Children's & Young Adult book reviews by a rather odd duo.
Posts tagged eBook
Everything Is Not What It Seems
March 1, 2013
by Ruby
XVI by Julia Karr (Book 1 XVI Series)
Every girl gets one. An XVI tattoo on the wrist—sixteen. They say they’re there for protection. Some girls can’t wait to be sixteen, to be legal. Nina is not one of them. Even though she has no choice in the matter, she knows that so long as her life continues as normal, everything will be okay. Then, with one brutal strike, Nina’s normal is shattered; and she discovers that nothing that she believed about her life is true. But there’s one boy who can help—and he just may hold the key to her past. But with the line between attraction and danger as thin as a whisper, one thing is for sure…for Nina, turning sixteen promises to be anything but sweet.
The year is 2150 and women’s rights and the freedoms we enjoy today (at the moment) are just a memory. The world that 15-year-old Nina Oberon lives in is frightening to me. Frightening because it’s all too plausible. The Governing Council controls the populace through the Media. Through the Media girls are “trained” to become a sex-teen when they turn sixteen. There’s even a guide for this transition. How to dress and act to attract guys. Girls become adults at sixteen, identified by a tattoo on the wrist – XVI. This becomes an invitation (unwanted or not) that girls are ready for sex. Girls don’t have many choices, they either marry above them or get accepted into the FeLS (Female Liaison Specialists) program. (more…)
“If you had one day left to live, what would you do?”
February 20, 2013
by Ruby
Fracture by Megan Miranda (Book 1 Fracture Series)
By the time Delaney Maxwell was pulled from a Maine lake’s icy waters by her friend, Decker Phillips, her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. But somehow Delaney survived—despite the brain scans that show irreparable damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be fine, but she knows she’s far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can’t control or explain, Delaney now finds herself drawn to the dying, and when she meets Troy Varga, a boy who recently emerged from a coma with the same abilities, she is relieved to share this strange new existence. Unsure if her altered brain is predicting death or causing it, Delaney must figure out if their gift is a miracle, a freak of nature—or something else much more frightening….
The plot of this novel is very similar to The Body Finder Series by Kimberly Derting, but has thrilling psychological aspects that make it unique. The story is told from Delaney Maxwell’s POV as she tries to navigate the ups and downs of life after death, literally. Fracture is an apt title in many respects. Throughout the story we see the fracturing of Delaney’s home life, friendships, and her own sanity. (more…)
“I knew there was something peculiar about you…”
April 26, 2012
by Ruby
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (Book 1 Miss Peregrine)
A Mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very peculiar photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that Miss Peregrine’s children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow – impossible though it seems – they may still be alive.
This novel is amazing! The first thing you want to do when you pick up this book is flip through the pages to look at the unearthly mysterious collection of vintage photographs. Riggs has done an amazing job of pairing each photo with the narrative being told. Instead of trying to imagine what these children look like, these photos give us almost the whole picture of their personalities. The part we have to imagine is their peculiarities.
Jacob is definitely someone you can sympathize with as he struggles to make sense of his grandfather’s death and the mysterious “magical” life he led before. Jacob learns that the stories his grandfather told him about his childhood, featuring children with peculiar abilities and terrifying monsters, are actually true. (more…)
Let’s Go to the Mall!
March 27, 2012
by Ruby
No Safety in Numbers by Dayna Lorentz (Book One TBA Trilogy)
(Review based on Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of the book.)
Hundreds of people go to the mall everyday, but for 4 teens, a trip to the mall could be deadly. Marco, Lexi, Shay and Ryan have come to the mall for reasons all their own. Marco works as a busboy at a mall restaurant. After being chased by school bullies in the parking garage, he discovers a device attached to the AC unit for the mall. Lexi is out with her parents for some family time, which rarely happens because her mother is a state senator. Shay just wanted to escape the house her family has just moved into, but she had to come with her grandmother and sister. Ryan is running an errand for his older brother, a QB for the local football team, of which he is a member too.
Told from alternating points of view from these four teens, we start to get a picture of what each of them is like and how they handle the situation at hand as their world descends into chaos. We also start to get a feel for each of their personalities, which I hope the author will delve into more in the remaining two books in the trilogy.
The tagline for this trilogy in “Contagion meets Lord of the Flies in a mall that looks just like yours.” I haven’t read LOTF, yet, however I know the story. I thought Contagion was a huge bore. My favorite disease on the loose move is Outbreak. Dustin Hoffman rocks! Sorry, getting off topic a bit. (more…)
Murder, Espionage, and Romance
October 31, 2011
by Ruby
The Season by Sarah MacLean
Author Sarah MacLean has written many best-selling historical romance novels, but with The Season, she jumps into the young adult realm. As an avid romance reader, I have not had the pleasure of reading her previous novels, but if The Season is anything to go by, she has won my reading loyalty.
In the tradition of Jane Austen’s novels, MacLean has created characters that can hold their own with the likes of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. As the only daughter of a Duke, 17-year-old Lady Alexandra “Alex” Stafford is being launched for her first season in London society. Despite her mother’s wishes for her to catch a suitable husband, Alex wants nothing to do with the marriage-minded men of the ton. She finds them dull and not at all her intellectual equal. She longs for adventure, not romance.
Alex and her friends Vivi and Ella (also being launched for the season) find themselves embroiled in an espionage plot against England and childhood friend Gavin. When Gavin’s father dies under suspicious circumstances and Alex overhears something she shouldn’t, the mystery deepens and a budding romance begins. (more…)
Ambassadors of Friendship
May 29, 2011
by Ruby
The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson
(Review is based on an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of the book.)
This is a story about friendship, friendship between nations and friendship between people. While researching Hattie Big Sky, Kirby Larson came across a picture of an American farm girl standing next to a life-size Japanese doll, and a story was born.
In 1927, to strengthen relations with America, 58 life-size, beautifully crafted dolls were made and sent as Ambassadors of Friendship. They toured the country, with many of them eventually ending up in museums where we can see them today. One mystery remains, 13 of the 58 are still missing.
This is the story of Miss Kanagawa and four girls, who unknowingly need her guidance. Miss Kanagawa sees herself as “the Ambassador.” Larson has created a character that lives and feels. To the Japanese, dolls are not playthings, but noble creations who have a purpose.
“When the Japanese gave a doll in friendship, it was bestowed with great meaning and honor…even adults speak about dolls as though they were almost human. A doll is not simply stored in a box. She sleeps waiting for a child to wake her.” – Jamie Tobias Neely The Spokesman-Review, March 3, 1993
Miss Kanagawa has a mystical otherworldliness to her. When you look into her eyes, she has something profound to say to you. She often likens herself to a samurai, because she is also a noble, honorable warrior. (more…)
Psychologically Thrilling Version of Freaky Friday
May 29, 2011
by Ruby
Flip by Martyn Bedford
What would you do if you woke up in someone else’s body? This is what happens to 14-year-old Alex Gray. He wakes up and doesn’t recognize the room he’s in or the face in the mirror. He’s trapped inside the body of another boy, Philip “Flip” Garamond. Everyone sees him as Flip, all except the family dog, Beagle. While trying to navigate the world he now finds himself in, he tries to remember how he may have gotten there. With no memory of the past six months, he has nothing to guide him. Trying to reach his mum, he gets told by one of her coworkers not to call and that it’s a cruel joke to play. With this answer, Alex is afraid to find out what happened to him.
However difficult it may be, he tries to live Flip’s life in Flip’s body, with Flip’s family, friends, and girlfriends. All his reactions and thoughts are Alex’s though, and in the end, he wants his life back. When he finally does go back to his own house, he learns that he was the victim of a hit and run and has been in a coma for the past six months.
Not knowing how to get back into his own body, Alex scours the Web for answers. He finally gets a response from a group of people who are known as Psychic Evacuees.
Psychic evacuation is when a psyche or soul leaves its original body and transfers to another. In doing so, it replaces the psyche of its new body, or corporeal host.
Armed with this new information, Alex attempts to find answers on how to get his and Flip’s lives back in the proper place. (more…)
The Hulk Meets Jekyll and Hyde
May 24, 2011
by Ruby
Subject Seven by James A. Moore
Subject Seven is a creation of science. In a mysterious compound controlled by a group called Janus, Seven has endured horrific tests to see how his body and mind responds. At the age of ten his rage has hit the breaking point, and he escapes, killing and maiming everyone in his path.
Five years later, Seven is on the hunt to find answers. He wants to be freed from the prison of his Other. The Other is his normal teenage half, the half who was allowed to live a life of ease and love. Seven has learned how to control the change from himself to his Other, and with this knowledge and freedom he learns there are others like him that were not destroyed. Considered failures by Janus, four Subjects survived and were secretly given up for adoption.
Seven, now calling himself Joe Bronx, gathers the others to reveal what has been causing their blackouts. The truth is that they were created to be the perfect military sleeper assassins—housed in the bodies of teenagers and awakened upon command. Awakened, they morph into another person altogether, a definite Jekyll and Hyde scenario. The Jekyll persona is full of rage, almost unchecked violence, and glee at finally being free. They are ready to find a way to banish their Others. (more…)
A fun twist of a classic tale…
May 6, 2011
by Ruby
Cinderella Smith by Stephanie Barden (Book 1 Cinderella Smith)
Meet Josephine-Kathryn Smith, aka Cinderella Smith. She’s nothing like the Cinderella from the classic fairy tale. No wicked step sisters. No wicked stepmother. There’s a prince…Charlie Prince, a next door neighbor who likes to tease her. The only thing she has in common with the fairy tale Cinderella is that she’s always losing her shoes.
As a new school year starts, her best friend from last year is ignoring her, and she loses the most important shoe of the year…her tap shoe. With the fall dance recital coming up and the starring role of Pumpkin Blossom Fairy up in the air, Cinderella must find that shoe.
Since her former best friend, Rosemary, has moved on to “better” things, Cinderella befriends the new girl, Erin. Now, Erin has a problem that she thinks Cinderella can solve. Erin’s about to get two step sisters when her mother re-marries, and Erin is worried that they might be wicked. However, Cinderella has no experience with step sisters, wicked or otherwise, so Cinderella comes up with a unique and hilarious way to find out.
This is a great new series for fans of Ivy + Bean (Barrows), Clementine (Pennypacker), Just Grace (Harper), and Ramona (Cleary). Each of these series has unique, spunky, fun, intelligent, hilarious girls at their center. Cinderella Smith can join the club. Barden has created a character that is in high demand with my readers. With the unique fairy tale twist (which is a popular genre), she has crafted a story to be read aloud again and again. Each chapter of the book is the featured shoe of the moment. I never had a problem with losing shoes, I just wore them until they fell apart, much to my mum’s dismay. She would always buy me new shoes, but I loved the old, holey, comfortable ones. (more…)
Something doesn’t smell quite right…
April 25, 2011
by Ruby
Smells Like Dog by Suzanne Selfors (Book 1 Smells Like…)
How could I not read a book called Smells Like Dog? This is the sad, surprising, heart-warming, and hilarious journey of 12-year-old Homer Winslow Pudding. Homer is a dreamer who usually has his head stuck in a book (sounds like me) or his mind on the many maps that may or may not be a treasure map. He gets along best with his treasure-hunting uncle, Drake Horatio Pudding, who fills his head with daring feats and dangerous quests. Homer’s father, on the other hand, wants his head out of the clouds and on terra firma, ready to work on the family-owned goat farm.
When Homer gets the news that his beloved uncle has died, he is heartbroken. However, Uncle Drake has left Homer his most valuable possession, a gold coin and a basset hound that can’t smell anything and has unusual talent (read the book to find out). Homer immediately dismisses the dog and focuses on the coin. It’s here that the adventure really begins.
After accidentally burning down the local library, Homer and his older sister, Gwendolyn, decide to run away (both for different reasons) to The City.* On his journey to find out the meaning of the gold coin, he runs into friends and foes alike, but which is which? A treasure hunter trusts no one. With his unusual companion, Dog, they find themselves in one mishap after another. (more…)