Watchers: Last Stop
(Watchers series, Book 1)
Peter Lerangis
Scholastic
Fiction, YA Sci-Fi
*****
DESCRIPTION: Doug Moore is a 13-year-old boy haunted by anger and sorrow. His loving father first began a slow slide into madness, then just up and vanished over a year ago. Though the whole nation, via talk shows and tabloids, has kept an eye out, not one true lead has surfaced. He doesn't know if he'd rather his father be found dead or alive. Then, riding the train under Franklin City home from school, he sees his father in an abandoned station on the route. The thing is, nobody else saw it, and the station has been closed off for decades. Perhaps he was hallucinating. Perhaps he was mistaken. Or perhaps Doug was seeing into another world...
REVIEW: This is a nice, dark little story, the first in a series. The Watchers themselves make little overt appearance. Between chapters, cryptic snatches of conversation are printed, as though unseen outsiders watched and manipulated events in the boy's life, a creepy and interesting concept. There is a nice twist to the tale, which I began to suspect a little ways in, but I still enjoyed the ending. It looks like the series is going to be a collection of dark tales connected by the influence of the unseen Watchers.
You might also enjoy:
The Animorphs series (K. A. Applegate, YA Fiction - Using a dying alien's gift, human kids fight parasitic alien invaders)
The Remnants series (K. A. Applegate, YA Fiction - After 500 years in stasis, the last survivors of a planetary disaster awaken in an impossible place)
Wolf Rider (Avi, YA Fiction - A boy receives a phone call from a stranger who confesses to a murder)
The Tripods: When the Tripods Came (John Christopher, YA Fiction - An English teen watches as alien invaders take over Earth)
Things Not Seen (Andrew Clements, YA Fiction - A boy wakes up one morning to discover that he's inexplicably become invisible)
Bruce Coville's Chamber of Horrors series (Bruce Coville, YA Fiction - Four stories of ordinary teens in terrifying situations)
Seeing Eye (Jack Ellis, Fiction - After an experiment links his vision to that of his guide dog, a blind man begins seeing strange and terrifying visions)
The Visitors trilogy (Rodman Philbrick, YA Fiction - After a UFO crashes in the hills, all the adults in town start acting very strangely)
The Golden Compass (Philip Pullman, YA? Fiction - A girl stumbles onto a church-led conspiracy involving evidence of other worlds)
Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow (James Rollins, YA Fiction - A teen boy's search for his missing archaeologist parents lands him and his sister in a lost world)
Others See Us (William Sleator, YA Fiction - A spill in a toxic swamp gives a boy the ability to read minds, plunging him into a world of secrets and paranoia)
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Watchers: Rewind
(Watchers series, Book 2)
Peter Lerangis
Scholastic
Fiction, YA Sci-Fi
*****
DESCRIPTION: Four years ago, Adam, Edgar, and Lianna were out on the frozen lake, practicing ice hockey and goofing off. Something went terribly wrong, and Edgar died, falling through a crack in the ice. Adam has never been able to remember the accident, but he can't shake the feeling that he himself killed his best friend, despite everyone's assurances that it was nobody's fault. Now, he has found a special camcorder that shows the past. If he can find out what happened, maybe he can do more than relive the past. Maybe he can change it...
REVIEW: Another impressive tale, you don't have to read Book 1 to appreciate it. Aside from the between-chapter observations of the never-explained Watchers, this is essentially a stand-alone story. Again, even though I had an inkling of what really happened on the ice, it was suspenseful to follow Adam as he struggled to not only figure it out himself, but to rewrite the last four years of his life.
You might also enjoy:
The Animorphs series (K. A. Applegate, YA Fiction - Using a dying alien's gift, human kids fight parasitic alien invaders)
The Remnants series (K. A. Applegate, YA Fiction - After 500 years in stasis, the last survivors of a planetary disaster awaken in an impossible place)
Wolf Rider (Avi, YA Fiction - A boy receives a phone call from a stranger who confesses to a murder)
Sky Coyote (Kage Baker, Fiction - A company from the future uses time travel and immortal cyborg agents to manipulate history for profit)
The Tripods: When the Tripods Came (John Christopher, YA Fiction - An English teen watches as alien invaders take over Earth)
Things Not Seen (Andrew Clements, YA Fiction - A boy wakes up one morning to discover that he's inexplicably become invisible)
Bruce Coville's Chamber of Horrors series (Bruce Coville, YA Fiction - Four stories of ordinary teens in terrifying situations)
Seeing Eye (Jack Ellis, Fiction - After an experiment links his vision to that of his guide dog, a blind man begins seeing strange and terrifying visions)
The Visitors trilogy (Rodman Philbrick, YA Fiction - After a UFO crashes in the hills, all the adults in town start acting very strangely)
Others See Us (William Sleator, YA Fiction - A spill in a toxic swamp gives a boy the ability to read minds, plunging him into a world of secrets and paranoia)
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Watchers: I.D.
(Watchers series, Book 3)
Peter Lerangis
Scholastic
Fiction, YA Sci-Fi
*****
DESCRIPTION: From her earliest memories, Eve has known that she was different. When her parents told her that she was adopted, she wasn't surprised. Now, the life she has come to accept is about to fall apart, when a chance encounter leads to mysterious clues about her origins... and possible fate.
REVIEW: Another wonderful, creepy installment of this superior series. This one had a few extra twists that I didn't see coming. As always, watching Eve maneuver through the nightmare that her life becomes is most of the fun.
You might also enjoy:
The Animorphs series (K. A. Applegate, YA Fiction - Using a dying alien's gift, human kids fight parasitic alien invaders)
The Remnants series (K. A. Applegate, YA Fiction - After 500 years in stasis, the last survivors of a planetary disaster awaken in an impossible place)
Wolf Rider (Avi, YA Fiction - A boy receives a phone call from a stranger who confesses to a murder)
Kiln People (David Brin, Fiction - In the future, copying oneself with living clay "dittos" is commonplace)
The Tripods: When the Tripods Came (John Christopher, YA Fiction - An English teen watches as alien invaders take over Earth)
Things Not Seen (Andrew Clements, YA Fiction - A boy wakes up one morning to discover that he's inexplicably become invisible)
Bruce Coville's Chamber of Horrors series (Bruce Coville, YA Fiction - Four stories of ordinary teens in terrifying situations)
Seeing Eye (Jack Ellis, Fiction - After an experiment links his vision to that of his guide dog, a blind man begins seeing strange and terrifying visions)
The 2099 series (John Peel, YA Fiction - An accident reveals that a boy is not who he thought he was... and that his real ID is linked to a doomsday plot)
The Visitors trilogy (Rodman Philbrick, YA Fiction - After a UFO crashes in the hills, all the adults in town start acting very strangely)
Others See Us (William Sleator, YA Fiction - A spill in a toxic swamp gives a boy the ability to read minds, plunging him into a world of secrets and paranoia)
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Watchers: War
(Watchers series, Book 4)
Peter Lerangis
Scholastic
Fiction, YA Sci-Fi
*****
DESCRIPTION: Jake Branford is obsessed with war. He spends most of his time in his mind, reliving battles and dreaming of glories he was born too late to witness. When a movie studio sets up to film a Civil War-era piece in his town, he is ecstatic. Soon, he finds himself on the set of the movie, which seems a little too real, even for Hollywood... Jake has always wanted to see battle. He just may get his chance.
REVIEW: Another excellent tale in this excellent series. As an added bonus, more is told of the mysterious Watchers, and a hint that they might figure in more prominently in future stories.
You might also enjoy:
The Animorphs series (K. A. Applegate, YA Fiction - Using a dying alien's gift, human kids fight parasitic alien invaders)
The Remnants series (K. A. Applegate, YA Fiction - After 500 years in stasis, the last survivors of a planetary disaster awaken in an impossible place)
Devil's Race (Avi, YA Fiction - A boy is haunted by an evil ancestor, who wants to live again through him)
Wolf Rider (Avi, YA Fiction - A boy receives a phone call from a stranger who confesses to a murder)
The Tripods: When the Tripods Came (John Christopher, YA Fiction - An English teen watches as alien invaders take over Earth)
Things Not Seen (Andrew Clements, YA Fiction - A boy wakes up one morning to discover that he's inexplicably become invisible)
Bruce Coville's Chamber of Horrors series (Bruce Coville, YA Fiction - Four stories of ordinary teens in terrifying situations)
Seeing Eye (Jack Ellis, Fiction - After an experiment links his vision to that of his guide dog, a blind man begins seeing strange and terrifying visions)
The Rifle (Gary Paulsen, YA Fiction - An old muzzle-loading rifle passes through the decades on the way to a modern tragedy)
The Visitors trilogy (Rodman Philbrick, YA Fiction - After a UFO crashes in the hills, all the adults in town start acting very strangely)
Others See Us (William Sleator, YA Fiction - A spill in a toxic swamp gives a boy the ability to read minds, plunging him into a world of secrets and paranoia)
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Watchers: Island
(Watchers series, Book 5)
Peter Lerangis
Scholastic
Fiction, YA Sci-Fi
*****
DESCRIPTION: Thirteen-year-old Rachel feels like she is having her childhood sucked away. Her parents are already setting her up to follow in their high-stress careers, with private schooling, a college degree and everything. Rachel doesn't want to grow up to become them, but it doesn't look like she has much of a choice. The only person who understands her is her grandfather Clemen, who, despite tragedy in his own childhood, is very much a kid at heart. At her grandfather's birthday celebration, Rachel unexpectedly runs into another kindred spirit, a busboy named Colin who is at once dangerous, sympathetic, and enigmatic. Now, they're heading out on a cruise, in honor of Clemen's birthday. Colin is giving her a choice: stay with the ship and be criticized endlessly by her parents, or take a chance and go for a swim with him. Grow up, or stay as she is... possibly forever?
REVIEW: I thought this story was a little weaker than the other Watchers books. It took longer to get going, and seemed to wander about the plot more than the others. Still, this is a very good story in a top-rate series.
You might also enjoy:
The Animorphs series (K. A. Applegate, YA Fiction - Using a dying alien's gift, human kids fight parasitic alien invaders)
The Remnants series (K. A. Applegate, YA Fiction - After 500 years in stasis, the last survivors of a planetary disaster awaken in an impossible place)
Wolf Rider (Avi, YA Fiction - A boy receives a phone call from a stranger who confesses to a murder)
The Tripods: When the Tripods Came (John Christopher, YA Fiction - An English teen watches as alien invaders take over Earth)
Things Not Seen (Andrew Clements, YA Fiction - A boy wakes up one morning to discover that he's inexplicably become invisible)
Bruce Coville's Chamber of Horrors series (Bruce Coville, YA Fiction - Four stories of ordinary teens in terrifying situations)
Seeing Eye (Jack Ellis, Fiction - After an experiment links his vision to that of his guide dog, a blind man begins seeing strange and terrifying visions)
The Visitors trilogy (Rodman Philbrick, YA Fiction - After a UFO crashes in the hills, all the adults in town start acting very strangely)
Others See Us (William Sleator, YA Fiction - A spill in a toxic swamp gives a boy the ability to read minds, plunging him into a world of secrets and paranoia)
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Watchers: Lab 6
(Watchers series, Book 6)
Peter Lerangis
Scholastic
Fiction, YA Sci-Fi
*****
DESCRIPTION: With his parents working for a special government lab, Sam Hughes is used to secrets. He's used to strange lab notes, long hours of isolation, and the sensationalistic fears of others about what they're doing in that isolated building. Little does Sam suspect that one of those secrets touch on his life in a very personal way, and all those wild speculations tossed around by others may not be wild enough to explain it.
REVIEW: This was back to the series' old form, after a less impressive fifth installment. Even I didn't quite see the ending coming right away. I have seen no word on whether or not the series has been picked up for a longer run or not, but I hope it has been. Word is, and this book seems to substantiate it, that the Watchers themselves were to have been developed further, should the contract be renewed. (The latest info I have read indicates that Watchers was not picked up for any more books, despite winning a couple awards. Very disappointing - this could've been quite an interesting series to have watched develop.)
You might also enjoy:
The Animorphs series (K. A. Applegate, YA Fiction - Using a dying alien's gift, human kids fight parasitic alien invaders)
The Remnants series (K. A. Applegate, YA Fiction - After 500 years in stasis, the last survivors of a planetary disaster awaken in an impossible place)
Wolf Rider (Avi, YA Fiction - A boy receives a phone call from a stranger who confesses to a murder)
The Tripods: When the Tripods Came (John Christopher, YA Fiction - An English teen watches as alien invaders take over Earth)
Things Not Seen (Andrew Clements, YA Fiction - A boy wakes up one morning to discover that he's inexplicably become invisible)
Bruce Coville's Chamber of Horrors series (Bruce Coville, YA Fiction - Four stories of ordinary teens in terrifying situations)
Seeing Eye (Jack Ellis, Fiction - After an experiment links his vision to that of his guide dog, a blind man begins seeing strange and terrifying visions)
The Visitors trilogy (Rodman Philbrick, YA Fiction - After a UFO crashes in the hills, all the adults in town start acting very strangely)
Others See Us (William Sleator, YA Fiction - A spill in a toxic swamp gives a boy the ability to read minds, plunging him into a world of secrets and paranoia)
The Otherland quartet (Tad Williams, Fiction - A consortium of global tycoons hides a dark and deadly secret in a highly advanced, highly protected corner of the futuristic internet)
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