With the return of “The Walking Dead” last night, we thought these reviews from Little Shop of Stories’ Summer Reading Guide 2012 would be appropriate. Here are some young adult fiction books.
This is a haunting and chillingly written prequel of sorts to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. A young and conflicted Victor struggles with the darker side of human nature as he attempts to save his beloved twin brother’s life. Readers of Frankenstein will love this brilliant story and will have no trouble seeing how Victor the boy became Victor the man, determined to disregard the bounds of science and mortality.
This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein, by Kenneth Oppel, $17.99, Simon and Schuster. Recommended for ages 12-17 years.
Mary Downing Hahn’s latest book is her first foray into young adult fiction. It is a suspenseful, page-turning story about how a town — and one teen in particular — deals with the aftermath of the brutal killings of two high school girls. Based on an actual crime that took place in 1955 in Mary Downing Hahn’s hometown, Mister Death is told in varying perspectives, including that of the murderer’s, who is not necessarily the person that everyone suspects.
Mister Death’s Blue-Eyed Girls, by Mary Downing Hahn, $8.99, Houghton Mifflin/Harcourt. Recommended for age 12.
Seventeen-year-old Jamie is excited about her summer au pair job until she learns about events the summer before involving the murder of a young couple who stayed in the same beach house. Things get creepier when she finds out she beats a striking resemblance to the murdered woman — and that she can sense her ghost. The liens between the dead and the living become increasingly blurred as she tried to figure out the secrets within the house … before it’s too late.
Tighter, by Adele Griffin, $8.99, Random House. Recommended for ages 12-17.
Both titles available at the Little Shop of Stories, 133A East Court Square, Decatur, 404-373-6300, www.littleshopofstories.com.
