Dreamland~ Reviewed by Hailey Hinrichs

“All that we see or seem Is but a dream within a dream”

–Edgar Allan Poe

            Odea Donahue is not like most kids her age. Traveling from town to town with her mother her whole life and not knowing her father aren’t the only strange things about her.

            She has the ability to walk through people’s dreams.

            After being able to walk in people’s dreams since she was six years old, she knows that there are rules that she MUST follow. Never be seen, never interfere in the person’s dream, and never walk through someone’s dream more than once. Her mother was able to enforce these rules until she meets Conner, a new kid who has secrets of his own. Conner’s past makes her even more interested in him and she begins to break the rules in hopes that she’ll uncover the truth behind Conner’s past. But the rules were made so that the monsters would never find her. Once the rules were broken, they found her and took her mother hoping that it would lure her to their world. In her journey to find her mother, she uncovers more about Conner’s past, and her own.

            I really enjoyed this book so I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. I loved the whole plot of the book. I think the author did an amazing job creating a good view of the world she created in the book. The plot twists were ones I did not see coming at all. One thing that wasn’t so great about the book was that it took a little bit to really get into. Although I liked that some parts did leave you questioning something and made you what to read even more. Also, I liked the originality of the book. There aren’t any many books that I’ve seen about people dream-walking and other worlds being created from the monsters that are in nightmares. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys thrillers.

The Appearance of Annie van Sinderen-- Reviewed by Hailey Hinrichs

                19 year-old Wes Auckerman has just moved to New York City to attend a filmmaker summer program at NYU. While helping a friend film a séance in the Bowery, Wes and his friend, Tyler, see a beautiful girl with a satin bow in the way of the camera frame. As the night progresses, Wes can’t seem to find her again. Due to his curiosity to find out more about her and Tyler’s need to find this mysterious girl to sign a release paper, Wes goes to find her. Once he finds her and they start spending more time together, Wes tries to uncover parts of Annie’s past. Also, how is she connected to Maddie, the other mysterious girl Wes met at the séance? As Wes and Annie travel around NYC trying to find her missing ring, Wes learns more about her past and why she seems otherworldly.

                I really enjoyed this book so I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. I love Katherine Howe’s writing style and I thought this book was very good. I really liked the characters and how bizarre some of them were. I also liked the dual POV’s and that some parts were from Wes’ POV and other were from Annie’s. Sometimes it doesn’t work very well and it gets confusing when authors do that but I think it went along smoothly in this book. If you have ever read Katherine Howe’s other book Conversion I think you would like this book as well. It has that thriller/mystery twist to it that really keeps you wanting to read more. I really enjoyed this book all together.

The Dead House-- Reviewed by Hailey Hinrichs

“Either the Darkness alters- or something in the sight adjusts itself to Midnight- and Life steps almost straight.”

                It has been 20 years since a fire destroyed part of Elmridge High that killed 3 people. After the fire, Carly Johnson disappeared. The fire was believed to have been started by Kaitlyn Johnson after her diary was discovered years later, giving hints as to what really happened in the days leading up to the accident where she is caught in the middle of it. But the thing is Kaitlyn doesn’t technically exist because she is the alter ego of Carly. She gets the night while Carly gets the day. Many people believe that Kaitlyn appeared after her parents had died, but she had been around long before. Carly was always the good child while Kaitlyn was the reckless one. But one day Kaitlyn wakes up during the day and cannot feel Carly anymore and Kaitlyn, with the help of Carly’s best friend Naida, has to find a way to search through the Dead House if she ever wants to find Carly. But the Dead House holds the power to completely ruin the lives of anyone who dares to enter it.

                I absolutely loved this book so I gave it four and a half stars. I loved the plot to this book and I loved that it NEVER got boring. There was always something going on and things were never slow. I also loved the character developments throughout the book. I would definitely recommend this to all teens who enjoy more paranormal type books. Those kind of books usually aren’t what I read but this book was amazing and it makes me want to look into more books like this. This book was pretty good as a stand alone, although I wouldn’t mind finding out more about their childhood and their parents and when exactly Carly began having an alter ego. All in all, I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone.

The Bone Season- Review by Paige Espinosa

     Paige Mahoney is a gutsy 19 year old criminal with a high-ranking position in a wanted gang. Her rare ability to leave her body and enter the minds- or dreamscapes- of others around her makes her a valuable ally- and a dangerous enemy. In 2059 London, the governrment is now called Scion and it is searching for all people, like Paige, who have these special abilities. These clairvoyants are hunted and, when caught, are presumably tortured and put to death or given an option to join a law enforcement division dedicated to hunting other clairvoyants; however, option number two means being under the thumb of Scion, turning in your own, and being given thirty years to live before being "put down" like a sick animal. 

     When Paige is captured, all she knows about Scion is suddenly tested when she finds herself in a city that was wiped off the map 200 years ago after a devastating fire. Scion's secrets are unearthed with her discovery of an ancient race, the Rephaim, who value clairvoyants for their fight against the flesh-eating Emim. Paige's only options are obey the Rephaim and join their army against the Emim- leading to an almost certain death in the jaws of a fearsome creature- or to fight back and most likely be killed by her captors. Find out what happens by reading The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon!

     I enjoyed The Bone Season and gave it three and a half stars. The story was exceptionally original however the brief appearance of a love triangle took away from the quality of the story for me. The continuance of hinting at this love triangle after a shocking revelation that should have ended it also grew old and boring by the end of the book. Paige Mahoney was a likable character, similar to Katniss Everdeen (from The Hunger Games trilogy). Both are strong female roles, coming from livelihoods made on the black market to situations where you have to fight to survive and your sanity is pushed to its limits. Other characters, however, such as Warden, Paige's master, weren't quite as likable. Warden felt a little too cliche, almost like another Edward Cullen- dark, mysterious, immortal stalker. (from the Twilight series) Personally, I felt that most of the characters weren't developed fully throughout the story and at the end of the book I honestly didn't feel like I really knew much about most of them. Hopefully in sequels to come, Samantha Shannon will continue to develop these characters as they have the potential to be extremely intriguing- if not likable- characters.  

Bad Girls Don't Die - Reviewed by Maggie Devero

Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender

Reviewed by Maggie Devero

It's understandable to think that you're the normal dysfunctional teenager; a sophomore in high school, one that's antisocial, a troublemaker, and pink hair to boot. But when you're sister starts acting strangely, and your mortal enemy (a cheerleader, god forbid) warns you she thinks it's possession...that's when you can safely assume you're a little more than dysfunctional. Alexis Warren lives in a very old, very large house with a family who is always too busy to bother staying close to one another. Except for her little sister Kasey, she has no other friends, and now Kasey has begun acting strange. She no longer seems to be talking to her doll collection, but something that's not there, she has acquired weird strength she didn't have before, and occasionally her eyes turn from blue to bright green. Alexis isn't sure it's quite her sister anymore, and she doesn't know who to turn to. Surprisingly though, cute blonde prep boy Carter Blume has started giving her a lot of attention so she can pour out her emotion in him. But the most unexpected is when Megan Wiley, top varsity cheerleader comes to her and tells her that she thinks her sister is possessed. Will Alexis be able to join with someone that she's spent her entire high school life trying to ruin? Will the two be able to help Kasey, and keep her from these evil forces working inside her? Read the book to find out!

So I gave this book two stars for multiple reasons. I was going to give it three, just to be nice but I just hit a certain point where I was like "no."  The plot was just so completely predictable and it just worked out so well. Oh, she's sad and lonely - magically a cute boy appears and wants to shower her with attention and comfort. Oh, her sister is acting abnormally - Ms. Perfect Cheerleader shows up, befriends her, and tells her she can help her possessed sister. It just all worked out too well, and was thrown together with no buildup. Also the dialogue was really weird at some points. It was read from her point of view, so her thoughts were often showed in the writing...and even though they were trying to capture the immature thoughts of a teenage girl, it was just so awkward and random! The storyline had a lot of potential, especially because I love scary stuff, but portrayed the way it was in this book, it just didn't hit it right for me. It might fit some others taste, so read it yourself to find out! Also if you're looking for books similar to it, come check out our halloween setup in the library, with all sorts of spooky holiday themed books!

Distant Waves - Reviewed by Stephanie Best

 

   

Author: Suzanne Weyn

Review: Stephanie Best   

         Set in the turn-of-the-century 1900s, when cars were just being born, and nickelodeons had very little existence, Distant Waves follows the young lives of the five Oneida-Taylor sisters Mimi, Jane, twins Emma and Amelie, and Blythe, but most specifically Jane. After experiencing a man-made earthquake produced by the scientist and inventor Nikola Tesla, Jane, at the age of four, moves with her mother and sisters from New York City, New York, to the small town of Spirit Vale, New York, a popular town for all assortments of spiritualists. Yet, Jane’s young encounter with Tesla stays with her, becoming obsessed and reading anything she can about him. When Jane is sixteen, Mimi, the oldest and wanting to escape the small town, convinces Jane and herself to take a visit back to New York City so Jane can interview Tesla for a journalism contest. While there, Mimi meets a wealthy woman who asks Mimi to be her companion which she accepts. While there, Jane meets a boy, Thad, who is Tesla’s assistant, and whom Jane instantly feels attracted to. What will become of Jane and Thad? Will Jane ever see Mimi again? And how does the Titanic tie into all of this? A story of love, loss, history, and the frequent spirits, Distant Waves takes on a new version of the story of the Titanic and is sure to surprise you at every turn.

 

            I absolutely loved this book and I give it five stars. I found all of the characters to be very relatable to. I really enjoyed all of the historical references mentioned, and if one has a good recollection with history and historical persons, one can easily foreshadow events, even some which may not be mentioned in the book. I highly recommend this book for all.

Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick - Reviewed by Stephanie Best

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Reviewed: Stepanie Best
     Patch is a fallen angel. Nora is Nephilim. Together, trouble is bound to follow. Nora has sworn an oath to lead her late father's army of Nephilim against the fallen angels. If she doesn't, she and her mother will die. The problem is, she doesn't want anyone to fight, let alone kill. She has only one option: convince the Nephilim to stop the war. To gain their trust, she must pretend to break up with the love of her life, Patch, and date a highly ranked Nephilim, Dante. All goes well for a while until covers begin getting blown. Can Nora trust anyone? Even Patch? And what will become of her new addiction to devilcraft, a drink that extremely enhances her strenth but is slowly rotting her body away as well?
     I liked this book, but I didn't love it. The fourth and final book of the Hush Hush series, I found Finale to be average. I felt like a lot of the story dragged on. I did enjoy the ending, and the plot twist completely took me off guard. One thing I know for sure is that this book should not be read before the others in the series starting with Hush Hush, then Crescendo, and Silence. If any of the books are read out of order, I can almost guarantee the reader will get lost and confused. All in all, I'm glad the series has come to an end; I just wish that the final book had been better. 

Fury reviewed by Molly Varney

Fury by Elizabeth Miles ****

Em was just a normal teenage girl. She had two bestfriends, Gabby and JD. She was also in love with Gabby's boyfriend, Zach. It was winter break in Asvension, Maine when he finally started to notice her. With Gabby on vacation with her family Em and Zach had all the time to be together. However, when Sasha, a girl from Em's school, tried to kill herself, Em started to notice weird things happening, like the same girl that kept appearing out of nowhere. She started to see that something was wrong.

On the other side of town, Chase was also having problems. His social life was slowly falling apart when he met Ty, a mysterious, beautiful girl. Although he could feel something off about Ty, he couldn't help but stay with her and try to get closer to her. He was still haunted by the horrible thing he had done, the one thing the perfect guy he pretended to be would never do. He knew it was only a matter of time before he was completely exposed. Three beautiful girls went to Ascension to choose who would pay and how, and Em and Chase were chosen.

I gave this book four stars because I didn't like Em and Chase's characters, and I liked the storyline and how the book ended. Fury is part of a Trilogy, that I really hope to finish. I got really into this book and some things that happened near the end surprised me. Overall, I thought Fury was a really good book.

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer - a review by George Morejon

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer

by Lish McBride

**** stars

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer starts off introducing Sam and his 3 friends, Ramon, Brooke, and Frank. They all work at a McDonald's like fast food place and love to slack off and fool around. One day this becomes a problem when a game gone wrong leads to Sam being tracked by a strange, terrifying man. After being scared out of his life when a man attacks him, he thinks he's finally safe... Until he gets the most disturbing message of his life telling him to met a man named "Douglas" at the zoo, where he finds out what he really is: a necromancer.

This took me about 6,5 hours to read. From the first chapter i liked this book. The way the kids acted was really relatable and hilarious at the same time. It reminded me of Going Bovine, although the writing style wasn't as good. The necromancer thing wasn't something I had ever read, but the way that so many people he talked to knew just what he was talking about kinda surprised me. I felt bad to the person that 'had' the message, but her reaction was pretty positive in their outlook.

Hex Hall --- a review by Amy Lyon

Hex Hall
by Rachel Hawkins
****


Sophie Mercer has moved eighteen times in sixteen years. Sophie has always had a problem fitting in, and not just because she's always the new girl, but because she's a witch. And with a love spell gone horribly wrong, Sophie ends up at Hecate Hall (aka Hex Hall) rooming with a vampire. Yikes! But wait, their room is covered in...pink? And Hex's resident bad boy, Archer Cross, is tall, dark, and gorgous and he just saved her life.

The first day is full of....interesting experiences: first, the three most popular girls knock on the door in the middle of the night, asking her to join their coven, but these girls seem a little too evil and they don't take Sophie's refusal easily...next, Sophie watches two fae get in a fight with a shapeshifter, then she gets slobbered on by a werewolf, only to get back to her room in time to see her roommate having a midnight snack...

The first day of classes is just as promising, resulting in cellar duty for a semester, on the bright side, it will be with Archer. On the other hand, maybe that's not so great...

While part of the book is a cliche, it doesn't detract from the rest of the novel. There are some interesting twists that make me want to read the next book and the characters aren't as cliched as the overall situation. Anyone who likes paranormal should definitely read this.

Evermore: The Immortals -- a review by Liz Hill

Evermore: The Immortals

By: Alyson Noel

**** Stars

Ever Bloom is a sixteen-year-old girl who has just lost her family to a horrible car accident. Dealing with the lost of her family Ever is forced to move with her aunt to California where she has a new house, new school, and a dead family. For Ever this is a harder switch than others because not only was she the only one to live but after the accident she was able to see people’s auras, hear their thoughts and know someone’s entire life by a single touch. Ever has a daily struggle of avoiding human contact labeling her as a school freak. Until she meets Damen Auguste. Damen is exotic, wealthy, and the best looking guy in school. He is also the only one that can silence the world; with a single touch he warms Ever’s entire body. But Ever soons finds that she is felt with more questions than answers. And has no clue who Damen really is- or what he is. But without fault she is falling deeply and hopelessly in love with him.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it kept me wondering what was going to happen next, forcing me to read more. But the more I read the more I love this book. It was kind of an easy read for me. I would recommend Evermore to anyone who likes the Twilight Saga because it is kind of similar in many ways. I am very excited to continue the immortals series with Alyson’s next book Blue Moon.

ghostgirl by Tonya Hurley

Campy and fun, September 11, 2010

Warning -- this is not a serious, depressing book about death or the afterlife -- it's a fun, campy romp about a girl who dies (by choking to death on a gummy bear in an empty classroom)and whose passing is barely noticed because she was such a nonentity at her high school.

Charlotte spent the entire summer before senior year making herself over with the sole intent of gaining the attention of one of the most popular boys at school, Damen Dylan. Her "Popular Plan" included changing the way she looked and acted to become not only noticed, but envied, and thus part of the "in" crowd at Hawthorne High. Part of her goal included being asked to the Fall Ball and receiving the legendary Midnight Kiss from that boy of her dreams. Unfortunately, everything goes awry on the first day of school and Charlotte finds herself in Dead Ed trying to figure out how she's going to get her true love from beyond the grave. She decides to possess a living girl, Scarlet - a goth teen who is the complete opposite of the cheerleader crowd and the younger sister of Petula, one of the most envied in the school -- and Petula is the girl who just happens to have the boyfriend that Charlotte craves. Havoc and confusion ensue as Charlotte and Scarlet both fall head over heels for Damen (sensitive, dumb jock?) and both arrive at a realization about themselves that neither anticipates.

Parts of the book are laugh out loud funny as the satirical and pop references combine to create the puns that drive the story. Colorful "dead" characters (nicknamed for the method or cause of death) and stereotypical live high school kids mix it up in some amusing ways, but after all the effort at being clever, sometimes the joke falls flat and it all gets a little tedious at the end.

This story wraps up nicely -- but there's a hint that the saga will continue and it does in ghostgirl: Homecoming and a third book just released, ghostgirl: Lovesick. I might skim those two to see what happens in the further adventures of the dead Charlotte Usher.

The cutout black, pink and silver cover is enticing and unusual making this one book that teens will pick up and check out! Enjoy a few laughs.

Ms C.