Odd and the Frost Giants

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman, 2008 Bloomsbury

     Odd has always been a little different: his viking father drowned during a raid, he became lame as a child, and when his mother remarries Odd is neglected. When the winter begins to extend unnaturally life in the village becomes more and more strained.
     During a walk in the woods Odd comes across three talking animals including a bear stuck in a tree. The fox, eagle, and bear tell Odd a story of the Norse gods who have been evicted from their home in Asgard. The three are Odin, Thor, and Loki and they ask Odd's help in returning home.
     The boy agrees to help the gods and thus begins his adventures. Odin takes Odd to a magical well where he discovers wisdom and a vision of the past. Odd speaks with the giant and finds the root of the conflict.
     This short story is the tale of how the town misfit found a way to help the all-powerful Norse gods in a turn of events even Odd himself never expected. Gaiman's novella is aimed at younger readers, though readers of all ages will enjoy the story.

Twilight

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, 2005 Little, Brown and Company

     Bella Swan moves from her mother's home in Arizona to live with her father in small-town Forks Washington. Bella's move allows her mother to spend more time with her new stepfather. Forks is on the Pacific Ocean and borders on the LaPush Indian Reservation. Most of Bella's time is spent moping at being so far from home and spending time with her distant father. Until she meets the Cullen Family. Edward Cullen is a mysterious young man and he captures Bella's attention, just as she captures his.
     Edward is a vampire with the ability to read minds, except with Bella he cannot see into her thoughts. With his four siblings the Cullens are the outsiders who refuse to take part in the social structure. He pays close attention to Bella, even protecting her from a classmate's runaway vehicle. But the attention to short-lived. Thus begins a hot-cold relationship until Bella is rejecting perfectly normal young men for the possibility of a romantic relationship with the mysterious Edward.
     After a weekend trip to the LaPush Reservation where Bella met Jacob Black (son of her father's best friend). Jacob is a bit younger than Bella and her human friends but shares the local legend of the Cullen vampires. A quick internet search later Bella is convinced her mystery man is really a vampire, but she loves him too much to worry about the possible risks.
     Bella confronts Edward after he saves her from yet another threat (this time muggers in a dark alley). He reveals his secret and warns Bella away. Bella refuses to cave to his warning the two begin a tumultuous relationship which will draw them through another three books.
     Twilight is the first of four novels detailing the relationship between Bella Swan and Edward Cullen. The story focuses on the interactions between the two, sometimes at the expense of secondary characters. Younger readers will enjoy the ease of reading while some content may be mature. A quick read for experienced readers, Twilight encouraged young readers to explore the written word at a time when pleasure-reading had fallen out of vogue.

Beautiful Days

Beautiful Days by Anna Godbersen, 2011 HarperCollins

     Cordelia Grey and Letty Larkspur are no longer country bumpkins after a month in the Big Apple. Astrid Donal has drawn the girls into her plush world of the elite and privileged. But the money and fame comes at a price.
     While Cordelia works to understand her newly discovered family and enjoys the perks of being the daughter of bootlegging mogul Darius Grey she is still reeling from Thom Hale's betrayal and her father's death. She allows her brother, Charlie, to draw her deeper and deeper into the family business. Cordelia plots her revenge on Thom as the summer days grow longer, but is distracted by the young aviator Max Darby, his disdain for her lifestyle, his immunity to her charms, and his aeroplane.
     Letty has come to New York in hopes of becoming a star and she won't let anyone stand in her way. Her initial surprise at the number of pretty, talented, young girls flooding the city is pushed aside when the position offered in Cordelia's speakeasy is offered to another. Letty feels betrayed by her friend and decides to join the chorus line, stressing her relationship with Grady Lodge - who is not has he seemed. As she struggles to maintain her standards everything Letty has worked for threatens to come tumbling down around her now-fashionable shoulders.
     Astrid is swept up by Charlie and the glittering world he offers her. Believing herself ready to marry Charlie Astrid moves into the Grey mansion, but Charlie is a different man after his father's death. When Charlie's ambitions have business pushing into dangerous territory it may be the girls who suffer the consequences when Astrid is kidnapped by Thom Hale and his gang.
     Set in the glistening last days of the Roaring Twenties Astrid, Cordelia, and Letty enjoy the height of fashion and danger as they flaunt the Prohibition restrictions on alcohol. As the stakes rise the three young women focus on the ties that bind them both as an anchor and lodestone linking their futures. Aimed at teens, readers who enjoyed Godbersen's Luxe series will enjoy this second installment of the Bright Young Things series.

Elite

Elite by Mercedes Lackey, 2016 Hyperion Books

     After Ace and his mysterious partner attempt to murder Joyeaux during her Elite trials Ace is taken into military custody. The partner remains a mystery but Joy and her uncle, the Prefect, continue searching.
    As part of the Elite Joy is sent on assignment with other Elite for more dangerous and bigger monsters. Working with Hammer and Strike, brothers who use shield walls as weapons, gives Joy a different perspective on both her tactical and her magical skills. She gets a more thorough look at the bigger badder monsters getting through the barriers - evens allows her to discover new creatures.
     When the Prefect designates Joy to patrol the sewer and maintenance tunnels under the heart of Apex City, she discovers there may be something even bigger than Otherworld monsters roaming the city. Joy encounters the murdered bodies of several psimons - humans with particular mind-control and reading abilities. The head of Psi-Corps appears to have it out for Joy; when she confronts both Joy and her uncle in his private office. After the meeting Joy thinks she may have a better idea of who wants to use her as a pawn against the Prefect.
     But the Apex has greater problems than internal jockeying for power. The Otherworlders are beginning to band together. After the entire Elite force is called out to protect a smaller city nearby the hunters notice the Folk among relatively run-of-the-mill monsters. With these more brazen attacks becoming more pointed attacks on Human installations. Joy is surprised to receive an offer of camaraderie from the Folk Mage who waylaid her train from the Monastery.
     "Things are not as they seem." He warns just as the army loses control of Ace and he is taken to the Otherside. Joy's minimal downtime is reduced even further when Ace vanishes and the mysteries begin to mount even as the hunters discover new abilities and band closer together to form a stronger defence for the humans of Apex.
     Intended for teen and young adult readers Elite features mounting tension as the unknown looms closer and closer. Political maneuvering and secrecy drive the story as Joy and her uncle try to piece together why the Otherworlders have become so bold, who is helping Ace, and what is the point of the increased attacks? Readers of all ages will enjoy Elite highlighted by Lackey's irreverent sense of humor.