Nightingale by Amy Lukavics

When I first read the description of Nightingale, I knew that it would be a book that I added to the collection.  It sounded right up my alley.  1950's, not wanting to conform to the norm, wanting to be a writer.  Then add the insane asylum (an iffy trope for me) and something that sounds like maybe cannibalism and I knew that I would have to read this.

Nightingale goes back and forth in time, dividing this time into "the institution" and "days past".  We learn that June is in the institution because she believes that her parents have been replaced.  Leading up to this incident, June has been under a lot of stress.  She has been writing a horrific sci-fi novel and wants to be published someday.  While her parents map out the perfect future for her with her father's boss's son, June has secretly applied to a writing program.  But the morning after her disaster of an engagement party, June's mother calls her "nightingale" and June is sure that her parents are no longer her parents.

Shipped away to Burrow Place Asylum, June finds herself in a strange kind of nightmare.  She befriends her roommate, Eleanor, who thinks that she is dead, and Eleanor's friends and quickly discovers that things are not normal here.  The nurses and doctor seem off.  The medical treatments are brutal.  The sanitation is questionable at best.  Even worse, when someone speaks up they are bound to disappear or die.  Can June unravel the mystery of the asylum and of herself in time to save them all?

I was surprised by the direction this one took.  It definitely had a twist that I should have seen coming but didn't.  I don't know what was more horrifying: the institution or watching June being forced into a mold at home.  This was a great read and much more horror than I expected. -RYQ

Meet Me in the Strange by Leander Watts

Watts crafts a world that is much different from our own without feeling completely otherworldly.  The city where most of the action takes place is some kind of holy city and there is talk of the New World without there ever being any real explanation of what the New World is.  The whole book has a surreal, otherworldly 1970's feel to it.  Django Conn, the rock star that everyone loves, definitely feels like Bowie and the fashions that he's ushered in fit the glam rock scene too and there is a lot of talk about the moon landing and what it might mean.

Davi has always lived in the Angelus Hotel.  His family has owned it for generations and there he has access to almost anything he could want.  He spends his time listening to music in his room and coming and going as he please, him and his sister having chased off any tutors long ago.  When Davi goes to the Django Conn concert, he spots a girl who is completely lost in the music and he can't help but feel like they are the only two people who really get it.  When the girl, Anna Z, shows up with Davi's sister's boyfriend, Davi follows her, desperate to find out who she is.  Anna Z is unlike anyone Davi has ever met before.  She talk-talk-talks about strange things until they seem to be the absolute truth.  But Anna Z is trying to escape and she needs Davi to be more than he ever has in order to free her.

This was an iffy book for me.  It was short and had short chapters, which I loved, and it reminded me a lot of Francesca Lia Block, which is honestly what kept me reading.  There was a lot here and I would like to see it with more ratings and reviews because I definitely think it's worth the read.  However, I was a little put off by the portrayal of Anna Z.  She's almost the definition of a "manic pixie dream girl" but I still liked her as a character.  I liked this book enough that I would like to seek out some more of Watts in the future but it is definitely an acquired taste.  Read it if you love music enough to think it's everything and don't mind a few strange ideas being twisted page after page. -RYQ

Landscape with Invisible Hand by M.T. Anderson

There is something that I cannot resist about a slim novel and this one comes in at 149 pages plus has a great cover.  I'll be honest and say upfront that this isn't a book for everyone but I really liked it.  It was weird, which I love, and it was scifi without feeling like scifi.

This is our world after the vuvv, an alien race shaped somewhat like coffee tables, have landed.  The vuvv are all about efficiency and when they first landed they promised Earth a world with no more work and no more disease.  However, all of their tech was sold to the highest bidders and now the economy is in ruins.  Adam used to have a normal life but now his father is gone, there's another family living in his basement, and his mother has been unemployed for months.  Adam is a painter in a world where most art is digital and each short chapter feels like a painting.  Adam is trying to find ways to support his family, by recording his relationship with Chloe for the vuvv and entering in an art contest, while dealing with a disease makes digestion miserable.

I thought this was a really interesting book.  It looked at the line between the haves and have-nots in a way that didn't feel heavy handed.  Adam's family used to be middle class and I like how it painted the picture that anyone could lose everything.  Adam's mother never gives up hope and Adam is always trying to come up with a better way.  Great scifi for someone who doesn't necessarily like scifi. -RYQ

Teen Review: The Host, by Stephanie Meyer

Teen Reviewer Ling Xiong, 14, discovered Stephanie Meyer's The Host through a library booklist and ended up loving it. This dystopian adventure, a departure from the vampire books, centers on an alien parasite determined to take control of the body and mind of Melanie, a human woman, so she can help her race take over Earth. But Melanie isn't willing to give up without a fight...and the parasite learns humans are nothing like she suspected.

"The Host is an amazing book that deserves more credit. The feelings were easy to understand and had some deep meaning, and the love story is epic and heart-warming. There are moments where you shed a tear or two. People are biased over this book because of the movie and the author's other 'cliche' books" --Ling Xiong

Ling recommends The Host for ages 13 and up.

Unsolved Mystery or Man-Made Hoax?

From Alien Abductions to the truth about Zombies, this fun little browsable book has it all! Dead Strange, located on our New Book Shelf, contains the latest up-to-date information about 50 of the world's most popular urban legends. Is Sasquatch a native creature or a visitor form another galaxy? Can the practice of Dowsing really be used to find water, oil, and lost valuables? Is there really a Loch Ness Monster? Men in Black--fact or Hollywood fiction? Check out the book and decide for yourself. You may not find all the answers you seek (after all, this book isn't endorsed by the Mythbusters), but it's a lot of fun to read just the same!

Teen Reviewer: Annie White

Teen Reviewer Annie, 14, read an advanced reader copy of In the After, by Demitria Lunetta (due to be published June 25, 2013), and she loved it! Here is her review:

"In the After is told from Amy Ham's point of view. She is a 16-year-old girl who has survived an alien invasion on her own. After a month with no one to keep her company, she finds a toddler while out on a food run. She names her Baby. Together they survive nearly three years. They create their own language (a modified version of American Sign Language), they learn to be quiet, and they learn to survive. After a few years, they are rescued and taken to New Hope, a city full of people. Amy discovers many secrets about the city and the invasion. This book was a fantastic read. The writing style is very entertaining and the plot takes many twists and turns that I wasn't expecting. My only complaint would be the ending. Other than that, In the After is a thrilling, heart-pounding novel I could hardly bring myself to put down."

Annie suggests this dystopian novel might be best for older teens, age 16-18. But she wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone she thinks would enjoy it.