This story centers around Nix, the daughter of a time-traveling ship captain. Nix and her father have a very complicated relationship. He is in search of a map that will get them back to Hawaii and her mother, while she is worried that if they get there she will disappear. On top of that he has an opium addiction that she despises. However, her desire to learn to navigate keeps her on the ship and with her father. 

Using maps to time travel to anywhere real or mythical is an interesting premise. Add in the motley crew, a bit of magic and lots of adventure and you have a mashup that is worth reading. There is a little romance along with the adventure as well. The story moves pretty well, although there are a few parts that seem to drag a bit. Well-written, interesting characters and descriptive settings will immerse you in the story. This is the first book in a planned duology. Ages 12-up 

Avicen and Drakharin have been warring for centuries for complete control of Earth. They are magical creatures that live among the humans hiding behind magic and sunglasses. Both species closely resemble humans unless you look closely and see the feathers or scales on their skin. In this world lives one human - Echo, a runaway and thief who lives at the New York Public Library. She was discovered and adopted by the Ala - one of the elders of the Avicen. Now the Ala sends her on a secret mission - to find the mythical Firebird and end the war. There is plenty of action, a whole lot of romance, a few too many coincidences and some twists you won't see coming. This is the first book in a planned trilogy. Overall, it is a great story (if you can get past the romance). Well plotted, interesting characters and enough twists to keep you guessing. Ages 12-up

Two interwoven stories about a mysterious scientific facility called Haven, and two girls whose paths cross because of it. You do need to read the stories in a specific order starting with Lyra's story.

Lyra's only memories are of Haven. She is one of many replicas(otherwise known as clones), and one of the oldest. She interacts with nurses, doctors and other replicas, but doesn't know anything about the world outside Haven. An attack on the facility causes her to join forces with a male replica to try to survive. This is where she bumps into Gemma.

Gemma's story is quite different. Gemma grew up in an affluent house, but has very few friends. Her parents are extremely overprotective. When she finally convinces them to let her go on a road trip with her best and only friend, they relent. Then the attack on Haven happens and they change their minds. Gemma starts listening in on her parent's conversations and for the first time in her life becomes suspicious of her life. When Haven's name keeps coming up she takes off in pursuit of answers. 

The story moves very quickly. There are a few twists and turns that will surprise you, and some that probably won't. The characters are interesting and overall like-able. I did feel like Gemma's characters focused a little too much on the "I'm overweight so I'm not pretty" idea and I didn't like that at all. It's a mashup of sci-fi, adventure and romance. I think some of the ideas around cloning and the ethical issues surrounding it are interesting, but not heavy handed. Overall, a good book.

Appropriate for 11 and up