Unknown Orgins of the Paranormal

I have finished Paranormalcy by Kiersten White. Evie, a worker for the International Paranormal Containment Agency (IPCA) and has stumbled onto a mystery with her friend Lend. Also a paranormal, Lend is the only one who seems to be able to help with the creature that is killing paranormals very quickly. ‘Fire-girl’, or Vivian, has broken into the IPCA center where Evie works, and she has destroyed her home. Evie barely saves Lend and herself, but at the terrible cost of setting Reth free. There are strange happenings that occur to Evie upon arriving at Lend’s home in Virginia. It is made clear though that she is at the center of this, and the key to stopping it.

First, Evie has to meet Lend’s mother, Cresseda. She is revealed to be a water spirit, giving Lend his ability to shape shift. She talks in riddles and is never much help except for protecting Evie from evil faeries. Lend’s dad, David, is much more of a help.  After scolding Lend and stitching up Evie’s cut, Lend explains the situation to David. He understands the significance of Evie and is slightly hesitant to help.  But, he invites Evie into his home and makes her feel welcome, even though she is the reason Vivian is causing so much trouble.

Speaking of Viv, she is the ‘fire-girl’ Evie kept seeing. Vivian killed Lish and countless others, but appears to be just like Evie. She appears in Evie’s dreams and talks to her as if they were friends, and she even says that they are family. Not like sisters or anything, but two of a kind, and therefore family. Evie doesn’t believe it until Vivian says she’ll send Evie a message, and she does, on Evie’s communicator. Vivian tells Evie some disturbing things that leave her haunted and believing her newfound relationship with lend is killing him. Lend assures her he’s fine, but Evie still has her doubts.

The still most common threat of Evie’s life is Reth. He keeps showing up and hurting Evie and her hope for normal life. The burn on her arm, still on fire, and then he tries to drag her into a faerie door, where Cresseda stops him.  Reth is pure trouble, and it is clear that he is not giving her up as easily as David thinks he will. I wish I could say David was right, but even after the prophecy comes true, Ii still feels like Reth wants her. But Evie doesn’t want him back because she’s already in love and not letting go of him anytime soon. 

I feel a sequel coming on, but I doubt it will happen. I wish it would, because I love the characters and I fell in love with the story. I want to know what happens to them after it. What happens to Vivian, and Raquel? Can Evie sustain a normal life? Will she stay with Lend and David? And will she ever really know about who or what she is? I wish I knew the answers to these endless questions but, alas, I do not. I loved the ending; it never dulled or got boring, and kept me interested every single second I was reading. I couldn’t stop either, and I don’t think you will either.

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

RED’S ALL STAR RATING: 4 out of 5, definitely. I loved the book. Even if it’s another paranormal book, it’s still good and different. It’s not all about wolves or vamps.

MASS APPEAL: Girls mainly. Guys could read this book, but It’s probably aimed more towards girls.

Dangers of Paranormal Beings

Sometimes the people you love keep secrets from you. They tell you it’s to protect you, and you shouldn’t have to deal with it. Whether its adoption, a family death, or anything else; it’s for the best, right? Not so for Evie in Paranormalcy by Kiersten White, where the secret her ‘family’ keeps almost kills her. Evie works in the International Paranormal Containment Agency (IPCA), an agency that keeps humans blissfully unaware of paranormal creatures, and has a rare gift to see what these creatures really look like underneath their human skin. This gift allows her to get closer to a prisoner, Lend, who also is an unknown paranormal, like Evie herself. Lend may have some answers to her true identity, and Evie is determined to find them out.

Raquel is the mother Evie never had.  She’s strong, confident and slightly bossy, and the director of the IPCA where Evie works. She scolds her when she’s late from a job, nags her to finish her homework and, on occasion, takes her shopping. Lish is the best friend Evie never had. Even though Lish is a mermaid, mute and lives in a water tank at the facility, she’s still Evie’s closest friend. They watch Evie’s favorite teen drama, Easton Heights, and talk a lot about things she can’t tell anybody else. She never really has questioned her life, until now.

The biggest pain of Evie’s life is Reth. Reth is a Faerie and apparently gorgeous.  He is also her ex.  She liked him since they had met when she was 14, and soon he started taking an interest in her as well. They were good friends, and she really liked him. They used to dance and hold hands, but not much more since she’s watched like a hawk, and grew close. This was until she saw the fury in Reth one time when he saved her, and she decided to end their little romance.  Reth didn’t handle it well, still in love with her, he kinda stalks her now. She hates him and is over him completely, but he gets some control over her a times again. That is until he tries to hurt her.

Thankfully Lend was there to get in the way.  No one knows what Lend is, and he’s not telling. But he seems like a shape shifter to me.  He can take on the appearance of any person of the same general stature, and he catches Evie’s attention right away when he breaks into the facility. After he’s taken prisoner, Evie seeks in his room to hang out with him on multiple occasions. After they start to become friends, (and after Evie starts crushing on him) Reth almost ruins it. Thankfully Lend saves the day and she grows even closer. Though, Raquel doesn’t like it and wants Evie to stay away, Lend is blackmailing Raquel to let Evie stay. And as they become friends, and maybe more, Lend says he wants to get her out. She’s flattered, until he actually does, with a little help from Reth.

It’s a good story at the beginning and fast paced towards where I stopped, around page 185. It’s different from a lot of paranormal books and busts a lot of the myths out there. It’s told through the eyes of a unique, lively and completely lovable character, and shows the point of view of her position extremely well. I look forward to reading the rest of this book and finding out what happens to the se characters I have fallen so completely in love with.  

The True Meaning of Beautiful

I have finished North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley. Terra and her mother are still being tortured by Terra’s verbally abusive father, and Terra is sick of it. Too bad she can’t find her voice to stick up for her and her mother. But, in a surprise decision, Terra and her mother go on a trip to China with Jacob and Norah. Also, Terra wants to visit her brother Merc, who lives in Shanghai, while exploring the cities of China with Jacob. But while She’s there a few things go wrong, despite everything going right.

First off, Terra is having issues with Merc.  He’s avoiding her, burying himself in his work, so he doesn’t have to face her. Unlike Claudius and Terra, who hurt themselves to break up the fights their father picks, Merc seems to just run away. Hence the reason he works in China. Terra has figured out the reason Merc is in China is because he’s hiding there.  He can’t deal with their father’s abuse, and never stood up for himself or anyone else.  Eventually, Terra finds her voice and speaks out against him.

She also is finding out that she is falling for Jacob. While they spend days together wandering the streets of Shanghai, they bond even more than they had in Colville. He holds her when Merc is late to arrive to the airport to pick them up. He holds her hand before they go to the Yu Garden, and hugs her afterwards when they try to get coffee.  This is all leading up to the scene in the park where everything pans out perfectly. But, Erik is still in the picture, and Terra’s mom warns her not to break Jacob’s heart. Terra says she’ll break up with Erik when she gets home, but will it be too late? Will Jacob find out beforehand? How will he take it? Find out if you read.

Terra truly finds her inner beauty in China. Terra has an encounter with a young girl named Peony at the orphanage where Jacob once was. Peony has a port-wine stain as well, and was abandoned for it. In a moment of inspiration, Terra removes her makeup and shows the girl that they are the same. This starts a reaction that makes Terra discover herself. She creates a collage that creates an internship with a master-artist. She and her mother find their voices against Terra’s dad. She decides to go to a college she wants to attend. She ends up with a better life because of her journey to China.

During the book, there is Geocaching. In reading this book, I went out to explore a place near my house said to have a cache. I found it, and deposited a McDonald’s toy and a picture of me when I was in summer camp.  I meant a lot to me, as it did to terra in the book.  I loved this book; it made me realize that we can never see the beauty in ourselves until someone else comes and shows us.  I feel compelled by this book to try to find the beauty in others and in myself.  Just like Terra, I am on a journey to find myself.

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley

RED’S ALL STAR RATING:  maybe 4 out of 5 stars, depends on what style of reading you like.

MASS APPEAL: Girls. I can’t imagine too many guys reading this book.

Flaws of the Beautiful

Being beautiful isn’t how much make up is on your face, how much acne you don’t have. It’s not your hair or eyes, although these things contribute to it. Being beautiful is about how you are on the inside, as Terra learns in North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley.  Terra was born with a port-wine stain as a birthmark on her cheek. Many people could never see the beauty in her because of the stain, so she was forced to conform. She covers it up and acts as the peacekeeper between her shy mother and verbally abusive father.  Several people make her think about herself as ugly or beautiful.

The first person is her father. I think we all know what he thinks of her. He’s always thought spending money on treatments was a waste of time because her face can’t be fixed. He thought she was a waste of time and is always quietly making comments that really hurt Terra. He is always yelling at her or her mother, now that her brothers are out of the house, and Terra always focuses the attention on her to spare her mother the misery. She realizes that she and her ‘clumsy’ brother Claudius always hurt themselves so the fighting would end.  She hopes she won’t have to anymore.

The next person is her boyfriend, Erik. He’s a wrestler-jock and has a perfect body. Now, because of make-up no one at school knows about the stain, but he does. And he is completely ashamed of it. He is a nice guy, but he’s always telling Terra she should try a new surgery she found out about. When his cousin and him come over to Terra’s to go to a movie, Terra forgets to put on make-up when she opens the door. Erik is obviously ashamed, but his cousin is completely fine and even talks to her about it. It’s clear that he likes her for her make-up covered face and body, not her personality.

The last person, and only person that makes her feel good, is Jacob. He is Chinese Goth boy that lives in Seattle. Terra almost runs him over with her car, which is destroyed, but he and his mother, Nora, take Terra and her mother in for coffee.  They all talk and get to know each other. Jacob, on sheer happenstance, is vacationing in Terra’s hometown.  They spend more time together and become friends. But it’s clear that Terra is completely crushing on him because he’s everything Erik’s not. He’s cute, nice and supportive; a year younger and in Seattle, too.  Terra realizes that she wants to be with Jacob, not Erik, and has to decide what to do.

I’m about halfway through, but I’ve read up to a point where they decide to all go on vacation together. Terra is excited to spend more time with Jacob, but what about Erik? This book is good so far, I really feel for terra because of the mean things her father says. It’s so horrible that somebody can be treated like dirt and never realize what they really are. I hope Terra can find her voice and speak up for herself. I also hope she can find the true beauty within herself, and stop listening to what her father says all the time.  I look forward to finding this out.

Thirteen Reasons to Live or Die

I have finished Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. Hannah Baker, a student who committed suicide, left seven cassette tapes with the reasons why she died. Clay Jenson, Hannah’s crush, just received the tapes and wonders why he is one of the reasons she wanted to die.  He embarks on an adventure that will take him through his town for an entire night. To find the answers he’s looking for, he’ll have to face the hard truth about Hannah’s life, and decide to keep listening to the tapes one at a time. If he can finish them, he will know why Hannah killed herself, and what he had to do with it.

Clay is actually the next reason, number nine. It is revealed that Hannah could have definitely loved Clay, if only she had spent more time with him. He did not belong on the same list of people that hurt her. The fact is, he never hurt her, he actually may have been the only person that could have saved her. But she pushed him away. At the same party the book tells about over and over, Clay and Hannah get to know each other. Eventually they end up together, alone, and when they get close, Hannah stops him. She tells him to go away because she’s reminded of Justin.

After Clay leaves, Hannah just sits there awhile in the bedroom. She hears someone come in and move to the closet and hides. What she hears though, she never expected. In that small bedroom, something happens and she could have stopped it, but she didn’t. Neither did Justin, who she also blames for it as well as herself. Afterwards she is given a ride home by an aforementioned cheerleader, Jenny. Jenny is number ten because she, while driving Hannah home, knocks down a stop sign. It causes a lot more trouble than you imagine.

Jenny never calls the police or anything; she doesn’t see it as a big deal. But it becomes a big deal. Something terrible happens as a result of this minor incident. Hannah blames herself for not stopping it. After that she decides to walk home, but that’s not where she goes. She goes to Courtney’s house and hot tubs in her underwear with Courtney and Bryce.  After Courtney leaves, Bryce starts to show his interest for Hannah, and she lets her reputation catch up to her. In a last attempt to save her life, she goes to a teacher to talk, but the teacher does no good. Hannah confirms her decision to kill herself, and Clay realizes what Hannah meant to him as he sends the package on.

This was one of the most horrible books I’ve ever read. Horrible in a sense that it was so sad and made me want to cry at times. I was deeply impacted by this book because I’m sure we’ve all had our days where we want to give up. This book is about giving up, and trying to find ways to hope again. I hope this book encourages people to think about the things that are good, and not just focus on the bad. There may be thirteen reasons to give up, but you only need one reason to keep living. It makes me want to find the things that I want to stay alive for, and not the things I want to die for. I hope everyone else gets the same message.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

RED’S ALL STAR RATING:  4 out of 5 stars. Easily. This book was so good and inspired me so much. It may save lives out there because of its message.

MASS APPEAL: Girls and guys, but mainly girls will want to read this. It’s got a great message and everyone should read it.

How Many Reasons Does It Take?

It’s a fact; after a while everything you bend will break. And if you haven’t noticed, people are the same way. The longer you bend, the quicker you break. Well, that’s what happens to Hannah Baker in Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher; unfortunately for Hannah, it’s too late. Hannah committed suicide two weeks ago and has left the thirteen reasons why on seven cassette tapes. These cassettes are passed to the thirteen people that represent the reasons. Clay Jensen doesn’t know why he’s one of the reasons, but if he listens, he’ll find out.

The first reason is Justin, her first real boyfriend and first kiss. After kissing her he started spreading malicious rumors about her. He eventually ruined her reputation, making it easier for reason number two, Alex, to put her on his hot/not list. Alex put her on the list for the hottest butt, and put her friend Jessica on the latter side of the list to get back at Jessica after she dumped him. Afterwards, being so mad, Jessica lashed out at her former friend and started Hannah’s sink into self-hatred.

The fourth person was Tyler, a student photographer by day, and a peeping-tom by night. She noticed his nocturnal visits and with number five, Courtney, they caught him. Afterwards, Courtney and Hannah were supposed to be friends, but when Courtney didn’t need Hannah anymore, she dumped her off.  So much for friends, right? It seems to me like Hannah was having the worst high-school time I’ve ever heard of.

During a Valentine’s Day match-up contest, Hannah is persuaded to go out with Marcus, who is a known prankster and best friend of the dreadful Alex. Well, first off, Marcus is late. I’m talking probably thirty to sixty minutes late; then he tries to rape her in the backseat, and no one tries to help her. The only one that seems to help is Zach. She liked Zach; he seemed like a good guy until he started stealing the notes she was getting from one of their classes. This made Hannah feel alone and very hurt. Then Ryan, number eight, who was the school magazine editor, stole a piece of her poetry that was really good, published it and everyone laughed at it. So much for good old high school times, huh?

As everything adds up, Hannah gets worse and worse.  So far I’m on page 194, only through reason number eight. I’m guessing clay is coming up soon, mainly because there are only five left, and he’s one of them. I hope he didn’t do anything wrong, because he’s obviously pained about the tapes, because he’s had a crush on Hannah for a long time.  I can’t imagine him doing something bad to Hannah, so I hope he did something, maybe the only thing, good in her life. I want to find out how this book ends because it’s so sad and touching. I almost want to cry.

Dangers of the Uninvited

I have finished ­The Uninvited by Tim Wynne-Jones and (oh my goodness!) it was really good.  Mimi is still trying to find her and her half-brothers’ stalker, but without success, almost gives up. She is so frustrated by what’s happening with the stalker, Jay and Iris, her father and Lazar Cosic, her ex. Everything seems to be going wrong, despite her attempts to try to make it right. Mimi is angry and wants revenge on the mysterious stalker, but can she before he strikes again?

First off, Cramer finally meets Mimi. He sabotages her computer so that she will come to the store where he works. He knows that his boss is on vacation, and sees it as the perfect opportunity.  When Mimi comes in though, he is surprised to see her and is extremely shy. They figure out what’s wrong with the computer, although he already knows, and she is very friendly in thanking him. He seems very pleased and she makes him blush a lot. He doesn’t even charge her for it! He also gives her his home phone number, and she takes it gladly. He is distracted the next time they meet as well, just a walk to the park. But it’s obvious to Mimi that he likes her, and she kind of likes him too.

The thing is, Iris recognizes him when she sees them together. He apparently used to follow Jackson around during high school. Of course, he’s bulked up since then, and seems nice to Mimi. But eventually he makes it onto Jay’s suspect list when his number appears on the wall of their cottage. Mimi doesn’t want to suspect Cramer, but it seems to everyone else that he is the one doing this. She tries to contact Cramer, and gives him the benefit of the doubt, but it doesn’t work in the end.

In the end, which is amazing, Mimi is truly faced with a horror as she’s held at gunpoint by a crazy person her father used to know. Although, she doesn’t get why this person wants her, she soon realizes that Cramer is her brother as well as Jay.  On the outside though, Jay meets up with Cramer and they decide to go in and save Mimi after calling the police. Cramer goes down one end and Jay through the door, but nothing can prepare you for what happens to all of them as the gun fires. I will say that someone will be injured, and someone will die.

It’s a crazy finish, but amazing as Mimi realizes where her alliances truly lie. She learns about family, and is ready to place what happens on her father. She grows closer to Jay, and learns of what a good guy Cramer really was. I don’t want to give a lot away, but it will be a finale that you won’t forget.  Strap in and grab a soda, you’ll be hooked right up to the end.

The Uninvited by Tim Wynne-Jones

RED’S ALL STAR RATING: 3 ½ stars for sure! It was a great thriller with some great mystery material. I loved the book, and it never dulled the entire way through.

MASS APPEAL: Anyone could read this book and I recommend it to anyone who wants to.

The Unknown Presence of the Uninvited

Have you ever had the eerie feeling that you’re being watched? Or that this item in your room was not in a certain place before you left? Things happen all the time that we can’t explain, but one thing that could explain it; a person did. It’s called being stalked, and that’s what Mimi encounters when she goes to Canada  in the book The Uninvited by Tim Wynne-Jones.  Mimi is given permission by her absentee father, Marc Soto, to use his cottage in Canada, and so Mimi Shapiro takes a vacation from NYU.  Little does she know, that when she gets there she’ll be faced with all kinds of horrors; even more than Lazar Cosic can make back home. 

The first major happening in the book is when Mimi  has an encounter with a strange boy at the cottage. In an incredible act of coincidence—or fate—Mimi comes face to face with a half-brother she never knew she had.  Jay is a musician, a composer, and very neat which contrasts completely with Mimi. They don’t hit it off at first, wondering what each other is doing at the cottage, but after revealing Jay’s startling secret, they learn their true relationship. Thing major thing that bonds them besides their paternal link, is the fact that Jay is being stalked. When Mimi arrives at Jay’s mothers’ house, she realizes that she is too.  Jay and Mimi decide to share the cottage and try to find whoever is doing this to them.  They are joined by an unlikely third member.

Iris Xu is Jay’s high school sweetheart who is back from school and in town for a while. She and Mimi hit it off right away over dinner and soon become friends. Iris is trying to help them discover who the stalker is and help Mimi get rid of her ex, Professor Lazar Cosic. After a while of being with her and Jay, Mimi soon starts to feel like a third wheel, and tries to opt out from a small vacation to Iris’s place, but Jay insists she go.  She loves Jay because he’s so worried about her, after their recent break-in by the stalker who stole 2 of jay’s electric guitars. She doesn’t feel safe, but she’s not afraid to fight and get revenge.

Cramer Lee is one of the strangest characters I’ve read about, probably, ever. He’s sweet and endearing, but completely shy. He’s also completely in love with Mimi, which is revealed the same time as the fact that he’s the one stalking her. He’s not in a good place in his life, and his mother seems to be going crazy. She’s the one who usually hoodwinks Cramer into stealing things for her and getting money for her, which he works all the time to get. I almost feel bad for him, but the fact that he’s leaving dead animals in the cottage is just a little beyond weird.  I do think he’s a sweet guy though, and deserves a better life than he has.

The book is very good so far, but I’m only on page 175. It’s a good suspense/mystery/thriller book, but I don’t think I’ve gotten to the thriller part of it yet. But I’m excited to. There’s a lot of creepiness and I feel tingles going up my spine just reading it sometimes. I’m excited to finish the book and see what happens to Mimi, Jay and Cramer. Will Cramer realize what he’s doing is wrong and stop? Does Cramer get Mimi to fall for him before she finds out it’s him stalking her? Will Mimi ever fit into her life with Jay and Iris, in Canada? These are the questions that I look forward to finding out answers to.

Stunning Revelations When Raised by Wolves

I’ve finished Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. In the course of events, Bryn, a human, has been betrayed by her werewolf pack and taken away by her adoptive mother, Ali and her twin werewolf babies, Alex and Katie. She is seeking answers about who killed her family and turned Chase, a boy she really likes, into a werewolf, which was thought to be impossible.  Although going to Montana seems like a bad idea to Bryn at first, she soon realizes her allies there far outweigh her enemies.

Bryn seems to have a stronger bond with Chase than anyone else. They can read each other’s thoughts and sense things about each other. Even when they’re a state away, they can read each others’ thoughts. When they sleep they visit each others’ dreams and spend time with each other, but Chase is usually in wolf form. When he’s not, the rabid that turned him and killed Bryn’s family can get into his mind and control his thoughts. But the bond between Chase and Bryn is stronger than the bond between Chase and the rabid, and she can make Chase come back to her. It’s a true showing of their bond, and the bond between love.

In Montana, she meets up with Lake, a friend who stays with her pack every summer. Lake and Bryn talk about what has happened and Lake agrees to help her, whatever the consequences.  Lake helps Bryn get information out of Keely, the bartender at Lakes’ father’s restaurant, about how humans can be turned into werewolves. As it turns out, it is not impossible, just extremely rare.  After attempting to find out more info about this rabid by getting into Chase’s head, she learns of another victim, a six year old girl named Madison killed about a year after the rabid went after Bryn.  She feels compelled to help this little girl and any other kids the rabid has hurt.

She seeks the help of Chase and Devon, who drive up to meet Lake in the town the rabid is in. Bryn offers herself up for bait to make the rabid come, but the other’s don’t like her plan.  Between Devon, Chase and Lake, I think that Bryn has a motley crew that will do anything to protect her. She doesn’t know how lucky she really is, and it seems very clear that they would all give themselves to save her at any given moment.  Which they almost do, when Bryn gets hurt by the rabid. Her friends are clearly out for blood, but they don’t get far because Bryn tells them to stop and uses her gifts to help all of the rabid’s werewolf pack without the exchange of blood. That is, with the exception of the rabid, of course.

All is well by the end of the book. Bryn and Chase are happily together in a PG way because of Ali, and the rabid’s pack is now under her jurisdiction, thanks to Callum. And thanks to Jennifer Lynn Barnes, I have found another great werewolf book. There are so many books that are cheesy and just plain silly, but this book was really good.  It had a lot of action and there wasn’t some sappy romance, it was a real romance that would work out.  I hope it will at least because this book made me fall in love with the characters. I would recommend this book to all supernatural thriller seekers, and it’s only 418 pages for people who hate reading endless books.

Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

RED’S ALL STAR RATING: 3 ¾ stars out of 5, maybe pushing 4 stars. I really enjoyed it because it wasn’t a normal werewolf book, but it was a lot different. It was a refreshing change.

MASS APPEAL: Anyone could probably read this book, but I think girls may enjoy it more than guys. Something about vampires and werewolves just doesn’t do it for guys. Well ladies, more for us.

The Many Secrets Kept by Wolves

Sometimes people will lie to you. People that are so close that they are family. This is a fact that no one wants to hear. Because who wants to believe that their family is lying to them about everything. Well, this is what happens to Bryn is the book Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Bryn’s family was murdered by a rabid werewolf when she was 4, but she was saved by Callum and his wolf pack. She was marked as one of Callum’s pack members and given to the only other outsider human living in the pack, Ali. Bryn has been raised like Ali and Callum’s daughter, and has fit in with the pack perfectly. But, good things can’t last forever.

First we meet Callum, the strong, father like alpha of the pack. He is always bugging Bryn that she’s slacking in Algebra, or that she broke curfew, just like a real parent. The only other parent she has is Ali. Ali is a human who was integrated to the pack through her marriage to Casey, a werewolf in the pack. She also nags Bryn on common things, and has looked after her since Bryn was given to Ali by Callum. Ali will do anything to protect Bryn, but that’s not easy, considering she is pregnant with twin werewolf pups, and about due.

Then we meet Devon, a purebred werewolf and best friend of Bryn. He is what she calls ‘the only metrosexual werewolf’ but she still loves him as a friend. He loves Broadway and does hilarious impressions of famous movies stars.  He is the only one who gets Bryn and her rebellious ways, helps and follows her until Callum finds out and orders Devon to stop. He is the strongest of their age wolves and is most likely to become the next alpha, but he doesn’t want to.

Then, while getting into trouble, Bryn meets Chase. Chase is a new werewolf who was turned when he was bitten by a rabid werewolf. The thing is, turning from a werewolf bite is impossible, or that’s what Bryn was led to believe. She is mysteriously drawn to him, and after spending time with him, Bryn forms a bond with him stronger than her pack bond. And after being expelled from the pack, Ali decides to move to Montana. Bryn wants to stay with chase, but the pack is keeping him there, and Ali is not letting her stay behind.

It’s a fast read so far, I’m only at page 207; about halfway through. So much has happened in just this small part of the book; more than some entire books have. I appreciate this a great deal because sometimes I lose my focus on a boring book, and I know other people do, too.  It’s unlike most werewolf books in the sense that most of the stupid werewolf myths are not the same. The silver, turning from a bite and full moon myths are differentiated here, and I like that. It’s a refreshing change, so if anyone is interested in Werewolves, this is definitely a good read for them.

New Beginings After Stealing Heaven

I finished the book Stealing Heaven by Elizabeth Scott. It’s an intriguing journey about a girl, Danielle, who is a professional thief. Although she has always sought to have a normal life, she is pushed into this life by her mother. When she meets Alison, her targets daughter, and Greg, a charming young cop, she starts to wonder what she’s missing. The only thing she wonders is if she can find the courage to stand up to her mother and do what she feels is right.

The first major event in the second half of the book is her breakdown with Alison. She realizes that she can’t pretend with Alison anymore because she wishes Alison was her real friend. She feels bad because she is meant to rob her family, so she stops talking to Alison. Ali doesn’t know what to think, and helps Danielle when she gets in a mess. But she doesn’t really forgive her for what she does.

The second is when she gets caught. After robbing the Donaldson’s’ house, Danielle and her mother are stopped by the cops and arrested. She is not allowed to see her mother, and the cops let Dani off the hook. They believe that she was being forced to steal by her mother. Nobody helps her either, not even Greg who’s heartbroken when he learns her real side. She refuses to talk to him either, at first, but after they’re let go, she finds comfort in him again because he accepts her.

The last major event is the crisis of Danielle’s mother. She develops a medical condition that requires lots of attention. After convincing her mother to be treated, Danielle decides to leave Heaven. Although, she’s still technically with Greg, he stayed at the police station in Heaven. Danielle finally finds a normal life, going to school and having an apartment. She even found a job; her mother hates the idea at first. Her mother never thought that school would be good for Danielle, but after she sees that she won’t be there forever, she probably decides this is for the best.  

Finally Dani gets the life she always wanted.  I expect that she will find her way to the nearby university and stay with Greg for a while. The book was very good; it has a lot of heart and teaches to be assertive. Sometimes what people tell you what to do is not right, and you have to stand up and fight for what you believe. I hope people get that message from this book because that’s what I got from it. I give my compliments to the author for her beautiful prose and a book that smoothly transitions into each chapter.

Stealing Heaven by Elizabeth Scott

RED’S ALL STAR RATING: 3 ½ stars out of 5. I enjoyed the book a lot and think others will too.

MASS APPEAL: I believe this book is aimed for girls, because it is about the struggle of a girl. I don’t think guys would particularly like this book just because they are guys. But that doesn’t take away from how good it was.

Complications of Living in Heaven

Sometimes in life, people do bad things. It’s the way we grow up and the way we realize what is acceptable in society. But sometimes, people don’t stop doing bad things, even when they are faced with punishment. And some people are victims, only doing these things because someone tells them it’s what they have to do to survive. That is the case of Danielle in the book Stealing Heaven by Elizabeth Scott. Danielle and her mother are professional thieves, and they move from place to place stealing and selling things. But when she moves to the town of Heaven, she meets some people that make her realize that all she wants is a normal life. But with her mother pushing her to do her ‘job’, Danielle is caught between what she wants and what she feels she’s supposed to do.

Danielle has never had a good life. Her father was sent to prison when she was 5, he escaped when she was 7 and has made little effort of contact since then. Her mother is the one always pushing her to steal things and be the partner her dad wasn’t. She’s never had anything to call her own; never even living in one place long enough to feel at home. She’s never had any real friends or boyfriends, and she’s constantly comparing her life to normal kids’.

Her life starts to tilt when she meets Allison, the chatty daughter of the people she’ll be robing. Allison and Danielle, whose alias is Sydney, hit it off quickly. At first, Danielle didn’t know who Allison was,  she just talked to her on the beach, and hung out a few times with her. They shared problems, and even though Danielle thought she was a little annoying, they were still friends. But, being with Allison made Danielle more insecure about her life.

And this was amplified when she met Greg. Greg is a charming, quirky, funny guy that she meets in the supermarket. The only problem; Greg is a cop. He’s fresh into his new job, and takes an interest to Danielle early on. She tries to deny anything she feels because A. he’s a cop, and B. he’s kinda strange. But she eventually warms up to him and lets him take her out. Even though she knows it’s wrong, she still can’t help but like him. A lot.

I’m about halfway through the book, to chapter 16 on page 142. It’s not an incredibly long book, but it’s a fair length. It’s good so far and she seems to really like her new life, even though it’s a fake life. I can tell that she likes Greg, really is friends with Allison and likes her new house. She wishes that she can settle down there and stay there forever. But with Greg a cop, Allison her victim and her life as a fake one, she realizes that she’ll never have a real life. I think and hope she will though.

Tragedies of the Known World

It’s a fact that you can never discover where your home is, until something makes you open your eyes and see. Usually a tragic event can make you see that where you are is your home, no matter how it feels to you. That’s what Cora Bradley discovers in A Map of the Known World by Lisa Ann Sandell.  Cora is a freshman in high school and has just lost her brother in a fatal car accident, and her family is falling apart. Her best friend is becoming distant, her father has disappeared in their basement, her mother is placing strict rules on Cora, and all the people around her are treating her like a poor girl whose brother just died. The truth is, Cora hates it all and wishes she could go to the places in her drawings. Too bad she is stuck in reality.

Cora is a beautiful artist, and she loves to draw pictures and maps of faraway places. It’s revealed how much she and Nate, her brother, used to get along before he became wild and rebellious. Her best friend, Rachel, is suddenly crushing on Josh Mills and hanging around with his popular friends. The only person she can trust is Damien Archer, Nate’s best friend. She doesn’t know who to trust and who to blame for the accident. But it’s obvious who her mother blames.

Damian Archer is a senior, and was in the car crash that Nate was killed in. He was the passenger, and barely stayed alive. Everyone seems to blame him, saying he killed Nate, so he is alone. The only person he connects with is Cora, who he decides to show his art studio to, being an artist as well. Cora learns that her brother was more than just a rebel, but an artist as well. He built beautiful sculptures and didn’t tell anyone except Damien. So, Cora joins in and creates her own art in their studio, and in the process learns that Damien isn’t what he seems.

The new friend that surfaces in Cora’s life is, Helena, a sophomore.  Also an artist, she is the person who makes Cora feel normal again. Cora talks to her about Damien, her mother, brother and ex-best friend, and Helena is there for her. Helena proves to be a great friend to Cora, and they plan an art show together. At the art show, Cora’s parents finally come out and confront Cora about their behavior the past year. Eventually they all agree to compromise.

This book taught me some amazing things. I live in a small town as well, and I know every street and every corner. I thought the same way as Cora, and I finally know that I am home no matter what it feels like. The book is 273 pages long, fairly short, and has a great message. I loved the book and I hope others will, too.

A Map of the Known World by Lisa Ann Sandell

RED’S ALL-STAR RATING:  Four stars out of five, I really loved this book.

MASS APPEAL: Mainly girls, I doubt many boys would enjoy this, but I believe it’s a great book for everybody.