Steve Hamilton. THE LOCK ARTIST

We join Michael in prison. He begins explaining his story with a few lingering mysteries. Something tragic happened to him as a child that was so bad, he was called the Miracle Boy for having survived. Also, he doesn’t say why he’s in prison. Although, as he tells his story, we’re able to figure out or at least made some educated guesses about how he ended up in prison. As for the other mystery, you just have to be patient.

After Michael’s tragedy, his uncle takes him in. His uncle isn’t really the fatherly type, but he does take him to various specialist to try to help him, since he stopped speaking after the tragedy. As a teen, Michael begins taking apart and studying how locks work. He becomes really good at picking locks. This talent gets inadvertently observed at school, so some bullies rope him into breaking into a house. Michael ends up being the only one left when the owner of the home, Mr. Marsh, shows up. Mr. Marsh arranges to be the administer of Michael’s punishmennt. He forces Michael to do hard labor at his house. But gradually, he forces him into criminal activities by blackmailing him.

Michael tells his story in two time periods simultaneously. In one, we watch Michael gradually become immersed in the criminal life, while the other we see him leading that life with confidence. At first, I wasn’t sure if I would like going back and forth. But the author executed the plot flawlessly. Plus, you have that mystery of what happened to Michael hovering over the entire plot. You wonder what happened to make him so damaged that he hasn’t spoken in almost a decade.

I loved it! It was suspenseful, and I liked the charcters. I also became really interested in lock-picking and the art of safecracking. (don’t worry, I won’t become a criminal or anything)  I highly recommend it. It's an experience I won't soon forget.

The book is an adult book recommended for older teens. It was awarded the Edgar Allan Poe award for best novel, as well as the ALA's Alex Award.

Rachel Ward. NUMBERS

The day her mother died, Jem saw numbers in her eyes. She didn't realize until later that those numbers corresponded with the date of her death. She was young and unsure of what she was seeing. But ever since then, when she sees the numbers, she knows what they are. She's even tried to change them by preventing a death. She has never succeeded.

She has trouble forming relationships, because she doesn't like to look in peoples eyes and see how long they have. But then she begins to get closer to someone who really gets her. His name is Spider. They begin spending a lot of time together. One day while at a public event, Jem begins noticing that all the people around them have the same date in their eyes. Today's date. She notices a few creepy things and decides that something big will be happening there in moments. They have to get out of there. She grabs Spider and they run. Moments later, an explosion erupts and kills a lot of people. Unfortunately, video captured them running moments before the explosion, so the cops put their pictures on TV and begin a manhunt. Turns out that the explosion was an act of terrorism, and Jem & Spider are the chief suspects/witnesses. 

Since they've both had their share of trouble with the law, they figure they cops will find something to pin on them, so they go on the run. To make her life even more complicated, Jen knows Spider's numbers and she really wishes she could do something to change them.

I was intrigued by the premise of this book right away. I thought it would be more about Jem's ability, but it wasn't. there is a lot more to the story. It's in England, so it has quite a different feel to it. The surroundings and the dialogue is different and interesting. The mood feels kind of dystopian, although that really isn't the genre at all. It's hard to describe. It's gritty and very unique. It's not an easy read - it's an up close look at teens on the fringe. Teens who definitely aren't on the fast track to college, but rather those who would need a lot of encouragement to finish high school in the first place. The ending is truly shocking!

You won't read anything like it, for sure.  For a debut novel, this is pretty amazing. Plus, I just found out that the sequel just came out. (in England - not sure if it's in the US yet) For more on the author go here 

Here's the cover for the sequel:

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Elizabeth Scott. STEALING HEAVEN

All Danielle has ever known is a life of crime. Her mother and father are thieves. Her father went to prison when she was young, so it's just been Danielle and her mom most of her life. She never went to school. She was home-schooled, sort of. She didn't learn the traditional subjects from her mom. Her skills have been more "occupational" in nature: (they primarily steal silver- easier to fence than items more high-profile, like jewelry). Here is her describing her skills:

"Because of silver I can pry the molding off a window without making a sound. I know how to test for plate even though I don't usually need to. I can drive a car, climb into a house, deal with growling dogs. I know exactly how much your average nineteenth-century tea service weighs - in troy ounces, even- and how many pieces it has....For silver I learned the names of every plantation from Virginia to Florida. I can tell you which ones we've visited, which ones we want to, which ones we never will."

Although her mother thrives on their life of crime, Danielle is beginning to long for more. They travel constantly and never keep clothing or anything that would attach them to any of their burglaries. She wants a place of her own to call home. A place where she can buy things and keep them. She wants to make friends and give her real name. But she's never gone to school, so how would she even work a real job? Where would she even begin?

In this latest town that they're in, Danielle meets a guy that makes her really question her mother's lifestyle choices. She has begun to be more honest than she should with this guy. Several complications arise to thicken the plot. Danielle's mom wants her to steal from someone she's become friendly with. And the guy she's starting to really like is a cop. What will she do? Stick by her mom and do what she wants or betray her mom - the one person who has always supported her.

I've mentioned before how much I love Elizabeth Scott's books. So it's no surprise that I loved this one! I became attached to these characters. Danielle and her mom were both well developed, fascinating characters. I also loved Greg and Allison. The fact that the main characters were thieves was a nice twist. It was a refreshing plot. I highly recommend it!
More on Elizabeth Scott here.

Here are a few of her other books that I've reviewed:
Loved this one: review here


And here's the review of  her latest THE UNWRITTEN RULE  &  finally the review for SOMETHING, MAYBE. You can see I'm a huge fan! Her writing really resonates with me for some reason.
Check her out, if you haven't!