September, 2011

"Gravity" by Abigail Boyd         

Ariel, a lonely ostracized girl, must begin a new school year after her only friend Jenna has gone missing.  Mysterious dreams begin to plague Ariel and she begins questioning whether Jenna has run away or if something else may have happened.  With the help of two new kids, Theo and Henry, Ariel begins to unravel the mystery.         

I enjoyed this book right up until the end.  I don't want to give anything away, but the book ended very abruptly at an odd place.  I assume that the author is setting up for a sequel.  The characters appeared realistic, if not a bit stereotypical.  The plot was interesting and moved forward at a good pace.  Overall, this is a good young adult book, if you don't mind the cliffhanger.

"Traveling Light" by Katrina Kittle         

Summer has moved into the home with her brother Todd and his partner Jacob in order to help Todd through the final stages of AIDS.  Despite the horrible moments and his sickness, Summer finds strength in helping Todd.          

This book takes a look at a very serious topic and makes it real.  It describes all of the tragedy of a terminal illness as well as the strength of the people surrounding Todd.  It also addresses the prejudices against gays and those with AIDS.  The characters are so believable that at times I had to remind myself I was reading a fiction novel.  I would highly recommend this book to others.

"Hang On" by Nell Gavin         

I had a very hard time getting into this book, mainly because of the author's writing style.  Overall, I did not enjoy this book and would not recommend it to others.

"The Story of Solomon Bear" by Phillip Laird         

Highly reminiscent of the Velveteen Rabbit, the Story of Solomon Bear is about a girl and her teddy bear.  After they are forced apart, Solomon goes on a journey to find her.  Overall, I thought this was a cute storybook.  One that any child would love. 

"Fast-Tracked" by Tracy Rozlynn         

At the age of 18, every child takes an assessment test.  The results of the assessment test determine what your place will be in society.  Alexandria receives the rank of a fast-tracker, the highest and most elite rank obtainable.  Her best friend Byron is not so lucky, and receives the lowest rank possible.  At first dazzled by the lifestyle, Alexandria quickly learns to tread carefully amidst the treachery and back-stabbing of fast-tracker life.  Especially if she wants to help Byron escape his life of hard-work and brutality.         

Overall, I really enjoyed this book.  I will definitely read the next in the series.  The characters where interesting and dynamic and the plot line was fascinating.

"The Old One" by Todd Brabander         

A landscape blocks the highway trapping the main character in a small town.  As he meets the locals and learns about the area he discovers a monster buried in the woods.  I have to admit that I was a bit bored by this story.  The characters seemed very stereotypical and the plot a bit predictable. 

"Child of the Phoenix" by Barbara Erskine         

In 1218 Eleyne is born amidst a burning castle in Wales.  From infancy, her nurse brings her up to support the Celtic cause against the English and she is taught how to use the flames to see into the future.   Throughout her fascinating life, Eleyne is married four times and produces numerous children.  Several of the characters link up to character in other Erskine novels.         

I have read several of Barbara Erskine's books, and so far this is my favorite.  The characters she created were vibrant and extremely engaging.  I love the historical aspects she throws into her novels and I can't wait to read more.  I only wish I had discovered this author earlier.

"Genie:  A Scientific Tragedy" by Russ Rymer         

In 1970 at the age of 13, Genie was discovered by social services in California.  Strapped to a potty chair, she was raised in social isolation, hidden away from the world.  When discovered she was emaciated, malnourished and had little, if any, speaking skills.  Scientists immediately flocked around Genie, wanting to study her.  For four years she lived with one of the scientists, until funding dried up and he dumped her into state foster care.  This book provides a chronology of the scientists who studied her, the science of linguistics and Genie's story.          

Overall, I was not impressed by the authors writing style.  It was often boring and uninteresting.  The author spoke at length about the science of linguistics and provided countless information about the scientists.  I wanted to learn about Genie, not necessarily the science of linguistics and the scientists who mistreated her.  I felt that the author also treated Genie as an object rather than as a person.

"The Schliemann Legacy" by D. A. Graystone         

The Schliemann Legacy, a collection of artifacts that proved the existence of Troy, disappeared during World War II.  In the present-day a Frenchman has uncovered the location of the treasure.  He sets up a game whereby three individuals are racing each other to find the treasure.          

Overall, I found the book to be ok.  The characters seemed to be extremely stereotypical and were uninteresting.  The plot was predictable and a bit boring.  Overall, I would not recommend this book.

"Wayward Son" by Tom Pollack, Jim Alves and John Loftus        

In the modern day, an earthquake uncovers a new and interesting site.  Amanda James, an archaeologist is sent in to unlock the doors guarding the chamber.  Once inside, Amanda relives the life of Cain.          

I have to admit that I found this book to be fascinating.  Not because of the biblical references (I'm not Christian), but because of the authors knowledge of history.  I cannot imagine the research that went into writing this book.  Each character was carefully constructed and the plot was ingenious.  Overall, I am highly impressed with this book and will recommend it to others.

"Fruits Basket" (23 volumes) by Natsuki Takaya (Review by Jerome) TokyoPop, Teen 13+        

Fruits Basket is a shojo manga series written and illustrated by Natsuki Takaya.  The series tells the story of Tohru Honda, an orphan girl who meets and gets to know school mates Yuki and Kyo Sohma and their uncle Shigure Sohma. The three find out Tohru is homeless and invite her to stay in their large home. She soon learns that they are three out of thirteen members of the Sohma family who are possessed by the animals of the Chinese zodiac and are cursed to turn into their animal forms when they are weak or when they are embraced by anyone of the opposite sex that is not possessed by a zodiacal spirit.

     When Tohru discovers the Sohmas' secret, she promises not to tell and is allowed to keep living with them. The Sohma's curse is deeper and darker than Tohru could have realized, with one of the Sohma family members having a monstrous secret, but her presence soon becomes a positive influence on those possessed by the zodiac. She sets out to break the curse, and thus meets and discovers each of the Sohma's vengeful zodiac spirits. Each has a different personality, just like the animals in the Chinese Zodiac.

     Fruits Basket, being a reverse harem, starts off as a comical, situational story; with Tohru getting into situations where she triggers the curse, changing the men she now resides with into their animal form. You can quickly see the story turn into a romantic tale and then a dark love story. The series is a great show of character development; each character introduced, whether zodiac cursed or not, has a great mix of merits and flaws. Each of the characters gets enough face time for you to see who they are, and how they fit into the zodiac curse.  For me, it was easy to have favorite characters, but hard to narrow which were my favorites.

     Now living with a house full of men, Tohru has to learn to cope with a life filled with new friends, school, a job, a secret and a new idea for her, love. Tohru finds her self having feelings for both Yuki and Kyo. She soon finds out the dark past and family secret, other then just the curse. Head of the Sohma family, a man named Akito Sohma a short-tempered and abusive and has physically and emotionally scarred many Sohmas, is determined to see the family suffer as much as he does; thus trying his best to keep Tohru from moving forward with the boys. Tohru feels only she can, should and will overcome all and break the curse. The story is well written and intense as most Japanese shojo are.

     The art is very beautiful. With thin feminine looking characters, both male and female. The backgrounds tend to range from very detailed to almost nothing (thus focusing on the characters), and are very appropriate for the scene. The artist does a great job at portraying emotion in the face and body of the characters. The art works wonderfully with the story.