She Thief by Daniel Finn YP FIC FINN

Baz (Girl) and Demi (Boy) are master pickpockets in the Barrio. They take their loot to Fay, the woman that watches over all the childhood thieves in the Barrio. It’s almost like a family. Almost. But almost doesn’t nearly cut it when Demi steals the find of a lifetime, a gigantic blue ring. Now the cops and the underworld are all looking for Demi and it seems like Fay is going to sell him out. Now Baz is on her own for the first time and has to get to Demi and make it out of the Barrio before they’re both killed.

This is an interesting novel. The dialogue is original and unique. The thieves talk in a sort of slang that can be hard to follow at first, but works in instantly making the reader a part of their world. This isn’t a thrill a second read and is mainly about the characters interactions and betrayal, but if you stick with it the story builds steam and pays off really well in the end. And even when the book isn’t fast paced, Finn does such a great job describing the city and its corruption that you don’t really mind. A great read for fans of gritty life on the streets type fiction.

I will say that I am disappointed in the cover. Both the main characters of the book are dark skinned, so I have NO IDEA why the main faces of the cover are so light skinned.

Heart Transplant by Andrew Vachss Illustrated by Frank Caruso YP FIC VACHSS

“People love the movies. They worship them like their some sort of god. But what good is a god you can’t believe in?”

The movies always show the outsider kid win in the end. They get the girl or boy, show their value to the school and hailed a hero, but this isn’t a movie. So all Sean, the ‘hero’ gets is bullied and humiliated. When his mother and her new boyfriend are murdered he finds someone who believes in him for the first time. Pop isn’t really his grandfather but takes him in anyway and teaches him how to stand up for what he believes in and himself.

This is an amazingly powerful graphic novel. It is an unwaveringly honest look at bullying and its effects, but also a look at how to overcome it. Frank Caruso’s art looks like a mix of old 70s cartoons and the gritty realism of Will Eisner. It makes the book feel like a storybook for grown up kids. The story of the Sean and Pop is a real punch to the stomach. The kid’s life is near constant turmoil and pain, but he just grimly moves forward without much hope or joy. Pop slowly teaches him about pride, strength, and love all without ever preaching or lecturing. This book shows bullying very realistically except for the aftermath of the kid’s violent solution to address the bullying. In real life, Sean would almost certainly be in jail or at least targeted for violent retribution. So the book doesn’t have any real solutions to the bullying problem, but it is a striking and moving story about overcoming your past and family.

Subject Seven by James A. Moore YP FIC MOORE

Subject Seven is a genetically modified killing machine hidden in the body of a teenager. After a bloody escape at the age of ten he has finally found the rest of the test subjects that are like him and awakened their Others. Now five teens from very different walks of life have to confront the monsters inside themselves and try and uncover the monsters that made them.

This is the first in a series and it definitely suffers from First Bookitis. We get to meet the characters, get invested in them, they FINALLY start meeting the bad guys, and then POOF story ends. I would have liked a more climactic ending that still left the book open for sequels. That being said, I am already hooked and will definitely devour the next volume (so write it fast Mr. Moore!). What works best about the book is that we get inside the head of the teens and their sadistic, murderous Others. The Others are awesomely overpowered killing machines and when they finally get out the book has some very gruesome action. This is a very fun twist on the classic tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The book’s characters are mainly types that you will have seen in countless TV shows, movies, and books AND so far the main villain is sort of boring, BUT Moore does a good job of making the characters interesting if not very deep and the tension of having a secret monster inside you come to life very well. A great read for fans of action that need a new series.

Human.4 by Mike A. Lancaster YP FIC LANCASTE

You are obsolete.

Kyle Straker and his not friend/ex girlfriend (it’s complicated) Lilly agreed to be hypnotized at their small village’s crummy talent show so their friend wouldn’t die on stage. But after they wake up there is something different about everyone in town. Kyle, Lilly, and the two other hypnotees are the only ones that can move. When they are all about ready to completely go nuts they realize everyone is moving again. But now they’re different. And when Kyle and Lilly realize how different they will find that there is no going back.

This is a creepy, touching, sad, ingenious Sci-fi thriller that will make you think and feel. It is told through a future editor’s presentation of Kyle’s audio tapes. Occasionally the editor interjects a note for his audience to explain expressions that are foreign to his society. At first this adds an excellent amount of humor, showing how often anthropologists can misunderstand cultures and academics can misunderstand texts, but as the story goes on and Kyle and Lilly’s fate is revealed it becomes another part of their alienation. Really this book is a very eerie look at what would happen if everything you ever knew was changed in an instant. Like any truly good Sci-Fi it is a way to look at our world and lives through a different lens. Lancaster shows how technology can separate and alienate as well as connect people in an incredibly chilling way. What makes the story so effective is how realistically the characters react to the impossible seeming situation: sort of wander aimlessly, trying to figure out what’s behind the strange change in their town. I recommend this to anyone who wants to read something fun, thrilling, and thought provoking. Human.4 is an amazing debut novel and deserves to be a Sci-Fi classic.