This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer

After our Scholastics book fair, one of my students Jessica finished this book and told me that I would love it. At the time, we were reading Empty in class and this book has many similarities with regards to global warming and dwindling supplies.

This World We Live In is the story of a family trying to survive after a meteor collided with the moon causing the earth's climate and weather conditions to drastically change. Supplies, food and luxuries are very hard to come by. Miranda, her mother and two brothers are barely surviving. They scavenge for what little food they can and try to stay warm without the benefit of the sun. When Miranda's father returns with other friends, life becomes even more difficult.

This story was incredibly interesting. It is easy to imagine living in a world where resources are limited. It is a bit of a precautionary tale, but also at it's heart it is a story of survival and the love of a family.

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

I haven't been reading much this fall, but when Emily came to me to tell me she had Silence and said I HAD to read it, I knew I had to make time to read this one. Silence is the third book in the Hush, Hush saga. The second book was Crescendo. I liked reading both of those books. Last year I was on a real paranormal romance kick and the girls in my class really enjoyed reading all these books after me. I find with any series of books it is often hard to pick up where the last book left off. This book was no different.

The Hush, Hush series main characters are Nora and Patch. Nora is a regular teenage girl and Patch appears to be a misguided boy who Nora is drawn to. Patch however is not a normal troubled boy, he is a fallen angel and while he falls in love with Nora in the first book, he will do anything to protect her from the Nephilim and the Black Hand.

In the beginning of Silence, Nora has been returned after being missing for the last 3 months. She has no memory dating back to five months before. All she wants to do is return to normal, go to school, shop and hang out with her best friend Vee. Of course life isn't easy for Nora, she continues to find herself in sticky situations that leave her totally confused. When Nora meets Jev, for some reason she can't explain she finds herself drawn to him, even when every time she is with him she is fighting for her life. Slowly Nora's memories start returning and she realizes that Jev is Patch, the boy that fills her dreams every night. As her memories start returning, Nora is faced with some frightening truths about her life and she must make some big decisions about her role in the war between Angels, Fallen Angels and the Nephilim.

Again, with this book, I found it hard to remember all the names of the different bands that were fighting and the reasons behind these feuds. However, the romance between Nora and Patch is still strong and I can understand why teenage girls enjoy this book so much. I'm not sure that I will rush out and get the next one, but I will always read it if a student gives me a copy!