The Challenge Part 2

Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia Wrede

I hated this book.  I’m not sure what it was that made me loath it, but over all I just didn’t like the writing style, the characters, or the pace. The book is set in 19^th century England, but with magic as an everyday thing.  One cousin was in the country and the other was in the city to find a husband.  The story goes back and forth in the form of letters between the two.  I really thought this book would fit the book club requirements because it has mystery and sorcery and intrigue, but it just did not work for me.  I will say that a coworker of mine loved the book and thought it was one of the best mysteries that she had read in a while.   

Shadowland by Meg Cabot

So the main character is 16 and moving from New York City to California to live with her mom and new Father-in-Law.  She has always been able to see ghosts and she is freaked out to be moving to a new place and maybe new ghosts.  She is right of course.  Soon there is a handsome ghost haunting her bedroom and a mean ghost haunting her school.  I liked this one and I would recommend it to younger teens.  Meg Cabot is always an easy and fun read.

The New Policeman by Kate Thompson

This one is more fantasy than mystery.  It has to do with a boy who discovers that time is leaking out of the human world and into the fairy world.  He investigates and finds out about a crime his grandfather has been accused of and a lot about his family history.  The book features lots of Irish music and is interesting.  I think it would be good for adults who like Irish music and for teens who are advanced readers.  (Some of the Irish terms might slow down already struggling readers.)

The Season by Sarah Maclean

This is a very girly read.  Lady Alexandra does not want to be part of the dinner parties and grand balls that a wealthy lady in the 1900s is supposed to attend.  She is soon able to find distraction when she helps the handsome Gavin try to figure out if his father’s death was an accident or murder.  The idea for the book seems great, but the reality is a lot more romance and a lot less mystery.  Some people might really like that, but not me.  The story was well written and the dialog was interesting, but I wanted a mystery not a regency romance. 

Through Her Eyes by Jennifer Archer

If I’m telling the truth I didn’t read this one.  Normally I would just not do the review, but because this book was on the list I feel like I have to say something.  It was recommended to me by someone who likes ghost stories (which I also like).  She loved the book and thought the twist on a ghost story was original and cool.  After reading the back of the book I decided that it was not really a mystery so I don’t have time to read it now, but I might come back to it at another time.

LuLu Dark Can See Through Walls by Madison Bennett

LuLu is a teen girl living in a big city.  She and her friends go out to a club to see a new band and her purse gets stolen, along with the phone number of the super cute band front man.  She tries to find the purse and figure out why people keep saying that they saw her acting crazy at the club hours after she was at home and in bed.  She and her friends get pulled into a mystery involving murder and identity theft.  It could have been a serious story, but it wasn’t.  I didn’t mind because I like imperfect even silly main characters, (think Stephanie Plum) but if you like your sleuths a little more serious this is not the book for you.  This was a fun teen read with just a little romance. 

Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock

What’s a high school senior supposed to do when her best friend has been murdered by a white werewolf and a crazy extremist group has come to her town in order hunt down the killer? Well she tries to move on with her life, which is really hard because her friend is haunting her dreams. In the end she tries to figure out who really killed her best friend.  I liked this story because it’s a mystery, ghost story, werewolf story, and urban fantasy.  I would have liked it better if it was not going to be a trilogy, but you can’t always get what you want.  

Clarity by Kim Harrington

A family of psychics lives in a small tourist town.  They do readings for the tourists and make enough money during the tourist season to last them the winter.  Everything is going ok for the mom, sister, and brother until a girl turns up dead.  Clarity (Clare) is the main character and she soon finds herself trying to solve the murder because her brother is the prime suspect.  The book moved fast and the characters are all realistic.  Because the mystery moves fast it leaves little time for angsty teen romance.  (There is a little time but not so much that I wanted to throw the book.)  Overall I liked the book and would recommend it to teens looking for a fast read.

Dead is the New Black by Marlene Perez

Daisy’s mom and sisters all have some supernatural / psychic ability and the book starts out with Daisy worrying that she will never come into her powers.  The mystery comes from the fact that her mother helps the police solve crimes.  When a seemingly unsolvable case comes up Daisy wants to prove to her family that she can help even without powers.  I liked the realistic interaction between the characters.  The mystery itself is a little thin, but the book is enjoyable. 

At the end of the day I chose to skip the supernatural and go for The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley.  My book club is an adult book club, but we only read Teen fiction.  I thought for a change we would read and Adult book that features a Teen (12 years old) main character.  We will see how that goes. 

 

The Abused Werewolf RescueGgroup by Catherine Jinks

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Toby wakes up in the hospital after being found in a Dingo pen at the local zoo. His mom and doctors are concerned, but he seems healthy and goes home. Soon strangers come to his door to tell him that he is a werewolf; all of this in modern Australia. Because Catherine Jinks is not Stephanie Meyer, Toby and his mom don't just believe and accept what the mysterious strangers tell them. They do the normal and responsible thing, which is to threaten to call the police and kick the strangers out of there house. As it turns out, that is not the best thing for Toby. Soon he has been kidnapped by bad guys, who like to hold werewolf fights. Toby and a cast of characters come up against the bad guys to disastrous results.


One thing I always like about the Catherine Jinks books is that the parents are never useless. They always play a part in the story. I also like the way that there are crossover characters from The Reformed Vampire Support Group in this book. I loved that book and I ‘m glad to know what’s going on with them. I liked this book, but the story seems to stagnate near the end. We spend so much time in the bad guy’s house it starts to feel like we are really there, and we are never getting out. Maybe that’s what she was going for, because I felt like I could sympathize with Toby. I wanted out too. Some readers may love this story, but it was a little slow for me. I’m not saying not to read it, but be prepared for it to be not as good as The Reformed Vampire Support Group.

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Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements

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Bobby is a regular teen living in a regular town.  His parents are smart scholarly types and he does just fine in school. Everything is running smoothly until he wakes up one morning and is invisable.  As he tries to figure out how to become visable again he and his parents struggle with the rumers that he is a missing person. 

This book caught me right away.  Bobby and his parents are realistic characters, who deal with his invisability the way most families probably would.  I love the way that everything is normal and true to life, except for the whole invisability thing.  I would reccomend this book to guys and girls who like scifi and realistic fiction. 

The Turning Book 1: What Curiosity Kills by Helen Ellis

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“Don’t worry Kitty, There’s no such thing as vampires.”  This is a great opening line for a book...What follows is Mary’s story.  When the stray cat brushes her legs with his tail,, and she starts to sprout orange fur, she knows that something about her is different.  When Nick, the super hot guy from school, tries to explain everything to her, she is exposed to the dangerous world of stray cats and New York back alleys.  Twilight fans will like the undercurrent of romance, and girls will like the varied strong female characters.  Fans of the Erin Hunter Warriors Series and everyone who likes felines will like this take on cat fiction.  

This was an interesting book.  The end was fun and a little cute.  This book is a quick and interesting read.  I loved Ms. Whiskers and all of the librarians.  It seems like this will be a series, since this one is called “Book 1”.  

The Enemy by Charlie Higson

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Another Good Zombie Story.  This one is Lord of the Flies meets 20 Days Later.  In the not to distant future, London, and the rest of the world has fallen victim to a strange and horrible plague.  The sickness affected only people over the age of 16.  Everyone over 16 has been afflicted with a sickness that wiped out almost every adult.  Those who survived are flesh eating animals.  The kids are the only reasonable people left and they are trying to etch out an existence while avoiding starvation and gangs of flesh eating zombie adults.  

The book could have been cheesy, but it is poignant.  In the fashion of Golding, the author manages to portray kids and early teens as they are, and could be.  Higson shows us many sides of the main characters, and tells the story from the point of view of many different characters.  The story sucked me in and didn’t let go until the end.  Every time you think you know what’s going to happen next, you are surprised.  This is how a zombie story should be. the zombies are the backdrop for the real action...how the kids interact.  READ IT!

Ghost Huntress Series by Marley Gibson

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Kendall is a psychic who has a ghost guide.  When she gets her powers she and her friends decide to use her gift to help others.  They become ghost hunters.  Their job is to track down spirits who are not at rest and help them to move on.

Kenda;;'s friends are realistic and the dialog between the characters reds true to the way that teens talk to each other.  It's not very scary (to spite the ghosts) and has a good female empowerment message.  These books won't change your life but they make for fun summer reading. 

The books in order are:
The Awakening
The Guidance
The Reason

Thirteen Days to Midnight by Patrick Carman

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     If you could have only one superpower what would it be?  Think about it because it's very important.  This is Jakes question to the reader.  He has a secret; he has a power.  When his friends Ophelia and Milo accidentally discover his gift they start on a deadly adventure.
     What seems like a regular superhero story is actually a well written look at the way people deal with death.  The characters are all well formed and the plot is realistic.  How would a person with a special gift really act?  What would life really be like if you had a superpower?
     This book is amazing.  I loved it from start to finish.  Patrick Carman is a genius!  Think about what you would really do or or what your life would be like if you were indestructible.  This book is a must read for anyone who loves comics and superheroes.  If you never really understood what Uncle Ben meant when he said, "With great power comes great responsibility."  you will understand by the time you get to the end of this book.