The Mediator: Shadowland by Meg Cabot

Shadowland

The Mediator #1

author : meg cabot

pages : [paperback] 287

memorable quote : And try to remember what we discussed, Susannah. A mediator is someone who helps others resolve conflicts. Not someone who, er, kicks them in the face.

summary :

Suze is a mediator — a liaison between the living and the dead. In other words, she sees dead people. And they won’t leave her alone until she helps them resolve their unfinished business with the living. But Jesse, the hot ghost haunting her bedroom, doesn’t seem to need her help. Which is a relief, because Suze has just moved to sunny California and plans to start fresh, with trips to the mall instead of the cemetery, and surfing instead of spectral visitations.

But the very first day at her new school, Suze realizes it’s not that easy. There’s a ghost with revenge on her mind … and Suze happens to be in the way.

review :

I’m writing this review around rereading this book and I have to say that I’m loving the Mediator series a few years after the first time I read it just as much as I did back then. It’s awesome when a book like this can be enjoyed at any age, especially when the plot seems so simple. Suze is anything but a simple leading lady. She knows when to kick butt and when to be kind. She stands up for what she believes in but she’s not a total snob. All in all, I’d love to be a girl like Suze . . . Though it seems like seeing ghosts might be a little more trouble than it’s worth. At least Suze gets Jesse.

I also like how the main focus of this first book in the series wasn’t a romantic plot or some big, end-of-the-world thing, just Suze trying to save people from a vindictive ghost. She has the help of a very wonderful albeit odd group of friends, who I just love reading about as well.

This book is written pretty simply and can be read through in a day or two but that doesn’t lessen the impact of the story for me. While I love a good ghost story and, better, a great leading lady, there’s something special about the Mediator series that keeps me going back to it again and again. I wish that it was a book that more people knew about because it’s just wonderful!

If you’ve ever loved a Meg Cabot book, or want a great book to read, pick up Shadowland right now! You won’t regret it!

5/5 stars

Sleeper’s Run by Henry Mosquera

 

Sleeper’s Run

author : henry mosquera

pages : [paperback] 345

favorite character : eric

memorable quote : Truth is irrelevant; what matters is what people believe.

summary :

War on Terror veteran, Eric Caine, is found wandering the streets of Miami with no memory of the car accident that left him there. Alone and suffering from PTSD, Eric is on a one-way road to self-destruction. Then a chance meeting at a bar begins a series of events that helps Eric start anew. When his new job relocates him to Venezuela-the land of his childhood-things, however, take an ominous turn as a catastrophic event threatens the stability of the country. Now Eric must escape an elite team of CIA assassins as he tries to uncover an international conspiracy in which nothing is what it seems.

review :

I’ve really been looking forward to reading more novels like this lately so when I had the opportunity to read Sleeper’s Run I jumped on it! I got the action and suspense that I’ve been looking for as well as a solid plot line to keep me hooked and reading through to the end.  I loved the mystery of it all and couldn’t help but keep on reading just to see what was going to happen next. I was so happy that this book wasn’t entirely predictable and that kept me wanting more!

One thing that I do wish that this book had would be a little more description with everything. The dialogue, the characters, the settings, all of it. Even though I still ending up thoroughly enjoying this novel, I think that I may have given it a full five stars with a slightly fuller writing style. Even with that I am very much looking forward to reading more by this author and seeing what else he has to offer.

I give Sleeper’s Run 4/5 stars and recommend it to any fan of spy novels, action stories, or just a good read!

GIVEAWAY : Enter to win $30 Amazon gift card and an ebook copy of Sleeper’s Run!

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Tamed by Douglas R. Brown

Tamed

author : douglas r. brown

pages : [paperback] 318

favorite character : christine

summary :

Werewolves are real. And they make excellent pets.

Owning one of the legendary creatures is the latest fad. The WereHouse insists their werepets are loyal, docile, and 100% safe, but what happens when these gentle giants turn on their masters?

While on a routine EMS call, paramedic Christine Alt is attacked by a rogue werepet. She escapes with her life, but the encounter leaves her with more than just scars. As her body begins to change, she discovers the WereHouse is hiding a terrible secret, and they will stop at nothing to keep her from exposing them.

Tamed is a werewolf tale with a twist from the author of the The Light of Epertase trilogy.

review :

I thought that the concept of this book was incredibly interesting and different from any other werewolf novel I’ve ever read. To think that people could decimate and then domestic creatures like this is a fascinating premise though I feel as though the plot movement as well as the writing style used in Tamed failed to support the grander ideas that I got from reading the summary.

The characters in Tamed all fell flat of the personalities that were given to them. There wasn’t much description in the text, more telling rather than showing, and I know that that is not the writing style I’ve come to prefer. The romantic element introduced in the book was so absurdly unrealistic that it nearly made me want to stop reading when I only had a little further to go until the conclusion. The characters involved in the so-called romance declared their love for one another only a day or two after having met, with no real conversation between the two to indicate that these feelings were growing between them.

I did enjoy the creepy twists that came along throughout the entirety of the novel as well as some of the action scenes though the other supporting scenes where I expected deeper dialogue and more description failed to support the portions that I enjoyed so that the book was more unbelievable, even for a werewolf novel where fantastical elements are expected.

I give Tamed 2/5 stars. With better development in the characters, I might have enjoyed it much more.

Absent by Katie Williams

Absent 

Author : katie williams [also wrote the space between trees]

pages : [hardcover] 184

favorite character : evan

summary :

Forever is a long time to be stuck in high school.

Seventeen-year-old Paige is dead, the victim of a freak fall from
the roof during Physics class. Now she’s a ghost, permanently
bound to the grounds of her high school. It isn’t all bad, she can
find out everyone’s secrets, which can be amusing—for a while.
But then Paige hears something that isn’t amusing at all: the
rumor spread by the most popular girl at school that her death
wasn’t an accident—that she supposedly jumped on purpose.
Paige is desperate to stop the gossip, but what can a ghost do?
Then Paige discovers something amazing. She can possess
living people when they think of her, and she can make them do
almost anything. Maybe, just maybe, she can get inside the girl
who’s responsible for the stories. . . and have a little fun turning the tables while she’s at it.

Katie Williams’s second novel is a suspenseful page-turner full of
eerie wit and a touch of the otherworldly

review :

Absent by Katie Williams is everything and nothing like I’d expected it to be. It’s a much shorter and less action oriented novel than I thought that it would be, judging from the summary alone, though now that I’ve read it through I think that it sits at precisely the perfect length and follows a great pace for the plot that is presented. Some of what is shown is heavy material for teens in high school, blatantly speaking about drugs, alcohol, suicide, and the less horrible problems-teen love, friendship, and trust.

The characters in this were fantastic and flawed, both the living and the dead. Evan was definitely my favorite though he didn’t get much dedicated to him in the novel, though he was very sweet and understanding even after he’d been stuck alone and invisible in the school for so long. I loved the hint of mystery surrounding him for most of the book as well as the plot twists that keep appearing throughout the novel, all culminating in an ending that I really loved and think perfectly suited the story and the characters. Plus, there was so much happening that I hadn’t even imagined would come about, which was great.

I read The Space Between the Trees, Williams’ first novel, before this and thought that there was something off about it that kept me from completely enjoying it. Now that I really like Absent, I think that it wasn’t Williams’ writing style but probably just the plot that kept me from really diving into her work before. I really liked the characters and setup of Absent, so readers that might not have loved the other novel will definitely find something more in this one.

4/5 stars

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

 

Tiger Lily

author : jodi lynn anderson

pages : [hardcover] 292

memorable quote : Sometimes I think that maybe we are just stories. Like we may as well just be words on a page, because we’re only what we’ve done and what we are going to do.

favorite characters : peter & tiger lily

summary :

Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . . .

Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn’t believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.

Peter is unlike anyone she’s ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland’s inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she’s always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.

With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it’s the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who’s everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Peaches comes a magical and bewitching story of the romance between a fearless heroine and the boy who wouldn’t grow up.

review :

I love anything and everything to do with Peter Pan so of course I needed to get my hands on this book! Tiger Lily is unique in that it focuses on her story and not on Peter’s. It’s even told from Tinkerbell’s point of view. That difference was something that made me a little wary at first because I didn’t know if I’d like having Tink as a narrator and a different main character but I really loved this new interpretation and most of the things that were added to Tiger Lily’s – and Peter’s – story.

I loved seeing her life in the tribe and what shaped her personality and adventurous mind. The culture Anderson creates as well as the life of the entire island she describes comes to the reader in a way that really reminded me of a fairy tale which was something I loved. Although at times I had to admit that because this tale deviates so much from the original Peter Pan story, it’s less the prequel I thought that it was and more a wonderful reinterpretation that I’ll be returning to again and again.

Of course I kept waiting for Tiger Lily to meet Peter Pan and I loved the scenes that they had together, especially when they weren’t getting along very well. They were wonderful together and I really loved how their characters flowed and developed. They each had their own flaws as well as their wonderful characteristics.

The only problem I really had with this novel was the ending and that was almost what ruined it for me, though by kind of ignoring it I still love this book. I think that the end is just entirely out of character considering the original Peter Pan and the expectations that I had because of that regarding this book and any other interpretation that I might read. That’s just something that would never happen.

I give Tiger Lily 5/5 stars and recommend it for anyone looking to read a great fairy tale, both charming and heartbreaking.

Blog Tour!

Today I’d like to welcome Gretchen Powell to the blog as part of the Terra blog tour! Today she’s going to tell us all about her writing process:

 

Every author’s writing process is different. Some people require long outlines or storyboards to make sure that everything is in place before they even write a single word.  Some take an idea and literally fly with it, letting the characters and plot come to life as they type away. There is really no right way to write (heh, say that 10x fast!), only the way (or ways!) that work best for you as an individual.

For me, writing Terra, it was really a combination of things. I had what I thought was a pretty solid outline formulated when I began writing. Of course, as I continued to write, that outline changed more and more, until the story I originally thought I would be telling was almost completely unrecognizable in the text (believe me—this is a GOOD thing). Ultimately, I would say the book is a higher percentage of “made it up as I went” than “carefully planned from the beginning” but it took both approaches to make it into the book it is now.

Since Terra was the first book in its series, I also had more freedom to figure things out as I went. Now that I’m working on the sequel, Underground, I am finding myself being more thoughtful and careful as to how I plot things out, because I know that not only do things have to link to what has happened in the first book, but they also have to carry through into the third. It’s a whole different kind of beast, and thankfully, it keeps the ride exciting!

- – -

Here’s more about Terra :

A broken and desolate Earth. A young girl struggling to survive. A lost boy with a powerful secret.

A discovery that will change everything.

In the distant wake of a plague that has decimated the Earth’s population, humanity is split in two: The rich and powerful live in skycities that float overhead, while those who remain on the ground have gathered in settlements strewn across a dying planet. Eighteen-year-old Terra Rhodon is a terrestrial–a denizen of the barren groundworld–who makes her living as a scav. Long abandoned by her father, her caregivers gone, Terra supports herself and her younger brother, Mica, by scouring the earth for discarded scraps and metals to recycle for profit. One day, while on a routine scavenging run, she discovers something that shocks her home settlement of Genesis X-16. When the value of her discovery is revealed, Terra’s world is turned upside down.

Terra suddenly finds herself asking questions no one will answer. Her search for the truth leads her to Adam–a beguiling skydweller unlike any she has ever met. But Adam has secrets and a quest of his own, and with him by her side, the world Terra thought she knew begins to unravel. Soon her discoveries unearth a terrifying conspiracy that has the potential to shatter everything–a revelation that will test the bonds of loyalty, family, and love.

 

Not convinced to read it yet? Read the first two chapters online!

GOODREADS | AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE

When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears by Kersten Hamilton

When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears

The Goblin Wars #3
Book 1: Tyger, Tyger
Book 2: In the Forests of the Night

author : kersten hamilton

pages : [hardcover] 400

favorite characters :   .  .  . all of them

summary :

“People will die.”

Locked doors are opening, and uncanny creatures are tumbling through mysterious portals from Mag Mell, the world-between-worlds, into the streets of Chicago. The Dark Man has marked Aiden with a new song that’s scared him badly, and a frightening new group of sídhe is lurking nearby.

Teagan knows this is war, and she must protect her family. She leaves her flesh and bones behind to join Finn in hunting the evil beings across the city. Meanwhile, their relationship is heating up—almost faster than they can control. But he is still bound to fight goblins his entire life . . . and by blood she is one of them now.

Then the gateway to Mag Mell cracks open again, and the Wylltsons find themselves caught in a trap. As her loved ones begin to die, Teagan realizes that she must destroy the Dark Man and his minions once and for all in order to save those who remain . . .

. . . before it is too late.

review :

First, look at that beautiful cover.

There will never be enough words to express my love for the Goblin Wars trilogy. Ever since I first read book one I’ve been addicted to this plot and fantastic set of characters and this is one trilogy where the next two books don’t fall short. The sequel was great, if not more addictive than the first, and the third and unfortunately final book When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears was fantastic!

Every time I thought that I knew what was going to happen next, I was proved wrong. This is a book that you don’t want to start if you don’t have time to read it all at once (cue my regret at starting it right before finals and then staying up all night just to finish) because it is just that addictive. There are a lot of characters in this book but each is so distinctive and great that there isn’t any confusion at all; I loved the mix of humans and otherworldly creatures, especially in this one where Teagan’s worlds are really starting to blend together. Everyone that Tea cares about is in danger and she and her adorable little brother, Aiden, are the only two that can stop the evil trying to claw through to their world.

With characters this great, don’t doubt that all of the bad guys are plenty terrifying. There are shapeshifters, soul-eating creatures, and, worst, one who can twist people and creatures just by singing it into reality.

I feel like I could rave about this book and trilogy for ages. When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears is a great conclusion, even though I didn’t want this to end at all. It took all of my expectations and threw them away though I’m so happy to get the ending that I wanted in an unpredictable way.

I’d recommend this series to anyone who enjoys adventure, fantasy, Irish folklore, a great book, or a read you’ll never forget.

Whether you’re new to this trilogy or have been waiting eagerly (like me!) for this last book, you’ll never regret reading the Goblin Wars . . .Actually, I’m tempted to start reading the first book now.

Books to Movies! Silver Linings Playbook

I read and loved Silver Linings Playbook back in  February and never got the chance to actually see the movie for myself until last week! I’ve heard nothing but good things about it and was especially excited because Jennifer Lawrence is in it and, of course, I’ve come to love her (and especially her interviews) after she took on the role of Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games.

I have to admit, though, that this is a movieI kind of wish I hadn’t read the book before because I know that I would have enjoyed it so much more if I didn’t already have the plot and characters in my head. They changed so much of it throughout the movie and even changed the ending; all of that and there were still little, unimportant things that were changed for the movie but it didn’t seem like they needed to be changed in the first place. I don’t like it when book to movie adaptations change little things for no reason whatsoever and The Silver Linings Playbook was completely full of that.

The characters also felt different, even the ones that they didn’t alter too terribly. Pat and Tiffany, the two main characters, were great. The supporting characters were a mess, looking at them as a fan of the book. Pat and his father were supposed to have a struggling relationship; the entire movie, though, his father is so happy to see him and wants to spend as much time as possible with him. Important character developing scenes for minor characters were cut out, which I totally understand, but what I don’t understand is why they decided to make a movie that, really, was a completely different story from the book.

I love the book. I like the movie, but only because I can step back and appreciate it for what it is if I absolutely don’t associate it with the book. Connecting the two together just makes the movie into one of the poorest adaptations I’ve seen in a while.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

author : junot diaz

pages : [hardcover] 335

favorite characters : oscar & lola

summary :

This is the long-awaited first novel from one of the most original and memorable writers working today.

Things have never been easy for Oscar, a sweet but disastrously overweight ghetto nerd, a Bew Jersey romantic who dreams of becoming the Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien and, most of all, of finding love. But he may never get what he wants, thanks to the fukú — the ancient curse that has haunted the Oscar’s family for generations, dooming them to prison, torture, tragic accidents, and, above all, ill-starred love. Oscar, still dreaming of his first kiss, is only its most recent victim – until the fateful summer that he decides to be its last.

With dazzling energy and insight, Junot Díaz immerses us in the uproarious lives of our hero Oscar, his runaway sister Lola, and their ferocious beauty-queen mother Belicia, and in the epic journey from Santo Domingo to Washinton Heights to New Jersey’s Bergenline and back again. Rendered with uncommon warmth and humor, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao presents an astonishing vision of the comtemporary American experience and the endless human capacity to persevere – and to risk it all – in the of love.

A true literary triumph, this novel confirms Junot Díaz as one of the best and most exciting writers of our time.

review :

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is both a wonderful title and completely captivating book! I needed to read this for school and did not even know what to expect, though found to my surprise that I really, really enjoyed it. Diaz writes in a completely conversational tone, even as he is giving a harsh political commentary and educating the reader on dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. I loved learning more about something I know so little about, a culture I really don’t know anything about, and in such a great writing style.

Oscar Wao is a book filled with many characters both in the past and present of the novel, all equally as important. Some are only brought in temporarily to demonstrate the horrible results of this dictator Trujillo that ruined Oscar’s life, indirectly, by bringing a curse down upon his family. Or so the narrator writes.

I really loved this book, enough to make me very interested in looking out for more of Diaz’s work. It was a wonderfully written novel, filled with interesting characters and a funny, tragic, action-filled plot that has some in it that would grab any reader and teach them something, too, inadvertently or not. I don’t know that I would have even thought about looking into the history of the Dominican Republic if I hadn’t picked up this novel. I’d recommend it to just about anyone.

4/5 stars

The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh

The Night Tourist 

author : katherine marsh

pages : [hardcover] 230

favorite character : Euri

summary :

Jack Perdu, a shy, ninth grade classics prodigy lives with father on the Yale University campus. Smart and introverted, Jack spends most of his time alone, his nose buried in a book. But when Jack suffers a near fatal accident, his life is forever changed. His father sends him to a mysterious doctor in New York City-a place Jack hasn’t been since his mother died there eight years ago. While in the city, Jack meets Euri, a young girl who offers to show him the secrets of Grand Central Station. Here, Jack discovers New York’s Underworld, a place where those who died in New York reside until they are ready to move on. This, Jack belives, is a chance to see his mother again. But as secrets about Euri’s past are revealed, so are the true reasons for Jack’s visit to the Underworld. Masterfully told, The Night Tourist weaves together New York City’s secret history and its modern-day landscape to create a highly vivid ghost world, full of magical adventure and page-turning action.

review :

The Night Tourist was a highly simplistic read that I started one night and finished the next afternoon. The writing is very to the point and not overly embellished though I think that I would have liked to see more added into it, especially in the more surreal parts of the novel. It was a very creative and fun journey though it seemed rushed and bland at points because of the bland writing.

I loved the ideas presented throughout The Night Tourist and the underworld that it created for the ghosts who were still in limbo. At times it was kind of confusing to keep track of the supporting characters as there were so many ghosts that Jack ran into, but I really liked the bantering relationship that he and Euri had going on so that definitely distracted me from most faults in this novel. I liked the settings, too; the ghost haunts, the different places around New York.

I think that if the author had added in some pages really developing the narrative and fleshing it out more fully then I would have enjoyed this much more because I really fell in love with all of the creative, ghostly things that were happening and hated it when an oddly phrased paragraph or blunted dialogue dragged me out of the book world simply because of the annoyance that that caused me. I’m really hoping that maybe if this author writes something else that I’ll read, that might not be the case, because of the creativity presented here that isn’t something to miss.

The Night Tourist is geared toward younger readers but I think that it’s a book that anyone can pick up and take something good from.

3.5/5 stars