Spies and Terrorists Oh My!

I,Q Book One: Independence Hall by Roland Smith

Sleeping Bear Press, 2008

ISBN: 978158364688

302 pages

5 out of 5

Step-siblings Q (Quest) and Angela are thrust into the work of the U.S. Secret Service and the Israeli Mossad when Angela realizes that she's being followed, and Q learns the secret about Angela's real mother--a former Secret Service agent who was supposedly killed by a terrorist group.  But who are the good guys and who are the bad guys?  I,Q readers are immersed in current issues affecting the world in this edge-of-your-seat, modern-day mystery adventure.

I loved this book!

The story takes place over three or four but it's ridiculous ho much happens.  As the description says, there's Secret Service and Mossad, and terrorists. The description caused some concern that the title might prove to be typical of this type (I'm thinking of those books that claim to have a lot, but fizzle just as they get interesting).  This one definitely surprised me, in a good way.  The story is not what you might think.

As the short time-frame indicates, this book is well paced and has interesting characters.  Readers will appreciate the lack of parents in this novel.  They are there, loving, and good parents, but it fulfills the wish of every kid to have parents that just disappear and let them be for a while.  Q is a great narrator and Angela is the character that spurs the story.   Even with the emphasis on Angela, this book is perfect for boys.  Spies and intrigue is a perfect way to catch their attention.   Finally, the short chapters make for smooth, easy reading.

Challenge and Bookstores

Another challenge...this one I made a page for here.  Enjoy!


Also, this weekend I'm going to my favorite bookstore in Jekyll Island, Ga.  It has both used and new books, but the next coolest thing is that it's a house (well formerly an infirmary for America's rich and famous of days gone by).   Each room has a different theme and there's always new and interesting, one-of-a-kind gifts.  I can't wait!

Special Delivery

The Mailbox by Audrey Shafer

Delacorte Press, 2006

ISBN: 9780440421344

178 pages

4 out of 5

Vernon Culligan had been dead to the town of Draydon, Virginia, so long that when the crusty Vietnam vet finally died, only one person noticed.  Twelve-year-old Gabe grew up in the foster care system until a social worker located his Uncle Vernon two years before.  When he comes home to discover that his uncle has died of a heart attack, he's terrified of going back into the system--so he tells no one.  The next day, he discovers a strange not in his mailbox: I have a secret.  Do not be afraid.  And his uncle's body is gone.

Thus begins a unique correspondence destined to save the two people that depended on Vernon for everything.  Through flashbacks, we learn about Gabe and Vernon's relationship, and how finding each other saved them both from lives of suffering.  But eventually, Vernon's death will be discovered, and how will Gabe and the mystery note writer learn to move forward?  The Mailbox is not a story about death--though it begins with a death.  It's also not a story about Vietnam vets, although the author works with Vietnam veterans and wrote this novel, in part, to illuminate their sacrifices and suffering.  The Mailbox is a story about connections--about how two people in need can save each other.

The beginning of the novel caught me off-guard because Uncle Vernon speaks with a dialect.  But like any other novel with dialect, it's easy to read once you get used to it.  As the description says the story is about connections: Vernon and Gabe; Gabe and Webber; Gabe and Mr. Boehm; Vernon and the mystery writer.  These characters are very believable and I liked getting to know them.  Gabe is especially well-written and embodies not only the awkwardness of his age, but also the awkwardness (and occasional fear) of his situation.

There is a second plot line discussing Uncle Vernon service in the military.  The majority of these scenes are revealed as Gabe's memories of living with his Uncle.  It's both beautiful and sad.  Unfortunately, this plot line is dropped during much of the action of the story; I actually forgot about Uncle Vernon's army days.  But perhaps Gabe did too.  A twelve-year-old isn't exactly going to dwell on his uncle's army days.

From my point of view, the only shortfall was the ending.  It wrapped up a bit too neatly for my taste.  It was not a bad ending, I'm just not big on perfection, especially in realistic fiction.  It doesn't take away from the novel--in fact, the ending is one of two scenarios you hope for.  It's just a personal preference.  Overall, it's a great middle grade novel that I would definitely recommend.

In My Mailbox

IMM is a meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.  She was inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie.  The idea is to share titles so I'm including everything, even the girly stuff.  But I promise I won't bore you with textbooks!

Since summer classes are over and I'm free for about two weeks, I went a little crazy with the books. 


 

ARC Foundlings: (My former boss received these regularly so she created a bookshelf for us to snag them if we were interested.  These are the two I snagged recently.)

Fire Will Fall by Carol Plum-Ucci
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Bought:

Peak by Roland Smith
Bro-Jitsu: The Martial Art of Sibling Smackdown by Daniel H. Wilson
I Kiss Girls by Gina Harris

Borrowed (This is where I went a little crazy):

Nightwalker by K.V. Johansen
Roy Morelli Steps Up to the Plate by Thatcher Heldring
Young Samurai: The Way of the Warrior by Chris Bradford
Sunshine by Robin McKinley
Picture the Dead by Adele Griffin
Blue Boy by Rakesh Satyal
I,Q: Independence Hall by Roland Smith
The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin by Josh Berk

So that's what I got!  How about you?

Cirrus Who?

The Story of Cirrus Flux by Matthew Skelton

Delacorte Press, 2010

ISBN: 9780440421696

288 pages

3 out of 5

"There is nowhere for the boy to hide."

London, 1783.  Orphan Cirrus Flux is being watched.  Merciless villains are conniving to steal the world's most divine power--the Breath of God--which they believe Cirrus has inherited.  Now he faces a perilous journey through the dirty backstreets of the city as a sinister mesmerist, a tiny man with an all-seeing eye, and a skill-collecting scoundrel pursue him.  Cirrus must escape them, but he'll need to trust some unlikely allies if he hopes to thwart his foes...and survive the grand and terrifying showdown.

 Starts slow...(this could just be me; I've been in a bit of a reading slump lately), but it did catch my curiosity  within a reasonable amount of time. One reason for the slowness was the alternating between time periods.  Parts of the book are set earlier and are visited when it becomes relevant to the present.  I had to go back and look at the part titles and dates to figure out what was going on.  Again this was resolved fairly quickly.

There is quite a bit of alternating in this book.  The first is the time periods, mentioned above, the second is alternating viewpoints.  The book is written in the third person perspective, but it shifts between Cirrus and Pandora.  I like both Cirrus and Pandora, but I felt that Pandora actually experienced her circumstances while Cirrus let things happen to him.  I'm bothered by this because Cirrus is the title character.

It was a good read, but overall it felt underdeveloped.  The fantasy elements are interesting, but take a back burner to the chase.  I'm not even really sure why the coveted object was so coveted.  That's a problem.  Finally, the ending doesn't feel fully resolved.  I'm not sure if this is supposed to  be the beginning of something or a stand alone.  If it's the beginning, yeah I'd be curious about a follow-up, but if it stands alone, I'm in the dark.

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Interesting note: While the book was in my car, the glue melted and my bookmark was glued to the book.  I ripped both the book and the bookmark trying to separate the two.  I'm just glad it's a personal copy and not a library copy.  I also now know to not leave books in my car for extended periods of time during the ridiculously hot Florida summer.