Chronal Engine

Title: Chronal Engine
Author: Greg Leitich Smith
Pages: 192
Language: G
Content: G (complex themes)
Level: Middle/High School
Recommendation: Good Read

Summary: When Max, Kyle, and Emma are sent to live with their reclusive grandfather, they think he's crazy, especially when he tells them about his time machine.  But after Emma is kidnapped at the exact time that her grandfather predicted, Max and Kyle are forced to believe his eccentric stories--even the one about the Chronal Engine in the basement.


Now, to save Emma, Max, Kyle, and their new friend Petra must pile into a VW Bug, and use the Chronal Engine to take the road trip of a lifetime--right back to the Cretaceous period.  With dangers all around, the teens find themselves dodging car-crushing herbivores in addition to the terrifying T. Rex.  In this ancient environment, can three contemporary teens hunt down a kidnapper, forage for food, and survive long enough to return home?

Review:  This book has a very basic plot, simple characters, and unique interest levels.  However, it does have a LOT of scientific lingo regarding the study of dinosaurs which can be a pro and a con.  I would recommend this novel for a young reader who loves the idea of time travel and/or dinosaurs.   As a bonus feature for the young reader, this novel also includes anime-like pictures every few pages.  It helps any reader visualize the characters and situations.

Cinder

Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Pages: 400
Language: G
Content: G
Level: Middle/High School
Recommendation: Good Read

Summary: Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Review: Although not a fan of "robots" or "cyborgs" or anything mechanical, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It was refreshing to read a book that I didn't worry about language or content. This book puts a real twist on the "Cinderella" we all know and love. This is a great book for boys and girls alike. There are great characters, and villians I love to hate!!! The first in the Lunar Chronicles, I can't wait for the next book.