Shelter by Harlan Coben

Reviewed by Lori
Shelter: A Mickey Bolitar Novel
Title: Shelter

Series: Mickey Bolitar

Author: Harlan Coben

Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 52714

Description:  Mickey Bolitar is forced to live with his estranged Uncle Myron and switch high schools, and when his new girlfriend, Ashley, vanishes, he follows her trail into a seedy underworld that reveals she is not what she seems to be.

Rubric Rating: Level 3 - Laud It.

Why I Read It: The cover looked really interesting and I quite like mystery novels.

Lori's Notes: Mickey Bolitar has moved around all his life.  However, after his father is killed in a car accident and his mother is sent to rehab, he comes to live with his uncle Myron.  Meeting Ashley at a new student orientation he is surprised when she stops showing up for school.  With the help of his "outcast" friends, Ema and Spoon, and the "popular" Rachel, they set out to discover what has happened to Ashley.  They also learn about the Abeona Shelter.  This was a fantastic story with good twists - if a little far fetched that a teenager can be in these situations.  I loved Spoon's quirkiness, and Ema's smart-aleckness.  I also loved the ending...is Mickey's father really gone?  As the start of the Mickey Bolitar Series I'm interested in reading the next book.

Recommended Readers: Grade 9 and Up

Themes: Mystery, Suspence, Intrigue, Teen Detective, Friendship, Family, Rescue, Danger, Missing Persons, High School.

Cross-Genre Links: 
Music: Gimme Shelter performed by the Rolling Stones
TV Show: Veronica Mars
Book: Live Wire by Harlan Coben (Novel where Mickey Bolitar is introduced)


Post-Reading Discussion Questions and Activities: 

  • Who are Ema and Spoon?  How do they get their nicknames?  Would you choose them to be your friends?
  • What has happened to Ashley?
  • Why are Mickey and his Uncle Myron estranged?  How do relationships affect one another?  Should parents be held accountable for their children's actions or vice versa? 
  • What is the Abeona Shelter?  
  • What kind of person is Mickey?  Ema? Spoon? Rachel? Etc.  Create a graphic that represents one of the characters of the novel.  (Ex: A photo board, portrait, graphic web, etc).  Include appearance and character traits.

Also in this Series: 

Mickey Bolitar Volume 2: Seconds Away
Mickey Bolitar Volume 3: Found



Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for Reading!

Popular posts from this blog

The Poet's Dog by Patricia MacLachlan

Reviewed by Lori
Image
Title: The Poet's Dog Author: Patricia MacLachlan Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 127678 Description:   An abandoned dog, able to speak only to poets and children, rescues a pair of young children stranded in the forest. Together, they find a way to overcome their losses. Rubric Rating: Level 4 - Love It Why I Read It: Poetry and Dogs... what more can I say.  Notes: This is one of those novels that I absolutely love.  It is written for a younger audience but there are deeper aspects to the story that are very appealing to an adult reader.   The story is encapsulated within 88 pages, and spells out the story of Teddy, the poet's dog, whose master has passed away, and Flora and Nickel, two children he finds lost in a blizzard.   The children are left in a car by their mother as she goes to look for help after getting stuck in the snow.  The children get scared and leave the vehicle and get lost in the woods where they are found by Teddy who brings them home.  Flo
Read more

Brain Jack by Brian Falkner

Reviewed by Lori
Image
Title: Brain Jack Author: Brian Falkner Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 128664 Description:   In a near-future New York City, computer genius Sam Wilson manages to hack into the AT&T network and sets off a chain of events that have a profound effect on human activity throughout the world. Rubric Rating: Level 4 - Love It! Why I Read It: Interesting write up in the catalogue and a growing interest in tech-related reading. Notes: Sam is a seventeen-year-old Hacker, one of the best around.  So good that he is able to hack into the telecomerica head offices and order a couple of "neuro" headsets for himself and his friend Fargas.  The latest technology that allows you to directly access the computer network using only your brain.  But Sam's hacking brings down services for three days - something that will go down in history.  That's when the CDD (the cyber defence division) start watching him.  It's not long before they hack Sam back and he's arrested.
Read more

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Reviewed by Lori
Image
Title:  All the Light We Cannot See Author: Anthony Doerr Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 98669 Description:  A blind French girl on the run from the German occupation and a German orphan-turned-Resistance tracker struggle with their respective beliefs after a fortuitous meeting on the Brittany coast. Rubric Rating: Level 4 - Love It! Why I Read it: This book has been on my reading list for awhile and it was recommended to me by several people. Lori's Notes: This was a fantastic novel.  It may seem overwhelming in terms of size but the individual chapters are very short and read almost like mini short stories within the book.  The characters alternate between Marie-Laure a blind Parisian girl, and Werner an orphan German boy. Marie-Laure's father, Daniel LeBlanc, works in a Paris Museum as a key master and designs intricate puzzle boxes for his daughter.  Werner lives in a children's home with his sister Jutta and because of his interest in radios is quickly recruit
Read more