My husband works on DNS servers for a living, while I usually go glassy-eyed when the term “DNS” is thrown around in conversation.  Generally, he and I read very different books about very different topics.  So imagine my surprise when the YA fiction book I reserve at the library spent 3 pages chronicling the history of the Domain Name Service (DNS.)  And it was actually kind of interesting!

Doctorow’s novel tells the story of Marcus, a San Francisco hacker, who is accused of helping to mastermind a terrorist attack on his own city.  When the accusations cannot be proven, he is released, but the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) vows that they will be watching him.  And they do.  His computer, phone, purchases, home, school and travels are all being monitored.  With its power unchecked, the corrupt DHS intrudes more and more into the lives of ordinary Americans, all in the name of “National Security.”  Marcus vows to fight back and reclaim the freedoms that our Constitution guarantees.  While I didn’t always appreciate the plugs for the ACLU, the story itself was interesting, if a bit technical for me at times.

As I was discussing the book with my husband, I mentioned how unrealistic I thought it was that the government could seize so much power so quickly.  He pointed out how much power our current administration has seized in recent months, all in the name of “Financial Crisis.”  Good point.  Maybe we should start reading more books in common.

Jackson’s family has been torn apart by his father’s alcoholism.  The only thing that keeps him going is his love of basketball.  As a senior, he’s hoping for a starting position and a college scholarship.  What will Jackson do when his senior year doesn’t turn out like he thought it would?

In Hoops of Steel and its sequel, Running with the Wind, Foley dives right into what it means to be an isolated, misunderstood high school boy.  At times he goes into a little too much detail for me about the intricacies of being a high school male.  But the books are honest and Jackson is a very real character with whom boys will be able to identify.  These books would be excellent for an older reluctant reader.

A kind of strange book about Josh, a high school boy hitch-hiking across the country.  He is robbed, left for dead, and then picked up by a strange woman and brought back to an even stranger town.  Desperate to continue his journey and free to leave, Josh discovers that for some reason, he is unable to escape from the town.  It’s an imaginative plot, but the book as a whole didn’t do much for me.

Hildy is a newspaper reporter for her high school newspaper.  She is commited to following in her late father’s footsteps by becoming an investigative reporter.  When a local haunted house starts making sensational headlines in the town paper, Hildy decides to find the truth behind the wild rumors.  Hildy is a fantastic character–strong, funny and real.  I enjoyed seeing her grow from a timid writer to a confident reporter.

I know that Meyer’s books are wildly popular right now, but I was quite disappointed.  While Meyer certainly is a gifted writer, her cast of characters are weak and flat.  Bella faints on every other page, lies to her parents, and is obsessed with a vampire boyfriend, to the point of hoping for her own death so that she can be with him forever.  Her vampire boyfriend Edmund is controlling and in my mind shows some of the classic tendencies of an abuser.  Although there are a few exciting moments, it’s certainly not the quality suspenseful romance I was hoping for.

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