The Eye of Minds by James Dashner

True to James Dashner-style, this is a fast moving novel. It is a cyberpunk thriller which is set in the future in the virtual gaming world. It follows three teenage hackers, Michael, Bryson and Sarah, as they search for rogue "gamer" Kaine who is holding people hostage online in "the Sleep"  (a virtual reality known as VirtNet) as well as harming them in "the Wake" (the real world.) One criticism of the novel is that it is hard to find a real connection with the characters and to be able empathize with them and both their situation and losses due to the fact that the plot drives the action rather than the characters who are only developed in a shallow way. Any ideas formed about the characters has to be arrived at only through their dialogue and actions in the games they play in order to track down the ever-elusive Kaine.  Maybe this is intentional given one of the major twists near the end when the reader discovers something rather disturbing. The characters determinedly trek along the Path through a very bloody war game, a surreal  Alice in Wonderland-like setting and a volcanic landscape as they endeavour to reach the Hallowed Ravine. The futuristic language such as EarCuffs, Tangents, NewsBops, KillSimms, and so on will be a draw card for readers along with Dashner's refreshing use of similes. I really enjoy his books and recommend them to the more sophisticated and mature readers in my classroom. This novel has many twists and turns and the chapter headings (Through the Floor, Three Devils, The Floating Desk etc. ) are another interesting dimension to the story line.

A Ghost in The House by Betty Ren Wright

This is the first book by Betty Ren Wright novel I have read and I am sure it will appeal to some of the upper primary girls. Teenager Sarah is more than happy in her new house in the suburbs, especially her large bedroom dominated by a beautiful fireplace, just perfect for sleep overs with her best friend Lutie. After living in small dinghy inner city dwellings, this house is a welcome change and all the family are enjoying their time there.  However, six months on her father has been laid off and now her Aunt Margaret, the  invalid owner of the house, has moved back in, into Sarah's room. Ever since Margaret's  arrival the atmosphere in the house has changed dramatically. Whenever Sarah is left to look after Margaret alone in the house strange things happen, the room will become suddenly chilly, ornaments move around the room by themselves, and then there's the eerie singing. The image in an old painting is slowly changing and Sarah starts to fear for her life and that of her great aunt. Her mother believes she is just imagining it all and Sarah has no-one to turn to. The plot is uncomplicated and there is enough suspense to keep the reader turning the pages.

Sarah and the Stone Man by Françoise Joos, Frédéric Joos

For a hundred years a great stone man has been holding up the ceiling of an ancient castle and he feels that his life is drab worrying that this is all there will be to his life, until one day, a little girl called Sarah befriends him and shows that he can leave the castle. So off they go out into the streets, down to the docks and onto a ship. It is written by talented French artist Frédéric Joos in collaboration with his wife. The colourful cartoon-like characters are very appealing offering a bright contrast to the castle and the township. There are interesting scenarios in the pictures not referred to in the text, like the birds nesting in a shirt on a washing line, and the shadowy business men in the streets. This would be a great book to share with a book buddy.