The Iron Daughter - Julie Kagawa

I was hungry. My stomach growled, and the apple felt cool and crisp in my hand. Before I knew it, I’d taken a bite. Sweet, tart juice flooded my mouth, with just a hint of bitter after taste. “He was a perfect gentleman,” I said with my mouth full, my voice sounding strange in my ears. “He helped me rescue my brother from the Iron King. I couldn't have done it without him.”

Rowan reclined and gave me a lazy smile. “Do tell.”

The Iron Daughter is book no.2 in The Iron Fey series (no.3 if you count the e-novellas). It takes off from where the last book left off, for the most part. There is an e-novella that follows the transition from book 1 to book 2 but you don’t need to have read it to follow the story. Meghan made a deal with Ash in book one so book two finds her holding up her end of the bargain. Meghan is stuck in Tir Na Nog with Mab, Ash and his brothers to witness the exchanging of the Scepter of the Seasons. All appears to be going well until some iron fey appear and cause disarray in the Winter Court. The reappearance of Ironhorse and a few more favorites tie the new adventure together nicely. The relationship between Meghan and Ash and Puck reminds me a lot of Twilight so if you loved that series I would suggest giving this one a go.

Author website: http://juliekagawa.com/wordpress/

Crave - Melissa Darnell

I edged closer to my unconscious boyfriend cuffed to a chair nearby. My judges gathered in a tight half circle a few feet away. Probably so they could see me better as I failed their test. The guard’s face looked bored, as if to say this was nothing personal. Which was a lie. This was totally personal. And all my fault. He reached inside his inner jacket pocket and took out two items… a syringe and a scalpel.

Savannah used to be friends with most of the kids in her school until the fourth grade. Then something happened, all the kids who are part of ‘the clan’ stopped talking to her overnight. Her boyfriend, her best friends, everyone, almost the entire town. Since then Savannah, living with her mum and grandmother has been off limits. The clan kids pick on her and torment her, in more ways than one. Tristan her childhood boyfriend torments her in a different way to the rest. She is always aware of his presence and finds herself drawn to him despite the fact he ignores her.

Crave follows Savannah's journey of self discovery, after being terribly sick her family lets her in on a few secrets and her life begins to get more and more complicated. Being drawn to Tristan is no longer her only problem. Tristan is now drawn to her, despite them both having to stay away  from each other. What follows is a Romeo and Juliet style courtship, just with a very different ending.

http://www.melissadarnell.com/

The Giver - Lois Lowry

“Jonas has been selected to be our next Receiver of Memory.”

The Giver is book one in the quartet series. Jonas has lived in the community all his life, it is the only way of life he knows. Children are born, then raised for the first year of their lives in the Nurturing Centre. Each year on the same day the entire community attend a ceremony, the newchildren are named and assigned to a family unit. Then there are ceremonies for the children for the twos, threes, fours all the way up to twelves - every child shares this same ‘birthday’. The twelves have a special ceremony where they are given their life assignments. From there they begin the career they will fulfil within the community. If they want to, they can apply to be issued a spouse, married couples can then apply to have children assigned. Family units are only assigned one female and one male, occasionally if a child is lost they may be issued with a replacement child. When they grow old they move to the house of old. If people fail to follow the rules in The Rule Book, or fail to fit in, they are sent released, never to return to the community again.

Jonas is an Eleven, and although he doesn't yet know it, he can see “beyond”.  When he attends the Ceremony of the twelve and isn't given an assignment Jonas is devastated. Then the community is told that Jonas has been chosen to be the next Receiver of Memory. Jonas faces a long and harrowing journey as he meets the Giver and starts to receive memories.

A fantastic book for older children/teens that will make them think about the society they live in and the things they take for granted every day. A dystopian tale set in a strange community where animals like bears are imaginary things and things like rain and war mean have no meaning. A good book to get children thinking about control, would we be better off if we were controlled and our lives planned for us. It will also make them think about the troubles we carry in society and history and if society would be better if we hid them away and forgot they happened.

http://www.loislowry.com/

The Iron King - Julie Kagawa

I AWOKE TO LOW VOICES, talking in furtive tones, just beyond the curtains. I tried to love, but it felt like my body was wrapped in cotton, my head filled with gauze. I struggled to keep my eyes open. On the other side of the sheets, I saw two silhouettes.     “Don’t do anything reckless,” warned a low, gravelly voice. The nurse, I thought, wondering, in my delirium, if she would give me more of that chocolaty stuff. “Remember, your duty is to watch the girl. You must not do anything that will draw attention.”

The Iron King is book no.1 in The Iron Fey series. Meghan Chase is a normal teenage girl, at least she was, until her 16th birthday. She comes home from school to discover a changeling in the place of her baby brother and discovers her best friend is in fact Robin Goodfellow. Following a series of strange events Meghan finds herself travelling into a mythical world she thought only existed in stories. What begins as a journey to save her baby brother turns into an adventure and a fight for her freedom.

http://juliekagawa.com/wordpress/