Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman (review by Mrs. Vaughan, Harker librarian)

May 2, 2013 mspelmanlibrarian Leave a comment

Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The world’s population includes nearly 2,000 super-powered beings. Some, like the recently escaped from high security prison Dr. Impossible, intend to rule the world. Fortunately the Champions, the world’s most famous team of superheroes, are bent on saving it. Narration flips between the obsessed evil genius Dr. Impossible and rookie Champion Fatale and leads us on a break neck ride through Impossible’s latest attempt at world domination in which he threatens a self-engineered ice age. The story includes wonderful action sequences, an imaginative set of beings that only a die-hard comic book fan could dream up and the very human side of these personalities. A pure delight from beginning to end, fans of Artemis Fowl, Ender’s Game and Terry Pratchett’s DiscWorld novels will love Grossman’s Soon I Will Be Invincible. – Mrs. Vaughan, Harker librarian

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Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (review by Mrs. Vaughan, Harker librarian)

May 1, 2013 mspelmanlibrarian Leave a comment

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wein’s novel is wonderful! Deeply researched and eminently plausible, this fictional account of two young British women — one a pilot and one a spy — during WWII is gripping and heartrending. The novel is told from alternating points of view including the gripping narrative of the captured spy “Verity.” So involved in Wein’s plot, I felt as if I was abandoning the characters when I put down the book — and read it in one sitting. She’s done an amazing job a creating two powerful characters and embedding them in a thrilling tale of espionage, history and undying loyalty. Code Name Verity is an excellent choice for both adult and young adult fans of historical thrillers. – Mrs. Vaughan, Harker librarian

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When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (review by Mrs. Vaughan, Harker librarian)

May 1, 2013 mspelmanlibrarian Leave a comment

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Stead’s book accomplishes what I like best in a novel. The story of twelve-year-old Miranda is beautifully simple, yet littered with moments of wonderful insight.
Miranda is not especially anything — not suffering some great injustice nor blessed with exceptional intelligence or beauty. Maybe it is her ordinariness that makes her and her story so hypnotic. When the story opens she’s inexplicably estranged from a life-long friend and neighbor Sal. In the void, she ends up making some surprising — and yes, even magical — discoveries elsewhere. L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, a favorite of both the author and Miranda, provides a subtle time travel motif.
While When You Reach Me is at home in the genre of young adult literature, somehow it doesn’t read like Stead was writing it just for teens. Adults should read it, too. This book is a lovely and perfect small miracle. – Mrs. Vaughan, Harker librarian

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