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.

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Review: IN THE SHADOWS
Review: MISTWALKER 
Review: THE GHOST BOX
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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: THE GHOST BOX by Catherine Fisher

THE GHOST BOX is a Hi-Lo book from Catherine Fisher and Stoke Books.  It's an exciting story about a girl and a ghost-boy from the past, whose soul was snatched up and placed in silver box.

Backstory:

Sarah's mom is a sculptor.  Her step-father, Gareth, is a bit uptight, but Sarah likes him.  Who she doesn't like is Gareth's son, Matt.  Matt's a rather obnoxious 'goth' teen and as the story begins the two aren't seeing eye to eye.  

It's not long before the mystery begins.  At a swank party Sarah sees a painting of her home as it was a century before. The picture draws her attention and before she knows it, there are eyes peering out at her from the leaves of the tree that once stood outside her window. This is the first sign that she's been drawn into the curse that keeps the boy's ghost from being free to leave this world.  And that night the boy appears and begs her for help to find the key that will unlock the silver box with it's strange lettering.

A shadow fell across the painting and Gareth came up behind her.

"So here you are!"

He put his glasses on and stared at the old barn with interest. "Oh look! Our house. Pretty good, isn't it?"

Sarah couldn't answer. She stared at the tree but there was nothing in its leaves now, no birds, no face, no sly eye that closed.

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Review: IN THE SHADOWS
Review: MISTWALKER
Review: LIV, FOREVER
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The end of each chapter is perfect.  A mini-cliff hanger that compels the reader forward. The end comes a bit abruptly, but with a satisfactory manner with the nature of the curse being revealed, and familial relationships being repaired.  And I found myself wishing there was a 'next story' to be shared by Sarah and Matt.

She grabbed the door handle and took a deep breath. Then she flung the door open and stormed in.

No one was there.

The curtains moved in the stillness.  The belt of her bathrobe swung softly to and fro.

She let out her breath.

There was a smell.

A wet, cloying smell, like something rotten.

Personally, I liked this story and I think it should appeal to Tweens, Middle-graders and some young adults/adults who like spooky goodness.  The book is a very quick read and should be thought of as a short story for more accomplished readers.

Pam~
 

THE GHOST BOX
by Catherine Fisher

Reading Information:
Page Count: 67 (although it seemed much shorter to me. I read it as an ebook from the publisher. It took about an hour.)

no Accelerated Reader information currently available
Lexile HL520L reading level

You might be interested in...

• Hi-Lo Books At the 1st Grade Level
• Hi-Lo Books At the 2nd Grade Level 
• R. L. Stine / HORRORLAND series
• Goosebumps

Review: TURN LEFT AT THE COW by Lisa Bullard

4 STARS from 14 GoodReaders

Published October 8th 2013

TURN LEFT AT THE COW is a good, old-fashioned mystery book that has a lot of appeal.

Targeted Middle-graders, it's funny and has good characters and enough excitement and tension that moms, tweens, and young adults might also pick up.

Background
Travis is 13 and lives in California.  You might think that would be good, but the fact is that he's annoyed with his mom's new marriage. And when friction between Travis and his step-dad heats up, Travis decides to make a surprise trip to see his grandmother in rural Minnesota.

Grandmother is delighted to see him, however his arrival sets the community on edge because Trav looks a lot like his father; and his father is thought to have robbed a bank and either died or disappeared.


And thus begins the mystery.  Did Travis' dad steal the money?  Did he die?  Is he on a tropical island somewhere?  And why the heck did the stolen bank money suddenly appear in town?

With neighbor Kenny's and Iz's help, Travis sets out to discover what happened years ago; and exactly where the money has been all this time.  

Clue's abound in TURN LEFT AT THE COW and it's a solid little mystery suitable for almost age group.  I thought it was a good read, and I loved the humor, pot-lucks and other rural references. 

Pam~



TURN LEFT AT THE COW
by Lisa Bullard

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

Review: THE VANISHING OF KATHARINA LINDEN

3.60 Stars from 1,517 GoodReaders
 ALA Alex Award (2011)
Carnegie Medal in Literature Nominee 

THE VANISHING OF KATHARINA LINDEN  reminds me of one of the PBS Mysteries set in a rural English village. The sort of place where everyone knows everyone else, and where there is not much that goes on that is private. Except in this case the setting is not Northampton or Derby, but a small village in Germany. And point of view is that of a child of 10, instead of an inquisitive older lady.

The story begins right off with a death, but it isn't the one you might expect. As the first line says: "My life might have been so different if I had not been known as the girl whose grandmother exploded!"

Certainly one of the most intriguing first lines I've run across lately. But the death of Pia's Oma Kristel is really unrelated to the tragedy that strikes the Linden family. Instead it serves as an event that allows the author the opportunity to set the stage and familiarize you with the characters. It isn't until later that the school girl, Katharina Linden, goes missing, and that under the most difficult of circumstances. For you see she vanishes in the middle of a huge event featuring everyone in town that is-and-isn't in a parade. And in a small town like that, you can well imagine the shock and concern. Is there some monster that has come into our community? Or worse, is it one of our neighbors that gone crazy? Concern and grief naturally lead the people to search their town's history for clues as to what could possible have happened. And try as they might to protect her, little Pia learns more than she should, and it's through her eyes that we see the mystery evolve.

I liked the setting of this book and the little bits of German that are used throughout. I thought it help anchor the story to Germany and made the events more real. (Having a daughter the age of Pia and Katharina made for a edgy read at times.)

There were delicious moments when I was left wondering whether Helen Grant was going to take the book off into the realm of mystical events; which may have had something to do with Schwarzwald-type setting, complete with ruins and legends of dark deeds, or with the fairytales that were told to Pia.

I think this book is best read when you're in a mood to savor a place and it's history and people. The story unfolds at a pace more reminiscent of the old Agatha Cristie books than one of the 'edge of your seat' modern reads where there's never a quiet moment. Well written.

Because of the pacing I'd say this is more a book for Young Adults and Adults rather than younger teens. No violence. Some language.

Pam~


THE VANISHING OF KATHARINA LINDEN
by Helen Grant

Reading Information:
Word Count: 90,533
Page Count:  304
Accelerated Reader: 6.1 / points: 15.0
AR quiz: 154636
--sample pages and other reviews available