Tomorrow “Beautiful Lies” comes out. I got this book as an ARC through Net Galley a few months ago. It is thrilling YA fare: identical twin sisters Alice and Rachel share everything (or do they??). When one twin goes missing, some think she’s run away, but her sister believes she’s in trouble, and she has the physical manifestations to prove it. This supernatural, creepy, at times disturbing and confusing book kept me guessing (and reading) to the last page.
I love a good YA read, and this was no exception. However (and this is a SPOILER ALERT), I was confused at times. The twins are switching identities, yet people are calling them by their other twin’s name, but not all people are; and then there is the whole what is real and what is imaginary and what are ghosts theme that was profoundly confusing at times. It’s the kind of book that I like to read twice so that I can go back and pick up clues the second time through.
All in all, a page-turner that I enjoyed!
And thanks, Net Galley and Walker Children’s Books, for my copy to review!
Fitting in with my YA supernatural powers reading kick was this novel by first time author Sophie Littlefield. “Hanging by a Thread” is the suspense story of Clare Knight: new teen in town with the power to capture people’s emotions and memories from the clothes they wore. Clare has a gift for fashion and starts her own business designing and making over second-hand fashions. However, the town has a few dark secrets – such as what happened to Amanda Stavros, a teen who disappeared without a trace. Is Amanda dead? And if so, who killed her? When Clare discovers Amanda’s jacket in a bin of used clothes and starts getting emotions from it, she becomes determined to unravel the mystery – even if it means uncovering a murderer.
I really enjoyed this story, which was a quick read for me. The mystery was well-plotted and Clare was a likable character. It won’t release for a few months yet, but you can pre-order it on Amazon. I look forward to more from this author!
Thank you, Net Galley and Delacorte Books, for my copy to review!
I’ve been on a YA supernatural reading kick lately, and got this one from Net Galley last month.
“The Unquiet” is the story of Corinne – or Rinn – Jacobs, a teen who moves with her mom to a new town and new school and is looking to start over. Rinn has some serious mental health issues, and is relieved to make new friends who are accepting and understanding. Not only are these friends popular and fun to be with, the boy across the street is also amazingly cute and interested in her. All is going well until strange things start happening down a deserted hallway at school. The teens are convinced that a ghost is haunting them and Rinn decides that she will get to the bottom of all the happenings.
I really enjoyed this novel, which I would recommend for high school and up (due to mature themes). I also felt Garsee, who is a psychiatric nurse by day, did a sensitive and thoughtful job in writing of the complexities of teens on medication and of mental health.
In this story, the ghost is haunting a deserted pool area which is fenced off, but the students still pass through this dark and deserted walkway to get to class as they are not allowed to “cut through the gym”. I found this rather hard to believe until I read in the afterword that Garsee bases this story on a walkway she had in her own school as a little girl. It, too, had a disused and deserted part over to the side that totally creeped her out and stayed with her, lending itself to this ghost story now.
This book trailer – set to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata – might even be creepier than the novel!
Thanks, Net Galley and Bloomsbury USA, for my copy!
From Net Galley I received this teen romance/page-turner, telling the story of several teens on board the Titanic for its ill-fated voyage. Elizabeth is a bored, wealthy teen, who seeks to rebel against the conventions of her family and her class (including an impending engagement). Max, another teen, is also in first-class, but has been living the bohemian life as an itinerant artist in Europe (Elizabeth finds him irresistible). Katie has travelled from Ireland with two brother friends: Patrick and Brian (a bit of a love triangle ensues). More characters are met on board as the ship sails toward that fateful night and disaster.
I really enjoyed this read! I found it quick and easy and with accurate details of the disaster.
Thank you Open Road and Net Galley for my download!
If you read me regularly, you know I’ve recently read The Hunger Games trilogy because: 1) I was possibly the only blogger who hadn’t, and 2) countless friends who hadn’t read it were asking me if they should let their children read it. With the movie opening last weekend, this series is EVERYWHERE right now. Full Disclosure: I haven’t seen the movie yet due to my odd personal need to avoid crowded movie theaters. I like to wait until the crowds have petered out, or watch at home. However, I heard on NPR that the movie was not graphically violent so that it could garner a PG-13 rating as opposed to R, which supposedly it would have been if it had been filmed as written. So parents, keep that in mind.
Here’s my opinion – and PLEASE know this is MY OPINION, your own may vary. The bottom line is: YOU, the parent, are the expert on your own child (and believe me – it really is okay to say “no” or “not yet” to reading it, even if everyone else is saying “yes”).
EVERY CHILD IS DIFFERENT. Ask yourself: is my child less than 13? Are they troubled by things they see on the news? Do they have nightmare easily? Then waiting to read these books is suggested. Believe me, they are not going anywhere. On the other hand, a parent friend asked me about her son reading them: 6th grader, interest in military history and military maneuvers, not easily scared or troubled, very “grounded” and mature, a good reader. I suggested she go ahead – and optimally read it with him (or at the same time as him) so that they could discuss it. Several of my friends have told me that if they had the times to read the Hunger Games themself, then they wouldn’t be asking me. If this is your situation, then may I suggest you read the very short (less than 4,000 word) story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson as a starter and ask yourself if your child could handle the themes and implications of it. Read it free online at:
This piece is conceptually similar to The Hunger Games, but Hunger Games is obviously longer, futuristic, and has graphic violence.
One of my points here is that reading Hunger Games, or any book for that matter, is more than a matter of reading level. It is more than getting through the pages. It is understanding the concepts behind the novel and being able to reflect on them. A well-written book can change the way you think about life. If your child reads this book at ten years old, will they glean as much from it as they would if they were fourteen or fifteen?
As for my thoughts on “Mockingjay”, while I found it sad and disturbing (similar to “Deathly Hallows”), it was very good and I enjoyed it. The story is continued and concluded with the rebels fighting the government with Katniss as their mockingjay. Peeta is recovered to them, but has been mentally “hijacked”. Katniss continues to fight for her family, while trying to decide just who it is she loves. It was a very satisfying conclusion to the series.
I got my copy from the Amazon Prime borrow-for-free program.
A few weeks ago I read this book and posted the book trailer for it. It’s the first in a new series for young readers, coming out in May, in which 12-year-old twins Linus and Ophelia discover a magic circle in their aunt and uncle’s attic, which brings book characters to life. (Of course the circle is also being misused for bad deeds by a nefarious former house occupant). One day Ophelia drops her copy of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” down, and the next thing they know, Quasimodo is there in person. Enlisting the help of a young neighbor friend and a “cool” priest, they have a race against time to get Quasi back to his own world.
I loved this book and look forward to more in this series. I’ve already recommended it for our school library and will be getting it for my own elementary-age children.
Thanks, Net Galley and Zonderkidz books, for my kindle copy!
So – since I’m the LAST blogger in the world to read this series, and because the movie is coming out in a few weeks, I decided I had to read through this series and read #2 last week. Everyone I know said “the first one’s the best”, but I did really like this story. To be honest, though, it took a bit to “capture” me as I felt there was too much time devoted to the Katniss, Peeta, Gale love triangle in the first half of it.
Katniss’ strength and creative ingenuity is once again called upon as she and Peeta venture back into the arena for another round of the Games while rumors of rebellion rock the Capital. Again at the ending you know there’s more.
Loved it…
I am reading my copies through the Prime Member freebie download and borrow program on Amazon:
This suspenseful book was a Kindle Prime read-for-free for me. Telling the story of four high school friends, kidnapped when they stumble upon a burglary, this novel traces their cross-country trip to try to escape from and outrun their kidnappers and return home.
As a kid I would have loved this book! Yes, there were some places where I had to suspend belief. Yes, those kidnappers were everywhere. Yes, there were a few places where I wondered at the author’s intentions (implied rape, etc.). But overall, I couldn’t stop reading! The ending suggests that this will be part of a series.
Recommended for YA readers who like suspense, I’d say high school and up.
My friends at Open Road Publishers and Net Galley kindly sent me a digital download of “Indian Captive” by Lois Lenski to review. This middle grade novel was originally published over 50 years ago, and Open Road re-released it in December. It tells the story of Mary Jemison, a young Pennsylvania girl taken by Indians when she was ten. Mary lived many years with the Seneca, and grew to love her Native American family, ultimately choosing to never leave them.
I had first read this book as a young girl in the 1970’s. I was struck by how much of the story stayed with me and seemed familiar as I re-read it a few weeks ago. It is at turns terrifying and interesting, all the more so since it is based on a true story. Lenski spent months doing meticulous research for this novel and it was a Newbery Honor book. I’d be curious how many current day adult readers had mixed feelings over the events portrayed in this novel – which occurs at the time of the French and Indian War.
Younger readers may find the text challenging and the story lengthy. I’d recommend it for grades 5 and up – and stronger grade 4 readers.
I recently got this book through Net Galley to review, and let me say right off: it was not what I was expecting. I figured a Lois Lenski book from the 1940’s would be pretty happy and light, telling the story of a little girl who loves/eats/picks strawberries. Instead this book was a fascinating (at least to me) look at life a hundred years ago in Florida, centering on two very different farming families who are trying to survive. The Boyers have just moved to Florida and are trying to make a living farming, including growing strawberries. The Slaters have lived there for generations and are rough and tough. The two families clash and come together throughout the book. Birdie Boyer, the ten-year-old narrator, tells most of the story through her voice. We come to sympathize with Birdie and her family, but grow a sympathy for the Slaters as well.
I can imagine this book being used in the classroom, but, as an educator, I would strongly suggest that teachers be very familiar with it in advance. There are lots of teachable moments in this book; however, there are also some disturbing scenes, too (drunken neighbor, slaughtered animals, beaten schoolteacher, etc.). It reminded me a bit of the Little House books, where you might be reading along and then strangely fascinated by something horrifyingly true, but in my opinion it was harsher. Some of the book is written in dialect which can be challenging for young readers, too. I would recommend this book for those in 4th grade and up. I’d be curious about others’ thoughts on it, too.
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