The Magicians by Lev Grossman

-Sort of a Harry Potter goes to Narnia cross-  Interesting mix of serious thoughts on the futility of life and fantasy of a magical land populated with interesting beasts.  I love fantasy, but I felt that I'd already read all the parts of this one and the depressing nature of the characters further dampened any enthusiasm I felt for the story.

Crater: A helium-3 novel

Crater: A helium-3 novel by Homer Hickam is an exciting, fast-paced young adult science fiction novel.  It is about 16 year-old Crater who lives on the moon and is employed as a helium-3 miner.  The novel is full of wonderful scientific and technological facts about the moon and what life there might be like.  Crater is a smart, honest, good-hearted boy who grows up fast when he is assigned a dangerous mission, vital to the future of life on the moon.  If you love science fiction like I do, this is a great novel for you!