Scorch Trials

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner, 2010 Random House

     After Thomas and his companions are rescued they arrive at whatever place it is the boys are dropped off by WICKED. The building is a large room with two dormitories off the main room; Thomas is awakened the first night when Teresa is pulled from him - screaming in his mind. When the boys awaken it is to find their windows replaced with screaming creatures - humans who have begun to deteriorate and call themselves the Cranks.
     Thomas and his friends flee the creatures and Thomas searches for Teresa. In her place they find Aris - another boy. Aris describes an experience very like what the boys experienced in the maze. Aris was placed in a maze full of girls and young women, much like Teresa joined the boys. Thomas is concerned for Teresa and Aris is barely accepted by the boys.
    After several days locked in the building without food and afraid to leave for fear of finding more Cranks, a strange man appears with food and gives the boys a directive. They will cross hundreds of miles of the Scorch to a barren city and beyond the mountains and a safe zone.
     Along the way Thomas, Aris, and the boys from the maze encounter more Cranks and most survive. But when Teresa and the other girls appear will the two groups survive the planned betrayal? Teen and young adult readers will enjoy Dashner's dystopia. Some violence and romantic tension pervade the story.

Hall of Secrets

Hall of Secrets by Cate Campbell, 2014 Kensington Books

     A year after her brother Preston perished in the destruction of her medical clinic, Margot Benedict is finally putting the pieces back together to reopen. She has spent the last year encouraging her romance with Major Frank Parrish and avoiding her mother's accusing looks with work. And Dr. Benedict has been relatively successful.
     When her young cousin Allison Benedict is swamped in scandal Margot suggests to her father that they invite the young woman to Benedict Hall. Allison's mother has declared that the young woman is ruined after an escapade while returning from Europe and her Grand Tour. While Allison's only fault is finding friendship outside her parents' snobbish class, she is made to feel as if she is a great burden. Margot hopes having a young person in the house will bring Edith Benedict out of the stupor she sank into with Preston's death.
     At first Allison believes Margot is complicit in the plans to punish her with banishment to Seattle, but when Margot is genuinely concerned for her cousin's welfare Allison begins to wonder if she's found an escape. Rowena Benedict enjoys having another young woman in the house whose interest is in fashion and the feminine arts, unlike Margot, but Allison's troubles follow her from her parents' San Francisco home.
     Margot's relationship with Frank is strained when she develops a relationship with Margaret Sanger and her family planning initiatives. Like many in Seattle's Jazz Age, Frank believes birth control and family planning are something to be handled privately, Margot believes providing women the education to handle their families privately is the only way to proceed. It doesn't help that Frank is sent to California's March Airfield to examine their airplanes for the Boeing Company. The distance is both a blessing and hurdle the two must face before embarking on any sort of life together.
     Just as things seem to be coming together and the family's plans are to be realized an enemy from the past resurfaces. Allison must face the demon her mother has thrust upon her, and the Seattle Benedicts find the skeletons in their closet have not gone to rest.
     Hall of Secrets transitions readers from the conflict between Margot and Preston to the struggles of a modern woman in 1920s Seattle. Margot's privileged background gives her advantages over the women she treats, but their challenges drive her to make their lives better with access to healthcare and education. The story looks into women's rights and family planning as they become hot button issues in America, younger readers may misunderstand some nuances of the challenges Margot and the women of her acquaintance face.

Eragon

Eragon by Christopher Paolini, 2002 Knopf Books

     When a young boy hunting in the forest discovers a beautiful blue stone in a flash of light it begins an adventure which could save his nation. Eragon takes the blue stone home and discovers it is more than just a rock. His Uncle Garrow and cousin Roran suggest they sell it, but when the stone hatches into a small blue lizard with wings Eragon realizes he's discovered a dragon.
     Eragon forms a special bond with the creature. He and his new friend Saphira discover an ancient history of legend in their journey to understand what it means to be the last of the Dragon Riders. When the king's men come searching for the dragon egg and murder Eragon's uncle it is the village storyteller Brom who helps spirit Eragon and Saphira out of the mountains and toward freedom.
     In the south of Alagaesia are the Boer Mountains of the dwarves. Brom sets the trio on that path to evade the King Galbatorix's searchers and capture the creatures who murdered the only family Eragon has known. Along the way Brom teaches Eragon swordplay and magic and the history of the Dragon Riders. Eragon hopes to use his new skills to hunt the men who killed his uncle and destroyed his home - the Ra'zac. As they travel Saphira grows stronger, and larger. When she becomes large enough to easily carry Eragon they learn to fly.
     In their search for the Ra'zac and during Eragon's education the trio travels to Teirm where they seek any sign of the monsters. While searching the city Eragon meets herbalist Angela and her witch-familiar cat, Solembum. Something about the pair tingles against Eragon's enhanced senses and Saphira warns him they are likely to find the pair again.
     Brom continues to teach the fledgling pair until Eragon's thirst for revenge draws them to the Ra'zac hiding in Dras Leona. There they discover Arya, an elven noblewoman held captive and regularly tortured by the Shade Durza. In rescuing Arya the Ra'zac and shade discover Eragon and Brom. They are aided by a stranger, Murtagh who helps them escape, but Brom is gravely injured in the process.
     As Brom dies he reveals his history to Eragon, upon his death Saphira, in a feat of magic, turns his tomb to diamond. Murtagh decides to travel with the remaining group and they seek refuge with the rebellious Varden in the Boer Mountains. But their journey is far from complete - the King's forces, monstrous Urgals, the Ra'zac, and Durza follow to the gates of the dwarven kingdom, which the group may find sealed in their faces.
     Readers who enjoyed Tolkien's Middle Earth and Lewis's Narnia will enjoy the high fantasy of Paolini's Alagaesia. Magic and chivalry entice while evil stalks in the open and one boy with his dragon finds the way through to join a rebellion. Young adult readers may find the pacing varies, with some portions moving along at a quick clip and others catching in the scenery; overall readers of all ages can enjoy the fantasy.

Spelled

Spelled by Betsy Schow, 2015 Sourcebooks Fire

     Generations ago Dorothea had an ancestress who irked two elemental sorceress sisters. In return the sisters cursed Dorothea's line, but they were young and inexperienced witches: instead of cursing the girl who challenged their plans, one of her descendents would inherit the curse and destroy Story with flames. Until the curse manifests and burns itself out Dorothea is locked inside the Emerald Palace.
     Tired of being locked inside her home and each moment of her day being dictated and scheduled, Dorothea begins to act out. The princess has been trained as a spoiled, materialistic brat. Her parents announce an engagement Between Dorothea and Prince Kato and it drives her to make a reckless wish. As Dorothea herself tells the reader - A badly worded wish is worse than any curse.
     When the rules and laws of magic begin to deteriorate and unravel Dorothea ventures out with Prince Kato and the kitchenmaid Rexi to find a solution. For a girl who had never left the palace Dorothea discovers that sometimes fate is something she makes for herself and her subjects.
     Set in the land of stories and centering on the Princess of the Emerald City Spelled is filled with fairy tale language, unexpected romance, and not one, but two evil witches bent on seeking revenge. Readers will enjoy Dorothea's sarcasm and spunk while following her about Story.

Nancy's Mysterious Letter

Nancy's Mysterious Letter by Carolyn Keene, 1968 Grosset & Dunlap

     Nancy Drew receives a letter that plunges her into another mystery. When Nancy and the girls invite the postman in for tea and cocoa his bag of mail is stolen. The authorities ask Nancy to come in for questioning; they believe she had something to do with the theft.
     When Ned Nickerson invites Nancy to visit him at Emerson College for the big football game she meets another woman whose mail was stolen. The woman believes Nancy to be part of a criminal enterprise.
     When the mail is re-sent Nancy, and others, receives a letter. While the letter is addressed to Nancy Drew, it is not intended for River Height's Miss Drew. Upon investigation with her friends Nancy discovers a Nancy Smith Drew teaching at the Emerson.
     The Nancy S Drew our detective finds is an heiress and there are those who would stop Nancy. They will even go so far as to kidnap the detective to stop her. Nancy Drew, along with her friends, searches for the answer to their newest mystery. Older elementary readers will enjoy the condensed mystery.