Ms Rush Reads

copyright date: April 2012 primarily marketed for: young adults (high school) I’m just going to put this out there:  I like books about death.  I didn’t know this about myself as a reader until my students this year pointed out how many of the books I booktalk (basically all of them) involve someone who died or someone who is dying. I am not sure if that is just a me thing, or if that is a common thread in books since it is such a major part of life and conflict.  I’d like to think it is the latter. At any rate, I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga , is obviously my kind of book—it is quality literature with sophisticated vocabulary, and it is about death.  Jasper Dent, known as Jazz, is a teenager who is struggling to overcome the odds, to say the least.  His father, Billy Cornelius Dent, is the most infamous serial killer, with victims totaling triple digits.  Since his father’s arrest, Jazz has had to care for his grandmother ...

copyright date: March 2012 primarily marketed for:  young adults (12 and up) The Night She Disappeared is the newest novel by April Henry, author of Girl, Stolen.   And it is every bit as good.  The book opens with a pizza delivery receipt, then jumps to the point of view of Drew, who wrote out that very order slip.  Drew took the order, then sent Kayla to make the delivery.  Only Kayla never came back.  The police end up finding Kayla’s car, purse, cell phone, and the pizzas, but no sign of where Kayla might have gone.  It turns out that Kayla switched delivery shifts with her co-worker Gabie, and the man who placed the order even asked if Gabie would be making the delivery.  Was Gabie actually the one being targeted?   This is a classic mystery story told in a fresh way.  The story continues, just as it began, by switching points of view and peppering in writing in other formats, like the receipt.  At one point, r...

copyright date: August 2010 primarily marketed for: young adults (14 and up) This was a deliciously creepy mystery.   It is reminiscent of the Christopher Pike books I used to read when I was younger.   Just as bloody and just as edgy.   I Wish You Were Dead begins with blog posts from a mystery blogger wishing Lucy Cunningham were dead.   The story continues by describing Lucy’s kidnapping without giving away the culprit.   Immediately, I was hooked.   Then the action switches to following Madison Archer, a high school student who was friends Lucy and was one of the last people to see her alive.    Most of the story is told through Madison’s perspective, but interspersed with her story are the blog posts, the crime scenes, and the voice of the kidnapper.   This is a mean girls story mixed with romance, suspense, blood, gore, and the elements of a classic mystery. The language and the crime scenes in this book are definitely ta...