Winnie's reviews: The Adventures of Loriel the Wood Fairy

Loriel is worried about Grandfairy Cyce . She hasn’t heard from her in a while. Loriel gets the news that Grandfairy Cyce has been kidnapped by a goblin! Will Loriel ever see her again?

I liked this book because I love fantasy! My favorite part was when Padra (the house mouse) thought the dragon was going to eat him. There was a problem though. Some characters' names were similar to one another and the author sometimes used the wrong names on the characters. It was a bit confusing. For this reason I rate only 3 ½ stars.

Author: The back of the book flap reads, "I have always been a reader and I loved reading to my children as well as my grandchildren. I hope that comes through in my writing. Opening children's eyes to the world of books is awesome. Seeing their eyes light up to an exciting passage is so special. Computers are wonderful but holding a book and relying on your own imagination is special and individual to each one of us."

Linda's Review: Loriel's Grandfairy Cyce has been kidnapped by smelly goblins. She must figure out a way to rescue Cyce without putting Cyce in more danger.
This is a fun little story with cute pictures. I think some of the words could be difficult for children and not easy to figure out in context. However, great opportunity to learn to work a dictionary. ;) The story moves quickly and keeps the reader engaged. Occasionally, I had to go back and reread sections because I didn't catch it well the first time. That may have been me though. Overall, I'd give this book three stars. ***
It was fun! It'll be a fun read aloud to my children this year too.

Disclaimer: This was a complimentary copy of the book given to me in exchange for an honest review.

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From Tragedy to Triumph: The Story of John Tartaglio by John Tartaglio and Andrew Chapin

Perseverance. This is a great adjective to describe John Tartaglio. When John was seventeen he developed a rare bacterial infection which led to the loss of both of his legs and his left bicep. He didn't let that stop him. Despite the negativity of his doctors, he was determined to walk across the stage at his graduation.

He continued making goals -- cycling, swimming, running. If a person with legs could do it then he was determined to find a way to do it as well. his attitude throughout all of this is completely inspirational. I felt privileged to read about something that could be so personal.

This story was amazing. I was pulled into John's life and found myself crying tears of joy when he accomplished a goal, laughing at his jokes, and cheering him on. My children and husband got to hear about the story. My six year old daughter was especially excited about it.

I recommend this book. There was some strong language in it but it didn't occur often. I give this book 4 stars. ****


To learn more about this author go here.

Here are some videos. If you search his name on youtube, you'll find quite a few more.

Disclaimer: This was a complimentary copy of the book given to me in exchange for an honest review.

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Kids' Korner: Suddenly Supernatural Books 1 & 2

Published February 10th 2009

Genre: Children's Chapter book, Fiction, Paranormal

Synopsis: School Spirit - Kat's mother is a medium and talks to spirits. Kat has never wanted to invite friends over because, undoubtedly, something weird would happen at her home. She finally finds a friend, Jac, who doesn't seem to mind. Unfortunately, Kat notices she is seeing spirits as well; specifically, she is seeing one in her school that she and Jac must help cross over.
Scaredy Kat - Kat realizes that when lots of spirits begin seeking her out for help, it can be pretty scary. She has to learn how to control her power despite and angry spirit living in the abandoned house next door. To make things worse, there is a spirit like none she had ever seen in the second floor of the abandoned house that she must figure out how to help without the angry spirit harming her or Jac. Somehow, the story of a missing boy is connected as well so Kat and Jac must figure out how to solve this mystery and save the boy.

These were both very cute stories. My 5 and 7 year old absolutely loved them! They love haunted, spooky stories so the ghosts in this one added an extra level for them and they LOVED it! :)

Author: To learn more about Elizabeth Cody Kimmel, visit her website here http://www.codykimmel.com/

Rating: **** Four Stars

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Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles 2) by Marissa Meyer

Hardcover, 454 pages

Published February 5th 2013 by Feiwel and Friends

Genre: Young Adult, Fairy Tales, Science Fiction, Fantasy

Synopsis: Cinder, the cyborg mechanic from book 1, is trying to break out of prison so she can save the world from the Lunar People. If she succeeds, she'll be the most wanted fugitive in all of the Commonwealth.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Scarlet's grandmother is mission. She runs into a streetfight named Wolf who offers to help her find her grandmother. Scarlet quickly learns there was much she didn't know about her grandmother and everything she discovers only leaves to more questions. They run into the cyborg fugitive and together they must find a way to save the world from the lunar queen before Prince Kai becomes her husband and her prisoner and she gains power over the entire Commonwealth.

This book was just as good as the first one. LOVED it!! I was sad Cinder wasn't in it as much but as I got to know Scarlet, I was no longer disappointed. I enjoyed following both their story lines and going back and forth between them in the book. So fun and such an addictive book! I didn't want to put it down. :)

Author: To learn more about Marissa Meyer, check out her website here http://www.marissameyer.com/.  

Rating: **** Five Stars

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Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Hardcover, 1st Edition, 387 pages

Published January 3rd 2012 by Feiwel & Friends

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis: In a futuristic Earth, a plague ravages the people. The Lunar people watch from the moon for their chance to take over the people of earth with their powers of the mind. There is one hope of a lunar princess who may still be alive to stop the lunar queen. Of course, the odds of that are very small. Meanwhile, on earth, is a young girl named Cinder who is a Cyborg, a second class citizen who meets Prince Kai when she, being one of the best mechanics of New Beijing, repairs his robot and learns of something she should not be privy to. Soon, she finds herself in an impossible situation as she discovers information about her past and must made decisions about her future that could affect the rest of the world.

Who doesn't love a good fairy tale....er.... a good sci -fi.... er.... a good romance.... er... this book!  I seriously LOVED this book. It's the first of a series and I cannot wait to get my hands on the rest of it. It's based off the story of Cinderella only it's much more gritty and intense than the fairy tale we are all used to. I love reading stories that are based off fairy tales, I love sci-fi and fantasy and love a clean romance. This had all of them rolled up into one book. My perfect dream book! haha! I totally recommend this book.

Author: This is Marissa Meyer's debut novel. She lives in Washington with her fiance and cats. To learn more about her, visit her website here http://www.marissameyer.com/

Rating: ***** FIVE STARS

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Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Hardcover, 360 pages

Published July 13th 2010 by Scholastic Press (first published 2010)

ISBN

0545123283 (ISBN13: 9780545123280)

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy Romance

Synopsis: This is a sequel to Shiver, which I read before I started a review blog. :) So, this could contain spoilers to Shiver so I suggest that you go and read Shiver first. :)

Grace is a 17 year old girl who lives in the quiet little town of Mercy Falls, Minnesota. The year before she met Sam, a wolf, well, a human, well.... a shapeshifter. But, they cured him of that so at the beginning of this book they are both typical humans. Sam is now responsible for the pack after the last one, and adopted father to Sam, decided to return as a wolf and may never become a human again. Sam must figure out how to make it on his own and settle into his new life of caretaker of the shapeshifting pack. Meanwhile, his girlfriend Grace is finding that her parents' new overbearing methods are suffocating. She is fighting with them and ignoring symptoms that could change her life forever. There is also a new pack member -- Cole. The first one to return to human and has a questionable past that could be detrimental to the secret of the pack. This odd trio must find a way to survive and perhaps risk everything to save one of their lives.

Review: I still love this story, this world Maggie created. It's original but still fits in the ever popular category of fantasy-romance. You know that moment you realize you are siding with the parents instead of the heroine of the story? Yeah, it's not a good sign. It means you're getting old (30 next year). That was the feeling I got while reading this story. There were a few instances where the main characters got in trouble and I thought, "DUH!" Anyways, this is young adult but I don't think I'd let my daughter read it. There is teen sex and the language is a little heavier than what I'd feel comfortable having her read.  I am not giving it that fourth star because of a couple of reasons but the main one is the romance. Ack! Sometimes it's a bit too cheesy for me. They're 17 and they're proclaiming their never ending love together in ways that made me feel entirely uncomfortable. Otherwise, it was a pretty good story.

Author: From Goodreads Author Page: All of Maggie Stiefvater's life decisions have been based around her inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you're a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical editor (all of which she's tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists and artists. She's made her living as one or the other since she was 22. She now lives an eccentric life in the middle of nowhere, Virginia with her charmingly straight-laced husband, two kids, two neurotic dogs, and a 1973 Camaro named Loki.

To learn more of Maggie then go to her page here: http://maggiestiefvater.com/

Rating: **** Four Stars

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Matched by Ally Condi

Good news!! My semester is over and I get to read fun books again!! Hooray!! Bad news is that my new semester starts in a week so I'm trying to read as many books as I can. hehe! ;)

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia

Synopsis/Review: The society in this book reminds me a lot of The Giver by Lois Lowry. The society has completely taken away all types of agency and independence. No one has a chance to learn who they are by breaking out of the "norm" because there is nothing but "norm". If you don't fit in then you are transferred somewhere else. They watch everything you do, even monitor your dreams. At the age of 17 you are matched with the person you are going to marry. Matched begins on the night of Cassia's matching. She is surprisingly matched with her best friend (most are matched with people from other cities whom they have never met) Xander. She is given the microcard with the dating rules and info on Xander but when it displays the face of her match she sees a different face. Not Xander's, but Ky's! Another young man from her area who has been marked for a crime his father committed and is banned from ever being married or having any type of fulfilling life. Even his career the society has chosen for him is basically a dishwasher. That is all he will be. As Cassia begins to pay attention to Ky and the way his life is handled because of decisions of other people, she begins questioning the society and the importance of having a choice.

This is another love triangle young adult novel. It is fun though because of the society. It adds a new depth to it that most of the other young adult love triangle novels lack. The author uses a lot of description in her writing as well which is really fun. It is written in first person, present tense. Anytime a book is written in present tense instead of past tense it takes me a couple of chapters to get used to. I'm not really sure why. Overall, this was a fun book!! The ending bugged me because it didn't end how I wanted it to but thankfully, I waited long enough to start it that the second book is out and the third one will be out in November. Woot!! I'll have to get my hands on the next one soon. ;)

Rating: **** Four Stars

Author: Ally Condie received a degree in English Teaching from Brigham Young University and spent a number of years teaching high school English in Utah and in upstate New York. She lives with her husband and three sons outside of Salt Lake City, Utah.

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Destined by Aprilynne Pike

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (May 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061668125
• ISBN-13: 978-0061668128

WARNING: This is a Spoiler if you have not read the other 3 books of the Laural series.  For a review on the other three then click here. If you have not read those three first then do not read this review. :)

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy - Romance

Synopsis: Book three ended in a very bad spot, Luki is captured and they discovered she is a Winter Faerie... the strongest and rarest of all fae. Laurel and her friends must figure out what to do with her. When things don't go quite as planned, Avalon is in danger and Laurel, Tamani, Chelsea, and David are their only hope. Okay, that's kind of all I can say with giving away any spoilers.... trust me, this is hard. :)

My Thoughts: I know, being a Laural Series fan, it took me a really long time to finally get to this book. I just had so many other books that I needed to read. I finally could take it no longer and bought this book. Of course, I had to re-read the previous 3 so that I would know exactly what was happening. This book was just as good as the other three in the series and Pike was able to wrap up all the loose ends. She did leave it open for another story (oh, I hope she does!) or you get to use your imagination and figure it out yourself. I know that doesn't really make sense -- wrapped up loose ends but left it open too but, trust me. She did! Read it and you'll get it.
The biggest question I and most of my friends had was, "Does she choose David or Tamani?" I loved both of the guys but, I won't tell you who she ended up with. hehe!
The first thing I noticed about this book is the beautiful cover. I just love it! I loved re-reading the previous three books. I was able to see the amazing growth in the characters throughout the series. I love that they didn't just stay the same through out. They grew and evolved and learned from their experiences. The characters at the end of book four were not the same as the characters at the beginning of Wings. This book made me laugh and cry. It was such an emotional ride but still amazing. The story is just amazing! The writing is very simple and there is a lot of mushy romance stuff in it but the story is just so awesome that I am able to look over those. I thoroughly enjoyed this series and was sad to finish and end my adventures in Avalon.

Author: (from Goodreads) Aprilynne Pike has been spinning faerie stories since she was a child with a hyper-active imagination. At the age of twenty she received her BA in Creative Writing from Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. When not writing, Aprilynne can usually be found at the gym; she also enjoys singing, acting, reading, and working with pregnant moms as a childbirth educator and doula. Aprilynne currently lives with her husband and three kids in Utah, and dreams of warmer climates.


Rating: ***** Five Stars

Purchase Book: Click on link (hover for details)

 
Destined (Wings)

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Kids Korner: A Dog's Life: Autobiography of a Stray by Ann M. Martin

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (January 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439717000
• ISBN-13: 978-0439717007

Genre: Children, Realistic Fiction

Synopsis: This story is written from the view point of the dog, years later looking back on her life. The reader starts following her as a puppy and it's all given from the view point of the dog and she loses family members, tackles starvation, packs of vicious dogs, cars, and the ultimate enemy --- human beings.

Our thoughts: My children decided this was a riveting journey as they followed the life of this poor dog. Parts of it made the kids very sad and other parts made them to be very happy. They loved this book and moaned any time we had to stop and do other things in our life. Her name changes several times throughout her life depending on who she lives with. She started off as Squirrel though. It's the name her mother gave her. It is an emotional journey for children though... be warned.

Author:  (info from Goodreads) Ann Matthews Martin was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. After graduating from Smith College, Ann became a teacher and then an editor of children's books. She's now a full-time writer.

Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.

Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.

Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.

After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children. 


For more info on Ann Martin visit her websites http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmmartin and http://www.scholastic.com/annmartin/


Rating: According to my 6 and 4 year old -- ***** Five Stars

To purchase book click here (hover for details):


 A Dog's Life: Autobiography of a Stray

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Kids' Korner: Stage Fright by Meg Cabot

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc.; Reprint edition (August 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0545040469
• ISBN-13: 978-0545040464

Genre: Children's Chapter Book - Fiction

Synopsis: (from Goodreads) Mrs. Hunter's fourth grade class is putting on a play. But Allie's theatrical hopes are crushed when she's not cast as the princess. Instead, she's cast as the evil queen. But as opening night approaches, Allie learns it's not the size of the part, it's the size of the heart that really matters.

My Thoughts: Allie Finkle is a typical girl and my kids thought she was awesome!! :) Cheyenne is a classmate of Allie's and is a complete brat. As the reader continues reading it's easy to see why. She has no rules and no consequences in her family life. I was able to stop a few times and discuss this with my kids. They ended up thanking me for providing rules and consequences. I thought that was really funny coming from my four and six year old. Cheyenne was a perfect example of the entitlement issues seen in today's children and I strive not to allow that to happen to my children. I am straying.... I just thought this book provided a great learning experience that I did not expect. Each time I had to stop reading my kids were angry at me for several minutes because they wanted to continue reading. They never wanted to stop. hehe! This one was a big hit for my kids!! :) I loved the subtle messages and lessons it had throughout and the fun storyline.

Author:
Meg Cabot is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of books for both adults and tweens/teens. Born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana, Meg also lived in Grenoble, France and Carmel, California (the setting for her bestselling Mediator series) before moving to New York City after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Indiana University.
After working for ten years as an assistant residence hall director at New York University (an experience from which she occasionally draws inspiration for her Heather Wells mystery series—two new books in the series will be out in 2012 and 2013), Meg wrote the Princess Diaries series, which was made into two hit movies by Disney, sold over 16 million copies, and has been translated into 38 languages.
Meg also wrote the 1-800-Where-R-You? series (which has been reprinted under the title Vanished and was made into the Lifetime series called Missing), as well as numerous other award-winning, best-selling stand-alone books and series, including All-American Girl and Avalon High (on which an original Disney Channel movie was based), and several books told entirely in emails and text messages (Boy Next Door/Boy Meets Girl/Every Boy’s Got One).
Meg’s newest series include the tween hit Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls, the YA trilogy Airhead, and Abandon, the first book in a new paranormal series for young adult readers (the sequel, Underworld, will be in US stores in spring 2012). Insatiable, Meg’s first paranormal romance for adult readers, was followed by a sequel, Overbite, in July 2011.
Meg Cabot (her last name rhymes with habit, as in “her books can be habit forming”) currently lives in Key West with her husband and two cats.

This info came from Meg Cabot's website.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

For Purchase:  Stage Fright (Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls, Book 4)

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Kids Korner: Funny Things I Heard At The Bus Stop: The Complete Collection by Angela Giroux

• File Size: 265 KB
• Print Length: 118 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Red Alien Media (February 29, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007FT5086

Genre: Children's Fiction/Chapter Book

Synopsis: (from Goodreads) As my friends and I walk to the bus stop, we do lots of things to make the walk more fun. We have snowball fights in the winter. We throw acorns at the squirrels. We sing songs. We race to the stop sign. And we tell stories. Lots of stories.

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Parenting with Love & Logic by Foster Cline, MD and Jim Fay

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: NavPress Publishing; Rev Upd edition (April 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576839540
• ISBN-13: 978-1576839546

Genre: Parenting

Synopsis: Psychiatrist Cline and educator Fay's "Love and Logic" parenting method advocates raising responsible children through practice. "Helicopter" parents hover around their children while "drill sergeant" parents give orders to theirs, they claim. Neither of these styles permits children to learn how to make choices and learn from the consequences. The result is that as early as adolescence these children too often make bad decisions. In the context of a healthy, loving relationship, "Love and Logic" parents teach their children responsibility and the logic of life by solving their own problems, providing skills for coping in the real world. After laying out the principles of "Love and Logic," the authors provide "parenting pearls," which are strategies for applying the method to actual situations such as back-seat battles in the car, homework, and keeping bedrooms clean. The narration, performed by Tim Kenney and Bert Gurule, is clear and energetic. This is an upbeat and sensible approach to child rearing that will be popular in public libraries.

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Espionage by A.L. Sowards

Title: Espionage
Author: A.L. Sowards
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Date Released: March 2012
Genre: LDS Historical Fiction

Author's Book Description: France, 1944: Nobody expects Peter Eddy to survive his first commando mission—to retrieve a code book stolen by the Nazis—so when he does come back alive, his success is rewarded with an even more daunting assignment. Partnered with French Resistance leader Jacques Olivier, Eddy must identify which of three Allied contacts in Calais is a double agent and use the traitor to help implement a strategic Allied diversion that might win the war. Eddy and Olivier secretly cross the English Channel to confront their suspects one at a time, but what appears to be a clean assignment soon turns disastrous, and a shocking betrayal leaves Eddy in the grip of the Gestapo. With the courageous aid of Olivier and his sister, Genevieve, Eddy evades his captors with a dangerous escape plan. But as the Allied invasion approaches, treachery in the least likely places leads to fresh graves in the bloodied European soil—and only the power of loyalty and love can transform tragic endings into new beginnings.

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Voices of the Dead by Peter Leonard

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Story Plant, The (January 17, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1611880327
• ISBN-13: 978-1611880328

 Genre: Suspense/Historical Fiction

Synopsis: The year is 1971. The place is Detroit. Harry Levin, a scrap metal dealer and Holocaust survivor, has just learned that his daughter was killed in a car accident. Traveling to Washington, DC to claim the body, he learns that the accident was caused by a German diplomat who was driving drunk. This is only the beginning of the horror for Harry, though, as he discovers that the diplomat will never face charges – he has already been released and granted immunity. Enraged and aggrieved, Harry discovers the identity of his daughter’s killer, follows him to Munich, and hunts him down. What Harry finds out about the diplomat and his plans will explode his life and the lives of everyone around him.

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Supernaturally by Kiersten White

• ISBN-13: 9780061985867
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Publication date: 7/26/2011
• Pages: 352
• Age range: 12 - 17 Years

Genre: Paranormal/Young Adult

Review: Evelyn is still trying to find her place in the world. She thought she was all set going to high school and rooming with Arianna, a vampire, as she worked at a diner that served mostly other paranormals. She had her boyfriend, Lend, who is half human and half immortal and she's offered her job back at IPCA (International Paranormal Containment Agency). All this while she's trying to survive real high school. However, she refuses to work with fairies and gets teamed up with Jack, a young human who has learned how to work the Faerie Paths. Strange things start happening to her, well, stranger than her already strange life. It seems that paranormals are trying to kill her at every turn. Someone wants her dead and she has no idea who. She tries to survive as she searches for the truth of who she is and where she came from. She wants to know why she can see through the glamour of the other paranormals and why she is the only one (besides Vivian) who can suck the souls out of other creatures. Is she a monster?

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The Dark Lifer's Revenge: A Short Story by Linda Joy Singleton

• ISBN-13: 9780738734668
• Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
• Publication date: 12/1/2011
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 38

Genre: Short Story/ Paranormal/ Young Adult

Review: Sabine's, a psychic, boyfriend's body is taken over by a Dark Lifer (an evil soul who "borrows" others' bodies to do their dirty work) to take revenge on the man who killed him. Sabine goes to the only person she knows who may be able to help... Amber, a Temp Lifer (temporarily steps into the lives of people who are suffering to help them navigate through their problems). Together, they try to save Sabine's boyfriend, Dominic, and the man the Dark Lifer is out to kill.

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The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Genre: Dystopian/Young Adult/Post Apocalyptic

Review: This is the story of Katniss Everdeen. It's time for the reaping again where two children, boy and girl, are chosen from each of the 12 districts of Panem to fight to the death in the Hunger Games. 24 children go in and only one survives. Katniss and Peeta are chosen from district 12. They don't want to kill anyone, only survive. In the arena Katniss and Peeta make some decisions to save each other which begin a rebellion in the country of Panem. This causes a full on war between the Capitol and the other districts.

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Gods and Fathers by James LePore

Published by: The Story Plant
ISBN-10: 1611880297
ISBN-13: 978-1611880298

Publish Date: 02/07/12   300 pages

Genre: Suspense

Synopsis: Nationally bestselling author James LePore has established a reputation as a writer whose vividly drawn characters and morally complex plots have kept readers up to all hours turning pages. His new novel promises more sleepless nights and more nonstop thrills.

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Flashback Friday: The Nine Lives of Chloe King: The Fallen by Celia Thomson

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Paranormal

Review: Chloe is a typical girl... a bit boy crazy and acts like a teenager by fighting with her mom and cuts class once in a while. Around her 16th birthday she started noticing strange changes -- a bit cat-like really, including the claws. She feels alone with these changes and doesn't understand where they came from or if there is anyone else like her. She stops worrying so much about that once she finds out that someone is out to kill her because of what she is -- whatever that may be.

I started reading this book for the same reason many others did. I saw the television show on Netflix and thought it was really cute. Then, the show was cancelled after the first season, leaving the viewers with a terrible cliff hanger. My logical solution, "I'm going to read the book then." Like many books, it is very different from it's counterpart. That was a bit disappointing and in the first book my questions weren't answered. Also, the book is more sexual and has a moderate amount of cussing in it that I didn't enjoy. I was surprised that the TV series was cleaner than the book. That was a first. Overall, I did enjoy the story and want to read the next in the series to find out what happens.

Author: The first thing I learned about Celia Thomson while trying to find info on her is that Celia Thomson, J.B. Stephens, E.J. Braswell and Tracy Lynn are all pseudonym for Liz Braswell. Here is a little snippet of her bio from her webpage.She was born in England and has many interests, but I'll let you read more about this woman with so many names at her website.

Rating: *** Three Stars

If you would like to purchase your own copy of this book then click on the link below (hover for details).

The Fallen (Nine Lives of Chloe King)

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Everblossom by Larissa Hinton

Genre: Fiction/poetry/short story

Review: This is a collection of poetry and short stories. I was super excited to read it because I loved the picture of the flower on the front and I just had high hopes from that. As I read the poetry, I loved it. The poetry made sense and was deep. Some of the poems were deep and some were a little shallow but they were all fun. Then there were the short stories. I really wasn't a big fan of them. I felt they were poorly written and could have been so much better. They had plenty of potential and covered some pretty intense topics.
One of the stories was "Born Without a Heart" and I could totally relate to it... at least the beginning. I thought it would be something sweet and sad but then it turned into boyfriend girlfriend drama... again. These stories were just not able to hold my attention but I'm sure they're great for other people. :)

Author: Larissa Hinton was born in 1989 so she's 22 years old. She is from Virginia and is a grad student working towards becoming an english teacher. She is a writer, teacher and bookaholic and keeps a blog about books. :) To read more about Larissa Hinton go check out her blog here.

Rating: ** Two Stars

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