Elsewhere

What really happens when we die? One theory put forth in the novel Elsewhere by Garbielle Zevin is that we board a steamship called the SS Nile and travel to Elsewhere: a place very similar to Earth where we take up an avocation (kind of like a job) and age backwards until it is time for us to return to Earth as new babies. For Liz Hall, however, Elsewhere is definitely not any type of heaven. Liz died in a tragic accident at only 15 years old, and is having a really hard time adjusting to her new life in Elsewhere. Check out her "facebook" page to meet some of the characters in Elsewhere and get a preview of Liz's new life.

The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim

The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim by E.K. Johnston was really unique!  The setting was a kind of alternate reality where dragons exist, and where everything that has happened throughout history in our world happened, but with dragons. For example, the Gulf War was really a series of epic battles involving dragon slayers trying to protecy oil fields in the Middle East from carbon-consuming dragons!  Told through the perspective of Siobhan, a girl raised in the small town of Trondheim in Canada, this story follows teeenage Owen as he learns about the trade of dragon slaying from his dragon slaying family.  While Owen thrives in all things dragon related, he really struggles with more everyday things, like math, and so Siobhan becomes his tutor. Siobhan is also musically gifted, every character is likened to a musical instrument and every rising action to a particular symphony or song.  Because of Siobhan's talent creating music, Owen's family additionally asks her to be Owen's Bard, the singer/composer who writes songs about a dragon slayer's battles.  Despite the danger and possibility of being consumed by a dragon, Siobhan agrees and begins her own dragon slaying training.  She accompanies Owen on dragon slaying missions and then composes songs and ballads about what happened!  This story is filled with action and adventure, and even some politics! I would recommend it to anyone interested in a fantasy book :)