Divergent by Veronica Roth

Sometimes it really annoys me when a young author gets published (and to such success). Of course it's pure jealousy, I'll admit that, but dang it shouldn't everybody have to pay the years and years of dues? And then when you read the book and it's SO. STINKIN'. GOOD.

Sigh.

So yes, as a huge fan of THE HUNGER GAMES, I tend to like dystopian thrillers. In Roth's futuristic Chicago, the city has fallen, the Great Lakes have apparently turned to marshland and society combats its evils by dividing the populace into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a virtue: honesty, bravery, peace, intelligence and selflessness.

Beatrice was raised Abnegation (the selfless) but never really felt like she fit in. Luckily, when she turns sixteen, she can make a choice to stay or go ... into another faction, that is, because to be factionless is something no one will ever choose to be.

But Beatrice is not only surprised about choosing to leave her family and join the Dauntless (who are dedicated to bravery in dangerous and adrenaline-pumping ways), but that she doesn't really fit in completely with her chosen faction either.

After renaming herself Tris, struggling to survive through the vicious and cruel Dauntless initiation, make new friends, and follow her heart, not fitting in just might be the thing that saves her and the utopian society  crumbling around her.

First in the trilogy (second book INSURGENT comes out May 1st, CAN'T WAIT!!) DIVERGENT doesn't have the same intensity as THG (sometimes a good thing) but Roth does a wonderful job of keeping the pages turning. Not for the squeamish or under 12.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I wanted to read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Quirk Books, 2011) from the moment I saw the cover (forgive me for judging), but those old photographs from the early 20th century captivatingly creepy to me ... luckily, the novel's innards are just as captivating.

What might tell you even more than I can about this original and spooky YA novel is that Tim Burton is said to be in talks to direct the movie. Seems like a good fit to me.

This is the story of 16-year-old Jacob who lives in Florida and is close to his grandfather, who shared a shoebox of bizarre pictures with Jake taken at the orphanage on the tiny island where he grew up after fleeing the Nazi's. The pictures show fascinating images of people doing seemingly impossible things -- defy gravity, hold fire in their hands, reanimate dead objects. Nothing strange there, nope.

After his grandfather's death, Jake becomes convinced the island really exists and convinces his father that they need to travel there to deal with the grief of losing their patriarch. Off the coast of Wales, the island is far from the paradise his grandfather described, and Jake finds the former orphanage in ruins -- apparently destroyed during the war. From here, as Alice might say, it just gets curiouser and curiouser.

This strange story grabs you by the eyeballs and won't let go until the last page (thankfully, Riggs says there will be a sequel). Inspired by real-life "found" photos, the author strives to preserve this interesting (and speculative) part of our photographic history. Truly original, completely fascinating, MISS PEREGRINE is a fantastic read. (for 13 and up)

Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm

As the 2012 Newbery winner will be announced tomorrow morning, I thought this was a good time to review one of last year's Newbery Honor books Turtle in Paradise (Random House, 2010).

Two-time Newbery Honor winner (the other was Penny from Heaven in 2007), Jennifer L. Holm taps into her family history for this honoree. It's 1935 and 11-year-old Turtle's mom is offered work as a live-in housekeeper. Unfortunately, her new employer can't stand children. With jobs scarce, Turtle's mom has no choice but to take the job and send Turtle to live with her sister in Key West, Florida.

Turtle is none to happy about this, less so when she discovers this means living with a bunch of boy cousins with strange names like Beans and Porkchop. Boys who call themselves The Diaper Gang and earn candy by watching neighborhood children. Boys who the live by the code NO GIRLS ALLOWED.

Slowly, Turtle finds her place in her mother's hometown, striking up an unlikely friendship with the grouchy Nana Philly, the local fishermen and artists (with a cameo appearance from Papa himself) and exploring the Keys with a treasure hunt that leads the Gang into a dangerous storm.

I found some of the similarities between Holms' book and the Newbery winner of the same year (Moon over Manifest) kind of odd (must have been a big year for kids-sent-to-live-in-their parents'-hometowns-during-the-Depression-books), but Turtle in Paradise is a delicious peek into Floridian life during a time when Little Orphan Annie ruled the funny papers and Shirley Temple was the darling of the silver screen. 

Written for grades 4 to 6, it shows us that everyone's definition of such a place is a little different and that family is a more important treasure, even than pirate gold.