Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I've read quite a few accounts of survival during deportation to Siberia, both non-fiction and novelizations, but this one added to my understanding with both details I've never heard and incredible depth of emotion. Lina is a wonderful character, both relatable and believable, her mother is determined and intelligent, and the fellow prisoners who create a community around them are a believable mix of strength, weakness, defiance and defeat. I was heartbroken when the story ended that I didn't get to witness Lina's eventual release and how she was reunited with those she loved. But in a way, the questions left by the novel mirror the questions left by the disappearance of so many people into the Soviet gulag system. For every story we hear, there are many many more that were never told, because so many people didn't survive. This is a great first novel, and handles a difficult topic with talent and grace.



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Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Ruby was sure she could make it the last few months of her senior year without anyone finding out her mother was gone. Why should she be sent off to stay with someone else when she was doing just fine on her own. Sure they'd turned off the gas, and the electricity, but she wasn't starving, and she could make it on her own. Here sister, Cora doesn't agree, and Ruby goes to live in Cora's perfect neighborhood, with her perfect husband and perfect house. Ruby figures this is no place for her, and the minute they take their eyes off of her, she's going over the fence. But it turns out life isn't so perfect for Cora either, and if Ruby decides to stay, she won't have a perfect life, but she might have a real family.



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The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Long before the ladies of Gossip Girl were flouting the rules of society in New York, there were the ladies of Luxe. Elizabeth is engaged to Henry, but she's in love with the stable boy. Her sister is looking for adventure, and Henry might be in love with her instead. And Penelope will do anything to have Henry for herself. Filled with elaborate turn-of-the-century fashion and social rules, The Luxe will take you back to a different age, but it's the same old story of love, lies and loss.



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Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy by L.A. Meyer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Mary Faber has had enough of the squalor and begging on London's streets, so she sheds her past and her name and becomes Bloody Jack, a cabin boy on one of Her Majesty's ships. The food is good, and there are friends and a great many things to learn, but there are also too many chances for discovery and danger.



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Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


There's been another terrorist attack on America soil, this time in San Francisco, and the Department of Homeland Security has moved in to ensure the safety of the public. But are they taking things too far? After an unfair and terrifying brush with the DHS, Marcus decides to put his considerable hacking skills to use in subverting their unconstitutional scrutiny. Can a bunch of underage computer geeks beat the best the DHS has to offer, and are they in the right to fight for their freedoms, or are they becoming terrorists themselves? Smart from start to finish, Doctorow has written a great book. Don't miss it.



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Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Phoebe's mother has announced that she is remarrying, and they are moving from LA to Greece. What could be worse. Perhaps the fact that everyone at her new school is a descendant of a Greek God, powers and all. Everyone except Phoebe.



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Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I liked this book. Paulsen removes some of the hero-worship and whitewash we usually get in depictions of our Revolution, and adds a good bit of gritty realism. Granted all the bad deeds are done by the British and rather pointedly, the Hessians, so it's still pretty one-sided, but it's a more realistic view of the war than some others I've read. I'm undecided about the little non-fiction explanations sprinkled through the book. On one hand they are informative, but on the other, a writer as skilled as Paulsen should be able to fold that information into the story without breaking into it with textbook excerpts. The plot was very spare, covering only a few days, so perhaps he didn't want to clutter it up too much with those details. Still, the author shows considerable skill by making the characters like-able and well rounded in the limited time of the story.



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