Peter and the Sword of Mercy by Ridley Pearson and Dave Barry

Summary (from goodreads.com): The year is 1901--it's been twenty-three years since Peter and the Lost Boys returned from Rundoon. Since then, nobody on the island has grown a day older, and the Lost Boys continue their friendship with the Mollusk tribe, and their rivalry with Captain Hook. Meanwhile in London, Molly has married George Darling and is raising three children: Wendy, Michael, and John. One night a visitor appears at her door; it's James, one of Peter's original Lost Boys. He is now working for Scotland Yard and suspects that the heir to England's throne, Prince Albert Edward, is under the influence of shadow creatures. These shadow creatures are determined to find a secret cache of startstuff which fell to London many centuries ago. The starstuff is hidden in an underground vault which has only one key: the Sword of Mercy, a legendary weapon kept with the Crown Jewels. Molly is determined to help, but when she suddenly goes missing, it is up to her eleven-year-old daughter, Wendy, to keep the starstuff out of the Others' clutches. She has heard her mother's stories of a flying boy named Peter Pan, and he may be her only hope in saving the world from a shadowy doom... 

Let me start out by saying how happy I was when I stumbled across this in my library. "What's this?" I asked myself, "A FOURTH Peter and the Starcatchers book?!" I had to restrain myself or I would have started jumping up and down. I was so surprised because it was originally a trilogy, and it hadn't even crossed my mind that there would be a fourth one. Kind of like Uglies and Extras. The first three books are prequels to Peter Pan and explain things like why Peter can fly and how Hook lost his hand. This one is more of a retelling of sorts, set over twenty years after the trilogy ended.

I must say that I didn't enjoy this book as much as the first three, but it was still very good. Where as originally we had three books to get to know and love the characters this time there was only one, which made it much harder to get to know them. I found myself sympathizing with the secondary familiar characters more than with the new main characters. The main villain in this book is the original villain, which I liked. There was also a nice little side story set on the island, where the main story was in London. The writing is seamless and it jumps from character to character with ease. It's one of those books where it gives you a glimpse of what the bad guy is thinking every once in a while, which really heightens the urgency.

This series is one of my favorites. They're great if you want a clever, funny, and exciting action book to read. There isn't much romance because the main characters are only twelve-ish, but everything else makes up for it. I definitely enjoyed reuniting with old characters in this one, because they're some of my favorite characters from a book series. I just didn't connect with the new ones.

Overall: This book was a nice addition to the series, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the first three. 4 Stars!

Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols

Summary (From goodreads.com): All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far... and almost doesn't make it back.

John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won't soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won't be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge - and over...
 
This book was fanstastic. It completely blew me away. I was not expecting such a powerful story out of such a small book-by my standards anyway. Meg and John shouldn't work, but somehow they do, and it completely defies all logic. She's a juvinile delinquent who just wants to get out of her town, he's a cop who just wants to stay there. But somehow they are just so right for each other.
 
The best parts of the book were when they were alone talking to each other. Well, most of the time they argued and pushed each others buttons, but it's still considered talking. The chemistry was palpable throughout the book, and it was so hot! The whole time I was wondering when they would finally take that next step, and then the next one, and then the next one.
 
This was a great book, and I'm really happy that I read it. It might sound like it would be boring, but it's definitely not. It's one of the best books I've read it a while, and I'm going to lend it to all of my friends.
 
Overall: I loved it- 5 stars!

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

Summary (From goodreads.com)

Cameron Smith, 16, is slumming through high school, overshadowed by a sister “pre-majoring in perfection,” while working (ineptly) at the Buddha Burger. Then something happens to make him the focus of his family's attention: he contracts mad cow disease. What takes place after he is hospitalized is either that a gorgeous angel persuades him to search for a cure that will also save the world, or that he has a vivid hallucination brought on by the disease. Either way, what readers have is an absurdist comedy in which Cameron, Gonzo (a neurotic dwarf) and Balder (a Norse god cursed to appear as a yard gnome) go on a quixotic road trip during which they learn about string theory, wormholes and true love en route to Disney World. Bray's surreal humor may surprise fans of her historical fantasies about Gemma Doyle, as she trains her satirical eye on modern education, American materialism and religious cults (the smoothie-drinking members of the Church of Everlasting Satisfaction and Snack 'N' Bowl). Offer this to fans of Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy seeking more inspired lunacy.

Wow, this was one interesting read. I can definitely say that I've never read anything quite like it before....It was laugh out loud funny in some places and heart breaking in others. The way Libba Bray got into Cameron's head was amazing. I would never have guessed that it was woman writing it.

The whole plot was Cameron trying to find this mysterious Dr. X who he was told could cure him of mad cow disease, while dodging a wizard who was following him, and staying incognito because he had a bounty on his head. He brings his germophobic dwarf friend Gonzo with him and on the way encounters a yard gnome who insists that he's Balder, the son of Odin. Put them all together and you have one weird trio of friends. But I connected with all of them. And even though the things that occured on their road trip were strange, to say the least, their reactions made them totally real.

Now, there were definitely some confusing parts. Like when Cameron was in and out of his "dreams." Some times it just got a little bit too confusing. I also though that the end was a bit rushed. It didn't clearly explain things and happened in this long sequence of strange events that confused me. But the characterization definitely made this a worthwhile read. I would recommend this to my guy friends especially, but I think that anyone who reads it can connect with it.

Overall: I liked it a lot, but not enough to love it. 4 Stars!