating adventure among the worlds.” ―Publishers Weekly, starred review
The Teens’ Top Ten is a “teen choice” list, where teens nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year! Nominators are members of teen book groups in sixteen school and public libraries around the country. Nominations were posted on the Thursday of National Library Week, April 13, 2017, and teens across the country will be able to vote on their favorite titles each year.
Readers ages twelve to eighteen can vote online starting in August and lasting until Teen Read Week™ (October 8-14, 2017) on the Teens’ Top Ten site. The theme this year is ‘Unleash Your Story.” The winners will be announced the week after Teen Read Week.
View a list of the winners with annotations here. (PDF)