Counting by 7's By Holly Sloan

To be orphaned is devastating, but to be orphaned twice is unimaginable.  For Willow Chance, this is her devastating reality.  This brilliant, yet eccentric and endearing 12 year old, finds salvation in unlikely places when her world is shattered.  With the help of new friends and a very unique surrogate family, Willow learns to build a new life.

I fell in love with Willow when I read this book, and I immediately wanted to adopt her myself.  She is such a smart, resilient and precocious child, that you can’t help but admire her. 

This book will appeal to anyone looking for a story about being an outsider, coping with loss, or discovering what is really valuable and important in life.

If you liked Almost Home, Wonder or Out of My Mind, you will love Counting by 7’s.

Gone by Michael Grant

All of the sudden, the world as you know it ends.  Everyone over 14 simply vanishes, and you are left to fend for yourself.  Who’s in charge and who enforces the rules?  In Gone by Grant, the kids of a small California town are left to deal with the crisis of being locked in an invisible bubble with no adults and limited resources.  To make matters more interesting, some of the children start developing mysterious powers. This is great story of good vs evil and Darwinian logic of the strong will survive.

I was intrigued to find out how the kids solved their problems, and mortified to see how the very best and worst of humanity comes out in crisis.  This book reminds me of a cross between Under the Dome and Lord of the Flies.

If you enjoy this book, look for the others in the series: Gone, Hunger, Lies, Plague, Fear, and Light

The Gardener by S.A. Bodeen

 

In his quest to find his father, Mason accidently awakens comatose patients.  He becomes embroiled in a dangerous quest to find out what happened to the patients.  How is it possible that Mason’s newly awakened friend doesn’t require food or water to survive?  He longs to know his father, but will he like what he learns?  What kind of monster experiments on children and is willing to kill his own child?

I enjoyed the novel concept that was introduced in this book of becoming autotrophic.  I found it slightly disturbing a little creepy, and frankly it made me slightly uncomfortable to read.  This book is by the same author of The Compound which was also creepy!  

Every Day by David Levithan Review

  

Every day a different body.  Every day a different  life.  Every day in love with the same girl. Have you ever wanted to be someone else for a day?  How about  having to be someone different EVERY DAY of your existence?  “A” wakes up each day and  lives  the life of someone new. Some lives are fun and exciting; some are a horror  to just survive the day.  How does one create a personal  identity with no body or stability of one’s own?  How can A create a life?

I absolutely loved  reading  about  who A was each day and how  A adapted to that person’s life!  Very interesting book and  the concept  was new and refreshing.  A must read.  It was reminiscent of the old show Quantum Leap J