Skip to main content

Bearing Northeast


Bearing Northeast is a new Henry Melton YA sci-fi novel.

Sixteen-year-old Seth is parented by his older sister Biz, as she gained guardianship after they became orphaned. Sometimes it's hard to have that dynamic, but they've set down rules to make it work.

One thing that doesn't always work? Finances. And that is how Seth finds himself and his sister clearing out their parents' old vacation home to get it sold as soon as possible, even as much as losing the memories attached to it hurts.

While there, an odd metal cylinder crashes through the sky with such speed that it takes the bark right off a tree and embeds itself a few feet into the ground. Always curious, Seth is determined to figure out what the thing is - but the mystery only deepens when his sister helps him open it and they find a GPS tracking signal that leads them far northeast.

Seth takes the opportunity to convince his sister that they need a spontaneous roadtrip - that following the signal will make a great adventure together. And as they follow the signal, and Seth keeps his Twitter friends up-to-date and involved, he becomes more and more convinced that this is some sort of hidden project...

I'm a fan of Henry Melton - and he's back with Bearing Northeast, a novel in which he again provides us with relatable, realistic teens and family issues and relationships. He's also great at portraying honest economic realities - money troubles, layoffs, etc. It's always great to have an acknowledgment of what everyday people have to go through.

Bearing Northeast is one Melton's slimmer books - and I was instantly interested to see what sci-fi tricks he had up his sleeve for this one. However, I never really felt like it came. This was a novel in which Henry shows us some great ideas for advancement in technology, but not really the kind of sci-fi I go for. He's had books with time travel (Golden Girl), mind control (Follow that Mouse), aliens (Roswell or Bust), and more - but this one is perhaps more along the lines of his Lighter Than Air, in which we follow a likable teen boy as he discovers a new way to create flight and defeat gravity. Lighten Than Air was more scientific - as is Bearing Northeast. And that is great for those reader's who are more scientific minded and love that kind of thing - and I'm sure there are many.

But for me? Well, I was never bored - the roadtrip across America and over the border was full of great sibling dialogue and there was a good, surprising revelation near the middle - but it was a tad monotonous for me. I kept waiting for something more to happen - something more along the lines of, well, time travel, mind control, or aliens. The payoff for my patience wasn't what I hoped for - but this is a personal taste issue, nothing against the book itself.

Like I said, Bearing Northeast is an excellent novel for all you techies and geniuses in training - those of you who have a curious mind about the possibilities of new discoveries and like your stories to have good, solid characters as well.

Not one of my favorites from this talented author, but sure to be someone's!

***ALERT: Due to continued bibliophile reading overdosing, I am continuing the 5 reviews a week through August. After that, I am absolutely returning to only 3 reviews a week in September and on. So, we'll just think of this as a summer special! Thanks for reading!!!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

First Step: Admit You Have a Problem

Hi fellow Bibliophiles! I have been rather neglectful to this blog... instead continuing to stay buried in a book as I have during the holidays. I'm hopeful that most of you have been doing this too and can easily accept my apology. Have I been reading? Um, yeah! (Translation: duh.) Just haven't been able to pull myself away long enough to actually WRITE about what I'm reading. Lol. But that's me, a bibliophile, an addict, an addict who's fallen off the wagon and fully embraced her love of reading - especially with all this free time to do so!!! I've also been watching awesome holiday movies, eating yummy, but bad-for-me, food and hanging out with the people I love best! You too? I hope! ;) Anyway, I will return with a new book review next week, most likely on Monday or Tuesday. Thanks for your patience and keep reading!!!

Promotion Celebration for Maximum Ride!!!

Do you love the series Maximum Ride ? How about James Patterson? Are you a huge fan of action-packed books? Well, I’m thrilled to bring to you an opportunity to stock up on some awesome reading!!! ENTER TO WIN A SET OF JAMES PATTERSON PAGETURNERS! MAXIMUM RIDE – IF SHE LIVES, THE WORLD LIVES, IT’S THAT SIMPLE. Read “MAX” - the newest book in the bestselling Maximum Ride series. On sale in paperback 09/01/09! Still reeling from their most recent adventure, Maximum Ride and the rest of the flock must head out to sea to uncover the secret behind a brand new series of disasters—fish are dying off the coast of Hawaii, hundreds of ships are being destroyed. As if that weren’t enough, they’re also being tracked by a criminal mastermind with, oh yeah, an army of mercenaries. Can the flock save themselves and the ocean, and the world, from utter destruction? Now for the rules : The Maximum Ride: Max Promotion is open to legal US residents who are at least 13 years of age as of August 24, 200

Author Q & A - Jan Eldredge Stops By!

Next Wednesday y'all will be getting my oh-so-humble opinion of Evangeline of the Bayou , the Summer 2018 Kids' Indie Next List selection! (That means it was picked via booksellers at independent bookstores countrywide.) Until then, I have a Q&A with the Louisiana born and raised author herself: Jan Eldredge! (Don't forget to come back next week for my review!!) A Conversation with JAN ELDRIDGE Author of Evangeline of the Bayou 1) The glossary in the back of the book is so helpful! Where did you learn about all these creatures? Which creature from the book is your favorite? I have a small, but growing, collection of books about mythical creatures around the world. If I couldn’t find what I was looking for there, I researched library books, online websites, and the occasional documentary. Something that really surprised me as I started learning more about mythical monsters was the number of different cultures that share very similar