Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld is sort of science fiction novel about WWI.  It tells the story of Prince Aleksander who should have been the heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire and Deryn Sharp, a girl that disguises herself as a boy to get into the British Air Service.  These two from very different backgrounds end up together on the huge British air ship the Leviathan.  The British follow Darwin and make beasts to do things instead of machines.  The Clanker countries make machines to do everything, and the two different ideals do not work well together, but are forced to as Alek and Deryn come to rely on each other and come to terms with their differences.  This was interesting, and it took me a while to get what he was talking about with Darwinists and their "beasties" and the Clankers and their machines.  Thankfully there are illustrations in each chapter so you can see what the machines and animals look like.  I think boys would really like this book, and its sequel which I haven't read yet.  Some fun summer reading.

The Boy who Dared by Susan Bartoletti

The Boy who Dared by Susan Bartoletti is based on the true life story of Helmuth Buddat Hubner who was a German boy living in Germany during WWII.  He grew up loving Germany and wanting a strong country.  He joined the Hitler Youth, but then he began to see that maybe things in Germany were not as they seemed.  He was not a Jew, but a Mormon, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and he knew that all people must be treated equally and fairly, and that was not what was happening in Germany.  He tried to follow the crowd, but discovered he just couldn't.  The book begins on day 264 of his imprisonment in a Nazi camp for his being an enemy of the state at only 16 years old.  It flashes back from the prison to his years growing up and what lead to his death sentence.  It is a story of courage, choosing the right, and standing up for one's beliefs even when no one else is.  The author shows photos of the actual people at the end.  It was a great story about a very brave boy that couldn't just sit by and let wrong happen. 

Princess Ben by Catherine Murdock

Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock is not your typical fairy tale, and Princess Benevolence is not your typical princess.  I love stories like that!  Princess Ben's story starts out on a low note, her parents are killed as they travel to the tomb of the great king.  Princess Ben is left to be taken care of by her aunt, the Queen, who doesn't seem to be too fond of her.  As she deals with her grief and living a more "princess" life she finds out she has gifts she never knew--like magic.  She is determined to make the neighboring country pay for her parents' deaths, but sometimes things are not as they seem, and that is true with Princess Ben and her life as she finds out.  This was a good read, lots of fun, and the people who you think you have figured out may change on you.  Isn't that the way it is in life, too?  A little romance, some magic, and lots of adventure in this book.  A good summer read.

The Songcatcher by Sharyn McCrumb

The Songcatcher by Sharyn McCrumb was a pick for my book club by my friend.  I wasn't sure this would be my thing, but I really liked it a lot.  It starts in 1751 off the coast of Scotland on a tiny island where the young boy Malcolm McCurry is climbing the rocks by the sea and gets captured by sailors, and thus starts his 2nd life at sea.  The book switches from Malcolm's story and follows his descendants to the current day McCurry's and how a song connects them all in the beautiful mountains of the Appalachians and the Tennessee wilderness.  This is an adult novel and very clean.  Be sure and read the afterword by the author where you find out it is based on truth and the author's own family.  I always think that is cool.  A good read, and it makes me want to go hike the Appalachian Trail this summer (or some day)!

The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal

Nalia is the crown princess and life is good, but just after she turns 16 she finds out her life is not what she thought.  She is brought to the thrown room and told that because of a prophecy foretelling the death of the princess before she was 16 that the real princess was switched with her as a baby.  Nalia is really Sinda, a commoner, filling in for 16 years to protect the real princess.  So she is shipped out to the only remaining real family she has which is an aunt in the woods far away.  Sinda, obviously, has a hard time adjusting from doing needlepoint and studying different languages to cooking and cleaning, but she does discover she has magic.  This discovery leads her back to the palace where she discovers a much darker plot that will destroy the kingdom which sends her on a journey to save it and find her true self.  A really great read.  Sinda seems rather weak at first, but she finds her strength and who she is in the end.  A fun read with a little romance, magic, deception, and adventure.  An impressive first novel for Eilis O'Neal.

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine won the National Book Award this year. Usually I am not a big fan of the National Book Award winners because they tend to be "cutting edge" and deal with subjects that I don't enjoy reading about.  I have read several and thought, "Really?  You really liked this book and deemed it worthy of an award?"  So this award I don't give much clout to.  The Newbery is my favorite.  I think they do a good job, anyway, I digress.  This was a good book and worth of winning.  It is a story about Caitlin who has Aspergers and told from her perspective as she deals with life after her older brother Devon is killed in a school shooting.  It was so good at letting you see how a person like Caitlin sees things and understands them.  Caitlin is trying to find Closure for her and her father--her mother had died from cancer several years prior.  It was a very quick read and so worth it.  Anytime we can read something that helps us better understand each other it is well worth our time.  I laughed out loud at parts and had tears at others.  It is a good one.  Check it out.

The Ranger's Apprentice: Book 1 The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan

The Ruins of Gorlan is the first book in John Flanagan's The Ranger's Apprentice series.  I believe book 10 in the series is coming out this May, so I have a lot left to read in the series, but I love it and am hooked.  My 10-year-old daughter has read all 9 in the series, and she loved them, and has requested number 10 for her upcoming birthday!  What a great adventure series for young adults and adults!  It is set in a mid-evil time period, and Will is an orphan living under the Baron's protection.  It has come to the day when each of the orphans are chosen to be an apprentice of some kind.  Will knows nothing about his parents, but he believes his father was a great knight that died fighting for his king, so Will hopes and prays that he gets to be an apprentice to the Battle School so he can one day become a Knight.  Things do not go the way Will expected on his apprentice day.  Halt is a Ranger--a member of a strange and quite group that serves the King.  Some think they carry mysterious magic, but others know they are amazing and brave spies for the king.  Halt chooses Will as his Ranger's apprentice, and it turns Will's life around.  He learns to accept his new lot in life, flourishes there and even saves the day.  I would highly recommend this series.  Check them out.