thriller

Accomplice

| Tasha

Accomplice by Eireann Corrigan

This book will be released in August 2010.

It was a perfect plan, but then it all went wrong.  When their college prep advisor tells them that it takes more than good grades and community service to get into the best schools, Finn and Chloe decide to make themselves and their college essays very special.  They stage Chloe’s kidnapping, hiding her in the basement of Finn’s grandmother’s house because she is out of town.  It was supposed to be simple, but their carefully staged deception starts to wear on Finn as she is forced to lie to everyone, carefully staging her emotions and reactions to not only keep the lie going but to make sure that they get enough attention from the media.  When CNN shows up to cover the kidnapping, Finn and Chloe know that it cannot end the way they had planned and are forced to make dreadful choices.  Don’t pick up this page turner without clearing your day first, it is impossible to put down!

With a great premise, the book opens with Finn in the midst of the situation already.  There is little time to draw breath as readers are immediately plunged into a faked kidnapping staged by two very smart but very naive girls.  The drive to have a bit of fame combined with the pressures of college applications make for a potent combination for a book. 

The story is told from Finn’s point of view as she deals with attending school and lying to everyone in her life, including Chloe’s parents and her own. Finn is in denial about a lot of things throughout the book, facing complicated feelings about her best friend.  This tension about their relationship and what is at the heart of it makes the book even more compelling as Finn tries to navigate a situation of her own making.

This riveting novel is tightly written.  The book builds tension as Finn struggles with her emotions and with the fallout from the kidnapping.  It is not breakneck paced, rather it is woven into an intense read. 

Ideal for booktalking to teens, this book will have everyone right from the premise.  It completely lives up to its promise as a thrilling look at lies and fame.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from ARC received from Scholastic.

The Maze Runner

| Tasha

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The only thing Thomas remembers when he wakes up on the lift is his name.  When the doors open, he is in the Glade where he is greeted by many other teen boys who also don’t remember anything beyond their names and the Glade.  The Glade is a community based on order and structure. Every morning the doors open to the maze, every evening they close.  Though some boys have been there for years, they have never solved the maze and found an exit.  There are monsters in the maze, creations of flesh and metal that roam the maze and attack any boy they find there.  Thomas finds himself wanting to be a Runner, one of the boys who tries to solve the enormous maze, even though commonsense tells him not to do it.  The day after Thomas arrives, everything changes when an unconscious girl arrives on the lift, and deep inside Thomas recognizes her though he can’t remember anything else.  Could she be the key to the maze?  Could he?

Grippingly written, this book grabs the reader from the moment the lift doors open and never lets go.  Dashner has created a wonderfully conceived compact world that really works well.  The reader knows no more than Thomas, making it a book with constant questions and tensions.  One of the only issues I had with the book was Thomas himself.  I would have enjoyed a more regular protagonist rather than a boy who is braver, stronger, and more clever than any of the others.  The book has great pacing which is headlong and wild, fitting the subject perfectly.  And though Thomas may be a bit to super, his character has a strong inner voice that works well.  The setting is written with such clarity that readers will feel they know the space well by the end of the novel. 

Highly recommended, the next book in the series will be eagerly awaited by those who read it.  Recommended for fans of The Hunger Games series, this book is appropriate for ages 13-16.

Reviewed from library copy.

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