The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

This book is the sequel to The Maze Runner, and I gave it a rating of four out of five. Thomas and the Gladers find themselves in a new world, but Teresa has been taken away. They are eventually told that they must walk down a very long, totally dark, tunnel, cross The Scorch, an area of land that's been ravaged by the sun, and then make their way to the Safe Haven. They weren't told about the metal weapons that dissolve their heads in the dark, the lightning that would blow them off the face of the planet, or the Cranks that would ambush them along the way. Thomas also wasn't expecting to be betrayed by one of his best friends.

You'll probably enjoy this book if you enjoyed The Maze Runner. Most of the main characters remained from the first book, but a few more were added to this plot, including a group of girls. I liked when many of the characters were labeled with tattoos that identified their roles in the group. However, Thomas's tattoo seemed to be a prophecy that the girls would soon kill him. There were many twists and turns, and the conclusion leads right into book three.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

This book is the first in a series, and I gave it a rating of four out of five. Thomas emerges from an elevator box and discovers he's in the middle of a camp full of boys. He decides it must be some type of prison, but none of the boys can remember anything about their pasts. The place is surrounded by a wall, and that's in the middle of a huge maze made of ivy. The exits to the walls close each night, because Grievers will kill anyone caught outside the walls. The boys have been trying for two years to find a way to escape through the maze, but a couple of strange things happen once Thomas arrives. Thomas becomes the first person to survive a night outside the walls, and the first girl shows up in the box. There's something deep in Thomas's mind about the whole situation, and he senses the other boys will hate him if they find out about his past. Things start changing quickly, and everyone figures out that they will all die very soon if they can't find a way out of the maze.

I enjoyed this book, but there will probably be some readers who do not. The conflict was imaginative, and action was mixed into the plot. It satisfied my interest in mysteries, because I needed to figure out the solution to the maze and how Thomas's past affected the whole problem. Thomas couldn't remember anything about his own life, but other boys said they had memories of him. Things seemed to start falling apart when Thomas and the girl arrived, so they are blamed. Thomas and the reader were left to figure it all out.

The Lorien Legaices #2: The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore

This book is the sequel to I Am Number Four, and I gave it a rating of four out of five. The plot opens through the eyes of Marina; she is number seven, hiding in a Spanish convent. Her Cepan, has given up hope, so Marina is left to learn her Legacies alone. She's not sure what she'll do when the Mogadorians finally arrive to kill them. The plot also follows John and Number Six from the first book, as they flee the Mogadorians who have attacked them. They, along with Sam, travel back and forth across the country, trying to stay hidden from their attackers. Number Six laments that she has lost her Chest, the box containing powerful crystals from their home planet, and she also tells John that she knows the location of the Mogadorian base. The one thing that makes sense to them is that they must find a way to get all of the surviving gardes together if they hope to defeat their enemy.

The second half of this book was very similar to the first with a great deal of action, fighting, and suspense. My main criticism was with the way the author switched points of view between John and Number Seven. This technique can be effective, but there were a number of chapters where it took me several paragraphs to realize that the setting and point of view had changed. You'll like this book if you enjoyed the first, and I'm looking forward to reading the third book in the series, The Power of Nine, due out in August of 2012.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

This book is the first in the Percy Jackson series, and I gave it a rating of five out of five. Percy notices some strange things occurring around his school and has one of his teachers attach him. He later discovers that he has some special powers when he gets around water. After nearly being killed, Percy goes to Camp Half-Blood where he discovers that his father is Poseidon. His father is feuding with Zeus, because Zeus believes Percy has stolen his lightning bolt. Percy is given ten days to retrieve the lightning bolt and return it to Mt. Olympus. It is believed that Hades actually stole to bolt, so Percy must travel to the Underworld to find it. The world will go into a monumental war if he fails in his quest.

I thought the plot moved along well, and the character interactions are fun. Percy and his two companions constantly mix their roles as mythical characters with their unique personalities. I also enjoyed the oracle's prophecies. I like reading unclear predictions and then seeing how they actually turn out in the end. It's fun to make predictions as an active reader.

The Lorien Legaices #1: I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

I first heard of this title as a movie, but I gave the book a rating of five out of five. "John Smith" and eight other gardes escape from their planet, Lorein, and go into hiding on Earth. Their planet has been invaded by Mogadorians who intend to kill all of the inhabitants and take all of the planet's resources. Earth is the Mogadorians next target. The gardes will develop legacies, or special powers, while on Earth which will hopefully make them strong enough to defeat the enemy. Due to some special protection, the Mogadorians are only able to kill the gardes in numerical order as long as the gardes are separate from each other. John and his guardian move to Paradise, Ohio, to go into hiding and wait for John's legacies to develop. Of course, John makes friends with a diverse group of humans, but he must try to hide his secret identity and powers from them. His presence endangers the humans, but John has never had close friends before. What will he do when the Mogadorians discover his location?

The plot jumped into the action immediately as the third garde was killed in the opening pages. I enjoyed John's character as he tried to balance his need to survive with his need for friendship and love. The plot held my interest very well, and I ended up reading the book in one day. While training with his guardian, John often had flashbacks to his early life on Lorein which might confuse readers who aren't paying attention. John also had a budding romance with Sarah, so readers may be turned off if they're not willing to accept frequent hugging and kissing. Overall, I really enjoyed the book, and I'm hoping to get my hands on the sequel, The Power of Six.

Skyship Academy: The Pearl Wars by Nick James

This book is the first in a new series (2011), and I gave it a rating of five out of five. In the year 2095, Earth's environments and governments have changed after a horrific, devastating world war. Jesse Fisher lives above the planet with his friends in the Skyship Academy, other people live near big cities on the Surface, and everyone else lives in wasteland outside the cities. People living above the Earth are not allowed to come down to its surface, and the large cities are run like fortresses. The key energy source during this time period is pearls, balls of energy that fall from space, and Earth's inhabitants fight over them. Jesse nearly dies during a mission to retrieve pearls when he falls from a twelve-story building. Cassius, the boy who made Jesse fall, is unaware that Earth's future depends on these two boys. Jesse seems to be the least likely person to hold the key to survival in his hands. Literally.

The action opened quickly on page one with Jesse dangling from a rooftop. The plot and conflict seemed to be pretty clear as the different characters fought over pearls and planned secret missions. However, little hints started popping up that there was more going on than first thought. Jesse and Cassius had undiscovered powers that they weren't able to control, while the people around them had secrets and weren't always trustworthy. I was a little bothered at how the verb tenses changed in different chapters, and I'm not certain why it was done. That's the language arts teacher in me, but I'm looking forward to the sequel. It was a new, well-written science fiction novel.

Matt Cruse #1: Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

I gave this book a rating of four out of five. Matt Cruse works on a luxury airship that travels around the world. One year after rescuing a delirious man in a hot-air balloon, Matt meets the man's granddaughter, Kate, who is trying to find the strange flying creatures described in the man's journal. The airship is hijacked by pirates, and their damaged airship is forced to land on an unmapped island. Matt and Kate explore the island and discover a very unusual skeleton. It's large teeth indicate it was a dangerous animal, but can these creatures actually be alive. The plot takes off from there in a twisting adventure full of action, and more pirates!

It's an interesting conflict and plot, but I would have liked the action to move a bit quicker. The first half of the book held my interest, but I kept wanting more to happen. The plot picks up significantly once the pirates attack, and I enjoyed the surprises that followed. Kate's impulsiveness gets her into trouble but also leads to several interesting discoveries.