Divergent, by Veronica Roth (2011)

There is one mirror in my house.  It is behind a sliding panel in the hallway upstairs.  Our faction allows me to stand in front of it on the second day of every third month, the day my mother cuts my hair.

In the beginning of the great peace, factions that embraced a particular virtue were formed: Candor (honesty), Abnegation (selflessness), Dauntless (courage), Erudite (knowledge), and Amity (peace).  Their motto:  Faction before blood.

"In our factions, we find meaning, we find purpose, we find life."

Beatrice Prior is 16 years old.  She and her brother are about to take the aptitude test to find out which of the five factions each of them would best be suited for.  After Beatrice's test, she finds out that she displays aptitude for Abnegation, Dauntless and Erudite:  She is Divergent.

"This is different.  I don't mean you shouldn't share them now; I mean you should never share them with anyone, ever, no matter what happens.  Divergence is extremely dangerous.  You understand?"

Beatrice is forced to choose a faction at the Choosing Ceremony.  If she chooses Abnegation, she gets to stay with her family, but she has trouble living the life of selflessness because it doesn't feel genuine.  She is drawn to Dauntless, but choosing a different faction means leaving her family forever.  And failing to complete the initiation into a faction would make her factionless, living a life of misery and poverty.

Beatrice makes a startling decision at the Choosing Ceremony.  Her entire world changes and she doesn't know who to trust.  She is thrust into a competitive initiation where only the top 10 will be accepted; in the beginning there are 19 initiates.  She also is forced to keep her Divergent identity hidden from everyone.  In the midst of this, she discovers a that society may not be as perfect as she once thought. 

When I first started reading it, I thought, This is The Giver and Matched.  Then I read about the fence and I thought, This is Forest of Hands of Teeth.  There are times when Tris feels like Katniss and I think the lights of the games should come on.  But I quickly realized that even though some great authors may have influenced her story, this is all Veronica Roth and it's delicious.  I cannot wait for her second book, Insurgent, to be released.  Hopefully she's a super-fast writer!

Rating:  9 out of 10 stars

* mild sexual references

To check this out at NOLS, click HERE!

The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan (2009)

My mother used to tell me about the ocean.  She said there was a place where there was nothing but water as far as you could see and that it was always moving, rushing toward you and then away.

Maria's father is missing and her mom is now dead.  They live in a small village that is surrounded by a deadly forest, the Forest of Hands and Teeth.  The village is surrounded by fence, protecting the inhabitants from the Forest, which is filled with Unconsecrated, aggressive flesh-eating people who were once dead.  The Unconsecrated are driven by the desire for human flesh, spreading the infection.  Maria's village is an enclave of hundreds of survivors in the middle of the vast Forest.  Lost to them is who they are and why they're here.  Life before the Return is a mystery.

The Sisterhood governs the village, the Guardians protect the village, and the Unconsecrated are insatiable.  The secrets the Sisters hold abound.

Unmarried women don't have a lot of freedoms in the village.  They can live with their family.  A man may speak for her, court her, and marry her in the spring ceremonies.  Or she can join the Sisterhood.  But the village is about survival, and all healthy young adults are encouraged to marry.  After their mother dies, her older brother rejects her and Maria is forced to live with the Sisters in the Cathedral. 

"I hear you are to join the Sisterhood," he says.  His words hit me like a slap.  I don't know what I was expecting - anger, pain, regret, but not for him to turn me away.  Not for him to cast me out and leave me to the Sisters before I've even had a chance to speak with him.

While Maria lives in the Cathedral, she notices a gate that leads to a path stretching into the Forest, forbidden by the Sisters and the Guardians.  She notices a set of footprints. 

Someone from Outside has come to our village. 
     Which means that there is an Outside - something beyond the Forest.

Maria begins to ask questions, to wonder about what else is out there.  Her mother always told her stories of life before the Return, especially about the ocean.  Maria's curiosity turns into a desire to know the truth.

There is a breach in the village and Maria is forced to use the forbidden gate to leave the village.  Unconsecrated are everywhere, infecting hundreds of friends and family members.  Can Maria find the truth?

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is a fascinating read, but I was disappointed with the ending.  There is a lot about religion and Maria rejects God.  The premise of the book is interesting, but I was dissatisfied with the resolution of the story.  The imagery, however, is gorgeous.

Rating:  6 out of 10 stars
*Mild language, sexual references, violence, religion

To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!

The companion to this book:

Th1rteen R3asons Why, by Jay Asher (2007)

"Sir?" she repeats.  "How soon do you want it to get there?
     I rub two fingers, hard, over my left eyebrow.  The throbbing has become intense.  "It doesn't matter," I say.

Hannah Baker, age 17, committed suicide.  She was a smart, beautiful girl, full of life and potential, but a victim of bullying and harassing behavior.  The rumors snowballed and eventually took control of her life.  Now she's dead.  But before she died, she recorded seven cassette tapes to reveal the names of the people responsible for her death.  Each side of a cassette reveals someone that led Hannah to her suicide: the Baker's Dozen.

Thirteen people. 

The rules are pretty simple.  There are only two.  Rule number one:  You listen.  Number two:  You pass it on.  Hopefully neither one will be easy for you.

Clay Jensen received the box with the cassette tapes, shattering his life.  He spends the night listening carefully to her words, following her map through the city.  Wondering what did he do it her.  Wondering why he hadn't tried harder.  Wondering if Hannah could've been saved.  Wondering if Hannah ever knew how he felt about her.

Thirteen Reasons Why is a gripping novel.  Once you start, you cannot put it down.  Hopefully Hannah's story won't be repeated, that you'll also try harder when you see the signs.  Eighth grade (and older) students and parents should definitely read this one.

Rating:  9 out of 10 stars
* Language, sexual references, rape, drinking

To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!

The Necromancer: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (2010)

Plot spoiler if you haven't read The Alchemist, The Magician, and The Sorceress.

I am frightened. 
     Not for myself, but for those I will leave behind: Perenelle and the twins.

Six days have passed and the twins are back in San Francisco.  Joan of Arc and Scathach are lost, and with the help of Palamedes and Shakespeare, Saint-Germain is looking for them.  Nicholas and Perenelle are finally reunited.  

"For six hundred years we have protected the Codex and kept the Dark Elders off the earth.  We will not stop...we have nothing to lose.  Instead of running and hiding to protect the book, we should attack," she said fiercely. 

"We should take the fight to the Dark Elders."

Josh and Sophie meet Scathach's twin sister, Aoife.  Aoife and Scatty haven't spoken in ten thousand years. 

Josh and Sophie are still suspicious of Nicholas and Perenelle. 

"What do we do, sis?  I don't trust Flamel."
     "Neither do I," she admitted.

The twins basically have three choices.  One, fight with the Flamels.  Two, fight with Dee.  Three, do nothing.  Josh learns the Magic of Fire from Prometheus.

John Dee's failures have upset the Dark Elders, and he has been marked "utlaga."  But the Codex is still in his possession in San Francisco and Virgina Dare joins Dee's fight.

     "No.  I've decided to keep it."
     "Keep it!" Virginia's raised voice made some of the late-night tourists turn to look.  She lowered her voice to a hoarse whisper.  "What for?"
     Dee grinned.  "I am going to use it take control of this earth myself."

Dee plans to raise the Mother of All the Gods from the dead, but he needs someone with a pure gold aura.  He offers to train Josh in necromancy which could divide Josh and Sophie forever.

The man with the hook, who sold Flamel the Codex and who told Perenelle her future, appears.  He is called Marethyu, or Death, and he wants to take them back to the Isle of Danu Talis, before it's destroyed.

The saga continues in The Necromancer.  Machiavelli and Billy the Kid have been ordered to release the monsters on Alcatraz.  Nicholas and Perenelle are aging quickly and they aren't any closer to the Codex and the recipe for immortality.  Fascinating immortals and Elders join the journey, such as Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak, Quetzalcoatl, Niten (my favorite - the greatest swordsman in the world), Prometheus, Aten (Machiavelli's master), Zephaniah (the Witch of Endor), and Palamedes' master, Tammuz.  I love the cover of the book with the Aztec symbol and the skull.  True fans of this series will want to stick with it to see how it ends, but this one ends with a severe cliff-hanger!

Next up:

Rating:  10 out of 10 stars
To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!

The Sorceress: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (2009)

Plot spoiler if you haven't read The Alchemist or The Magician.

I am tired now, so tired.
     And I am aging fast.  There is a stiffness in my joints, my sight is no longer sharp and I find I have to strain to hear.  Over the past five days I have been forced to use my powers more times than I have used them in the entire previous century, and that has speeded up the aging process significantly.  I estimate that I have aged by at least a decade - perhaps more - since last Thursday.  If I am to live, I have to retrieve the Book of Abraham, and I cannot - I dare not - risk using my powers again.

Josh, Sophie and Nicholas are now in London, the heart of Dr. John Dee's powers.  There are more Elders in London than in any other place in the world.  All are aligned with the Dark Elders.

There are also more ley lines that meet and converge over the British Isles than over any place in the world.  Nicholas needs to find a specific ley line that will take them back to San Francisco.

But first the twins need to learn as many elemental magics as possible.  Sophie has already learned the Magic of Air and the Magic of Fire.  Nicholas doesn't have any friends in London, but he knows there is one person in London who could teach the twins the Magic of Water.  He's the oldest immortal human in the world:  Gilgamesh the King.  He has lived so long that he is insane.  And he is very angry with Flamel.

Dr. John Dee, the agent of the most dangerous of all the Dark Elders, is still hunting Flamel and the twins.  His failures are noticed by the Dark Elders.

"We were assured that all was in readiness...we were assured that Flamel would be captured and slain...we were assured that Perenelle would be disposed of and that the twins would be apprehended and delivered into our hands...And yet Flamel remains free...Perenelle is no longer imprisoned in a cell, though she is trapped on the island.  The twins have escaped.  And we still donot have the complete Codex.  We are disappointed."

Dee has been collecting monsters on Alcatraz Island. 

Sophie is forced to rely on the Witch of Endor's memories, which are essential for their survival.  But she risks losing her own memories, and she and Josh realize that there have been other twins in Nicholas and Perenelle's past, few who have survived.

Palamedes, the Sarcen Knight who fought with King Arthur, and William Shakespeare help Flamel and the twins continue their fight against the Dee.  Joan of Arc and Scathach attempt to use the ley line on Point Zero in front of Notre-Dame de Paris to help Perenelle, but Dee again interferred and they are lost.

Machiavelli joins Billy the Kid in San Francisco.  They have one mission:  to kill Perenelle Flamel.

Will Nicholas and Perenelle survive?  Can the Codex be retrieved from the Dark Elders?  And what will happen to Sophie and Josh?  The Sorceress is yet another exciting read, packed full of history and adventure.

Rating:  10 out of 10 stars

To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!

Next up: 

The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, by Michael Scott (2008)

*PLOT spoiler if you haven't read The Alchemist.

I am dying.
     Perenelle, too, is dying.
     The spell that has kept us alive these six hundred years is fading, and now we age a year for every day that passes.  I need the Codex, the Book of Abraham the Mage, to re-create the immortality spell; without it, we have less than a month to live.


The morning of May 31st Sophie and Josh led quiet lives.  Two days later, everything has changed.  Hecate awakened Sophie's powers, Perenelle has been imprisoned on Alcatraz, and the most dangerous magician in the world is chasing them, determined to do anything to get the last two pages of the Codex.

Traveling through a leygate, Nicholas, Sophie, Josh, and Scathach are now in Paris.  And not only is Dr. John Dee chasing them, Niccolo Machiavelli, the most powerful man in France, is joining in the chase.

"Find Flamel and the twins," Dee demanded.  "Capture them.  Kill Scathach if you can."

Flamel is able to find a friend in Paris, the Comte de Saint-Germain and his wife.  The Comte, Francis, and his wife, Joan (Joan of Arc), can offer the much-needed rest and food the group desperately needs. 

Josh can't help but feel jealous because his powers have not yet been awakened, and he sees the tremendous distance growing between him and Sophie.  He is not convinced that Flamel is to be trusted.

"Sis, we know next to nothing about these people...Flamel, Perenelle and Scathach.  The only thing we do know is that they've made you different - dangerously different.  They've taken us halfway across the world, and look where we are now...We can't trust them, Soph.  We shouldn't."

To try to earn Josh's trust, Nicholas gives him two gifts:  the last two pages of the Codex and the infamous Clarent - the sword of fire.  Using the sword, Josh realizes he'll do anything for his powers to be awakened.

Dr. Dee and Machiavelli are forced to fight the twins, Scatty and Flamel in Paris, and Dee will do anything to get what he wants.  Usually what Dee wants, Dee gets.

Meanwhile, Perenelle is held prisoner on Alcatraz.  

Can Sophie, Josh, Scatty, and Joan fight off the terrible monsters Dee and Machiavelli call upon to kill them?  Can Josh and Sophie stay united? 

I loved this book for a bunch of reasons.  It's packed with really interesting history, takes place in Paris, and the characters are easy to connect with.  There are parts of the book where you can't help but yell out, NO!  And feel the adrenaline of battle, the thrill of victory. 

After I graduated from college, I backpacked through western Europe.  I visited Paris three times.  The first time was a huge disappointment.  The second time was bitterly cold, but my third visit was everything I'd imagined.  I spent three weeks scouring all of the sights of the city, including the famous Ossuary of Denfert Rochereau (before it was remodeled).  My guide book said that I needed a flashlight for my visit to the catacombs, but I was traveling very light and on a tight budget.  And since it was a tourist sight, I figured how bad could it be?  I have never been so scared in my entire life!  A mile below the streets of Paris, water dripping from the curved ceiling, a low-watt bulb every 100+ feet, no one in sight, and millions of bones.  I loved that part of the story took place in one of the creepiest places I've ever seen.

I also loved when Nicholas went to visit his home in Paris.  Here are a couple of pictures of his house, which are cool to see after you read that part of the book.

Rating:  10 out of 10 stars

To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!

Next up in the series:

The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, by Michael Scott (2007)

I am legend.
     Death has no claim over me, illness cannot touch me.  Look at me now and it would be hard to put an age upon me, and yet I was born in the Year of Our Lord 1330, more than six hundred and seventy years ago.

Nicholas Flamel is the greatest alchemist of all time.  He can turn ordinary metal into gold, common stones into jewels, and he discovered the secret of eternal life.  Living in San Francisco with his wife, Perenelle, Nicholas Flamel will be 677 years old in September.

"There will come a time when the Book is taken..."

Fifteen-year old twins Sophie and Josh Newman are spending the summer working in San Francisco.  Sophie works at a coffee house and Josh works across the street at The Small Book Shop.  Unbeknownst to the twins, the owners of the book shop, Nick and Perry Flemming, are really the legendary Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel. 

"...And the Queen's man is allied with the Crow..."

Nicholas and Perenelle are guardians of the most powerful book, the Book of Abraham the Mage.  The Codex holds ten thousand secrets.  In the wrong hands, the Elder Race would finally reclaim the earth and destroy humanity. 

"The the Elder will step out of the Shadows..."

Dr. John Dee, one of the most powerful and dangerous men in the world, wants the Codex.  And he'll do anything to get it. 

"...And the immortal must train the mortal. The two that are one must become the one that is all."

Now with the help of a 2,517-year old vampire, the Goddess with Three Faces, and the Witch of Endor, Nicholas, Sophie, and Nick must run for their lives and try to save the Codex from falling into the wrong hands. 

The Alchemyst is an exciting read if you enjoy fantasy, history, or action/adventure reads with great fighting scenes!  What I really enjoyed is how easy to connect to many of characters.  I also loved all of the history that is packed into the novel.

Rating:  10 out of 10 stars

To check out this book at NOLS, click HERE!

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