Category Archives: Contemporary

Review: I am the Weapon by Allen Zadoff

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

I Am the Weapon by Allen ZadoffI Am the Weapon
Allen Zadoff
Little, Brown and Company
Published May 13, 2014

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

You will think he’s your best friend. Then, when tragedy strikes someone close to you, he’ll disappear, fade into memory.

Since he was 12, he’s been in the Program. He moves from place to place, from one assignment to another, befriending someone close to his target and then quietly completing his mission: assassination.

But the latest mission is different. Memories swell to the surface of his mind and the daughter of his target sees him too clearly. Instead of honing in for the kill, he hangs back, hovering too close to the raw emotions of this family so recently touched by another loss.

If word of his hesitation reaches his superiors, he is as good as terminated. Despite that risk, he can’t help falling for the beautiful, tragic girl whose father he is supposed to kill. If he could understand why he was sent to destroy this man, perhaps he could still convince himself to follow orders. That’s the thing about information, though: once he starts asking questions, he can’t ignore the answers and what they mean may throw himself and the girl he loves directly in the line of fire.

Readers who like their plots fast and furious will fall face-first into the wild ride of this suspenseful story. Zadoff spools out clues about the protagonist’s traumatic past, his shockingly intense training and his history with the Program who trained him, expertly pacing the first novel of The Unknown Assassin series. Fans of Rick Yancey’s The 5th Wave may also enjoy this book.

Language Content
Extreme but infrequent.

Sexual Content
The boy who calls himself Benjamin finds himself caught between two aggressive girls, one of whom is not shy about offering sexual favors, including oral sex. Ben refuses her, but does briefly reference a previous sexual experience and engages in sex with another girl during the timeline of the story. Few details are given about either occurrence.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violence
The protagonist is a trained and deadly assassin. Though his usual method involves subtly injecting his victim with a powerful serum that causes near immediate death, occasionally he is forced to take on opponents in a much more active manner. The descriptions of these encounters are clinical and brief. Memories of his father’s capture and evident torture haunt him as well. He does not witness any ill treatment of his father, but is traumatized by the memory nonetheless.

Drug Content
A drug stored in a special pen incapacitates and kills quickly. Teens at a party enjoy alcoholic drinks.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Save

Review: Seekers of the Lost Boy by Taryn Hayes

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , ,

Seekers of the Lost Boy
Taryn Hayes
Maledi
Published May 3, 2013

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

A light at the water’s edge prompts twelve year-old Simon to leave his family and return to the shore one last time. There he finds a bottle containing a message that will send his family on an incredible quest. The author of the message, a young boy, simply asks: Who is God and does he care about me?

As Simon’s family discusses their own answers, he can’t help wanting to communicate with this boy who asked the question so many years ago. With their father’s permission, Simon’s mother helps Simon locate the man who wrote the message. His story forces them to face dark moments from the past in a new way and to look on the future with greater hope and peace.

In a charming story set in South Africa, author Taryn Hayes reveals snippets of history along with explorations of one of life’ biggest questions. The result is a sweet story of Believers across lines of races and generations and a message that knowing God and finding hope in Him is the only foundation for inner peace.

Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Simon’s dad believes in God, but his mother does not. The family meets a man who tells them about his own spiritual journey and how he became a Christian.

Violence
A man very briefly tells of a time he and his grandfather were beaten by a policeman.

Drug Content
None.

Save

Save

Review: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

WE WERE LIARS
E. Lockhart
Delacorte Press
Published May 13, 2014

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About We Were Liars

Since she was a little girl, Cadence has been spending summers with her Sinclaire cousins and family friend on a private island. In the infamous, wealthy Sinclaire family, emotions must be kept in check. Addictions and criminal behavior are not allowed.

But the summer after Cadence’s grandmother passes away, her perfect family falls into turmoil, and Cadence leaves the island with a mysterious head injury she can’t remember receiving.

When Cadence begs to return to the island to be with her family again, her mother relents. Still no one will discuss Cadence’s injury with her, and she is forced to uncover the truth on her own.

My Review

Okay, so… full disclosure. I started reading this book one morning while I was waiting for my then-boyfriend to wake up and be ready to meet up for lunch. The chapters are short, and the story is so intense that I may have left him waiting for me for over an hour while I scrambled to read one more chapter after just one more chapter.

I couldn’t get enough. I had to know what would happen. The writing is beautiful and sort of haunting, and it’s the kind of story that gets inside you and won’t let go.

WE WERE LIARS is packed full of stark, beautiful prose and gut-wrenching emotion. Cadence experiences the fullness of love and loss, and through Lockhart’s phenomenal storytelling, readers can’t help but share in those moments. The relationships between family members feel so real and sometimes so toxic. Every chapter uncovers new questions. And the ending left me completely breathless.

Needless to say, I read this book in one sitting. I couldn’t put it down at all. It’s been one of the books I talk about over and over, and certainly one that stayed with me since I’ve read it.

Content Notes

Language Content
Extreme word choice, moderate frequency.

Sexual Content
Cadence’s cousin claims to have had lots of “sexual intercourse” with a boyfriend back home. She promises details, but shares nothing graphic or specific.

Spiritual Content
Cadence and Gat briefly discuss whether or not they believe in God.

Violence
None.

Drug Content
The cousins sneak wine from their parents and drink it.

Disclaimer
I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links.

Save

Save

Review: Torn Away by Jennifer Brown

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

Torn Away
Jennifer Brown
Little, Brown and Company
Published May 6, 2014

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Fifteen year-old Jersey lives an annoyingly ordinary life, starting dinners for her working mother and dodging invitations to dance with her five year-old sister. All that changes when a fearsome storm spawns a deadly tornado that rips through Jersey’s life, leaving only wreckage in its wake.

Jersey survives the storm, but its aftermath sends her reeling. She’s lost everything. As she bounces from relative to relative, still shell-shocked by the memories of her home literally crumbling around her and swallowed by a powerful grief. Only a connection with another grieving family member will allow Jersey’s grief to begin releasing her.

For much of this story, Jersey’s life goes from bad to worse. Only the most callused human beings can endure her journey through the tornado without feeling moved to empathy. Brown’s storytelling shines in those scenes as she describes not only the devastation caused by the storm, but the sheer helplessness and overwhelmed feelings of survivors.

But the storm’s end is only the beginning of Jersey’s troubles when she’s cast on a family that has no desire nor capacity to care for her. Jersey seemed to keep readers at an emotional distance, though, as perhaps she’s done with everyone, even her besties from school. Even at the story’s end, as Jersey begins to fully grieve, we glimpse just a crack in her outer walls.

Language Content
Infrequent but extreme use of profanity and crude language.

Sexual Content
Brief, vague references to infidelity among adults.

Spiritual Content
Jersey’s neighbor prays for fellow storm victims and for herself. Later, Jersey’s grandmother invites her to church, telling her that prayer might help her grieve for her losses. Jersey does eventually pray, though mostly to communicate with a lost family member.

Violence
Jersey’s step-sisters bully her and a physical fight ensues.

Drug Content
Jersey’s dad and step-mom are often drunk.

Blogger’s Note
As we approach the storm season for the Midwest, I can’t help remembering the headlines of the last several years. As a native Floridian, it’s hard to get my head around the sheer mass of the tornadoes that devastated towns, families and lives in their paths.

My work for an incredible company assisting in the creation of 3D city models sometimes allows me to view places and experience events that I would not otherwise get to witness. One such example was when we created before and after models showing the destruction of the 2011 tornado in Joplin, MO. You can see a short video of the model footage on YouTube here.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Save

Save

Save

Save

Review: Tessa by Melissa Wiltrout

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

Tessa
Melissa Wiltrout
Life Sentence Publishing
Published September 3, 2013

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Fifteen year-old runaway Tessa Minor is forced to return home after being caught shoplifting some food from a grocery store. She dreads the moment she has to face her father again, knowing he’ll make her pay for every hour she’s been on her own. She wakes in the back yard shed at home, battered and bruised from her father’s punishment. When she’s finally able to return to school, Tess dodges questions from her friends but can’t help feeling curious about the new girl, Heather, who speaks openly about her faith and is warm and kind to Tessa. In the midst of a violent altercation at home, Tess escapes through her bedroom window and runs to Heather’s home, where her grandparents take care of her. Gradually, their steadfast love and faith permeates Tess’s home life, and Tess begins to see changes even in her parents’ behavior. But after living in filth and terror for so long, Tess isn’t sure she can trust that the changes are for real or that they erase the horror of her past.

Tessa’s immaturity and tenaciousness made her a believable girl in her early teens, though her bad attitude was sometimes a little much to swallow. Wiltrout captures the chaos and uncertainty of life with an abuser, but it was difficult to understand why Tessa’s mother stayed with him, since she didn’t seem really dependent on him. The spiritual journeys each character takes were largely believable and authentic. Often the critical moment came not through conversation with another person but because of it, which feels more true to life. Forgiveness and consequences were also nicely balanced in a story which deals with redemption of someone with a serious criminal history.

While some of the story elements were a little underdeveloped, Wiltrout shows an overall good sense of story and character development as well as a nice grasp of how to authentically incorporate spiritual awakening into her scenes.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild and infrequent.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
When Tessa meets Heather and her grandparents, she also wins an introduction to their faith as Christians. Soon Tess begins to see God moving through her small family.

Violence
Tessa’s father mercilessly punishes her for running away and anytime she makes a mistake. Angry and brutal, he beats her severely enough for her to lose consciousness.

Drug Content
Tess’s dad also demands she help him concoct methamphetamine in an abandoned structure. While Tess never uses the drug, she suffers physical consequences from exposure to the chemicals used in the process. No ingredients are named, nor is the process described in any detail. Participants ultimately serve time in jail.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Save

Save

Review: There You’ll Find Me by Jenny B. Jones

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

There You’ll Find Me
Jenny B. Jones
Thomas Nelson
Published October 3, 2011

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Embattled by grief over her brother’s murder, eighteen year-old Finley Sinclaire embarks on a journey, hoping to encounter the God he so powerfully sensed in the beautiful Irish countryside. Though God seems to elude her, she can’t seem to escape the attentions of teen heart-throb and actor Beckett Rush. With mounting pressure to perfect her audition composition for the New York Conservatory, win over her assigned adopted grouch – er, grandmother – and avoid being caught in the web of girls falling for Beckett, Finley’s life spirals out of her control. Only an encounter with God can right her, but where is He?

Fans of Jones’ earlier novels will not be disappointed in her latest book. With equal parts wit, fun, and spiritual depth, There You’ll Find Me brings readers on a journey through the lonely chill of grief to the warmth of budding love and the power of forgiveness, all set against a gorgeous Irish backdrop.

At first I was a little worried that the whole teen heartthrob thing would be a bit cliche. I think Jones’s expert writing and sense of humor kept the story interesting. I loved Finley right away – she’s so easy to identify with, and her spiritual journey felt so authentic to me.

Readers who enjoy Sarah Dessen, Nicole Quigley, or Laura Weiss will want to add this one to their reading lists.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Finley is on a spiritual quest to follow her brother’s journal entries and revisit the places he wrote about in order to encounter God in those places and use the inspiration of the Irish countryside to finish a musical composition. She learns about forgiveness and about how sometimes grief, expectation, and busyness can distract and prevent us from hearing the voice of God in our times of need.

Violence
None.

Drug Content
None.

Save

Save

Save