WINGER by Andrew Smith

WINGER received a rave review from one of my 9th grade students, and having just finished it, I can definitely see the appeal.  Author Andrew Smith creatively portrays the worlds of boarding school rich kids, the violence of rugby, and the efforts of a young teen to fit into both worlds as he stands up to the bullies and attempts to get the girl.

Ryan Dean West, call him Ryan Dean, please, is a junior at Pine Mountain.  One thing that makes him stand out from his classmates is that he is two years younger than his sixteen year old cohorts.  Although he competently competes with them both in the classroom and as a wing on the rugby team, he must stay on his toes to keep one step ahead of them.


Because of an unfortunate cell phone issue, Ryan Dean is starting the year in O-Hall also known as Opportunity Hall which is the dormitory for troublemakers.  To complicate matters even more, his roommate is the biggest troublemaker at Pine Mountain.  If Ryan Dean can stay out of trouble for a semester, he will be able to return to his old hall and his friends.  Things don't start out well when his roommate invites him to play poker after lights out on their very first night together.  The night includes not only poker but also beer, and what follows is some rather embarrassing behavior. 


After that first night Ryan Dean vows to keep his nose clean, but circumstances dictate otherwise.  His best friend Annie tries to keep him on the straight and narrow, but since Ryan Dean actually has a crush on her, his mind is filled with all the things he wishes he and Annie could do.  His lack of focus seems to lead him into one mess after another.  Will Ryan Dean get out of O-Hall?  Will he get the girl of his dreams?  Or more importantly, will Ryan Dean even survive his junior year?

COALTOWN JESUS by Ron Koertge

I have long been a fan of Ron Koertge.  After reading THE BRIMSTONE JOURNALS, I was hooked.  Although not for the faint of heart, Koertge writes frankly and starkly about his chosen subjects which is something I truly appreciate in an author.  COALTOWN JESUS did not disappoint.


Walker is worried about his mom.  His brother Noah died two months ago and she hasn't stopped crying.  At his wits end, Walker resorts to prayer hoping it will help.


The result -- Jesus appears in Walker's bedroom.  After the initial shock wears off, Walker finds Jesus is quite a character.  He seems to be a regular guy, but at the same time, he obviously knows his stuff.  Jesus agrees that Walker's mom might need some divine assistance, but Jesus has plans for
Walker, too.


Using humor and heartfelt emotion, Koertge uses his unique verse to reveal the healing powers of our own inner spirits.  He presents a "Jesus" that will speak to even the most reluctant teen reader.

ENEMY TERRITORY by Sharon E. McKay

ENEMY TERRITORY by Sharon E. McKay artfully presents man's struggle to identify with other cultures and recognize that despite our differences, we are the same.  In choosing two cultures that have historically been at odds, McKay illustrates her point and hopefully leaves readers with a lot to think about.


Sam is Jewish and lives in Israel.  Yusuf is a Palestinian teen currently in a Jerusalem hospital for complications from an eye injury.  The two become uncomfortable roommates.  The tension is obvious as each boy attempts to visit with relatives the day before they undergo their procedures.


What follows is an unlikely friendship between the two teens.  Both confused by the misconceptions each have of the other's culture, their communication begins with taunts and jabs.  However, when they decide to sneak out of the hospital to go to a well-known candy store in the Old City, they each experience the true nature of their people.  Once revealed, this provides a fresh outlook that should be inspiration for all of us to set aside our differences and accept people for who they are, not simply for where they live.

ENEMY TERRITORY

SEE JANE RUN by Hannah Jayne

Riley feels her parents are way too overprotective.  Most Saturday nights she ends up alone in her room or watching old black & white movies sitting between her parents on the couch because they won't let her go out with friends.  With college in her near future, she is trying to get their permission to go on an overnight trip to tour a nearby university.  Hopefully, the fact that her father graduated from there years ago and the trip is sponsored by her high school will convince them that the trip is safe enough for their little girl.

In the midst of begging for her parents approval and planning for the trip, Riley stumbles across a puzzling mystery.  When she and her best friend Shelby do a little snooping through some packing boxes in her parents' room, Riley discovers the birth certificate for a girl named Jane.  The birth certificate inspires Shelby to create various scenarios involving Riley having been kidnapped from her biological parents or that this mystery girl is Riley's long lost sister.  Whatever is going on, Riley is determined to find some answers.

When Internet searches, a visit to the hospital where the girl was born, and scouring through files in the city records department don't turn up any clues, Riley's frustration level rises.  Because her searching has involved breaking some of her parents strict rules and even hanging out with one of the town's "bad" boys, Riley's parents finally confront her with some startling information.  At that point Riley isn't sure who to believe.

SEE JANE RUN by Hannah Jayne is a true thriller.  There are definitely enough plot twists and turns to interest even the pickiest of readers.

HOSTAGE THREE by Nick Lake

I have to admit I haven't read Nick Lake's Printz Award winning book IN DARKNESS, but after having picked up HOSTAGE THREE and devouring it in two days, I now know I must read IN DARKNESS as soon as I can get my hands on a copy.

HOSTAGE THREE begins with a spoiled, rich girl getting kicked out of her A level exams mostly to see what kind of reaction she can get from her work obsessed father and the stepmother she believes he married all too soon after her mother's death.  What Amy Field didn't expect was that her banker father would buy a yacht and announce that the three of them (plus a few handy crew members) would be taking the next six months to sail around the world. 

In a few short weeks Amy finds herself on a  luxury sailboat traveling through the Suez Canal and into the Red Sea.  As she lounges on the sun deck working on her tan and listening to music, Amy recalls life with her clinically depressed, OCD mother.  There were good times and bad.  She remembers one amazing birthday surprise and their girls only trip to Mexico.  What she tries to forget are the panic attacks and the obsessive behaviors that often turned life into a nightmare.  Amy's most vivid memory, one she never shared with anyone, is of her mother's final phone call before she climbed to the top of her office building and jumped to her death.

Shortly after leaving the Red Sea, Somalian pirates seize the sailboat and begin organizing their demands for a ransom that will free Amy and her family and their crew.  What follows are weeks on the boat along with the pirates who refer to themselves as the South Central Coast Guard.  Amy struggles to understand how the men can so casually tote their guns and demand a ransom in exchange for human life.  One of the younger pirates speaks English quite well, and he and Amy begin to form a bond.  Although dangerous for both of them, they secretly seek each other out and slowly begin to share stories in an effort to make sense of their situation.

HOSTAGE THREE reveals the strange culture of modern day pirates one hears about on the news.  Author Nick Lake illustrates the desperation of an oppressed people in stark contrast to the often wasteful wealth seen in other parts of the world.  Readers will be riveted to Amy's story and eagerly turn the pages right to the exciting conclusion.

SAR: POWDERHOUNDS by Heather Kellerhals-Stewart

Review ebook provided by NetGalley.

Winter sports fans or anyone looking for edge-of-your-seat adventure will want to give SAR: POWDERHOUNDS a try.

SAR/Search and Rescue team members get a real workout when two young skiers turn up missing in the middle of some horrible weather.  Luc and Cass pass on the chance to come in off the slopes as bad weather threatens.  They choose to leave the patrolled runs and take a less traveled but more scenic path to the ski lodge.  Blowing snow prevents them from seeing an important turn off, and they find themselves lost and in trouble. 

Chic and his older brother Josh are part of the rescue team that hear the report of the missing skiers.  Chic has been training for the team for quite some time, but this is his first rescue mission.  The group heads to the area where the skiers where last seen and attempt to pick up their trail.  Little do they know that Cass suffered a broken arm and Luc has tried to start down the treacherous Suicide Scarp to get her help. 

Author Heather Kellerhals-Stewart captures the danger and daring of the young rescue team willing to risk their own lives to help even the most foolhardy risk takers.  Readers will feel the bone-chilling cold and the whipping wind and snow as they follow the stories of both the missing skiers and the team sent to find them.