Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst

I have liked both of Sarah Beth Durst's previous novels, but with Vessel I think she has moved from being a writer whom I enjoy, to a writer for whom I wait with anticipation.

Vessel tells the tale of a young woman chosen to die for her people. Her sacrifice is a willing one, as she knows it will bring water, in the form of god-given magic, back to her drought-stricken people. She dances to call her goddess to her, to allow Bayla to possess her and drive her soul from her body, and use it as her tool, her vessel, in the act of providing for her people. But when Bayla does not arrive, Liyana is forced to re-evaluate everything she knows, believes, and wants.

Soon, Liyana finds herself on a quest, to rescue her lost and possibly kidnapped goddess. But will the rescue mean that she must, in turn, die? What does it mean that when she looks upon Korbyn, the god who loves Bayla, that her heart stirs?

Liyana is a marvelous heroine, strong in her beliefs and in her cause, certain of her own rightness, but willing to see that others may have views that, while different from hers, are also right. She grows and changes over the course of the story, but never strays from her original sense of right and wrong. Liyana's tale of grief, trust, love, faith and ultimate sacrifice is beautifully told; her world is believable and I was thrilled to live in it for a while. I hope that we will share other tales of the desert clans, or at least of the world connected to the Dreaming.

New YA Fiction

Graphic Novels:

D.Gray-Man Vol. 22 by Hoshino -- Struggling with mounting turmoil over his own identity, Allen meets The Cardinal. Who is he? What is he? Why is he interested in Allen? The answers are startling, and arrive with a vision that shocks the young demon fighter to the core!



Strobe Edge Vol. 3 by Sakisaka -- Ninako's feelings for Ren continue to stir, especially since he seems to be sending her mixed messages. One minute he's avoiding her and the next minute he's holding her to hide her away from Ando! Could seeing Ando's interest in Ninako be causing some subtle changes inside Ren?

Fiction:

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare -- Infernal Devices #3 - When seventeen-year-old orphaned shapechanger Tessa Gray is kidnapped by the villainous Mortmain in his final bid for power, the London Institute rallies to save her, but is beset by danger and betrayal at every turn.

Sever by Lauren DeStefano -- After modern science turns every human into a genetic time bomb with men dying at age twenty-five and women dying at age twenty, teenaged Rhine finds hope for a brighter future from a surprising source.







Balthazar by Claudia Gray -- Evernight #6 - Vampire Balthazar More emerges from his centuries-long isolation to help Skye Tierney, a psychic girl who once attended Evernight Academy, when she catches the attention of the cruel master vampire responsible for murdering Balthazar and his family four centuries earlier.

New YA

Graphic Novels:

Beautiful Creatures: the manga by Kami Garcia --  In a graphic novel adaptation of the book, sixteen-year-old Ethan is powerfully drawn to Lena, a new classmate with whom he shares a psychic connection and whose family hides a dark secret that may be revealed on her sixteenth birthday.

Broxo by Zack Giallongo -- Broxo, the only surviving member of a tribe of barbarians, spends his time on a mountain hunting and avoiding the man-eating walking dead until everything changes when Zora, a foreign princess, arrives on the mountain seeking Broxo's lost tribe.








I, Witness by Norah McClintock -- Boone and Robbie witness a violent murder and decide to keep it to themselves, but then Robbie is murdered and another friend soon after. Boone decides he needs to figure out who is killing his friends. And why. Soon, the cops and the bad guys are after him, and Boone has to decide what the truth is worth.

Cat's Cradle. Book 1, The Golden Twine by Jo-Ann Fioux -- With monsters slipping through the mountains into the valley of Galatea, Suri, an orphan, dreams of becoming a monster tamer.

Fiction:

Odette's Secrets by Maryann MacDonald -- When Odette's father becomes a Nazi prisoner-of-war and the Paris police begin arresting Jews, her mother sends Odette to hide in the Catholic French countryside where she must keep many secrets to survive.








Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell -- Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits -- smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.
Feral Nights by  Smith

Book Reviews

In the past couple of weeks, I've read three really great books and I wanted to tell you about them:

1) Survive by Alex Morel - Jane is deeply troubled - her father committed suicide, and she is determined to follow in his footsteps. While flying home from a mental hospital, she intends to take a drug overdose, but just as she makes the attempt, the plane runs into serious trouble, and then crashes. The only survivors are Jane and Paul, a college-aged man who is determined that both of them should escape the disaster. Their struggles against bitter cold, lack of food and shelter, steep mountains and wild animals teach Jane more about herself than she could dream; this is a tear-jerker, but an excellent one. Paul and Jane bond over their mutual need, and become a team. What happens to them is fascinating and scary. Will Jane give up, or will she learn to survive?

2) Princeless: Book One SAVE YOURSELF, by Jeremy Whitley - this graphic novel follows the adventures of Princess Adrienne and her best friend Sparky, after she decides to rescue herself from the Tower her parents unfairly locked her in when she turned 16. After escaping, she determines to rescue all her other sisters as well, beginning with her younger sister, who is not yet locked up. The hilarious story of a determined Princess, her dragon companion, and a new friend, is well worth reading. And this is only the first volume; more will follow!

3) Shades of Earth: Across the Universe #3 by Beth Revis; this concluding volume of the trilogy adds new twists to the story of Amy, Elder and the crew & passengers of the Godspeed, as they finally reach their destination. Will they be able to survive the monsters on the planet? Who are the REAL monsters? Will Amy and Elder finally recognize their love for each other? Or will Amy turn to Chris, the handsome young soldier? Will duty allow them to have a relationship? Will Amy's parents allow her to be the adult she has become in her time on the Godspeed? And who will die? It's exciting from moment one, and the twists are ones you likely won't see coming!

Lauren Oliver's Requiem

Requiem, the third novel in Lauren Oliver's great series, following Delirium and Pandemonium, releases today! If you loved the first two stories following Lena as she tries to survive in her dystopian world, then you'll really want to read this one. It tells the stories of Lena and Alex,  Hana and many other familiar characters, as they both struggle with life, love and survival in their very different worlds. In the end, of course, their worlds come together and they have to make their final decisions on how their world will be reshaped.

New Fiction Titles

Pieces by Chris Lynch -- Eighteen-year-old Eric deals with the loss of his older brother Duane by meeting three of the seven recipients of Duane's organs a year after his death, and pondering who they are to him, and he to them.




Change of Heart by Norah McClintock --    
Robyn's best friend Billy has been a mess ever since her other best friend Morgan dumped him. To make matters worse, Morgan started dating hockey star Sean Sloane right afterward. Billy is a vegetarian and an animal rights activist. He wouldn't hurt a fly. But when Sean winds up dead on the ice, Billy becomes the prime suspect. Can Robyn prove her friend's innocence?

Darkness Dwellers by Kirsten Miller (Kiki Strike #3) - While Kiki Strike is in Paris trying to stop her evil cousin, the princess Sidonia, from all sorts of terrible deeds, it is up to Ananka and the other Irregulars to help Kiki find the cure for baldness, foil the evil plans of Oona's twin, and keep Ananka herself from falling in love with wrong young man.


Namesake by Steven Parlato -- All his teachers are sure certain that Evan Galloway can be the graduate who brings glory to small, ordinary St. Sebastian's School. As for Evan, however, he can't be bothered anymore. Since the shock of his young father's suicide last spring, Evan no longer cares about the future. In fact, he believes that he spent the first fifteen years of his life living a lie. Despite his mother's encouragement and the steadfast companionship of his best friend, Alexis, Evan is mired in rage and bitterness. Good memories seem ludicrous when the present holds no hope. Then, Evan's grandmother hands him the key -- literally, a key -- to a locked trunk that his father hid when he was the same age as Evan is now. Digging into the trunk and the small-town secrets it uncovers, Evan can begin to face who his father really was, and why even the love of his son could not save him.

Song for Bijou by Josh Farrar -- Seventh-grader Alex Schrader's life changes when he meets Bijou Doucet, a Haitian girl recently relocated to Brooklyn, and while he is determined to win her heart, Alex also learns about dating rules and Haitian culture.








Cross My Heart, Hope to Die by Sara Shepard  --

Watching from beyond the grave while her long-lost identical twin, Emma, assumes her identity, Sutton Mercer witnesses the discovery of a dark family secret and realizes that someone from Emma's past may be her own killer.