On the Smugglers’ Radar

“On The Smugglers’ Radar” is a new feature for books that have caught our eye: books we have heard of via other bloggers, directly from publishers, and/or from our regular incursions into the Amazon jungle. Thus, the Smugglers’ Radar was born. Because we want far more books than we can possibly buy or review (what else is new?), we thought we would make the Smugglers’ Radar into a weekly feature – so YOU can tell us which books you have on your radar as well!

On Ana’s Radar:

This MG title about two girl friends who become sleuths looks like it could be really fun:

Whodunit?

When best friends Darcy and Norah have to create a fake business for a school assignment, they come up with a great idea: a detective agency! Darcy loves mysteries, and Norah likes helping people, so it’s a perfect fit.

But then their pretend agency gets a real case. Someone is missing, and it’s up to Darcy and Norah to take on the search. Unfortunately, there’s someone else out there who doesn’t want the two detectives stirring up any trouble. . . .

With the help of hidden clues, spy gadgets, and trusted friends, can Darcy and Norah crack the case in time?

Another Middle Grade novel that looks like fun:

Enter the world of The Storm Makers, where there’s magic behind every forecast.
What starts as an ordinary summer turns exciting and perilous for twins Ruby and Simon when strange occurrences begin happening on their farm — sudden gusts of wind, rainstorms, and even tornado warnings — that seem eerily timed to Simon’s emotions.
Then a stranger arrives and tells the twins that Simon is a Storm Maker — part of a clandestine group of people entrusted with controlling and taming the weather — and that he is in great danger. Soon Simon and Ruby must race against the clock as they try to master Simon’s powers in time to stop a rogue Storm Maker’s treacherous — and potentially deadly — plans.
In this thrilling new adventure, loyalties can shift as quickly as the wind . . . and the ordinary can turn extraordinary in the blink of an eye.

Might as well go with the flow and call this the MG Edition. Another Middle Grade novel on my radar:

Max’s village is absolutely normal in every single way and on every single day—except Wednesday. Most of the townsfolk shutter their windows and lock their doors to hide away from the many peculiar things that happen—things like cats getting stuck in the vacuum cleaner and birthday cakes meeting fiery and horrific ends. But Max is too curious for that, and so, breaking every rule in the village, he searches out the cause of all the Wednesday weirdness. What he uncovers is a secret so devious—so dastardly and mischievous—that life as he knows it will never be the same. Max himself is not the same. Suddenly the mysterious little accidents so common on Wednesdays are happening to him on Thursdays, Fridays—even Saturdays! What’s come over Max? And more importantly, is there any cure for a case of the Wednesdays? Mystery, magic, mischief and monsters abound in this slightly fantastical story of a human kid who wants to stay that way.

I liked – with a few reservations – Lisa McMann’s The Unwanteds and this is the cover for the second book in the series:

Last MG, I swear! I LOVE the sound of this book:

Levi Battle’s been left behind all his life. His mother could sing like a bird and she flew away like one, too. His father left him with his grandmother so he could work as a traveling salesman—until Levi’s grandmother left this world entirely. Now Levi’s staying with his Aunt Odella while his father is serving in the U.S. Army. But it’s 1945, and the war is nearly over, and Aunt Odella decides it’s time for Levi to do some leaving of his own. Before he can blink, Levi finds himself on a train from Chicago to Fayettville, North Carolina, where his father is currently stationed—last they knew.

So begins an eye-opening, life-changing journey for Levi. First lesson: there are different rules for African Americans in the South than there are in Chicago. And breaking them can have serious consequences. But with the help of some kind strangers, and despite the hindrances of some unkind ones, Levi makes his way across the United States—searching for his father and finding out about himself, his country, and what it truly means to belong.

Shelley Pearsall has created an unforgettable character in Levi and gives readers a remarkable tour of 1945 America through his eyes. Jump into the Sky is a tour de force of historical fiction from a writer at the very top of her game.

I enjoyed Trance by Kelly Meding, the first in a new series – the Meta Wars – about superheroes. I will definitely be reading book 2, Changeling.

On Thea’s Radar:

I am SO excited for Kelly Meding’s next novel, too! But on to my official radar. First, there’s this Orbit UK title that sounds fabulous (and I love the striking cover, too):

Imagine a near-future London where advances in medical science have led to the development of a single-dose pill which, taken when pregnant, eradicates many common genetic defects from an unborn baby.

Hope Morrison, mother of a hyperactive four-year-old, is expecting her second child. She refuses to take The Fix, as the pill is known. This divides her family and friends and puts her and her husband in danger of imprisonment or worse. Is her decision a private matter of individual choice, or is it tantamount to wilful neglect of her unborn child?

A plausible and original novel with sinister echoes of 1984 and Brave New World.

This book also has a case of a gorgeous cover and an intriguing blurb – a sort of Pontypool-ish concept from a Literary Author (note the capitalization).

From one of the most innovative and important writers of his generation: a brilliant, mesmerizingly dark new novel in which the speech of children is killing their parents.

At first it’s just Jews–then everyone. People are leaving their families to survive. Sam’s wife, Claire, is already stricken and near death. In a year or two, as she grows into adulthood, their daughter, Esther, too, will become a victim. Sam and Claire decide to leave Esther on her own, hoping a “cure” will miraculously appear. Sam’s car is waved off the road at a government-run laboratory where horrific tests are being conducted to create non-lethal speech. Throngs bang on the doors to be subject volunteers; they’re all carried out half-dead. When Sam realizes what’s going on, he makes a desperate escape, vowing that if he dies it will be with his family, the only refuge of sanity and love.

Ben Marcus’s nightmarish vision is both completely alien and frighteningly familiar.

This next book was long-listed for the Booker prize and is released in the US on May 15 – another dystopian premise (similar to Partials by Dan Wells), and I’m intent on giving it a read.

Jessie Lamb is an ordinary girl living in extraordinary times: as her world collapses, her idealism and courage drive her towards the ultimate act of heroism. If the human race is to survive, it’s up to her. Set just a month or two in the future, in a world irreparably altered by an act of biological terrorism, The Testament of Jessie Lamb explores a young woman’s determination to make her life count for something, as the certainties of her childhood are ripped apart.

The premise for this next book sounds intriguing (and also a little similar to Apollo 18). I love the covers, too, and cannot wait to read this book.

Three teenagers are going on the trip of a lifetime. Only one is coming back. It’s been more than forty years since NASA sent the first men to the moon, and to grab some much-needed funding and attention, they decide to launch an historic international lottery in which three lucky teenagers can win a week-long trip to moon base DARLAH 2-a place that no one but top government officials even knew existed until now. The three winners, Antoine, Midori, and Mia, come from all over the world. But just before the scheduled launch, the teenagers each experience strange, inexplicable events. Little do they know that there was a reason NASA never sent anyone back there until now-a sinister reason. But the countdown has already begun. . .

And finally, I recently saw this in my local bookstore and nearly bought it (I need to read book 1, Memory Boy, first though).

Two years ago, the ash started falling like gray snow. The volcanoes had erupted. . . .

For Miles and his sister, Sarah, the real disaster started in the violent aftermath–when they were forced to leave their cushy suburban home and flee to the north woods for safety. Miles got them to a cabin, but now winter is setting in. All they have to get them through is the milk from Sarah’s prized possession–her goat–and Miles’s memory of wilderness survival skills.

When Sarah tries to regain some normalcy by attending the local school, she realizes she is no longer quite the person she used to be. Now she is Goat Girl, a Traveler, and it’s hard to pretend she isn’t. And when a horrific twist of fate robs Miles of his memory, he discovers the heart of his true identity. They knew the volcanoes would change the world. Now, in order to survive, they must change with it.

Will Weaver delivers an extraordinary sequel to “Memory Boy,” showing that several basic instincts lie deep inside us all: love, fear, and survival.

And that’s it from us! What books do you have on your radar?