What I’m Reading -- Teen Novels

So I have been a huge slacker with my blog lately, so I'm posting a few brief reviews to get me halfway caught up with all of the books I have finished in the last few weeks.

Here There be Dragons by James A. Owen

Owen has created a great fantasy realm beginning in the real world during World War I. Three young scholars from England are collected and sent in to a world where all of the world’s mythical lands reside. Here we meet Captain Nemo and other lands and characters from literature. The story of a crumbling world that the three young men must save is quite good. Character development is a bit unrealistic since the three become friends and are convinced to help with the dangerous tasks in a matter of minutes. Also, after I realized who is who at the end of the novel some of the things did not make as much sense to me. Anyway, despite these gripes this is a good fantasy and a quick read. This is very much like Eragon, where it is a teen book that adults should also enjoy.

Notes from the Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonnenblick

In this hilarious book, Sonnenblick writes about mixed up teenager Alex Gregory. Alex narrates his story of a drunken accident which leads to a broken lawn gnome and community service with a grouchy senior named Sol. While not the most realistic of books, Sonnenblick applies a slick balance between humorous situations and the lessons learned from tough situations. This is a good book and one that could produce some good discussions among teen readers.