Here are the first batch of new books for the year. Please come and take them so we have some space on our shelves. But return them! And take some more! That is how libraries work.

Assault – Recon Team Angel, by Brian Faulkner (365 pages) – This is the first in a series set in the future (2030!) when we are at war with aliens. Recon Team Angel is an elite multinational group of teens who have been training for years. On X-Boxes, haha. Nah, joke. “Haha.” Their first mission; to sneak behind enemy lines and get into a top-secret alien facility.

First lines: ‘This is not a history book. The achievements of 4th Reconnaisannce Team (designation: Angel) of the Allied Combined Operation Group 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, from November 2030 through to July 2035, during the Great Bzadian War, are well documented by scholars and historians.‘

Equinox – The Rosie Black Chronicles Book Two, by Lara Morgan – It is five centuries into the future, most of Australia is submerged, and ‘Rosie’s dad is locked away, Pip has abandoned her, and Riley isn’t telling her the full story. Bent on revenge, Rosie is still working in secret to try and take down the evil Helios group. But what sacrifices is she prepared to make to destroy Helios?’ SO many names

First line: ‘Rosie took a steadying breath, licked her finger and touched it to her eye. The identification-distorter lens stuck to her skin and she lifted off her iris.‘

Stealing Phoenix, by Joss Stirling (265 pages) – Phoenix is part of a group of thieves with paranormal powers (they are quite cool but I won’t ruin it for you), and she is set to rob Yves Benedict, an American student visiting London. But lo! she discovers that he is ‘her destiny’ and ‘her soulmate’, and as there is no room for love amongst thieves, Phoenix must save herself and Yves. Which is pronounced like ‘Eve’ so you know.

First lines: ‘The boy seemed the perfect target. He stood at the back of a group taking the tour of the London Olympic stadium, attention on the construction vehicles beetling up the huge ramp to the athletes’ entrance, not on the thief watching him.‘

Outlaw, by Stephen Davies (236 pages) – Jake is fifteen and is sent to live with his parents in North Africa after getting into trouble one too many times at his English boarding school. Unfortunately he is kidnapped by Yakuuba Sor, the most wanted outlaw in the Sahara desert. Is he a terrorist or is he more like Robin Hood, without a forest?

First lines: ‘Jake Knight ran along the deserted towpath past Armley Mills and the Industrial Museum. It was two o’clock in the morning and he was so far out of bounds it was not even funny.‘

Good Fortune, by Noni Carter (489 pages) – Ayanna Bahati is brutally taken from her African village and brought to America, as a slave on a plantation. It’s a very dangerous life, but she’s able to secretely teach herself to read and write. Later she risks everything and escapes, heading north where she can be free and get an education; ‘can she shed the chains of her harrowing past to live the life she has longed for?‘

First lines: ‘His hand came down upon my cheek hard and fast. Stunned, I staggered backward.‘

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, by Jennifer E. Smith (236 pages) – Hadley is stuck at JFK airport after missing her flight to London. She meets Oliver, a Brit, who is also on the same flight as her. They talk and he’s pretty perfect, so they fall in love. Love! There when you least expect it, like a northerly gale in summer. Anyway, they lose track of each other once they land – can serendipity bring them back together? Is that the right word? A romantic comedy!

First line: ‘There are so many ways it could have all turned out differently.‘

Bittersweet, by Sarah Ockler (378 pages) – Hudson was a pretty swell ice skater, but when her parents divorced when she was fourteen, she ditches the sport and makes cupcakes for her mother’s upscale diner. But when she starts coaching the boys’ ice hockey team she rethinks her choices re: ice skating and taking chances with her life. Also a cute boy comes along.

First line: ‘It was the biggest competition night of my life, but all I could think about was the cheetah bra.‘

The Song of the Quarkbeast : A Last Dragonslayer Novel, by Jasper Fforde (290 pages) – This is the sequel to The Last Dragonslayer, which I didn’t read but DO know was very good. Fforde’s books are very difficult to put down, and why shouldn’t this be an exception.

First lines: ‘I work in the magic industry. I think you’ll agree it’s pretty glamorous: a life full of spells, potions and whispered enchantments; of levitation, vanishings and alchemy.‘

Anna Dressed in Blood, by Kendare Blake (316 pages) – Cas Lowood kills the dead. He travels the country with his mother, a witch, and their spirit-sniffing cat, listening to local lore and legend. They go to kill a ghost called Anna Dressed in Blood (she’s covered in blood you know), who has killed everyone who has gone to get her. Except Cas, for some reason? Read to find out!

First line: ‘The grease-slicked hair is a dead giveaway – no pun intended.‘

Here is a pretty funny spoof trailer for The Hunger Games. Thanks for reading this far. I appreciate it.

Virtuosity, by Jessica Martinez (294 pages) – ‘Just before the most important violin competition of her career, seventeen-year-old prodigy Carmen faces critical decisions about her anti-anxiety drug addiction, her controlling mother, and a potential romance with her most talented rival,’ says the catalogue. Can’t beat the catalogue for a precise synopsis.

First line: ‘The balcony felt cold under my cheek.’

Paradise, by Joanna Nadin (262 pages) – Billie Paradise inherits her grandmother’s house, which is by the sea, and a definite improvement on the rental flat she lives in with her mum. But living in her mum’s childhood home dredges up secrets that might be best kept undregded. Buried. Underground.

First line: ‘We all have secrets.‘

Today: a weaponry face-off. 

In the Blue Corner:

King of Ithaka, Tracy Barrett
Here Lies Arthur, Philip Reeve
VIII, H M Castor

In the Red Corner:

Huntress, Malinda Lo
Fury of the Phoenix, Cindy Pon
Steel, Carrie Vaughn

Happy Christmas!

You guys, here are some more new books!

12 Things To Do Before You Crash and Burn, by James Proimos (121 pages) – Hercules Martino is 16, and the son of a recently deceased famous self-help guru who was no good as a dad. Staying with his uncle for Summer, Hercules is set twelve tasks that will ‘change the way he sees his past, present, and future.’ A book that is short, funny (as promised by Library Journals LLC) and in all likelihood a satisfying read.

First lines: ‘The casket is close. It was a plane crash, after all.‘

Light Beneath Ferns, by Anne Spollen (206 pages) – Here’s another not-so-long book; this time a ghost story, not a comedy. Elizah moves in with her mother, who is a caretaker at a cemetery. She finds a human jawbone by a river (!!!) and, at the cemetery, she meets Nathaniel, who is mysterious and, you know, maybe not all there. LITERALLY. Fans of supernatural romance probably won’t be disappointed.

First lines: ‘This story does not teach a lesson. It does not explain gravity or the pack rituals of wolves or how the sun will explode one day and leave us all inside a gray welt of ice and famine.‘

Down the Mysterly River, by Bill Willingham (333 pages) – Max “the Wolf” is a champion boy scout who – inexplicably! – wakes up in a strange forest with no memory of how he got there. With him is a badger, a bear, and a barn cat who are similarly clueless but can talk. They realise that they are being hunted, and it’s up to Max to solve the mystery of what’s what. This is by the writer of the Fables comics, with drawings by the comic artist throughout. ~the more you know~

First line: ‘Max the Wolf was a wolf in exactly the same way that foothills are made up of real feet and a tiger shark is part tiger, which is to say, not at all.‘

Vintage Veronica, by Erica S. Perl (279 pages) – Fifteen-year-old Veronica gets a summer job in the Clothing Bonanza, a second-hand clothing store. She is pretty happy about that! She loves fashion, and her job is to sort out the quality stuff from the rubbish, and she doesn’t have to deal with customers (she has low self-esteem). Two ‘outrageous yet charismatic’ salesgirls befriend her and encourage her to stalk the stock boy as a joke. Soon Veronica realises she will need to come out of her (proverbial! obviously) shell when romance blossoms.

First lines: ‘I’m sure you don’t know me. But you’ve probably seen me around. I’m that fat girl. You know, the one who dresses funny. The one who wears those ridiculous poufy skirts from the fifties that look like she hacked off the top of an old prom dress (because actually, I did).‘

How to Save a Life, by Sara Zarr (341 pages) – Here is the catalogue synopsis for what might be a little grim but ultimately uplifting book; ‘Told from their own viewpoints, seventeen-year-old Jill, in grief over the loss of her father, and Mandy, nearly nineteen, are thrown together when Jill’s mother agrees to adopt Mandy’s unborn child but nothing turns out as they had anticipated.’  

First line: ‘Dad would want me to be here. There’s no other explanation for my presence.‘

Kiss of Death, by Lauren Henderson (307 pages) – This is the final book in the series that began with Kiss Me Kill Me. Unfortunately we don’t seem to have the second and third books in the series! We will buy them. IN THE MEANTIME, here’s a brutal abridgement of the catalogue synopsis: ‘Scarlett [and] Taylor arrive in Scotland [...] Old friends and enemies [...] explore [...] passages under Edinburgh [...] [and] someone is out to get [Scarlett] [...] and that person has deadly plans for her. Is it time to kiss our heroine goodbye?’

First line: ‘This is absolutely the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.‘

The Espressologist, by Kristina Springer (184 pages) – Jane is seventeen and a barista  (someone who makes coffee). She has a theory that you can tell a lot about someone by the coffee they drink*, and she uses this to set people up on dates. She’s pretty good at it, so her boss develops it as an instore promotion. BUT she matches her best friend with Cam, which in hindsight was silly since she maybe is a little bit in love with him?
*Probably wouldn’t work in NZ where we all drink flat whites, pretty much

First line: ‘“Excuse me,” the customer says, stepping up to the counter. I quickly stop scribbling in my notebook and slide it onto the shelf under the espresso machine.‘

The Warlock ’s Shadow, by Stephen Deas (291 pages) – The follow-up to The Thief-Taker’s Apprentice. When the thief-taker is hired to protect a prince, Berren (the apprentice) is pleased to get away from the tedium at the temple. He meets a girl, who happens to be a Dragon Monk, the best sword fighters ever to wield a sword. But the prince needs protection for a reason - people want to kill him and anyone who stands in their way, including young Berren. Especially Berren! Maybe

First line: ‘Kasmin didn’t see the three men come into the tavern but he knew they were there almost at once.‘

Unleashed : Wolf Springs Chronicles, by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie (385 pages) – Katelyn moves to a new town, to live with her grandfather in the middle of a forest. Her new school is Wolf Springs High. Judging from the cover and the blurb on the back that says, ‘a dark exciting tale that will have you believing in werewolves,’ I am willing to bet this is about werewolves! Book one in a series

First lines: ‘I can fly. Katelyn Claire McBride was the girl on the flying trapeze.‘

Hunters : Phantom – The Vampire Diaries, not really by L. J. Smith (413 pages) – This is a brand-new VD story. Apparently it was written by a ghostwriter, since the publisher who holds the copyright fired L. J. Smith. That seems a bit strange actually! Anyway, Damon is dead, Elena and Stefan can be together, but Elena dreams of Damon. And she loves him a little too. A lot maybe! Soon everyone is threatened by a new darkness.

First line: ‘Elena Gilbert stepped onto a smooth expanse of grass, the spongy blades collapsing beneath her feet.‘

Here are some new books! We provide so many ideas for things to read it is just ridiculous. Ridonkulous.

Belle’s Song, by K. M. Grant (298 pages) – Belle’s father can not walk thanks to an accident that she was responsible for. It is the 14th century so it is kind of important that he be mobile! So she heads to Canterbury with Chaucer (YES THAT CHAUCER) and handsome squire, Walter, in the hope that the pilgrimage has a miraculous outcome. However Belle is being blackmailed and Chaucer is up to his neck in politics and politics back then could be torturous, if you know what I mean. Hard times!

First lines: ‘Tragedy and opportunity, conspiracies and compulsions. And love. Unexpected love.‘

Wherever You Go, by Heather Davis (309 pages) – Holly’s boyfriend Rob died in an accident, and she has to spend most of her time caring for her sister and her grandfather, who has Alzheimer’s. Her late boyfriend’s best friend, Jason, steps in to help, and her grandfather says he is communicating with Rob’s ghost (who is in fact narrating the story from beyond the grave), meaning Holly has some tough and unexpected decisions to make.

First lines: ‘You’ve been by her side for six months, but she hasn’t noticed you.‘

Legend, by Marie Lu (295 pages) – The USA is now at war with itself; the Republic on one side, and the Colonies on the other. In this dystopian future some kids – one rich, the other not at all! – join together to fight against the injustice that authority has become. Nonstop action, a little romance, the ‘characters are likeable, the plot moves at a good pace, and the adventure is solid’, writes the Library Journal. The first in a series, and written about by us previously here (+ book trailer).

First lines: ‘My mother thinks I’m dead. Obviously I’m not dead, but it’s safer for her to think so.‘

Clockwork Prince : The Infernal Devices Book 2, by Cassandra Clare (502 pages) – Because this is the second book in the second series and I haven’t read any of it, here is the synopsis from the catalogue. Okay! ‘As the Council attempts to strip Charlotte of her power, sixteen-year-old orphaned shapechanger, Tessa Gray works with the London Shadowhunters to find the Magister and destroy his clockwork army, learning the secret of her own identity while investigating his past.’

First lines: ‘The fog was thick, muffling sound and sight. Where it parted, Will Herondale could see the street rising ahead of him, slick and wet and black with rain, and he could hear the voices of the dead.’

Dearly Departed, by Lia Habel (451 pages) – Nora Dearly encounters a ‘crack unit’ of teen zombies. They are the good guys! The bad guys are monsters hoping to boost their evil, foetid ranks. Nora begins to fall for one of the good zombies, Bram, who is ’surprisingly attractive.’ Not sure if the good guys are decomposing or if they’re somehow frozen in a freshly dead state? Is that still gross? The cover depicts them as a little pale but I can’t see any bones or exposed muscle. Still you have to consider these things. Though not too closely!

First lines: ‘I was buried alive. When the elevator groaned to a stop in the middle of the rocky shaft, I knew that I was buried alive.’

Wildefire, by Karsten Knight (392 pages) – Ashline Wilde is having it harsh at her school – her boyfriend cheated on her and her runaway sister, Eve, has returned to cause trouble. So Ashline starts at a new, private school in California, hoping for a fresh beginning. Buuuuut, Ashline discovers that a group of gods and goddesses have all been summoned to this one particular place. And she is one of them! Soon a war between the gods threatens sunny Blackwood Academy. Don’t know about you but that sounds like just another day for me.

First line: ‘Ashline Wilde was a human mood ring.‘

That’s about it for now! Check back later in the week for some more.

Froi of the Exiles, Melina Marchetta

The second book in the Lumatere Chronicles (the first being Finnikin of the Rock). In Finnikin, Froi was a street urchin with no moral compass. In Froi he has become a model student and an efficient assassin in waiting, devoted to his code of conduct and to the Queen of Lumatere. When Froi is sent to Charyn to assassinate the king it seems like an opportunity to prove his worth, but he finds himself embroiled in a chaotic uprising reminiscent of the French Revolution (hangings instead of the guillotine), and in a mysterious curse whose repercussions reverberate around Charyn, and appear to be knocking on the door of Lumatere.

This book is wonderful and epic (600 pages, but you’ll hardly notice). At its heart are really real characters, great dialogue, keen observations of the way people are, and an awesome rag tag group of wanderers that reminded me rather a lot of Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca etc. from Star Wars. Plus: there’s a very twisty twist at the end (third book due next year).

Also great:

Blood Red Road, Moira Young. A fantastic futuristic journey through a wasteland world, with land yachts, cage fighting, an epic quest, and a cool bird. Made me think of the Mad Max movies. Good thing that it’s going to be a movie then, by Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator…).

The Floating Islands, Rachel Neumeier. A really successful, original fantasy world (with a mystical, Eastern element): had to try not to think of the movie Avatar with the floating islands idea, because it’s quite different. The potential romanceyness was well restrained, which is nice for a bit of a change.

~ Grimm

Brooklyn Burning, by Steve Brezenoff (202 pages) – Kid and Felix, two kids living on the streets in Brooklyn, are madly in love. Felix leaves, and Kid is left as the suspect in an arson. But! A year later Scout appears on the scene and Kid gets another chance with love. He – or she! for gender of the main characters is never specified, remarkably – also gets to be in a band.  Punk rock!

First line: ‘On the corner of Franklin and India streets in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, is the north wall of Fish’s bar.‘

Unforgettable, by Loretta Ellsworth (256 pages) – Baxter can remember every little thing that happens, from emotions to numbers. When his ability gets his mother’s criminal boyfriend locked away for credit card scam, Baxter and his mum move to a distant town to forget the past (not that he can actually forget it! but you know) where he falls for a girl who he met years ago and never forgot (he can’t!) but who has forgotten him. But the criminal boyfriend might be back!

First line: ‘It’s a warm spring day when Mom takes me to the playground near our apartment.’

All You Desire : Can You Trust Your Heart?, by Kirsten Miller (423 pages) – Catalogue summary has a go: ‘Haven Moore and Iain Morrow have been living a blissful life in Rome, an ocean way from the Ouroboros Society and its diabolical leader. But the mysterious disappearance of Haven’s best friend sends the pair running back to New York, where they encounter the diabolical, scheming Horae.’ So if that makes sense then you will know that this is from the Eternal Ones series and you want to read the sequel.

First line: ‘Haven Moore checked her watch and turned back towards the city.’

Water Balloon, by Audrey Vernick (312 pages) – Marley’s parents have split! And her best friend might not be so friendly anymore. AND she has to take the worst job ever, looking after her grandmother, some five-year-old twins, and all in a place without the Internet. She is stretched as tightly as a water balloon (hence the title) but she does meet a boy. Will love blossom? More importantly will she ever get back on the Internet?

First line: ‘The blitzing began five years ago, in second grade, on one of those amazing spring days that remind you how hot summer can be.‘

The Scent of Apples, by Jacquie McRae (183 pages) – Libby loves her grandfather, maker of cider and so scented by apples, but he is killed in a nasty accident. Faced with her parents’ seeming indifference, Libby takes to hurting herself as a coping mechanism. She is sent to boarding school and meets Charlie, a girl who teaches Libby that life can be about ‘fishing, whanau and laughter’. Libby is involved in another accident, sadly, forcing ’secrets to be revealed and truths told.’

First line: ‘Weeping willows, their skinny arms covered in ghostly green leaves, hang out over the riverbanks.‘

Enthralled : Paranormal Diversions, edited by Melissa Marr and Kelley Armstrong (452 pages) – The list of contributors that I am not prepared to type out are a real who’s who of teen paranormal fiction authors. There are sixteen stories in this collection, and while some are continuations of various series, many are new stories. Vampires! Fairies! Angels! Probably ghosts! AwoooooooOOOoooo

Glow : Sky Chasers, by Amy Kathleen Ryan (385 pages) – Earth is off the cards, so spacecraft are sent into space (of course) to colonise other planets. Young sweethearts Kieran and Waverly have only ever known life on board Empyrean, and when it’s attacked and most adults killed, their lives are drastically changed. This is the first book in a series.

First line: ‘The other ship hung in the sky like a pendant, silver in the ether light cast by the nebula.‘

Always a Witch, by Carolyn MacCullough (276 pages) – ‘Haunted by her grandmother’s prophecy that she will soon be forced to make a terrible decision, witch Tamsin Greene risks everything to travel back in time to 1887 New York to confront the enemy that wants to destroy her family,’ accurately predicts the library catalogue, reading the tea leaves. This is the sequel to Once A Witch.

First lines: ‘I was born on the night of Samhain. Others might call it Halloween. Born into a family of witches who all carry various Talents. Others might call it magic.‘

Pregnant Pause, by Han Nolan (340 pages) – When sixteen-year-old Eleanor discovers she’s pregnant her parents want her to either go with them to Kenya, as missionaries, or move in with her older, married sister in California – in both cases, she has to adopt out the kid when it’s born. Instead she marries her true love and joins him at his parents’ camp for overweight kids. She is very headstrong! But it’s for the best … or is it.? (I had to read the last paragraph to find out.)

First lines: ‘Okay, I’m pregnant, and so here’s what I’m scared about. What if my kid turns out to be a mass murderer?‘

Keeper of the Night, by Kimberly Willis Holt (308 pages) – Isabel lives on the island of Guam. Her mother takes her own life, and Isabel is left to look after her family; her sister, who has night terrors, her brother, who starts carving words into his bedroom wall, and their father, who is distant, unable to cope, and sleeps on the floor where Isabel’s mother was found. So; a bit grim! But ultimately bouyant.

First lines: ‘My mother died praying on her knees. Her rosary beads were still in her hands when we found her.‘

Rip Tide, by Kat Falls (314 pages) – Ty’s father runs a subsea farm, and his family must deal with the threat posed by sharks, killer whales, and squids. Giant squids! Maybe! Anyway a subsea farm sounds pretty cool to me. I don’t know why exactly. Ty discovers an entire township, dead, tied to a sunken submarine at the bottom of a trash vortex. His parents are kidnapped and Ty worries they might share a similar fate. This is the sequel to Dark Life, set in a post-apocalyptic world with futuristic undersea cowboys to which Disney has picked up the film rights.

First line: ‘Easing back on the throttle, I slowed the submarine’s speed.‘

Where the Truth Lies, by Jessica Warman (308 pages) – Emily goes to school at an exclusive Connecticut academy for rich kids. Her father is the headmaster there; she has friends (who are rich), and her life is just wonderful. But she also has nightmares that may stem from something that happened to her when she was a kid. When the super-hot rebel Del Sugar arrives at school she is swept away. But! He is expelled! And Emily begins to question what she knows and doesn’t know, and soon nothing seems to be really what it seems to not be, sometimes. With a “bittersweet ending” which I just read and can confirm.

First line: ‘I have insomnia.‘

Across the Great Barrier, Patricia  C. Wrede (339 pages) – This is book two of ‘Frontier Magic’ (the first is The Thirteenth Child), in which the wild west of the 1800s meets a world where magic is the norm. Catalogue helpfully says, ‘Eff is an unlucky 13th child. And yet, Eff is the one who had saved the day for the settlements west of the Great Barrier. Her unique ways of doing magic and seeing the world, and her fascination with the magical creatures and land in the Great Plains, push Eff to work toward joining an expedition heading west. But things are changing on the frontier.’

First line: ‘Being a heroine is nowhere near the fun folks make it out to be.‘

This week’s selection of new books kicks off with some alternating points of view:

Crossed, Ally Condie (367 pages) – sequel to Matched. Cassia finds that Ky has escaped into the canyons, where life is different and rebellion blooms. But it seems that Xander has some game-changing surprises up his sleeve. Told in alternating points of view by Cassia and Ky.

First sentence(s): I’m standing in a river. It’s blue.

Queen of the Dead, Stacey Kade (266 pages) – a Ghost and the Goth novel. Alona (ghost) is adjusting to her new job looking after the needs of lost spirits, for which she receives help from Will (goth). But her life becomes complicated, as her mother cleans out her room, and Will appears more interesting than loser-ish, and he, in turn, appears interested in someone else. Plus there’s a serious cliffhanging ending. Told in alternating chapters by the ghost and the goth.

First sentence: On television, ghost-talkers run antique stores, solve crimes, or stand on a stage in a nice suit giving the teary-eyed audience a toothy, yet sympathetic grin.

After Obsession, Carrie Jones & Steven E Wedel (305 pages) – told in alternating chapters by Alan and Aimee, who are drawn to each other by similarly supernatural secrets. Together they must help Alan’s cousin, Courtney, who has let herself be possessed by a demon/ghost in a desperate attempt to find her missing father. This proves not to be Courtney’s best move.

First sentence(s): You are mine. You all will be mine.

Sign Language, Amy Ackley (392 pages) – Abby North’s father has cancer, which changes her priorities, and her life perspective, as her family struggles to cope.

First sentence: The first thing Abby remembered about It was the scar.

I’ll Be There, Holly Goldberg Sloan (392 pages) – Sam and his younger brother Riddle were kidnapped by their father ten years ago, and now lead a life on the run. One day Sam hears Emily performing in a church, and they meet (in slightly awkward circumstances) only for him to vanish again. Emily, determined, tracks him down again, and things go from there, until Sam’s father discovers what he’s been up to… Great reviews!

First sentence(s): The days of the week meant nothing to him. Except Sunday.

Tiger’s Quest, Colleen Houck (479 pages) – a weighty tome. The second in the Tiger’s Curse series. Kelsey finds herself on another Indian quest with Ren’s black-sheep brother, Kishan, questioning her destiny.

First sentence: I clung to the leather seat and felt my heart fall as the private plane rose into the sky, streaking away from India.

Ashes, Ashes, Jo Treggiari (344 pages) – Things are bad bad bad for Lucy! Basically, the world as she knew it has ended (epidemics, floods, droughts), and she finds herself in the New York wasteland, alone, and fending off a pack of vicious dogs. Lucky for her, she is rescued by Aidan, who invites her to join a group of survivors; unlucky for them all, they are terrorised by the Sweepers, who threaten to infect them with the plague. Lucy and Aidan must save their friends from the Sweepers, but what if it’s actually Lucy the Sweepers are after?

First sentence: Lucy hunched over the corpse and felt a tiny bubble of hysterical laughter gurgle up.

Something Deadly This Way Comes, Kim Harrison (245 pages) – Madison died on the night of her prom, and now she’s in charge of Heaven’s hit squad. This has pros and cons, and when she has the opportunity to return to her body and be a real girl she’s torn: heaven or earth? Cool supernatural powers, or Josh?

First sentence: I’m Madison Avery, dark timekeeper in charge of heaven’s hit squad… and fighting it all the way.

Populazzi, Elise Allen (394 pages) – When Cara moves to a new school she has the opportunity to become one of the Populazzi – one of the girls at the top of the popularity ladder. The way up the ladder, her friend’s theory goes, is to form relationships with guys on further up rungs. So Cara tests the theory out, with some complicated results she doesn’t bargain on.

First sentence(s): “Don’t you see, Cara? This will be the year everything changes!”

Here’s the top ten most reserved young adult items for November. New entries include Daughter of Smoke & Bone – a supernatural romance/thriller about angels and devils set in exotic parts (well, Marrakesh, and Prague for example) – Clockwork Prince –  the second in the Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare – Hades – the angelic follow up to Halo – and Crossed – sequel to Matched, in which Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces to find Ky. Happy reserving!

1. People’s Republic, Robert Muchamore [no change]
2. Inheritance, Christopher Paolini [up 1]
3. The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins [down 1]
4. Silence, Becca Fitzpatrick [up 1]
5. Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins [down 1]
6. Clockwork Prince, Cassandra Clare [new]
7. Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins [down 1]
8. Hades, Alexandra Adornetto [new]
9. Crossed, Ally Condie [new]
9. Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Laini Taylor [new]
9. The Power of Six, Pittacus Lore [down 2]

Now, back to Angry Birds!

VIII, H. M. Castor (399 pages) – Before he was Henry VIII he was Hal; young, dashing and handsome, and destined to become one of the most famous kings of England (not necessarily for all the right reasons). VIII tells the story of young Hal, tormented by his family’s ghosts and convinced of his path to lead his country. This has good reviews!

First sentence: I’m still half asleep when I feel strong hands grabbing me.

So Silver Bright, Lisa Mantchev (356 pages) – the concluding Act in the quirky, effervescent trilogy that began with Eyes Like Stars, So Silver Bright sees Bertie on the up and up, having rescued Nate from Sedna, and having discovered the identity of her father, the Scrimshander. Now she must try and reunite him with her mother, Ophelia, so they can be a family. But of course, things can’t go to plan: her father has disappeared, Sedna’s on the loose, and the Theatre Illuminata and her mother are on the verge of collapse. Plus: Nate, or Ariel?

First sentence: It is a nipping and an eager air.

Dark Parties, Sara Grant (313 pages) – Neva has lived in Homeland her whole life, told that the rest of the earth is just wasteland. But this is a lie! Neva is aware of The Missing, people who vanish without warning. She and her friend Sanna decide to start an underground rebellion, to uncover the truths the government has been hiding, but is Neva in danger of becoming one of The Missing?

First sentence: I’m standing in the dark, not the gentle gray of dusk or the soft black of a moonlit night but pitch-black.

Compuls1on, Heidi Ayarbe (297 pages) – Jake is obsessed with prime numbers, and this obsession lends him some sort of magic – it’s what keeps his family safe, and makes him so brilliant at football, and it’s what’s going to make his team state soccer champions for the third year in a row (3 = a prime number). He is sure that this final game of the season will set the magic free from the numbers, and he won’t be a freak – but what if this doesn’t happen? A story about obsessive compulsive disorder, obvs.

First sentence: Tanya Reese’s Tinker Bell taattoo flits on her pale shoulder, blowing on a dandelion, its fluff spiraling down on her back.

Following Christopher Creed, Carol Plum-Ucci (405 pages) – sequel to The Body of Christopher Creed. A body is found in Steepleton (could it be Christopher Creed?), so college reporter Mike Mavic ups stakes and moves there to follow the story, convinced this is his big break. What he finds, however, is a suffering town (unexplained sickness, accidents), and Justin Creed, Christopher’s brother, who is also obsessed with uncovering the truth of his disappearance.

First sentence: It happened on a dark and stormy night.

 (we do love dark and stormy nights in first sentences)

Lola and the Boy Next Door, Stephanie Perkins (338 pages) – Lola’s life seems perfect. She’s a designer with an outrageous sense of style, and she has a hot boyfriend. But then (there’s always a but then) the Bell twins move back to the house next door, one of the twins being Cricket (yes, Cricket), a gifted inventor, and the boy Lola has unacknowledged feelings for.

First sentence: I have three simple wishes.

Cold Kiss, Amy Garvey (292 pages) – When Wren’s boyfriend Danny dies, she’s determined to bring him back… and so she does. Trouble is, new Danny is nothing like old Danny: “his touch is icy; his skin, smooth and stiff as marble; his chest, cruelly silent when Wren rests her head against it” (salute to Edward?). Wren tries to keep him a secret, but Gabriel DeMarnes arrives in town. He can sense her power and somehow knows what she’s done, and wants to help her, but only Wren can undo what she’s done.

First sentence: I wasn’t thinking about falling in love the day I met Danny Greer.

And finally for this week, two retellings:

Falling for Hamlet, Michelle Ray (348 pages) – Hamlet updated! Ophelia is a high school senior and girlfriend of Prince Hamlet, son of the Danish king. Her life seems glamorous, but there’s the paparazzi, and the controlling royals, and then the suspicious death of the king. Hamlet starts acting oddly – madly – and Ophelia finds herself isolated, and wishing for a normal life (preferably not in a nunnery).

First sentence: Hamlet’s father had the kind of laugh that made wineglasses vibrate and clink of the staff set them too close together, and Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, loved to hear it so much that she went to great lengths to provoke it.

Dark of the Moon, Tracy Barrett (310 pages) – “Retells the story of the minotaur through the eyes of his fifteen-year-old sister, Ariadne, a lonely girl destined to become a goddess of the moon, and her new friend, Theseus, the son of Athens’ king who was sent to Crete as a sacrifice to her misshapen brother.” (catalogue!)

First sentence: It isn’t true what they say about my brother – that he ate those children.

Derek Landy’s next Skulduggery Pleasant book Death Bringer!

It’s wonderful. But I’m not going to say too much in case you are still in the reserve queue for it. And I can see two copies on the Karori reserve shelf from where I’m standing right now, so a couple of people here will be picking up copies very soon… 

My favorite part (okay, there are a few, but this is the one that I’m thinking of right now that I can write down without giving too much away) is when Skulduggery calls Caelan (that vampire that’s following Valkyrie around if you’ve forgotten the name) a “self-pitying Paranormal Romance reject” Oh yeah, guess what book that’s referring to!

There’s a lot going on with everyone, and their evil alter-egos so I didn’t realise until the end that I think a few of the main characters (Tanith for example) were missing in action. So I don’t know what they’ve been up to – I guess we’ll find out next year…

For anyone who hasn’t read Skulduggery Pleasant yet please start here ASAP.

There is also a semi-short story coming that takes place a couple of months after Death Bringer called “The End Of The World” which will be available next year. About 90 pages long, so longer than the other Skulduggery short stories. So much good. Derek Landy’s blog is here.