Tag Archive: young-adult


Review: Ruination by Amanda Thome

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January 6, 2015

Ruination (Worlds Apart, #1)Ruination by Amanda Thome

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Damn!” Is exactly what I said as I deleted this book from my Kindle Unlimited list. Not because I would miss it, but because of the cliffhanger. I HATE CLIFFHANGERS! Especially when the next book isn’t available yet. It is the only reason I gave this book four stars instead of five. Sure there were a few editing issues, but the story flowed around them quite nicely.

Yes, it does remind me of other dystopian books, Divergent, Hunger Games, etc. But it had its own story. I loved the characters and the nearly constant suspense toward the end. I refused to read the last 10% just before bed as I could tell I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I tried. But it left me hanging. GRRRRRRR!

As much as I want to say I won’t, I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!

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Review: Pages for You by Sylvia Brownrigg

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December 10, 2014

Pages for YouPages for You by Sylvia Brownrigg

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Some reviews say that this book didn’t have enough character depth. I want to agree with this, yet it feels rather like a real meeting between real people. When you meet someone that has had a few year of experiences and you only know them a short time, you don’t get to know the person as well as you might like. As House used to say, “Everyone lies.” Everyone keeps secrets, too.

My kids used to tell me that I shared too much. That soon became “TMI, Mom!” Even with someone like me, there are secrets. Sometimes you just don’t want to relive certain situations, or risk hurting someone else, or live through yet another lecture, or other personal reasons. That is what happens in this book. We have a short time with these two people and they both have their own secrets. We only get to know what the characters want to share.

And though I couldn’t relate, age-wise with either of the characters, I’ve never had those experiences, and as ‘old’ as the older one was supposed to be, to me, she was just a child, too. But I think everyone could relate to new romance and the complications of that first love. And that is what makes the story come alive. Watching this young girl come to terms with her first crush and her own sexuality. It is fun to travel within the university and then around the US with these two women.

I believe that many high school or college age, female students, might like this book. They could relate much better than this old lady. Just enjoy the ride.

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Review: Sins of Eden (Ascension #7) by S.M. Reine

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December 7, 2014

Sins of Eden (Ascension #7)Sins of Eden by S.M. Reine

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Whew! Okay. Trying not to let spoilers slip. But Whew! If I could only tell you!!!!

I am finally catching up with S.M. Reine’s writing. This was Sara’s last of the Ascension series. Everyone you know and love from her previous series shows up in this book. Everything you know–poof!

If you haven’t started this marvelous universe, start with Six Moon Summer of the Seasons of the Moon series. Until I read the book that started it all, I wouldn’t read anything about werewolves. Or anything scary. But know I think I may have graduated. Ms. Reine has presented beings to me that I wouldn’t have tried to read, had she not so gently pulled me through. All of her characters are believable. Even the ones who seem to be evil have traits that make them likable. Though her worlds are this world and beyond, in spiritual space and time, she has built the stories of her own that transcends all other stories I’ve heard or read about these .

Gosh, this whole review is not living up to the wonder that is Sara Reine’s work. But I don’t want to tell you about this ending of the series book as I don’t want to ruin the process of reading all of it yourself. There is action, adventure, dark and light and love, not the wishy-washy romantic kind, though there is a little of that, too. I couldn’t stop reading. How was the author going to make it all happen? I mean, sometimes I did know bits but the how of it did work out sometimes caught me off guard.

Oh, blah, blah, blah. All I mean to say is this is great! You should read it!

By the way, I was given this book by the author for an honest review.

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Review: Immutable by Cidney Swanson

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Immutable (Ripple Series Book 5)Immutable by Cidney Swanson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Once again, I am sad. I am nearing the end of a great series. It has been so much fun to read the Rippler series by Cidney Swanson. You may remember her name from the Mars series I went so crazy about.

The Rippler series isn’t space travel but I consider it to be sci-fi rather than fantasy as the condition that causes one to ripple into invisibility is caused by a certain gene, as I understand it. Scientists discover these genes and work with a multitude of medications to control the side effects and or the people that are able to vanish. As in all groups of people there are good scientists and bad/evil scientists. The results push the main characters and plot of this series.

What I don’t yet do like about this series is that even though you have the oldies but goodies from former books, each book or so introduces a new point of view. The reason I like it is because you can travel to new places and see things you might not have had Ms. Swanson kept the same main character for all the adventures. I like getting to know characters in their depth so that is why I don’t like a new character every time. I know, I’m hard to please. 🙂

At any rate, what I am left with is a case of wonderment. What if one could go invisible, hide in walls or in plain sight? What if one could read another’s thoughts? And how fun would it be to hitch a ride in an airplane anywhere in the world by hiding in the wall? And not only can you be invisible, but you can fly! Or you can take a dip in the ocean with a school of dolphins and not get wet or cold. These are just a few adventures the main characters have in this series.

I’d say try either the Rippler series or the Saving Mars series if you want to have some fun.

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Review: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

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December 2, 2014

Eleanor & ParkEleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh, how, sweet! One of my GoodReads friends, Lovely Primrose, recommended this to me. That was a long time ago. I couldn’t afford it so I put it on hold from my library. It seemed forever before it came my turn to read. Of course, I ordered the large-print version. I was glad. It was quite comfortable for my eyes to read. Even more, it was a joy for my heart.

Romance. Yuck! That’s what I usually think. But this book grabs you right from the beginning. You get the story from Eleanor and Park’s points of view. The angst of the story wasn’t ‘does he/she love me?’ but rather the angst of not fitting in. And it shows the inner beauty of these two people.

You get to see how their lives work at home and it all becomes clear why they act the way they do. Even though it was a hefty one, because of being large-print, book, I found I didn’t want to stop reading. I thought about it when I wasn’t reading. And… I am sad it came to an end. I would love to see a book two. It isn’t needed except for the fact that I miss the characters. It ends with a satisfactory feeling. But… please, please, please??

I recommend this one for anyone young at heart.

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Review: Horses: Amazing Pictures and Fun Horse Facts for Kids by Susan Palmer

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November 16, 2014

Horses: Amazing Pictures and Fun Horse Facts for Kids (and Parents)Horses: Amazing Pictures and Fun Horse Facts for Kids by Susan Palmer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Because I am writing about equines in my nano novel (NaNoWriMo.org). I needed a little inspiration. This book was free so I thought I’d take a chance.

There were not as many pictures as I really wanted. But there was one at the beginning of each chapter. This seems to be a book for the third to sixth grader who is interested in learning about horses. Though I am not equestrian scholar, far from it, I didn’t expect to learn anything. But I did! So I would say that even though it’s aimed at third to sixth graders, I think anybody could read this and learn something. And if you beating on Kindle Fire or on a tablet the pictures are beautiful. And it gave me the inspiration I needed.

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Review: Olivia’s Trek by D.M. Sharp

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Olivia's Trek (Olivia Carter, #1)Olivia’s Trek by D.M. Sharp

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Disclosure: I picked this up from BookRooster for review for free.

First of all, I need to warn you that there are probably triggers in this book for those who might have been through rape or self-harm or addictions.

Second of all, there are a lot of typos. The book needs a good editing.

The saving graces of this book, at the story, and the characters. But many times it turned into a counseling brochure and became just a little bit unreal. Another saving grace, though, were a few of the tricks that the counselor teaches the patient. I actually had them help me a couple times since I read this. So it’s worth the read.

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Review: The Desert Thief by Daniel Patrick

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October 21, 2014

The Desert ThiefThe Desert Thief by Daniel Patrick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Disclosure: I was given this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Daniel Patrick has done it again! This was the second book in his children/young adult series involving Lara and her locket. It is very steampunk and fun. There are new friends and dangers, including the sinister Sora who is out to kill Lara and get her locket.

The first book The Locket Thief felt very much like Golden Compass without daemons and drunken polar bears. But this had just as much action and adventure. This book made a great continuation of the first.

Daniel’s characters are fun and likable with a bad guy you love to hate. There is flying in airships and long treks through the lands below. I really like the new people. I didn’t so much at first. I didn’t understand the beginning with a differing point of view but I stuck with it and soon understood.

I have to admit that I wasn’t in a childrens’ book mood so it took a lot for me to get into it. Having it downloaded in my Moon Reader Pro helped with that as I just put on the text-to-speech and allowed the story to encompass me. Soon I couldn’t stop and found myself reading far later than I should. I blame this book for my 2PM wake up. Where does the day go when you rise so late?

If you’re looking for a fun little adventure to pull you out of your mully grubs this is the series for you.

One note, I would suggest reading both books as closely as possible if you have a memory like mine. I think I could have used more reminders like, Where did the locket come from? Why is it important? Who were the folks that died before and how did they die? Mr. Patrick did include a few clues but I could have used more.
And… I hope there will be more as I am concerned about threads that weren’t neatly tied up. At least I’m left feeling safe, no cliffhangers.

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Review: Season of Lies by Monica Shaughnessy

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September 25, 2014

Season of LiesSeason of Lies by Monica Shaughnessy

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Disclosure: This book came to me via BookRooster dot com in exchange for an honest review.

Another disclosure: I had just finished the writing a review when my tablet froze and lost the whole thing. I know it was much better than this one is going to be. Isn’t that the way it is?

By the way, if you are looking for ways to find new books to review, BookRooster gets you fun free ones.

I have had this book for a few years. It is embarrassing to know I have had it that long. Still books don’t spoil while sitting on the shelf waiting for eyes to read them.

Okay, now about the book itself. Though it seems to be a fantasy, girl who has hidden talent, it is a contemporary young adult book. The main character can communicate with animals … or has a mental illness. Possibly killed her brother. Yikes!

As you get to know her, Robin, the main character, grows on you. She is sweet, sensitive, and strong. As you watch her growth you can hardly wait until she come into her own life. I loved all of this and it kept me reading.

What I didn’t like was the accents. This might come across okay to the silent reader. But for those of us that use text-to-speech it is not only annoying but confusing. Even when I haven’t needed to ‘listen’ to my books, this kind of thing is distracting from the main story. I read it on my Moon Reader Pro which sounded foolish at times as it tried to figure out how to pronounce those contracted words. Because of that, I had to pay attention to the written words as I went. Not a great one to listen to on the road or while busy doing other things.

Anyway, I don’t want to discourage anyone who might want to read the book. You might have a better time with it than I did. And I am curious to read other works by this author.

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Review: Secrets by Margaret McGaffey Fisk

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September 14, 2014

Secrets (The Steamship Chronicles Book 1)Secrets by Margaret McGaffey Fisk

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I feel I can claim I am friends with the author, Margaret McGaffey Fisk. She has been an important member of the writing group I belong to. I don’t think that comes into play in this review, first of all because I fell deeply into the world she created, and second because I was saddened to find myself back in reality when I finished this adventure.

Safe Haven began this adventure for me. It precludes the series The Steaamship Chronicles of which this, Secrets, is book 1. I had already fallen in love with the characters, Lily and Samantha. To research the burbs and other reviews please check out Amazon and GoodReads.

Meanwhile, my review. Although this started sadly and then got exciting, it leaves me in the heads of Sam and the boy, Nat. I would guess this is the set up for much more fun ahead.

I wish Samantha was set free to do what she does best, but, again, that will happen, I’m sure, in the next books. There seemed to be times where I tended to put the book aside and attend to other shining things. I don’t remember having that problem in Safe Haven. Maybe it is all my own problems and not that of the author. Maybe I am not in the demographic the book is for. I do know I would have had fun reading this to my children, or had them read it to me way back when.

It is: A great bedtime story, a great for Young Adults as Sam learns to fit in her world. And fun for this old lady!

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