Review: The Nethergrim

The Nethergrim by Matthew Jobin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



It was a generation ago that the wizard Vithric and the knight Tristan battled the evil Nethergrim and the creatures with him. The kingdom still sings songs about the battle and there are festivals every year to honor them. Now there is something dark near the village and animals are disappearing with only their bones left behind. Then suddenly, children disappear. What begins as whispered concerns quickly become a hysterical cry – The Nethergrim is back! One of the missing is Edmund’s brother and he knows he must try to save his brother’s life. Edmund seems to have a touch of magic, but with his father forbidding any reading and no wizard to train him properly, he must learn on the go with his friends at his side.

The Nethergrim is the first book in a new fantasy trilogy. Because it is the start of a new series, readers will experience a lot of character development, world building and background creation. Although all of that is expected, the reader may find the story flat and wanting in sections. I believe if readers understand that this is a debut novel, they may give Jobin some leeway in the final product. I can’t say for certain if I will read the next book in the series or not.




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Review: Team Seven: A Novel

Team Seven: A Novel by Marcus Burke

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Andre Battel is torn between the Jamaican upbringing his family is trying to instill and the neighborhood street gang that surrounds him. Team Seven takes the reader along the winding path of Andre from the age of eight into his teen years. Although he has real talent on the basketball court, he eventually falls into selling drugs for the local gang, Team Seven. Through a series of unforeseen events, Andre is not able to make his payments on the drugs he is responsible for and the actions that follow have the potential to cause additional damage. Most of the book is told through the voice of Andre, but sections dispersed throughout give the reader insight into his mother, his sister, his father and some of the Team Seven gang.

Team Seven fills a desperate niche that needs to be filled. Teens love to read stories that are similar to themselves and others love to live vicariously through books. Whether the reader is surrounded by gangs or just likes to read about this very tough life, they will get satisfaction from this story. The language is harsh and the truths presented are rough, but life is not always rosy and not every story has a happy ending. Burke wonderfully portrays the struggles of the inner city youth and brings the characters and their issues to the audiences who will devour them. Although this is his first young adult novel, I hope Burke spends time writing more books for these readers.




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Review: Burn Out

Burn Out by Kristi Helvig

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Tora Reynolds is alone. She has survived the end of Earth and needs to find a way to escape the planet. Her mother and sister have burned to death, her father has been murdered and all plants and animals are dead. She begins to think she will go the way of everything else when Plan A (Markus) arrives. Markus left to look for a rumored colony, and when he returns Tora believes he is there for her. It turns out he is there for the guns her scientist father created. Luckily for her, they are bio-energetic weapons and can only be used by her. Can Tora trust Markus and the mercenaries with him? Her father made her promise never to let the guns go, can she keep that promise?

Burn Out is an action packed adventure of high-tech proportions. Although the events take place on a future Earth, readers will quickly be brought up to speed concerning the pertinent scientific and military events that have taken place. Helvig’s debut novel has the requisite amount of futuristic technology and events to firmly land in the science fiction genre, but it also will pull in readers of post-apocalyptic adventures and throws in a little romance along the side. My biggest complaint is the book was too short. I guess that just goes to show that I will be looking for the next book in this series.




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Review: Love Letters to the Dead

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Laurel has been asked to write a letter to a dead person as part of her English class. She decides to write to Kurt Cobain since he was her sister’s favorite. See … he died young, just like her sister, May. Laurel can’t part with the letter and continues to fill a notebook with letters to Janis Joplin, Amelia Earhart and many other dead people. Although she doesn’t want to share these letters with anyone, let alone the English teacher who originally inspired them, she creates a journal expressing her concerns and experiences beginning high school without her sister. Will she be able to share the truth with her family and new friends? Can she move past her sister’s death and reclaim her own life.

Love Letters to the Dead is a poignant exploration of life, love and loss as seen through the eyes of a very expressive teen. Readers will consume each letter quickly and realize the story is flowing faster than expected. Although the letters are written to individuals who have been dead for some time, Laurel explains during various sections why she admires the person and how that person would have related to her situation. Dellaira has taken a unique approach to this very tough topic and spins it into a novel that will have readers wanting to write their own Love Letters to the Dead.




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Review: The Ring and The Crown

The Ring and The Crown by Melissa de la Cruz

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Princess Marie-Victoria has always been weak and sickly, yet it is approaching the time when she must step up and take the throne. In order to unite two kingdoms and end a terrible war, she is promised in marriage to Prince Leopold VII, the heir to the Prussian throne. Although she knows that her kingdom needs this alliance, she has always loved Gill, her childhood friend. Aelwyn Myrddn and Marie have grown up together and believe they have devised a way for them both to get what they want. Aelwyn will magically take on Marie’s face and rule in her stead. Marie will run away with Gill and live the quiet life she has always dreamed of. Yet there is more underfoot than either girl could imagine.

The Ring and The Crown is the first book in a new series by Melissa de la Cruz. This fantasy novel includes romance, intrigue and that wonderful historical time period of the early 20th century. The novel quickly moves from one scheme to another and at times the reader will wish there was more information. The Ring and The Crown could definitely benefit from being fattened up and expanded, yet the overall story kept me reading rather quickly. For readers who want a fantasy story that is not going to take a lot of brain power to enjoy, this will be a strong choice. Some readers may stop after this book since most of the plots were wrapped up neatly, but I will be looking for the next book in this series.





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Review: Witchfall

Witchfall by Victoria Lamb

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Meg Lytton knows she isn’t safe. After her aunt is burned as a witch and she is expectantly cleared as one, she is able to become a companion to the Princess Elizabeth. It is 1555 in Tudor England and Queen Mary is actively encouraging the Spanish Inquisition within England. Meg is having dreams about her own death and the fate of those near her. Although she wishes to keep her powers hidden, she must trust those closest to her in order to discover her full strength. Can she keep her secret betrothal from those around her? Can she avoid her fate found in her dreams? Why does the witchfinder Marcus Dent despise her so much?

Witchfall is the second book in the Tudor Witch Trilogy, but if the reader is like myself they can jump into the series with this book. Lamb referenced events from the first book repeatedly, but they did not impair the flow and enjoyment of this book. Witchfall includes magick, romance, adventure and intrigue all rolled into a story during a popular historical time period. Whether the reader has read many Tudor England books may affect their enjoyment. I love that time period and truly enjoyed this book, but I can’t say for certain if a reader new to this time period would have the same enjoyment. I will be going back and reading the first book before the third books is released later this year.




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Review: Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Piddy is waiting for the school day to start when a girl tells her that Yaqui Delgado thinks she swings her butt too much and is planning to kick her a**. Piddy doesn’t have any idea who this girl even is, and has no idea how she has made her mad or what she can do to stop this looming devastation. Although she is Latina, she has pale skin, good grades and does not have an accent. Piddy’s life was about grades and her missing father, but with the increasing harassment that she suffers in and out of school, she quickly realizes that there are more serious things in life.

Piddy doesn’t want to become a narc, but she also isn’t willing to run away. Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass unfortunately is a very realistic view of the world today. Many bullies have no true reason to despise those they attack. Many are just hateful individuals and the victims have done nothing to earn this negativity. Medina shows the reader insight into the Latina world and the world of single parent families trying to survive in today’s tough inner cities. Although the title can be a little put-offish due to the final word, the book as a whole is relatively clean and will required the reader to reach inside their own thoughts and determine how they would react if they were the victim or they were a witness to the harassment. This book is definitely a recommended book for today’s teens.




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Review: John Dreamer

John Dreamer by Elise Celine

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Andy has no idea where she is or how she arrived in this large white room. There are a few others in the room with her, but they seem just as clueless as she is. They are all strangers, except the boy who keeps staring at her seems familiar somehow. She doesn’t know if she has ever met him, or if he just reminders her of someone. After a man named the Guardian comes to the room and says he will make their dreams come true, this unlikely group begins an adventure none of them could have anticipated. The choices they make in the Great White Room will affect them beyond their imaginations.

John Dreamer is the first in a series of books to take place in the Great White Room. The characters are not super deep and many parts of the storyline are predictable, but as a whole the book is enjoyable. Since it is a short, quick read, there is not a great commitment to the beginning of this series. Celine as taken a story she originally wrote as a play and has introduced the characters to a new generation of readers. Although the story is enjoyable, it is definitely not a priority read.




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Review: If We Survive

If We Survive by Andrew Klavan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The mission trip has been a success. Will Peterson traveled to Costa Verde to help rebuild a wall of one of the schools. The group is relaxing and anticipating the return trip when a revolution breaks out and they are suddenly trapped in a foreign land. They need to escape a firing squad, wild animals in the jungle and they don’t know who to trust. The government in power is just as ruthless as the revolutionists trying to take control. Many in the group have traits that will help them survive this horrific ordeal, but just like real life, not everyone will be able to make it and those that do will be forever changed.

If We Survive is an action packed adventure that will cause the reader to question their own fears and ideas about heroes. Can someone make a mistake, but still be a good person? Can you be afraid to die, but still be fearless? Klavan takes many tough issues that readers from the first world would never come in contact with outside of the media and weaves it into a young adult novel with a Christian fiction twist. Although the Christian beliefs dispersed throughout are not subtle, they don’t slap you in the face and make you feel as if the author is preaching at you. I highly recommend this book to my young adult readers.




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Review: Dangerous Dream

Dangerous Dream by Kami Garcia

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



The Caster world was taken on a ride when Stohl and Garcia created the Beautiful Creatures series. Readers came to love the characters in Gatlin whether there were good/bad, light/dark or human/Caster. Now a new series is soon to be released with Link and Ridley becoming the primary characters. Dangerous Dream is a short enovella that will remind readers why they fell in love with the first series and catch their imagination for this spin off series. Although I don’t believe there are any required revelations in this book, it is setting the stage for the move to the big city and the turmoil that must follow. Dangerous Creatures cannot come fast enough!




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Review: Water Walker (The Outlaw Chronicles #2)

Water Walker (The Outlaw Chronicles #2) by Ted Dekker

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Alice Ringwald only has six months’ worth of memories and she is trying to build a new life with the family who has recently adopted her. After she is kidnapped, she learns that her mother is not dead and that she had been searching for her for thirteen years. Alice doesn’t know who to trust and can’t figure out a way to escape. The FBI was called into the search at the beginning, but even after a frantic hunt the kidnapper vanishes. Will Alice be found alive or at all? Why is she so special?

Water Walker is the second book in the Outlaw Chronicles. This book is more of a companion novel and does not require the reader to have read the first book to enjoy it. Dekker takes this modern parable and makes the reader ponder what it takes for true forgiveness and reminds everyone how easy it is to have trust abused by those close to us. Readers who have started with this novel will want to pick up Dekker’s other books and even experienced Dekker fans will be waiting for the next book, Hacker, due out in June 2014.




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Review: Distortion

Distortion by Terri Blackstock

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Juliet Cole cannot believe her eyes. Her husband of 15 years has just been gunned down in front of her. She thinks it is just a random shooting until she listens to a voicemail message on her husband’s phone. Just before he was killed, he had received several phone calls threating his life and the lives of his family. The people who killed Juliet’s husband believe she can get the codes to retrieve the drugs and money he had in his possession. Fifty million dollars is a big incentive to attack a grieving family, and Juliet decides to team up with her sisters and a PI named Michael Hogan to discover the double life Bob had been living for years. As she learns more and more about her husband’s life she wonders how could she have lived with this man and not seen it. How could he betray her and God? He was a professing Christian, but this hidden life shows different. Does she have what it takes to find out the truth?

Distortion is a book that will grip the reader by the heart and yank it every which way. Blackstock is able to take a story no one would want to live through and teach Christian truths we can learn from. Readers will be able to relate to portions of the story that reflect realities in their life and ask themselves how they have or would have reacted. Whether the reader picks this up for the murder mystery or the Christian fiction genre, they will not be disappointed in their choice.



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Review: The Shadow Prince

The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Haden Lord never thought he would be chosen as a Champion, but after the Oracle announced his quest he traveled from the Underrealm into the mortal world. His goal is to convince a girl to willing travel to the Underrealm with him. Unfortunately, he is not able to choose his boon; he must entice a particular girl, Daphne Raines. Due to circumstances beyond her control, Daphne’s rock star father pulls her from her quiet life and enrolls her in Olympus Hills’ music program. Olympus Hills is also the location of Persephone’s Gate and Haden quickly meets Daphne and has no idea how to win her over. Haden and Daphne are both being manipulated by the adults around them and neither truly understands what is at stake. Can Haden convince Daphne to return to the Underrealm with him? Is that what is best for the mortal world? What is it that makes Daphne so special?

The Shadow Prince is the first book in new fantasy series including gods and monsters. Readers of the Percy Jackson series or the Mythos Academy series will be delighted with new characters and additional god drama. This story is action packed and will keep readers wanting the next chapter, but alas readers will discover at the end that they must wait for the next book. Although it is not a cliffhanger in the traditional manner, readers will not get all of their questions answered and will have to add the next book to their TBR list. Despain spends enough time on the back stories of the gods to let the reader understand the current plight without the feeling of reading a second book inside of this one. I will certainly be telling all my fans of Percy Jackson and Gwen Frost about the Into the Dark series for years to come.




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Review: Tin Star

Tin Star by Cecil Castellucci

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The Prairie Rose is on its way to a faraway planet for colonization. Tula and her family are with the other colonists when it is detoured to a remote space station, the Yertina Feray. The colonist’s leader, Brother Blue, is not happy with Tula’s inquisitiveness; he beats her and leaves her for dead. Heckleck, an alien who knows the ways of the station, takes pity on her and teaches her what she needs to know to survive. Although revenge on Brother Blue is never far from her mind, she has adjusted to life on the Yertina Feray until three humans are taken in on the space station and Tula must decide how much interaction she is willing to have with others of her kind. What is she willing to do to leave the space station? Is revenge on Brother Blue really what she wants?

Tin Star is a science fiction story with many elements readers enjoy. Readers will find space exploration, alien prejudices, a fight for survival, and romance. The book is not very long and readers will fly through the story and try to anticipate the next twists and turns. Most readers will not anticipate the actual conclusion to this book and should be assured they will want the next book in the series to come soon. Castellucci creates a galaxy where the fight for survival is constantly changing and readers will grow to love Tula and want revenge on her behalf. Although the protagonist is female, this should never be considered a girl only book. Boys should be willing to jump into Tula’s story and enjoy this great book.




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Review: The Haven

The Haven by Carol Lynch Williams

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The Haven was established in 2020 to protect Terminals from the Disease. This hospital with its walls and routines shields the children and teens inside from the unknown world outside. Regular tests and daily tonics is all that keeps these children healthy. But they still loose limbs, lungs and other parts and only Shiloh can seem to keep memories. She hides this secret from the doctors and teachers, because she is afraid the Disease may claim her next. When her only friend and a boy named Gideon invite her to help search for a cure, Shiloh must decide will she go against the only routines she has known to possibly leave the Haven and beat the Disease. Is the Haven really a safe place? What are they actually protecting with the walls?

The Haven is a story from the not so distant future where science and medicine continue to be at odds with ethics and morality. Without giving away any secrets about the story it is hard to discuss the true depth of this book. Williams is able to take this currently dicey topic, throw it in the future and bring it to teens and adults in a way that will make readers question their own ideas and values. Since the science and medicine discussed in this book is not too far advanced from current science, it is truly possible to conceive of this story taking place in our lifetime. The Haven is a great science fiction story that will have the reader enjoying a touch of romance, relationship issues and questioning what history has been twisted for the Terminals to study. I highly recommend this book to readers even if science fiction isn’t their usual genre.




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Review: Unaware

Unaware by J.C. Spencer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Katie’s mom has made her move towns, again! This time it isn’t because of a boyfriend. Her mom has actually married this man, and now they are living in Salem and Katie must start at a new high school. She hasn’t been in any in-crowd for a while and when she discovers that the popular students at her new school like to pick on the outsiders, she quickly becomes a target. Katie doesn’t consider herself Goth, but since she has been experiencing paranormal events, she is wondering why her and what she may be. Is she a witch? Is she Fae? The only thing she does know is that she is NOT a vampire or zombie. Her crazy dreams turn into an even crazier reality when she discovers the truth about herself and the battle that has been going on around her.

Unaware is the first book in a new paranormal series. Spencer’s debut novel will delight readers well versed in faerie lore or those just starting to delve into the topic. Katie spends time investigating her unknown powers and readers are able to learn the myths and legends needed to fully enjoy the story. Readers will learn to love and root for Katie in her underdog status and will not want the mean girls in the story to get away with tormenting the undesirables. One of the reasons I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 stars were the adult characters at the school. Although I am sure that favoritism and blind faith are present in our schools, I find it hard to believe that on the first day of school a principal would have the conversation portrayed in this book. Other parts of the book were similarly unbelievable, but as a whole the book was great. Readers are able to enjoy a supernatural story with romance mixed together, but everything is above board without all the racy hanky panky that many YA novels are currently delivering.





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Review: The Ghost Box

The Ghost Box by Catherine Fisher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Sarah’s life has had a lot of changes lately. Her mother has recently gotten married and although she gets along well enough with her step dad, her step brother is another matter altogether. After returning home from her mother’s art exhibit, she is awoken by a tree growing inside her house. Is it real, a dream or magic? Sarah also now has a locked box that needs to be opened. She is having trouble getting it opened, and when an antique dealer offers to buy it in order for it to stay locked, she begins to wonder who she can trust. What is really inside the box? Should it stay locked?

The Ghost Box is a quick supernatural read that grips the reader at the beginning and keeps them for the short sprint that is needed to read this book. For those looking for a short book they can read in one sitting and for those who want to nibble away with small escapes but still finish in a short amount of time, The Ghost Box will fit the bill. Short books such as this are great for readers who have trouble devoting large amounts of time, but feel the need to read something. Fisher has been delighting readers with her many other books and this might just be a jumping off point for reluctant readers to try one of her many other tomes.




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