Well, this was a real disappointment. It was a detailed, well-thought out plot but read like a second draft. Forget the overwhelming number of characters. Forget that lack of individual personality for the characters. But, for heaven sake, put some tension into it. It read like a police officer’s notebook, a dispassionate, flat recitation of events. There were numerous opportunities for suspense, where he could have heightened interest, but didn’t. A good screenwriter could turn this into a great movie and it would definitely be a case of the movie being better than the book. I don’t see how it could be nearly as boring. To call this a thriller is like calling Donald Duck a criminal genius.
I’ve read a lot of vampire stories and it’s hard to find something that’s new but this one sparked my interest. There are no coffins, crosses, or garlic in this story.
There are two kinds of vampires, strigoi, the dead who have come back and are fearful killers. and the vampires who were born. The strigoi are determined to kill the natural vampires but they are protected by half human teens, dhampir. Why these bodyguards sacrifice their lives to protect the vampires comes out in the story and makes perfect sense. They also have a good explanation for why people allow vampires to feed off them.
This story focusses on two young women one vampire, Lissa, and one bodyguard, Rose They have run away from the Academy and I’ve been brought back against their will. They have all the complications of normal teenagers, falling in love with the wrong person, not knowing who to trust, handling vicious gossip, bullying and ostracizing, in addition to the specific challenges of being magical creatures.
It was easy to read, fast-paced and engaging. I subsequently discovered that this is a series although this book didn’t have a number. The back story is complex enough to carry it through a series. This story focusses mainly on Rose’s struggle to fit in and her relationship with the young woman, Lissa, she is guarding. They are best of friends but have a unique twist. The Rose can feel, and eventually even see, what the vampire is experiencing.
Most of the vampires have a magical talent that develops as they mature. Some can control fire or other elements, some can change their environment in unique ways, but Lissa is developing the most dangerous and valuable talent of all. Bringing the ill back to wellness and the dead back to life is a gift that will destroy her. It must be kept secret and never used. It comes at a great cost to the vampire But Lissa’s resolve to suppress the use of her gift is sorely tempted in a frightening chain of events.
Three days before Julia‘s wedding, she is notified that her father has died in Europe and the funeral is on the day of her marriage. Of course, she postpones it and tells her husband-to-be that they must cancel the honeymoon to Montreal, Canada. However, When a mysterious will wooden crate shipped to her house, things take a strange twist.
What would you do if you could talk to someone for a week who was already dead? When Julia has this opportunity, she resists. Father has done something in her life to make her hate him and there’s no way it can be fixed. Or is there?
The plot is intriguing but becomes a little predictable midway. The author has large chunks of expository writing, especially in the flashbacks. I would like to have seen the past events unfold more and fewer things be told. I would like to have felt what Julia felt when her father broke her heart.
I thought Julia‘s behaviour towards her fiancé was rather callous and dismissive. This is a happily ever after, at least for Julia.
It is sure to raise a good discussion for book clubs. Would you want to have the opportunity Julia had or would it be too painful and disturbing? Would it bring closure or would it feel too artificial? It is an intriguing concept.
This is the story of an Irish family reuniting after a well-kept secret drove them apart. The devotyed daughter, Sunday, fled to New York for a mysterious reason. Her three brothers and her boyfriend do not understand why she has cut herself off from the family. When she’s involved in a serious car accident, while driving drunk, her older brother it’s called by the hospital staff as next of kin. He brings her back to thier hometown where event unfold. Two of the brothers are opening a second bar and one is keeping secrets from the other which could cause financial ruin. Her boyfriend has married and has a child but still feels the same about her. Sunday slowly unravels the secrets and motives, including her own.
It has the flavour of Heartland or Virgin River. When the whole story comes out, everything makes sense. It is a story of loyalty, love, family, deceit, and forgiveness. Tracy Lange portrays the characters in such a way ice to make the reader feel they know them. They’re the kind of people you would like to have in your own family. The writing style is simple and straightforward, linear, and told from an omniscient viewpoint focussing on Sunny.
It doesn’t seem possible to have a happy ending after everything that’s happened but Tracy Lane brings it all to a satisfying conclusion.
This charming picture book tells us about the hatching of an independent-minded and curious little chick. He boldly sets out to explore the world without his mother. He wants to fly like the robin, swim like the duck, eat bones like the dog, and face down the big scary rooster. In the end mother hen has to drive off the rooster and the little chick finally excepts her wisdom that growing up takes patience.
The illustrations are realistic but lack any originality or pizzazz. It could have been more humorous.
The story ends with two pages of facts about baby chicks and hens.
This is a good book to teach a child that chickens are more than just meat and egg producers. They are living beings with relationships and personalities. As well, most children can relate to the little chicks impatience at not being able to do everything the grown ups do. It’s suitable for ages 4 to 7.
This is a good book to stimulate discussion about animals and about maturing at a safe and reasonable pace.
The Biscuit series of books are classed as “I can read!”. They are perfect for very beginning readers. Biscuit is an adorable puppy who does the kinds of things real dogs do. In this story, he resists getting into the bath.
The little girl wants Biscuit to get into that tub but he wants to dig instead. She struggles to manipulate him into the water but, after a short emmersion, he escapes and chases another puppy named Puddles. The two of them dig in the mud and play in the water. Then they roll in the flower bed where the girl tries to catch them with a towel. Both puppies latch on and a tug-of-war ensues. It ends with the little girl falling into the bathtub herself. Children laugh out loud at this ending.
It is difficult to find emergent reading books that have engaging, logical stories children can relate to and enjoy reading. The Biscuit stories are perfect. Capucilli captures the mischievous and endearing nature of puppies while Schories draws them with simplicity and charm.
Highly recommended for emergent readers in Kindergarten and first grade.
This popular humor writer now has two children’s books. Both feature a girl whose mother is a fairy and father is a mortal. This isn’t your typical fairy story however, as she uses a computerized wand and presents herself as a normal woman most of the time. The husband is reminiscent of the early Bewitched television series. He’s not too crazy about her using magic.
Kinsella uses humor and suspense effectively and engages a young audience from the first page. My almost six year old granddaughter listened eagerly as I read this book to her in four sittings. This early chapter book is supplemented with many pictures.
If you are a traveler to resorts, you’ll chuckle at the scene where two fairy mothers have a wand battle over reserving poolside seats with their towels. There is also a chapter with wacky monkeys that children will love.
All in all, this is a light-hearted romp through modern magic and family dynamics.
I procrastinated reviewing this book for quite some time because I was unsure what to say about it. I read it a few times to my granddaughter and solicited feedback from others.
The storyline is quite peculiar. A duck tries to get a groundhog to play Pushball with a giant ball. The groundhog dislikes the game and wants to eat the ball. The game does not go very well; the groundhog thinks it is too rough. At the end the groundhog eats the entire ball which swells him to four times his natural size.
The story is written in humorous rhyme abcb. Each page has from 1 to 3 quatrains. Here’s an example.
The groundhog was puzzled
And stopped in his tracks.
He said, *that’s what I get (sic)
for playing with quacks!”
There are 42 quatrains in total which seems more than necessary for such a simple story.
The author explains on the last two pages that the moral of the story is “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.” Then he explains each animal’s secret for success. This felt a little awkward.
However, the other reviews on Amazon are all five stars. But the people I shared this with felt more like I did. My granddaughter thought it was funny and strange but long and wasn’t interested in subsequent readings.
The illustrations are great. Vivid, lively and funny.
This is the first book in a series of time traveling adventures. Three Gatsby siblings, the youngest in the 6th grade, are targets of some pretty extreme bullying at school. As a retired teacher, it horrifies me that anything so obvious could be happening but I’m sure it does somewhere. The three kids stick together but seem to be resigned to the horrific treatment they receive from older violent students. However, they show great courage, pluck, and ingenuity when they travel back in time.
The author has come up with a unique way of having a having the kids go back to the 13th century. Here they must rescue Robin Hood before he has joined the merry-men. The story is fairly gentle and without gore. It suits children aged seven and up although some might find the vocabulary bit of a struggle.
The story comes to a conclusion but the school bullying is not resolved. I suspect there will be more time travel and this will help the children overcome the challenges at school.
The best part of this book and the most enjoyable is the humor. The children are hilarious, especially the youngest. Kids will laugh out loud at their banter and behavior.
This is a typical suspense novel about a 18 year old in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant. Because of this, it comes to light that neither her mother or father are her biological parents. This leads into a kidnapping and murder mystery that connects to correspondence between two teenage girls in a mental hospital.
Unfortunately the writing style is rather flat and, although this can be quite common in this kind of novel, the characters are two dimensional and the dialogue is a bit awkward. I found myself skimming quickly through the book in order to finish it and being reluctant to pick it up.
The premise is intriguing but halfway through the book you have pretty much figured out everything. In a good mystery suspense the reader is often lulled into thinking they have solved the plot and then comes the twist. It can be a variation on what the reader has surmised or it can come completely out of left field. This book went with the first style but it was a bit weak on surprise and punch. I found quite predictable.
It’s an easy beach read with an interesting basic plot if you’re just looking for something relaxing.
Bonnie Ferrante - Books and More for Children 