The Good Neighbors; Book One: Kin by Holly Black

Illustrator: Ted Naifeh

Publisher: Scholastic, Inc. ISBN (library bind): 9780439855624

Price: 16.99 #pages: 117 Call number: 741.5 BLA FICTION

16 year old Rue’s mother has disappeared and her father has stopped going to work. Since her mother’s disappearance, things in Rue’s town have started changing and she has started to see strange things that make her think she’s crazy. In The Good Neighbors, Holly Black and Ted Naifeh introduce a world of magic parallel to our own. In Book One of their new series, Rue discovers that she actually belongs to the immortal world and not to the mortal one in which she has grown up. We are left wondering how Rue will adjust to her new life while solving the mystery of her purpose between the mortal and immortal worlds.



Recommended grade levels: 9-12

The Host by Stephanie Meyer

In The Host, Stephanie Meyer tells the story of Wanderer, a Soul whose race survives by traveling from planet to planet and taking over the bodies of the inhabitants. When the Souls come to Earth, Wanderer is placed in the body of Melanie, who refuses to lose her consciousness. For the first time, Wanderer’s race of Souls seems to be succumbing to the habits and emotions of the race that they are taking over, becoming more human. Told in first person narrative by Wanderer with insertions by Melanie, the story describes a world in which humanity is infectious and the definition of what is right and what is wrong can change.

A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb

Helen has been haunting people for 130 years when, for the first time, human eyes see her. James haunted a piece of land until he inhabited the body of a teenager named Billy. As he learns more about himself and struggles to make Billy fit into a dysfunctional family that consists only of Billy and his older brother, James falls in love with Helen. He then convinces her to inhabit the body of Jenny, who is part of a dysfunctional family that seems perfect from the outside. Together they find out new things about their past and learn the secrets of Billy and Jenny.

I LOVED this book!

Strengths: Teens will love the love story between Helen and James. They will also love to hate the families that they have become part of (especially Helen’s). The fact that it is a story with supernatural elements will appeal to many.

Weaknesses: The supernatural element is a great twist to this love story, but it is sometimes confusing. Why does Helen cleave to people, while James haunted a place? How did James figure out how to possess human bodies and then how to finally leave for good?

Concerns: Sex and drugs. I am more concerned with the sex part, although it does not go into any detail, they sure “do it” a lot.