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MORE Cool Book reviews from FLAMINGNET
Mortal Engines
by Philip Reeve
310 pages
AR level 6.6 - 13 points
The setting is Europe sometime in the 40th century, and the world exists on the principle of “municipal Darwinism:” huge hulking cities on wheels travel about eating one another with the victor utilizing the vanquished’s human and other resources in order to survive. They are opposed by the powerful underground “Anti-Traction League,” who believes that cities can thrive by remaining “static.” When Tom, a third level historian from London (one of the largest moving cities) prevents Hester (whose archaeologist mother was murdered by Valentine, a powerful man who stole from her an ancient atomic bomb) from killing Valentine, the two of them—along with Valentine’s daughter, Katherine—uncover a sinister plot by London’s mayor to use the bomb to wipe out the rest of the world!
Wow, wow, wow! I haven’t read a futuristic adventure this good since Nicholson’s The Wind Singer. Well written and convincing, the story will pull you in, and the well-developed and believable characters will actually make you care what happens to them. A truly original page-turner! (NOTE: We now have the sequel, Predator's Gold.)
*Highly recommended for middle school, high school and adult.
Brainboy and the Deathmaster
by Tor Seidler
311 pages
AR level 4.9 - 9 points
Twelve-year-old Darryl’s entire extended family has died in a fire, and all he wants to do at the orphanage is to play his favorite computer game, Deathmaster. But when the millionaire designer of the game, Keith Masterly, shows up to adopt him, Darryl finds that he is only one of several orphans—all geniuses—who have actually been put to work in Masterly’s secret lab. The problem: find the formula for a “youth serum.” The bigger problem: Masterly plans to kill them all when it’s finished. Can the geniuses find a way out? And will Darryl ever see Boris and BJ, his friends from the orphanage, again?
Masterful sci-fi with a heart. The plot is genius; the characters are multi-dimensional; the suspense runs high. Hope there’s a sequel...
Recommended for upper elementary and middle school.
Full Tilt
by Neal Shusterman
201 pages
AR level 6.5 - 8 points
One night while Blake, 16, is at an amusement park, a beautiful redhead gives him a free “ticket to ride,” then disappears. When Blake’s reckless younger brother steals and uses the ticket, Blake and his two best friends follow the ticket’s directions to an abandoned stone quarry—now, amazingly, an amusement park. At the gate, they find that they must ride seven rides before dawn. But they soon discover that each ride is specially designed around a lost, painful memory of the rider, and that the seven rides are not just a suggestion—if you don’t complete them, you die.
A freaky, fast-paced adventure that explores the depths of fear, cowardice and courage in four very different teen-agers. You'll love the roller coasters of both plot and emotions…and the surprise ending!
Recommended for middle school and high school.
* = starred review
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