Category Archives: Book Review and Content

Review: Storm by Bonnie Calhoun

Book Review and Content, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

Storm by Bonnie CalhounStorm (Stone Braide Chronicles #3)
Bonnie Calhoun
Fleming H. Revell Company
Published on November 1, 2016

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About Storm
Selah has survived the forces of both man and nature to reunite her family. But her happiness is short-lived as they are forced into a barren world of volcanic ash that conceals the storm boiling beneath. The clock is ticking and Selah’s abilities are growing–along with the list of those out for her blood.

Selah feels unworthy of her status as a novarium and is tortured by the knowledge of lives lost to protect her. Her physical and mental abilities will tempt her to be reckless, but she must learn to wield such power responsibly. Time is running out as more lives are tragically cut short and the search for the Third Protocol takes Selah into lands that have fallen into legend. Can Selah follow the trail of ancient artifacts and finish the quest? Or have she and her companions pinned their hopes on nothing more than a fanciful story?

My Review
The hardest part about reading this book was that it starts off so quickly, with so many characters and so much going on that I found it hard to get oriented. There’s a lot of story-specific vocabulary which isn’t explained right away (or in some cases at all) and several of the characters had similar names, so I kept mixing them up and forgetting which was which. I would have really liked a character glossary or list of pertinent terms, maybe even a map of the geography and Selah’s route for better orientation.

Storm follows Selah’s urgent quest to complete a task or find an element called the Third Protocol. She doesn’t know much about it, only what she learns along the way as she meets different people who each have a puzzle piece directing her onward. One thing I wish had been clearer is the part of the story that relates to the collection of children’s stories her brother and sister love called the Stone Braide stories. Those turn out to be pretty significant in terms of leading Selah on her quest, but I didn’t feel like that element was well-integrated into the story. The book is mentioned several times, but always in passing and then suddenly it contains answers that dramatically alter the quest, but still only gets a momentary focus. It would have been cool to see that developed more and have chapters begin with quotes from the book or have various trials along the way make Selah’s siblings share bits from the stories.

Other than some of the confusing elements, I feel like the story moved quickly and had a lot of action. I’m guessing some of the terms would be more familiar to me if I remembered more from earlier books or read the whole series pretty quickly. If you like books with a broad cast of characters and larger stage with a dystopian feel, this series has a lot to offer. I’d recommend beginning with the first book and either keeping some notes or reading all three books within a short time.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Some vague references to clans or tribes but few details in terms of culture or race.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kisses between a young man and woman.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Battle scenes involving arrows, guns, lasers, and explosives. Some characters are fatally wounded in battle. Brief descriptions of injuries.

Drug Content
None.

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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.

Review: Ember Falls by S. D. Smith

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

Ember Falls (Green Ember Series #2)
S. D. Smith
Illustrated by Zach Franzen
Story Warren Books
Published September 13, 2016

Amazon | Goodreads

About Ember Falls
The stage is set. It’s war. Morbin Blackhawk, slaver and tyrant, threatens to destroy the rabbit resistance forever. Heather and Picket are two young rabbits improbably thrust into pivotal roles.

The fragile alliance forged around the young heir seems certain to fail. Can Heather and Picket help rescue the cause from a certain, sudden defeat?

My Place Beside You

My Blood For Yours

Till The Green… Ember Falls

My Review
I enjoyed the strong fantasy-esque voice throughout Ember Falls and found Pick and his sister Heather to be cool characters. I struggled with the sheer number of named characters in the story, though, and found it really difficult to keep track of who everyone was. I sometimes got Pick and Perk confused because of their similar names. Other times characters would be introduced by name without any indication of who they were or why their name might matter, if that makes sense.

The huge vocabulary of story-specific terms made the story feel like it had a definite place, but often terms were introduced quickly or one on top of each other and I never felt like I had a good sense of their significance or meaning.

Pen and ink drawings show various characters and scenes throughout Ember Falls. They added a lot of detail to the story as well.

I think the thing I found most difficult, though, was the lack of character descriptions. Without the illustrations to clue me in, I wouldn’t have known the characters were rabbits until the second chapter. Their movements and expressions don’t relate to rabbit movements or expressions. I kept wondering if they twitched their ears when they were nervous or had heightened hearing because, well, rabbit ears. Ha. No real mention of any of that.

I liked the themes of sacrifice and honor. Pick struggles through the story with the knowledge that his family has been enslaved by Morbin Blackhawk and the birds of prey. He longs to rescue them, but the mission would place the survival of the rest of the rabbit army, and its prince, in jeopardy.

Reading the first book in the series first might have cleared up some of my confusion. Hard to say. I found it hard to get a sense of what had happened in the first book versus what was true backstory, so I’m not really sure. If you’re interested in the series, I do recommend starting with the first book rather than with Ember Falls.

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Cultural Elements
Characters are rabbits, wolves, and birds of prey.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to the fact that Heather and Prince Smalls are intended to marry.

Spiritual Content
Brief note that former heroes have become sort of saints in the eyes of the rabbits. An order of rabbits wears blue robes and appears to be some kind of spiritual group, but their beliefs are unspecified.

Violent Content
Battles with swords, some proving fatal. Wolves attack, biting rabbits. Birds carry small rabbits off to become slaves. Masters threaten slaves with death. No gory descriptions.

Drug Content
Emma uses tonics to treat the wounded, some she appears to have discovered herself.

 

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Review: You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone by Rachel Lynn Solomon

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

You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone
Rachel Lynn Solomon
Simon Pulse
Published on January 2, 2018

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About You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone

Eighteen-year-old twins Adina and Tovah have little in common besides their ambitious nature. Viola prodigy Adina yearns to become a soloist—and to convince her music teacher he wants her the way she wants him. Overachiever Tovah awaits her acceptance to Johns Hopkins, the first step on her path toward med school and a career as a surgeon.

But one thing could wreck their carefully planned futures: a genetic test for Huntington’s, a rare degenerative disease that slowly steals control of the body and mind. It’s turned their Israeli mother into a near stranger and fractured the sisters’ own bond in ways they’ll never admit. While Tovah finds comfort in their Jewish religion, Adina rebels against its rules.

When the results come in, one twin tests negative for Huntington’s. The other tests positive.

These opposite outcomes push them farther apart as they wrestle with guilt, betrayal, and the unexpected thrill of first love. How can they repair their relationship, and is it even worth saving?

My Review

I read this book over my hospital stay in December, and it was a really great distraction from everything else going on before my daughter was born. (Everything’s good—we’re both healthy and doing well now.) I found it super easy to get lost in the story of two sisters waiting for the results of a genetic test and dealing with their anxiety over the results in vastly different ways. Both girls felt real and individual. I could tell whose point-of-view I was in just from reading a single paragraph.

While Adina has some mixed feelings about some casual sexual encounters in her past, she clearly feels empowered by her desirability. She comes across confident and eager for sex, but frustrated that she’s not able to trigger a transfer from lust to love in her partners. I found that complexity moving and believable. For me personally, I wish it had less explicit sexual content, but I liked the writing and the way the author showed a lot more about Adina’s character through her perceptions of herself and the way she related to men.

The tug-of-war between Adina and Tovah to rebuild or sabotage their relationship felt like a train wreck I couldn’t look away from (in a good way). The tension only increases when one sister receives a positive test result for Huntington’s.

I don’t know much about Huntington’s apart from the descriptions in this book, so I’m not a good resource for how accurately it’s represented. But many scenes showed Adina and Tovah’s mom and her changing moods and behavior in stark, raw ways that made it clear how much a positive result would impact each girl’s life plans and made it impossible not to empathize both with the girls and their family.

Readers who enjoyed Dana Reinhardt’s We Are the Goldens will find similar focus on sister relationships and strong writing.

Content

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Cultural Elements
Adina and Tovah have been raised in a practicing Jewish family. Tovah embraces her faith in part because of her mom’s diagnosis. Adina rejects her faith wholly, even to the extent that she doesn’t believe in God. For her, Mom’s diagnosis is evidence that there is no God.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty frequently. One sister uses much more profanity than the other.

Romance/Sexual Content
An eighteen-year-old girl begins a sexual relationship with her teacher. Some exchanges between them contain explicit details. She also reflects on other casual sex encounters from her past—some of which she has very mixed feelings about now. In one scene, she masturbates, thinking about her new lover.

One girl begins a dating relationship and describes some of the progression of the physical side of it—kissing, cuddling inside a sleeping bag together, and approaching having sex. She learns her best friend has been having sex with a boyfriend.

Spiritual Content
Adina and Tovah celebrate Sabbath with their family and attend weekly services. They speak Hebrew. One sister talks about how frustrated she feels around the winter holidays when people wish her a Merry Christmas because it assumes she’s part of something she isn’t.

Violent Content
One girl wrestles with anxiety and depression, at one point planning to die by suicide.

Drug Content
Some scenes show teens drinking alcohol.

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

Review: Beauty by Robin McKinley

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

Beauty
Robin McKinley
Open Road Media
Published on November 8, 2014 (Originally published October 25, 1978)

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

When Beauty’s family falls on reduced circumstances, she, her father, and two sisters move to a remote village rumored to be near an enchanted castle. Beauty and her sisters face their new lives bravely, learning to do chores and care for their new home. One night, after a long journey, their father returns home with a magical rose and a chilling story. He has met the Beast and ruler of the castle and now owes a debt: either his own life or the life of one of his daughters. Ever practical Beauty decides she must be the one to take her father’s place. But her new life in the castle turns out to be far different than anything she could have imagined. Invisible servants tend her needs, and the Beast, who seemed terrifying at first, soon becomes dear to her. A family emergency forces Beauty to choose: stay in the castle and let her sister make a terrible mistake, or risk everything to return home and warn her.

Beauty is one of the first young adult novels I ever read, and I happened upon it totally by accident in a used book stall at a flea market in the mountains of western North Carolina. I’ve since read other fairytale retellings by Robin McKinley, and have never been disappointed by any of them. Beauty used to be one of my go-to reads for those awful days when I was too sick to read and absorb something new, but still longed to escape reality in a book. It’s been years since I’ve read it, and still I couldn’t stop reading until I’d reached the end of the tale.

The style isn’t my favorite—it’s a lot more narrative than the kinds of books I usually prefer, but the descriptions are so vivid and Beauty’s character so clearly drawn that I always get sucked straight into the story anyway. This is a definite must-read for anyone who adores fairytale retellings. You’ll recognize a lot of familiar elements in other fairytales retold that authors drew from McKinley’s style and way of reimagining things. (In fact, one of my newer favorite authors who writes reimagined fairytales, Kenley Davidson, draws some inspiration from McKinley’s stories, and I think it’s one of the things that first drew me into her work.)

If you’re looking for clean young adult fiction, this is a great choice. McKinley has other books you might be interested in as well: Spindle’s End, her retelling of Sleeping Beauty; Outlaws of Sherwood, her retelling of Robin Hood; and her fantasy duo, The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown. I recommend them all.

Recommended for Ages 10 up.

Cultural Elements
Major characters are white and straight.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
A brief kiss and a few mentions of blushing or attraction.

Spiritual Content
A couple references to prayer. One character exclaims, “Merciful God.” The Beast’s castle is populated with invisible servants which Beauty often describes as a “breeze.” She begins to hear and understand them to be individuals as her time in the castle progresses.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
Wine is served with dinner.