Daughter of smoke & bone, by Laini Taylor

"Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well."

The 1st words in this romantic fantasy warn the reader.

Blue haired Karou , 17 year old art student in Prague, has mastered the art of disguising her magical upbringing from her friends and others. Avoid talking about herself, and when forced, tell the truth with a faint sardonic smile. No one believes that her hair just grows that color; or that the monsters she draws in her sketchbooks are real; or that she travels the world via magic to collect teeth for the chimaera Brimstone who raised her from a baby.
But Karou has questions, because hideously ugly Brimstone has always refused to explain how he came to raise her, or where the door behind his desk leads, or why he needs the unending supply of teeth it is her job to acquire for him. And why although he is obviously a powerful magician, he refuses Karou any wishes but the smallest, most inconsequential ones. Then the angel Akiva attacks Karou from out of nowhere, nearly killing her before the attack stops as suddenly and mysteriously as it began. Akiva knows more about Karou than she does herself, but both have shocking things to learn in store for them.

This is a mystery, a fantasy, but most of all a love story. Well written and hard to put down once begun. The first of a planned trilogy, and among Amazon's top 10 books for 2011.

The Marbury lens, by Andrew Smith

Leaving a party at his best friend Connor's, Jack is kidnapped, drugged, tortured and nearly raped. He narrowly escapes his tormentor and returns to Connor's house where he confides all that happened. The boys decide to keep it a secret, but they have fallen into the dark, and will need each other's help to survive.

A mysterious man gives Jack a pair of glasses, through which Jack finds himself in a different, surreal world - one of violence and destruction. Worst of all, a world where Connor is trying to kill him and the 2 younger boys entrusted to Jack's care.

This is a dark and disturbing nightmare of a story that packs an enormous emotional punch. Scary, creepy, and hard to forget.

Wolves of Mercy Falls series

The 1st book of this trilogy is on this year's (2012) Abe list, and has been a favorite love story at CHS for a couple of years. Now the

whole trilogy is in print, and it was worth the wait. It's a solid story that keeps up the quality of the 1st book. The werewolves are very different from the Twilight variety, switching from human to wolf with no supernatural abilities. Sam and Grace's love story has the center stage as they struggle to stay together even as their wolf/human identities tear them apart. But new characters are introduced, and angry, disolute rock star/werewolf Cole is a great story line that starts in Linger and continues thru Forever.

The forest of hands and teeth, by Carrie Ryan

Tho set in a future US, this world is unrecognizable as a virus plague has turned most people worldwide into zombies. Those humans remaining live in isolated pockets like Mary's village, where a chain-link fence protects the living from the living dead. the village is under constant seige from zombies, and when the fence is breached, Mary and Harry (her betrothed), Travis (her lover) and his betrothed, as well as her brother and his wife choose to escape into a fenced maze of paths, hoping to find a place they can survive.

The action is fast-paced and never predictable as the fugitives struggle against all odds to survive in a world where death is the only constant. This is the 1st of a trilogy, and CHS has them all.

Beastly, by Alex Flinn

This adaptation of the Grimm fairy tale Beauty and the Beast is proof (once again)that fairy tales are not just for children. With due respect to Walt Disney, this story works much better as a young adult tale. The theme of a handsome but heartless male bewitched so that his exterior is as ugly as his personality is timeless. His inner transformation is a journey worth reading, and his final redemption through the love of a girl - satisfying. Alex Flinn throws enough twists into the classic tale to keep readers who know where the story is going entertained along the way. This is plain fun.

The Demon's lexicon, by Sarah Rees Brennan

Nick and Alan Ryves are brothers who have had to live on the run for almost as long as they can remember, since an attack by magicians on their family left their father dead and their mother driven mad. Now the magicians are hunting the brothers and their mother. When a girl and her brother show up at the Ryves home asking for help, the magicians are quickly on their trail, and the brothers are once again on the run, this time with the girl and her brother. Things go from bad to worse when Nick Ryves discovers that the girl's brother has been marked by demons, and suddenly Alan is marked as well. The only chance they have is for Nick to kill the magicians that they have run from for so long. Then Nick learns that his brother knows more than he is telling, and suddenly Nick knows nothing is as he thought it was, and nothing will ever be the same again.

Ingo, by Helen Dunmore

Ingo is a mysterious undersea world only found in old legends - until Sapphire and her brother Connor are called into that world from their ocean side home in Cornwall, England. But the mer folk that inhabit Ingo are not human, and their world is filled with danger for two human teens. Sapphire and Connor find themselves caught between two worlds in the opening book of this series.
The lure of the sea is as real as the tide, and the writing is hypnotic in this romantic adventure series.

City of bones, City of Ashes & City of glass, by Cassandra Clare

This is a trilogy that weaves a complicated fantasy. Clary has been raised in New York by her artist mother and her mother's circle of friends. But as she turns 16 she learns that all is not as it appears. An evening in a club with her friend Simon is the lifechanging moment when a whole new world opens up to Clary and she learns that she is a shadowhunter - a race gifted with the ability to see demons and trained to battle them. But Clary has no such training, and as events spiral out of control she needs to learn fast how to survive. Children of the moon (werewolves), of the night (vampires), of Lilith (witches), and of Faerie all have their roles and must unite with the help of angels to defeat the army of demons being raised by Clary's own father, Valentine. Loyalties are forged and tested, and always there is love. The love between Clary and shadowhunter Jace, love between Clary and her best friend Simon, whose life takes a tragic turn when he is bitten by a vampire. Love between Clary's mother and Lucian, an ex-shadowhunter now turned werewolf. A powerful story well told.

(See September blog of City of Bones)

Shiver, by Maggie Steifvater

I wouldn't say this book is better than Twilight, but I will go out on a limb here - the werewolf in this book, Sam, is more appealing than Twilight's Jacob.

In Shiver, the werewolves become human in warm weather and wolves in cold. Some of the werewolves love the wolf life. Sam, however, loves his humanity. When he saves the life of a human child from death by the pack, they form a bond. He watches her grow up, and she too watches for him, both denying deeper feelings until those feelings can no longer be hidden. Once their feelings are shared, they must fight. Sam fights to remain human, and Grace fights to keep him with her.

This is a terrific story of love and nature and what it means to be human. Not to be missed!

Movie rights have been sold, and this will eventually be a trilogy, so there is a lot of promise with this one.

Redwall, by Brian Jacques

This is the 1st book in a long series of fantasy/adventure books. The Guys Read website recommends this for high school level, and this book's checkout rate will help decide whether or not to get more of these. The rest of the series is available from the Jr. High library, so anyone who asks for sequels won't have long to wait.

Avalon High, by Meg Cabot

This one is fun to read if you like the King Arthur tales. It is set in modern times at a high school in Annapolis, Maryland, where many of the students bear uncanny resemblances to the characters in the Arthurian stories. Ellie (whose real name is Elaine), moves to town and even before school begins she meets and is instantly drawn to Will (Arthur William Wagner), and he is attracted to her too. Will is dating Jennifer (modernization of Gueneviere), and best friends with Lance (Lancelot). The old triangle has just become a foursome, and things don't work out like in the middle ages, but it's lots of fun to figure out just how things are going to go this time around. Meg Cabot (author of The princess diaries) keeps this re-telling fresh and quick-paced, and a fun romance.

Graceling, by Kristin Cashore

Katsa was born with eyes of two colors, which means that she has been "gifted" with a grace - an extreme skill, and must live in the palace and serve the king as he sees fit. At the beginning of the book Katsa is feared and despised - her skill is killing. The king uses her skill as a weapon to torture and execute his subjects and his enemies alike. Katsa is wild and willful and unhappy. When she meets Po - prince of a neighboring kingdom and another graceling, and her life is about to change. She begins to see that she can take charge of her own life, and soon she and Po set off on a mission full of political intrigue and personal danger.

This is fantasy that will keep the reader guessing what is coming next and is full of action and touched with romance. There will be sequels, and I hope they are as good as this 1st book promises.

City of bones, by Cassandra Clare

15 year old Clary and her friend Simon are in a New York club when Clary witnesses a murder committed by three teens covered with strange tatoos and using bizarre weapons. But she is the only one who can see the 3 murderers, and the body disappears. Clary soom finds herself deeply involved in a clan of Shadowhunters - warriors dedicated to hunting and killing demons who stalk the earth. And the Shadowhunters are interested in finding out why Clary has the sight that allows her to see them and the demons. Clary soon finds that her life up to now has been a falsehood, and almost everyone she knows is not who she thought they were. Her friend Simon is her only constant friend, tho she is soon drawn to a handsome Shadowhunter named Jacy, who is equally drawn to her. There are plots and counterplots, twists and turns on every page. Fantasy readers won't want to miss this one and it's sequels.

Princess Ben, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

When Princess Benevolence's parents are killed, she finds herself under her aunt, the queen's, thumb, being groomed as a royal princess. The plump princess is starved, corseted, and forced to attend endless tedious lessons for dancing, conversation, card playing - things the queen believes she needs to learn. But Princess Ben is independent and smart. When the queen locks her in the tower in a fit of rage, Ben finds a secret and magical hidden room where her real education begins. Her secret education pays off when Ben learns the kingdom is about to be overtaken through the queen's treachery. and only Ben (and her magic) can save her kingdom. The story is entertaining - funny and clever. Princess Ben's transformation from a sulky girl into a dedicated leader is an entertaining journey.

This author writes warm and funny stories, and Princess Ben is one more. If you like her humor, try Dairy Queen and The off season too.

Odd hours, by Dean Koontz

This is the fourth book Koontz has written about Odd Thomas - a well named young man who has the ability to see ghosts and other supernatural beings and has visions of the future. Odd is one of the most endearing and quirky characters you are ever likely to meet as he sets out like a modern day knight to rescue the innocent and fight the forces of evil. Odd's self-depreciating sense of humor, his compassion, and his calm acceptance of his bizarre world make these books hard to put down.

We have all four books in this series at CHS, and I would recommend reading them in order, beginning with the first one, Odd Thomas.

The haunting of Alizabel Cray, by Chris Wooding

This horror story takes place in a Victorian England haunted with evil supernatural creatures bent on taking over the world. Thaniel, seventeen, is a wych-hunter. Together, he and Cathaline--his friend and mentor--track down the fearful creatures that lurk in the Old Quarter of London. It is on one of these hunts that he first encounters Alaizabel Cray. Alaizabel is half-crazed, lovely, and possessed.Whatever dreadful entity has entered her soul has turned her into a strange and unearthly magnet--attracting evil and drawing horrors from every dark corner. Cathaline and Thaniel must discover its cause--and defend humanity at all costs.

This story gets off to a slow start, but once I got into it a couple of chapters I was hooked by the dark mystery and suspense. Fantasy lovers shouldn't miss this one.

Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan

The beginning chapters of this book are brutal as the main character is abused, raped, and struggles to survive in a cruel existance. Cornered in a hopeless existance, she finds sanctuary in magic when she is whisked into an alternate reality. Here the story gets interesting. She is raising two very innocent daughters in her safe but tiny world when reality begins to intrude in the form of visitors from the real world, some who are decent people, and some who are not. Eventually the bolder daughter escapes back into the real world, and her mother and sister follow. The story has a message about how life is full of brutality and evil existing side by side with love, integrity, and good. Does the existance of evil make the existance of good more precious?

The graveyard book, by Neil Gaiman

After the grisly murder of his entire family, a toddler wanders into a graveyard where the ghosts and other supernatural residents agree to raise him as one of their own. The story of Bod's childhood is a fresh story with surprises on every page. I liked Gaiman's Coraline, but I like this one even better. The illustrations add to the spooky atmosphere and help make this one just plain fun to read. The Newbery award folks got it right this year!

Lament, by Maggie Stiefvater / Wicked lovely, by Melissa Marr

These two books have essentially the same conflict, but the two authors have dealt with it in two very different ways. In both stories, a teen girl is chosen by the Summer King of Faerie to be his queen. How the girls react and respond to the situation makes for good romantic suspense. Both are engaging and fun to read. Wicked lovely has sequels that we will have to be getting, though we don't have them at CHS now. The author of Lament is working on a sequel, so we will be watching for that to come out next year.

A great and terrible beauty, by Libba Bray

I recently re-read this book. It is a mysterious and compelling story that follows a Victorian girl who has been brought up in India until the murder of her mother on her 16th birthday forces her father to send her back to England. In England she is sent to a boarding school for upper class young women. Gemma soon discovers that a mysterious young man she saw in India has followed her, and he has explanations for the haunting visions that begin to plague her. But are his explanations truthful, or is there another, darker explanation? Gemma is thrown into a world where she doesn't know who to trust or who to turn to for help. The book is a combination of fantasy, horror, historical fiction, and a little romance.