Hybrid Chronicles #2

summary of book 1 (http://hybridchronicles.katzhangwriter.com/Main.html)

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else–two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t… 

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet…for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

 

summary of book 2

Eva was never supposed to have survived this long. As the recessive soul, she should have faded away years ago. Instead, she lingers in the body she shares with her sister soul, Addie. When the government discovered the truth, they tried to “cure” the girls, but Eva and Addie escaped before the doctors could strip Eva’s soul away.

The former US they live in is completely cut off from the world and from its own history; the girls have no idea about cell phones, have never heard of WWI and II and don’t know man went to the moon.

Characters:  

Eva/Addie–Eva is now able to “own” their body, and in this book the girls learn how to “go under” to give each other privacy.  

Ryan/Devon:  Ryan is Eva’s boyfriend.  His “twin” is Devon, who is darker and quiet.  Ryan keeps busy by making gadgets

Sabine/Josie:  Sabine is a strong voice in the resistance, and owns the shop where they meet

Peter:  helped the hybrids escapes from hospitals/institutions

Dr Rebecca Lyanne: worked at Norand Institution.  Now works to help hybrids.  Peter’s sister

Emalia/Sophie:  Addie/Eva are staying in their apartment

Jackson/Vince:  Addie likes Jackson, but he betrays her to get her to be part of the revolution.  He is arrested at the end of the book

Jaime:  a little boy who is “cured” in book one.   reappears at the end of book 2

Hally/Lissa:  Ryan/Devon’s sisters

Kitty/Nina:  also in the apartment with Addie/Eva

Christoph/??:  suffered many years at an institution

Cordelia/Katy:  also in the revolution

Jenson:  the antigonist.  behind the plans to create a hybrid “cure”

Now fugitives, Eva and Addie find shelter with a group of hybrids who run an underground resistance. Surrounded by others like them, the girls learn how to temporarily disappear to give each soul some much-needed privacy. Eva is thrilled at the chance to be alone with Ryan, the boy she’s falling for, but troubled by the growing chasm between her and Addie. Despite clashes over their shared body, both girls are eager to join the rebellion. (from http://hybridchronicles.katzhangwriter.com/Main.html)

At the end of the book, the other hybrid teens have arranged for a bomb to go off at a new facility for separating hybrids. Eva and Addie are not supportive of this plan, and infiltrate the building to stop the bomb.  Eva injures their ankle in the blast; Cordelia, Sabine and Christoph are missing.

 

Miss Peregrine #2

(from http://thepeculiarchildren.wikia.com/wiki/Hollow_City)

The book begins with the peculiar children rowing across the ocean, away from the island that had been their home for over seventy years. The peculiars take turns rowing through the ever-thickening fog, all the while saying farewell to the island of Cairnholm . After rowing through the doldrums waters, a storm begins to blow. The wind picks up speed, dumping the contents of their boats overboard. Brownwyn and Olive’s boat is overturned, and Olive is nowhere to be seen. Luckily, Brownwyn had tied her to the anchor line, and they pull her down to safety. When the group realizes it would be no use waiting for the fog to clear, Olive bravely volunteers to float up through the fog and search for land. With her guidance, the children make landfall before night comes.

The peculiar children then see what they can salvage, the only food being what appears to be dog food. The rest of the surviving objects including Tales of the Peculiar and Miss Peregrine’s bath mat.

Enoch complains at that, slowly turning his anger onto Jacob, which causes him to walk around the beach, deep in thought. Emma follows to comfort him, but after sharing a kiss, they spot the submarine from the first book pursuing them. They run into the woods, Claire bawling, Bronwyn forced to read to her from Tales of the Peculiar.

Upon reading a chapter about Cuthbert the Giant, they stumble upon a rock jutting out of the water resembling Cuthbert’s head. Crawling inside, the peculiars find themselves in another loop, only to be chased up a mountain by a hollow, who for some reason, managed to get into the loop.

When the peculiars are taking the imprisoned Caul as a bargaining chip for their freedom, they enter a dark hallway, someone tripping and Caul seizing the opportunity to escape, taking the fallen peculiar hostage, the peculiar revealed to be Althea.

Althea fights back, freezing Caul to the table. Unfortunately, before Caul has time to freeze into an ice statue, he grabs an icicle and stabs Althea in the back, killing her, causing the ice that she had created to protect the peculiars to melt. The wights and hollows that had been waiting outside then storm the Rookery, beating up and capturing the peculiars. The wights then take the peculiars out of the loop and into the modern world but not before Jacob senses the Rogue Hollow defrosting.

In the modern world, the wights take the peculiars through to the London Underground, and begin loading them onto the train. But while they are trying to force Emma on, Emma heats up her hands, melts through her handcuffs, and burns the wight on the face, saving Jacob. Meanwhile, to Jacob’s shock, Bronwyn tears Joel-and-Peter and Peter-and-Joel away from each other, causing them to scream and shatter the train’s windows and knocking Jacob, Emma, and the wights down. Emma and the wights go unconscious immediately, while Jacob is on the brink of following suit and passing out.

Jacob starts to drag Emma away from the train, but collapses from the pain. He watches the others being loaded on the train and taken to an unknown destination.

He awakens later to find himself in a phone booth, Emma is still unconscious, with Addison licking the two in attempt to wake them up and soothe them. Jacob is about to ask Addison how he got there, but Jacob’s phone rings, and he answers, hearing his father’s worried voice. Jacob is about to tell his father to stay calm, when the Rogue Hollow appears, lifting up the phone booth and slamming it back down, shattering the glass. It grabs Jacob by the throat and lifts him up, slowly strangling him.

Jacob, on the edge of surrendering, gives in to the pain he feels whenever a hollow is near. Deep down inside, he feels a whisper, and lets it rise, speaking in the language of the hollow and telling it to “Back off”. Upon hearing this, the hollow immediately lets go of Jacob and sits back. Jacob quickly tells his Dad that he’s ok, and that he loves him and his mother. Jacob hangs up and assures Addison and Emma that the hollow won’t attack. Then, he turns back to the hollowgast. Speaking the hollow language, Jacob orders the Rogue Hollow to stand.

Clifton Chronicles #4

In the previous book, Harry and Emma (Barrington) Clifton’s son, Sebastian, was roped into a scheme to bring a statue from Argentina to England for Don Pedro Martinez, not knowing the statue is full of counterfeit money.  The scheme is discovered, and the money destroyed.  Don Pedro tries to have Sebastian killed in a car wreck, but is unaware his son Bruno is also in the car.

BEWYWF opens with us learning that Sebastian was killed. But then we quickly learn that the police misidentified the body and it was actually Bruno who was killed.  Don Pedro vows revenge on the entire Clifton/Barrington families.  He buys up shares of Barrington Shipping and puts Major Alex Fisher (Giles Barrington and Harry’s old nemesis) on the board.  At that time, Barrington Shipping decides to add a very expensive luxury liner to its flight. The current Chairman, Ross Buchanan, thinks this is a bad idea and resigns.  The board elects Emma to the position, causing Alex Fisher to lose by one vote, a vote that should have been cast by his wife, who voted for Emma.  Susan Fisher goes on to divorce Major Fisher and tries to screw him in any way possible. Don Pedro meets with people in the IRA who can make sure the ship’s construction is sabotaged at every level. 

While in the hospital recovering from the accident, Sebastic meets Cedric Hardcastle, who is the chairman of a large and successful bank.  He is impressed buy Seb and offers him a position as his personal assistant.  At the same time, he also buys up shares and joins the board at Barrington’s.

Meanwhile, Jessica Clifton (the adopted daughter who is actually the child of Emma’s philandering father) is off to art school. She doesn’t know her parentage. At school, she demonstrates amazing talent, and falls in love. While visiting her fiancee’s family, the Binghams (who own a very successful fish paste factory), Jessica overhears Lady Virginia (Gile’s vindictive ex) telling Mrs Bingham about Jessica’s parentage.  Distraught, Jessica goes home to discover that Don Pedro’s son has destroyed her paintings.  She kills herself.

At this point, Cedric Hardcastle deciders revenge is in order.  Don Pedro, meanwhile, has decided to drop his final bombshell: he will sell off all his shares, and at the same time Alex Fisher will publically resign, claiming he’s not confident in the company.  This will cause Barrington’s to fail and go bankrupt.  Hardcastle figures out the scheme and through some complicated finagling, manages to have Mr Bingham buy all the shares that Don Pedro sells. In the end, Don Pedro is bankrupt, his sons are arrested for various crimes commited during this scheming, and his right hand man Karl is deported to Israel where he will be tried for Nazi war crimes.

The new ship, the Buckingham, prepares to set out on its maiden voyage.  Harry and Emma, Giles (but not his wife Gwynneth who has just had a baby), Sebastian and his new girlfriend Sam are all on board.  Don Pedro has once again conspired with the IRA and has managed to get a bomb on board the ship.  The book ends with the bomb going off.