Rose Under Fire

Young Adult Historical Fiction

VG/A  Wein, Elizabeth.  Rose Under Fire.  Hyperion, 2013.  368p.  978-1-4231-8309-9.  17.99

This companion book to Code Name Verity, picks up about 8 months after the events of the first novel. It’s a companion book because several of the characters from Verity make an appearance but this book stands alone. Here we follow the story of Rose, an 18-year-old American poet and pilot, who decides to join the war effort by joining the British ATA to deliver planes to the Allied Forces. Things take a turn for the worse when she is captured by the Germans and imprisoned at Ravensbruck concentration camp. At the camp Rose joins a group of Polish women who have been used for medical experimentation by the Nazis. Once again, Wein manages to beautifully tell a World War II story from an unusual perspective. Using Roses’ journal entries and poetry, the reader is able to really understand the strength it takes to survive, the anguish and the relationships that can form under such incredible circumstances. Highly recommend this book to young adults and adults alike. Loren Spector, LAPL, Felipe de Neve

Cross My Heart by Sasha Gould

High School Fiction

G/A. Gould, Sasha. Cross My Heart. Delacorte Press, 2012. 263p. 978-0-385-74150-7. $17.99.

Laura della Scala’s father has ordered her return home after previously forcing her to live at a convent in order to marry her dead sister’s fiancé, Vincenzo, a cruel and selfish man Laura wants nothing to do with.  In order to escape this arranged marriage, she turns to the Segreta for help, a secret society of women who deal only in secrets. After successfully averting the marriage, she sets out to discover the truth of her sister’s death, a drowning she believes to be no accident and gets caught up in the political intrigues of Venice. 

Eve and Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate

General Young Adult Fiction

G/A. Grant, Michael & Katherine Applegate. Eve & Adam. Feiwel and Friends, 2012. 978-0-312-58351-4. $17.99.

When Evening gets hurt in a car accident, her mother, Terra Spiker, head of Spiker Pharmaceuticals has her transferred to a private hospital. While she’s recovering, her mother gives her a project to design the perfect boy using a computer simulation program. She meets Solo, her mother's employee and ward. But Solo is more than just the gofer that he appears to be.  He is working to uncover the secrets of Spiker Pharmaceuticals that involve not only Eve and the program she's working on, but also dangerous secrets that may implicate Eve's own mother. 

Chasing the Skip by Janci Patterson

General Young Adult Fiction

F/A. Patterson, Janci. Chasing the Skip. Christy Ottaviano Books, 2012. 978-0-8050-9391-9. $16.99.

When Ricki’s mom leaves her, she has no choice but to go live with her dad.  As a bounty hunter, his job takes him everywhere, and Ricki rides along with him as he tracks down skips. When her dad picks up seventeen-year-old Ian Burnham, Ricki finds herself instantly attracted to this bad boy. Despite, her father’s warnings that Ian is dangerous, Ricki believes that Ian is merely misunderstood. Little does she realize what dire consequences her assumptions about Ian will have. 

Embrace by Jessica Shirvington

High School Fiction

F/A. Shirvington, Jessica. Embrace. Sourcebooks Fire, 2012. 978-1-4022-6840-3. $16.99.

On her seventeenth birthday, Violet Eden finds out that her life is not what it seems. Her friend and crush, Lincoln has been lying to her.  Like her, he is part angel and part human.  Now Violet is set with a difficult decision; she must fully embrace her angel side or deny her powers even if it costs Lincoln his life.  For fans of Lauren Kate’s Fallen or Becca Fitzpatrick’s Hush, Hush.   

Crewel by Gennifer Albin

High School Fiction

G/A. Albin, Gennifer. Crewel. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2012. 357p. 978-0-374-31641-9. $17.99.

Although intentionally trying to fail the Guild’s tests, Adelice’s gift to weave the very fabric of life cannot be denied.  She is taken in the night by the Manipulation Services and is forced to become a Spinster for the Guild.  Many girls dream about having the luxurious life of a Spinster, the glamour, the parties, the beautiful clothes and beautiful apartments, but for Adelice this "privileged" life comes at too high a cost.