The UnWholly Unwind

The Akron AWOL is infamous. The other whollies worship him and the Unwind Culture despises everything he stands for. But behind the moniker is Connor. Connor is just a boy who made it to 17 and can't be unwound, but the weight of the world rests on his shoulders in Unwholly, the second Unwind book by Neal Shusterman.

Connor is in charge of the entire plane Graveyard. He has hidden over 800 AWOLs there, but the fact that missing kids slated for unwinding are hiding there is no secret. He isn't sure why the authorities haven't come to get them yet, but he takes each and every day as a gift. While he and Risa can't be unwound anymore, there are a lot of kids whose lives are in his hands. He can barely feed the kids he has, but that doesn't stop them from the constant rescue missions to save more. Of course, not every kid is as grateful as they should be, and some, like Starkey, have only their interests in mind. When a bunch of kids are barely holding it together in the face of imminent unwinding, all it takes is one very smart, very devious rabble rouser.

Meanwhile, Camus Comprix tries to find his way in a world where he shouldn't exist. The product of dozens of unwound kids, he is made of the parts of others. He was created, not born. When he struggles to find his way in the world with so many conflicting thoughts and memories swirling around his head, his handler feels a companion will keep him on the right track as the most revolutionary advance for humans in their existence. The only problem is the girl Cam wants is an unwilling participant in the experiment. When Risa is captured and blackmailed into joining Cam, she is forced to support the Unwinding movement, the single thing she hates the most. While everyone at the Graveyard thinks she has betrayed them, Risa is trying everything to hold them together. For a group of kids who no one cares if they exist or not, the responsibility sitting on their shoulders is overwhelming.

This was such an interesting follow up to Unwind for a number of reasons. First, it was a book that came out after a significant hiatus. Shusterman took a while to get this book together, so if you followed the series from its inception, you needed a refresher at the beginning of this sequel before you started the new story. But who wants to read an info dump or a recap? So Shusterman created a really ingenious "index" that catches you up quickly and efficiently at the beginning of the story so you know where you are without some silly recap. I also really liked how he balanced the story between the main characters from the last book, Lev, Connor, and Risa, and the new characters Starkey, Cam and Miracolina. The addition of the focus on new characters made it more interesting while still keeping me connected to the previous book.

On a whole, this is one of the creepiest premises I have ever read. I mean, seriously, unwinding kids?? People fighting to preserve the unwinding? The public service notices to convince people what a wonderful solution to abortion? CRAZY! But a brilliant fictional examination of just how far people can go and how blinded they can be in the face of fear and propaganda. It is the kind of series that can be related to everything from the Holocaust to the battle over same sex marriage or abortion. I love a book that is going to elicit passionate discussions from my students, and unwinding is definitely one that will get them fired up. But in addition to the infinite discussions, you will get wrapped up in a really crazy, really interesting story. Shusterman always does that to me!

Deadly But Not Silent

A peaceful death is something we all take for granted, but if you can see a death echo, a body's connection to the person or creature that ended its life prematurely, you know all too well how many deaths are far from peaceful. In Kimberly Derting's Dead Silence, Violet's life has taken a very violent turn.

It was bad enough that Violet lived her life stumbling upon dead bodies, animal and otherwise, but when she was taken by a serial killer, her last resort was to kill him, leaving her with her own death echo connecting her to his life which she took. She can't help but think it was all connected to the team, and that without them, she never would have had to kill a man in self-defense. As she learns to cope with her new life, she stumbles upon the journals of her grandmother, the woman from whom her gift of sensing the echoes came from. It is in these journals that Violet begins to uncover the truth of her team and the people pulling their strings- a dangerous truth.

Meanwhile, she is drawn into another series of imprints that lead her to a family brutally slaughtered in their home. Unable to ignore the imprints, she finds the bodies and must rely on her team for help. It is through this case, one that involves a missing teenaged girl, Violet's childhood friend as the primary suspect, and more murders piling up, that Violet begins to look carefully at her own life and her own gift. But more than anything, Violet wants to keep those she loves safe, and when you can't stop finding murderers, it is hard to feel safe anywhere you go. 

I was really surprised in the last book when Violet's involvement with the team took a turn for the worst. I actually really liked the idea of the team, so it was hard to think of it as a bad thing, but in this installment, we get to see a lot of the politics and history behind it, making the team a fascinating, morally ambiguous group that you can't get enough of. While I think four books would have been tough without the team, its presence gives a whole new dimension to Violet and her ability. And what a terrifying ability to have! I am glad Derting has added this level of sophistication to the story, as it has certainly held my interest and then some! In fact, although I am fairly certain this is the final book in the series, I would love if she would just keep going with it! There is so much more to be done with the team and Violet's personal life (Oh, I love Jay). 

This is a good series for many readers. It is interesting, mature at times, and the series doesn't ever dull. I would give this series to a number of different kinds of students, in particular older readers interested in true crime or mild supernatural stories. Derting creates realistic, skeptical characters who aren't afraid to question authority, a quality I whole-heartedly appreciate! So, please, Ms. Derting, Give. Us. MORE!

Things a Brother Knows

Things a Brother Knows

Guest Blogger Brad M.

I recently read Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhard. It's a pretty good book, and it's also a fiction novel. The book tends to revolve around Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which many of the marines suffer from when they come back from the war. 

It's about a young man named Levi who is 18 and his older brother whose name is Boaz, and who is just coming back from the war after being overseas for 3 years. Boaz comes back messed up, and he stays in his room and won't come out much and hardly ever talks to his family anymore. Then Boaz goes on a trip. He is supposedly hiking the Appalachian Trail, but he is really going somewhere else, and that is just an excuse. The day that he goes off, he leaves Levi a map full of addresses of the places he will be staying at. It's a hint saying come with me if you want, and Levi goes with him.  They bond together over the trip, and the two brothers get to Washington, DC at the end where their whole family meets up, and even people they have met along the trip are in DC with them.

The book was good; it was well written and detailed. However, I feel it was a little too long. In my opinion they could have come to the conclusion that Boaz needed help earlier. The book is interesting, but the end is a buzz kill. The book seems to draw you closer with every turn of the page, but the ending is a cliff hanger. The book talks a lot about PTSD.  That's what Boaz has, and he is just coming back from the war; he was enlisted for three years. I feel the book skips out on what PTSD really is, and I also feel they should talk about the steps of recovery. 

The book affected me in a couple of ways. I learned a little more about what PTSD is. However, it did not change my thoughts about the war. I feel we should have pulled out after we got Bin Laden. I also don't feel that the war is pointless, and I feel we should respect every person that enlisted in the army. This book does a good job of depicting struggles of veterans and their families.

Perfectly Addictive

Katarina Bishop has never had a normal life, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been a happy life. She is loved by her con artist family, she knows they will always be there when she needs them, and now she has a boyfriend, Hale. But Hale has never known the concept of family the way Kat has, and when his beloved grandmother dies, that fact becomes all too real.

The boyfriend thing is new for Kat, but when Hale abandons them in the middle of a con, she knows something horrible has happened. When she finds out his grandmother has died, she gets to see the true origins of W. W. Hale V, and it isn't pretty. When she goes to the funeral, she truly begins to understand that Hale is from a different class of people than Kat is, and she knows she could never fit in with this life of his. When the will is read, Hale's world is thrown into turmoil again as he learns his grandmother has left him the billion dollar company. Until Hale is of age to take over the company, the family lawyer will serve as executor, but something is wrong.

When Marcus, Hale's faithful servant, pulls Kat aside to talk to her, he explains his concerns that the will is a forgery. Hale's grandmother never trusted the lawyer, and she always said she would leave something to Marianne, Marcus's sister and Hale's grandmother's best friend. Knowing Kat's particular set of skills, Marcus asks Kat to investigate and find the real will. Now Kat, always a moral con artist (really! I swear!), feels like she must take this job, but how can she take the job that might prove her boyfriend doesn't deserve the inheritance he received? 

You know, I have seen a lot of comparisons of this series to "Ocean's Eleven", but while there is the heist connection between the two, and I love them both, I think this series is in a class all of its own! It really is fun and exciting and gives the reader so much to think about. There was a time I wanted Ally Carter to start writing more YA novels and less MG novels, but I realize that has already happened. Just because her books are clean and can be appropriate to younger readers doesn't mean they aren't also complex enough for older readers. In fact, I find Carter to be very similar to Rick Riordan in that respect. Both of their books are written for younger readers within the genre but are so well written they can easily appeal to everyone, including adults. And in that sense, they are pure genius! There aren't many books that can appeal to both adults and 5th graders and make both demographics happy, but Carter has found the magic formula with this series!

And this was a much different book from the first two because the heists were much more personal to the group. Knowing the possible outcome for Hale, they didn't know how to include him, and he resented their involvement until he found out just how evil the lawyer was. I am keeping my fingers crossed that there will be more of these books in the series, because they are just so great to read. And it isn't often you find a good clean book you can give to tons of readers. If I had one complaint it would be that I wished the covers were more gender neutral because I know boys would love to read these stories, but the covers would scare many of them away. So I might just "heist" the book jacket and trick them into reading it! After they finished it, they would thank me for my trickery!

There are No Limits

Do you know that feeling when a book far surpasses the expectations you had for it? When you read a book and think to yourself, "It is so good I don't want it to end!" When I started katie McGarry's Pushing the Limits, I expected teen romance. What I got was so much more.

Echo was once the popular girl with everything going for her, but two years ago she fell off the grid. Her brother died in Afganistan, her mother disappeared, and her father married her former babysitter, but Echo has a secret almost no one knows. Her arms are horribly scarred from something that happened to her at the hands of her own mother, something so terrible Echo has repressed all memories of that day. Living life like an empty shell, Echo is back in therapy, but something is different this time.

Noah lost his parents in a house fire, lost his brothers to foster parents, and the only thing that keeps him in line is the idea that he might get them back when he turns 18. After punching his first foster father (who was abusing his own son), Noah has been bounced from house to house, but he has been at this house with his foster brother and sister for a while. Isaiah and Beth are just as damaged as Noah, but together they make a decent but dysfunctional little family who actually care about each other. But when Noah continues to press the courts and the system to get more visitation with his brothers, their foster parents block him every time. In order to appear to be following the rules, Noah agrees to therapy to deal with everything he has lived through... as long as getting his brothers back is the end result.

What Echo and Noah don't expect is to be put together with Echo tutoring Noah by their mutual therapist. It seems like it would end in disaster, bad boy with tattoos and little rich girl with everything she ever wanted, but their mutual demons give them something in common. Two people who have not had the happy loving lives all children should have find comfort and respect in one another. Together they fill in each other's empty spaces until they become whole again. But there is more at stake than anyone understands. With the emergence of every repressed memory, Echo gets closer to the terrifying truth of what her mother did to scar her, physically and emotionally, and with everything Noah does, his actions and choices are scrutinized to the point where he could lose all hope of getting his brothers back. They know the risks, they fight the feeling, but how can you turn your back on the one person who makes your shattered life whole again?

Oh, sweet Zeus. I loved this book. I read this book, turned the last page, closed my eyes to digest for a minute, and started at the beginning again. This book defied all my preconceived assumptions with buckets of dynamite. With 50 pages to go, my husband came into the living room to find me holding the book with a troubled look on my face. He asked me what was wrong, and I said, "I don't want this book to end!" Yes, he laughed at me a little, but it was true. I didn't want to let go of Echo and Noah. They were the most dynamic, tragic, and beautiful characters I have read in a long time. By 50 pages into this book, you know these characters so well you find yourself laughing, crying, living, and dying along with them. I couldn't believe such characters could exist... especially with such a cheesy cover!

And why would publishers choose to cheapen this incredible story with such a craptastic cover? I will never understand that, but I hope people will look beyond the cheese to see the heart of this really fantastic story. It isn't just a romantic story. There is so much more to this story that the feelings between Echo and Noah are only a fraction of what makes this story so wonderful. The writing is so raw and real you will find yourself hanging on each and every word, living the story along with them. The demons these two carry with them are so difficult to digest, and you never really know the whole story. But most of all, the sacrifice they make for themselves, for their families, and finally, for each other, is beautiful. I loved this book both times I read it and I know I will be reading it again soon. This is the kind of book that stays with you for a long time. So give Noah and Echo some life, because every page makes them just a little more real.

Dystopia Surges Forward

When any group of people are divided, they lose the strength their numbers could have afforded. As divided groups, they have less power, they are easier to manipulate, and most importantly, they find it harder to fight back against adversity. In Veronica Roth's Insurgent, we see a city divided into factions that is finally realizing the hazards of living separate lives.

Tris experienced one of the worst things a child could encounter. She watched her mother sacrifice herself in order to save Tris's life. Add that guilt to the fact that Tris's faction, Dauntless, were the ones killing her parents' faction, and you have a young girl who no longer knows where she belongs. Now that the Abnegation (her parents' faction) survivors have scattered and Dauntless (Tris's faction) has divided, the plans of the Erudite faction are coming to light. The faction knows how to control people's minds through simulations (used to place kids in their factions and train them), which gives Erudite a load of mindless, obedient drones to control. For a faction with its sights set on controlling everything, this is a very dangerous scenario.

But the loyal Dauntless who aren't under the Erudite's control refuse to give up (because, after all, they are Dauntless). With the discovery that the Divergent (a rare person who qualifies for more than one Faction) are immune to the simulations, Erudite is becoming more ruthless than ever, and they know Tris and Tobais are behind the insurgency. What they didn't expect is that the factionless, people ejected from the factions for one reason or another and forced to fend for themselves on the streets, are joining forces with the other factions to stop Erudite. But are a bunch of half-starved stragglers enough to take on the most powerful faction? They just might be!

I loved Divergent. Loved it. Obsessed about it a little bit. So Insurgent  had a lot to live up to. While I still love Divergent the best so far, I have to say Insurgent was pretty darned good! I was a little worried at first, but the book hooked me quickly and kept me turning the pages. I loved the depth into Tris's story and her true qualities, the same ones that make her Divergent, poking out. Her relationship with Tobias was really strained throughout this book, and I was glad to see a relationship that mirrored the climate and setting of the book. I hate when you have the crazy, can't see anything but you, obsessive love forming in the wake of a murderous revolution (or zombie plague, or any high anxiety situation for that matter). Who is going to be giving moon-eyes over the table when you watched your family slaughtered by your own community?! So I appreciated that Roth kept that in mind with the relationship. I also like that Tris was a little impetuous and had trouble keeping herself out of trouble. We can't all be calculating and spot-on, so it was humanizing to see her react to each situation.

This is a great dystopian series for both lovers of the sub-genre and those who just liked one particular dystopia (that which shall not be named out of respect for not comparing every bloody book in the same genre to one particular series despite the glaring lack of similarities solely because that series is the new craze). The books look big and intimidating, but they read so fast that a number of types of kids could enjoy them. The story gets a little complicated at times with so many characters, but you can sort them out relatively easily. And oh boy. You will want MORE!!

A Tragedy Like No Other

You don't have to actually be a parent to know the most terrifying thing is the loss of your child. Whether it be illness or violence or kidnapping, the idea of a losing a child is terrifying to anyone and everyone. In Lisa McMann's Dead to You, the reader experiences the confusing and emotional return of a child who was kidnaped years earlier.

Nine years ago Ethan was abducted from his front yard when he was just 7 years old. Now he is a 16 year old about to be reunited with his family he has pretty much forgotten. He is terrified about meeting his family again, especially since the woman who took care of him all those years, Ellie, (and abandoned him, causing him to live in an orphanage and become homeless eventually), was someone he truly loved. As he returns, everyone wants to hear about the horrible woman who abducted him and the awful things she did to him, but he really doesn't have any stories like that. He loved Ellie.

But the transition back into the family isn't the worst for Ethan. He has a crush on his childhood best friend and she is very protective of him. He is overwhelmed at first by all the attention, but eventually, he settles into his new life. But Ethan's return is hardest on his younger brother Blake who was just four and in the front yard when Ethan was abducted. Blake is convinced Ethan is not really Ethan, that another boy has come to their home pretending to be Ethan. Ethan's father contemplates a DNA test, but Ethan's mother will not doubt her son. She knows if she asks him to take a DNA test, she will always be the mother who doubted her son. But why can't he remember anything from his life before the abduction? Is he really Ethan? Can the family survive losing another son?

OK. I am gonna put this out there with as few spoiler-ish hints as possible. The ending is one of those, "What the H-E-double hockey sticks just HAPPENED" kind of moments. The last ten pages are the kind of ending that readers want to believe they hate, but really it accomplishes what the author was going for- you are still thinking about it and talking about it for WEEKS after you finished the book! I know a lot of people want a sequel to find out how things were resolved, but I hope McMann leaves this story alone. The ending is unresolved, but that is what makes it so powerful. Uncertainty fills the book, so why not end it with uncertainty too? I know I usually hate unresolved endings, but with this book, I actually love it. I think it makes the book that much better.

The story itself is pretty complex and disturbing. Imagine getting your son back after nine years and then people start to question whether he is the real deal or not. That has to be devastating. The mother is such a wonderful character. She never doubts Ethan. She fights for her son tooth and nail, and I loved her for that. But Blake's character was the most interesting for me. It had to be so hard for him, always the one who was there when Ethan was abducted. Not that they blame him, but that guilt that still surrounds him all his life about BEING there when his brother was taken. Then his suspicions about Ethan and how vehemently he tries to prove this isn't the real Ethan, but how much everyone ignores him, assuming jealousy is the cause. It felt so realistic and terrifying, but sad and heartbreaking. This book is written in simple language (with minor profanity), but the story is quite deep and provocative. It would be perfect for an older, low-skilled student who wants a mature book but needs a lower reading level. It would be perfect for papers, discussions, and "What if" assignments where you could really question the fabric of family, suspicion, and the unresolved ending. I will definitely be keeping this on my shelves for a variety of students. But a warning... if you can't handle unresolved endings, this book is going to tick you off!

How Near are Your Fears?

You read all these modern witch stories and it makes you miss the old-fashioned, witch hiding in plain sight from the superstitious villagers, type of witch story. There was something magical (pun intended) about those stories and that time that is pure fiction to us just because it is so far away from our current world. But Victoria Schwab brings us back there in The Near Witch, to a place with villagers with pitchforks and witches who can control the elements.


Lexi lives in the town of Near where the stories of the Near Witch, driven from town hundreds of years ago, are enough to give the town kids nightmares and make a good threat for their parents when kids get out of line. But Near is an isolated and superstitious town where strangers are neither frequent nor welcomed. When a strange young man appears in Near, his appearance coincides with the disappearance of a young kid each night from a closed up house with no evidence or signs of where they went.


Lexi finds the stranger, Cole (or at least that's what she names him), and can tell instantly that while there is something clearly mysterious about him, he is not the one who took the children. Unfortunately, the townsfolk don't agree and want to run him out of town. But Cole is the only one who has helped Lexi hunt for the culprit in the dead of night, and she is afraid that without him, she may not find the kidnapper. When the trail towards the kids gets more and more supernatural, Lexi knows she and Cole are the only ones open-minded enough to search for the truth... the real truth.


I really enjoyed the old-fashioned, on-the-moor feel to this book, but sometimes it seemed like the plot was a smidge too thin for my reading tastes. It was a relatively short book, so there needed to be a quick call to action, but things tarried a bit in the middle. The presence of Cole and the "sisters" in the town (basically witches) were a cool addition to the story and I enjoyed their characters. I also liked how Lexi was relentless in her pursuit of the culprit. She wasn't going to stay inside just because the men in town told her to do so, she was going to solve the mystery herself. She was plucky and I enjoyed that!


This is a good book for a middle school through high school student. The writing is quite lyrical, so it might be a little too sophisticated for a younger or weaker reader. Also, the lag time you occasionally encounter in the story might distract or cause them to lose interest. Still, I found it to be a lovely story and the writing felt magical... almost like a song across the moor grass.

The Fault in Our Stars

With such an amazing title and simple cover, I wasn't sure what to make of John Green's The Fault in Our Stars. What I uncovered was a book that I can't really explain with any great justice. It was a book that overwhelmed me with emotions and a book I simply could not put down. Quite simply, it was one of the best, if not the best book I have read in a long time.

Hazel has cancer. She can tell you more about the particulars, but basically she is cancer. She isn't fighting a battle with cancer, she is made of cancer and her cancer is made of her. She stopped going to school years ago and got her GED, but she goes to Community College, which is her only real interaction with people other than her parents. Her mother wants her to have a normal(ish) life, so she encourages (makes) Hazel go to a cancer support group. At the support group, Hazel watches a revolving door of cancer people come and go (and by go, she means "from this earth"). What she didn't expect to happen on this particular day was that she would meet Augustus, a boy who lost his leg to cancer.

Augustus is that rare individual who transforms every life he touches, but he does so in such an unassuming way, you can't help but absolutely love him. As he and Hazel get to know each other, she reveal's her favorite book. An Infinite Affliction is about a young girl dying of cancer, but it is real. It isn't the type of book to romanticize the disease or create martyrs of innocent children because of the disease, but instead it tells the truth of it all, scary parts, sad parts, horrible parts and all. And then it ends. mid-sentence, it just ends. Whether because the girl died or was too weak to continue, it just ends. Hazel shares this story with Augustus, and neither of them can stop thinking of what happened to the people the girl left behind. Hazel has tried to contact the author before, but she was never as determined or crafty as Augustus. With his ability to charm himself in or out of anything, Augustus finds the reclusive author and manages an invite to go to Amsterdam and meet him. Although Hazel spent her one Wish (the wish given to dying kids because adults can't bear to see them die) years ago when she thought she was dying, Augustus has never spent his, until now. Although the trip to Amsterdam is crazy, whimsical, and inherently dangerous for a girl whose lungs are intent upon drowning, they go on the adventure that will make their short lives full to the brim. It isn't exactly what you would expect, but it was a Wish that was granted in some strange and life-altering ways.

I am not sure how to describe this book because it really affected me in so many ways, so I will describe the emotions it made me experience. I was angry, so very angry. I was angry for Hazel and her swimming lungs, Augustus and the fact that cancer could hurt a boy who was so simply wonderful, for Isaac who lost both his eyes to cancer (and subsequently his girlfriend). I was heartbroken when Hazel worries that she is a "grenade" who will scatter shrapnel into everyone's lives she touches and scar them forever. I was happy, beyond happy, to watch Augustus take Hazel's life, much of which was filled with not living, but rather going through the motions, and make her live, love, hurt, breathe, and live again. I cried because of the poetic ending, and I laughed at Augustus' and his way of making you laugh even when you should be crying (or sobbing). But even now, I experience a feeling that doesn't really have a name. It is the feeling in your gut and in your throat you get when you remember a book or movie or song that has affected you so deeply, you want to pick it up and start all over again. It is the feeling that you get when you think about that book or movie or song that makes you smile and brings tears to your eyes at the same time.

I loved this book. I can't tell you enough just how much I loved this book. John Green is not only a master, but he is an author who has the ability to change your life. This is a sad book, as its premise clearly tells you, but it is beautiful and happy as well. Don't discount this book as depressing or "too much" for a student, because it isn't. Sometimes I am skeptical about giving a book with a premise such as this to a kid who has experienced loss or grief, but this book would actually help a child who has lived through such a tragedy. It doesn't romanticize the illness, it just tells it like it is. At one point Augustus talks about wanting to leave a legacy when he is gone and Hazel disagrees with him. She just wants to live, live normally. She doesn't need to shape the world, she just wants to make it to her next birthday (which her family counts in half birthdays because a year is too long to wait for). The candidness of this book will affect you deeply, I warn you, but you will be better for it. So give it to everyone who will read it, young adult, (not so young) adult, ill, not so ill, anyone who will read it. Why? Because when you read a book like The Fault in Our Stars, you have to share it.

Best in the Series So Far!

I read the first book because of al the hype, I read the second book because I figured it had to be better than the first book (350 pages of nothing and 50 pages of action at the end), and I read the third book because I had already invested two books into the series and might as well finish it. Imagine my surprise when Silence was actually the best in Becca Fitzpatrick's series!

Nora has been kidnapped. When she wakes up in a graveyard, she doesn't realize how long she has been gone or what has happened to her. She was kidnapped in June, but she has lost everything that happened from April to September when she was found. When she returns home, she finds her mother is now dating Hank Millar- Nora's archenemy Marcie's father. She also gets the feeling people are keeping things from her. Her mother and best friend aren't telling her the entire truth about her life before the kidnapping, but she doesn't know who to trust until Scott Parnell returns. The Nephilim fills her in on the fallen angels and the war with the Nephilim whom the angels possess two weeks out of every year. Nora knows she is somehow involved in the situation, but she isn't sure how.

She also know the stranger Jev is someone she has met in the past, but she can't place him. As she and Scott uncover more and more about Hank Millar, Jev keeps pulling her out of sticky situations. She feels drawn to him, even though she suspects he may be dangerous and is definitely on the opposite side of her friend, Scott. When Jev pulls her from a warehouse where hundreds of Nephilim soldiers are sleeping and would kill her for trespassing, he takes her to his home in the tunnels and reveals who he truly is to Nora- he is really Patch, the one man/angel Nora has loved. Now they must find out what Hank Millar is doing and save Nora's family in the meantime. Hank Millar may have nothing to lose, but Nora has everything in the world to lose now that she has fallen in love with Patch all over again.

This was undoubtedly the best story in the series. many people complain Nora is as whiny and spineless as Bella in Twilight, so it was nice to see her in a whole new light. She is more assertive in this book and gets herself into a lot of trouble because she won't just move on after the kidnapping and forget everything that happened to her. She is determined to get to the bottom of it all. I also, after the last ridiculous book, needed to see her and Patch really fall in love. Her amnesia really made that possible. She was drawn to him, couldn't resist him, and that was the Nora and Patch I originally loved and wanted to see more of!

Finally, Fitzpatrick solved her biggest problem from both original books in the series- she didn't give you 90% filler and 10% action at the very end. The last two books I hated until the very end and then I was left liking the book but still feeling duped or cheated. This book was interesting the whole way through. from start to finish, it was interesting and there was a lot going on. I am surprised how it ended, but now I am actually looking forward to the next installment instead of feeling obligated to read the silly thing! I am glad to see this book redeemed the series, but I still probably wouldn't give this series to a struggling reader. It isn't exciting enough to hold their attention and help them be successful in finishing a whole book. I would leave this for adults (just for sheer boredom's sake- not content) or stronger readers who could make it through the whole thing without giving up because clearly Fitzpatrick saved the best for last!

Many Wounds Never Heal

Susan Beth Pfeffer has proved with this book that she is a skilled author. I read her post-apocalyptic series a while ago, and it was a character driven, thoughtful, realistic series. I am surprised she can bring that same thoughtfulness into a very, very different kind of story- one about a young girl struggle with her own demons, both internal demons and very tangible demons. This story made me think about Pfeffer in a whole new light.

Willa and her mother escaped an abusive father and ended up with a very kind man named Jack who only wanted the best for them. Jack and Willa's mothers life is a financial struggle, but Val, Jack's ex-wife, pays for her daughters to do anything they want. While Willa loves her two sisters, it is very clear there is a discrepancy between what they get to do thanks to their mother, and what Willa gets to do because her mom can't afford it. Willa barely remembers her biological father, except his temper. When frantic phone calls followed by a police visit reveal her father, Budge, may have murdered his new wife and children and is on the run, Willa feels she is living in a surreal world.

Budge was spotted outside Ohio, and is on his way towards Willa and her mother. For their own safety, they are moved to a hotel. When Budge arrives at their house, he attacks a police officer and is killed on Willa's front lawn. In a few short hours, Willa's entire life is turned upside down when she learns about his brutal murders, 4 other children, 3 of which he murdered, and the life she and her mother left behind when they ran from Texas. She decides to go back to the town to pay her respects to the family she never knew she had. It is there she learns a lot about her life, both before and after she left Texas. What Willa uncovers will change everything about the way she sees the people around her.

This is a beautiful and terrifying story all in one. The characters are unconventional, and they have very real problems. I had a lot of trouble digesting Willa's mother through most of the story, especially how she literally tread on eggshells around Jack so as to "not ruin anything". But when they stopped acting like a Stepford family and faced the troubles their family was having, I understood why she was the way she was (although I still didn't really like it). The strange relationship between Willa and her sisters was also confusing at first until it became clear they were just as confused and unhappy as she was. These characters really grew and developed as the story went along.

The story is really very deep and dark. It deals with some very heavy material that might be too much for a more sensitive reader. It isn't overly bloody or gory, but the murder is particularly brutal. The toughest part is seeing Willa suffer through so much and internalize her pain so much she turns to cutting in order to make it through each day. You just want to save Willa. You want to slap her parents and make them realize how hurt she is, even before her father came back into her life. Some of the emotions are difficult to decipher at first, but I think that is what makes the story so realistic. Although the reading level of this story would make it suitable for a younger reader, its subject matter might make it better for a more mature reader. And be prepared to have some discussions with your child or student after they are finished. This isn't a book to be taken lightly, and it proves Pfeffer is quite an adaptable author.

Funny Fins and Merry Mermaids

Lily is really Princess Waterlily of Thalassinia, an underwater mermaid kingdom where her father is the king. But Lily has chosen to give up her throne in order to stay on land with the boy she loves, her next-door neighbor and once archenemy, Quince. Now, in Fins are Forever by Tera Lynn Childs, Lily prepares to officially give up her throne, graduate high school, take the SATs, and follow through with a life above the surface as a "terapod" (mermaid on legs).

It was only a short few weeks ago when Lily chose to be unbound from Quince in order to give him freedom from being a merman and solidify her life on land. When a strong earthquake hits her small Florida town, it raises suspicions when the epicenter isn't even on a fault line- it is close to Thalassinia. But Lily doesn't have time to worry about that with the SATs coming up and being her only hope for college and a future as an un-princess on land. When her annoying, self-centered cousin Dosinia arrives at her doorstep having been exiled from Thalassinia, Lily's father makes her responsible for teaching Doe to respect humans. Although Lily can't get out of Doe what she did to get exiled, she knows it must be bad since the king never uses exile unless totally necessary.

Doe insists on making Lily's life miserable in small ways, but really crosses the line when Lily finds her with Brody (Lily's 3 year crush until she realized he wasn't her type and she was really in love with Quince). Doe and Bordy had clearly made out which is of course in direct violation of girl-code, but more importantly for a mermaid means now Doe and Brody are bonded and Brody is slowly transforming into a merman. For a girl who hates humans so much, being bound to Brody seems like punishment for Lily rather than something Doe really wanted. Now Lily must take Brody down to Thalassinia to be unbound.

When she gets to the kingdom, Lily's father agrees to the unbinding, but tells Lily she must do it since both Doe and Brody must be present. While in the kingdom, Lily runs into a guppyhood friend, Tellin, who is a prince of a neighboring mermaid kingdom. He begs Lily to bind with him, in formality only, in order to bring their kingdoms together and allow her to keep her throne. Lily is tempted, but her love for Quince is too strong to bind with another man. When Lily returns to land, she realizes the best way for Doe to have respect for humans is to stay bound to Brody (the same "punishment" her father gave her!). Now she must find a way to help Doe (without strangling her int he process), study for the SATs, and stop feeling so sad about losing her place as the next Queen of Thalassinia. Can she keep it all together?

This was a very cute follow up to the first book. While these aren't ground-breaking stories that will win countless awards, they are certainly fun and exciting reads. It is a good book for a young middle school student or an immature high school student. The content is completely clean, as is the language. The story is engaging enough to hold onto even the most unengaged reader. This is probably more of a "girl" book, but the content might be fine for either gender. I love Tera Lynn Childs. Her books are like a good chocolate milkshake on a warm summer day- a perfect guilty pleasure that will put a smile on your face!

Once is too Often...

When I was in high school, I went to Germany on a school trip. In Germany, we went to Dachau, a concentration camp that has been turned into a memorial/museum. The emotions I felt at Dachau have never left me. The vast camp was completely silent except for the crunch of visitors' feet on the gravel. The pain within those gates was so strong, we couldn't even speak to one another. But more and more, I find my students are finding themselves disconnected from the Holocaust. Sure, they know the mass murder to millions of people is horrendous, but they really can't fathom the fear and agony felt by so many. We read books, we watch movies, but it is hard to grasp the same emotions I felt the moment I stepped foot into Dachau so many years ago. Therefore, as an educator, it becomes very hard to find quality books that will knock my students around emotionally the same way Night by Elie Wiesel did the first time I read it in high school. Once, by Morris Gleitzman knocked me around, and will certainly open the eyes of any jaded student.

It's 1942, and Felix has lived in a Polish Orphanage for 3 years and 8 months since his parents left him there. They are Jewish and owned a bookstore in town, but they made a deal with Mother Minka to hide Felix, but they told him they were just going to take care of some bookstore business and be back. They still haven't returned. So Felix passes the day writing stories about them saving people and being brave in the outside world. When Felix gets a whole carrot in his soup one day, he decides it is a sign from his parents that they are coming to get him. When Mother Minka sadly tells him it isn't a sign, he decides to leave the orphanage to find them. After watching a group of Nazis come to the orphanage and burn Jewish books, he is worried his parents' books are in danger, and he knows he has to go help.

On his way into town, Felix comes across a lot of puzzling situations. First, he tries to hitch a ride on a cattle truck that is full of people, but a soldier on top of the truck shoots at him. He assumes it must have been a mistake and actually feels bad for the soldier who must be upset he accidentally shot at a little kid. Then he goes to his parents' bookstore, but the books are all gone and a local Christian family is living in his house (and threaten to turn him in to the Nazis). Finally he happens upon a farmhouse in flames and discovers a mother and father shot (and all the chickens) and a young girl who is barely alive. He drags her away from the flames and the car coming back to the scene, saving her from whoever did this.

At first Zelda is upset, but then she is just plain difficult, arguing with everything Felix says. When they get caught by Nazi soldiers and taken to the ghetto, it is her determination not to lose Felix, though, that saves them both. When a Nazi soldier tries to separate them, a large Jewish man offers the soldier something in German and he allows the man to take the kids. Barney, the man, takes Felix and Zelda and hides them with the other children he has saved in the ghetto. It is hear that Felix begins to learn the truth about the Nazis and what they are really doing to the Jews. When the ghetto gets emptied, Barney and the kids have no choices but to be packed into the trains with the other Jews. You might think all was lost at this point, but at some point, Felix's luck has to change!

This was such a beautiful little book (150 pgs). I loved Felix so much I just wanted to gather him up and keep him safe. He is so sweet and innocent and just wants to protect his parents. His naivete about the Holocaust was so scary and endearing at the same time, it broke my heart. But something I think kids might relate to is the fact that he is just a kid. He does kid things like protect kids from bullies in the orphanage and make up wild, fanciful stories. Yet, at the same time, he is stuck in this time period that has been written about, talked about and filmed ever since it ended. I think kids can relate to his childish ideas and that alone makes this story more powerful than others. They can imagine how they might feel if they were in the same situation.

The story is very short and perfect for any middle school student, but its beauty lies within the multiple layers that can be pulled back for a wide age range of people. For a middle school student, this story might be a face-value story about a boy in the Holocaust, but for an older student, this can be a way to quickly examine the plagues of war, such as the loss of life and innocence. It gives them a chance to delve deeper into the consequences of war. This is quite simply a beautiful story and as sad as it made me to read it, it also made me hopeful for Felix and for the growth of the young people I work with each and every day.

Realistic, Honest, and Well Written

After reading Bumped, a dystopia about teenage pregnancy for profit, I had to prove to myself that my issues with Bumped weren't about the idea of teenage pregnancy. Instead, my issues were the silly way it was handled. So I picked up Hooked by Catherine Greenman with one purpose in mind- prove to myself I was open to all kinds of Young Adult novels- even ones about tough subjects. I have one ting to say- This book proved it.

Thea is the product of a now-sober alcoholic father and a flighty mother who is more concerned with her own life than that of her daughter she is supposed to be raising. Despite a somewhat absentee father (even when he was physically present) and mother, Thea turned out ok. She was doing decently in her competitive high school, was your average, well-rounded young woman, and had some good friends. When she met Will, it was your typical first love. She felt hooked by her love for him; she needed him to love her as much as she loved him.

When Will graduated, he decided to stay in the city and go to Columbia University. At some point in the beginning of the year, Thea becomes pregnant. At first, she is stunned, but she tells her mother and decides to have an abortion. While her best friend and her mom offer to go with her, Thea decides to do it on her own. When she sees the sonogram, though, she can't imagine getting rid of the little person inside her. She panics and leaves the clinic, but doesn't tell anyone about her situation. When it becomes too late for an abortion, she finally admits to Will, her mom, and finally tells her father the truth: she is still pregnant and plans to have the baby.

At first everyone is angry with Thea for a host of reasons, but most importantly for keeping this from them. But then they soften and realize she was determined to have the baby. Both sets of parents decide to help Thea and Will out, set them up with a cheap apartment, and are moderately involved in financial support. Will is still going to Columbia, so Thea stays home and takes care of the baby, Ian. At first, the arrangement seems cozy, but quickly the immaturity of both parents comes out. Thea accidentally burns Ian with water and rushes him to the hospital. When Will arrives, he makes it very clear he blames Thea (despite it being an accident). This tension continues until he pushes her to put Ian up for adoption. Terrified Will is going to take Ian and give him away, Thea moves in with her father and asks Will to leave them alone.

Life with her father, a man she barely knew growing up, is odd at first, but their shared love for Ian brings them together. They make a cozy little life together, but sometimes their ideas for Thea's future are very different. This causes tension between two parents in very different points in their lives, both trying to raise their children. While Thea must find out who she is and who she wants to become, one thing is always obvious. Thea loves Ian and wants nothing more than to be his mother.

This is an amazing story because the characters are flawed, caring, mean well, and are so darned realistic. Thea is a kid, but she is a kid who is determined to be the best mother she can. I have a cousin who had a baby when he was still a teenager, and it still amazes me to see him with his son- he is such an amazing father and he desperately loves his son. This is Thea. She is young. She makes mistakes (which is something we adults to all the time too!). She loves her child unconditionally. I love the way her parenting is told through the voice of an 18 year old woman, too. Instead of "nursing" her son, she "gives him the boob"! And when Will tries to give Ian to an adoption agency, she is too scared to seek help from the adults in her life but also too immature to know he didn't have the right to do so. This was a book that showed the real life of a teen mom- bumps, bruises, tears, joy, love, affection, and all. Nothing is spared here, from the time his belly button nub falls off, to the terror when she accidentally scalded him with hot water. This book is frank and honest. Sure the message is that being a young mother is hard work, means losing the "childhood" your friends get to have, and will change you for better or for worse... but the book also says, "Hang in there. It can be done. People will help you." I loved this message. Oddly, it makes me think of all the things we say to kids to scare them throughout their childhoods. "Don't make that face or it will stick that way." "Don't swallow the watermelon seeds or a plant will grow in your belly." We say so much to scare them, but we forget to just tell them the truth. Well, this book does just that. Truth, for better or worse, is what you will get with Hooked.

There is some sexual content in this book that might make it better for a high school reader. The moral is handled seriously, but with enough levity and individualism to make it not sound like a "moral" book. I suspect the cover might frighten away a number of parents and teachers, but I hope you give it a chance. This book doesn't glamorize teen moms, but it doesn't make them seem like a stereotype either. This is a wonderful book for any teenager to read in order to let them get all the information, good and bad, and let them make decisions and choices for themselves. Sometimes, like with Thea, the answer isn't what you first thought was the right answer, but it still might be the best one in the long run.

To Be or Not To Be a Saint

Where do you go from the ultimate sacrifice? A girl takes on the curse of the Urbat (werewolf) herself in order to save her boyfriend, and then where do they go? Happily ever after? Oh, I think not! After such a lovely ending, things are bound to get ugly... And in The Lost Saint by Bree Despain, they certainly get ugly.

Grace Divine saved her boyfriend Daniel from the wolf inside him, but not before her brother, Jude, bit an infected her. Saving Daniel may well have damned Grace, but she and Daniel decide to embrace her wolfiness and begin training immediately. If Grace can use her new powers for good, then maybe she can overcome the curse and keep the wolf from taking her over. When Jude begins sending cryptic messages to Grace, things begin to go south quickly.

Grace is doing a community service project for school, and she meets a young guy named Talbot. Talbot quickly reveals he is also an Urbat and as the Last Saint Moon, he is taking up his family's mission to rid the world of evil: demons, vampires, and other ickly uglies that go bump in the night. Since Daniel has been avoiding her and has stopped her training, she can't resist the lure of fighting bad guys with Talbot. It makes her feel like a real super hero. But things aren't quite as easy and carefree as they seem. Jude keeps warning her not to trust anyone, but she doesn't know if he can be trusted either. When she is kidnapped, the truth is revealed about who is really after Grace, and it is a twist you never see coming!

This was a good follow-up to the first story. It is much darker with a lot of other stuff coming out of the woodwork, but sometimes the action gets lost amongst Grace's pining for Daniel and self-doubt. While I am fine with a little introspection, sometimes it is better to keep enough going on outside the character's head in order to keep the reader interested. The story would have been better if it was a little shorter by way of reducing Grace's constant self-analysis.

I liked the delve into the deeper supernatural in this book as well. There was a cursory discussion of different demons and their abilities, but not enough for my taste. I would have loved to hear more about the creepers Talbot and Grace keep hunting. This is a good sequel, so if a reader liked the first book, this should be a hit, too. Maybe the next book will venture even further.

Are you Extraordinary?

Nancy Werlin's Impossible was so good, I had to get Extraordinary. The same vague description, the same steady unveil of vital plot information, and the same supernatural culprits. The story is certainly different from the first book, and not at all a sequel, but you will certainly notice some similarities from the start of the book.

Phoebe Rothschild is a normal girl from an extraordinary family. From the earliest Rothschilds down to her mother, the entire family is quite simply extraordinary, but Phoebe just wants to be normal. She has a hard time dealing with the attention that comes with being a part of one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in the world. When Mallory Tolliver arrives in seventh grade, Phoebe is immediately drawn to her. Mallory is odd, eccentric, and Phoebe instantly becomes her best and only friend.

The reader, however, knows Mallory has an ulterior motive. With little snippits of conversations with the Queen, we know Mallory was planted there to meet Phoebe specifically, but we have no idea why and what the Queen has planned for Phoebe. When years pass and it seems Mallory can't bring herself to do what she there for, her half-brother Ryland arrives. Ryland is enchanting, but rude at the same time. Phoebe can't stop thinking about him, but she somehow feels there is something wrong about the horrible things he says to her, like how she is fat, ordinary, and not particularly important. When Mallory finally confronts Phoebe about dating Ryland (a wicked plan cooked up by Ryland and the Queen), Phoebe runs straight into the arms of Ryland to be consoled. While in their house, though, she opens his bedroom door only to find an enchanted garden behind the door- a garden that can't possibly be there but certainly is.

The truth quickly comes out that Ryland and Mallory are faeries. A curse was placed on Phoebe's family and the faeries need her as a sacrifice to restore their power and their kingdom. But when she still doesn't want to know about it, Ryland creates an accident that leaves her mother in a coma and Phoebe without much choice. As she enters the Faerie World, she knows this is the end of her ordinary life, as the curse stipulates, but she still can't lose that bit of extraordinary that floats through her veins like the ghosts of all her ancestors. Knowing the faeries are dying because of the curse, will Phoebe be willing to sacrifice herself to the very people who have tricked her for years?

I think the downfall of reading this book directly after Impossible was that they were too similar and Extraordinary just wasn't as good. I think if I had read them a few months apart, I might have liked this book better, but it just didn't stack up to the first book. The slow but well-paced reveal of information was still there, but the information revealed wasn't a surprise anymore- it was essentially the same story as Impossible, just tweaked a little. The book became much more predictable than the first story.

This is a decent story for a junior high to high school student. There are some interesting morals to be discussed with any young woman. I was particularly angered by the things Ryland said to Phoebe about her being so ordinary. I know they were part of him trying to fulfill the curse, but instead they just really ticked me off. If I was reading this book with a student, I would definitely have to use that as a teaching experience. It would be too hard to just let it lie there. Otherwise, this is a decent book. It's an interesting enough read and should keep the reader interested. Maybe next time Werlin can mix it up a bit? Not be so formulaic?

Who Would Your Match Be?

Having just finally read Lois Lowery's The Giver, I knew I had to read the book recommended to me as "a romantic Giver". Ally Condie's breakout dystopian/utopian novel Matched challenges all we know about life, questions, and choices. Very similar to The Giver's false utopia, this world has done everything to make sure there is no pain, no confusion, and no choices. But in taking away our ability to choose, have they also taken away our ability to live?

Cassia is excited about her Match Banquet. Here she will meet the man she will eventually marry. He will be from another city, but through interactions monitored by Officials, she will get to know him and they will eventually start a family. In Cassia's world, the Officials have created a life where no one has to make choices. The food they eat, what they wear, where they live, the jobs they do, and even the people they marry, are all choices carefully made by sorters who evaluate data in order to assign choices for everything. Food is delivered every day prepackaged and ready to eat. Even the waste they throw into their disposal is monitored to make sure it is the right amount and proper density compared to the amount of food and products they are given. Without any choices to make, people can't make the wrong choices.

Something strange happens at Cassia's Match Banquet. She is assigned to Xander, he best friend. Usually Matches occur with people from other cities, but she got someone in Mapletree Borough. Cassia is excited, but the situation means they won't have the typical courting scenario since they already know each other. Still, Cassia gets the box with Xander's card in it and plugs it into her portscreen to read the information about Xander, but it isn't Xander's card- it's Ky's- another boy from town. While Cassia knows this was a mistake, she still can't stop thinking about Ky, especially when she learns of his status in the society- Ky Markham is an Aberration. Aberrations are outsiders within the society. They can live and work in the Boroughs, but they aren't given important jobs and aren't allowed to Match. They aren't dangerous like Anomalies, who aren't allowed to live in the Boroughs, but they aren't exactly accepted either.

Ky's status intrigues Cassia, and when they are put together in the new hiking group for free time, she grows to really enjoy his company. In fact, Ky is the only person she shares the illegal poem her grandfather gave her before he was released (everyone is "released" at the age of 80). The poem, "Do Not Go Gentle" by Dylan Thomas keeps swirling around in Cassia's head. It is not part of the Hundred Poems (the Society has only saved 100 poems, 100 paintings, etc. Everything else was destroyed and the people of the society are only allowed to view the 100 that have been deemed appropriate). In fact, it is dangerous for her to even know about the poem, but she can't forget about it since her grandfather gave it to her. And Ky understands why. The poem, Ky, and so much more are making Cassie question the Society and the lack of choices. She knows why the Society has created the world she lives in, but she isn't as willing to accept it's rules anymore. She likes Xander, but she starts to love Ky. She is angry about losing her grandfather, and hates that the Officials can come into her home and take anything they want. She chooses to Not Go Gentle. She wants to Rage, Rage Against the Dying of the Light.

Cassia has become exactly what the Society has worked hard to eliminate- a young woman who wants to make her own choices. I am so intrigued by the thin line between utopia and dystopia. A utopia is always flawed and therefore teeters on the edge of a dystopia, such as in Matched. A dystopia may be a horrible new world, but there is always hope, always someone willing to stand up to the tyranny. This story is beautifully written and will make you appreciate each and every choice you make- including the ones that might seem difficult at the time. While choices might not always be easy or fun, they are still ours to own and be responsible for. Sure it might be easier not to have to decide what to wear everyday, but where does it stop? Where does giving up control become too much lost?

This is an amazing book filled with deep questions and budding romance. You can feel Cassia's dilemma between Xander who has always been her friend and confidante, and Ky who just knows her. Both young men are great people, so you don't even know who you want her to choose! But in the end, we all have to ask ourselves, how many choices are we willing to give up? If we were Cassia, would we be willing to continue our humdrum lives with Xander, or slip into the vast unknown with Ky? Give this story a shot... after all, it is your Choice to Make!

A Summer You Will Never Forget

Covers really can be deceiving. Titles are no better. When you look at this cover, what do you think is going to happen? Girl seeks boys, girl finds one boy, boy changes girl, life continues happily? Boy are you wrong. Sarah Ockler's Twenty Boy Summer has more going on than you might think given such a deceptive title...

Anna, Matt, and Frankie were best friends. Of course, Frankie (Francesca) was Matt's little sister and Anna was in love with Matt. But that all changed when Matt professed his love for Anna at her birthday party. He asked her to keep their love a secret until he and Frankie went away with their parents for the summer so he could explain the relationship properly. Unfortunately, they never got that far, as after a month of hiding their relationship, the day before Matt and Frankie were to leave for Zanzibar Bay, the three of them decided to go for ice cream. On the way home, a car accident leaves Anna and Frankie shattered emotionally and Matt gone forever.

Now it is a year later and Frankie's parents decide they have to go back to Zanzibar Bay. Still grieving for the loss of Matt, they pack up with Anna in tow and head for the beach. Before they leave, Frankie convinces Anna to make a pact to hook at least twenty boys in their three weeks at the beach. Since the loss of Matt, Frankie has changed to someone Anna barely recognizes. Although she can only think of Matt and the only secret she every kept from Frankie, she agrees to the pact just to make things better with Frankie, and relieve a little guilt.

Once on the beach, Anna meets one boy she can't stop thinking about. Frankie continues on her quest, but Anna is torn between really liking this local surfer boy and feeling like she has betrayed her first love, Matt. When Frankie reads Anna's journal and learns of her relationship with Matt, it seems like nothing will ever bring the friends back to the way they were before the accident.

This book blew me away. The grief Anna, Frankie, and Frankie's parents suffer is so real, almost palpable. When Frankie's mother admits to Anna she knows the relationship with Matt was more than friends, you can almost feel the ache in Anna's heart. When the family arrives at their beach house, the pain will course through your body. You can see them grieve. You can feel them hurt. Ockler has delivered a story that will make you suffer and survive right along with the characters. It also shows the difference in how people grieve, which is an important lesson for people to learn. Anna turns within herself and refuses to open up. Frankie opens up to everyone just to fill the void. Frankie's mother and father are barely speaking or holding themselves together. This vacation to Zanzibar Bay was a life journey the reader should feel both privileged and saddened to journey down.

The writing is fairly simple, but this story really deals with mature situations. There is a decent amount of sex as Frankie tries to find solace anywhere she can get it, but nothing is graphic. Instead, it is usually just implied. The grief and loss is handled beautifully, but is a very heavy subject that might be too much for a student who has suffered any great loss recently. The beauty of this story is it will hook a girl who doesn't usually read serious stories with its lure of fun and beaches, but it will deliver lessons they never saw coming. If you give this book a chance, I promise you will never be the same.

Divinely Supernatural

The vague description on the jacket blurb is what kept me from this story for a full year. In retrospect, it was a good thing because the sequel has already been released! But I am a little behind the times by just reading this story now. The cover and the blurb don't give away much of the story, so readers might feel like they are flying blind at first, but gratefully the story gets really interesting really quickly!

Grace Divine is the pastor's daughter, and she and her family must live up to that status. Her brother Jude is the epitome of a pastor's son. He always thinks of others first, never fails to go out of his way to help people, and is the apple of everyone's eye. When Daniel Kalbi returns after a mysterious disappearance, Grace is drawn to him. Despite the memories of her brother returning covered in blood from seeing Daniel right before he disappeared and Jude's warning for Grace to stay far away from Daniel, she keeps finding herself with him.

As Daniel's story unfolds, Grace isn't sure who she can trust. Stories of ancient beings created to do God's bidding swirl into modern day stories of werewolves and monsters. Meanwhile, the town is again plagued with odd deaths and mutilations just as it was years ago before Daniel disappeared. Jude insists Daniel is evil, but Grace can't see beyond the kind, caring Daniel she used to know. Now Grace must decide whether she can make the ultimate sacrifice to save Daniel, and must weigh the consequences of her choice.

While this story has certainly been well played int he past few years, Despain does a good job of changing up the ready worn. She takes a supernatural creature and gives it new life and new purpose. I was glad this story did not take as long as some others (*cough* Hush, Hush *cough* Fallen) to reveal the nature of the odd stirrings and bumps in the night. Sometimes when the meat of the story is revealed too late, I find myself wondering whether it was worth the work to get through. Instead this is a well-paced story with interesting characters and plenty to keep you interested.

The writing is relatively clean with hints of creepy happenings and violence without any real gore. It would be suitable for any junior high to high school student, but would probably appeal mostly to girls (the cover might have something to do with that). Excitingly, the second book, The Lost Saint has just been released and is at the top of my "to read" list (of course that list is about 40 books deep, but I desperately want more of this story!). I can't wait to see what happens to Grace Divine and Daniel Kalbi next!

Boot Camp for Goddesses

Tera Lynn Childs knows how to whip up a fun, flirtatious story! Goddess Boot Camp, the sequel to Oh. My. Gods., continues the story of Phoebe, a normal girl who found herself transported to an isolated island in Greece when her mom is remarried. At the end of the first book, she learns of her status as a descendant of the goddess Nike. Now she is suffering the consequences of that realization.

Being the descendant of a God or Goddess sounds all fun and laughter, but it is a big responsibility. It comes with powers, the responsibility of keeping the life secret from non-descendants, and the isolation of Serfopoulos- the island where the Gods school is. Phoebe is a closer descendant than most of the other kids at her school, which means her powers are even more powerful, and therefore more difficult to control. All she has to do is daydream about the ocean and her living room is saturated. One thought about her annoying stepsister as leaves her covered in frosting and very unhappy. The problem? Her unpredictable powers have put her on the radar of the Gods, and if she can't get them under control, there is some serious smoting in her future- no one wants to be smoted!

Now, in addition to training for a marathon at the Pythian Games and dealing with her boyfriend spending a lot of time with his beautiful ex-girlfriend Adara, Phoebe has to attend Goddess Boot Camp. To make matters worse, Boot Camp is run by her irksome stepsister Stella and Adara and Phoebe is the oldest one there by 6 or 7 years! The summer is full of misunderstandings, power malfunctions, heartbreak, and the truth about Phoebe's father's death, but even with all that seriousness, there is still fun, goofiness, and laughter!

This is a fun follow-up to the first book with plenty of Greek mythology and teenage goings-on to keep a wide range of readers happy and engaged. Childs does a good job of writing complete books that don't leave the reader hanging, but still continuing the story of Phoebe and her misfit Gods and Goddesses. The story is very clean and appropriate for all ages, much like the first story. It would be acceptable for middle school through high school students. While the mythology is the background of the story, it doesn't go into a great deal of depth into the mythology. Still, the series is a lot of fun and will make you wish you were descended from the Gods!