The “sophomore slump” or “second book blues” has killed more series for me than I would care to list. Most often the problem is that the author fails to deliver a story while still keeping things suspenseful for book three. We get stuck in a quagmire that sucks the life from the characters and us…
I really struggled to assign a grade for this book. While author April Lindner succeeds in her goal to retell the Emily Bronte classic Wuthering Heights in a modern, Young Adult setting, I can’t say that I liked Catherine. Truth told, I’ve never liked the original on which it was based but I had hoped…
While I immensely enjoyed the Jason Bourne movies (starring Matt Damon and, later, Jeremy Renner), I never felt compelled to read the Robert Ludlum novels the films are based on because I couldn’t imagine such a visual story told using only words. However, after reading Jennifer Rush’s Young Adult action thriller Altered, I see that…
The first book in this series, The Name of the Star, was thisclose to being a DIK for me. It was a deeply atmospheric ghost tale with romance and ambiance. In this second installment of The Shades of London the atmosphere is just as intense, the story just as seductive. A nearly fatal encounter with…
This debut novel, first published in 1999, has been reissued purportedly because of its wild popularity, but probably because it opened as a movie in October 2012 and starred Emma Watson of Harry Potter fame. Still, it has shown up on the New York Times bestseller list, so someone must be reading it. I went…
Have you ever wondered what people did before the number zero? It has always existed, right? Not so. Changeling is about a world where zero is just starting to exist and to open up whole new worlds for people – and that is a fascinating adventure to be a part of. Luca is known as…
There is a danger to anticipation. It can lead to let down. When you are anxiously awaiting a novel and it turns out to be nothing more than filler, people can get cranky. Very cranky, very quickly. That was the case for me here – I loved the first novel in this series but book…
Hollywood and reality collide as a senior at the University of New Mexico becomes the object of attention of a movie superstar. When it comes to modern fairytales, doesn’t being wined and dined by someone every movie-goer knows sound exciting? Tippetts debunks the fairytale with a large dose of reality in this enjoyable inside look…
Consensual sex is the theme of this thoughtful romance set in college. Freshman Jacqueline ignored her interests to follow her boyfriend Kennedy to the college of his choice. Then she signs up for an economics class because of him. Fortunately, this state of affairs doesn’t last as Jacqueline not only finds her own identity, but…
Sometimes it seems like it’s impossible to find a fresh idea in the stacks of YA novels out there. This latest book is a sort of redo of Cowboys vs. Aliens except with teen protagonists and zombies rather than aliens. The changes didn’t improve the story any. Jett Gallatin has seen the worst life has…
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