Thr3e by Ted Dekker

“You have 3 minutes to confess your sin. If you don’t, I’ll blow your car to smithereens.” This was not the phone call Kevin, a first year seminary student, was expecting to hear as he drove home from class. Kevin has no idea who this person that calls himself Slater is but decides to take him seriously. Kevin barely has time to get the car off the freeway and into a parking lot before it goes up in flames. The phone calls continue and Slater’s demands escalate. Kevin must either admit his sin or solve a riddle in order to save innocent lives. Who is Slater and what is his obsession with the number Thr3e? And what sin has Kevin committed that could trigger a game such as this?

When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt

“Step right up and get a peek at the fattest boy in the world. That’s right, folks, 643 pounds. Don’t miss this once in a lifetime opportunity right here in Antler, Texas.”
It was the hot summer of 1971 in the small town of Antler, Texas. The summer that 13 year old Toby will never forget. The summer he learns about truth about love, life, war, and death. The summer that begins with a stop at the Dairy Maid parking lot to witness the sideshow attraction in a white pull-type camper trailer, billed as “The Fattest Boy in the World”. The summer When Zachary Beaver Came to Town.

Jessica's Review: Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie

The book Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie is a book about secrets, cheating husbands, and finding what fits in life. The main character is a fiery redhead who has recently been divorced but has found new life in a rundown old PI building. She completely revamps the place stepping on toes the entire way. Little does she know that sooner or later someone has to crash and burn and they aren't going down alone. Murder, intrigue, mystery, false love, and true love, are scattered throughout the book. I loved it and would recommend it to anyone who's into a nice little mystery and can sit out in the sun and read on any summer day. It kept me guessing but was believable at the same time.
Rating: 4Q, 4P

Dane's Review: Junky by William S Burroughs

So yeah, it's been tough cause a whole bunch of drug based novels were pushed on me right B4 the end o' school. I mean each one was interesting, but time is always an issue. TBH (to be honest), this book caught me at first but couldn't keep me, about 1/2 - 3/5 through I had to set it down because even the great metaphors couldn't make rereading most paragraphs, because they are so hard to follow, worth it.
The basic plot is about a drug abuser, named Josh or James?, (can't really remember). He was doing some pretty hardcore drugs to begin with, but honestly he doesn't seem like he's going anywhere in the end. He ends up traveling and mostly the book is about his endeavors but it just got tiring, TBH.
I really would only recommend it if you have the time to kill and can stomach hard to read literature, as all William Burrough's writing is pretty tough to read.
Rating: 2Q, 3P

Emily's Review: Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl

Okay. I admit to being a pretentious jerk and only picking up this book first because A.) it reminded me of Donna Tartt's Secret History and B.) someone said Pessl wrote line Nabokou. I am still a pretentious jerk because I thought it wouldn't deliver on either point, and it did, but I still set out to hate it on principle.

I am now redeemed, because I freaking LOVE this book. It's just -Oh, man! So trippy! So well-written! SO AWESOME! And Marisha Pessl is too pretty for her own good. Seriously, Google her. GORGEOUS.

Okay: so Blue van Meer, a super-intellectual high school senior, travels the nation with her witty (sometimes nasty) college professor father. At her new high school, she falls in with a vicious clique and the mysterious teacher who leads them. Did I mention the teacher is dead by the first chapter? The rest of the book explores Blue's relations with her new "friends", and what happened-well, what seemed to have happened-that lead to Hannah Schneider's death, and its consequences. Political science, terrorists, AP classes and art: it's an unexpected mix. I definitely recommend Special Topics in Calamity Physics.

Rating: 5Q, 4P

Mary's Review: X/1999 by Clamp (Manga)

Put aside for a minute the fact that 1999 has come and gone and the apocalyspe has yet to come down upon mankind. That tidbit will serve no good here. Since Clamp began their odyssey in 1992 the possibility was quite plausible. Knowledge in hand, the plot goes as follows: Kamui Shiro, age 15, has returned to Tokyo following the death of his mother. There he is united (despite his best efforts) with childhood friends Fuma and Kotori, the brother and sister living in a local shine. Kamni's reluctance is quickly explained: bad things seem to happen to those involved with him: Kamni's mother died in a fire, and both of Fuma and Kotori's parents met their respective gruesome deaths; their mother when Kamni lived there as a child, and their father upon his return. Kamui, it seems, has two potential destinies: either he can save the world and preserve humanity's existence; or he can bring about change, resulting in humanity's dowfall but the salvation of nature. A nice, eco-friendly message there. That's what it all comes down to here, as well as some musings on destiny. Good things first: X/1999 has beautiful art, detailed and grim (though some volumes also have beautifully detailed death scenes not suited to the less iron willed gut), and compelling characters, a few of which have come in from other manga (readers of Clamp School Detectives and Tokyo Babylon will be pleased). There's even a little romance through it all, from plain romance, to is-it-hate? type relationships. But...there are also the expected smattering of problems. Although most of the time the year ceases to matter, the first volume of "X" seems particularly dated. A bad idea to afix dates to anything unless the date is long past. Also, after the initial look "X" takes 5 long volumes to set itself up. Lots of exposition for the patient reader before there's much action to speak of, and then begins the deaths. Lastly, "X" just seems to...stop after 18 volumes, with no conclusion to speak of, though one gets the feeling that with two more volumes things might have wrapped up. Alas, it was not to be, and two years have passed with nary a word. But in some ways the journey is worth it for its own sake. And there's always that small, small hope...
Final Verdict: 3Q, 3P

**This title is available through InterLibrary Loan**

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

Ever heard of Dolly, the 1st cloned sheep. Well, in the future, she’s not the only one. Imagine a future where you could be live forever, or at least into your mid 100’s, all courtesy of your clone. Don’t worry about heart, lung or liver failure because you’ll be able to get a new one, a perfect match. That’s right. Your clone is created for the sole purpose of keeping you alive. When it is born, or rather harvested from the womb of a special cow, its intelligence is destroyed leaving the clone to be viewed as an animal rather than human. It sounds harsh but that’s the price for eternal life. There is one clone who has been saved. Matteo Alacran (Matt) is the clone of the El Patron, the leader of a country called Opium, a strip of poppy growing fields wedged between the US and the former country of Mexico. El Patron wasn’t always a rich, powerful drug lord. He lived a miserable life of poverty and that is why he has always given his clones a happy, healthy childhood. So happy in fact, that Matt has no clue that he is a clone, until the 148 year old El Patron needs him for more than just company. Now Matt will find out what it really means to be part of the House of the Scorpion.