Alchemy of the Soul

How does the soul connect to our body? Is it possible to still be you if you lost a limb? A heart? A head? So what makes us who we are? And if we answer that question, what keeps our souls connected to our bodies? In The Alchemy of Forever by Avery Williams, alchemy has answered those questions, and corrupted the very meaning of life.


Seraphina has been alive for 600 years, but she must change bodies every ten years or so. That is how long it takes for her soul to burn out the host body. Seraphina was made an Incarnate by Cyrus, an alchemist who brought her back to life after she had been attacked. At the time, it seemed like the natural thing to do, save your own life, but now she knows being an Incarnate is anything but natural. In fact, it makes her and the rest of the coven into cold-blooded murderers and she can't take it anymore. She is ready to end her life, permanently. 


But cyrus would stop her if he knew what she was planning. He enjoys controlling their coven and wouldn't appreciate Sera leaving them. She has a plan to escape, complete with a get-away vehicle and a way to finish her life for the last time. But nothing goes as plan. And a final act of kindness leads to her demise where a young girl gets into a horrific car accident right in front of her. Sera tries to save her, but the pull f the dying body is too much and Sera's soul takes over Kailey's body. Now stuck inside a 16 year old girl, Sera must find a way to live Kailey's life and stay hidden from Cyrus. What she doesn't expect is for Cyrus to find her so easily and for Sera to truly love the family who took in the woman who ended their daughter's life.


The idea of what makes us who we are has always intrigued me, and it is a question you can mull forever and never truly come to a conclusion for. In this book, we have a lot of questions, some unanswerable, some with necessary answers, but many go unanswered. I was surprised how many loose ends there were throughout this book. In fact, the ending felt more like the end of the first part of one volume rather than the end of an entire installment. There was so much left unsaid and unresolved, it felt unfinished and incomplete. I assume there is a second book since it just *ENDS*, but I haven't checked it out yet. I understand the idea of keeping the reader interested, but too many loose ends can be discouraging.


I did like the story, however, I just wished things were more complete. I liked the idea of jumping bodies and the moral issues attached to ended a life to further your own. It was a great moral dilemma that could encourage great discussions. I hope the next book has more explanations and answers, but fewer questions, of course. And I hope Kailey/Sera gets some resolution. The idea of her trapped between a man she desperately needs to escape and a family she has grown to love is quite an emotional roller coaster. 

Young Frankenstein Finds Adventure

Have you ever wondered what school was like for Harry before he became a wizard? Or what Hamlet was like as a kid? Do you think George protected other kids when he was young, just like he protected Lennie? Was Bella always so awkward, or was she only awkward in the presence of shimmery bloodsuckers? How did Sonny and Michael grow up so different in the same home and the same family? Sometimes a story doesn't give you the whole picture of the character and what they were like before the story takes place, but if you are lucky, someone got the bright idea to fill in the blanks like Kenneth Oppel did in This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein. Because before there was a monster, there was a quirky, snarky, punk of a teenager ready to solve the biggest mysteries!

Victor is always just a step behind his twin brother Konrad, even in realizing he has a crush on the distant cousin who was brought to live with their family after her father abandoned her. Except, of course, when it comes to getting in trouble. Victor is a professional at mischief and mayhem, much to his family's dismay. When the kids stumble across a hidden library full of alchemy books, Victor is the first to start snooping around... until their father catches them and forbids them to ever enter the Dark Library again. But when Konrad falls gravely ill and no medicine seems to be making a dent, Victor is willing to try anything to save his brother.

Convinced alchemy is the only way, Victor finds a book that might contain the secret of the Elixir of Life. He tracks down the only alchemist known in the area only to find a man confined to a wheelchair who was forbidden to practice alchemy by Victor's own father. When Victor pleads for his brother's sake, the alchemist agrees to help them at least translate the code for the recipe. But as the code gets cracked and the ingredients are revealed, the alchemist is just as anxious to try the recipe himself. Being confined to the wheelchair, the kids must get the rare ingredients themselves, even if it risks their lives. But with Konrad's life hanging in the balance, no risk is too much for Victor.

Here is the thing about Victor Frankenstein... he is kind of a wise guy. He is an arrogant teen boy who isn't afraid to plod head on into situations despite the possible consequences... actually, without much regard for the possible consequences at all. But he loves his brother. And he is fallible. I liked this fun prequel to the Frankenstein we all read about in high school. I think it was a great way to explain the man he eventually became. It really made me think about Frankenstein differently, which is the reason this would be a fun series to give a young adult who is reading the classic Shelley story. It might also encourage them to write a little fan fiction of their own about their favorite characters from books or movies they have enjoyed! Add to that the beauty in the lesson of different perspectives, and you have quite a fun lesson on your hands!

This book is appropriate for any middle through young adult reader who likes to read about adventure, but it would mostly likely have the most impact on someone who has read Shelley's original. Therefore, an older student would probably get the most, but I wouldn't hold a kid back from this story if they hadn't read the original. In all honesty, other than the name, there isn't much keeping you from understanding this story without the original. It's a fun adventure filled with silly kids, emotions, and a mystery to be solved. You will most likely enjoy it just as much as I have, especially as Victor gets himself in and out of one tough spot to another!

Creepy Middle Reader

How dark can a middle reader book go? If you consider the Grimm Brother's fairy tales, they can be awfully grim (yeah, yeah, bad pun attempted!). In fact, I have often bought these classic fairy tales for baby showers, thinking I was doing a nice thing. After reading more and more of them this year, I realize I have been traumatizing all the young children in my family! So when I started reading Liesl and Po, by Lauren Oliver, I was surprised by some of the darkness, but thrilled by the charming story underneath.


Liesl hasn't left the attic since her father's death. Her stepmother makes her stay there to keep her safe. Safe from what, Liesl doesn't know. Will is the orphaned assistant of a mean and nasty alchemist. His only highlight in running the alchemist's errands throughout the middle of the night is seeing the girl in the window of the attic. That girl is Liesl. She doesn't know he is out there, but he can't stop thinking about her. He thinks about her so much that he accidentally takes the wrong box to the Lady Premiere. He is supposed to bring her a box of the darkest and strongest magic the alchemist has every made, the same magic that has taken away the sun for over 1700 days, but instead he grabs the box of Liesl's father's ashes. The box of magic is inadvertently delivered to Liesl's stepmom instead of the ashes. 


When Po, a ghost boy, comes to visit Liesl in the attic, he helps her connect to her father. There she learns her father wants his ashes brought to their old house where her mother is buried so he can finally cross over and be at peace. Po helps Liesl escape the attic so he can get her to the old house. Along the way, a series of mistakes, switches, misunderstandings, and plain old silliness leads to an adventure where Will, Po, and Liesl try to put her father to rest while everyone else in the countryside is out looking for them. What no one knows is that the magic box might be more powerful than any of them could imagine, but love is more powerful.


Some people might disagree, but I think you can have some darkness to a middle reader, especially if there is an ending where everything works out for the better. I think the Grimm's fairy tales are too dark even for my 30 year old self, of course! But this book had just enough dark and just enough softness to balance it out. You want Will and Liesl to make it to their destination, but all the mix-ups and silliness throughout the story keeps you hanging on until the last page thinking, "What could possibly happen NOW?!" I admit the story was a little hard to get into at first, and some key details weren't revealed until 1/3 of the book had passed. That, sadly, might make it too hard for the reader, especially a younger reader, to get into the book, at which point they would miss this exciting little gem!


As a middle reader, there isn't any sexual content, but there is some death and murder and Liesl is certainly abused by her stepmother. Nothing is too graphic or overdone, so the happy coincidences will balance those out fairly well. It is one of those fun stories where the circumstances change just by chance over and over again, helping the main characters out in ways they couldn't possibly know. It is a great way to make the reader feel most connected to the story- they know more than the characters do! I think this is a fun little ghost story, where the ghosts aren't what you should be afraid of!

What's With All This Bloody Magic?!

Blood is considered powerful, the life source, embodiment of the human soul... magical even. So when a book emerges with blood as the source of magic, we are intrigued, but not terribly surprised by the connection. Tessa Gratton's novel Blood Magic delves into the world of magic, handed down through the generations, curses and all.

Silla is the girl everyone avoids. Especially now. Her parents are dead, her father was ruled to have killed her mother and then himself, and Silla is the one who found them. Then her brother found her, kneeling in their blood and in shock. Now she and her brother Reece live with their grandmother, but life is far from normal. In school, the more mild mannered kids just assume she has been driven crazy from her parents' deaths, but the more mean spirited kids assume she is just as dangerous and murderous as her father.

Nicholas was dragged to this small town from his life in Chicago by his evil stepmother Lilith (actually her name is Mary but he prefers the nickname of the woman who created all monsters- terribly fitting!). He is dreading his new life, but from the moment he sees Silla, he can't think of anything but being with her. When he finds out Silla and Reece have stumbled upon a family legacy- Magic- he begins to realize magic is entwined into his own life from the mother who tried to commit suicide then abandoned him as a child. When they find out Nicholas' mother and Silla's father knew one another, they know there is some connection, but they aren't sure what it is. What they aren't expecting is a centuries old witch who has cheating death and time and wants something Reece, Silla, and Nicholas have- their magic. Can they protect all they have left from their parents from the witch? Can they get to the bottom of who their parents really were?

With supernatural books in abundance these days, it is hard to find one that stands out from the pack. While I am not saying this is the best supernatural book ever written, it did indeed catch my attention. I really liked the characters and their weird intertwined relationships with one another. The combined story lines had me guessing as to the connection right up until the time Gratton delivered the real story. That guessing game is the root of the suspense we all want in this kind of story. While I had figured out a few things along the way, I wasn't expecting the final verdict. The characters were also very interesting in and of themselves. They had flaws, inner demons, and loss like no one their age should feel. At times I felt the loss of Silla's parents was handled very well, but Nicholas' mother's disappearance was glossed over. This was the one glaring flaw in my mind. At one point, Silla even mentions his mother and he says something along the lines of "forget her, she is gone, its over" even though she is alive and out there in the world. It seemed odd to me to pay such close attention to one family and gloss over the other family, especially since they were connected in the end.

This book would be appropriate for most junior to senior high school students. There is a lot of bloody gore throughout the story, but it isn't overdone in comparison to the darkness of the story. An aspect of the book that annoyed me a little was the sexual tension and relationship between Silla and Nicholas. Everything happens so fast, yet they cannot break themselves apart from one another. It seemed too forced, too fabricated. I suppose you could use the magic to explain it, but I felt it directly clashed with the time line of the story. There were also long drawn out make-out scenes that were unnecessary compared to the purpose of the story. They didn't go very far, but it left me thinking, "Enough already! Where is the evil witch so we can kick her butt?!" But overall, this was a pretty good story. It will appeal to those supernatural junkies who need magic and spells and hocus pocus in their lives!