Category Archives: Contemporary

Review: Ghosts of Tupelo Landing by Sheila Turnage

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Paranormal, , , , , , ,

The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing by Sheila TurnageGhosts of Tupelo Landing (Mo and Dale Mysteries #2)
Sheila Turnage
Kathy Dawson Books
Published on February 4, 2014

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About Ghosts of Tupelo Landing
Small towns have rules. One is, you got to stay who you are – no matter how many murders you solve.

When Miss Lana makes an Accidental Bid at the Tupelo auction and winds up the mortified owner of an old inn, she doesn’t realize there’s a ghost in the fine print. Naturally, Desperado Detective Agency (aka Mo and Dale) opens a paranormal division to solve the mystery of the ghost’s identity. They’ve got to figure out who the ghost is so they can interview it for their history assignment (extra credit). But Mo and Dale start to realize that the Inn isn’t the only haunted place in Tupelo Landing. People can also be haunted by their own past. As Mo and Dale handily track down the truth about the ghost (with some help from the new kid in town), they discover the truth about a great many other people, too.

My Review
Three Times Lucky was one of my favorite books from my reading list last year, so as soon as I started listening to audiobooks (after my daughter was born at the end of the year), I knew I needed to get the sequel. While it’s packed with the same great characters as Three Times Lucky, I felt like the story didn’t have the same oomph. Maybe because I was already familiar with the town and people, so it didn’t have that same freshness as the first book. The ghost mystery didn’t have quite the same weight as a murder mystery, either, and it had some definite willing-suspension-of-disbelief requirements. Which is okay. It still had the same killer descriptions and hilarious antics and dialogue as well as a fantastic cast of characters.

I still enjoyed The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing a lot. I’m glad I read it—nothing wrong with more Mo and Dale in my reading. I would be interested in reading the third book. Fans of books like Because of Winn Dixie and Elsie Mae Has Something to Say will want to check out this series and won’t be able to help falling head over heels for Mo and Dale.

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Cultural Elements
Takes place in a small southern town. I think all the characters were white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Mo talks about her wish to marry Dale’s older brother someday.

Spiritual Content
Mo and Dale meet a ghost living in the old inn. They decide to interview her for a school project and hope they can figure out what happened to her so she can be at peace. They have some other ghostly encounters, like seeing ghost cars in the middle of the night.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
One of the men in Mo’s town is rumored to have a still where he brews alcohol.

 

Review: Every Day by David Levithan

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

Every Day
David Levithan
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Published on August 28, 2012

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About Every Day
Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.
There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

My Review
Conceptually, this is probably one of the most intriguing books I’ve read this year. It reminds me a tiny bit of the show Quantum Leap, except that we don’t ever learn why A travels from body to body. And of course, Every Day takes a lot more time for exploration of what this kind of existence would mean in terms of understanding gender and sexual orientation. On that topic, I felt like the story sometimes got a bit preachy.

I think my favorite character by far was Rhiannon. I liked that she’s obviously a good person even though she’s sort of blind to her boyfriend’s flaws and therefore flawed herself. She struggles to understand life around her and embrace the relationships in her life. I liked that.

A was tougher for me. I liked him a lot more at the beginning of the story than the end. At the beginning, he tries to be really respectful of the person’s life into which he’s trespassing. But as the story progresses and his obsession with Rhiannon grows, he takes bigger and bigger risks and soon pretty much hijacks the life he’s occupying in order to spend the time with her, regardless of the consequences to the other person. As the story resolves, A tries to be the bigger person and do what he sees as right, but even in that, I felt like he was a bit controlling. I don’t want to spoil the ending, so I don’t want to say more. I just felt like he again took the choice away from other people Even though it was well-meaning, it still felt selfish to me.

On the whole, Every Day is a truly unusual book that did make me think about relationships and the things in life we so easily take for granted, like actually being able to have relationships and even possessions from one day to the next. To be honest, I felt like while the story posed some interesting questions, the content and ideas might be confusing for younger teen readers. For me personally, this would be one to wait on introducing or to read together and discuss some of the ideas and what they mean in the context of faith. See below for more content information.

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Cultural Elements
A has no body and therefore no gender, though he still falls in love—once with a boy, once with a girl. A experiences life as straight, gay, and transgender teens. Sometimes A is white, sometimes Asian, sometimes black or Latina. At one point A is an obese teenager, and makes some disparaging comments about the person’s character because of his weight.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
A knows Rhiannon and her boyfriend have had sex. When A is Rhiannon’s boyfriend, they sit on the “make-out blanket” and kiss. Later, A and a girl plan to have sex, but A ends up feeling it’s not fair for him to take that experience from the person whose body he’s using. They do climb into bed naked and kiss one another. Some scenes show kisses between two boys or two girls or a boy and girl.

A believes gender is sort of meaningless and doesn’t understand why Rhiannon is more comfortable showing affection to boys than girls. The narrative occasionally gets a bit preachy about this.

Spiritual Content
A has some really negative feelings about Evangelical Christians in particular. One person A “borrowed” later claims he was possessed by the devil for a day. A pastor supports his theory.

Because A has experienced life as a participant in many different religions, he feels they’re all the same and ultimately share the same goals. There’s a short passage in which the narrative focuses on this topic and emphasizes a belief that all religions are essentially equal.

Violent Content
A boy punches another boy in a school gym.

Drug Content
A, as a sixteen-year-old girl, watches her brother smoke a joint in the car on the way to school. She helps him lie to their parents about his drug use so he doesn’t get into trouble.

Teens drink alcohol at a party. A doesn’t drink because the boy whose life he is in wouldn’t do so.

A boy makes a comment about how much he enjoys using his girlfriend’s mom’s pills.

Review: If You’re Gone by Brittany Goodwin

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

If You’re Gone
Brittany Goodwin
Edge of 22
Published on June 20, 2016

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About If You’re Gone
Lillian White was planning for the perfect summer- spending every waking minute at the lake with her heartthrob boyfriend, Brad Lee. But her world is shattered when Brad mysteriously disappears the night of his graduation ceremony- the same night he tells her he loves her for the first time. After law enforcement dismisses the case, classifying Brad as voluntarily missing, Lillian becomes desperate to prove that he couldn’t have just walked away. Not from his family. Not from his friends. Not from her.

Heartbroken but determined to find answers, Lillian begins to uncover secrets from Brad’s past that force her to question everything she thought she knew about him and their relationship. Will the truth lead her to him? Or are Brad’s lies just the beginning of the mystery?

My Review
I liked that this story explores a different side of a missing person case. While Lil believes only something terrible would keep her boyfriend Brad from coming home, she can’t help but be concerned about the things he kept from her. She believes he must be out there somewhere, which only makes it harder for her to find her way through her grief process—something she struggles to communicate to her family and friends.

Her mom’s response to Brad’s disappearance frustrated me. I felt like there were several characters all hitting the same flat note where they had used up all their patience and compassion and sort of wanted Lil to snap out of her depression and worry. I’m sure that’s a realistic experience, but I guess some of the similarities in response made some of the scenes and characters feel repetitive or two-dimensional.

The end definitely wasn’t what I expected, which I also found appealing in concept. What was harder, though, was that there are several things that happen in close succession near the end which feel like sharp turns, and I felt like I didn’t always understand the abrupt changes in Lil or the people around her. It felt like there should have been more explanation or a slower progression or some additional development to better anchor those changes into the story.

Overall, though, If You’re Gone is a quick read with an unusual take on a popular YA theme. If you’re into missing person stories, put this one on your list.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Few race/cultural details. Most characters seem to be white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kissing between a boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Lil prays sometimes, usually in the desperate way of someone overwhelmed and longing for God to ease burdens. She and her family attend church regularly, and church values are a significant part of Lil’s life.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
Lil celebrates with friends, sharing a bottle of champagne with them.

 

Review: When Light Left Us by Leah Thomas

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

When Light Left Us
Leah Thomas
Bloomsbury
Published on February 13, 2018

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About When Light Left Us
When the Vasquez siblings’ father left, it seemed nothing could remedy the absence in their lives . . . until a shimmering figure named Luz appeared in the canyon behind their house.

Luz filled the void. He shot hoops with seventeen-year-old Hank’s hands. He showed fourteen-year-old Ana cinematic beauty behind her eyelids. He spoke kindly to eight-year-old Milo. But then Luz left, too, and he took something from each of them. As a new school year begins, Ana, Hank, and Milo must carry on as if an alien presence never altered them. But how can they ever feel close to other people again when Luz changed everything about how they see the world and themselves?

In an imaginative and heartfelt exploration of human—and non-human—nature, Leah Thomas champions the unyielding bonds between family and true friends.

My Review
When Light Left Us is a really odd book. Some of the oddness kind of made it hard for me to get into the story at first. I liked all three of the kids, though, so as I got to know them, I got more into the story. The writing is amazing. Even when the plot didn’t hook me, I would find myself lost in the stark descriptions of things, especially of the emotions of the characters. Thomas finds these really powerful and often unorthodox ways of describing things that is like tossing you into a swimming pool of that emotion. Suddenly, you’re swallowed up by feelings. I loved that about her earlier books and found it to be equally true in this one, too.

I liked that the siblings had really distinct traits and ways of thinking and talking. Ana with her sarcasm and Hank with his uncertainty. Milo with his helium-filled optimism. So great! I wasn’t crazy about the fact that their mom had her own point-of-view scenes at first, but it did add to the story. I’m not sure if teen readers would connect with her the same way that I did as a mom, though. Lots of the things she said and did resonated with me.

All in all, the story never gets un-weird. A strange alien-ish creature changes the lives of the humans it contacts. They must fight their way back from the trauma of losing their dad and then losing contact with the alien presence. But the characters, the power of the storytelling make When Light Left Us a strong, unforgettable story.

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Cultural Elements
Hank, Ana, and Milo’s dad is Mexican and their mom is white. Hank is gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing and references to kissing between a boy and girl and a boy and boy.

Spiritual Content
Luz is possibly an alien or other sentient being who communicates with his hosts and can take control of their bodies.

Violent Content
Hank remembers attacking two people and trying to choke them. Ana has a history of cutting herself and briefly remembers some of those experiences. A boy attacks Hank, punching and kicking him. Luz seems fascinated with death and nearly forces two people to end their lives while he controls them.

Drug Content
None.

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

 

Review: The Phantom of the Fortress by Aaron M. Zook, Jr.

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller

The Phantom of the Fortress (Thunder and Lightning #3)
Aaron M. Zook, Jr.
Bold Vision Books
Published November 8, 2016

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About The Phantom of the Fortress
A psychologically disturbed Austrian, who believes he is the reincarnation of Mozart, will hold all of Salzburg, Austria under his spell unless Gabe, Alex, and Thunder and Lightning can unravel the clues, solve the mystery, and capture the master of deception. Along the way, tricks and traps become more complex as townspeople pay the price for each error made by the boys. Thunder and Lightning, along with a team of the boy’s friends, work to save the town, but a surprise twist puts the fare of Salzburg on the shoulders of Gabe. Will he crumple under the weight? Will he overcome the madman’s menace?

My Review
I liked the balance in the amount of dialogue and the way it’s used to communicate action to the reader. It made the book a much quicker read and kept scenes from getting bogged down with too many details. On the flip side, though, at times I felt like the description was a little thin. For instance, I had a hard time visualizing the actual size of the dogs and sometimes had a hard time with some of the unfamiliar settings.

You’ll want to limber up your suspension of disbelief before picking up this book. Early in the story Alex and Gabe receive permission from the police captain to work with their cousin on an open case pursuing a murderer. As the chase continues, at one point a bomb injures one boy. No one at the police department seems terribly concerned that perhaps the kids shouldn’t be exposed to this kind of danger. I found that a bit hard to believe.

The plot moves pretty quickly, with the Phantom always a step ahead. The fast-paced action kept things interesting, but I felt like I never really understood what was going on with the Phantom. What did he actually want? Money? Fame? Why was he so obsessed with Mozart? Though the setting tied the story together with facts about Mozart’s life, I didn’t feel like the Phantom himself really connected those dots. He thought he was Mozart perhaps reincarnated, but why? I also wanted him to have more of a character. I also felt like the repeated references to his “horrible birthmark” were insensitive and unkind. I get it that he’s the bad guy, but wanted a little more compassion from the good guys on that point.

Despite the farfetched plot, this story may appeal to readers who enjoy overseas settings with historical significance or tales about kid detectives.

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Cultural Elements
Gabe (15) and Alex (13) are Americans in Austria, where their father is stationed with the military. Their close friends, Pete and Jenna are Austrian. Gabe and Alex work with their cousin Willie, an Australian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Gabe and Jenna discuss the status of their dating relationship, which has no real physical component. Gabe feels he’s too young to get serious with a girl, but Jenna’s feelings are strong and she wants a greater commitment from him.

Spiritual Content
In a few scenes one of the boys talks with an older mentor about prayer and depending on God to help solve problems. He asks the group to pray before beginning one part of their mission.

Violent Content
Gabe and Alex find a gravely injured man. A bomb destroys a train car and injures several passengers, including children. At one point it appears both dogs have been killed, possibly by gunshots. Burning oil injures several people. A wall closes in, nearly crushing two people.

Drug Content
None.

Review: Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert

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

Little & Lion
Brandy Colbert
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published August 8, 2017

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About Little & Lion

When Suzette comes home to Los Angeles from her boarding school in New England, she isn’t sure if she’ll ever want to go back. L.A. is where her friends and family are (along with her crush, Emil). And her stepbrother, Lionel, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, needs her emotional support.

But as she settles into her old life, Suzette finds herself falling for someone new…the same girl her brother is in love with. When Lionel’s disorder spirals out of control, Suzette is forced to confront her past mistakes and find a way to help her brother before he hurts himself–or worse.

My Review

My favorite thing about this book has to be the relationship between Suzette and her stepbrother, Lionel. My household is a blended family, and we spend a lot of time talking about how family isn’t always only people related to you by blood. Sometimes life puts other people into your path and they become part of your family, too. I’ve read lots of young adult and middle grade books about the difficulty of transitioning to a blended family home and how hard it can be to develop those relationships. Those stories are important, too, but it’s nice to see books that present other parts of the family journey. So reading a book in which the family had already forged those complex bonds with step-members was awesome.

I liked and appreciated the diversity in the story. Little & Lion creates a community with members across varied orientations and has characters with physical and mental health issues. It could be said that perhaps some of the handling of Lionel’s illness gets a little stereotypical in that he decides to throw out his medication at one point. (I’m not sure I can think of a story about someone with bipolar disorder which doesn’t involve throwing out meds.) But it’s not the focus of the story, and Lionel never felt defined by his illness, especially not to Suzette, who longs for the kind of close relationship they had before she left for boarding school.

On the whole, I thought the storytelling and the writing were strong. I found it easy to connect with the characters emotionally. I struggled with some of the casual attitudes about teen drinking and some of the sexual content. See the content notes below for more specifics.

Readers who liked Jess, Chunk and the Road Trip to Infinity will enjoy Suzette’s journey toward self-understanding and the diverse cast of characters.

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Cultural Elements
Very diverse cast of characters. Suzette is bisexual. Her best friend is a lesbian. Her brother has bipolar disorder. Her mom is black, her stepdad and brother white. They are also Jewish. Suzette begins dating a boy who’s black and Korean and diagnosed with Meniere’s disease.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used fairly frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some references and brief descriptions of sexual situations—making out and touching. In one scene a boy and girl have sex. Other scenes reference two girls in a sexual exchange.

Spiritual Content
Suzette meets a girl whose mother kicked her out of her home for religious reasons when she got an abortion.

Violent Content
A couple of boys get into a fist fight.

Drug Content
Teens drinking alcohol. Suzette worries about her brother drinking because she feels he doesn’t know his limits. Both are underage.

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