Category Archives: By Genre

Review: Draven’s Light by Anne Elisabeth Stengl

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

Draven’s Light by Anne Elisabeth Stengl
Rooglewood Press

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When the chief’s son comes of age, the tribe presents him with a prisoner. He is to kill this man and take up a new name as a man. He refuses and instead earns the name Draven, or “fainthearted.” Draven lives as a recluse, a shadow among his people with only his fierce sister Ita as a companion. The drums of war take the men of the tribe to battle, but Draven stays behind. A strange plague follows the warriors home, and when it strikes the one Draven loves most, he vows he will find a way to save her.

This short (less than 200 pages) tale is framed as a story repeated to a little girl as she battles her own fears. Before the end the author ties both the present and past together neatly. Stengl brings her usual powerful story-weaving ability and packs action, danger and romance into this tale, keeping it both moving and exciting. Perhaps the most beautiful part of the story is the relationship between brother and sister, Draven and Ita. Ita seems to understand instinctively when to push her brother, and he knows equally well when to respect her independence. While Draven’s Light isn’t saturated with the story world fans of the Tales of Goldstone Wood books have grown to love so well, they will recognize the mysterious Wood itself as well as two brothers from myth – Akilun and Etanun – and the little wood thrush who often leads heroes seeking aid.

Profanity and Crude Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
A couple brief references to “the airy gods.”

Violence
In Draven’s tribe, young men must kill an enemy prisoner in order to be recognized and honored as men. A fatal plague causes its victims to foam at the mouth and writhe on the ground.

Drug Content
None.

Review: Those Girls by Lauren Saft

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

Those Girls by Lauren SaftThose Girls by Lauren Saft
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Alex and Mollie have been best friends since kindergarten. Veronica, whose promiscuous reputation is her claim to fame, has recently joined their ranks. At the start of their junior year, each girl has an agenda.

V longs to turn over a new leaf and be the kind of girl a boy wants to keep around for more than an hour. Her good intentions are pretty constantly foiled by her revealing outfits and her drunken escapades.

Mollie wants to bring romance back into her relationship with her hot-and-popular boyfriend, Sam. She’s willing to do just about anything to keep him.

Alex needs a change. Mollie’s Sam obsession left a hole in her life that she’s ready to fill. A garage band might be exactly the change she needs. The change she doesn’t need? Her best friend (and secret love) Drew going after Veronica.

The drama does not stop, from page one all the way to the end. Rotating narrators (all three girls take turns spilling their guts) keep the story flying forward and reveal what each girl really thinks as events unfold. It’s nonstop gossip, parties, social disaster, love, and heartbreak.

Despite the quick pace and the celebration of friendship between girls, I had a hard time connecting with Mollie. She’s selfish, vindictive and extremely negative. I couldn’t really get why the other two valued her as a friend. I found Alex to be much more palatable, but ultimately disappointing. I had the most sympathy for Veronica. In a home with absent parents, it made perfect sense that she had little sense of social cues and relied on her body to form connections with people, then felt depressed when a one night stand didn’t result in a relationship.

The story definitely captures the catty spirit that sometimes plagues high school girls. While Alex and Veronica seem to have learned some hard lessons and grown personally by the end of the story, there were some elements of the resolution that were not believable. (See spoiler section below.)

Language Content
Extreme profanity and crude language used really frequently.

Sexual Content
Several explicit scenes depicting sexual encounters (one in which two girls make out, another involving two girls and a boy) as well as crude references to sexual situations and encounters.

Mollie’s boyfriend is all about the sexual pressure. Gross.

Spiritual Content
The girls go to a Catholic school. Mollie’s mother is very religious and forces Mollie to attend extra church services and say extra prayers when she misbehaves. (These efforts don’t appear to affect Mollie’s personal beliefs or her behavior.) At one point, Mollie commits to sabotage a fellow student and claims she has Jesus on her side. (I think she was aiming for funny, but because of the nature of her intentions, it fell pretty flat for me.)

Alex’s family is Jewish. She laments not being invited to celebrate Christmas with her friends and being bored around that holiday.

Violence
None.

Drug Content
Lots of scenes in which teens drink alcohol or smoke pot. Someone slips a roofie into a girl’s drink.

Spoiler
Mollie’s boyfriend (total schmuck) cheats on her with Veronica. Alex has sex with Veronica’s boyfriend. These are pretty serious betrayals. Yet, just a few weeks later, they’re all happy and friends again. Totally did not buy that. Did not seem possible, especially for someone as image-conscious as Mollie. Drew’s reaction to the whole thing was a lot more my speed. He pretty much up and headed for the hills. Too much drama. Bravo, dude.

Review: Siren’s Fury by Mary Weber

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Siren’s Fury (Storm Siren #2)
Mary Weber
Thomas Nelson
Published June 2, 2015

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About Siren’s Fury

Nym’s power saved her people, but it wasn’t enough to save those she loved most. While there’s still hope, she vows rescue and revenge. But to have even a chance, she’ll have to risk harnessing herself to a darkness that may destroy rather than save. As Draewulf rallies his armies to march into surrounding kingdoms, Nym and her friends scramble to keep ahead of his plot. To understand Draewulf’s plan, Nym must uncover truths about who she really is, facts she may not be ready to face. She and her friends must face an even more terrifying question: what if every move they make simply brings the dark wolf one step closer to his ultimate victory?

My Review

Weber’s second novel begins with the same intensity with which its predecessor ended. It’s a wild ride from page one all the way to the ending. I thought the plot had good layering. I’d start thinking I had things figured out only to discover that there was another layer I hadn’t accounted for which altered everything.

As with the first book, the characters really make this novel shine. I loved the development of relationship between Nym and Rasha. Even some minor characters, like Kel, the boy Nym meets on the airship, really added to the story. I found myself wishing he’d been more of a part in the tale’s resolution, but that was a small disappointment.

Honestly, I do recommend beginning this series with the first book. I started reading this one first and quickly found myself so intrigued I had to go back and read the first one. If you do start with book two, it’s not impossible to piece together the important bits of what you missed in book one. I did find myself scrambling to figure out what was going on several times before I went back for Storm Siren.

Some of the questions readers had about the relationships between kingdoms and politics will be answered in this novel. Still, many things are just hinted at as important clues preparing readers for the final installment of the trilogy.

Content Notes

Language Content
No profanity.

Sexual Content
Brief kissing. When Nym goes to Myles’s room in the middle of the night, she reluctantly allows guards to think she’s visiting him as a lover.

Spiritual Content
Nym’s people (Elementals) possess powers, things like controlling water, wind, earth, etc. One very powerful man can shape shift and take over someone else’s body. A woman uses her ability to kill men by internal injuries and control an army of dead. They’re pretty creepy. A witch offers powers to the right buyer.

Violence
Nym and her allies fight an advancing army from behind the lines. Descriptions are brief and not gory.

Drug Content
None.

Upcoming Summer Reviews

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Seems like this time of year more than any other, my To Be Read list just explodes. It’s summer time! The perfect time to kick back and read a book or two. Or seven. Maybe thirteen…

Here are just a few of the books I’m most looking forward to this summer:

Storm Siren and Siren’s Fury by Mary Weber

Originally I’d requested to review Siren’s Fury via NetGalley, but as I started reading, I realized book two wasn’t going to be enough. While I could follow the story, I was too interested in the things that happened in book one: in Nym’s dark past, in her romance with Eogan, and in her part in a terrible war. I ordered the first book with a gift card and caught up. Totally worth it. I’m excited about reviewing these.

Feuds and Torn by Avery Hastings

I read Torn without knowing it was a sequel (though I probably wouldn’t have minded if I had known.) I had no problems following the story, but some parts, while not confusing, clearly referenced events that had happened in book one. I liked the story world and characters well enough to immediately order the first book.

Turning Point by Various Inspirational Authors

I’ve read and really enjoyed several of the ebooks included in this set. I’m excited to explore the other stories. It’s an incredible deal – seven books for $0.99. (Sadly it seems to be no longer available.)

Draven’s Light by Anne Elisabeth Stengl

If you’ve followed The Story Sanctuary long, you’ll know I’m totally in love with Stengl’s Goldstone Wood series. I love that the stories all take place in the same story world, but often at drastically different times or in very different places. Good stuff.

More to Come

I’ll also be reviewing Those Girls by Laura Saft and Every Last Word by Tamera Ireland Stone this month. Look for Tattooed by Jesus, a memoir review coming later this week.

What tops your summer reading list?

Review: The Truth Commission by Susan Juby

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

The Truth Commission
by Susan Juby
Viking/Penguin Group

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Normandy Pale and her two best friends Dusk and Neil embark on a mission to strip away the insulation around fellow students and teachers’ lives and expose the truth. Rumors abound in their small school of the arts, and the three self-appointed members of the Truth Commission want to get to the bottom of each one. At first, the mission seems pure and helpful, but consequences grow with each truth exposed. Then one confronted student suggests Normandy examine her own life for hidden truths. Normandy reluctantly begins a quest for truth that could tear her fragile family apart, and will force each Truth Commissioner to reevaluate whether uncovering the truth is always worth its price.

In the beginning of the story, some elements felt too immature for the ages of the characters. For instance, they “smoke” candy cigarettes, which seemed far too juvenile for high school juniors. In the end, it seemed to work because the characters (Dusk, Neil and Normandy) are all so off-beat and unusual themselves. The power of the story comes through its careful exploration of exposing truth and its outcomes.

As Normandy narrates via “nonfiction narrative,” the truth exploration becomes much more complicated. She wonders whether she and her friends have a right to demand truth from anyone else, and if there are truths best left unspoken. Overall, a complex story with a fascinating cast of characters. Fans of Sarah Mlynowski’s Don’t Even Think About It will enjoy Juby’s novel.

Language Content
Strong profanity used with moderate frequency.

Sexual Content
Normandy and her friends confront a girl whose sister was rumored to bare her body on a web cam. There’s a discussion about how modesty is essentially a bad thing and no one should be judged for what they wear (or don’t wear.) The conversation sparks a school-wide parade in which students undress down to undergarments and label themselves using some derogatory terms. Students are pretty charged up about it, but later the girl who started the parade appears troubled and admits that her sister may not have been the innocent victim that she presented her to be. The bullying that happened around the time of the web cam incident may have had more to do with the fact that the sister was engaging in some risky behavior involving “the wrong crowd” and another girl’s boyfriend. There’s not a lot of judgement passed on these situations, in particular whether the parade was helpful or misguided. Normandy does appear to have very mixed feelings.

Brief discussion about a girl who appears to have two boyfriends. (Vague speculation about threesomes, but no details.) Brief kissing. Brief reference to a girl who was raped. No details.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violence
Normandy sees artwork depicting a man being pushed from a cliff.

Drug Content
The Truth Commission confronts a boy with a reputation for drug use. Normandy finds an assortment of prescription drugs in an empty apartment. No scenes depicting drug use.

Review: Where You End by Anna Pellicioli

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

Where You End
Anna Pellicioli
Flux

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

For some, grief is a quiet void carefully tiptoed around. For Miriam, it is a raging storm that wakes her in the night, chews through her ability to reason. The hungry, empty space inside her where Elliot used to be. Seeing him with another girl sends her over the edge. Almost before she realizes what she’s done, a priceless statue lies on the ground at her feet. Panicked, Miriam flees the scene. There’s just one problem: a girl as mixed up as she is. One who saw what Miriam did. One who wants something in exchange for her silence.

Miriam’s emotional journey is the real force behind the story. Her life spins hopelessly out of control following her breakup with Elliot. She withdraws, experiences depression, makes poor decisions, lies to her parents – all things largely outside her normal character. We watch her struggle to recover, to find her way through those dark moments. To find her courage. The journey is both empowering and refreshingly honest.

In a culture that desperately wants to believe that sex—particularly teen sex—doesn’t matter and is all about living large and having fun, Pellicioli dares to deliver a story with a very different message. Miriam has given herself, heart and body, to a boy and the unthinkable happened: they broke up. He’s moved on to another girl. She’s devastated, possibly pregnant. Pellicioli excels at relating the unbalanced heartbreak that drives Miriam to destroy something that would otherwise be precious to her.

There are lots of books about sexually active teens. There are not a lot of books that tackle the heartbreak that can come along with those decisions as boldly and powerfully as Where You End.

Language Content
Extreme profanity used with moderate frequency.

Sexual Content
Miriam had been having sex with her now ex-boyfriend Elliot. She gives some details about frequency, location, and the emotional highs she felt when she was with him. The experiences themselves aren’t much described. She later engages in heavy kissing with another boy and removes her shirt (the scene is a bit confusing… I wasn’t sure what was happening beyond kissing until afterward when she clarified having taken off her shirt.) What’s perhaps most interesting about the sexual content is not the experiences themselves but the emotional roller coaster Miriam experiences in her feelings about Elliot after the break-up.

Spiritual Content
Miriam’s family is Jewish. She shares memories of going to school to learn Hebrew. Her family keeps the Sabbath, and the celebration is deeply important to her family. Miriam throws a fit at the start of one Sabbath meal, which really hurts her mother’s feelings.

Paloma’s mother used to take her to a church to hear the organ practices. She later retreats there for solitude.

Violence
None.

Drug Content
Brief mentions of Elliot being intoxicated at a party.