Galley Review: A Wizard of Mars by Diane Duane

Young wizards Kit Rodriguez and Nita Callahan are part of an elite team investigating the mysterious "message in a bottle" that holds clues to the long-lost inhabitants of Mars. But not even wizardry is enough to cope with the strange events that unfold when the "bottle" is uncorked and life emerges once more to shake the Red Planet with its own perilous and baffling brand of magic.

What SL teens are saying about the book...

"The book is an epic tale of wizardry, fantasy, romance (sort of), and unforgettable characters. You can really vizualize the scenes. It's almost as if the wizardry in the book is leaping off the page."--Zachary D.

"I have enjoyed books by this author in the past, including books in this series. I was expecting a certain level of quality that wasn't met. The series started out primarily with the female main character's perspective with a strong female cast, then slowly changed to mostly using the male character's perspective, in which he thinks about sexy girls in short skirts. I'm not even kidding. I am not impressed."--Claudia N.

Book Review: Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

In a vast prison called Incarceron, 17-year-old prisoner Finn plots his escape, even though few prisoners believe that there is an Outside. Finn finds a crystal key that allows him to communicate with a girl named Claudia, who claims to be the daughter of Incarceron's warden and lives Outside. Doomed to an arranged marriage, Claudia believes she can help Finn escape. But there is more to Incarceron than meets the eye and escape will take their greatest courage.

What SL teens are saying about the book...

"The book was engrossing and well-paced. The clues were revealed with excellent timing. It didn't have any real romance, which was nice. Finn's story was particularly compelling because it was darker."--Sonia R.

"Fisher's writing in this is a little vague and the jumping around between the two characters makes this plot hard to follow. I really wanted to love this book, but it just left an okay impression in my mind. This is a good read for fantasy/sci-fi lovers who can follow a somewhat complex plot and wouldn't mind a few deviations from the story that take time to explain,"--Jenny L.