Category Archives: Paranormal

When Wings Don’t Mean Freedom: Review of Nightbird by Alice Hoffman

Book Review and Content, Middle Grade 8-12, Paranormal, Romance, , ,

Nightbird
Alice Hoffman
Random House Children’s

Twig Fowler and her family return to her mother’s hometown after a childhood spent in the city. Her mother insists that she keep no friends and remains alone, holed up on an apple orchard baking pies and other goods to be sold in town. Twig’s brother James also chafes at the isolation. He only comes out at night, when no one will see the long wings sprouting from his back.

When rumors of a monster stir up the townsfolk, Twig begins to panic. If a search is called for, her brother might be discovered. It might be easy to stay hidden if it weren’t for Twig’s new neighbors, a family with two girls near her age. One late night Twig spots James and Agate, the older sister of the neighboring family, alone in the forest. But before James can be free to love and live as a normal person, they have to find a way to undo the family curse. Twig might be just the person to solve that problem.

There were a lot of great elements to this story: the mystery surrounding the curse, Twig’s mother’s sadness and her absent father, a boy with wings who falls in love. As I read, I kept comparing it to The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, which I think is a mistake, because Nightbird isn’t trying to be that kind of story. The similarities between the two really end beyond containing an important character with wings and a small-town setting.

I’m not sure if it’s my tendency for that comparison that left me feeling a little underwhelmed with the story. Everything resolves very neatly – and maybe that’s more appropriate for a younger audience. I found myself wishing for a little more of the complexity that filled the story’s opening pages to grace the story’s end. All in all, however, it was an enjoyable read.

This is more of a middle grade story than a YA novel. Readers aged nine to twelve would probably enjoy the story most.

Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
A long time ago, a witch placed a horrible curse on the men in the Fowler family. The curse makes them grow wings.

Violence
None.

Drug Content
None.

Review: Silverwood by Betsy Streeter

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

silverwoodSilverwood
Betsy Streeter
Light Messages Publishing

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

To say fourteen year-old Helen Silverwood has an odd family would be an understatement. Her brother draws the future. Nightmares of rescuing strange creatures plague Helen’s dreams. Her mother works nights at a job she won’t discuss with her children, and her father is missing.

As the family picks up to move again, Helen begins to unravel the thread of mystery surrounding her mother’s work, her father’s disappearance, and her place in all of it. The shape-shifting Tromindox prey on humanity and Helen may have the key to stopping them.

Silverwood is an imaginative story with enjoyable characters. Dreaded Tromindox feed on humans to survive. Each member of the Silverwood family possesses some gift to battle the Tromindox. As the story unfolds, they figure out their places in the fight against the creatures.

There were some plot elements that didn’t really work for me. Helen and her father have identical gifts. The Tromindox want to capture Helen because of this ability, but don’t seem interested in her father, even when he’s standing right in front of them. Odd. At one point, townspeople begin walking out into a lake and disappearing beneath the surface of the water. A woman captures this event on film – she records it and then leaves the lake. Doesn’t call for help, try to save the person, call 911, etc. Just leaves. No explanation is offered. She kind of just goes home scratching her head.

The story is written in present tense from an omniscient viewpoint, so the action feels very immediate. The omniscient point-of-view did make for a few confusing moments when the author shifts without warning from one person’s thoughts to another’s. Over all, it wasn’t too hard to follow.

Fans of really offbeat stories like The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards or The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster may enjoy this novel.

Language Content
Infrequent mild profanity.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violence
Tromindox must eat humans to survive. Brief descriptions of them shape-shifting into creatures with tentacles and a poisonous barb which they inject into a human’s neck.

Drug Content
None.

Review: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

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The Scorpio Races
Maggie Stiefvater
Scholastic Press

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Every year the deadly capaill uisce emerge from the sea. Lucky riders will capture one of these bloodthirsty water horses and ride in the Scorpio Races, competing for a prize purse – it’s enough money to change a life. And it’s exactly what Puck Connolly is hoping to achieve. If she can win the race, she can keep her family together in their home. If she loses, she will lose everything.

Sean Kendrick knows too well the risks of the race. As a boy, he watched his father murdered by the violent water horses during the Scorpio Race. Sean isn’t too worried – he’s won before and he will win again. He intends to win freedom for himself and the horse who means more to him than anything.

The race brings Sean and Puck into one another’s lives as uneasy and unlikely allies. As their friendship begins to deepen, both know one simple, terrible truth: there can be only one winner to the Scorpio Races.

From the very first page, Stiefvater immerses readers in the tumultuous world of Thisby Island with its mythic history, charming towns and haunting cliffs. The story unfolds through lyrical, emotionally charged prose, introducing the desperate and headstrong Puck, her brothers and her beloved island pony. Opposite Puck, we find Sean Kendrick, a renowned horse trainer and thoughtful/silent type. The American buyer who follows Sean around works as a great foil to add humor and lightness to Sean’s reclusive nature.

As the story progresses, the stakes continue to elevate. Every time it seems like the characters find a way out, some new conflict arises – definitely kept me on the edge of my seat! And those capaill uisce are terrifying. One scene is so intense I still shudder to think about it! (Not gross, just really suspenseful.)

This is a fantastic story. Phenomenal characters. Absolutely incredible story world. High-energy storytelling. This is Stiefvater at her best. (I’ve read Shiver and the first three of the Raven Cycle series as well.)

Language Content
Infrequent use of mild profanity.

Sexual Content
Brief sexual reference.

Spiritual Content
Many of the islanders attend a Catholic church. Puck visits Father Mooneyhan to confess her sins. There are other references to things like whether playing cards or getting angry is a sin.

The water horses also have a lot of lore and magic surrounding them. Riders use charms like bits of iron and bells to try to control them.

Violence
The water horses are deadly and unpredictable. Puck and her brother discover several animals that have been mutilated and killed by the capaill uisce. Puck is attacked and threatened by them. Several islanders are killed by the water horses.

Drug Content
None.

Review: Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

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

Blue Lily, Lily Blue
Maggie Stiefvater
Scholastic, Inc.
Published October 21, 2013

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Blue and her Raven Boys (Adam, Gansey and Ronan) continue their quest to find Glendower, the Welsh King who will grant them a wish for waking him. Leaving behind only a cryptic note, Blue’s mother Maura disappears on a quest of her own. Blue worries and grieves, turning to Gansey for solace. This is forbidden.

They just talk. But it’s clear both want more, a more she can’t allow herself to give. She’s seen his death, seen his departed soul marching along the ley line. She knows if she kisses her true love, he will die, and she can’t bear to be the cause of Gansey’s death.

Adam learns more about serving as the hands of Cabeswater. It’s not always easy for him to understand what it wants, but Persephone, one of the psychics at Blue’s home teaches him. She warns Adam that there are three sleepers. One is not to be awakened.

Told in sharp prose worthy of mythic tales, this third book in Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle is a commendable addition to the series. The characters are well-developed and the dialogue tight and emotive. This book definitely weaves together some of the loose threads from its predecessors but raises some new questions left for the next tale.

The whole psychic theme really doesn’t appeal to me personally, and I would be willing to guess that a lot of Christian readers would object to the content. I’ve read the first two books in addition to Blue Lily, Lily Blue and really enjoyed Stiefvater’s style of storytelling.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme word choice, moderate frequency.

Sexual Content
Blue believes if she kisses her true love, he will die. So she doesn’t kiss anyone, though she wants to…

Spiritual Content
Blue lives in a home with several women who work as psychics. They perform tarot card readings, use mirrors or bowls for scrying, communicate with dead spirits, etc.

The main characters are on a quest to wake a king from sleep. In return he is supposed to grant them a wish.

Ronan has the ability to remove objects from his dreams and bring them into existence in the real world.

In an earlier book Adam agreed to serve as hands for Cabeswater, a ley line or part of one with a lot of energy or power. (This power fuels Ronan’s ability.)

Blue, while not psychic herself is like a power boost to anyone psychic near her.

Noah is the ghost of a boy murdered in a scheme related to the quest in the first book. He comes and goes throughout the story.

Violence
Adam encounters a mortally wounded boy. It’s pretty quick, but pretty grim. A few scuffles between Greenmantle and Mr. Grey et al. Not too much as far as details and gore there.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: Suspicion by Alexandra Monir

Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

Suspicion
Alexandra Monir
Random House Childrens’ Books
Published December 9, 2014

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

After her parents die in a suspicious fire at their family estate, Imogen wants nothing more to do with her family or her heritage at Rockford manor. When her cousin, once her closest friend and ally, also perishes, Imogen stands as the last relative capable of inheriting the property. She returns home alone to the site of countless childhood memories, of which she is now the last survivor. When police uncover evidence that her cousin’s death may not have been accidental, Imogen realizes the murderer must be among the faithful few left nearest to her. The truth will shock her.

This is one of those stories which begins at the climax and leaps back to its beginning to retell events as they happened. It’s not my favorite plot device, but it’s difficult not to invest in this story for its own sake. The pace is quick and the stakes only get higher, sort of like one part Princess Diaries, one part fairytale and one part suspense. It has this sort of otherworldly yet historical flavor to it. Seems odd, but in this case it turns out to be a great mix.

The storytelling is solid and the characters thoughtful and sometimes surprising. The plot is peppered with these really strange moments that at the time seem too bizarre to work into the plot, but the author does a great job of pulling all those odd moments together to make the whole story make sense.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
One instance of very mild profanity.

Sexual Content
Brief kissing.

Spiritual Content
Imogen has the power to cause plants to grow and flourish rapidly. There are rumors of a curse on the Rockford family from generations past and rumors of a secret hidden within the garden.

Violence
Police investigate the violent death of a teenaged girl. Few details given, but the cause of death was head trauma.

Drug Content
None.

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

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Review: Marked (House of Night #1) by PC Cast and Kristin Cast

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

Marked (House of Night Series #1)
PC Cast and Kristin Cast
St. Martin’s Griffin
Published May 1, 2007

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Zoe’s friends and family totally flip out when she’s marked as a vampire. An instant outcast, she retreats to her grandmother’s house for some much-needed advice and then turns herself over to the House of Night, a sort of boarding school for fledgling vampires. There she’ll be educated and wait to see if her body is strong enough to undergo the transformation into an adult vampire.
Even among other fledglings, Zoe is far from normal. Her vampirism seems to be developing at an advanced pace and her mentor has high hopes for what this might mean. Unfortunately, some other students see Zoe as a threat to the well-established hierarchy, and they will do whatever it takes to sabotage her.

Many things about this book disappointed me. Zoe’s attitude, for one. She started off angry and bitter at the world, smarter than everyone around her. I found it snobby and really off-putting. Her family and human friends were half-characters sort of slapped together without any deep thought to their own motivations or personalities. Why did Mom do that? Because she’s stupid and annoying. Really? I didn’t dig it.

Once she got to the House of Night, Zoe seemed a little easier to impress and her friends seemed a little more worthy. Her blossoming romantic feelings for her dream guy felt shallow. Why isn’t she concerned about his behavior with his apparent ex? She was kind of concerned for a minute but then pretty quick to dismiss it. And what virtues does Mr. Dreamboat have to offer? He’s hot. And he’s infatuated with her. Does a girl need more? (Yes!)

In fairness, this book had been on my reading list for a long time and I may have had unreasonable expectations for it. It’s definitely more the steamy-vampire-novel than the deep, introspective story of a young girl experiencing an unpredictable transformation. But alas.

Vampire-lit lovers: I recommend Julie Kagawa’s The Immortal Rules.

Profanity or Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity and crude sexual language used with moderate frequency. Also – despite the use of explicit sexual language in earlier scenes, Zoe refers to her responsibility cleaning a stable as shoveling “horse poopy.” She also refers to breasts as “boobies.” I’m not a fan of the explicit language, but the infantile words seemed equally out of place. Very strange.

Sexual Content
Brief description of a couple engaging in oral sex and several references back to that scene.

Spiritual Content
Zoe connects with her Cherokee spiritual heritage in a spiritual encounter. Vampires also worship a goddess. Along with the fledglings, they participate in elaborate rituals and ceremonies to honor the goddess.

Violence
Several references to blood lust. In one scene, a human boy is threatened by vampires.

Drug Content
Zoe attends a ritual at which marijuana is burned like incense. Former school friends also drink and use drugs, a behavior of which Zoe disapproves.

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