Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ranson Riggs

 I had just come to accept that my life would be ordinary when extraordinary things began to  happen.

A mysterious island.

An abandoned orphanage.

A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.(www.goodreads.com)

Rating: 8 out of 10
**mild language**
Available: North Olympic Library System
To check this out at NOLS, click here: https://pac.nols.org/polaris/Search/request.aspx?pos=2&new=1

Divergent by Veronica Roth

There is one mirror in my house.  It is behind a sliding panel in the hallway upstairs.  Our faction allows me to stand in front of it on the second day of every third month, the day my mother cuts my hair.

In the beginning of the great peace, factions that embraced a particular virtue were formed: Candor (honesty), Abnegation (selflessness), Dauntless (courage), Erudite (knowledge), and Amity (peace).  Their motto:  Faction before blood.

"In our factions, we find meaning, we find purpose, we find life."

Beatrice Prior is 16 years old.  She and her brother are about to take the aptitude test to find out which of the five factions each of them would best be suited for.  After Beatrice's test, she finds out that she displays aptitude for Abnegation, Dauntless and Erudite:  She is Divergent.

"This is different.  I don't mean you shouldn't share them now; I mean you should never share them with anyone, ever, no matter what happens.  Divergence is extremely dangerous.  You understand?"

Beatrice is forced to choose a faction at the Choosing Ceremony.  If she chooses Abnegation, she gets to stay with her family, but she has trouble living the life of selflessness because it doesn't feel genuine.  She is drawn to Dauntless, but choosing a different faction means leaving her family forever.  And failing to complete the initiation into a faction would make her factionless, living a life of misery and poverty.

Beatrice makes a startling decision at the Choosing Ceremony.  Her entire world changes and she doesn't know who to trust.  She is thrust into a competitive initiation where only the top 10 will be accepted; in the beginning there are 19 initiates.  She also is forced to keep her Divergent identity hidden from everyone.  In the midst of this, she discovers a that society may not be as perfect as she once thought. 

(http://readlotsandprosper2011.blogspot.com)

Rating:  10 out of 10

* mild sexual references

Available: Mrs. Hope and Sikes Library, North Olympic Library System

To check this out at NOLS, click HERE!

Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman

 Monday, September 13, 5:30 A.M.

 There was a moment not long ago when I thought: This is it. I'm dead.

Strange things are happening in Skeleton Creek . . . and Ryan and Sarah are trying to get to the heart of it. But after an eerie accident leaves Ryan housebound and forbidden to see Sarah, their investigation takes two tracks: Ryan records everything in his journal, while Sarah uses her videocam to search things out. . .and then email the clips for Ryan to see.

In a new, groundbreaking format, the story is broken into two parts -- Ryan's text in the book, and Sarah's videos on a special website, with links and passwords given throughout the book.

Rating: 8out of 10

Available: Stevens Middle School Library, Mrs. Hope and Sikes Library, North Olympic Library System
Use the following link to reserve at NOLS: https://pac.nols.org/polaris/Search/request.aspx?pos=1&new=1