The Juliet Club by Suzanne Harper

Kate is a mixture of her divorced parents. Both parts practicality and passion for Shakespeare. After her heart was broken, she swore off love. But now she was won an essay contest that sends her and her Shakespeare scholar father to Verona Italy for the summer. Classmates are trying to fix her up. She and a fellow classmate are tricking the rest. A lot of Shakespearean twists and turns are sprinkled through out the book. That being said, I can't finish it. I've tried to read it several times now and just get bored. It probably doesn't help that I don't care for Romeo and Juliet and the comedies of Shakespeare's I've read. And this book has a lot of that flavor. I think you have to be familiar with Shakespeare and appreciate him to appreciate this book. I'm nay.

Triskellion by Will Peterson

I realized that I didn't post on this book. I don't remember a lot of details other than my impression, so to push things along for our December meeting, I'm posting the Kirkus review which nicely sums up the plot (with a few ***spoilerish*** details)

Author Mark Billingham and television scriptwriter Peter Cocks collaborate on their debut novel, the first of a planned fantasy trilogy. Fourteen-year-old New York City twins Rachel and Adam are uprooted to spend the summer in the home of a grandmother they barely know. A group of hostile characters inhabits her isolated English village, lending a mood of mystery and threat. Gabriel, a shadowy outcast teen who readily participates in the twins' shared extrasensory mental dialogue, befriends them but has a plan of his own, aided, inexplicably, by hordes of bees. Digging beneath an ancient chalk circle in the village, a television show archaeology crew recovers part of a three bladed talisman, the Triskellion; a group of evil Morris dancers makes every effort to steal it for their own purposes, as the twins quickly realize that even their grandmother may be plotting against them to protect some long-hidden secret. Told in brief but exciting episodes, the breathless pace helps to make up for the rather flat personalities that people this often suspenseful but somewhat predictable novel. (Kirkus)

Triskellion has flavor of Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series, and the dark extrasensory abilities of human and animals that Mary Stewart included in some of her books. It will serve as readers advisory suggestions for this genre, but I don't think it is TU award worthy. NAY

Escape the Mask by David Ward

Escape the Mask by David Ward is the first book in The Grassland Trilogy. The story opens in a cave, a series of holding cells for new arrivals, told from Coriko's perspective. Coriko is suffering a punishment - a night of fear in the cave that is flooded by water to cull the weak. Coriko hisses instructions on how to survive the surging ocean to two new captives. The cells are fuller than normal, and Coriko notices others changes among their captors' behavior.

Ward combines slavery techniques of intimidation, divison, punishment for not reaching quota, and isolation to create a sensory deprivation cut off from the rest of the world for the young captives. The children depend and trust few others than their mates. The book conveys desperation, the best and worst of human nature, and longings for belonging.

For those who want the tension of good/bad, other realms, war and humanity, captive and escape, it could be a readers advisory selection. It has some gruesome images, but not uber grotesque in detail, so seems ok for younger teens who want aspects of war and battle. I don't think the title stands on its own, doesn't have enough depth, and doesn't warrant the TU award. NAY

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Bod's family was killed by the man Jack. He now lives in the graveyard that he toddled to the night his parents were killed and is protected by the ghosts that haunt the graveyard and his guardian who is neither living or dead. Jack is still after Bod but can only get to Bod if he leaves the graveyard. This book has been my favorite so far. The story is full of quirky characters and is full of snap shots of Bod's life from the night his parents were murdered through to the night when it was safe for him to leave and live his life. I didn't want it to end. I give this a big TU!

Metro Survive by Yuki Fujisawa

This was a fast past, very interesting story. Mishima is a bit of a pushover and ends up getting trapped underground because of an earthquake.  He slowly becomes a leader of the others trapped there (although I get the feeling that the transformation isn't yet complete).  I had a hard time putting it down.  But it definitely doesn't stand alone - being number 1 in a manga series, I can't say I'm surprised by that.  I vote NAY.

City of Time by Eoin McNamee

This is the second in a planned trilogy and I haven't read the first, so it was a little confusing, although there were attempts to explain things. It's a complex story of a society in which time is literally running out. Owen, the grandson of the Navigator who has mapped time, must save the world from the Harsh who want to destroy it. I think if I want to fully understand this world, I need to read the first book. Nay for not standing on its own

The Alcoholic by Jonathan Alter and Dean Hespiel

I'm not a fan of graphic novels, in general. This book is a depiction of a man, Jonathan, who, after running from the police and burying himself in the sand, reviews his pathetic life. He began drinking at age 14 and his alcoholism followed him until his forties. Even when he doesn't drink for several years, he's not free from the alcoholism. It is a very realistic and cautionary tale. It's supposed be humorous, but I didn't see it. Just very bleak. Besides that, I didn't think it is an appropriate book for teens, and therefore Thumb's Up. It is written from the viewpoint of an adult looking back on his life. Big Nay for me.