Shadow Walkers, by Brent Hartinger (Flux, 2011)

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As a gay teenager living with his little brother and grandparents on an island community of only 4,000, Zach feels like an outsider, relying on the Internet for peace of mind and interaction with the outside world. When he’s grounded for forgetting to take out the trash, and denied Internet privileges, his desperation for diversion leads him to attempt astral projection. After he tries and fails, he puts the whole thing out of mind, even though the woman at the New Age store totally swore the special incense she gave him would help next time. And then Zach’s little brother, Gilbert, goes missing, and Zach once again tries to astral project in the hopes of finding him. This time, it works. In the astral realm, Zach can track his brother and his kidnappers, but can he find a way to alert the police before something bad happens? Luckily, in the process, he runs into Emory, another astral projector who’s much better at it … and apparently into Zach as well. Together, they can try to save Gilbert and give one another strength and comfort. That is, if the dark creatures stalking the astral plane don’t get them first.

There’s a lot of raw emotion and adolescent fervor woven into the pages of this relatively short roller coaster of a tale. Zach comes off as pretty high-strung, especially once the subplot regarding his little brother kicks into gear and he gets caught up in the tension of the moment. He and Emory hit it off with genuine chemistry, although something about the pacing seems a little off, even rushed. One can chalk it up to the excitement and adrenaline of the situation, but it still feels like they needed more time before reaching the depths of connection that they did. I’ll be honest: I never really bought into the astral projection element as a compelling factor in the story. As a metaphor for escaping one’s bounds and limitations, it’s dead-on perfect and applicable to the characters. At the same time, it fails to capture me as a reader. Certainly, the logic in which Zach decides to use astral projection, which he doesn’t even believe is real and has never successfully accomplished before, as a tool for finding his missing brother, requires a certain leap of faith on the reader’s part, lest the whole thing collapse. Of course it works, and of course the only other person he meets on the astral plane who isn’t trying to kill him, turns out to cute, gay, single, and of the right age. This is a good book, and I’m thrilled to see a YA paranormal featuring a gay teen and a hint of romance, but as a paranormal story goes, it never quite gels. I think it could have benefited from expansion; with a more leisurely plot, a less frantic atmosphere, and a less pressing deadline, this could have been great instead of good. It’s still a nice change of pace, and maybe we’ll get to see these characters again under less intense circumstances, and get to know them better.

Slayed, by Amanda Marrone (Simon Pulse, 2010)

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Daphne Van Helsing has been part of the family business of vampire slaying for as long as she can remember, traveling with her parents around the country, taking on the messy job of staking and beheadng misbehaving bloodsuckers. Also for as long as she can remember, she’s wanted to settle down somewhere and have a normal life, with friends, boys, and maybe even a prom someday. Unfortunately, it’s hard to have a social life when you’re armed with a fake ID and a stake, and your parents send you out to troll the bars as bat-bait. The latest gig, taking down an unusually active nest in South Bristol, promises to be more of the same. That is, until the Van Helsings run into a rival father-on team of hunters, the Harkers, with whom they have a messy history. If Daphne wasn’t so busy feuding with the son, one Tyler Harker, she might even stop to realize how cute he is. To really put the frosting on the cupcake, Daphne gets saddled with Kiki Crusher, a former child star who’s grown into a bored, buxom, bleached blonde bimbo living high on the family credit cards … and who’s decided her new calling is that of vampire hunter. With a rival she can’t trust and a sidekick she can’t stand, Daphne’s at her wits’ end. The vampires are meaner and stronger than ever before, the stakes are higher, and something nasty’s coming to South Bristol. And maybe the rival’s not so untrustworthy, and the sidekick’s not so bad after all….

In Slayed, Marrone puts a new and entertaining twist on the usual genre conventions, giving us a vampire hunter who yearns for the most basic things of a mundane life, even as she leads a life of danger and adventure. The vampires themselves are just window dressing in this story of a girl who’s ready to get away from it all and seek out the life she wants for herself. There’s plenty of supernatural action, some mystery, and some nifty bits of not-so-obvious mythology thrown in, but the real strength here comes from the honest emotions that shine through in the narrative. However, there’s another element which makes this story funny, warm-hearted, and captivating, and that’s Kiki Crusher. Kiki’s a scene-stealer, whose bouncy, bubbly, irrepressible nature can’t be dampened down by anything short of a full-on nuclear explosion. From taking a limo to a hunting job, to ordering custom unicorn horn shaped stakes (don’t ask) to blackmailing her way into becoming Daphne’s sidekick, she’s both foil and friend, cheerful nuisance and sympathetic sounding board, highly relatable and laugh-inspiring. Kiki keeps this from falling into the “guy and girl argue before falling in love” trap that loves to hide in this sort of book.

There’s a lot to love here. Daphne’s a character worth rooting for, whether she’s pining for a prom dress or stuffing garlic in a decapitated vamp’s mouth, and Marrone has done an excellent job of adding something new to a crowded genre. Definitely worth a look.

TimeRiders, by Alex Scarrow (Walker and Company, 2010)

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In 1912, Liam O’Connor is rescued from certain death as the Titanic sinks. In 2010, Maddy Carter is snatched away from an airplane just before it crashes. In 2026, Saleena Vikram is taken away from a fatal fire. All three teenagers have just been recruited as the next set of operatives for the TimeRiders. Their mission: to live just outside of time, in order to spot temporal disturbances and prevent changes to history. With Saleena as the observer, Maddy as the analyst, and Liam as the field operative, they’re tasked to do the impossible every day. Trained by Foster, only survivor of the last team, and backed up by Bob, a vat-grown humanoid with a computer brain, they’ve barely settled into their new assignments when history is changed in a major way.

Now they have to defeat a time-traveling madman who altered the outcome of World War 2 for his own benefit before painstakingly obscuring his tracks. With the team scattered across decades, rapidly running low on resources, they’ll be tested like never before. But history’s not done changing, and with each shift, things get much, much worse. If they don’t succeed, humanity will have no future.

TimeRiders ia a fast-paced, intense adventure that hits the ground running and never looks back. Obviously, mixing time travel with alternate World War 2 scenarios is nothing new, but in this case, it still serves as an adequately entertaining launchpad for an exciting story. I’ve always been a sucker for good time travel adventures, and this one delivers in full, with action-packed scenes set over multiple decades. From the war-torn past to the apocalyptic future, there’s plenty going on here. I’ll be interested in seeing what sort of adventures our heroes get into with future installments.

The Line, by Teri Hall (Dial, 2010)

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The Unified States are safe, but at a cost. Their expanse surrounded by the invisible National Border Defense System, their society tightly policed by merciless Enforcement Officials, their people rigidly broken down into castes of employment, everything is controlled and oppressed. However, out near the borders, there’s room to breathe and dream. Rachel and her mother have lived on the Property for years, ever since Rachel’s father’s disappearance. Rachel’s been trained by her mother to think for herself, to distrust the government, and to always seek out the truth. As a result, Rachel’s fascinated by the Line, that section of the Border which runs just past the Property, beyond which lies the mysterious expanse simply called Beyond, populated by the Others.

What lies Beyond, for real? If anyone knows, they’re not saying. That is, until Rachel uncovers a message from the Others, sparking a cascade of revelations and family secrets. Now she has to question her life and her purpose, and decide what’s best for her family and herself. But what will her choice cost her?

The Line has an interesting premise, and an intriguing setup. It’s easy to see the parallels between Rachel’s totalitarian, control-obsessed society, and modern day issues regarding immigration, border control, and internal security. It’s also easy to see Rachel’s Unified States as an analogue of the United States, even though this may lead to some inaccurate assumptions regarding the world as a whole. It’s hard to reconcile our world with the one described here, leading to some jarring discrepancies.

Again, there’s a lot of potential in exploring the particular social factors which come together to create this world. Unfortunately, it’s a quick, fast read, and relatively little of the setting is explored in any significant detail. Worse still, the story comes to an abrupt halt, pretty much in mid-scene, setting things up for the inevitable sequel, as though one book had been split in two. As a result, what conflicts have been raised fail to hit a satisfying conclusion, either left unfinished, or else defused early. The rising blend of paranoia and tension could have turned this into a taut thriller, but it somehow feels softened.

A certain lack of depth and characterization counts as a further strike against the book as a whole. For all that we get inside various heads and are privy to their thoughts, I never really felt connected to anyone besides Rachel, and even then it was tenuous at best. Oddly enough, the term I’d use to describe the overall situation is “claustrophobic,” since everything takes place in a very small amount of space.

I enjoyed this book, but it could have been so much more, once it decided what to be. On the bright side, it looks as though the sequel will further explore societies on both sides of the Border, and delve into the mysteries of the Others and their world. We’ll just have to see what happens.

The Cinderella Society, by Kay Cassidy (Egmont USA, 2010)

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Perennial “new girl” Jess Parker is an outcast at school, unable to fit in despite making the cheerleading squad as an incoming junior. In fact, she’s the prime target of Lexy Steele, one of the resident mean girls. Is it any wonder that Jess is absolutely stunned when she’s picked to join The Cinderella Society, a secret organization of popular girls dedicated to making the world a better place?

An initiation ceremony and fabulous makeover later, Jess has a new circle of friends, newfound confidence, a blossoming new relationship (with Lexy’s brother, Ryan, of all people) and a new purpose in life. Now she’s part of an ongoing struggle between the “Cindies” who try to help people in secret, and the “Wickeds” who use blackmail and other despicable methods to rule the masses … and Lexy’s her opposite number among the Wickeds. Now Jess has to find her inner strength in order to live up to her new responsibilities and potential, while figuring out what the Wickeds have in store for the innocent bystanders of their high school. But will Jess go too far in her crusade to help one troubled person?

What we have here is a rather odd book. Honestly, when I saw “Cinderella” in the title and “battle of good vs evil” in the cover copy, I was expecting something in the paranormal range, perhaps dealing with fairy godmothers and evil stepsisters. What I found was an awkward blend of self-help “girl power” propaganda, and secret society intrigue. It starts off with Jess’ induction into a mysterious sorority-like group of do-gooders who find their inner strengths through personal makeovers and sisterly support of one another. However, even as Jess is being taught to find her inner strength and coordinate outfits to match, she’s learning about the secret struggle between two far-flung groups of women. It’s as though the stereotypical “mean girls” in every school and community were all part of an organization bent on world domination, while being opposed by animal shelter volunteers and cheerleaders.

Now, don’t get me wrong; there’s clearly a great concept here. I’m a big fan of eternal struggles between good and evil, secret societies, and that ilk. Unfortunately, in this case it’s hard to take the whole package seriously. It’s quite well written, and a fun read, but the elements don’t mesh perfectly. The self-empowerment change-your-life girl-power aspects clash with the intrigue and mystery.

However, I’ll be the first to admit that, since I’m not a teenage girl, I’m not the target audience. There’s a disconnect between what I was expecting, and what I found, and this is sure to find eager acceptance among those who need a booster shot of courage, idealism, self-confidence, romance, and empowerment. The messages it contains are valuable and crystal-clear, even if the packaging could stand a little improvement.

(Re)cycler, by Lauren McLaughlin (Random House, 2009)

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Picking up where Cycler left off, Jill McTeague has decided to make something of a fresh start with her life. Thus, she’s off to New York with her best friend Ramie, while she figures out just what she’s supposed to do with herself – and her male alter ego, Jack. Jack may only exist for a handful of days each month, but he’s ready to seize every moment he can take, and indulge in a freedom he’s never known before. It sounds great, in theory. Jill can spend her time working at temp jobs while waiting to see if her boyfriend Tommy ever completes his road trip across America (and obsessing about how and when to lose her virginity) while Jack discovers what makes him tick, in between bouts of vigorous sex with his girlfriend, Ramie. A compromise everyone can live with, right?

Only New York’s not as glamorous as Jill expected. Ramie’s busy getting involved in the fashion industry. Jack’s showing up earlier and at unpredictable times. People are complicated. Tommy’s barely communicating. And sex is still an issue. All too soon, Jack and Jill are both wrapped up in matters of the heart that are beyond their control,and happy endings aren’t looking so likely anymore. Will they discover their true passions and find the right choices, or will New York be heartbreak for all involved?

McLaughlin has an interesting premise, albeit one buried in layers of soap opera complications and relationship woes. The intertwined struggles of Jack and Jill to find a balance in their lives, both romantic and in general, is a universal one, easy to relate to. Jill’s obsession with losing her virginity in the perfect manner makes an interesting contrast against Jack’s rampant sexuality and desire for more personal time. Ramie, who ordinarily balances them out as best friend and girlfriend, is increasingly removed from the action by outside committments and a new focus, forcing them both to think outside the box and make their own choices.

The problem is, these are storylines which would work just as well if Jack and Jill were indeed two separate people. What makes this book unique is the dual-identitied, gender-swapping nature of Jack/Jill McTeague, and how they coexist in the same body. Is Jill a girl who sometimes becomes a guy? All signs point to “yes” given her majority share. Jack is treated (and rightly feels) like an unwelcome intruder, no matter that he can’t control his own existence or manifestations. Draw your own conclusions, this book is rife with allegorical possibilities. Unfortunately, one thing it lacks is explanations. Why is Jill this way? I don’t recall any explanation ever being given. Maybe it’s gamma rays. Why is Jack showing up earlier than expected, or at inopportune moments? Again, no answers. Maybe it’s hormones, or some deep-down self-protective instinct. It just happens.

In short, it feels like there’s a lot of wasted potential here, in which the endlessly fascinating aspects of a gender-shifting protagonist are sacrificed for a more generic set of emotional/relationship stumbling blocks. This book’s open-ended conclusion leaves things ready for another installment if necessary, while leaving all the characters in different places than when they started. I’d love to see a continuation, in which our heroes further explore their own nature and identities. If nothing else, Jack and Jill would undoubtedly find food for thought, and maybe some understanding faces, in the trans community.

Is this a good book? Yes. Could it be a whole lot better? Most likely. It’s enjoyable, fast-paced, and the narrative voices are easy to relate to. It’s a fun read, but there’s still room to grow.