Teen Book Review
Where the World Ends. Geraldine McCaughrean
The year is 1727, the place Hirta, Scotland. Every year a group of men and boys travel from there to a remote island off the coast. This is their story. For weeks at a time the group live on the rocky island, hunting for birds that will be taken back to the mainland to be used for meat, candles and fuel. It is a bleak and dangerous place to be. The ‘birders’ live in caves and sleep on hard rock. They spend their days in perilous situations. There are no home comforts. Quill has been on several of these trips over the years. This time he spends his time thinking about a girl, Murdina, a visitor to Hirta who he met just before he left there.
Usually, after a few weeks, a boat comes to take the party of bird gatherers home. This time no boat comes.
The boys and men come up with many explanations for they have been left. One is that the end of the world has come and that they are the only survivors.
Will this group of desperate people ever return to their island homes? Will Quill ever see Murdina again? That this story is based on fact makes it a very interesting read. It is well written and absorbing.
New Books
Here are some more suggestions from our latest additions to the YA collection:
Children of Virtue and Vengeance. Tomi Adeyemi
Ziggy, Stardust & Me. James Brandon
Daughter of Chaos. Sarah Rees Brennan
Song of the Crimson Flower. Juli C Dao
Kill the Farm Boy. Delilah S Dawson
The Phoenix. Jillian Dodd
The Prodigy. John Feinstein
Full Disclosure. Camryn Garrett
The Silent Thaw. Erin Hunter
The Spirit-eaters. Erin Hunter
Havenfall. Sara Holland
Everafter Song. Emily R King
Loki: Where Mischief Lies. Mackenzi Lee
The Gentleman's Guide to Getting Lucky. Mackenzi Lee
Find Me. Tahereh Mafi
We Set the Dark on Fire. Tehlor Mejia
We Unleash the Merciless Storm. Tehlor Mejia
The Trigger Mechanism. Scott McEwan
Between Before and After. Maureen McQuerry
Nyxia Uprising. Scott Reintgen
Stolen Time. Danielle Rollins
Justice. Chris Ryan
Snowflake, AZ. Marcus Sedgwick