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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