Review: WINTER CANDLE

WINTER CANDLE is a gorgeously illustrated book. Stacey Schuett has done her drawings in deep rich colors that evoke the warmth of the story.

Ashford's story is appealing and the type of tale I liked to read to my children when they were younger. (They can read it themselves now :)

It's the story of a one-building neighborhood, where neighbors share and where all sorts of fall and winter celebrations take place. What ties all the neighbors together is their need for a light. Specifically, they need a candle, and it's a single candle that gets shared by one family and then the next.

Nana Clover is the first person who needs the candle. She is all prepared for Thanksgiving... except that she forgot to pick up candles at the store.  She borrows a single candle from her neighbor and makes it sufficiently festive by surrounding it with pinecones and leaves.

Two weeks later it's a Jewish family in need. And so they borrow the candle from Nana Clover for their Sabbath celebrations.

I love that Jeron gives us these delightful examples of diverse families and celebrations. There is Thanksgiving and Kwanzaa, Saint Lucia's day --which is a Scandinavian winter celebration--and the Sabbath. But he also gives us something more. The last episode is about a winter storm that leaves the neighborhood in the dark. The newest family on the block is waiting for the dad and the moving van.  And they use the candle to light the way home.  

I love books like this because they open up an opportunity to discuss how families are different and yet the same.  And I really like the subtle message of resilience that the author works into the story.  In each scenario there is a feeling of impending disaster!  And in each case, calming down and looking for a solution works out nicely.  A good lesson for all of us.

Pam~

WINTER CANDLE
by Jeron Ashford
Stacey Schuett (Illustrations)

3.62 Stars from 47 GoodReaders

Reading Information:
Page Count: 28
no reading information currently available
--sample pages available
--amazon
--review copy

Review: CRUSHED by Eliza Crewe

4.18 avg rating — 1,151 GoodReaders

Like most things, fun is better when it's stolen. A fortunate coincidence, considering that's probably the only kind I'll ever have again.  Stupid Crusaders with their stupid rules. For a homicidal group, they're appallingly restrictive.

No, Meda, you can’t leave campus.

No, Meda, you know we have a curfew.

No, Meda, you can’t eat that guy.

But as they're the only thing standing between me and the demon army that wants me dead, I have no choice but to obey–or at least, like tonight, not get caught disobeying.

Fortunately for me the fun doesn't have to be stolen. It's all just laid out before me by Eliza Crewe in her new installment in the Soul Eaters saga.

And like CRACKED before it, CRUSHED deals out perfect snark throughout.  (As compared to other books where there's just a sprinkling of snark here and there.)

------------------------------------------------------------------
Review:  CRACKED
Review:  BLACK DOG
Review:  THE STRANGE MAID
Review:  THE SCREAMING STAIRCASE
Review:  GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE
------------------------------------------------------------------

I thought CRUSHED was a little more intense and serious than CRACKED.  The decisions before Meda are less clear cut and she finds herself divided in her loyalties to Jo and her new crush Armand.  Okay, Armand was in the last book, but he wasn't much more than a side character, whereas in this book the heat is on and he's turning up the cuteness.  All of which leaves Meda's two halves, demon and human, battling for domination.

And what turns things inside out and a bit upside down is the 'good' and 'bad' guys.  Here's Armand being a total sweetie --at least as much as a demon can be-- while the Crusaders are not behaving very nicely. They lie to Meda. They use Meda. They betray Meda.  So it's not difficult to see why she takes the path she does.

But seriously, what do you say to your best friend when you stand at the gates of the gates of hell?

CRUSHED was a good read. It didn't sit on it's CRACKED laurels but bumped up the story to become more personal and more complex.  It's not perfect --there are at least two aspects of the story that are annoying. One that deals with one of Meda's Crusader bullies... --but the good far outweighs the bad.  Read it. Read it. Read it.

Pam~



CRUSHED
(Soul Eaters #2)
by Eliza Crewe

Reading Information:
Page Count: 336
no reading information currently available
-- sample pages and price


CRACKED
(Soul Eater, #1)
by Eliza Crewe

My review of Cracked

Reading Information:
Page Count: 336
no reading information currently available
-- sample pages and price
-- read dunning 1-star review of this book I liked a lot
-- read a 5-Star review that gets it right

Review: WELCOME TO THE DARK HOUSE (Laurie Faria Stolarz)

3.71 STARS from 1,031 GoodReaders

Beware of directors bearing gifts.

ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO MEET LEGENDARY FILM DIRECTOR JUSTIN BLAKE AND GET A BEHIND-THE-SCENES LOOK AT HIS CONFIDENTIAL NEW PROJECT

Dear Dark House Dreamers,

Greetings from the Nightmare Elf. I'm sending this note to say, if you tell me your worst nightmare, I can make it go away.

When director Justin Blake runs a contest it's like none other.  The horror movie maker wants teens to tell him about their real nightmares and if they are interesting and creepy enough he'll choose them to be the winner of an all expense paid trip to a preview screening of his new movie.

I have to tell you the 7 Winners get more than they bargained for. 
 

WELCOME TO THE DARK HOUSE is fast paced creepy novel from horror princess, Laurie Faria Stolarz.  (She grew up in Salem, Mass. Really.)

The story ought to appeal to fans of the Goosebumps series who have grown up and want something more mature.  There is cursing and making out... and clowns.  I hate clowns.

WELCOME TO THE DARK HOUSE begins with Ivy, a girl whose parents were murdered one night while she lay awake hearing strange noises.  She is not a particular fan of the horror genre but she is desperate for a get-away from her family for awhile, and so she enters the contest.  The other contestants are different in that each one is a huge fan of movie-maker Blake and his nightmarish characters. And they all are enjoying themselves as they fly into the remote location, are whisked off to a duplicate of Blake's horror hotel in a hearse.

The fun pretty much continues until the gang get to the amusement park. Then it gets so weird that the kids figure that they must be contestants in a new Reality Show.  But it's not a Reality Show at all, but their nightmares come to life.


WELCOME TO THE DARK HOUSE is told from multiple points of view as each character fills you in on their background and why they entered. I thought the plot was interesting but derivative, so probably better for middle-graders and young adults than older readers like myself.  First book in a series.

NOW WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? PACK YOUR BAGS... AND PREPARE FOR THE SCARE OF YOUR LIFE.

Pam~


WELCOME TO THE DARK HOUSE
by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Reading Information:
Word Count: 62,601
Page Count:
Accelerated Reader:  5.1 / points: 9.0
AR quiz: 168103
--sample pages and reviews available
--all links to amazon.com

updated by Pam
August 2015

Review: NEVER ENDING by Martyn Bedford

4.09 STARS from 56 GoodReaders

**Starred Review** Kirkus
**Starred Review** ALA Booklist

Death.  NEVER ENDING is about death and life, guilt and the choices people make. It's about how microscopic missteps can lead to catastrophes that carry people beyond their abilities to cope. And as you can expect, it takes finesse to make stories like this work. John Greene can do it. And so too can Martyn Bedford. 

BACKSTORY

In the wake of 12 year old Declan's death, Sioban (Shiv) and her family break down. Her mother becomes silent and distant while Shiv acts out, having spells of destruction that she can't even remember. And when local therapies prove to be insufficient, Shiv's father signs her up for a different sort of in-patient therapy.  This is how Shiv finds herself with 4 other young people at the Korsakoff Clinic.

Siobhan's story is told through two time lines.  Shiv's (Siobhan's) torturous journey through therapy is intertwined with the tale of her family's sun kissed vacation in Greece.  The first time line made her tragedy very real to me. The second kept me chained to the book so that I read it all in one day.  I was so curious about exactly what had happened that led to her 12 year old brother's death. I was also curious about whether the other participants could make it through their 60 days of therapy.  Whether they could shed enough of the guilt that they could finally resolve to go ahead and live their lives.

------------------------------------------------------------------
Review: INFINITE SKY
Review: CHASING SHADOWS
Review: REALITY BOY
Review: FANGIRL  
------------------------------------------------------------------

NEVER ENDING is a fast paced contemporary novel. Part drama, part mystery. There's humor and good writing.  The ending flowed naturally from the narrative but it was almost anticlimactic after all the characters had been through.

Definitely recommend this to readers looking for a smart drama. 

Pam~


Never Ending
by Martyn Bedford

Reading Information:
Page Count:  304
no reading information currently available
--sample pages and reviews available
-- read review by Outlaw Poet

Review: CALIFORNIA BONES by Greg Van Eekhout

4.31 avg rating — 26 ratings

~ADULT WORTHY!

Next from the zipper case, Sebastian produced his torch. In outward appearance it looked very much like a cigarette lighter of burnished copper, but it was an intricate instrument with inner workings as complex as a fine watch. Sebastian thumbed it open and dialed the flame to a precise temperature. He applied to the bottom of the shell, and the flamed changed color fading from intense red to pale peach and then to an invisible heat. The flame wasn't just coming from he torch. Daniel's father was fueling it to, and his heat baked Daniel's face.

For a stretch of time, nothing happened. Sebastian remained perfectly still, holding the torch steady. Daniel's foot began to fall asleep, so he counted ocean waves to take his mind off the tingling. By the time he got to seventy-five,the kracken shavings had melted to a tiny pool of molten silver. Sebastian spit into the shell. He wasn't a tobacco user, but  his saliva was the same rich brown as the tar-infused bone handle of his scalpel. The kraken shavings burst into flame, with tall flickerings of gas-jet blue.

"Our bodies are cauldrons," he said, "and we become the magic we consume." 

He often said things like that, things that circled around the perimeter of Daniel's understanding, sometimes veering just within reach before darting away into ever widening orbits. Daniel could remember the names of osteomantic creatures and their properties __mastodon for strength, griffin for speed and flight, basilisk for venom--but he grew lost when Sebastian spoke of the root concepts of magic.

Daniel Blackland is the son of a powerful Oseomancer: someone who draws power from bone, ancient and new.  He lives in Los Angeles—the capital of the Kingdom of Southern California, a renegade country that has broken away from the rest of United States. Los Angeles is a city of gondolas and magic that is ruled by the Hierarch, a tyrannical leader. 

Daniel lives in hiding on th  margins of society. The Hierarch murdered his parents and ate his father to get at the power that lay in Sebastian's bones. Daniel would love to escape the city but it's not easily done. The borders are guarded and it takes money to pay one's way out and to set up in a new location.  And so he scrounges magic and with the help of a few friends, commits small heists and thefts.

Daniel is 'safe' because the government believes he died with his mother. However a fluke police scan turns up evidence that he is alive, and suddenly Daniel is both the hunted and the hunter, because he gets news that the sword his father made for him is deep in a vault beneath the earth. And the sword which contains part of Daniel is going to be used by the Hierarch unless Daniel can get it back.

It's not clear to me whether CALIFORNIA BONES is to be marketed as YA or just an Adult novel. The protagonist, Daniel Blackland, certainly is young enough to qualify as a Young Adult character.  But in any case, there is no reason that the audience for this book should be limited.  The writing is excellent and the story is solid.  

CALIFORNIA BONES has some of the best, most creative world building I've run across this year. Eekhout's handling of magic is outstanding.  And as a novel it's something of a hybrid, being part urban fantasy part heist-adventure.

Despite Daniel's being pivotal to the plot, the story is actually told in two narratives. One is his and the other is Gabriel's.  Gabriel, a mild-mannered bureaucrat, enters the story as the member of the government who stumbles upon Daniel's existence. And with the help of his hunter dog, Max (a magic altered human), he tracks Daniel and his friends, and it's a race to see who gets to the sword first.

I really loved this world.  It was just so well done, and Eekhout's writing is superb.  Not being a fan of heist novels the story dragged for me, and I actually became more attached to Gabriel and Max, than Daniel and friends. I think most readers of urban fantasy are going to rate this 5 STARS.

Read some sample chapters and decide for yourself.

Pam~


CALIFORNIA BONES
by Greg van Eekhout

Reading Information:
Page Count: 304
no reading information currently available
--sample pages and reviews available
--read good 5-Star review

Review: THE STRANGE MAID by Tessa Gratton

4.21 avg rating — 19 ratings

~ADULT WORTHY!

I was born under a frenzied star, so our poets would say. Which meant only that I was wild and loud as a child, always running off crying or laughing at nothing my parents could see.

But when I was seven years old, I went truly mad.

It was winter, a week after my birthday and my parents had been dead for a month. Shot down far away from me, with nothing to protect them but prayers and hymnals, neither of which could stop bullets. A bruise ached on my chest over my heart where I pressed my fists every morning, every night, and all through the funeral service staring at the empty pyre, for we had no bodies to burn. I had to hold in the wail of grief beating through my blood because the god my family served did not scream.

It's pain and grief that defines THE STRANGE MAID's story. Driven by sorrow, Signy climbs the New World Tree where she begins to rip leaves from the branches with the rage that seethes to the surface. And it's there that Odin appears to her. The Alfather tells her that he has waited for one like her, and he claims her as his own. And Signy becomes Signy Valborn. A valkyrie.

Only it's not so simple thing to be a valkyrie. There is schooling and there are challenges. And to Signy's disgust the valkyries have become tame. They are no longer fierce but have become political helpers to important members of government. And it is not within Signy to do this. And perhaps that is why on the eve of her 'rising' some one of the gods has put given her a riddle to solve.  It's a riddle that drives her from the home she has had with the Valkyries. It's something that makes her look deep inside herself to define who and what she will become.  

The riddle brings her to Ned the Spiritless who will become her teacher. It will lead them in turn to mountain trolls, beserkers, Soren Bearskin, and ultimately to the end of a bitter-sweet journey. 

I loved THE STRANGE MAID. It's surprising dark. Surprising fierce.  Beautifully written.

If you loved Tessa Gratton's first book, LOST SUN, you should know that this book is very different.  LOST SUN is a much more upbeat adventure. It's basically a road trip where the world of the United States of Asgard to laid out for us to enjoy.  THE STRANGE MAID in contrast has the dark elements I hinted at.  There is death and animal sacrifice, drinking and even sex.  Signy is a true Valkyrie. She doesn't shy away from killing. So that this book might not be for everyone.

I thought it was a well written epic adventure.  Can't wait for book #3.

Pam~


THE STRANGE MAID
(United States of Asgard #2)
by Tessa Gratton

Reading Information:
Page Count: 304
no reading information currently available
--sample pages and reviews available

Review: INFINITE SKY by C.J. Flood

3.79 STARS from 462 GoodReaders

You can't tell that the coffin holds the body of a boy. 

He wasn't even sixteen, but his coffin's the same size as a man's would be.

It's not just that he was young, bu because it was so sudden. No one should die the way he did: that's what the faces here say.

I think about him, in there, with all that space, and I want to stop them. I want to open the box and limb in with him. To wrap him up in a duvet. I can't bear the thought of him being cold.

And all the time the same question flails around my head, like a hawk moth round a lightbulb. Is it possible to keep loving somebody when they kill someone you love?

This is the prologue to CJ Flood's INFINITE SKY.  The narrative by thirteen year-old Iris Dancy gives readers the bitter sweet story of young love. A forbidden love that ends in murder.

------------------------------------------------------------------
Review: CHASING SHADOWS
Review: REALITY BOY
Review: FANGIRL  (light-hearted drama)
------------------------------------------------------------------

BACKSTORY

The Dancy family is self destructing.  Iris' mother upped and left. In her absence the household routine has ceased. Meals are haphazard and the house is a mess. Iris and her brother, Sam, struggle with their feelings of abandonment.  And their friends and father don't make the situation better. Mr. Dancy is drinking heavily, so when Gypsies move onto their property, it's possible for anything to happen. Even love. Even death.

It was three months after Mum left that the Gypsies moved in. They set up camp in the paddock one Sunday night while we were asleep.  My brother Sam was excited when he saw them.

"Gypos!" he shouted.

Sam used to have a Gypsy in his class: Grace Fitzpatrick. She'd been famous at school because she could do as many things with her feet as with her hands. She could even write her name with them, which was funny because she couldn't read. Sam, who'd sat next to her in assembly, said she smelled like cat piss and fire smoke.

The prolog sets the stage of INFINITE SKY.  As the book unfolds the reader is left wondering who was killed and how.  Is it Sam?  Is it the gypsy boy, Trick? 

The story is bitter-sweet and many of my friends loved it. To be truthful though it wasn't for me. The writing was excellent, but I just couldn't connect with Iris.  But don't keep you from investigating this debut novel.  

http://www.telegraph.co.uk  review

amazon reviews

theguardian.com review

Pam~


INFINITE SKY
by C.J. Flood

Reading Information:
Page Count: 256
no reading information currently available
--sample pages and reviews available

Review: THE SCREAMING STAIRCASE (Lockwood & Company) by Jonathan Stroud

~ADULT WORTHY!

4.24 STARS from 3,321 GoodReaders

Sherlock Holmes. That's what I thought of when I read this book. THE SCREAMING STAIRCASE gave me the same pleasure as the Arthur Conan Doyle books did. 

Granted the storyline is vastly different.  Doyle might have suggested the mysterious and the macabre but his feet were solidly set in reality.  Stroud's book is not.  It's a fantasy, but it's not treated as one.  There's no loopy magic or dragons.  Instead Stroud defines his universe and it seems very proper and reasonable.

BACKSTORY:

Fifty years before this story takes place the world changed. Ghostly phenomena, which had previously been the subject of television and movies, moved into 'real life'.  And not only did ghosts erupt onto the scene, they were much more numerous than anyone expected, and they were perversely powerful.

Society was at a loss. And a large part of the problem was that adults couldn't sense the ghosts. Not until it was too late. Children though... children could see them and/or hear them, and thus it was that society reevaluated child exploitation, and youngsters began to be hired for their abilities to sense and defeat the ghosts with the aid of adult managers and the Fitts Manual. That latter is a book that categorizes the apparitions by type and power, and which also outlines and describes the skills and tools needed to put an end to the ghosts.

SKIP OVER AND START READING

THE SCREAMING STAIRCASE begins with the introduction of our narrator, Lucy.  We're given the short curriculum vitae and then we follow her as she goes to London seeking employment with Lockwood and Company. 

Lockwood is Anthony Lockwood. He's roughly Lucy's age, but unlike all of the other child agents, he runs his own firm and doesn't work under the guidance of an adult. 

And 'Company' really means George. George is the academic of the bunch. A library geek and not without features of interest.  But it is Lucy's relationship with the two that grabbed my attention.  Lucy's a fabulous character. She's smart and brave and what most of us want in a female character --she's strong.  And when it comes to the cast, Lockwood is 'Holmes' to Lucy's 'Watson'.  There's no sappy romance. They are peers. 

I could gush on but it comes down to this. THE SCREAMING STAIRCASE is a fabulously Good story with Good characters and Solid world-building.  I adore this book and HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.

Pam~

[YA. Not for children. It's not all that gory, but it is scary with events that might be too intense for younger readers.]


LOCKWOOD & CO. -- THE SCREAMING STAIRCASE
by Jonathan Stroud

Reading Information:
Word Count: 92,073
Page Count: 400
Accelerated Reader: 5.1 / points: 14.0
AR quiz: 160996
Lexile: 720L
--sample pages available
--audio version available (it's under the bookcover on amazon. Do listen to it.)
--see introductory pages on this blog

Review: MARY: THE SUMMONING (Hillary Monahan)

3.70 STARS from 619 GoodReaders

"Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary. BLOODY MARY," Jess shouted.

The candle on the vanity cast eerie shadows, our forms tall and distorted against the walls. Our hands were clenched together so tightly our fingers trembled.

Jess, Shauna, Kitty, and Anna are a tight group. Best friends forever-- which is how Jess coaxes them into a tiny bathroom in her basement to play at calling Bloody Mary. The only problem is Bloody Mary is real and the girls are totally successful in calling the ghoul.

 [Jess] understood people. If she wanted the four of us to do something, she'd appeal to us in whatever way would get her results.

and famous last words...

"I won't take any risks. I told you I was being safe."

Hillary Monahan tells this creepy tale in two narratives. The first unfolds through Mary's letters to her sister, Constance. They begin playfully in September of 1864, with Mary teasing her sister, saying that she's an 'abysmal sister' to have married the best man in the area and then run off to the big city.

Unfortunately the letters don't stay cheerful for long. A dark presence seems to have moved into their small town and the correspondence begins to foreshadow terrible events that lead to Mary's becoming an evil, restless spirit.

Shauna tells the present day story. We follow her as she and her friends call the murdering ghoul. And it's horrifying how Mary escapes the mirror and nearly drags Shauna into the world beyond. Worse, Mary gets a taste of Shauna's blood and begins to haunt her wherever there is a shiny surface.

------------------------------------------------------------------
Review: IN THE SHADOWS
Review: MISTWALKER 
Review: THE GHOST BOX 
Review: LIV, FOREVER
------------------------------------------------------------------

THE SUMMONING is a fun read. The scary-suspenseful parts are well written. Definitely Adult Worthy. Unfortunately for adults the sections of the story that portray the girls at high school or at home are not as well written, and it's likely that adults will end up skimming some of these parts because they seem so immature.  Middle-graders and other teens will no doubt find them more tolerable.

There are definitely things to like about THE SUMMONING. The story is intriguing. The suspenseful parts are well done for a middle-grade/YA book. And I liked how the author portrayed Shauna as a rational person. When there was a problem Shauna didn't let it boil but rather said what needed to be said that so issues didn't get worse.  I also like the mystery about poor Mary. What exactly did happen to her?  (We won't know until book #2)

Some profanity. One sexual reference.

Pam~


THE SUMMONING
(Bloody Mary #1)
by Hillary Monahan

Reading Information:
Page Count: 256
no reading information currently available
--sample pages and reviews available

Mary lingered. She'd shifted positions so she was clear now, her palms against the glass, the pads of her fingers smushed like she'd pressed too hard. She watched us with her sunken eyes, a small stream of yellow pus oozing from her tear ducts.

updated August 2015

Review: GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE by Andrew Smith

3.90 STARS — 1,877 GoodReaders

The GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE was a really interesting read. It has characters that were very well developed and if I had to classify it, I would say that it is a Coming-of-Age/Scifi hybrid.

***Special Note
Consider yourself warned.  I have to say that this will not be a book for everyone. There's a huge focus on sex and the book is rife with profanity. Even the giant bugs have sex-- and they may have said some naughty things too.

The end of the world began at about 2:00 a.m., around three-and-a-half feet away from a discarded floral-print sleeper sofa infested with pubic lice in Ealing, Iowa. 

BACKSTORY
Austin Szerba lives in a small town in Iowa.  He has a best friend .AND. a girlfriend .AND. life is pretty good. That is until Austin and friend accidentally unleash an army of unstoppable giant praying mantises.

The story is told from Austin's point of view.  It's unique in that he considers himself a historian of his own life. And ultimately we readers get to experience two timelines. The first timeline is in the present as Austin maneuvers through school and life in a small town. The other begins with his grandfather's survival of WWII.  It leads to Austin's father's birth and eventually Austin's own arrival into the world. It's a tale of how it took luck and perfect timing to initiate the destruction of the United States of America, and Austin's survival of it.


Three Stars?  Four Stars?  This is one of those difficult books to rate. I enjoyed reading GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE and feel my time wasn't wasted,  BUT I really have no desire to every read it again.

“Everyone on every road that crossed beneath the point of my pen was always going to do the same things over and over and over.
I was confused.
How could I be in love with a girl ‘and’ a boy, at the same time?
I was trapped forever.
You know what I mean.”

THE GOOD

--How the story was constructed. The use of historical perspective was just great.

--Portrayal of teen angst.  You should know that a large portion of this book is character development of teens.  And there's a wonkingly large amount of angst involved; and it is very well done.

--Humor.  Wonderful humor throughout. Some of it is gallows humor but most is just humor involving the human condition. Delicious.

THE LESS GOOD

--There's a lack of drama involving the creatures. They were never scary. And not all that funny either.

--The book's too long. I love quirky books. Especially a quirky book with interesting characters, but the amount of quirky I can appreciate is limited.  This book frequently bored me. It might not be that way for you.

--Repetitive. The main character is so obsessed with his 'manly parts' that it ended up being boringly repetitive.

So why is GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE on MUSTREADYA?  [Yes, GoodBooksforKids is going to become MUSTREAD YA and KIDLIT when I have time.] It's on the blog because the characters, both primary and secondary, are well drawn.  And it's on here because I was glad I read the book, and I think others are going to enjoy it as well.

Pam~


GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE
by Andrew Smith

Reading Information:
Word Count: 100,976
Page Count: 432
Accelerated Reader: 6.2 / points: 16.0
AR quiz: 165472
--sample pages and reviews available

Other resources:
NYTimes review
Washington Post review
Entertainment review
CommonsenseMedia

Review: LIV, FOREVER by Amy Talkington

3.77 STARS — 368 GoodReaders

It sucks to be dead.

I collapsed onto the ground. I swung my arms and felt stinging pain as they whipped right through the dead leaves. Through them. Not possible. I paused --calmed--tried to pick up a leaf. I focused intensely. I had to pick up that leaf. It would mean everything was normal. I managed to manipulate it between my fingers, but touching it caused a burning sensation on my fingertips as if it's orange-red color was actual fire. I moved it barely--almost imperceptibly. Then I dropped it and slumped over, my whole being exhausted ad weakened as if I'd just carried a heavy piece of furniture up a flight of stairs.

BACKSTORY

Liv Bloom has the opportunity of a lifetime. She's gotten a scholarship to the elite Wickham Hall school. When she arrives she finds that she doesn't fit in, but she doesn't care. They've given her a gorgeous studio with tons of supplies. And even better, before she dies she finds the boy that has all the makings to be her one great love.

YES, I said die. Poor Liv doesn't get to make much art or spend much time with her new boyfriend before she is murdered. The question is why? Why was she murdered and why does she see all these other ghosts?

The story centers around 3 characters: Liv, her love Malcolm, and a remarkable boy she meets by happenstance, Gabe.  Gabe's claim to fame, besides the fact that he is also an outlier in their world of super rich children, is that he can see ghosts. And it's the three of them that set out to discover who has been murdering girls over the centuries.

------------------------------------------------------------------
Review: IN THE SHADOWS
Review: MISTWALKER 
Review: THE GHOST BOX
------------------------------------------------------------------

Remarkably, LIV, FOREVER, with all of the ghosts and deaths, is a sweet story. It's also a very quick read.  A little slow in the beginning but that's more or less necessary to create the background and to invest the reader in the characters.  I enjoyed how the three worked out the mystery. Liv can talk to Gabe and Gabe to Malcolm so it made for a fun communication triangle.

For those that don't like high-stress/suspense stories, don't worry. LIV, FOREVER is not like that. It's a highly enjoyable twinkie read that would be suitable for Middle-graders and Young Adults. I enjoyed it.  

Pam~


LIV, FOREVER
by Amy Talkington

Reading Information:
Word Count:  66,148
Page Count:  278
Accelerated Reading level: 4.7 / points: 10.0
AR quiz: 164732
--sample pages and other reviews available
--audio version available
--sample e-chapters available

Review: SKULK

 

3.93 STARS from 67 GoodReaders

SKULK is a fun read, but to be honest it took me over 50 pages to be drawn into the story.  After that I sank into the adventure and enjoyed not only Meg, but her comrades.

Backstory:

Meg is bright girl that lives in London with her dysfunctional parents. Her father, an architect, basically ignores her; as if Meg was his wife's project. 

Her mother, on the other hand, won't leave her alone.  Instead of giving her room to breath and grow, Meg's mom harasses her and controls her to the extent that she monitors every calorie that goes into her mouth. 

 

As you'd expect Meg seeks a way to keep her sanity and express her individuality.  Graffiti becomes her secret hobby. Meg's involved with the community on the internet, and she's involved as an artist.

Creating her street art is how she becomes a shapeshifter.  She's got a spray can in her hands when an injured man stumbles upon her.  And it's when he dies that Meg inherits his ability to shift. Which is part Very Cool, and part Curse.

Other Info

• The plotting revolves around coveted jewels that the shifters are tasked to protect. 
• The shifters fall into four groups: a skulk of foxes, a conspiracy of crows, a rabble of butterflies, and a horde of rats. 

My View

SKULK was a fun adventure and Ms. Best worked hard to make Meg's London come to life.  Class distinctions and the differences between educated people and less educated folk were very realistic, but not over-played and in your face.

One of the things I especially liked was the romance between Meg and Mo, the street artist whose work she admires.  It totally worked for me. And even better, the romance stayed in the background where it belongs. Meg's and Mo's affection wasn't insta-love, nor sappy, nor did it dominate the story.

Now a plot about mystical jewels that need to be protected, and which are being stolen, is nothing new.  But the author's setting and characters are good and make the book worth reading.

You'll need some Suspension of Disbelief. And there's mild, non-graphic violence and some mild swearing.  SKULK would be suitable for Middle-graders, and even Tweens if they are ready for a scene where a 'date' tries to feel Meg up.

RECOMMEND TO those in the mood for a fantasy that doesn't stretch your credibility. Accept shape-shifters in our modern times and you are pretty much good to go. I found it a bit slow to start, but ultimately SKULK was worth the time.

Pam~


SKULK
by Rosie Best

Reading Information:
Page Count: 400
no reading information currently available
-- sample pages and price

In Brief

Principal character:: Meg, she's a rather realistic character for this genre.  She has great strength, but also is vulnerable because of the way her parents treated her.
Voice(s)::  first person
Time Frame:: modern
Cursing::  some
Sexual content::  mild
Humor:: definitely
Creepy:: not really
Fantasy:: yes
Pacing:: it took me a while to be drawn into the story
Disbelief O'meter:: on the low side once you accept premise

Writing (poor/good/amazing):: good
Satisfying:: yes
Worst Part (beginning/middle/end):: beginning
Best Part (beginning/middle/end):: middle
Best Parts::  evil pigeons and the bad characters in general are well done

Review: Dolores Huerta: A Hero To Migrant Workers

What a wonderful book! Dolores Huerta: A Hero to Migrant Workers is beautifully illustrated in warm, kid-friendly tones by the brilliant Robert Casilla.

And Sarah Warren's approach to Huerta's story is really smart. Rather than just lay out the cold facts,  she describes Dolores' life work under the umbrella of short descriptors, so that in essence she writes that,

Dolores is...
a detective
a friend
a warrior
an organizer
a storyteller
a peacemaker
a mother
a woman
a fortuneteller
a hunter
a teacher.

Besides engaging the reader's curiosity, I think this approach helps to organize the material so that children get the point of each section.

Here's an example that accompanies the page from above:

Dolores is a detective.
She follows the kids home. She asks the moms why their kids are hungry and sick. She asks the dads why their children don't have shoes.

The parents say their bosses don't pay them enough money for good food or new clothes or a visit to the doctor. These parents work hard.  They pick grapes all morning. They pick grapes all afternoon. They pick grapes until night, but they are paid too little and shoes cost too much.

You can see Dolores' concern about the children in the text and picture above.  Just as you can see that she's not intimidated during a meeting with the men in suits.

Written at the 3rd Grade level, Sarah Warren's book clearly explains why and how Dolores and others formed a union.  And what their goals were.

This book would be an excellent choice for book reports, or discussions about LABOR DAY, Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month, and about the role of women in US history.

Robert Casilla's beautiful illustrations are icing on the cake.

I hope you share this book with your children.

Pam~



Dolores Huerta: A Hero To Migrant Workers
by Sarah E. Warren
Robert Casilla (Illustrator)

Reading Information:
Word Count: 652
Page Count: 32
Accelerated Reading level: 3.0 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 157945
Lexile Measure: 520L
-- sample pages and price

Other reviews you might be interested in

•  Susan B. Anthony
• Clara Barton
• Rosa Parks
  --2nd Grade reading level
  --3rd Grade
• Eleanor Roosevelt
• Sojourner Truth
• Cesar Chavez