Boot Camp by Paul Strasser

  Boot Camp by Paul Strasser is one of those books that will stay with you for a long time.  In the middle of the night, Garrett is taken from his home to Harmony Lake, a boot camp fror troubled teens.Maybe some kids deserve to be sent there, but Garrett knows he doesn't. Subjected to brutal physical and psychological abuse, he tries to fight back, but the battle is futile. He won't be allowed to leave until he's admitted his "mistakes" and conformed to Harmony Lake's standards of behavior. And there's no way to fake it. Beaten, humiliated, and stripped of his pride, Garrett's spirit is slowly ebbing away. Then he hears whispers of an escape plot. It's incredibly risky -- if he's caught, the consequences will be unthinkable -- but it may be his only way out. If you are a fan of happy endings, this might not be the book for you...that's all I'm sayin'.

Chaos Walking Series

          I have been negligient in writing about all the books I have been reading. So I'll start with what I am reading now, and try to catch up. I am currently on Book 2 of the Chaos Walking series which started with The Knife of Never Letting Go.  The story takes place in a futuristic society of only men where your every thought is transmitted for others to hear. Todd is about to turn 13, the age of becoming a man, when he is forced to flee his home. As the story unfolds we learn that there are many secrets to this society and the only way for Todd to remain safe is if he doesn't figure them out. Along the way, he meets Violoa, a girl his age whose aircraft crashed and killed both her parents. They travel together, always on the run for the evil that follows them. The end of Book 1 is rather dramatic and definitely left me hanging and hungry for more. I picked up the second book right away and am about 3/4 of the way through. The second book starts in the new settlement that Todd and Viola have fled to. Unfortunately, it has been taken over by the government they have been running from. A war erupts between the mayor and his army and the women he has been torturing and trying to kill. I don't know how it ends, but I'm betting I'll have to read the final book, Monsters of Men to find out!