Shift

Shift by Jennifer Bradbury


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Chris and Win arrange for the trip of a lifetime after graduation--a two month long cross-country bike trip. But, Chris returns alone after Win disappears somewhere in Montana. The story begins with the FBI investigating Chris. The agent suspects Chris has knowledge of Win's whereabouts, but Chris has no idea where his friend is, or what happened to him. In fact he is pretty mad at Win for letting him pay for everything and then disappearing--especially, when he knew Win had thousands of dollars in his pannier. The suspense builds as chapters alternate between events of the trip and events in Chris' life now he has begun his first year of college. The mystery of Win's disappearance pulls the reader in. It was a hard book to put down.

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House of Scorpion

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Matt (Mateo) Alacran is the clone of the 142 year old ruler of Opium, known as El Patron. Opium is a land separating the United States and Aztlan (used to be Mexico.) Matt is raised by a loving cook Celia for a time, but then because of his curiosity, is thrust into the care of an abusive maid in the main household. At 7 he is discovered by El Patron and is given special attention and treatment--much to the dismay of others in the household who consider clones to be on the level of animals. Matt later learns that there are other clones of El Patron who are used to provide body parts for the ruler so he can continue to live, a disturbing discovery to say the least. But, he also learns that there are some that consider him for his true qualities and accept him as a person. Important issues of acceptance, friendship, as well as social issues are addressed in this book. This multilayered story keeps the readers interest from beginning to end. Truly fun to read.

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