Witchy, Witchy - by Penelope King

Witchy, Witchy is a young adults book suitable for young adults aged 13 and over. Though there is a scene of a near-rape, so I’d like to add a caution and parental guidance to the book, too.

Having some abilities similar to the lead character, I was drawn to read this book to see if there was any truthful elements to this book or if it was solely written from a fantasy level as many are.

It didn't take me long to get sucked into the story though. The characters are likeable, which added to my enjoyment. Although much of the book is written from a fictional angle, I’m pleased to say that there are some good factual elements regarding Calista’s abilities in there, too… although the fact that she was immediately able to locate Savannah left me with more than a few questions unanswered – especially when many of us don’t come into our powers properly until we reach our teenage years and she’d gone from a howling wreck on the floor to walking straight up to Savannah. That wouldn’t have happened in the real world.

I was 23 when I was hit by an experience similar to that described… and there was no way would I have been able to do that. Speaking on a personal level, I’m still affected by it on a daily basis. So there are things I’d like to see changed, but in general, the book is a great read that I really enjoyed – especially some of the witch side of things.

Surviving The Fog - By Stan Morris

Surviving The Fog is another book that I'd place Parental Guidance on for the younger Young Adults because there are references to sex, rape, murder and hanging as well as sporadic violence scattered throughout the book.

The story follows a group of children who are attending an abstinence awareness camp up in the mountain when they find that all connections to the outside world are cut off. The camp adults set out to find out why they've had no mail for the children and fail to return. When it becomes clear to the children at the camp that the adult's haven't returned, they band together and begin preparations for their long term survival in the camp.

As far as books go, I guess it wasn't that bad a read since it grabbed and kept my attention from cover to cover - but there were some things that I think could and should have been dealt with differently.

I liked some of the ideas that the children came up with... although, for a camp housing children of the age range that they had, I feel that more basic survival ideas should have kicked in and been implemented. Thirteen year old children should know that they can grow certain foods and vegetables from the ground without needing a neighbor from up the street to tell them that this could be possible.

The point where the army became involved could have been made better if there'd been more umming and harring before the decision was made to leave the kids down at the camp - in reality, the army wouldn't be wanting to enter into this decision as lightly as they seemed to do because they'd have had concerns about the welfare of the children in the camp.

I also feel that the ending was a little rushed and I'd have liked to have seen what would have happened as the fog gradually receded.

I found the characters to be likable enough though with enough variation to tell that they each had their own personality and skill set that they bought to the table in order to ensure that the camp survived.

The Child Thief - By Melissa Snark

This book is suitable for young adults aged 13 and over. The Child Thief is a short story, although it does make up part of a series of short stories. Someone or something is going around town and killing parents so that they can have the children. Is there any way that they can be stopped?

For Alpha werewolf Victoria Storm, the survival of her pack is her main priority but when she hears about a missing boy is it possible that she could save him and still lead her pack to safety or are they all doomed? One thing I always find with short stories is that they tend to be good books – although their length always seems to leave you feeling somewhat disappointed, and this was no exception. The plot flows nice and smoothly and I wasn’t able to find any typing errors within the story itself – although the reverences to “Victoria” and “Victory” does make the read a little more confusing at times.

I liked the way that the author has taken a supernatural creature and given it a spiritual twist – for me, this actually makes the story a little more believable in a way that I’m able to better relate to the character. I didn’t like the height of the bad guy quite so much though. Sure, I get that if you add a spiritual twist to it, you can see exactly what the author’s point was by making the baddie so big, but since many spiritual children don’t begin their spiritual journeys until much later in life this point and it’s meaning are going to be lost on them.

Summer Of My Secret Angel

Summer of my Secret Angel is a Young Adult Paranormal Romance book. For the most part, it is suitable for young adults – although I have to put a “Parental Guidance” warning on it because there are some scenes that parents might feel are unsuitable for younger young adults.

Summer of my Secret Angel in itself was an interesting book – not only for what I found between it’s pages but also because of what I learned while I was researching this page. Before I get into the review, you might be interested to know that Summer of my Secret Angel has also previously been published as Loving Your Lies and Her Game, His Rules.

The book is set in modern day London to start with, then progresses to France. It follows the story of a child in a children’s home who just happens to be a petty thief after associating herself with the wrong people. After being caught stealing once too often, she is sent to court and the judge sentences her to go and spend a few months living with her mother and her family in France. A mother that she has no intention of getting to know. Is it possible to turn things around or have all the bridges been burned?

One thing I didn't like was that the story is a little slow to build up to the main part of the plot – and in that build-up, the author inadvertently gives away where she is heading with the book. That spoiled my enjoyment of the book a little.

With that said, the book is worth taking the time to read for the Angel scenes that come later on in the book, which, for me, redeemed the act of giving away the plot so early on in the book.

Triton - by Dan Rix

 

Triton is another “grey area” book. It’s marketed as a Young Adult book, but it’s not something I’d feel comfortable recommending to young adults because of some of the language used and some of the scenario’s that the characters get into.

The book follows the story of a group of teenagers on a cruise through the abduction of the adults and they have to grow up fast when they find themselves in sole control of a huge cruise liner.

I found the book to be okay. The plot flowed smoothly enough and I liked the reference to Costa Concordia… though I can’t help but feel that it’s still a little too close to the tragedy for such references. I didn’t much care for the graphic details of the abuse suffered by one of the characters – especially since there’s hardly a mention of the mental abuse suffered by anyone who has been through this type of abuse.

One thing I’m always saying is “Research your conditions”. If your character has a scar s/he doesn’t want others to see, there’s no way would they be wearing a bikini for all the tea in China. In general, while the story is good, I can’t help but feel that very little (if any) time has been spent on research prior to the book’s release – which is a shame because a little research would make a good book better.

I liked the survival instinct of the characters though, when up against things, they seemed to develop old heads on young shoulders – although they were a little foolish at times which made their ages seem a little more believable.

Mindspeak - By Heather Sunseri

Mindspeak is suitable for young adults aged 13 and over. The story follows the life of a young woman who finds out that she is a clone that was designed to cure people who have damaged brains.

Interestingly enough, she seems to be a well rounded individual who’s talents seem to know no limits… as well as being on the school swim team, she’s able to enter an art exhibition, spend a lot of time studying brains as well as making great headway in breaking school rules and fighting those who want her to join "The Program".

Mindspeak wouldn’t typically be a book I’d choose to read by myself… but I was attracted to it’s cover while building a list of books on Squidoo (a now defunct writing platform), so I took the plunge and grabbed a copy – the fact that it was free when I grabbed my copy also sealed the deal for me.

As far as books go, I found it quite interesting, though I would have liked to have known a little more of Jack’s story rather than being told the way that things were, It’s hard to develop an attachment to characters when there is little to no chance to make up your own mind about them and their intentions.

The series is also very open to spin offs, too since there were several characters I wouldn’t have minded a chance to learn more about – to figure out why they turned out the way that they have at this point in the story. For me, getting to know people is a huge thing in my enjoyment of the book.

You can buy Mindspeak from the following venues:- Amazon UK Amazon US Book Depositary Half.com

Skid - by Doug Solter

Skid is a young adult book marketed at young adults aged 16 and above.

The book follows the story of Sam who’s main dream in life is to live out her father’s dream of being a formula 1 racing driver. The problem is that everything is stacked against her from the start, can she get her foot through the door or should she just stay home with her family?

I found Skid to be a very interesting read both on the track and off it because it highlights a lot of the problems that still exist today with women trying to work in what are typically assumed to be masculine jobs – though it does go a little too extreme in places… I find it hard to believe that Formula 1 would allow girls and women to race with the men when even football has it’s own leagues for women, and to a degree, I’d have liked to have seen that picked up on a little better within the book.

I liked the way that the book picked up on the way that women working in a male dominant environment can sometimes be perceived as “sex objects” too – this is a problem I’ve heard about from many women currently working in this type of environment… and the fact that they are married doesn’t seem to go far in protecting them from this.

I would have liked to have seen the idea that the heroine was bi-sexual or a lesbian played out a little though, I feel it would have added a nice twist to the plot before she became too involved with Manny.

You can buy Skid at the following venues:- Amazon UK Amazon US Book Depository Kobo

The Mayor and the Garbage - By Deborah Dian

This book is suitable for young adults aged 13 and over. In general, I think that it's a book that we should all read at least once in our lifetimes because there is much that we can learn from it.

What would happen if we didn’t do anything to protect our environment? Mike finds out first hand what could happen after he plans to go fishing with his friend – except all the fish are dead. Of course, this sparks an investigation into why the fish are dead – but could dead fish be just the tip of the problem here?

Environment books aren’t always something that tend to grab and keep my attention simply because a lot of the time I tend to feel that I’m being preached to. However, this book is different to many on the market because it looks at the difference a teenager can make – which had me wondering… if a teenager can make this much difference, then what impact could I have?

You can grab your copy of The Mayor And The Garbage at the following venues:-

Amazon UK
Amazon US
Book Depositary 

See You Soon - By Lindsay Chamberlin

See You Soon is a book that is suitable for young adults aged thirteen and over. The book follows the story of Tessaira after she had left her small town in an attempt to escape the feelings she had for James. Could it be that distance is all that she needs or is there more to this story than first meets the eye?

Tessaira is able to avoid the small town where she grew up for four years by inviting her parents to visit her in New York on special occasions - but the return home is inevitable sometimes. The question is if she can manage it without seeing the object of her heart's desire.

As far as books go, I have to say that this was a good one... however, my enjoyment of it was spoiled by the fact that it jumps around quite a bit from person to person and present to past. With that said, it's well worth sticking with to see if they will or won't finally get together in the end.

Anyone who has gone through their first love should be able to relate to the characters and the roller coaster of emotions that they are riding on - and that was what endeared me to the characters from the first page right through to the last page.

You can buy See You Soon at the following retailers:-

Amazon UK
Amazon US
Book Depositary