9/11

Today's the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Let's have a moment of silence for all of the people affected by that tragedy. All the victims and their families and friends. All the people who witnessed the attack first hand. God Bless America.

Lord Loss by Darren Shan

Grubbs Grady's family is going to a ballet, and, since he hates ballets, he's going to be staying at his aunt's house while they're there. But there's something wrong. Grubbs can tell. His parents are acting weird, and his sister's acting weird. Well, weirder than usual. He knows that they know something that they don't want to tell him, but what? Is he going to die soon? Is that it?

When he gets to his aunt's house, he finds the best possible time, and sneaks out of the house. Grubbs walks back to his house. He checks all the windows to see if anyone's home. He goes to the back door, and he unlocks it. He walks through the kitchen and up the stairs to his parents' room. While he does, he peeks into his and his sister's bedrooms, and sees his chess board smashed to splinters.

He walks up to his parents' bedroom door. It's hot. Really hot. But there's no smoke, no fire. What's going on? Grubbs slowly opens the door, and is faced with a sight that no one should have the luck to see......

It gives him waking nightmares. When the police arrive at his house, they can't believe what they see inside. They question Grubbs about what happened in there, but they don't believe the truth. He's sent to an asylum. The doctors and nurses try everything to get him to come out of his nightmares, but it won't work. Until his uncle Dervish visits him.

Beyond the Grave by Jude Watson

Amy and Dan Cahill are travelling around the world in the search for the 39 clues. These clues lead to an amazing prize. So far, Amy, Dan, and their au pair Nellie Gomez, have travelled through Paris, Vienna, Salzburg, and Japan. Now, they're heading to Egypt in search of an ancient Ekaterina clue.

Ahh Egypt! The Nile, the pyramids, the weather, the beautiful hotels, the palm trees! Not to mention the disguises, the evil old people, and the betrayals...

Amy and Dan are in Egypt for less than half a day when they spot one of their relatives, a fellow Cahill, Irina Spasky, who's also a Lucian. She's also a competitor in the search for the 39 clues. They go on a wild chase through the Egyptian marketplace, both groups getting lost in the process. The good news: Irina has no idea where they are. The bad news: Amy and Dan have no idea where they are.

When they finally get to their hotel, guess what? They find out that it's home to the Ekaterina stronghold (which is a bad thing, by the way). And even worse? They get trapped there. Of course. On top of that? They find out the clue is underwater. Wonderful. Great. Now what do they do?