Nightrise

   Nightrise is the third book in the Gatekeepers series. Unlike the previous two books in Matt's point of view, it focuses on Jamie and his older twin brother, Scott. Since they were children, they've known about their powers. They have the ability to see into each other's minds. While they can look at other people's minds, due to problems caused in their past, they refuse to.
     Jamie and Scott work at The Circus of the Mind for their 'Uncle' Don. After a series of strange events connected to the twins occur, they are generally ignored by child services. However, unknown to the twins, due to their strange powers, they are being hunted by the Nightrise Corporation. Nightrise, who has a Psi project, is using it to track down the gatekeepers by abducting children with strange powers. After a failed attempt at kidnapping both of the twins, they kill Don White and his girlfriend, Marcie. They get away with Scott, and torture him.
     Meanwhile, Jamie was rescued by a woman named Alicia. She is searching for her missing son, who had been kidnapped for his powers, like fourteen other children. Jamie forms an alliance with her, and together they sneak into Nightrise. By entering Colton Banes' mind, Jamie learns that Scott is at Silent Creek. Silent Creek is a correctional detention center for juveniles. So Jamie can sneak into Silent Creek, Alicia brings him to meet with John Trelawny, a presidential candidate. He agrees to sneak Jamie into Silent Creek under a false name.
     While he is at Silent Creek, Jamie is discovered by a man named Max Coring after demanding to see his brother. While Coring calls Banes, Jamie is left in his cell without the air conditioner on. When he is discovered by Joe Feather, he temporarily blacks out. When he wakes up, Feather reveals that he is on Jamie's side and wishes to help him escape. Together, the two find Daniel, Alicia's missing son. They quickly proceed to escape from the prison, but not before Jamie receives a fatal wound in his shoulder from Banes. He is teleported to the past to help the first Gatekeepers seal the Old Ones away. Matt reveals that there is ten Gatekeepers total, however the present ones are like a reincarnation of the original gatekeepers. If one gatekeeper dies in the present, then one from the past will replace them. After following the eagle, Jamie is brought back to the world of the living.
     Jamie convinces Feather to allow him to bring Daniel back to his mother, where the two share a teary reunion. After a day of resting, Jamie discovers that Nightrise plans to use Scott to kill Trelawny. He, Alicia, and Daniel rush to meet them at the parade. When they reach the parade, Jamie is ignored by Scott. Scott, who is controlling Trelawny's main guard, plans to shoot him. At the last minute, Jamie gets him to shoot Susan Mortlake, the woman who had tortured Scott. After she dies, Jamie is able to convince Scott to run with him. A member of the Nexus appears and gives Alicia her keys, and tells Jamie and Scott to go to Peru. After stopping in the forest with the police chasing them, Jamie takes Scott and they run through one of the magical doors and land in Cuzco, Peru. The story ends with the twins meeting Matt and Pedro, and Scarlett going to meet her father, who works for Nightrise.

Inheritance

     Inheritance is the fourth and final book of the Inheritance Cycle. It begins in the Varden's siege of Belatona.  During the battle, Saphira is almost killed by a Dauthdaert, or Death Spear, called Niernen, which was created to kill dragons. When Belatona falls, the werecats form an alliance with the Varden. Roran is sent to siege Aroughs, and despite heavy casualties, they are successful.
     They continue on to capture Dras-Leona, where Murtagh and Thorn await them. After Jeod finds an old sewer system, Eragon, Arya, Angela, Solembum the werecat, and an elf named Wyrden, head into the city to open the gate. They are captured, and Eragon is almost killed. After entering and defeating Murtagh and Thorn, Nasuada is kidnapped by the duo. With their leader gone, Eragon is appointed as temporary leader of the Varden.
     He travels to the Rock of Kuthian, where he discovers Eldunari and dragon eggs. With their help, Eragon heads to Urubaen to face off against Galbatorix. While in captivity, Nasuada is constantly visited by Murtagh, who helps lessen her pain. They begin to fall in love with each other, and Murtagh plans to help Nasuada to escape from Galbatorix. When the siege begins, Eragon, Arya, Saphira, Elva, the Eldunari, and their elven guards travel to the throne room. In the end, all of Eragon's guards are transported into a dungeon. The remaining warriors enter the throne room. Galbatorix quickly overpowers them, and orders Murtagh and Eragon to duel. After Eragon wins, he taunts Galbatorix into a duel.
     When Galbatorix's wards are stripped off by Murtagh, Galbatorix knocks him out and attacks Eragon mentally. Eragon manages to cast a spell that makes Galbatorix feel everything that people who were affected by him felt. While he is suffering, Arya kills his dragon Shruikan. Galbatorix says a spell to un-make himself. As the citadel falls, Arya rescues the dragon egg and the other elves.
     Murtagh decides that he and Thorn will travel around the world, for Nasuada, as well as himself. Nasuada is  chosen as the Queen of Alagaesia. Arya becomes the Queen of the elves, and a dragon rider. Eragon decides that for the safety of everyone, he and the dragons will move to another land. Eragon and Arya decide to re-meet one day.

Brisingr

     Brisingr is the third installment of the Inheritance Cycle. It continues three days after the ending events in the second book, Eldest. Eragon and Saphira, along with Roran, are travelling to Helgrind to, hopefully, rescue Katrina. Eragon manages to find and kill one of the Ra'zaac, leaving only one alive. They rescue Katrina, but Eragon also finds Sloan with both of his eyes missing. Eragon sends Roran, Katrina, and Saphira back to the Varden so he could deal with the last Ra'zaac and Sloan.
     When he finds the last Ra'zaac, it gives Eragon hints about Galbatorix. It asks Eragon to pass on the tale of the Ra'zaac, the Bringers of Fear. Refusing this offer, the two quickly battle, and Eragon comes out victorious. Eragon rescues Sloan and uses his true name to prevent Sloan from ever going near Katrina or Roran again. When Eragon makes it back to the Varden, it is discovered that Katrina is pregnant with Roran's baby. They plan to get married, with Eragon serving as preacher. Just before the wedding, Thorn and Murtagh attack. With the elves' help, Eragon manages to fend them off. He then marries Roran and Katrina.
     Nasuada sends Eragon to attend the election of the new king of dwarves. He is nearly assassinated while there, and Orik is selected as king. After his coronation, Eragon and Saphira travel to Ellesmera, where they learn from Oromis and Glaedr that Galbatorix's power comes from the Eldunari, or the dragon's heart of hearts. Glaedr gives Eragon his, before he and Oromis head out to face Murtagh. Before they leave, Eragon goes to visit Rhunon, who made all Dragon Riders' swords. With her help, he indirectly makes his own sword, which he names Brisingr.
     After returning to the Varden, Eragon and Saphira see Oromis' death through Glaedr's eldunari. Roran, on the other hand, is sent on various missions. He succeeds in saving the mission, but is charged for insubordination. He is flogged as a punishment and is then promoted to commander.
     They lead a siege on Feinster, where Eragon rescues Arya. After commenting about his sword, they continue on to the main house. There, they find magicians who were creating a Shade. Despite killing them, a new shade named Varaug is born. Arya kills him quickly. Nasuada congratulates Eragon on a successful siege  and the story ends.

Evil Star

     Evil Star by Anthony Horwitz, is the second book of the Gatekeepers series, and focuses on Matt as he is, yet again, thrust into danger. After Matt closed Raven's Gate, the Nexus has been providing for him and Richard. He is sent to a nearby charter school, where he is an outcast and bullied. While he is at school, he accidentally triggers his powers and causes a glass and the chandelier hanging above the students heads to explode.
     Meanwhile, his aunt has become recluse. She listens to a talk-show host, who is working for the Old Ones. This event causes her to go crazy, and she kills her boyfriend, Phil. Soon after, the host tells her that she needs to go kill Matt. Deciding that she wanted to be with the host, she follows orders and leaves her house to track Matt.
     It is then that Matt learns that there is another gate in Peru, and he admits that he hates his school. His aunt commits suicide, and drives a petrol tanker into the school cafeteria. Matt, who had a vision only minutes before it happened, pulls the fire alarm and evacuates the school. Matt runs away, and heads to Peru. In the headlines, Matt is believed to be a physic. When he is heading up to meet Fabian at a fancy hotel in Peru, he and Richard are ambushed, and Richard is kidnapped. Matt finds help in a young Peruvian boy named Pedro. When he reaches the hotel, he is again ambushed. With Pedro's help, he escapes.
     In their dreams, Pedro and Matt are able to talk. There, Matt learns that Pedro is one of the five. He and Pedro are sent into a wild journey, and meet the last of the Incas. Soon after, they are sent into Professor Chambers' care. With her help, they discover part of the gate, which is almost ready to be activated. After inspecting some star maps, they find that the key is the stars. Salamanda, who sent a satellite into space to replace Cygnus. After invading his base, they learn that Fabian is a traitor. Soon they set off into the desert after Salamanda in a helicopter.
    The helicopter crashes, and Matt leaves Pedro to face Salamanda himself. He discovers that his power is triggered by a burning smell. Using this, he destroys Salamanda's mobile base, and kills Salamanda. However, the gate still opens and the Old Ones come back. With Pedro's help, Matt is able to injure the Lord of the Old Ones, before falling into a comatose state. After a week, Pedro learns the truth about his power, and heals Matt using his power. Together, they make the decision to find the other three gatekeepers.

Eldest

     Eldest is the second book of the Inheritance Cycle. It continues from the first book, Eragon, after the Varden is ambushed. Murtagh has disappeared, and Ajihad dies.
     Ajihad's daughter, Nasuada, takes over the Varden after her father's funeral. According to their agreement, Eragon is to go to Du Weldenvarden to complete his training. Eragon travels to Ellesmera with Arya and Orik. During his meeting with Queen Islanzadi, it is revealed that Arya is her daughter, making her a princess. Then, an amazing discovery is made. Saphira is not the only free dragon. Her teacher is Glaedr, a mighty gold dragon. His rider, Oromis, is Eragon's teacher and also known as 'The Cripple Who Is Whole'.
     Nasuada moves the Varden into Surda, where their allies are. After a foiled assassination attempt, Nasuada meets Elva, a young child who Eragon 'blessed'. Despite being only a few weeks old, she has the body of a five year old and is constantly growing. She has the ability to sense people's pain and weaknesses, and knows when someone dies. She serves as Nasuada's personal bodyguard afterward.
     Meanwhile, in Ellesmera, the elves are preparing for the Agaeti Blodhren, or Blood-Oath Celebration, which celebrates the pact between elves and dragons. At the celebration, Eragon is altered by a spectral dragon, which causes him to look more like an elf than human. Eragon also confesses his feelings to Arya, who brutally rejects them. Before returning to the Varden, Oromis presents him with the belt of Beloth the Wise. Eragon quickly flies off to help the Varden in battle.
     We then discover that Roran is being hunted by the Ra'zaac, who hope to use him to capture Eragon. Instead of capturing Roran, they capture Katrina, which causes Roran and the entire village of Carvahall to chase after them. At Teirm, they meet Jeod, who helps them steal a boat and begin sailing to Surda.
     At the battle, Eragon meets a hostile dragon rider. He manages to kill Hrothgar, the dwarf king. It is then revealed that the rider is Murtagh, and that he and Eragon are brothers. The story ends with the battle.

The Lost Hero

     In this sequel to the original Percy Jackson, Percy has gone missing. Our new protagonist is a young boy named Jason, who has no memories of his past. We have characters from the original series, along with new characters who help and fight our new trio along the way.
     After waking up on the bus, a girl named Piper McLean is claiming to be his girlfriend, while a boy named Leo Valdez is claiming to be his best friend. They are all in the Wilderness School, which is for problem children. While on a field trip to the Grand Canyon, Jason is attacked by storm spirits. His coach, Gleeson Hedge, turns out to be a violent satyr with a wooden club. A golden coin he has in his pocket turns out to be a sword. After Coach Gleeson is captured, Jason, Piper, and Leo are rescued by some kids from Camp Half-Blood, one of them being our old female protagonist from the Percy Jackson series, Annabeth.
     Annabeth, who had a vision from Hera telling her that she would find a clue to finding Percy at the Grand Canyon, is rather disappointed that she didn't find Percy, but brings the trio to Camp Half-Blood. There, it is discovered that Leo is a son of Hephaestus, Piper is a daughter of Aphrodite, and that Leo is a son of Zeus and the brother of Thalia. Only after 24 hours in the camp, the trio recieves a quest to rescue Hera and prevent Mother Earth from awakening. Piper discovers that her father is being held captive, and she must betray her friends to get him back.
     Leo fixes a dragon named he named Happy, and learns that he not only has power over fire, but also can withstand fire of any level. Along their journey, they meet many new friends and enemies. Along his journey, the trio meets the Hunters of Artemis, and his sister Thalia.
     In the end, the trio, along with the hunters of Artemis, save Piper's dad, as well as Hera, whose power was being siphoned by the Porphyrion. Hera explains that they only temporarily halted Gaea's plans, and gives Jason part of his memories back. Jason is actually a son of Zeus' Roman counter-part. Hera switched Percy and Jason, and Percy is currently at a Roman Half-blood camp.

Raven's Gate

     Raven's Gate is a rather interesting book by Anthony Horowitz. I learned about this series after reading through the Alex Rider series. The book focuses on a fourteen year old named Matthew Freeman, or Matt. When he was younger both of his parents died in a car crash. He had been living with his aunt since he was eight.
     When Matt's 'friend', Kelvin Johnson, convinces him to rob an electronics factory, he knows that they'll be caught. When Matt is found by the security guard, Kelvin stabs the guard and tells Matt to start running. However, the police soon arrive and Kelvin blames Matt for the injury. While he is in police custody, they tell him about the LEAF project. Due to the LEAF Project, Matt would be sent into the country to 'reform'. His new guardian is Jayne Deverill.
     In Lesser Malling, Matt knows something is wrong. He is always being watched, and anyone who tries to help him ends up dead. The first was the farmer, Tom Burgess. When Matt went to visit him, he found him dead on his bed. However, Tom left an important clue. Written on the door were the words 'Raven's Gate'. When Matt researched Raven's Gate, he comes into contact with a man named Sanjay Dravid. Dravid was a member in the Nexus, a group dedicated to ensure the gates never open.
     After he runs away, Matt stays with Richard Cole, a journalist in Greater Malling. Trying to find out more information about what is going on, they contact Susan Ashwood and Micheal Marsh. Susan tells them to go to the Museum in South Kensington to meet with Professor Dravid. Matt learns that he is 'one of the five' gatekeepers that have to ensure that the gates never open. When Dravid goes to contact the Nexus and get his keys, he is killed. Matt is taken back to Hive Hall, and Richard is believed dead.
     After a failed escape attempt, Matt is brought to Omega One, which is built right over Raven's Gate. They plan on sacrificing Matt and using his blood to destroy Raven's Gate, thus ending the world. However, Matt calls on his power in time to save himself, and he and Richard escape. Everyone in Lesser Malling is killed. The story ends with Matt living with Richard and the Nexus telling him there is possibly another gate.

Eragon

     Eragon is a story about a young man named Eragon. However, the story begins with the Shade, Durza. He is waiting for the three elves that are transporting the dragon egg. When they are attacked, the two males are killed. The female run for a short time, before she transports the egg and is captured. When Eragon is hunting in the forest, he comes across a beautiful blue stone. When he is unable to trade it, he begins to think about burying it.
     Later that night, the stone hatches into a young dragon. Eragon accidentally bonds with it when he touches it. The dragon begins to grow quickly and Eragon must keep it hidden. He goes to Brom the storyteller to find a name. Later, he learns that the dragon is a female and her name is Saphira. When strangers show up at his home and destroy it, Eragon is forced to leave with Brom and Saphira.
     Eragon is eventually caught by the Ra'zac and witnesses as they nearly kill Brom. They are rescued by a man named Murtagh, and Eragon learns that Brom is a rider before he dies. Thanks to Saphira, he is encased in a diamond tomb. While Eragon and Murtagh travel together, Eragon is captured and brought to Gil'lead. There he meets the elf he has been dreaming about, and rescues her.
     From the elf, named Arya, Eragon decides to travel to the Varden. He is soon interupted by slavers, and kills most of them. They are later intercepted by Urgals, who were sent to capture them. Later, Eragon is accepted into the Varden and trains with Arya. Soon, they are attacked by Galbatorix and Murtagh disappears.
     Eragon searches for Murtagh and believes he is dead. The king also died, and is soon replaced by his daughter, Natsuda. Arya decides that Eragon has to complete his training with the elves. The story ends with Eragon preparing to travel to Ellsmera with Arya.

Alex Rider: Point Blank

     The story starts off with Alex, while he is at school. Due to a drug dealer at his school, many students start getting addicted on drugs. In an effort to stop it, Alex follows the van to a construction site, and picks up the barge the dealers are in with a crane. Instead of placing it in front of the police station as planned, when the crane is shut off, he drops it on the Conference Center in the station. Shortly after, Alex is arrested, but due to his 'special status' from working with MI6, it isn't put on his record.
     After one night in the station, Alex is handed over to the MI6. They wish to send him on another mission, this time to a school called Point Blanc, which is run by Dr. Grief. The school is a school for delinquents, but not just any delinquents. The school is for rich delinquents, and the tuition is fifteen grand a semester. He spends a week at the Friend's home, as he will pretend to be Alex Friend. Later, when he arrives on Point Blanc, he makes friends with James Sprintz, the only rebellious student in the school. Later in the story, James decides to escape by skiing down the mountain, but is dragged out of his bed to a lab.
     Because James is no longer rebellious, Alex gets suspicious. He finds a secret elevator to the third floor, which is almost an EXACT duplicate of the second, rooms included. The only difference is a lab. Later, Alex discovers the real heirs in the basement. As it turns out, Dr. Grief was the first person to successfully clone himself, which he did sixteen times, fourteen years ago. Using plastic surgery, he changed the clones to look like   his students, all of whom were heirs to the world's richest companies.
     Alex begins his escape, after after falling off a tree at high speeds, the doctors tell the school he is dead. However, due to Crawley's nearly invincible ski suit, he only suffered minor bruises and cuts. The MI6 sends in soldiers to save the other children, with Alex leading them. They manage to save the other children, after Wolf is severely injured. Grief and Stellenbosch die soon after.
     When Alex returns home, Jack tells him the principal wanted to see him. Alex arrives at the school with no problems, but when he gets to the principal's office, he is greeted by himself. Because Alex killed his 'father', the Alex's clone wishes to get revenge on Alex. When they fight, they cause a fire in the science building. The story ends with the clone falling to his death, and Alex on the roof.

Alex Rider: Stormbreaker

     Alex Rider is just your average 14 year old boy. That is, until the death of his uncle, Ian Rider. He was told he died in a car crash, and that he wasn't wearing his seatbelt. But, Ian Rider always wore his seatbelt. Becoming suspicious, Alex goes to the junkyard to search for his uncle's car. When he finds it, the car was riddled with holes. After becoming trapped in the car while it was being crushed, Alex quickly uses his years of karate training to get away.
    Soon after, Alex goes to visit the bank his uncle worked at. After jumping off of a ledge on the fifteenth floor, Alex searches his uncle's office and finds a file named 'Stormbreaker'. Soon after, he is knocked out. When he awakes, he meets with the head of the MI6, Alan Blunt. Blunt tells him that his uncle wasn't a banker, but a spy, and that everyone else in the bank is as well. The bank is just a cover to hide their operations. Threatening to send Alex to an orphanage, and to send Jack Starbright, his housekeeper, back to America, Blunt gives Alex a choice of becoming an agent, which Alex reluctantly accepts.
     Alex is sent to Harod Sayle's house, to discover the reason he is giving free Stormbreaker computers to every school in Britain. While spying on them, he sees Yassen Gregorovich, who is a contract assassin, and also Ian Rider's killer. After following a trail left by his uncle, Alex discovers the base of their operations in an underground cavern. Soon, Alex is captured and Sayle tells him that the Stormbreakers all contain an upgraded version of Smallpox, and that one drop of the stuff can kill an entire school. Using this as a means of revenge, he goes to the opening ceremony, leaving Mr. Grin to deal with Alex.
     Alex is stuck in the tank with Sayle's Portuguese Man of War, and is left there to either die of lack of air or to be stung by the jellyfish. While the assistant is watching him, he breaks the tank and finds the assistant being slowly and painfully killed by the Man of War. He quickly harpoons onto Mr. Grin's plane and at gunpoint forces him to take him to the Science Museum. Alex parachutes out of the plane and into the Museum. He quickly fires six shots, and destroys the main Stormbreaker.
     As Alex is riding home, Sayle kidnaps him and brings him to a launching pad. Sayle says that he will win and is planning to leave Britain. His plans are cut short when Yassen shoots him. When Alex questions why he shot him, he responds by saying his bosses wanted him dead. Alex tells Yassen that he will eventually kill him. The story ends with Yassen telling Alex that killing is for grown-ups.

Five Flavors of Dumb

by Anthony John

     When I saw this book in the store, I was surprised by it's title. Not only that but the summary of the story sounded rather interesting, so I picked it up and bought it. After I finished reading it, I was glad I picked it up. The story revolves around 18 year old Piper Vaughn, who is a deaf senior who is a 'perfect student'. When Josh Cooke, the lead singer of the band 'Dumb' invites Piper to be the manager, and she has one month to get them a paying gig. But she doesn't know the first thing about managing a band.
     Piper doesn't know what to do for the band, but starts with having them practice. As the winners of the Battle of the Bands, they get three practice sessions with Baz Firkin. Soon, her 'geek' friend, Edward, joins as the drummer. With an arrogant singer, angry guitarist, zombie bass player, and an easily scared drummer, Piper believes she has her hands full. Then, she ends up with another guitarist, but this one can't play and is just a piece of eye candy.
     Soon, Piper manages to get them a gig on a radio station, but they have to play soft music. After making their first profit of $5 dollars per person, she attempts to get them better gigs. She succeeds in getting them an interview on Seattle Today. However, because Kallie gets most of the attention, Josh begins to curse her out on live television. He then gets into a fight with his brother Will, and Piper, Kallie, and Tash leave. After visiting Tash's mother's salon, Piper gets her hair cut short and dyed cosmic pink.
     Piper now has to reunite the group to play as the opening act for Grievous Bodily Harm. When she was offered $1800, which meant $300 for each member. Now trying to get the others to stay in the same room, Piper forces them to agree to play together.
     Out of all the characters, my favorite is Piper, who had to deal with the five flavors of Dumb, along with her communication problems with her parents. The story revolves around the band, but mostly around Piper and her experiences with them.

Num8ers

-Th3 Chaos-

     In the exciting sequel to Num8ers,the story continues with Jem's son, fifteen year old Adam. He, like his mother, has the ability to see the numbers. He keeps a small notebook filled with the person's name, date of death, and a description of how they will die. Unlike in the first book, the story introduces two point of views, Adam and a fifteen year old girl named Sarah. The story focuses on a set of numbers that constantly reappear: 01012027.

     Years after Jem died, Adam is in the care of his nan, Valerie. The apartment they are living in is flooding, so Valerie brings Adam with her to her old home in London. On his first day of school, Adam gets in a fight with a kid named Junior, who was destined to die soon. He sees Sarah for the first time. Sarah, on the other hand, has seen him in her nightmares, taking her baby away from her, and is scared of him. Sarah is a young girl who faces problems at home, one of which is revealed that her father sexually abuses her. For the safety of her unborn baby, she steals her father's money and heads out to the street. There she meets Meg, who invites her to stay with her, the other girls, and their boss. Sarah later finds out that Meg and the other girls are prostitutes. After explaining that she's pregnant, Meg gives her her money and sends her to live with her friend Vinny.

     Meanwhile, Adam is worried about Sarah, so he goes to her home. While he is there, her father accuses him of doing something to Sarah that made her leave, and tries to kill him by strangling Adam. Adam quickly leaves. Adam is present when Junior dies and has half of his face burned. Sarah learns that Vinny is a kind young man who is addicted to different kinds of drugs. After a few months, Sarah gives birth to a baby girl she names Mia in the bathroom. When Vinny sees the pictures she drew, he tells her that she drew Judgement Day and should spread the message. Adam is still searching for Sarah and finds her by the mural she painted. She quickly runs away, but eventually hears him out. When she falls asleep, Adam hears crying, so he goes upstairs to investigate. He sees Mia, and Sarah wakes up and accuses him of trying to take Mia away from her. 

     Later, while on the run from child protection services, Adam takes Sarah and Mia to his home. When Sarah leaves, Mia is taken by protective services and given to her parents. When it hits the first of January, an earthquake hits and kills many people, while causing mass fires everywhere. Adam had been arrested for causing a riot, and soon tries to find Sarah by going to her parents house. Sarah, with Valerie, goes to her old home to get Mia, and finds both of her parents dead. Adam tries to get Sarah to run through the flames, and takes Mia so he can protect her from the flames. When they escape the fire, Adam is in critical condition, and is almost fully burned. When Adam looks in Mia's eyes, instead of seeing her original date 01012027, he sees his Nan's date.

      The story ends with the world reverting to small villages of people with no technology whatsoever. Adam and Sarah discover that Mia also has a special ability: she can swap her date of death with another. Adam and Sarah both fear that people will target Mia for this reason. As the story ends, it leaves the first chapter for the next book. All in all, this was an amazing sequel to the first book.

     

Num8ers

by Rachel Ward

     Num8ers was a rather interesting book. It takes place in London in the beginning of the book. The story revolves around Jem, who is considered a "problem child" by the adults around. She has the ability to see numbers, but she didn't know what they stood for. That is, until her mother died of an overdose. She learned that by looking into another person's eyes, she can see their death date.

    

     After Jem's mother died, she refused to get close to anyone since she knew when they would die. She was moved around to different foster homes, until the family couldn't handle her anymore. Haunted by the numbers, she usually avoided eye contact, and just walked through life. She didn't see much good in life. Until she met Spider, a young man who also lost his parents.

     Spider is a friendly young man, who lives with his nan, Valerie, who can see a person's aura. Jem and Spider slowly grow closer. He sticks up for Jem, going as far to punch another student for laughing at Jem's paper. After he is suspended, Jem is constantly teased about being Spider's girlfriend. One day, she pulls out a knife and threatens another student, which leads to an expulsion. To cheer her up, Spider takes her out to the town. They have fun, until Jem sees people with matching death dates, and drags Spider out of the way, only to see the London Eye blow up.

     Due to cameras catching them running away before the explosion, Jem and Spider are forced to go on the run for fear that they will be arrested and blamed for the bombing. They set their destination to Weston. Later, they are separated, as Spider is arrested. Jem attempts to make it to Weston, but is soon found by the police. She takes refuge in a church, and refuses to talk to the police until they bring Spider to her. Her ability to see death dates is revealed, and she is constantly bothered by people wishing to learn their dates. She makes a statement saying that she made it up, and is soon greeted by Spider. Hoping that if she dies Spider will live, she gets ready to jump off the church roof. Spider stops her, before falling off the roof himself.

     Soon after, Spider has a funeral and is cremated. Valerie lets his ashes out over the water, before they are blown back to her and Jem. The story ends after skipping 5 years. Jem had her and Spider's child, named Adam. He, like his mother, can see the numbers. It ends when he is at school. He draws a picture with his mother holding hands with him. Under her is her special number.

The Hunger Games Trilogy

     The series started off rather well and was well received by critics. The Hunger Games started off with a sixteen Katniss Everdeen, who served as our heroine, in a dystopia. Living in the destroyed remains of North America, she struggles to survive in District Twelve, also known as the Seam. The story starts off on Reaping Day, which is the day that two tributes from each district, one boy and one girl, were chosen to compete in the Hunger Games. The Games consisted of 24 tributes who were forced to fight for survival in the arena, with only one tribute coming out alive.

    

     The first book, The Hunger Games, began with Reaping Day, where Katniss' twelve year old sister, Prim, was picked out of the sea of names to be the female tribute. In order for her sister to survive, she volunteered as tribute. Our next main character shows up shortly after, Peeta Mellark, who was chosen to be the male tribute. As the story continues, Katniss fights to survive and later fights to keep Peeta alive. As the story ends, Katniss is forced to continue to be madly in love with Peeta in order to survive.

     The second book, Catching Fire, starts off where The Hunger Games ended. Katniss and Peeta return as victors and they and their families are transfered to Victor's Village. Katniss is visited by President Snow telling her that she is sparked a rebellion in the districts and must prove that attempting suicide through the berries was not an act of defiance. Forced to re-enter the Hunger Games with other tributes, Katniss gets new teammates such as Johanna Maso, Finnick Odair, and Beetee. At the end, she is rescued from the arena by the rebels and Peeta is taken by the Capitol.

    The final book, Mockingjay, begins with Katniss in District Thirteen, where the rebels hope she will become the Mockingjay, a symbol for the rebellion. In order to find Peeta, she agrees. Soon Peeta is brought to District Thirteen, where his memories of Katniss are altered, and tries to kill her. As they progress to the final battle, many soliders are killed, but the battle ends when District Thirteen blows up their own medics, including Prim. Katniss is given permission to kill President Snow, but insteads kills President Coin. After being sent back to District Twelve, the story ends with Katniss and Peeta married with two children.

 

     I really enjoyed this series. After i finished the final book, I suggested the series to many of my friends. As it is, the series was exetemely enjoyable. I suggest that anyone reading this stupid blog should read the series for themselves.