Lockdown

Lockdown: Escape from Furnace, book 1 by Alexander Gordon Smith

published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2009

288 pages

approximate age level: 13+

14 year old Alex knows that his life of petty theft and home invasions isn't going to end well, but it's hard to give up when his family is poor and his best friend keeps inviting him on new jobs. Finally, Alex promises himself he'll quit -- right after he helps Toby hit one more house. It should be easy since the owners aren't even home, but things go terribly wrong when horrifying men come out of nowhere, kill Toby, and frame Alex for his murder. Unfortunately for Alex, because of a bloody crime spree a few years ago, all juveniles convicted of murder are sent immediately to Furnace, a privately owned prison built underground where kids and teens will spend the rest of their lives without visitors, sunlight, or any hope of parole. And that's not even the worst part -- not many teens in Furnace survive long since if the other inmates, the guards, or the vicious dogs don't get them, the strange men wearing gas masks that come in the middle of the night will. As soon as he arrives, Alex finds out that Furnace really is a hell on earth and he has only one hope of survival -- escape.

Lockdown is part mystery and part thriller, with some very creepy, supernatural elements thrown in for good measure. Alex is a likable narrator, and readers will be rooting for him as he tries to uncover the mysteries of Furnace and plot his escape. Boys will love the all-guys prison atmosphere, compete with inmate fights, skinless, man-eating dogs, mutated guards, and even, perhaps, the devil himself playing warden. The descriptions of the prison are detailed enough to set a dark tone and put reader nerves on edge, and the action is continuous from first page to last. However, action is not the only compelling element, as the relationships between the boys are very believable and the main characters well-rounded and sympathetic. Because it's the first in a series, Lockdown doesn't answer all the questions it poses and ends on a dramatic cliffhanger that guarantees readers will be looking for the next book (luckily, Solitary has already been published).

Book trailer:

Bonus video of author Alexander Gordon Smith introducing his Furnace series:

Read-alike suggestions:

Solitary: Escape from Furnace, book 2 by Alexander Gordon Smith

The Enemy by Charlie Higson

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

Gentlemen by Michael Northrop

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Rot and Ruin

Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
published by Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, 2010
464 pages
approximate age level: 12+

15 year old Benny Imura really, really needs a job. But he doesn't just want some extra pocket change, he wants to have enough food to eat. In Benny's world, zombies have taken over and his entire universe is one small town surrounded by tall fences that keep the undead at bay. Since there isn't a lot of anything, Benny's got to do something if he wants to keep his rations coming. After failing at a string of jobs like locksmith, fence tester, carpet coat salesman, and erosion artist, to name a few, Benny is forced to take the one job he swore to himself he'd never take -- apprentice to his older half-brother, and town hero, Tom, who kills zombies out in the wild and dangerous lands beyond the gates, called the Rot and Ruin. True, being a zombie bounty hunter, or, as Tom refers to himself -- a closer specialist -- sounds cool, but Benny can't stomach following in Tom's footsteps after what he did years ago -- abandoning Benny's mother to die by zombie attack while he fled like a coward. Yet, out in the wilderness with Tom, Benny discovers things that change what he was sure he knew -- about his town, about the zombies, and even about who the real enemies are. For Benny, in the untamed and unpoliced Rot and Ruin, zombies aren't even the most dangerous threat.

Though the first few pages of Rot and Ruin are similar to a few other YA zombie novels, Maberry doesn't fall into a stereotypical rut and soon takes things for a turn few readers will expect. While there is plenty of action and lots of zombies lurching about, Rot and Ruin's central focus is on relationships and society, particularly how people behave in a world where normal society has completely broken down and there are no longer any rules. Maberry's characters develop naturally throughout the novel, and even secondary characters are well-formed enough to draw and maintain reader interest. Moreover, a running discussion of how zombies are perceived by the living -- not just as mindless killers, but as the remains of loved ones -- is an important addition lacking in most other zombie books. The questions this story raises for readers would make it a good choice for a book discussion, especially a Guys Read program. It’s also nice to see a non-white protagonist in a popular YA novel (Benny is half Japanese). The ending wraps things up nicely, but leaves room for a hinted-at sequel.

There's no book trailer, but here is an interesting video of author Jonathan Maberry talking about Rot and Ruin:

Read-alike suggestions:

Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry

The Enemy by Charlie Higson

World War Z by Max Brooks

The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

The Stone Child

The Stone Child by Dan Poblocki
published by Random House Books for Young Readers, 2009
288 pages
approximate age level: 9-13

Twelve-year old Eddie Fennicks thinks it’s pretty neat that he’s moving to Gatesweed, the town where his absolute favorite author Nathaniel Olmstead used to live and work before he mysteriously disappeared thirteen years earlier. In fact, Eddie can’t believe his luck when before he’s even unpacked, his antique-hunting parents give him what appears to be a battered journal by Olmstead himself written in code. Excited to investigate the book, and the ominous sounding “Olmstead Curse,” Eddie starts asking questions around town -- but something strange is going on in Gatesweed, something its residents are too scared to talk about, something that has to do with Olmstead and his terrifying stories. Soon Eddie and his friends Maggie and Harris start seeing really creepy things -- unnatural creatures that bear a striking resemblance to the monsters they thought existed only in Olmstead's imagination. But what if everything he wrote is real? Eddie’s been reading Olmstead's books for years -- now, can he survive living in one?

Fans of the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series by Alvin Schwartz who are unsure about what to read next can rejoice because The Stone Child is a truly creepy, stay-awake-all-night-with-the-light-on story that is perfect for them. There aren’t many children’s books that could be classified as horror, but The Stone Child definitely fits the bill and is an incredibly readable mix of spookiness and mystery that will draw readers in and keep them guessing until the last page. Poblocki is an expert at creating the perfect unsettling atmosphere for his story that gives readers chills even before any real action has begun. Moreover, the twist that the deadly monsters have seemingly crawled out of horror novels, just like the one readers are holding in their hands, adds an extra spine-tingling level of creepiness that may have them looking over their shoulders more than once.

While there's no official book trailer, here's a great one made by http://booksandliteratureforteens.blogspot.com/:


Read-alike suggestions:

The Nightmarys by Dan Poblocki

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series by Alvin Schwartz

The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney

The Zombie Chasers

The Zombie Chasers by John Kloepfer, illustrated by Steve Wolfhard
published by HarperCollins, 2010
224 pages
approximate age level: 9-12

On the way home one Friday Zack Clarke is a bit puzzled that his neighborhood seems dead quiet, but he has more important things to worry about – like his older sister Zoe and her awful friend Madison forcing him into a “makeover” and plastering his lipsticked shame all over the internet. Then Madison eats the last slice of his super delicious birthday cake that he had been craving all day and Zack thinks his day can't possibly get any worse. But it does -- Zack soon finds out that everyone in his neighborhood has become a brain-eating zombie when they descend upon his house and turn his sister into the walking dead. Now, on the run for his life with snotty Madison and his dorky friend Rice, Zack must evade the zombies, make it to a safe zone, and possibly un-zombify Zoe, preferably before his parents find out.

The Zombie Chasers is a silly romp with slap stick action, snappy dialogue, and cartoon illustrations of scenes from the story cropping up every couple of pages. Boys will love all the zombie vs. kids confrontations, especially the multiple gross-out scenes, and the illustrations will appeal to reluctant readers. It's not going to win any awards for exemplary literature, but The Zombie Chasers is a lot of fun and a quick and easy read that kids will find appealing enough to pick up – and finish. Try to stay alive for the sequel Undead Ahead coming out March 29, 2011.

The Zombie Chasers also has a nifty official website with games and a zombie survival guide.

Read-alike suggestions:

Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey

Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot series by Dav Pilkey

My Weird School Daze series by Dan Gutman

Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney

The Curse of the Wendigo

The Curse of the Wendigo by Rick Yancey
published by Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, 2010
448 pages
approximate age level: 12+

Will Henry and Dr. Percival Warthrop are back again with another bone-chilling mystery. Although he studies extraordinary creatures that most would consider to be monsters, Dr. Warthrop considers these monsters to be no more than interesting animals and his research to be very respectable. So, when he finds out that his colleague and former teacher Dr. Von Helrung is about to publish a paper that claims a mythical, magical beast, the Wendigo, is real, Warthrop takes it upon himself to disprove Von Helrung's claims, afraid that they will discredit Monstrumology. But, disproving the Wendigo may be harder than Warthrop first thinks when a fellow monstrumologist and his one-time best friend, John Chandler, goes missing in the Canadian wilderness while hunting the beast. Suddenly finding himself on a grueling chase with his master through the untamed woods in search of Chandler, or what's left of him, twelve year old Will Henry starts to see things that Warthrop can't – strange, unexplainable things that point to one conclusion – the Wendigo is very real, and very, very hungry.

Fans of The Monstrumologist are in for a real treat with The Curse of the Wendigo as the sequel lives up to the expectations of the first novel, and even exceeds them. Wendigo is a taunt thrill ride that's full of the nightmarish situations, scary monsters, and unbridled gore that readers have come to know and love. Yet, Wendigo also greatly expands on Warthrop's character, showing readers there is much more than meets the eye to this seemingly one-dimensional scientist. In fact, the nuanced and subtle way Warthop's character is expanded is so well done, it would not be out of place in a literary adult novel. Some strong ladies also make their debut and hold their own against Will and Warthrop, proving monstrumology isn't just for men. The constant changes in location, thrilling chases, dark mystery, and a new, even more gruesome monster, make The Curse of the Wendigo a hard book to put down, and perfect for teen readers with short attention spans. Hopefully Yancey will soon add a third volume of Will Henry's adventures for us to enjoy.

Read-alike suggestions:

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

The Last Apprentice Series by Joseph Delaney

The Enemy by Charlie Higson