Tempted

Tempted by Kristin and P.C. Cast, 2009 St. Martin's Press

     Unlike the other stories, Tempted is told from the point of view of not only Zoey, but Stevie Rae, Stevie Rae, Aphrodite, Rephiam, Heath, and Stark.
     After Kalona rose and helped Neferet attacked Zoey and her friends the two retreated to the House of Night leaving the 'nerd herd' to gather their allies. But Stevie Rae notices that Zoey is becoming exhausted and takes the reigns to allow her time with Stark and her grandmother. Sylvia recovers from her car accident and explains the relationship between Zoey and the reincarnation of Ay-a Kalona searches for. A sliver of Zoey's spirit is Ay-a, and she has the power to re-imprison Kalona. However the part of Zoey that is Ay-a is drawn to him, despite her desire to stay away.
     Kalona, Erik, and Stark all vie for Zoey's attention, but when Erik is overly possessive and jealous she dumps him. Erik turns and starts up a relationship with Venus, Aphrodite's former roommate. Kalona takes the opportunity to sneak into Zoey's unguarded dreams, when Stark senses her panic he climbs up to her room and acts as a shield against Kalona's entry into Zoey's dreams. Aphrodite takes Darius, the group's resident Sons of Erebus Warrior and Aphrodite's love interest, to Stark's empty room where she reveals her feelings and he pledges his Warrior's Oath to her.
     When the group returns to the House of Night they find Anastasia Lankford has been killed by Rephaim, a Raven Mocker. Dragon is devastated, Jack stays to comfort him and help him through the pain. Aphrodite's visions and Kramisha's prophetic poems show the 'nerd herd' Neferet and Kalona planning to return the vampyre world to the old ways. Jack uses social media to find the pair and locate them on the isle of San Clemente with the Vampyre Council. Zoey and her friends go to Italy to have their say at the Council. Zoey has a dream revealing if she is with Kalona the world will end, if she chooses Nyx and rejects him he will "die", but Zoey feels he can still be saved and has a hard time rejecting him completely. Zoey learns she is the only one who can defeat Kalona, but he promises to change if she will have him and shows her his past as Nyx's Warrior.
     At the council Neferet claims to be Nyx incarnate and places Kalona as her consort Erebus. The council names Aphrodite a Prophetess of the goddess, but distrusts Zoey because of her age. After the Council meeting Zoey and Heath talk, then Zoey sends him to find Stark. When Heath finds Neferet and Kalona in secret conversation he is found and uses the imprint with Zoey to call her just as Kalona kills him. Zoey throws Spirit at Kalona. Her action shatters her soul and sends her to the Otherworld.
     Meanwhile Stevie Rae has stayed in Tulsa to watch over the red fledglings and finds Rephaim injured on the Benedictine Abbey grounds. She rescues him and binds his wounds, but when she discovers he is the one who killed Anastasia Lankford, she doesn't know how to deal with it. The rogue red fledglings find Rephaim and use him to capture Stevie Rae and leave her in a cage on the depot roof where she is nearly burned alive. They get free and Rephaim offers Stevie Rae his imortal blood to save her, breaking the imprint between Stevie Rae and Aphrodite.
     The revolving relationships and power structures of the House of Night change how the students grow and develop. Zoey stands her ground and fights for what she believes, despite her friends' disbelief and the discouraging response of those in power. She finds inner strength and the changing world around her only adds to her convictions. Aimed toward middle teens, Zoey's story and that of her friends takes the age-old struggle of the average high schooler and puts it in an epic-quest format.

Everflame

Everflame by Dylan Lee Peters, 2012

     When Eveneye and Whiteclaw discover a human child while returning from a nighttime fishing excursion the two bears decide to rescue it from the wolves trying to make it their dinner. The bears take the boy home to their mountain fortress, Grey Mountain, and Eveneye asks the king to keep the human child: something about the boy makes him think he could be the bridge between humans and the bears. However, the king doesn't see anything special in the human child who was abandoned and left to be devoured by wolves and forbids Eveneye to keep him.
     Eveneye challenges the king and succeeds him as the next ruler of the Grey Mountain. They boy is named Evercloud and he grows as many young creatures do; in harmony with his world. But when he is a young man, some unknown thing appears in the sky to threaten the bears' sense of safety.
     Evercloud and his cousin, Riverpaw, petition King Eveneye for the chance to explore the mysterious shape in the sky--a shadowy ball of lightning. Despite his desire to keep his son at home, Eveneye sends Whiteclaw with the two youngsters on a mission to find the Ancients who ruled the land in time before history. The Ancients will know how to deal with the thing in the sky.
     The trio begin their quest at a nearby human village where they meet Ben and Thomas Floyd, two brothers who protect and guide them on their quest. The Floyd family, however, is hiding something. The newly enlarged quest sets out toward the mountains where they hope to free Tutoro, one of the four Ancients--the Ancient of Air.
     Hot on their trail is a cloaked Messenger, a man who travels the country answering to no one but the voice that gives him power. He believes he is on a holy mission and the horrific acts he commits are orders from his mystical patron. The Messenger kidnaps Old Man Floyd's daughter, Iolana, and forces her to lead him to the others.
     When the two voyages meet the Floyds' secret is revealed and the Messenger and his Tyrant escape the vengeance that would save the world. The quest continues in the second novel: Everflame 2: The Burning Man.
     Peters' book is an interesting take on sentient animals; the bears are much like traditional human characters and have growth like any other novelist's creation. However, their society is superficial; they live and survive but have little more than survival on the agenda. The appearance of the Tyrant and resulting quest provide reason for action in an otherwise unchanging landscape. Everflame is accessible and readily understood by most readers, it is a quick read and an appropriate age group would be young teens.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, 2009 Quirk Books

   Like in Pride and Prejudice, the story of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies follows Elizabeth Bennet and her family as they attempt to navigate the social waters of 18th century England. The twist is the outbreak of brain-eating zombies causing havoc throughout the countryside.
     Many of the same events take place in this parody of Austen's novel: the addition of Bingley and his party to Netherfield, the rampant dislike of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Wickham's appearance and encouragement of anti-Darcy sentiment, Jane's visit to London, Lydia's elopement, and the eventual connections between Elizabeth and Darcy, and Jane and Bingley. Unlike the original tale, marriageability is based on accomplishment in the martial arts and destruction of zombies. The Bennet girls have been taken to Asia to learn from the experts and have become very accomplished. The characters' main motivation throughout the novel, with the exception of finding a partner with whom to defeat the zombies, is to eradicate the "unmentionables." The charm of this spin-off relies on its use of Austen's original language, the zombies are added in Grahame-Smith's version of contemporary language.
     Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a fun take on Austen's classic and is easily accessible for young and teen readers. Along with the prequel and sequel the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies trilogy is a fun read for fans of paranormal literature.

Hunted

Hunted by Kristin and P.C. Cast, 2009 St. Martin's Publishing

     After Stevie Rae is shot to free Kalona from the earth, Zoey and her friends try to heal their fallen friend. Zoey and Stevie Rae reconcile and Zoey introduces the rest of the "Nerd Herd" to some of the red fledglings. Aphrodite allows Stevie Rae to feed from her, causing an imprint but also bringing Stevie Rae back from the edge.
     Erik, Zoey's ex-boyfriend, follows her back to her room and kisses her in an attempt to rekindle their relationship. But the kiss frightens Zoey, as does his possessiveness, and while they do get back together she is unsure how to deal with him. The newly re-formed Kalona makes his way into Zoey's dreams in an attempt to seduce her back to him, he calls her Ay-a and offers her the world.
     In the world of red fledglings Kramisha's poems are revealed as prophecy and Zoey gives her the title "Poet Laureate" in recognition. One of Kramisha's poems give the friends a clue to defeating Kalona: Neferet and Kalona will be defeated when Night, Humanity, Blood, Spirit and Earth come together. The problem is Zoey doesn't know who will be each of the elements.
     The group relocates its anti-Neferet efforts to the abandoned depot and its underground tunnels where the red fledglings reside. Another of Zoey's ex-boyfriends, Heath, comes to reconcile with her and she leaves the depot to talk to him, much to Erik's displeasure. While they talk a Raven-Mocker attacks Zoey and nearly kills her. To heal herself, she drinks from Heath and they form another imprint, but she isn't completely healed. Kramisha almost loses control when she sees Heath and Zoey realizes that there are severe differences between the normal fledglings and the red fledglings.
     When the Warrior of Erebus Darius tells Zoey she needs to be around more adult vampires she is forced to move back to the House of Night. There she is under Neferet's control and discovers the fledglings have followed Neferet to turn their backs on Nyx. Darius gets in a fight with one of Kalona's Raven-Mockers and is scarred when Kalona intervenes, angering Aphrodite.
     Zoey felt guilty that Stark died in her arms and when she convinces him to turn back to Nyx the red fledgling becomes the second red vampyre. He pledges his Warrior's Oath to Zoey and she accepts. She confides in the horse mistress, Lenobia, allowing her to focus on Kramisha's prophecy. She realizes that the elements are embodied in Zoey herself, Stevie Rae, Aphrodite, Sister Mary Angela from the Benedictine Abbey, and Zoey's Grandma Redbird.
     The friends rush the Abbey to create their circle and banish Neferet and Kalona. Zoey realizes that Ay-a is a part of her, but not the part that will determine what she does, she rejects Kalona and Neferet orders Stark to kill her. Stark uses his strange affinity for archery to shoot the arrow at himself, but before it can kill him Zoey knocks him out and knocks the arrow aside with the elements. Zoey and her companions manage to complete the circle and banish Neferet and Kalona, but they know it is not the end of the battle.
     Nyx shows her pleasure in Zoey's actions when she expands Zoey's Mark to cover her scars. The friends regroup to plan their next steps.
      In Hunted Zoey deals with the temptations of giving in to peer pressure and the sexual pressure of several men in her life. She must accept that there is a part of her that desires what Kalona can give her, but also she realizes that part is not strong enough to overrule her own personal wants and desires. She realizes she can choose to be who she wants and her choice to give over her life to Nyx is Zoey's way of reclaiming her future. Hunted is targeted at older readers: high school aged or older, with violence and complicated romantic entanglements.

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, 2005 Mirmax Books

     Percy Jackson has always had a hard time with school; his ADHD and Dyslexia make reading difficult and sitting still nearly impossible. During a field trip to the Greek exhibit at the New York City Percy is attacked by one of the Furies, but somehow he escapes. Percy is expelled from his sixth school with the incident.
     After the close call Percy and his mother take a vacation from his stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, a man who can be best described as a chauvinistic stink-pot, his repulsive odor overpowers everything. When Percy's friend Grover, a fellow student, appears at the cabin he brings tidings of danger. He is revealed to be a half-man, half-goat satyr and close on his hooves is the Minotaur. Percy's mother drives the pair to Camp Half-Blood, but the Minotaur catches them as they reach the camp boudaries. It captures Mrs. Jackson when she cannot pass through the boundaries because she is completely mortal, she dissolves is a shower of gold dust. Percy attacks and defeats the Minotaur with its own horn, fueled by a boiling rage--it attacked his best friend and killed his mother! Percy stumbles into camp dragging Grover and the horn.
     When he wakes, Percy is moved to one of twelve cabins at the camp devoted to each of the major gods of Greece, he is under the care of Luke Castellan in the Hermes cabin. He meets Annabeth, a daughter of Athena, and learns he is the son of one of the gods (but because he has yet to be claimed he is gets shuffled into Hermes' cabin). The camp is a training grounds where the demi-gods can learn to fight and develop their god-given talents, as well as be protected from the mythical creatures wandering the world looking to destroy them.
     During a game of Capture the Flag Percy is injured by the Ares cabin. He steps into a river running through camp and is healed. Then, after the game is won, he is attacked by a hell-hound, but saved by arrow-wielding campers. He steps into the river for healing and Poseidon's trident appears over his head to lay claim; Percy is announced the son of Poseidon and moved to his cabin.
     One of the camp's directors, a centaur named Chiron, explains that Poseidon has broken a treaty between the three greatest gods (Zeus, Poseidon, Hades) that they would not have more demi-god children as they become too powerful and tend to start world-wide conflicts. He also reveals to Percy that Zeus's Thunderbolt has been stolen and Zeus suspects Percy. He is granted a quest to find the missing bolt and clear both his own and his father's name. Chiron points to Hades as the culprit and Percy begins his quest.
     After a visit to the Oracle Percy, Annabeth, and Grover go on their journey. Luke provides them with a pair of flying shoes, and the trio travels west to find the underground entrance to Hades before the Summer Solstice. They run into creatures of mythology including the furies, Medusa, the Chimera; encounter Ares who reveals Percy's mother is still alive; and are lost in the Den of the Lotus-Eaters in Las Vegas for several days. They escape to find there are only five days left until the Summer Solstice and their deadline.
     In Hades the trio must first bribe the ferryman to allow them to cross the river Styx, then escape as Luke's shoes try to drag Grover into Tartarus, and convince Hades that Percy did not steal his Helm of Darkness. They find Mrs. Jackson, but must leave her when they find the Lightningbolt in a backpack from Ares. On their way to return the bolt to Zeus, the travelers encounter Ares again and defeat him to retrieve Hades' Helm of Darkness, which they return via the Furies (witnesses to the battle).
     Percy risks entering the realm of Zeus by flying back to New York where Olympus has moved to the 600th floor of the Empire State Building. Zeus is pacified and Percy returns to camp where he is a normal camper.
     On the final day of camp Luke reveals he was the one who stole the bolt, on orders from Kronos who is rising from Tartarus. Luke summons a pit scorpion and Percy is nearly killed. Chiron saves him and Percy decides to live with his mother rather than stay at camp. Annabeth decides to try living with her father again, and Grover is granted the quest to search for Pan, a rare opportunity and dangerous task from which no satyr has returned.
     Percy evolves throughout the story from a young boy who has no confidence in his ability and has lived his life criticized and put into a box based on his inability. When he goes to Camp Half-blood Percy realizes he has been judged by a scale that he wasn't compatible with. In the new world of demi-gods Percy becomes a hero; he has superior warrior abilities, he is humble despite his accomplishments, and still he is a likeable person. Like many people, Percy doesn't believe in himself and it isn't until the entire mission depends on him that he realizes he can accomplish his goal.
      The Lightning Thief is an intriguing adaptation of ancient Greek mythology in the modern world. The story is suited to readers in grades three through seven, and Percy's adventures continue in The Sea of Monsters.