Review: Surrounded by Sharks by Michael Northrop

I was lucky enough to get an e-galley of this title from Scholastic through Netgalley.  I am a fan of this author, at least I enjoyed another one of his books, Trapped.   I've also been fascinated with sharks, really who hasn't, for a long time.  I remember watching Shark Week when it first started.  Now as cool as I think sharks are, I don't really want to go swimming with them. Especially not in this type of a situation. 

The main character is Davey.  He is a quiet, bookish type of boy, about 14 I think.  His family is on vacation, near Key West, but on a much smaller island nearby.  He wakes up before the rest of his family, pretty early, and decides to take his book and go out on the beach and read where he won't have to deal with the snoring of his brother and father.  He can't really just go back to sleep, you see he had to sleep on the cot for the night, while his brother got the other bed.  Tomorrow night he should get his turn on the bed.  But for now he just wants to go out and read in peace.  He goes down to the beach, there's no one on duty at the front desk, and not really anyone outside at the little huts on the beach yet.  The first place he chooses soon gets a little busier than he'd like just as everyone starts lining up at the dock to get a ride back so they can catch their planes home, or else just to go to the busier Key West for the day.  He sees a few people, including a girl about his age named Drew.  Drew also is kind of a main character as we get some of the chapters from her viewpoint.  Drew is from England, and is there with her mom and dad as well.  She's not real thrilled to be on this tiny island.  Kind of wants to get to Key West where her friend told her the "party is at." 

Davey wanders off to a more secluded beach to read.  There is a sign there that says no swimming.  After a while though, the water looks so nice, that Davey thinks he will just wander in a bit, just wade.  So he hides his book, shoes, and glasses, so that no one would steal them or see them if they came along.  As he wades a bit further, and further, he notices that he's gotten a long way from the beach without realizing it.  When he decides to go back to the beach, he tries walking and swimming back, but only getting pulled further away.  Seems the current has him.  Soon he is so far away he can't even see land anymore.  And without his glasses, he's not really able to see much of anything.  At one point he sees what he thinks is land, and swims toward it.  It turns out to be a plastic water bottle, like you'd see in an office that you put on the stand with a spigot to get drinks from.  He's frustrated at first, but then realizes he can at least use it to help float.  And there he stays, hoping that someone soon will find him.  Of course there are things in the water that notice him there.  Little fish, who nibble on him.  And then larger animals, sharks.  Now he is just waiting to be rescued. 

It will take his family almost the whole day, with the help of the hotel's staff, as well as police, and coast guard to get an idea where he is.  Even Drew, who saw him during their morning walk, will come in as a big help.

I like that this story took place over just one day really.  I think it is a very interesting book, and maybe a good read for someone who is a reluctant reader.  Definitely a quick read, and one that I had trouble putting down because I needed to know what would happen with the sharks, and when would his family finally figure out where he had disappeared to. 

Dark Eden by Patrick Carman

Now I have been waiting to read this one for what seems like forever.  Since I got to meet Patrick Carman last fall, and then the book didn't come out till November, then I didn't have the money at the time to buy it.  So it actually is part of my TBR challenge since I've been waiting so long. 
I really did like this book.  The main character is Will Besting.  He has been seeing a psychiatrist for a while, and she now thinks that there is only one way to fix his problem.  Now, Will is a bit sneaky.  His main issue is being around other people.  When his psychiatrist leaves the office, he goes through the files on her computer.  And the day she tells him about this "cure" and that he'll be there with 6 other people, he searches and finds the files for the other 6 people.  So he copies them to a recorder and takes them home and listens to them.  So by the time he goes to Fort Eden with these 6 other people, he knows all about their problems.  But, due to his problem, he chooses not to go with them, and finds a bunker to hide in on the premises.  From there he finds a room with monitors where he can see all his fellow patients, even see how they are cured.  He makes friends with one of the girls in the group, and even sneaks out to meet her.  But with his issues he is paranoid, and while he is seeing things the others aren't, he doesn't know what is something to worry about and what isn't. 
I saw what was going to happen when it came time for Will's cure, not in a bad way, just had a feeling that was going to happen.  And you wonder all throughout why the cures are so easy, but leave them each with different side effects.  But when you find out exactly what is happening, it's a good twist, and I like that it was left open for a sequel.  Which I am actually reading right now, thanks to an ARC I got from The Story Siren when she was clearing out some of her shelves.  I love when I get to read series books one right after the other. I often wish I would get into series after they were over so I didn't have to wait a year, or longer, in between each book.
What I also love about Dark Eden, and many of Patrick Carman's books, is the interactiveness, such as the app and website for this book.  The first segment of the app is free, you can find it under the keyword Dark Eden.  And the website where you can go is Enterdarkeden.com.  I learned when I met the author that he has a recording studio in his house and so is able to do all these cool things, which if you've read the Skeleton Creek series, you've seen some really creepy videos.  I brought these books in for our special education teacher to share with her kids who weren't big readers, and they love them! I think this is such a great way to get non readers hooked!

The Hazards of Working at a Bookstore Vol. 3.2 Part 1

So I'm waaaaaay behind on doing one of these. I have 16 books to talk about. So I'm going to do it in 3-5 parts. I've sorted the books out based on age first. Then within the teen books and adult books I have 6 or more in each category. So those two may get two of their own posts each. But for today I'm going to start with the children's level books.

First is a book that the title and premise just cracked me up! Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to NOT Reading by Tommy Greenwald. Charlie Joe Jackson is like many of my students, a VERY reluctant reader. He has gotten so far in life, all the way to middle school, not ever having to read a whole book, thanks to his best friend Timmy McGibney. But now, Timmy is tired of covering for Charlie Joe, and now Charlie Joe must figure out a way to pass class, and hopefully keep his record going of NOT reading a book.






Second is a book called The Wikkeling by Steven Arnston. The cover is what drew me in, it's kind of creepy, as the name might set you off. This seems to be a somewhat futuristic, maybe even dystopian type of book. The main character is named Henrietta. Everything in her world is computers and technology, all childredn are watched by cameras at all times of the day, to make sure they are SAFE. Henrietta goes to a very competitive school, and doesn't have a lot of friends until she meets Gary and Rose. All of them have these headaches with no cause they know of. Then Henrietta finds a wild cat in the attic above her bedroom, which leads to seeing another creature, with the long fingers you see on the cover, that calls itself a wikkeling. Of course the three must solve a mystery and try to beat this scary creature.

Third and final children's level book is called The Witches' Guide to Cooking With Children by Keith McGowan. First again, you have to love the title of this book! It's totally like a fairy tale told from the other side. Our main characters are Sol and Connie who have moved to a new town. The first person to really welcome them is an older lady and her dog, who carries a bone around in his mouth. Sol is a bright boy, and so knows that the bone is a human bone. And now they must determine what secrets are in this small town.