Full Tilt, Downsiders

Well I go off to a slower start than I wanted. I finished Neal Shusterman's Full Tilt in 2 1/2 hours. I loved the idea of a creepy carnival that existed from the fears of those who attended. Be advised that the following contain some spoilers. Blake is a sixteen year old attending a carnival with his brother Quinn, and his two best friends Russ and Maggie. Quinn, at one time considered autistic gets himself into trouble all the time and Blake bales him out. There is nothing suprising when Blake has to save his brother on one of his wild adventures. While at the carnival Blake wins a game and is invited to a "private" carnival by a girl named Cassandra. He has no plans to go so Quinn makes Blakes fears of rides and "yellow busses" known to his friends. Once back home some surprising news from their mother sets events in motion that gives this book its deep, dark twist. Quinn, angry with his brother steals the invitation to the private carnival. Coming downstairs Blake finds his mother and new fiance standing over Quin who seems to be in a coma. One look at his eyes and Blake knows where his brother is. Blake once again goes to rescue him taking his two friends along for the ride. They are admitted to the carnival and told they must ride seven rides before dawn. I won't spoil it and tell you what the consequences are for not accomplishing this. Blake finds out that Cassandra chose him because of events that happened to him when he was younger. He was a sole survivor of an accident on a school bus. I felt like I was in the movie Final Destination where a group of kids escaped the clutches of death only to be stalked by it. This is definately a must read.

The second book was called Downsiders. Talon is a young boy who lives in a world under New York City. On occasion they bring people down to live with them. They are people who have decided for whatever reasons to jump in front of a subway train. They leave their troubles and their lives above to live below. Through a freak accident Talon meets Lindsey. She has been sent to New York to live with her father and step-brother. She is tormented my her step-brother at every opportunity. Her father is busy building an aquaduct and doesn't pay attention to what is happening to her. Lindsey tries to find Talon after their first meeting and when she does she is taken below and given a glimpse of Talon's life. Unfortunately he crime of bringing a "topsider" downside is punishable by death. Instead of dying he is thrust into Lindseys world. He finds out there is so much he didn't understand about the topside. Unfortunately both of their worlds come tumbling down when a dump truck from Lindsey's father's company crashes through to Talon's world below ground. The Downsiders with their limited understanding of the Topsiders wage war against them shutting off the gas, electric and sewage systems. Unfortunately it has the opposite effect. It causes the Topsiders to look for the source of the problems deeper into the Downsider's territory. Talon makes the decision to return only to be place into a cell for those considered crazy. Lindsey in the meantime does some research and finds out the truth about the Downsiders and how they got their start. Taking the information down under she is lead to Talon's cell. She gives him the information. He uses the information to save his world and yet keep their secret while making changes. I hope this has left you confused but tempted enough to want to read the book. I have a tendency to tell too much and my students would say, "Never mind you just told me everything so now I don't need to read the book". I left out a lot of twists and turns and the a couple of other characters that create a lot of the conflict. I will end for now and start my next two books by Neal Shusterman, The Shadow Club followed by Shadow Club Rising.