The Smoky Corridor (Nicola)
The Smoky Corridor by Chris GrabensteinThe Haunted Mysteries, #3
Pages: 326
Ages: 10-14
First Published: Aug. 24, 2010
Publisher: Random House
Rating: 5/5
First sentence:
The night before he officially started at his new school, Zack Jennings already had a feeling the place was haunted.
Acquired: Received a review copy from Random House Canada.
Reason for Reading: Next in the series.
Ahh, it was such a blast sitting down with this next book about Zack Jennings, the boy who sees ghosts. Summer is over and Zack is finally starting at his new school. This Middle School has been around since the end of the Civil War when the mansion was donated as such and over the years parts have been added onto it making it a maze of hallways and classrooms. As soon as Zack arrives, he’s visited by a ghost from book one who tells him something major is going down at the school; a zombie in the depths of the basement below has reawakened and Zack needs to deal with it and the evil spirit that controls it before he takes over the body of an unknown student in the school.
This has all the ingredients for a great horror story! Two ghost children from 1910 who died in a fire in the school under mysterious circumstances and are out for revenge, a zombie (or two), ghost stories, a few gruesome deaths and children’s souls in peril. Zack has been warned that adults cannot be involved so he can’t tell his stepmother, Judy, who also sees ghosts, and has been his supernatural sleuthing partner for the first two books. Instead Zack makes friends with two loner/outcast-type kids and they are pulled into the events with Zack. But not only does Zack have to deal with the supernatural, he also has two very alive people on his trail and trying to get into the basements as well, for the original owner of the mansion is said to have stolen a sizable treasure of Confederate gold during the war and hidden it somewhere on the property. These two baddies are related to a soldier buried in the nearby Civil War Cemetery and they know all about people who can communicate with the dead.
I really enjoyed Zack and Judy working together in the first books, so I did miss her presence in this book, but happily she does remain as a minor character. Zack’s new friends are both very interesting characters and will make a welcome addition to the cast in future books. Malik is black with a recently out of work dad and an ailing mother who needs a kidney transplant but is currently confined to a wheelchair because they have no insurance and can’t afford dialysis at the moment; Azalea appears to be your typical Goth girl on the outside with a morbid interest in death but she and her mom are living with an aunt because her army father is in Afghanistan (I think?) again and she knows once he’s back they’ll pick up and move again like always.
This is my favourite of the first three books! A great story with interesting ghosts who have creepy backgrounds, and an evil spirit trained in the arts of voodoo and of course the zombie (or two) to make things a little more gruesome. The new characters add elements to the book that is making Zack’s personal world more real over the course of the three books. I rarely make definite age suggestions but I think this series will be most appreciated by 10-14’s. Older teens will find it too tame and younger than ten may find it too gruesome (unless they are used to that sort of thing). A great horror read for MGs. Highly recommended.
While the books are independent of each other; there is not a continuing story line. Each consecutive book does contain ghostly characters met in previous books, so while not necessary, it does make it more fun to read them in order.
Lucy Unstrung (Nicola)
Lucy Unstrung by Carole LazarPages: 235
Ages: 12+
First Published: Aug. 10, 2010
Publisher: Tundra Books
Rating: 5/5
First sentence:
When my mom finally walks in the door at nine-fifteen, she acts like nothing’s wrong at all.
Acquired: Received a review copy from the Tundra Books.
Reason for Reading: I was intrigued by the Catholic nature of the main character and whether it truly would be a positive portrayal. Not something often found in YA literature.
An astounding novel of an authentic Catholic family dealing with real life issues. Lucy’s mom was 14 when she became pregnant with her and now she is 28 and feeling that she needs “a life”. As she takes evening classes and such she meets a new worldly friend and it isn’t much longer until she separates from her husband and plans a new life for herself for the next four years while she goes back to school. Lucy is 13 and has a solid Catholic upbringing having been raised by her Grandma, and her father is seen as practicing the faith as well. But Lucy is shocked by her mother’s new behaviour which seems to contradict so many Church teachings. She learns so much during this time of struggle as her parents sell their house and move into new homes.
I loved this book! Plot-wise, we have a fairly typical story of a young girl trying to deal with her parents separation and all the upheaval and turmoil this causes her personally as she moves with her mom into a trailer park and has to attend a new school, a public school, where she becomes the object of the class bully. But through it all (apart from the separation) the family remains true to their faith and this is what impressed me most about the story and made it so enjoyable along with the humorous touches. The book is not preachy in anyway it simply shows how one faith lives. While the two adults separate and it does seem to be for the long haul divorce is never mentioned this early, we see inside the confessional and what it’s really like in there (especially for a young teen), we see Lucy questions her faith as she takes Church teachings to extremes and then seeks guidance and we see her going to mass regularly with both her mom and dad.
A wonderful, refreshing, humorous story that deals with tough issues from a positive Catholic perspective without being religious fiction. There have been many books written about teens dealing with similar issues from Muslim, Jewish, Asian, etc. perspectives and now, finally, the Catholic perspective can also be found. I do highly recommend this for Catholic school libraries and mainstream teens as well, if they can read about a religion not their own while still respecting the persons who believe as they do. I know just the girl I’ll be passing this book on to!
Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom (Nicola)
Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom by Susin Nielsen
First sentence:
For the record: I did not mean to send my two half sisters to the emergency room.
Acquired: Won a review copy from Library Thing’s Early Reviewer Program.
Reason for Reading: I am fond of the publisher, the cover caught my attention and the summary sounded original. It didn’t hurt that the word “George Clooney” was in the title either!
What an amazing little gem of a book! I absolutely giggled with delight as I read about Violet’s dilemma and what lengths she goes to. Converse-wearing 12 yo Violet’s parents have been divorced for two years. Her TV producer father left them for a trophy wife, who was expecting twins and off they moved to LA. Violet’s mom took it hard and spent the first 6 mos. going through a change, pierced navel, drinking too much wine but she got out of her slump and took up the single life with a passion, always dating, looking for the new Mr. Right. Only problem is the men are all losers. Cheaters, married, kid haters, cheapskates, etc. and Violet knows her mom can do better. She’s even been known to spy on the boyfriend with her best friend Phoebe, looking out for her mom’s best interests. But when her mom starts to seriously date Dudley Wiener Violet knows it’s time to intervene and since her mom actually met George Clooney years ago when she worked on-set doing hair touch ups and had a personalized photo of him, Violet plans a campaign to get Clooney to meet her mother again and perhaps she will be the one who will break his rule that he will never get married again.
The story deals with some serious issues but is light-hearted and hilarious. Violet has an attitude, and understandably so. She outwardly hates her father for his desertion of her and her little sister, she is protective of her little sister and feels she needs to watch out for her mom, while at the same time she has sworn off boys/men altogether except that oh, so cute Jean-Paul has started paying attention to her. Not a popular kid at school, she’s mostly a loner but she isn’t one to let other’s push her around so she’s often getting into trouble both at home and at school. She punches the most popular girl at school in the nose when she calls her mom a skank, she disses a 5 yo girl in her sister’s after school daycare when she calls Rosie dumb, she allows her two half-sisters to eat cat poo and she has a phone conversation with her dad only responding with Magic 8 ball answers. These are just some of the antics you can expect from Violet, but none of it is done mean-spiritedly. I fell in love with Violet right from the beginning.
It’s tough for Violet getting used to her Dad’s glamourous LA lifestyle and new family and adjusting to her own new middle class life that may just include a dumpy, balding man called Dudley Wiener. But through it all, with the help of her eccentric but youthfully understanding mother, her mother’s best friend, her own best friend, her psychiatrist parents and yes even, her dad, his new wife and Dudley she gets through this tense, hurtful stage of her life.
Susin Nielsen has written a book that is both poignant and witty. This was a can’t put down book for me that I read quickly and yet didn’t want it to end. It would be fun to meet Violet again sometime as she seems to be the type of person who will be up to antics all her life, whether she starts them or they happen to her. Lovely book, Violet is a memorable character in literature that will stay fondly with me.
Bad Boy (Nicola)
Bad Boy by Peter Robinson
Inspector Banks, #19
Pages: 336 pages
First Published: Aug. 24, 2010 US (Sept. 14, 2010 CAN)
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Genre: mystery, British police procedural
Rating: 3.5/5
First sentence:
By the end of August, the waterlogged Yorkshire countryside was a symphony of green and gold under a blue sky scribbled with white clouds.
Acquired: Received a review copy from Random House Canada.
Reason for Reading: Next in the series
Peter Robinson is always a character writer. The identities and motivators of his main characters are an important role in each of his novels and each character has developed through the books, especially Inspector Banks who has been with the series for all nineteen novels. Bad Boys relies heavily on the personal stories of the main characters plot wise. There is a crime, a couple really, and they all involve Inspector Banks at a personal level. Enemies from the past show up, an old cold case comes up again, friends are hurt, his home has become a crime scene and his daughter disappears.
I enjoyed this book, more so than the last one that bothered me with its spy emphasis but it still is not up to other books I have easily rated 5 stars. One of the reasons I love Peter Davidson is his characterization, Inspector Banks is a deep person with many layers who has changed over time and is a welcome familiar friend to meet on the page. Secondary characters are also explored with full detail and continuing storylines. My main problem with Bad Boys is that it is not a “whodunit” in any shape or form. We know all about who did everything; the reader sees the story unfold from multiple views and is wiser than the police on their trail to catch the culprit whom even the police figure out who it is very early on, taking away one of my favourite aspects of the genre.
But, it was still a good read. I was turning pages quickly and finished the book over two days. We get a glimpse into the party life of average 20-something year olds, the high-life of drug trafficking and the low-life of drug trafficking, what happens to those who tick off The Boss and mostly the book is a long chase to capture the culprit before someone close to DCI Banks loses their life to a very unstable man. There are also a couple of twists and one shocker which is tidied up, to a point, by the end but leaves a familiar character’s future hanging in the air. Fans who have grown to love Banks, his kids, Annie, Winsome, and the rest of the gang will enjoy the story but newcomers to the series should certainly not start here as I think they may come away disappointed at the lack of a gritty murder mystery, which can be found in other books in the series.
Spider Bones (Nicola)
Spider Bones by Kathy Reich
Pages: 306
First Published: Aug. 24, 2010
Publisher: Scribner
Rating: 4.5/5
First sentence:
The air smelled of sun-warmed bark and apple buds raring to blossom and get on with life.
Acquired: Received a review copy from Simon & Schuster Canada.
Reason for Reading: Next in the series.
Kathy Reichs is in top form with this latest entry in the Tempe Brennan series. The first chapter starts out with an obscure and uncomfortable crime scene and continues on from there with an intricate mystery. One case leads to another, a fresh body leads to skeletal remains and soon Tempe and Ryan are trying to identify and determine the deaths of several bodies which send them to Hawaii. Tempe then finds herself called in by the local ME to help identify some odds & ends of human remains found from shark attacks. The addition of both daughters for the first time, making a foursome, adds some new dynamics to the personal relationships.
A fast paced case, with many trails to follow, and plenty of bodies. What first starts off as a weird death turns into identifying remains of soldiers from Vietnam and takes a turn toward organized drug crime and gangs in Hawaii. A very intricate and detailed case that gets bigger in scope as it goes along leaving the reader hard pressed to figure out. I did have a correct suspect in mind, but just where to place them, whether as a victim or villain of which case I couldn’t quite put it all together myself. I found the solution very entertaining and the story more on par with her earlier work than some of the other more recent volumes (excepting 206 Bones, that is) . This was a quick, page turning read for me and for once I wasn’t annoyed with Tempe and Ryan’s relationship and it feels like the next book will be pivotal for them, and honestly Ms. Reichs I think the next book needs to settle their relationship once and for all. It has gone on long enough, already. Can’t wait for the next book!
I’d Know You Anywhere (Laura Lippman)
I’d Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman
Pages: 373
First Published: Aug. 17, 2010
Publisher: William Morrow
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
“Iso, time for -”
Acquired: Received a review copy from Harper Collins Canada.
Reason for Reading: I’ve read one of Lippman’s series books and it was ok but I love her standalones and read each new one as it comes out.
Eliza Benedict lives a perfectly content suburban mother and housewife life. Her husband has a high paying job in finance which she really doesn’t understand and she has two children, a 13yo girl and an 8yo boy. Then one day her past meets up with her present when she receives a letter in her mailbox (no stamp) from the man, who is sitting on death row, who kidnapped and raped her when she was 15yo, holding her hostage for 39 days. Walter was prosecuted for the murders of the two girls who came before and after her. His letters turn into a need to talk to her on the phone, which she eventually agrees to and then he wants to talk to her in person. He will be executed in two weeks. Walter is believed to be the perpetrator in several unsolved rape/murder cases and missing persons cases. Eliza wonders if she can somehow be the one to finally get his full confession from him. But Walter, who once had her so cowered and controlled she never tried to escape from him, may have ulterior motives and purposes to wanting to get close to her again.
This story is a bit different than others I’ve read by Lippman. It really isn’t a mystery in the sense that a crime is being solved but more a “tale of psychological manipulation” as Eliza finds herself going back over that time of her life that she had tidily shelved away. The story switches back and forth from the present as she deals with the unwanted but compelling attentions of Walter to the past as we see the whole kidnapping play out from the beginning until her eventual rescue. A compelling read that I highly enjoyed. Characterization and plot are both high factors in the telling of this story and I was glued to the pages. It’s not exactly a fast-paced story but it is evenly paced, moving forward continually at a steady pace.
The book also deals with the issue of the death penalty and the author has done so, very well. As she states in her Author’s Note “this is a novel, not a polemic”, some other authors (coughKathy Reichscough) could do well to note how to not let their novels turn into a personal soapbox. Ms. Lippman’s personal view on the topic is not necessarily evident, as she has strong characters on all sides: for, against and confused. The character with the strongest view is against, but she is portrayed as somewhat of a crackpot yet at times sympathetic. All the viewpoints can be seen from different angles even by the other characters. Well done. Another Lippman winner in my book.
Mockingjay (Nicola)
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games, Book 3
Pages: 400 pages
Ages: 13+
First Published: Aug. 24, 2010
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Rating: 5/5
First sentence:
I stare down at my shoes, watching as a fine layer of ash settles on the worn leather.
Acquired: Received a review copy from Scholastic Canada.
Reason for Reading: Next (and final) book in the trilogy.
There’s no point giving a summary as there are already hundreds of reviews which have done that before me. Suffice it to say that there is a war and people die. One walks into this final installment knowing someone (at least) is going to die. War has been brewing during the series and it’s culmination was obvious and no good writer can write realistically about war without having deaths. My own personal predictions of who would die were dead wrong and I was quite shocked with who eventually had their life(ves) taken in the name of Freedom.
But it was truly wonderful. Everything that happened in Mockingjay felt *right* to me. It’s not what I expected or how I possibly would have had things turn out but Ms. Collins went in a direction I can truly appreciate and understand. In a war who are the good guys? Obviously one would like to think the side one is on, but from an outsider’s point of view can there be a good guy? and is there any real distinction between the sides, as bad guys? Each side is capable of the same thing and is it only an atrocity when *they* did it to *you*? Is it right to punish the losers after the war is over? What if you are on the losing side? How do we live with and get on with it all afterwards? Personally, I am not *anti* war, I believe that, unfortunately, there does come a time when one must fight, but regardless of a person’s stance on war these are thought provoking questions that are real to any society. The ending was perfect for me. I think it was a completely plausible ending for the main characters and it felt good deep in my bones. I’m truly satisfied with how Mockingjay ended and so glad I read this series now, all together, once all the books had been published.
All Aboard! Elijah McCoy’s Steam Engine (Nicola)
All Aboard! Elijah McCoy’s Steam Engine by Monica Kulling. Illustrated by Bill SlavinGreat Ideas Series
Pages: 32 pages
Ages: 5+
First Published: Aug. 10, 2010
Publisher: Tundra Books
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
Summer days were mowing days in Colchester, Ontario.
Acquired: Received a review copy from Tundra Books.
Reason for Reading: Taking my turn before handing it over for a bedtime read to my son, who is very much into inventors right now.
Lovely little first biography for picture book age children or older struggling readers who still like their books filled with illustrations. Of course, Elijah’s life is told briefly and rapidly but it manages to hit upon all the major events of his life leading up to the invention of his oil cup which revolutionized steam travel. Not only do we get the facts of this young man’s life, we also get insight into the era and the treatment of Blacks in the US and child labour in general. Canadian born Elijah, educated in Scotland, returned to his family now living back in the US, first meets up with a white man’s disdain and ignorance as he tries to get a job designing train engines and ends up being an ashcat, the person who feeds the coal into the engine. Along with him is a small white boy, his “grease monkey” who keeps all the parts well oiled climbing under and over the engine in a dangerous job. These injustices though are what keep Elijah up at nights trying to figure out a way to fix the steam engine that causes their job to be so dangerous and tiresome, and for train travel to be so slow.
The writing is age appropriate and interesting and doesn’t talk down to its audience giving a good clear picture of the process an engineer and inventor must go through. Slavin’s illustrations are wonderful old-style paintings that fit the text perfectly. The story goes on to end with a small page telling where the phrase “the real McCoy” came from and how Elijah had a life filled with engine inventions and even some inventions that had nothing to do with engines, such as a portable ironing board. Young children will enjoy Elijah’s story and older ones may be inspired to finding out more about him.
The Body at the Tower (Nicola)
The Body at the Tower by Y.S. LeeThe Agency, Book 2
Pages: 337 pages
Ages: 13+
First Published: Aug. 10, 2010
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Rating: 5/5
First sentence:
A sobbing man huddles on a narrow ledge, clawing at his eyes to shield them for the horror far below.
Acquired: Received a review copy from the publisher.
Reason for Reading: Next in the series.
I want to say The Body at the Tower is even better than book 1 but I think that’s because I’ve just finished reading it. The follow up to A Spy in the House is just as amazingly brilliant as its predecessor. A fast-paced, read-into-the-night Victorian mystery.
Mary Quinn has been sent on assignment this time to go undercover as a young boy. Chopping her hair off and binding her chest tightly her petite half Chinese frame allows her to pull this off without a hitch. She is sent to the construction site of St. Stephen’s Clock Tower which holds the bell, Big Ben. A construction worker has just been found dead at the bottom of the tower, having supposedly either fallen or jumped. Mary’s assignment is to infiltrate the construction crew and pick up any insider information on the man’s death and also to look into the state of affairs concerning the construction management itself.
Lee’s depiction of Victorian times is authentic and never loses its credibility. As I’ve said previously, Ms. Lee has managed to pick the perfect profession for her heroine to move about within the confines of this rigid society. As a spy, her disguises allow her to cross class lines and present as a bold, outspoken woman in private. This time around disguised as a boy, there are no boundaries to “Mark’s” world. As Mark, Mary has access to a construction site, pubs, the streets at night, and plenty of places a woman of any respectability, no matter how small, would never deem to go.
The mystery is an intricate plot with several different tracks being followed. People of bad character are easy to find but it doesn’t necessarily make them the villains in these particular circumstances. Lee keeps the reader guessing by adding more to the plot with each reveal. Mary also has the added burden of running into James again and their relationship takes many turns.
The recommended age of these books are 12+ but I would suggest a little older as even though they are perfectly clean they speak of adult topics. This one mentions rape, prostitution, men who like little boys and other unsavory topics. Also since the protagonist is 18 years old I find no reason that this would not be enjoyed by adult readers of cozy historical mysteries. The publishers may even want to consider marketing “adult version” covers of the series. I’m anxiously awaiting book 3 but I am a tad worried that this is supposed to be a trilogy. I really hope Ms. Lee reconsiders and continues on with the adventures of Mary Quinn.
Brain Camp (Nicola)
Brain Camp by Susan Kim and Laurence Klavan. Artwork by Faith Erin Hicks
Pages: 151 pages
Ages: 13+
First Published: Aug. 3, 2010
Publisher: First Second Books
Rating: 3.5/5
First sentence:
“Elevation, 18 degrees… angle, 38 degrees… going north by north-west, it should be right over…Bingo.”
Acquired: Received a review copy from First Second Books.
Reason for Reading: I really enjoy Canadian Faith Erin Hicks’ work and just seeing she’d illustrated this book put it on my radar but once I’d read the plot I knew the story would be right up my alley.
This is a spooky, eerie, creepy, but fun little story that had the Twilight Zone theme music playing in my head at certain moments when sudden weird things were noticed. I had a great time reading this. Ms. Hicks’ illustration is perfect for the theme, with her dark outlined characters, expressive faces and eyes that are always a bit too big for the heads. A full range of colour is used but the matching blue shirts of the campers are used to an added creepy effect and the startling bright monotones of sand for a flashback and green for a nightmare were very effective.
Both Jenna and Lucas end up at Camp Fielding because it is their parents last hope for them. They are both very smart but don’t show it. Lucas is a slacker running with the wrong crowd and his alcoholic mother doesn’t waste a moment letting him know how disappointing and stupid he is. Jenna, on the other hand, comes from a family of overachievers, both her parents are specialized doctors, her little sister is a genius planning her own specialized medical career, while Jenna just can’t join the family game. She acts out, being silly, embarrassing her parents and doesn’t bother to try to apply herself. Camp Fielding is an educational camp that is supposed to turn out geniuses. Both Jenna and Lucas are sent as a last resort. But things are not as they would have expected. They are only fed slop. Special campers are given ice cream treats for no particular reason. When Jenna’s ice cream is stolen by another girl she finds her bunk mates are all sleeping like the dead. Then a camper goes missing and when Jenna and Lucas venture into the woods and peek inside a solitary cabin they find, what they see has them scared out of their wits.
Not an overly complicated story and character development is focused on Jenna and Lucas. Even though they both do have a friend in their bunks, these characters are just used as plot devices and the rest of the campers are simply background. The story runs on plot alone and is a fun ride. Not entirely unpredictable, but creepy and enjoyable. I had a great read with it and like any good Twilight Zone episode it has an ending with a twist.
The Thin Executioner (Nicola)
The Thin Executioner by Darren Shan
Pages: 410
Ages: 14+
First Published: May 21, 2010 (UK, Can) Aug. 1, 2010 USA
Publisher: Harper Collins
Rating: 3.5/5
First sentence:
The executioner swung his axe - thwack! - and another head went rolling into the dust.
Acquired: Received a review copy from Harper Collins Canada.
Reason for Reading: I’m a big fan of the author’s. I was also very excited about this being his first standalone book.
The world of Makhras is made up of many different towns, empires, territories, etc. and each of these is peopled by it’s own unique society with their own traditions, religions, ways of life and behaviour. Mainly they keep to themselves except for trading and capturing each other as slaves, at least those who keep slaves. Jebel Rum is the runt in his family and when his father, the very respected town executioner announces that he will be retiring after a 30 year career, he only mentions Jebel’s two older brother’s as hopefully succeeding him in the contest that will be thrown to find the new executioner one year from that day. Jebel is fraught with shame, he has been dishonoured in his warrior society. With nothing left to loose he seeks a quest to a dangerous god’s lair faraway where it is promised he can receive invincibility if he makes it there only by land and brings a slave to offer to the god as a sacrifice. Then he would return and win the contest or at least die with honour on the quest.
I’m going to start right off by saying this is very different than anything Shan has written before and unfortunately it didn’t quite win me over. There were times I was very into the story, which I think just had much more potential than where Shan went with it. Other times, the story came over as very heavy-handed. The second main character, the slave, is a religious, non-violent person who explains all the different cultures they meet as they journey on and while he dare not say anyone is less equal than another in his one God’s eyes he would stand by and let an aggressor tear him to pieces or take his friends and neighbours away as slaves rather than break any rule of his religion by defending himself. I had a hard time knowing, at times, if Shan was writing this character as an ideal or was using him as the extreme opposite example to Jebel and his people, which I’m sure, I think, was supposed to be the point. Heavy-handed with the morals as he was, he just wasn’t the likable character to me that he should have been. Jebel starts off as an nasty piece of work, who thinks slaves are not human and possibly less worthless than animals. When meeting the other cultures, he quickly decides they are contemptible, stupid or crazy because of what they deem important compared to his own clan.
It is these two strange characters who embark on the hellish journey of Jebel’s quest which is full of dark dangers, terrible creatures and death-inducing terrain. Certainly an interesting story that kept me reading. Plenty of action, violence and creepiness. The plot could be simply broken down to the basic fantasy quest but covered up by adding dark elements such as an executioner, cannibals, rocks that digest people and a colony of people who live with and depend upon vampire bats, to name a few. Not Shan’s best work but worth a read by fans, at the least.
Manifest (Nicola)
Manifest by Artist Arthur
Mystyx series, book 1
Pages: 248
Ages: 13+
First Published: Aug 1, 2010
Publisher: Kimani Tru
Rating: 3.5/5
First sentence:
“I can’t hear you. I can’t hear you,” I repeat, talking to myself.
Acquired: Received a review copy from the book’s publicist.
Reason for Reading: The sounds of a Paranormal YA Ghost Whisperer with an added twist plot was enough to make me want to read it.
This is a book that I enjoyed more the further I got into it. I find that while I’m reading I often rate a book as I go along. This was a two at the beginning, a solid three by the middle and pushing a four and a half by the end so to sum it all off I’ve gone with an overall three and a half. Krystal can see dead people, hear them, have conversations with them and now they are asking her for help. Ricky Watson, a very cute boy, for a ghost, wants Krystal to find out who killed him and he won’t stop pestering her until she agrees to help him. Two other kids at school are trying to corner Krystal into meeting them somewhere secret when they find out Krystal has the mysterious ‘M’ birthmark that both of them also have. This may all be very exciting to some but not Krystal as she is in the middle of glooming over her parents divorce, her mother’s moving her from NYC to hicktown Connecticut and her subsequent marriage to Gerald who seems to hate Krystal almost as much as she hates him.
When I first started reading I really did not like the character of Krystal. She was full of angst, self-importance, rude to her mother and everyone else for that matter, whiny and basically a grating narrative voice to have to read. Krystal’s attitude remains the same for a good part of the book but fortunately the plot was exciting enough to keep me reading. There is a mystery to solve and the three teens set out to solve who killed Ricky; popular belief is that the crew he hung with had something to do with it but Ricky wants their names cleared and the real killer found. The story becomes more involved when Krystal meets another ghost in the boiler room, a crying girl who has had her head bashed in and thinks there may be a connection to Ricky’s death.
The plot was a fun read and I ended up reading the book in an afternoon. Little bits of information are leaked as the book progresses though I knew who the culprit was early on. This plot line is closed by the end of the book. In amongst the solving of the mystery, is a plot line where the teens found out about their birthmarks and powers, this, again, is an intriguing story arc and one that will continue through the series. They learn enough in this volume but there are many more questions to ask and so much more to know. The dynamics of the group of three who are from very different backgrounds is also explored and grows.
Krystal’s home life is an ongoing issue through the book and it just plain annoyed me. I’m not cold-hearted. I appreciate the drama of the situation, but it is one of those things where if everybody had just told the truth at the beginning there would not have been all this hatred and misery for so long. Toward the end there is some kind of resolution, and Krystal seems to lose her angst and bad attitude but we’ll have to wait until book two to find out for sure. Because Krystal aside I really liked all the other characters, especially Sasha and I’m quite excited to find out what the next book will bring.
Switch (Nicola)
Switch by Grant McKenzie
Pages: 427 pages
First Published: 2009 UK (Aug. 3, 2010 CAN)
Publisher: Penguin Canada
Genre: suspense, thriller
Rating: 5/5
First sentence:
Rick Ironwood staggered back from the blow, his trick knee giving out with a pop as his feet twisted sideways in a puddle of grimy engine oil.
Reason for Reading: The summary of this debut book by a resident Canadian had me very interested.
All I can start out with is a big WOW! This is not quite my usual fare of thriller which usually consists of the serial killer variety so I was not prepared for the intense serial-ness of this book. What an incredible story that in truth could happen to anyone. As the book first started off, I was reminded of a popular Hitchcock devise of the innocent man finding himself caught up in the middle of evil doings. These are innocent men, simple men, regular Joe’s who have been brought into the spider’s lair to play his nasty game. He kidnaps their families and then the men must do exactly as he says, being given missions of increasing moral complexity, or else he will kill the family.
As we enter the book, one man is at the end of his mission and believes that his wife and daughter have been murdered. At the same time another man has been brought into the game with the kidnapping, given the rules and his first mission. Eventually the two men meet and figure out a connection between themselves, thus trying to find a connection between them and the dead or injured, so they can figure out who hates them so much to be doing this, when they have never done anything illegal in their lives before.
This book starts off running and does not stop until the end. The chapters are quite short making this a very easy book to just keep going ‘one more chapter’ until the wee hours of the night. The fast pace means a lot of action, while this usually means character development suffers, in this case it doesn’t. McKenzie has his story revolving around a tight set of events and characters and the backstory up to that point flesh out the characters for us as do the conversations the men have and the moral choices they make as they fulfill their often deadly assignments.
The narrative is for the most part in the present with the two men but ever so occasionally we are briefly taken to the kidnap victims’ points of view to understand the terror they are going through and the utmost futility that they may be saved. Then again on even fewer occasions we are shown the evil mastermind’s point of view, hear his rantings, and know he is very clever, though he remains a mystery.
An amazingly intense read. Very scary, even though these characters do have a connection with each other, it is not a sinister one and the reader could visualize that some psycho could pick any group of people, possibly including themself, to play his sick and deadly game. This is one that hits home, uncomfortably close. How far would you go to save your family’s lives?
Read this one! Americans have the UK title available from a-zon or bookdepository. Otherwise I don’t see an upcoming US release in sight as of yet.
Let’s Take the Long Way Home (Caribousmom)
It’s an old, old story: I had a friend and we shared everything, and then she died and we shared that, too. -from the ARC of Let’s Take the Long Way Home, page 1-
Years ago I read Pack of Two: The Intricate Bond Between People and Dogs by Caroline Knapp which is a memoir about Knapp’s recovery from alcoholism and the dog that helped her through it. I remember at the time being unable to put the book down for long. Knapp wrote with an honesty and insight that pulled me into her world…and her relationship with her dog Lucille resonated with me.
Gail Caldwell was Knapp’s best friend. They were drawn together through their mutual love of dogs (in Caldwell’s case a Samoyed named Clementine), their similar battle with alcohol and a need that neither one knew they had at the time…to find a friend who would balance their own strengths and weaknesses.
Finding Caroline was like placing a personal ad for an imaginary friend, then having her show up at your door funnier and better than you had conceived. Apart, we had each been frightened drunks and aspiring writers and dog lovers; together we became a small corporation. - from the ARC of Let’s Take the Long Way Home, page 13 -
When later Knapp was diagnosed and quickly succumbed to metastatic lung cancer, Caldwell was faced with what seemed the impossible – to go forward with her life without her best friend at her side. Caldwell’s memoir encapsulates the years of friendship she shared with Knapp – the long walks with their dogs, the hours of rowing on the Charles River in Boston, the late night phone calls – and the grief Caldwell waded through when Knapp died. But it is also a story about the importance of friendship in our lives, the depth of love we have for others (people and animals alike), and the risk of loss when we decide to love another.
Caldwell’s prose is wise and elegant. The passages she shares about her relationship with Clementine made me laugh and cry. When she wrote about bringing her puppy home for the first time, I felt my heart clench with memory of when I first brought Caribou into my life.
After the first sleep deprived twenty-four hours of her invasion, I sat on the back porch with her sprawled asleep in my lap – she has white eyelashes! I thought – and tears started streaming down my face. I had had animals all my life, but never had my heart been seized with such unequivocal love. – from the ARC of Let’s Take the Long Way Home, page 37 -
I consumed this slim book in just over 24 hours, often with tears flooding my eyes. I could not seem to stop turning the pages even though dread sat on my shoulders. This was a tough book to read in many ways – sad and heartbreaking. But don’t let that stop you from reading it. It is also confirmation of the human spirit and our strength in the face of what feels like unbearable loss. We have all had loss in our lives – people who have been ripped from our lives before their time, spouses who have walked out on us, pets who have died – and it always feels insurmountable. Caldwell’s memoir is about surviving loss and moving forward; about embracing life; and about the special friendships that come into our lives when we least expect it but need them the most. This book is about taking risks of the heart and about discovering one’s inner strength.
Maybe this is the point: to embrace the core sadness of life without toppling headlong into it, or assuming it will define your days. The real trick is to let life, with all its ordinary missteps and regrets, be consistently more mysterious and alluring than its end. – from the ARC of Let’s Take the Long Way Home, page 180 -
Let’s Take the Long Way Home is a book which will stick with me. For those readers who are not afraid to open their hearts and immerse themselves in another person’s pain, but also their joy, this book is a must read.
