Book Review: Insignia by S.J. Kincaid

I have never been a Sci-Fi girl.  You can ask anyone.  I have enjoyed fantasy, horror, chick lit, and mystery, but I could never get into Sci-Fi.  The most I can do is alternate futures, maybe a little time travel, but once you get into space or tech-y stuff, my eyes glaze over and I turn into a vegetable.  It is not pretty.  So, when I got a copy of this from Junior Library Guild I just placed it to the side.  However, as I began reading reviews, I decided to give it a go.  Why not?  If I do not like it, I can put it back on the shelf...
Well, let me tell you, I was pleasantly surprised by this book.  It is the future, and the world is at war (World War III).  The war is fought in space - there are lots of resources there and no inhabitants.  Countries are tied to businesses, and the businesses fund the war - they want to get the resources from the planets and use them to bolster their bottom line.  Giant cruisers do all of the fighting, but they ar controlled by pilots here on earth. 
The protagonist, Tom, is a squirrelly guy who can't seem to do anything right - except play video games.  The government recruits Tom to train in their academy so that he can eventually become a pilot of one of the great space ships. Tom must face many demons, some in human form, others in his head, in order to survive his first year and graduate to the next level of training.
This is a great start to the series, and I cannot wait to see how Tom will grow and develop - I am also excited to see how his relationship with Medusa develops!

The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen

I ordered this book for the library after I read some great reviews on it, and, I must say, it was FANTASTIC!  It is a tale of a boy named Sage - an orphan and a theif - who is selected by a noble as a part of a secret plan to save the country.  The royal family has been killed, and unless the long lost heir to the throne is located, there will be a civil war.  The nobleman, Conner, has devised a plan to find a young man to impersonate the missing prince and become a puppet king, thus saving the country from certain war.  Sage is selected based on his looks, but he is anything other than princely.  For two weeks he must compete against other boys to determine who could transform into the Prince.  Whoever is the closest match gets to reign as a puppet king; the losers must be kept quiet at all costs.

This is a fast paced book with great action and a wonderfully flawed main character.  Sage is a good kid on a rough road.  He must find a way out of his dreary life, and, although Conner can give that to him if he is selected as the False Prince, he is unsure if that is the best way out of his situation.  He knows that the other boys are his rivals, but he also helps them out when it matters most.

This is a great read for fantasy enthusiasts, but I have also given it to some of my more reluctant readers (not that they can't read, they just do not like to do it.).  I can hardly wait for the next installment in this exciting trilogy!