The Shifter, a creature born of mists and magic, is sworn to protect the king and his family. She does this with great power, and without emotion, for she is not truly human. Or so the legends say. Isabel doesn’t remember being The Shifter, though. She doesn’t remember anything at all. When Prince Rokan takes […]
Category Archives: Young Adult
Book Review: Griffin Rising
Have you ever wondered if there are angels among us? Guardian angels, who help us during all those times we get into trouble? If it seems like a miracle that you survived a bad car accident, maybe it was. And what if one of those angels looked like a sixteen-year-old boy and lived across the […]
Book Review: The Darkest Powers
The Summoning, The Awakening, and The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong make up the Darkest Powers trilogy, a young adult fantasy series about a fifteen-year-old girl who sees ghosts — or perhaps, she’s schizophrenic — at first, she isn’t sure. Read together, these three books tell a complete story of a group of teenagers trying to […]
Book Review: Mockingjay
Title: Mockingjay Author: Suzanne Collins The final volume in the Hunger Games trilogy left me feeling empty inside, especially after the dark, emotional roller-coaster of the first. I would say I feel disappointed, because on some level that’s true, but to be honest the book didn’t surprise me much after the direction things took in […]
Book Review: City of Bones
Title: City of Bones Author: Cassandra Clare Genre: YA fantasy/contemporary City of Bones tells the story of Clary Fray, a fifteen-year-old girl who is about to awaken to a hidden magical world. One night, while dancing at a club with a friend, she sees something she shouldn’t have seen — couldn’t have seen. Before she […]
“Twilight” by Stephenie Meyer
I’ll admit it — I wasn’t in a big hurry to pick up this novel despite all the hype. I’m not a huge fan of vampires, although I recently enjoyed Jim Butcher’s novels and his depiction of vampires. So when my book club decided to make this its October pick, I thought, “What the heck?” […]
Madeleine L’Engle
One of my all-time favorite authors, Madeleine L’Engle, died last night at the age of 88. A Wrinkle in Time was one of the first science fiction books I ever read…and reread. It was inspirational to me, both as a young reader and as a young writer. The main character, Meg, reminded me a lot […]
Roswell High by Melinda Metz
I decided to read the Roswell High series after I started to watch and fall in love with the TV series based on those books. (I’ll have more to say about the TV series later.) If you’ve watched the show, then I can tell you that while the book and the show start out almost […]
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows — SPOILERS!
If you have not read the seventh and final volume in the Harry Potter series, please do not read any further. I will reveal crucial plot points and the ending of this novel. You have been warned! Well, I promised it over a week ago but here it is today: my thoughts on the last […]
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows — teasers but no spoilers
I’ve just finished the last book in the Harry Potter saga and it was, in a word, amazing. From page one this book grabs you by the heart and does not let go. There was sadness, fear, hope, loss, and almost desperate moments of hilarity that came as a welcome relief. At points I cried […]