When Molly gets kicked out of the Naval Academy, she loses more than just another home, she loses the only two things that truly matter: flying in space and her training partner, Cloe. A dull future seems to await, until a marvellous discovery changes everything.

Her father’s old starship, missing for a decade, turns up halfway across the galaxy. Its retrieval launches Molly and Cole on the adventure of a lifetime, one that will have lasting consequences for themselves and billions of others.

What starts off as a simple quest to reconnect with her past, ends up forging a new future. And the forgotten family she hoped to uncover becomes one she never foresaw: a band of alien misfits and runaways – the crew of the starship Parsona.

Ever looked up into the sky at night and imagined yourself flying around the stars off on some other-worldly adventure? Well, this is Molly’s reality. Or will be. Molly is a navy cadet. And don’t be fooled into thinking the Navy is what we understand the Navy to be. Yes they drive ships, but not the standard H.M.A.S. vessels of today’s waters. Molly and her fellow classmates are learning to pilot starships. Sure they are still in training but running a full visual simulator is darn close to the real thing, right down to the G-force experienced.

But in a standard-procedure simulator test, something seems to go wrong. For Molly and her pilot Cole fail and fail miserably. And as much as they try to convince their superiors otherwise, no-one believes them. For Molly and Cole’s simulator was tampered with. Every procedure runs fine, except the ability to arm and fire weapons. Without weapons, they have almost a no-chance at survival. Cole suspects sabotage. With both of them for examination, it will be Molly that the blame is laid at. Particular since Cole was technically ‘killed’ early into the simulator run and it is so much easier to blame the girl.

For Molly, this means expulsion. No more training, and no more hope of becoming a Naval officer. Resigned to a life at a normal high school, everything suddenly seems less for Molly. If loss of her only home, her connection to her past and her best friend that she can’t stop thinking about wasn’t enough, Molly is an outcast in her new school, merely because she is different. That is, until she gets an opportunity of a lifetime. Her father’s ship has been found. And as the legal owner, Molly is the only one who can go and collect it.

And a seemingly straightforward mission is the start of a whole new adventure that even Molly couldn’t begin to fathom…

Molly Fyde and the Parson Rescue is debut novel from Hugh Howey and the first in the Molly Fyde series. The thing that grabbed me from the first page of this novel was the believability in writing and character. The plot just flowed effortlessly, from describing the complexities of hyperspace, simulation flying and other world social structure to the simple dialogue between two best friends struggling to find what they mean to each other. There aren’t many authors who can get you completely lost in a story, but Howey was one of them. For me, I just wanted to know what would happen next, what the next twist in the story would be. As a credit to the author, I never saw the ending that was coming. It makes you easily want to read the next book in the series as soon as you can.

The characters of Molly and Cole were another highlight to the novel. Reading from Molly’s point of view as she struggled through countless personal and emotional challenges left me caring about what happened to her. The history and connection between Molly and Cole as a pair was believable, and the tension that built up added to the story, instead of taking away from it as so many teen-romances can be known to do. That being said, Molly does have her fair share of moments where I just wanted to knock some sense into her and tell her to get over the small dramatics that really seemed unnecessary.

All in all though, a highly engaging read that I would recommend for anyone who is or was a fan of space adventure.

Pages: 258

Publication Date: 2009

Rating::

Teaser quote: By the time they arrived at the Palan system, he must’ve had eighteen hours of uninterrupted rest. No bathroom breaks. No food. No flirting. Molly couldn’t understand how he contained himself. Even from the last.

It would take a very special person to crack the computer systems of the White House.

An expert. A genius. A devil. All of the above, some would say.

Someone like Sam Wilson, brilliant teenage computer hacker. But Sam’s obsession is about to lead him into a dangerous world. A world of espionage and intrigue; of cybercrime and imminent war.

A world where logging on to your computer could mean the difference between life and death.

Sam Wilson is just your average teenager. At least he looks like your average teenager. What is different about Sam is his ability with computers. Sam can access nearly anything that is on the internet. He has written his own computer programs to allow this and just recently pulled off one of the biggest hacks the world has seen – with a few side effects. Sam hacked into Telecomerica, got himself and his friend a new computer and neuro-headset, but in the process, caused the majority of the United States of America to lose power. For a few days.

Of course, if you ask Sam, none of that was meant to happen but he needed to blow off his trackers somehow. And as Sam successfully gets his new computer without any obvious form of detection, Sam is ready for his next challenge – NetH@ack. The secret convention of the most skilled hackers on the net. With belief in his ability that he can’t be caught, Sam almost succeeds. That is, until the Cyber Defence Division of Homeland Security knocks on his door.

Transport to a containment facility, Sam is destined to be a prisoner for the rest of his life. Seemingly forgotten by all but his mother, it is the worst situation Sam could have ended up in. Constant security, no internet access and limited computer time on a computer so ancient and riddled in security protection, that it seems impossible to get through. Apparently. But if you know what Sam does, then it seems like biding your time is all that you have to do.

Making one of the most daring escape attempts in the history of Recton Hall, against all odds, Sam succeeds only to be picked up, again, by the Cyber Defence Division which seems like it was waiting for this exact move, somehow knowing that Sam would try to escape. Once Sam reaches CDD headquarters, everything that he thought he knew, gets turned completely on its head. Sam is given a lifetime opportunity – if he can survive the probation.

And when the next war begins, it starts in cyberspace, and Sam is part of the front line of defence, and it’s up to Sam to stop the internet taking over the world.

Brian Jack by Brian Falkner is a fast moving action thriller that kept me turning page after page, wondering what is going to happen next. When I started reading, and I found that Brian Jack was based in cyberspace, I was worried that it would become too technical, that I wouldn’t understand the language being used, but quite like his previous novel Falkner provides a way that you don’t need to be a tech-savvy person to understand and enjoy the novel. The feeling of being in over your head only enhances the understanding of the stakes the characters would be going through. The development of Sam from a teenager who believes he can do anything into a person who understands the implications of what one single action will have on the world is believable and engaging from start to finish.

A good read with a fast plot and an action thriller for all ages.

Pages: 438

Publication Date: 2009

Rating::

“Your Noise reveals you, Todd Hewitt.”
A voice –
In the darkness –
Everything is shadows and blur and it feels like the world’s spinning and my blood is too hot and my brain is clogged and I can’t think and it’s dark –
I blink again.
Wait –
No, wait –
Just now, just now we were in the square –
Just now she was in my arms –
She was dying in my arms –
“Where is she?” I spit into the dark, tasting my blood, my voice croaking, my Noise rising like a sudden hurricane, high and red and furious. “WHERE IS SHE?”

This is how the second novel in the Chaos Walking Trilogy, The Ask and the Answer, begins. My heart was thumping as I read every single word. Every single freaking word, and it did not stop thumping until the end, some 519 pages later. Even then, I had to take a walk around the block just to calm myself down.

For those that have read the first book, The Knife of Never Letting Go, you’ll be well aware that readers were left dangling in the midst of one hell of a cliffhanger ending. Fortunately, this installment picks up right where that one left off, only now our two protagonists are no longer together. Todd has no idea where Viola is, or even if she’s alive. But the Mayor (actually, that’s Mr President to you now, thank you very much) promises Todd she’s alive and that he’ll get to see her soon. Todd has nothing else to go off and has to believe what he’s being told. He just has to. The thought of Viola not being alive any more is just too much to contemplate. He tried to save her; he tried with everything he had. What if it wasn’t enough?

I know what you’re thinking. If Viola isn’t with Todd, how are we supposed to know what happened to her? Fear not, special readers, as Patrick Ness is the God of all Gods right now and he definitely factored that in. Viola fans will be super pleased to hear that she has her own point of view in this installment, which means – obviously – that she’s alive. But she doesn’t know where Todd is, either, doesn’t know if Todd is even still alive. The President has her being held ‘captive’ and wont tell her a thing. The President is no fool, and he knows better than anyone that keeping Viola and Todd apart is imperative if he wants to see out his plans successfully.

Can you imagine what would happen if they were ever reunited, what they could achieve as a team? Would it be their connection be as strong as it was before? Would they still need each other so desperately? Maybe you’ll find out, but then again, maybe you wont…

Todd grows a whole freaking lot in this novel. He displays the maturity and strength of character of someone much older than just thirteen. In fact, at times, I found it hard to believe (in an astoundingly impressed way) that someone of his age would know so much, would have the emotional capacity to feel the way he does. It’s almost impossible not to fall in love with Todd – even if he is only thirteen years old.

I adored reading Viola’s point of view, as well. Readers are afforded the privilege of stepping inside her mind and witnessing first hand how she thinks – and honestly, I can see now why Todd likes her so much. She’s a fierce, strong girl with a remarkable capacity for compassion. She’s a fantastic heroine, and a great role model for young girls everywhere.

The Ask and the Answer is completely unputdownable. I read the entire 519 pages in one sitting, not even stopping to go to the loo. This is one series I know I’ll read over and over again in the years to come.

Rating::

Jenna Fox doesn’t know who she is. After a horrible accident, she wakes up only to find that she can’t remember anything at all. She’s lucky, though, because she’s got two committed parents that documented every part of her life on film and now all she has to do is watch her history on the television and piece all the memories back together. As Jenna watches the tapes, though, she feels like something is … wrong.

And Jenna is right.

You see, she’s not really Jenna anymore. Not in the sense that you and I understand the concept of a human being, anyway. Her parents – incredibly smart scientists – couldn’t stand the thought of losing their precious daughter after Jenna’s car accident, and when they were told that there was no chance she was going to make it, they took it upon themselves to see that Jenna survived – at all costs. Now, only ten-percent of her body is human and her memories are actually data uploads that her parents scanned from her brain before they made the transformation. But ten-percent isn’t enough. It is considered illegal for any one person to possess more than ten percent. So for Jenna, that means she is ninety percent illegal.

Imagine learning these things about yourself. How would you cope with knowledge like that? Personally, I don’t think I would cope. I’d crumble into a thousand tiny pieces. So all things considered, Jenna handles things well enough. As best as can be expected from anyone her age, in her position. But what about the fact that she is illegal? That means she can’t tell anyone about her body. Suddenly, with no one to talk to, Jenna feels more alone than she ever thought possible.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox is a slow moving novel. I found it irritating that it took so long to learn what was wrong with Jenna. By the time the revelation occurred, I was so frustrated that I almost didn’t care anymore. Jenna herself also irked the bananas out of me. She whined a lot, and I know that she has a whole lot to be whiny about, but there was something about the way she whined that annoyed me. As far as protagonists go, she certainly isn’t one of my favourites. But I do think that the story holds some interesting discussion points that people today should be thinking about. With the way we’re progressing with science and technology, society may find itself dealing with those very issues sooner than you think.

All in all, The Adoration of Jenna Fox is a great concept that just lacked a little in its execution.

Rating: :

After a horrible car accident, Lia wakes up in the hospital feeling more than a little broken. In fact, she doesn’t feel like herself at all.

Because she’s not.

“We had to,” my mother pleaded. “We didn’t have any choice other.”
“No.”
“Honey, you heard the doctors, you were going to die. This was the only other way.”
“No.”

It was the worst outcome Lia could think of. They’d turned her into a skinner: a machine, a computer that looks like her, talks like her, and even has all her old memories. But it isn’t Lia. Not really.

Where Lia is from, being a skinner is somewhat of a controversy, and when she tries to slot back into her old life, things don’t go very smoothly. Her friends treat her differently. Her boyfriend seems unable to connect with her new machine-self. Even her family – who were responsible for making her a skinner in the first place – have trouble accepting her back into their lives.

Lia struggles with the idea of being a machine and spends a great deal of the novel wallowing in self-pity. Consequently, the book is a little on the depressing side. Lia is a bit of a whiner and I found myself wishing she’d just get over it already, and do something about it.

Thankfully, she does.

She becomes friends with Auden – who is the only person in her life that seems unconcerned by the fact that she no longer has a beating heart. It’s clear from the beginning of their friendship that Auden has a thing for her, but Lia is too caught up in her own depression to notice. The question I found myself asking was, does Auden like Lia because he likes her, or does he like her because she’s a skinner? I felt sorry for Auden and desperately hoped that he’d grow a pair sooner or later.

Does he? Well, I know the answer, but you’ll just have to read it for yourself to find out. More to the point, how long can Lia live like this, surrounded by people that wishes she was dead? I know I wouldn’t be able to do it for very long…

This is the first novel in a planned series and I’m looking forward to the next instalment.

An intriguing tale that questions the very foundation of humanity.

Rating::

Wow. I mean, just wow. I’m in shock, I think. I finished reading The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness about forty minutes ago and I just can’t get my brain to work. I’m stuck in time, my thoughts frozen on the last sentence of the novel, my mouth hanging wide open in the shape of an O.

I’ve been reading a lot lately, devouring books faster than I can get my hands on them, but nothing – I repeat nothing – stands out nearly half as much as this book does. It’s profound, it’s remarkable, it’s downright captivating.

Imagine living in a world where women no longer exist. In fact, they’ve been extinct for so long that you’ve never ever seen one with your own two eyes. Well, that’s what life is like for twelve, almost thirteen-year-old Todd Hewitt. When his people settled in Prenticetown, New World, they had no idea that they were settling in a place full of disease. Before long all the men had contracted The Noise – the ability to hear the thoughts of everyone around them – and the women started dropping off like flies. Todd’s mother died just after she had him, and so did all the other women, which makes Todd the youngest, and last person born in Prenticetown.

In a town where everyone can hear everyone’s thoughts (including animals), there is never a moment of peace. Not ever. So when Todd stumbles upon a hole in all the noise, a patch of quiet, he knows something is very wrong. Everyone hears the quiet in his thoughts and suddenly Todd finds himself being chased out of town. Only, Todd didn’t really know there was an out of town. Suddenly, nothing makes sense.

While being pursued he stumbles across the quiet patch again, only to discover that the quiet is actually a she, a girl. And he can’t hear a single thought passing through her mind. But all the women died, didn’t they? If so, then what the hell is this thing in front of him? It must be an alien – a spackle – right? Wrong. It only takes Todd a few moments to realize that this is no spackle, and that he really is looking at a girl, for real. But where did she come from? And how did she survive the disease? Unfortunately, Todd and Viola (the girl) don’t really have time to get to know each other because all of Prenticetown is looking for him, looking for her. Todd’s life takes on a new meaning as he realizes that he must protect Viola at all costs. If the army catches up with them, they’ll kill her and they’ll kill him too.

Suddenly, as the truth about his people’s real past comes out, Viola and Todd realize that the only thing they have left is each other. Their survival depends on the other’s commitment to keep them alive. The Knife of Never Letting Go is a story full of betrayal, deceit, and the painful realization that the human race is capable of some seriously profound acts of evil. Everywhere Todd and Viola go, destruction seems to follow them. They realize they can’t go into any more settlements because the army tears through soon after, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. When they make the choice to avoid all further settlements, in all circumstances in order to protect civilians from unnecessary harm, readers learn that perhaps, just maybe, there is a little bit of good left in humanity after all.

The companionship that develops between Todd and Viola is heart warming, to say the least. Their instinctual, primal desire to survive is what brings them together, but it’s their friendship that ultimately keeps them fighting, keeps them alive. They not only want to stay alive for themselves, but they want to stay alive for each other, too. Because really, a life without companionship isn’t a life worth fighting for. The moment Todd realizes this is both beautiful and poetic, and I found myself feeling a little choked up, searching for tissues.

Patrick Ness’s phonetic use of language really helps set the tone of the story, and assists in building clear, perfect images of the characters in question. When Todd finds Viola, it is instantly clear she’s not from his planet because she pronounces words differently to him. I normally find phonetic manipulation of language like this annoying as it tends to slow down my reading process, and interrupts the narrative flow of things. The phonetic manipulation in The Knife of Never Letting Go, however, makes for effortless, colorful reading.

The Knife of Never Letting Go is nothing short of brilliant. Every page brings with it new revelations, new drama, deeper character development. Just when you think the book can’t possibly get any better, Ness raises the bar and takes the story to a whole new level of greatness. Reading this novel has been a real pleasure, and one that I know I’ll repeat many times over in the months to come. To say that I am eagerly awaiting the second instalment of this story is the understatement of the century.

Rating::

Meet Jill – she’s on a mission. Prom is coming up and she is determined to bag herself the perfect date. But Jill is harbouring a big secret that could not only destroy her chances of showing up to prom on the arm of a hottie, but could also ruin her entire life.

Meet Jack – his parents don’t like him much, but he’s misunderstood. They keep him locked up in his bedroom so he can’t cause any trouble, but Jack is tired of being their prisoner. And anyway, he has his sights set on a girl, and he can’t very well capture her attention sitting in his bedroom, can he?

But Jack and Jill share a common problem that might stop them both from achieving their goals. Unbeknownst to all, they actually share the same body. For four days out of every month, Jill sprouts man bits and transforms into Jack. And Jack is all boy.

The concept is original. How many novels have you read where the female protagonist turns into a boy when she should be having her period? For me, this is the first. The story is narrated through both Jack and Jill’s perspectives, so readers get a chance to get inside both their heads. While they’re both so different, essentially they want the same thing: love. Will their gender mutation problem hinder their individual quests?

If you’re into the whole girl-meets-boy, girl-gets-boy type of story then Cycler is definitely a novel you’ll enjoy. Jill is awkward in her pursuits for love and is a character that I’m sure many teenagers all around the world will relate to. You’ll laugh with her, you’ll feel her pain, and mortification too. She’s a very real, three-dimensional character. Interestingly enough, even though he’s the cause of most of Jill’s problems, readers will undoubtedly also fall hopelessly in love with Jack. He’s a victim of circumstance and forgiving his poor behavior is an easy task.

As the novel closes, Jack and Jill appear no closer to a resolution than they were at the beginning of the novel. I can’t help but wonder (and hope) that McLaughlin is planning a sequel. Jack and Jill’s adventures seem far from over.

Cycler is quirky, funny and highly creative. Cycler is a standout debut novel that Lauren McLaughlin should be proud

Rating: :

The Hunger Games is the first novel in a planned trilogy, and what a ride it is!

In Katniss Everdeen’s world, the government randomly chooses one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen from each of the twelve districts in her country to participate in the Hunger Games. The “Tributes” as they’re called, are then taken to the Capitol and thrown into a huge arena which is set up to simulate the wilderness they live in. From then on, it’s pretty much a kill or be killed situation, and the last Tribute alive wins – obviously.

When Katniss wakes up on the day of the Reaping, she never thought her own sister would be the Tribute selected from her district. In an effort to save Prim’s life, Katniss volunteers herself instead. And so the Hunger Games begin…

This novel is a real page-turner. I started reading early in the afternoon, and I was physically incapable of putting it down. Instead of showering, I ran myself a bath so I could cleanse and read at the same time. I skipped lunch and dinner and refused to go to bed until it was over.

Katniss is a strong character, and her resourcefulness is inspiring. She understands the essence of the game; she knows that unless she wins, she’s going to die. Her focus does not waiver and she does not allow her emotions to control her actions. Yet the value of human life is not lost on Katniss, as it appears to be on her fellow Tributes. Where they kill ruthlessly in their own quests for survival, Katniss has a different strategy.

What I like about Katniss, however, is that she is smart, yet not cocky. She is confident in her abilities, yet humble when it counts. She is a thinker, but does not allow her ponderous thoughts to cloud her judgement. She appreciates the value of friendship and family, but she is definitely more than capable of standing on her own two feet. She is a strong, independent and utterly likeable character.

Girls, if you’re looking for a book that empowers your womanhood, look no further. If Katniss can, you can too! And boys, don’t despair. While this story is narrated through a female’s perspective, there is so much action in The Hunger Games I doubt you’ll ever feel bored. Katniss’s narration is far from the girly girl slang that seems to be saturating Young Adult bookshelves these days and reading through this particular girl’s eyes wont be a problem for you.

Not only does Collins really capture the essence of good characterization in this novel, but she proves to readers that she really is a master of the English language. Her prose is beautiful, creative and full of powerful imagery. It was hard to believe that I wasn’t actually in that arena with Katniss, watching her on her travels.

I take my hat off to you Suzanne Collins - the world needs more writers like you!

Rating: :