Michael Vey: Prisoner of Cell 25

I also read Michael Vey: Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans over Memorial Day weekend.  This was a pretty non-stop action book.  Michael Vey has known for his whole life that he has a special power.  He can shock people with electricity when he touches them if he wants to do so.  He and his mom moved to Idaho to hide away and try to keep a low profile.  They don't want anyone to know about his special power.  However, one day when Michael is being picked on, he can't take it anymore and shocks the kids who are bullying him.  Unbeknownst to him, popular cheerleader Taylor Ridley observes this and wants to talk to Michael about it.  She reveals that she has a special power too...she can read people's minds and change how they feel through electricity.  As Michael and Taylor (and Michael's best friend Ostin) begin to investigate the source of their powers, Taylor and Michael's mom get kidnapped by those responsible.  Michael has to decide - should he go on the run and save himself or risk being captured in order to save Taylor and his mom.  This book is a series.  I haven't read the second one yet, but it is called The Rise of Elgen and the third book is coming out later this year.  Happy reading!

Silhouetted by the Blue

Over Memorial Day weekend, I read 2 of the 2013-14 Truman nominees.  Silhouetted by the Blue, by Traci L. Jones is a story about 7th grader Serena Shaw.  Her mom died in a car accident 18 months ago and Serena's father becomes gripped with depression.  When her mother was alive, she would call these periods her dad went through "the blue".  Serena's dad becomes so deep in the blue that it becomes Serena's responsibility to run her household and take care of her 8 year old brother, Henry.  With school and the lead role in the middle school musical, life becomes nearly impossible for Serena to juggle it all.  She has to figure out how to ask for help and get her family through a really tough situation.

2013-14 Truman Nominee Titles

You can get an early start on the Truman Nominees for 2013-14.  Mid-Continent has tons of copies of these titles on hand already.  Here are the nominees:

The Girl of Fire and Thorns, by Rae Carson
Cloaked, by Alex Flinn
The Eleventh Plague, by Jeff Hirsch
The Name of the Star, by Maureen Johnson
Silhouetted by the Blue, by Traci L. Jones
The Death Catchers, by Jennifer Anne Kogler
Legend, by Marie Lu
Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25, by Richard Paul Evans
Lost in the River of Grass, by Ginny Rorby
The Emerald Atlas, by John Stephens
The Running Dream, by Wendelin Van Draanen
Variant, by Robison E. Wells

Books I've Recommended This Year

If you're looking for something to read this summer, start by going through this list of books I've recommended to you throughout the school year.  You can also keep up with what I'm reading this summer.  I'll post recommendations for you all summer long. 

Let's start with the 2012-13 Truman Nominee Books:

I've read & recommend these:
After Ever After, by Jordan Sonnenblick (I also recommend the companion book Drums, Girls, & Dangerous Pie)
Bruiser, by Neal Shusterman
Girl Stolen, by April Henry (This was the winning book!)
Heist Society (Heist Society #1), by Ally Carter (I also recommend Uncommon Criminals, #2 & Perfect Scoundrels, #3)
Paranormalcy (Paranormalcy #1), by Kiersten White (I also recommend Supernaturally, #2 & Endlessly, #3)
The Gardener, by S.A. Bodeen
The Grimm Legacy, by Polly Shulman
Virals (Virals #1), by Kathy Reichs (I also recommend Seizure, #2 & Code, #3)

The other Truman Nominees that I just didn't get around to reading are:
Scrawl, by Mark Shulman
Soccerland, by Beth Choat
The Lost Hero, by Rick Riordan

Series of books I've recommended this year:

Divergent:  Divergent (#1), Insurgent (#2), & Allegiant (#3 - will be released on 10/22/13) - by Veronica Roth
The Maze Runner:  Maze Runner (#1), The Scorch Trials (#2), The Death Cure (#3), & The Kill Order (Prequel) - by James Dashner
Chaos Walking: The Knife of Never Letting Go (#1), The Ask & the Answer (#2), & Monsters of Men (#3) - by Patrick Ness
The Selection: The Selection (#1), The Elite (#2), The One (#3 - will be released on 5-6-14), & The Prince (a short story told from a different perspective during the same time period as #1) - by Kiera Cass
Legend: Legend (#1), Prodigy (#2), Champion (#3 - will be released November 5, 2013) - by Marie Lu
Matched: Matched (#1), Crossed (#2), & Reached (#3) - by Allie Condie
Delirium: Delirium (#2), Pandemonium (#2), & Requiem (#3) - by Lauren Oliver
The Mortal Instruments: The City of Bones (#1), City of Ashes (#2), City of Glass (#3), City of Fallen Angels (#4), City of Lost Souls (#5), & City of Heavenly Fire (#6 - release date is spring of 2014) - by Cassandra Clare
The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel (#1), Clockwork Prince (#2), & Clockwork Princess (#3) - by Cassandra Clare
The Iron Fey: The Iron King (#1), The Iron Daughter (#2), The Iron Queen (#3), & The Iron Knight (#4) - by Julie Kagawa
Blood of Eden: The Immortal Rules (#1) & The Eternity Cure (#2) - and more eventually, I'm sure - by Julie Kagawa
Last Survivors:  Life As We Knew It (#1), The Dead & the Gone (#2), This World We Live In (#3) - by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Gallagher Girls: I'd Tell You I Loved You, but Then I'd Have to Kill You (#1), Cross My Heart & Hope to Spy (#2), Don't Judge a Girl By Her Cover (#3), Only the Good Spy Young (#4), Out of Sight, Out of Time (#5), & United We Spy (#6 - coming in September 2013) - by Ally Carter
Gone: Gone (#1), Hunger (#2), Lies (#3), Plague (#4), Fear (#5), & Light (#6) - by Michael Grant
Book of Ember: The City of Ember (#1), The People of Sparks (#2), The Prophet of Yonwood (#3), & The Diamond of Darkhold (#4) - by Jeanne Dupree
Dog's Purpose: A Dog's Purpose (#1) & A Dog's Journey (#2) - by W. Bruce Cameron
Incarceron: Incarceron (#1) & Sapphique (#2) - by Catherine Fisher
The Fox Chronicles: The Adoration of Jenna Fox (#1), The Fox Inheritance (#2), & Fox Forever (#3) - by Mary A. Pearson
The Ascendance Trilogy: The False Prince (#1), The Runaway King (#2), & Untitled (#3 - due out in 2014) - by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Secrets of My Hollywood Life: Secrets of My Hollywood Life (#1), On Location (#2), Family Affairs (#3), Paparazzi Princess (#4), Broadway Lights (#5), & There's No Place Like Home (#6) - by Jen Calonita
Lorien Legacies: I Am Number Four (#1), The Power of Six (#2), & The Rise of Nine (#3) - by Pittacus Lore
Breathe: Breathe (#1), Resist (#2 - coming October 8, 2013)
Slated: Slated (#1), Fractured (#2 - coming in September 2013)
Caster Chronicles: Beautiful Creatures (#1), Beautiful Darkness (#2), Beautiful Chaos (#3), & Beautiful Redemption (#4) by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Skinjacker Trilogy: Everlost (#1), Everwild (#2), & Everfound (#3) - by Neal Shusterman
Dark Divine: The Dark Divine (#1), The Lost Saint (#2), & The Savage Grace (#3) - by Bree Despain
Malice: Malice (#1) & Havoc (#2) - by Chris Wooding

Other Stand-alone titles I've recommended this year:
Five Flavors of Dumb, by Antony John
The Truth About Forever, by Sarah Dessen
Along for the Ride, by Sarah Dessen
Lock & Key, by Sarah Dessen
The Compound, by S.A. Bodeen
The Eleventh Plague, by Jeff Hirsch
Magisterium, by Jeff Hirsch
Between the Lines, by Jodi Picoult & Samantha VanLeer
The Treachery of Beautiful Things, by Ruth Francis Long
Nobody, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Okay for Now, by Gary D. Schmidt
Girl in the Arena, by Lisa Haines
The Brooklyn Nine, by Alan Gratz
Discovering Wes Moore, by Wes Moore
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
Between Shades of Grey, by Ruta Sepetys
The Devil's Arithmetic, by Jane Yolen

 Happy reading!