Burning Sky

BURNING SKY by Sherry Thomas. Balzer and Bray, 2013.

Iolanthe is already an accomplished mage. She can control much, but there is still much to learn from her tutor and guardian. However, Prince Titus has other plans for her, plans that might help him destroy the powerfully evil Bane. There is a prophecy that ties Titus to Iolanthe, a strong tie that might put them both in mortal danger. Titus transports Iolanthe to London to Eton where she masquerades as one of the boys at his school. This subterfuge might allow Titus to continue Iolanthe's training. But there is more between Titus and Iolanthe than prophecy. A budding romance might just cause them to forget their troubles or it might mean they will become careless. Neither is wise.

Storm's Brewing!

EYE OF THE STORM by Kate Messner (Walker, March 2012) provides readers a frightening glimpse into a future where, thanks to global warming, storms have grown exponentially. Hurricanes, monsoons, and tornadoes all have new scales for measuring their intensity because the old ones do not come close to providing the true nature of these super storms. Into this chilling scenario, Messner introduces three teens: Jaden, who has come to spend the summer with her father at an institute designed to foster the thinking of the best and brightest kids; Alex, the son of a farmer whose crops and existence are constantly threatened by the storms, and Risha, a teen from the neighborhood where Jaden's father lives: Placid Meadows. As Jaden begins to study, along with Alex, the data from past storms and equations that might address how to stop the storms in their tracks, she inadvertently discovers a dark secret of the StormSafe project, one that threatens the lives of many people including Jaden herself. <525>

Messner creates a suspenseful and utterly believable story with EYE OF THE STORM. Jaden, Alex, and Risha are all intelligent kids but they are, first and foremost, kids and not amateur detectives. They make errors in judgment; they fall in love; they feel betrayed by those they love, too. Readers will be turning the pages frenetically to ensure that all escape with their lives.