The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd

 

The London Eye Mystery

The London Eye mystery is about a family who, while hosting relatives, loses one in the London Eye–a ride that soars above the city.  Two siblings, Ted and Cat, try to solve the mystery using eight theories that Ted has developed, plus the camera of the missing cousin.  This is a quick read, and page turner, and gives the reader a glimpse of what it would be like to live in London.  Ted has a “syndrome”  very similar to autism which makes the sleuthing rather humorous at times.

Silver Ship and the Sea by Brenda Cooper

The Silver Ship and the Sea by Brenda Cooper

  Great young adult reading novel. The story takes place on the colony planet of   Fremont where a group of settlers from Earth have settled. The planet itself is violent both geologically and meteorologically, and that makes life hard on the colonists. The original settlers of Fremont chose to live there to escape the growing trend of humans to become altered. Altered humans who have become genetically enhanced also chose Fremont for their home after the first group of colonists wasn’t heard from. The two groups fought a war that resulted in most of the Altereds either fleeing of dying. Six children of the Altereds were adopted/imprisoned by the normal human settlement. Those children are now coming of age and want their rights and history to be recognized. Due to the brutal nature of the first war the colonists are hesitant to allow them much freedom. The colonists however have become somewhat dependant on the Atereds to help maintain the precarious balance on Fremont. Without revealing the outcome I’ll say that even the six6 altered teenagers are split on what role they should play in the future of the colony.

Overall it was a good read and an adventurous world building effort.