Kearsten's Book Club: Black Hole Sun by David Macinnis Gill

Monday, night, our book club discussed David Macinnis Gill's science fiction, action-adventure story, Black Hole Sun. 

On the planet Mars, sixteen-year-old Durango and his crew of mercenaries are hired by the settlers of a mining community to protect their most valuable resource from a feral band of marauders.

We started our discussion with some gripes, as many of our book clubbers felt it took too long for them to get invested in Durango and his world.  As the story is set on Mars in the future, the characters used many slang words (and other languages); however, almost none of the words were defined in the text, and there was no glossary to be found.  It turns out, interestingly, that many of our teens (myself included) are fantasy readers, and we've grown accustomed to using included maps and glossaries to dissect an author's world.

We had a great time, though, talking about the characters (nearly everyone loved the creepy, crazy queen), the society (which seemed to have no middle class, unless you counted the military), and about the European and Asian feudal influences on Durango's military background.  Most fascinating for us were the military regulations: they were almost religious in nature, and so strictly adhered to, it seemed as if the rigid honor code was in place to easily control the people who followed it unquestioningly...except for Durango, of course!

Overall, while the group gave the book an "okay" average of about 6 1/2 out of 10, we had a lively and fun discussion about Black Hole Sun.

As this is action-packed, with some awesomely intense battle scenes (with some wicked-sounding weaponry and armor that adapts to one's environment), a strong and snarky male point-of-view, this is a great read for guys and girls alike!  But if you've already read it and its sequels, Invisible Sun and Shadow on the Sun, why not try one of these readalikes, chosen by our own teen readers?

If you like exciting science fiction/action: 

The Last Thing I Remember (bk 1 in the Homelanders series) by Andrew Klaven. High school student Charlie West awakens bloody and bruised in a concrete bunker, only to discover that he has lost a year of his life and remembers nothing about escaping from prison after being convicted of murdering his former best friend, or why he is being pursued by both the law and a group of terrorists trying to bring down the government of the United States.

Divergent by Veronica Roth. In a future Chicago, sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all.

If you're intrigued by children being trained by a shady military/government: 

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. "An outstanding tale of the child-hero Ender Wiggin, who must fight a desperate battle against a deadly alien race if mankind is to survive."

Legend by Marie Lu. In a dark future, when North America has split into two warring nations, fifteen-year-olds Day, a famous criminal, and prodigy June, the brilliant soldier hired to capture him, discover that they have a common enemy.

If you wonder how outcasts can survive in a very rough world:

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry. In a post-apocalyptic world where fences and border patrols guard the few people left from the zombies that have overtaken civilization, fifteen-year-old Benny Imura is finally convinced that he must follow in his older brother's footsteps and become a bounty hunter.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. Through twists and turns of fate, orphaned Mary seeks knowledge of life, love, and especially what lies beyond her walled village and the surrounding forest, where dwell the unconsecrated, aggressive flesh-eating people who were once dead.

Attack on Titan

I should be working on something else at the moment. Something that has a crucial deadline, but I feel like my brain has fried itself out right now. So instead of working on the project I have due on Monday, I'll tell you about a new manga series I read a few weeks ago.

As I stated earlier last month, I've been reading graphic novels during my lunch hours. Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama is the horror, action manga set after humanity has been decimated by the giant humanoid Titans. One hundred years have passed since the first attack and humans have rallied together behind a walled city that has three separate walls that progressively get taller. No one knows why the Titans attack and eat humans. The few brave humans who go out scouting end up being brought back in pieces. There's only one weak spot on a Titan's body--no, not on it's Achilles heel that would be way to convenient. It's the back of its neck. In order to fight the Titans, the military fighters use air mechanical equipment that allow them to run and climb faster, and jump higher. All seems well within the walled city until a giant Titan peeks over the city's first wall and then all heck breaks loose.

Notice I haven't talked about the characters in the previous paragraph. This ensemble cast blends together with little back story given to any one character in the first volume. The military has both male and female characters and leaders which I give huge props to the author for since so many times the female characters aren't the strong ones in the military--or heaven forbid, are the ones who need protection. There is one exception to the ensemble cast, by the end of the first volume, you begin to learn more about Eren, a young fighter who wants to see the world. He is the most intriguing to me as a reader and you will definitely get a shock at the end of the first volume about him--so be sure to grab volume 2 as well!

The art is a bit odd--Sometimes it's brilliant in its showing movement; other times, it's very ordinary and rough for an action manga. The horror part of the series is when the Titans attack. Yes, it has the action scenes, but it also shows the Titans chomping off people's arms and heads or even gulping them whole.

When I got back from lunch, I immediately began gushing about it to a coworker who reads manga. Then promptly grabbed volume 2 for the next day's lunch! I thoroughly enjoy manga that manages to surprise me. This one does that and more. Take a chance and pick it up today at the library!

If you missed it...Ani-Manga Club Picks

The Ani-Manga Club met this week to discuss action manga, which is by far the largest genre of manga at the library. All the favorites were mentioned: One Piece, Tsubasa, Yuyu Hakusho, Gundam, Bleach, and of course, Naruto.

Instead of boring you with descriptions of those well-known titles, I thought I'd try my hand at convincing you to check out some lesser known action manga.

Tegami Bachi by Hiroyuki Asada

In a world covered by almost complete darkness, messengers deliver packages between the different towns, fighting against the giant metal insects that infest the darkness. Gauche Suede has one last delivery to make before he is promoted. The package: a boy named Lag traumatized after his mother's abduction.

What makes this manga unique is its world building artwork. Great detail, interesting world, intriguing characters. It has everything to make it a great manga series.

Air Gear by Oh!Great

Take inline skating, gangs, comedy, and a few cute girls thrown in and you have Air Gear. Itsuki is the leader of his junior high gang and when he is devastatingly beaten by a skating gang, he is introduced to Air Trecks inline skating that gives him the ability to regain his face and into the world of skater gangs.

Oh!Great skims the line of appropriateness with his comedy, sexual innuendo, and action mixed storyline. But he does it with great success and popularity. The artwork is great, the storyline has a sort of real world feel to it, and the skating action works.

And finally, the title that I think mecha fans should read over Gundam. Neon Genesis Evangelion by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. Most anime fans are already familiar with the storyline, but this manga is a reworking of the series. It follows the basic storyline (In 2015, the "Angels" have returned, and Shinji Ikari, a fourteen year-old child of the new Earth, is forced by his father Gendo--commander of the secret organization NERV--to pilot the monstrous biomechanical weapon called "Evangelion" to match the Angels' fearsome power...) but is in manga format. Unlike the other Neon manga series out there, it's closest to the anime.

If you are a mecha fan, you should read this.

I Am Number Four Readlikes

Alright, it was the number 1 movie this weekend, but have you read the book?


Alright, you've seen the movie and read the book, what's next? You can try some of these books while waiting for book #2 (coming out in August). I focused on the action of I am Number Four and not the alien aspect, so if you want the alien aspect, write a comment and I'll post another list!


The Awakening by Michael Carroll
Superheroes (and villains) disappeared ten years ago, but two teen boys’ developing powers are gaining attention
from all sides.


Thieves like Us by Stephen Cole
Teen geniuses/delinquents are handpicked for this Indiana Jones-esque adventure to decipher clues to the secret of everlasting life.


The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Thomas wakes up in a stone maze with no memory of how he got there.


Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
The daughter of the warden helps Finn, a prisoner, escape from Incarceron, a prison with a mind of its own. (and it's going to be a movie too starring Taylor Lautner and Emma Watson!)


Sure Fire by Jack Higgins with Justin Richards
What would you do if you found out your father was a spy?

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz
Think of a Young James Bond action series—and the movie starred Alex Pettyfer (with his British accent).


Maximum Ride: the Angel Experiment by James Patterson
Genetic experimented orphans ban together to be a family and to protect each other against the “School.”


Disclaimer: I wrote an article on this topic for AZLA's (Arizona Library Association) newsletter.

Lightning Thief

Wow, I've posted three days in a row. I'm on a streak! Anyway, today I thought I'd write about another graphic novel that I just read: The Lightning Thief.

We all know what The Lightning Thief is about, right? If not--where have you been? I was asked to review this book for a library journal recently. Okay, so I've read the book, listened to the book, watched the movie, and now have read the graphic novel. What do I think about it? Well, the novel is still the best way to be introduced to the story, but this graphic novel is a pretty good adaptation of the story (better than the movie, for sure!). Besides the fact that Percy looks to be 16-20 in this book instead of the 12 he's supposed to be, the artwork is realistic and well done.

Some of the scenes I really enjoy aren't here--the trapped tunnel of love in Denver, the semi-truck ride to Vegas, and my favorite Medusa. But for the most part the adapter, Robert Venditti, kept the pacing at a breakneck speed.

So if you have already read the novel series and are waiting in line for The Lost Hero, then you should pick this graphic novel up to see another view of the Half Blood world.

James Bond 007

To celebrate the new movie and to nominate a James Bond novel for the Spies & Intrigue list for Popular Paperbacks, I picked up Casino Royale, the first James Bond novel written by Ian Fleming. In case you are unfamiliar with James Bond for some bizarre reason or another, Bond is a spy/agent for the British Secret Service. In this particular book, he goes to France to play a high stakes baccarat game at a casino in hopes to stop a Soviet agent from gaining back the money in gambling that he lost in bad deals before the Soviet agency: SMERSH figures out what he has done.


Amazingly enough, this premise of reading about a card game is actually interesting and holds the reader's attention. I've never been one to watch Poker on TV or even when the movie of Casino Royale came out a few years back, the card game dragged for me as a viewer. Preparing myself to read about this card game that 1) I've never heard of before (Baccarat); and 2) is as passive of an action sequence as possible, I wasn't expecting it to be interesting whatsoever. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was interesting! :)


If you've seen the film version of this story, you'll find there are many similarities, but just as many differences. Over the years, Bond as the movie character has toned down his sexism a bit. And Daniel Craig definitely doesn't fit the image of Bond described in the novel. As a female viewer, I'm glad that he is Bond in the movies right now!


Anyway, if you've seen the movies and enjoyed them, you should take a step back in time and read the novels from the '50s and '60s. You won't regret it.


James Bond fans should also pick up Silverfin by Charlie Higson, the first volume in the Young Bond series. It showcases Bond's background as a teenager and you'll be able to find out how he got his start!

If I had superpowers...

I wonder what type of superpowers I would want if I had them. When watching Heroes I think that Peter Petrelli's powers are pretty cool, but then I would have to remember everyone's names and powers. And let's be honest, I don't have that great of a memory for anything but book and movie plots. Then there's Claire--never being able to die (and of course this season, feel pain). Cool, right? Being impervious to pretty much everything. Then we met Adam and let's face it immortality probably is overrated. Who would want to have to work forever! So I don't know what superpower I'd want. I'd like to think I'd use my powers for good if I had them, but who knows. More likely, I'd use them to further my laziness!

Anyway, you're probably wondering why I'm rambling on about this. I have a point really, I do. I just finished this fast-paced science fiction, action novel by Michael Carroll called The Awakening.

The first book in the Quantum Prophecy series focuses on Colin and his friend Danny. It's the tenth anniversary of Mystery Day, the day superhumans vanished from earth. For homework, Colin has to write a four page essay on what it would be like to be a superhuman. He tries to think how a super villian would rationalize their evilness, but can't make it work out. He thinks about the ability to fly so he could be a star athlete. He can't focus on his school work to well, because his best friend Danny did something odd and incredible after school. He saved a girl from being hit by a bus. The odd part of it was it happened too fast to be physically possible, unless...

And that's when Colin thinks that Danny may have superhuman abilities. The it gets really weird. The next night, Colin can hear things he should never be hearing--the water for the tea kettle being started four houses away, and Danny and his father coming to visit his family really late at night, and even worse, a helicopter pilot speaking about taking the boys alive is the number one priority--everyone else is dispensable.

Colin and Danny are kidnapped and Colin's parents are hostages. Who took them? What are they wanting to do with two teen boys who have just discovered their abilities? And where are they going?

All this and more is answered within the pages of The Awakening. It's a fast-paced read. I finished it in just a few hours. Will Colin and Danny end up good guys or villains, I don't know, but this first book is just the beginning. I'll have to pick up book 2 at the bookstore to see what will happen next!

Alfred stole the Sword Excalibur...

And all he got for it was the murder of his uncle and this blog post.

All sillyness aside, The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp by Rick Yancey is all about Alfred, a "normal" teen boy who has had a run of misfortunes. First his father ran out before he was even born; he's a BIG boy with a BIG head; his mom has died of cancer leaving him alone with his uncle who has big dreams that leave him susceptible to bad men. His uncle has made a deal with a man to retrieve a sword from the office building he guards as its night watchman in exchange for 1 million dollars. Alfred gets involved, even though he thinks something is fishy about the whole thing, but what can he do when his uncle threatens him with foster care?

Little does Alfred know that this one small moment of thievery will cause possibly the world's destruction. The sword is Excalibur--the legendary sword of King Arthur--and whoever uses it can control men and be unbeatable in combat. After his uncle is killed and Alfred is introduced to the descendants of the Knights of the Round Table, he realizes the consequences of his action and feels that he needs to do something to set things right--which include his death (this isn't a spoiler--he tells you in the first paragraph!); high speed chases in amazing sports cars; secret government organizations; and fights against AODs (Agents of Darkness). When I started reading the book, I asked my husband what he thought of the book and he said, that this is the most realistic book of how a normal teen is put into spy/action situations. And he was right. Alfred isn't trained in fighting techniques like Alex Rider; he doesn't have parents who are spies; or is a genius with unusual skills. He's just an ordinary boy who is big for his size and a little slow to comprehend things...

And that's what makes this a fun book to read. It's action packed and full of unbelievable scenes that make this a book that should be made into a movie. It would be a great teen action flick!

Action Adventure Thieves

So another theme for the popular paperbacks committee I'm on is Spies & Intrigue. I don't talk about those books as often because I'm REALLY behind on my reading of the nominated titles. Shame on me, I know. So I'm catching up a bit. On Friday, I read Thieves like Us by Stephen Cole.

Jonah is up at 3 am in his prison cell thinking that it sounds pretty quiet in the prison--that is until he hears someone coming up to his cell and breaking him out. He's been given a chance to leave prison that comes with a price. His price? Use his skill in hacking and deciphering codes in crimes. Sure, he's already a criminal, but he had a reason for that crime--this one is just thievery, right? But with Patch, the one-eyed lockpicker; Motti, the systems expert; Con, the mesmerizer; and Tye, the driver/pilot extraordinaire, Jonah has found something he has always wanted--a family. Their backer, Mr. Coldhardt, has a new project for them--one that has ties to Ancient Egypt and could lead to eternal life.

As I started reading this book, I immediately thought of the Mod Squad--genius teens who were criminals join forces with the good guys--except they are still criminals in this book. As they justify it, the ones they steal from don't call the police. They call in mercenaries to steal it back and then kill you for stealing! But as I continued to read it became a mixture of Mission Impossible--who's on their side?; who's going to betray them?; and who can they trust? are all questions that popped in my head while reading--and Indiana Jones--grave robbing, ancient history lessons. It was loads of fun! Jonah and Tye are the narrators for the most part and I liked how both sounded jaded but willing to trust the other teens.

If you're looking for a fun action packed story for the summer, look no further. This is the one you need to read!