Harlan Coben "Shelter"

I enjoy a good YA novel on occasion, I mean who doesn’t? It breaks things up a bit, gives a little more life to the reading week and who knows what quirky things may pop up in them. This though my friends,”Shelter”, is just a great read period; I do not care what label you wish to slap on this. I do not know how he does it, novel, after novel after novel, but Harlan Coben delivers another intense, fun read. The author says he had a blast writing this, well I had a ton of fun reading it, just flat out did not want to stop; I devoured all at one sitting. When I was done, I was a bit upset with myself for not savoring it a bit more, not drawing it out a little, because I do not know when I will be getting the chance to read another of his works again.

Harlan Coben really gets it with the kids. I can speak from experience having been one many moons ago but also having eight kids. I loved this time in our children’s lives and he hits the clique, clumsy thing right on the head. The Freaks, geeks, jocks, outcasts, they all have a place in the order of things. The character of Mickey is great. His surrounding cast excellent, the prose was right on, and the amount of care and consideration he showed with each character was evident; I loved it. One other thing that really stood out for me was he left enough mystery about each character for future installments, he did not answer or reveal all with this origin tale, great, because I want more, much more. Now if I can just get him on my blogtalk radio show, hmmmm……..

Here is the synopsis:

“A young adult debut from internationally bestselling author Harlan Coben

Mickey Bolitar's year can't get much worse. After witnessing his father's death and sending his mom to rehab, he's forced to live with his estranged uncle Myron and switch high schools.

A new school comes with new friends and new enemies, and lucky for Mickey, it also comes with a great new girlfriend, Ashley. For a while, it seems like Mickey's train-wreck of a life is finally improving until Ashley vanishes without a trace. Unwilling to let another person walk out of his life, Mickey follows Ashley's trail into a seedy underworld that reveals that this seemingly sweet, shy girl isn't who she claimed to be. And neither was Mickey's father. Soon, Mickey learns about a conspiracy so shocking that it makes high school drama seem like a luxury - and leaves him questioning everything about the life he thought he knew.

First introduced to readers in Harlan Coben's latest adult novel, Live Wire, Mickey Bolitar is as quick-witted and clever as his uncle Myron, and eager to go to any length to save the people he cares about. With this new series, Coben introduces an entirely new generation of fans to the masterful plotting and wry humor that have made him an award-winning, internationally bestselling, and beloved author.