John Clark is way ahead of his reading goal, having enjoyed 66 books in the first three months of 2024. And, yes, I also find time to write along with selling used books, and entering sweepstakes. Retirement, when approached properly gives one the freedom to pick and choose what to use their time for. I just started volunteering at granddaughter Piper’s school, where Beth has done for a couple years now. Mentoring is resuming at the Alfond Center, something I’ve done for the past several years, and I facilitate an AA meeting at the Somerset County Jail at least once a month. Then in June, I’ll be a delegate at the state Democratic convention. Boredom…Nah, I sold that in Uncle Henry’s years ago.

One aspect of being an avid reader is the number of interesting new books I discover. My TBR list runs 48 pages long and add new stuff almost every day. There are, however, some intriguing books that never appear in any Maine library. Those I buy, read, review, and pass on to the Waterville Public Library so they can add them to their collection, and by proxy to MaineCat, the statewide catalog. Today, I’m reviewing a few of my more recent reads. Some are mysteries, others very good YA fiction

Till Human Voices Wake Us by Rebecca Roque Blackstone Publishing 2024 9798212631051. This is about as complex and intriguing as a first novel could be. Cia’s seventeen and lives with her two dads who adopted her after her father set fire (or did he?) to their home, killing her three sisters and her mother. She barely survived, having sustained severe burns to her extremities. She lost one leg, but has adapted well enough to be a champion runner.

Shortly after an argument with her best friend Alice, said friend is found floating in a local quarry. The official story is suicide by drowning, but Cia knows Alice would never have killed herself. As she looks more carefully at the situation, she discovers that a scarily high number of other teens disappeared, many later turning up dead with sketchy death certificates. Add in a suspicious clinic, a drug known as bone dust, plus more secrets than you can imagine. I could go on for a long time about how much the author packed into this book. There are people who are seemingly good, but are not, and the reverse is true. If you want a dandy page-turner that will continue in at least one more book, this one is for you.

Kindling by Traci Chee, Harper 2024 9780063269354, is a retelling of the Seven Samurai legend set in a war-torn fantasy world where young men and women were used as weapons and called Kindlings. Most were given a pat on the back, if even that once the war ended and cast adrift. Each had a special ability, but paid a steep price because using that ability slowly ate them up until they reached a point where recovery was impossible.

Told in alternating chapters, starting with Leum who wants to find enough money so she can get past civilization and live in the shadow of a remote mountain, this is the story of how a determined girl from a poor village convinces seven Kindlings to band together and protect her village from bandits. Each of the seven are cynical and initially resistant, but once they are rounded up and begin planning their defense including cutting trees to make spears and fortifications, they coalesce.

Despite their individual hardness, all seven are very appealing characters. The overall tone of the book is grim and there’s plenty of bloodshed, but that doesn’t prevent it from being one heck of a read.

The Last Bloodcarver by Vanessa Le, Roaring Brook Press 9781250881526. This is a blend of mystery, dystopia, and fantasy. Nhika scrambles to survive every single day. Her father drowned at sea and her mother died not long after, leaving her an orphan on the streets of a hostile city. She has a gift, but one that, if revealed, could get her killed or captured by a gang called the Butchers, who would have no qualm about selling her to the highest bidder.

When she uses the gift to enter the body of a dying woman by placing her hands on her, she dissolves a blood clot in her neck, saving the woman’s life. She disguises what she did by telling the husband she used herbal tinctures. Instead of gratitude, he calls the Butchers and she tries escaping from a second story window. Unfortunately, she’s captured and sold for a mind-boggling sum. Her buyer is the daughter of a recently deceased industrialist. The daughter, her brother, and the brother’s assistant all believe Nhika might be able to use her abilities to reverse the brain injury their late father’s assistant suffered during the ‘accident’ that killed the father and reveal exactly what happened.

What ensues is her getting a mental and physical reprieve while living in unexpected luxury and attempting to heal her new patient. However, the mysterious assistant to the family physician is alternately flirtatious and hostile, leaving Nhika confused. Add in what really happened to the father, who the evil person behind the curtain is, and one of the most unusual endings I’ve seen in years, and you have a dandy tale

Prettyboy Must Die by Kimberly Reid Tor Teen 2018 ‎ 9780765390882 This will require a dash of suspension of belief, but it’s well worth it. Imagine a Black teen working in the Eastern Ukraine for the CIA, helping bust illegal arms smugglers. This is how we meet Jake Morrow, AKA Prettyboy. While the bust is partially successful, the son of the mastermind escapes, as does the teen hacker employed by the bad guys.

This lands Jake, under an assumed name, at a fancy Colorado boarding school where he suspects the hacker has also enrolled. His roommate, Bunker, so nicknamed because his dad was a doomsday prepper and kept him in a bunker until he was seventeen, is a fun character. He’s slightly nuts and socially awkward, but capable of saving the day at unexpected moments.

When three creepy men and a woman pretending to be a police detective enter the school, ostensibly to question Jake, but really there to exact revenge, he hides, triggering the bad guys’ lockdown of the school. What ensues is a mix of comedic and tense moments that involve figuring out how to find a phone or computer that hasn’t been locked down, maneuvering through the ventilation system, not to mention rescuing another student who’s even more sought after than Jake, plus an attractive teen spy with a British accent, but is she the hacker, the enemy, or something else? It’s a very fast and fun read.