Nightshade- Review by Aspen Gates

Nightshade

By Andrea Cremer

***stars

Seventeen year old Calla Tor is not only a werewolf, or according to her a guardian, but she is an alpha female of the Nighshade pack that is promised to be married to Ren Laroche, alpha male of the Bane's pack. Together they will be the new pack leaders and protectors of the Keepers who they serve, and in return the guardians are provide with homes, food, education, and safety. Calla and Ren are pretty much set on there future until Calla breaks the rules of the Keeper's and saves a human named Shay from being mauled by a bear. Calla believes everything will go back to normal after she knocks him out, but things seem to get worse when Shay is now the new student at her school. She tries to ignore him, but can't help to be curious about him at the same time since most humans fear the guardians, but Shay doesn't and it starts to cause a problem with Ren who is wanting to teach Shay a lesson about messing with his territory. Yet, things keep getting more and more uncomfortable between the three when Calla is asked to protect Shay from their enemies the Searcher's who want Shay badly. At first Calla is very outraged at this idea including Ren, but quickly turns to liking Shay when he convinces her to start reading forbidden books about her people's history. It's these books that will change Calla's life forever and now she must decide on whether or not she should follow her heart and runaway with the love her life Shay, or stay and be married to Ren who also loves her and to serve the guardians.

Nightshade was a very different different kind of werewolf story and thats what made me really connect and like this book. I gave this book four stars because the ending could have had a better cliff hanger but all in all it was a wonderful book and I can't wait to read Wolfsbane which is the second of this series. I would definitely recommend this book to all who are tired of the traditional werewolves, vampire stories because this is something completely different than any I have ever read. So check Nightshade out in the O'Hara Library because if you like supernatural creature stories like me, you will love this series.

Deadline by Chris Crutcher

Fall in love with Ben...his last year, January 16, 2010

I think young adults and teens will enjoy this book about 18-year-old Ben's last year. During a routine sports physical, Ben finds out that he has a terminal illness and that, with or without aggressive medical intervention, he has about a year left to live. It's his senior year in high school and he decides not to tell anyone about the diagnosis and to forgo treatment. He has a few goals in mind, primarily to play football with his beloved brother and to get a date with his crush, the gorgeous volleyball player Dallas Suzuki.

Things don't go quite as he planned, but he does manage to cram a lot of life into the few months he has. The main part of the book centers on his interactions with his family, Dallas Suzuki, his friends, team members and other residents of the small town where he lives. Definitely the author crams a lot of discussion worthy themes into this novel including such topics as sexual molestation, abuse, racism, mental illness, and teen pregnancy. Ben's actual disease is never really identified nor is it the central subject of the book. The main premise of the book seems to be about relationships and not keeping secrets. There's a lot of semi-religious overtone, and at times, the discussion about Malcolm X seems to go on for far too long as do the descriptions of the football games and the American History classes.

All in all, a very enjoyable read. Recommend.