Series Pick: The Wicked Within

The Wicked Within
by Kelly Keaton
Simon Pulse
2014
280 pages
ISBN: 9781442493162

(sequel to Darkness Becomes Her)


Fast paced and thrilling, set in the backdrop of a ruined New Orleans, and rife with creepy, crawl-y things that beg for the cover of the night, The Wicked Within does not disappoint.

Ari is on a mission to find the cure that will release her from  the Gorgon curse that will turn her into a Gorgon by her next birthday. If she can stop it and figure out a way to save love interest Sebastian from himself and what he's become, she may be able to defeat Athena once and for all. The stakes are high and Athena wants everything.

Ari must find the Hands of Zeus, bring Athena's baby back to her, claim a cure for impending curse, fix Sebastian and possibly raise an ancient, possibly and quite probably evil  god from his eternal sleep. Ari seeks the help and vision of the River Witch for answers. Little Violet, always the  enigma, is more of a puzzle than ever and holds  secrets that may save all of them.

Sparks fly between Ari and Sebastian, but they are ill-fated and not meant to be together. Henri provides Ari's much needed sidekick and side love interest, but the plot does not stray far from killing ancient gods and trying to stop Ari's impending doom. Love takes a back seat to the more important things--like staying alive and staying human--and for that I love The Wicked Within. It's hard to think about romance when ancient gods and their minions can pop up anywhere and everywhere.

Does Ari dare to seek help by raising an ancient, unknown god who may desire much more than even Athena does? Or does she dare trust Athena to keep her word--even though Athena's been known to be capricious and spoiled in the past? Can Ari save Sebastian and their love? Will Sebastian give up everything for the girl he loves?

Fans of the series will love The Wicked Within! If you haven't read the first two books, what are you waiting for? This is the most fun you can have with ancient Greek gods!

Highly, highly recommended for paranormal fans and readers of the series. Grade 7-up, some steamy scenes. Caution: language! The author uses swear words in this book--it does not seem necessary and I will caution the language here. F-bombs a few times.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher.  I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Action Pick: The Loop

The Loop
by Shandy Lawson
Hyperion
2013
208 pages

Wildly unique and highly riveting, The Loop will take readers on a thrill ride. Teens Ben And Maggie are stuck in a time loop. Each time they meet, they try to outrun bad guy Roy, a killer with a bad attitude. He will stop at nothing to catch the teens and kill them. He wants their gambling winnings that they used him to collect. As underage betters, the kids couldn't cash in their ticket at the race track; they needed an adult. And, boy, did they pick the worst adult.

The events of two days happens over and over, each time with Roy killing both Maggie and Ben. In one loop, Ben meets Steve, a guy who recognizes Ben and tells him about his loop. At first, Ben doesn't believe it, but he does have that deja vu feeling, and he realizes he has been repeating his own history over and over.

Ben and Maggie work at changing just one little thing to try to bend the loop. They figure if they can change enough little things, they may get to live and break the loop. Roy is hot on their trail, and they leave New Orleans and try to get as far from Shreveport as possible. Fate just keeps dealing them blows. They end up in a car accident and are airlifted to the hospital, where they will be sitting ducks for Roy to kill. Ben sneaks Maggie out of the hospital and they are on the run again.

Maggie and Ben are falling in love, but there's no time for romance. Trying to stay alive is a full time job. Maggie makes a couple of brilliant decisions, hoping to change their outcome.

The Loop is perfect for the reluctant reader; it is a quick read --only 208 pages.

Recommended grade 7-up. No language. A couple of sweet kisses, oh, and outrunning a killer.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC of this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Ghostly Pick: Unbroken (Ruined series)

Unbroken (A Ruined Novel, book 3)
by Paula Morris
Scholastic
2012
291 pages

Spooky and satisfying, Unbroken takes the reader back to New Orleans and the French Quarter. Rebecca Brown is seeing ghosts again; one in particular—a handsome young boy with startling blue eyes. He asks for her help in finding a lost locket entrusted to him by painter Edgar Degas.

Frank worked the docks in both New York and New Orleans. He was on his way to deliver the locket to artist Edgar Degas’s cousin’s home in the Quarter when he was murdered. As a ghost, Frank can’t pick up or deliver things—he needs a human to intervene on his behalf. When he sees Rebecca walking with Lisette—a ghost she helped last year—he knows that Rebecca can see ghosts and will likely help him.

Rebecca arrives in New Orleans with her friend Ling and her father—who is in the city for work. She can’t wait to see Anton—a boy she was crushing on. The fact is—he can’t wait to see her either. He tells her that Toby may be in town and will probably cause trouble for them.

As Rebecca gets closer to finding the locket, Toby closes in on her. Ghosts are popping up everywhere, some friendly like Frank and others not so friendly at all.

Morris paints a picture of New Orleans with its moss hung trees, lively jazz bands, raucous street festivals, the din and clamor of the Quarter, and its ghostly architecture and lonely graveyards with family mausoleums and statues of saints and angels. Publishers Weekly raves, “A haunting love letter to New Orleans.”

Highly, highly recommended grade 7-up. Anyone who loves a ghost story will love the Ruined series.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I purchased this book for my library. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Paranormal Pick: Darkness Becomes Her

Darkness Becomes Her
by Kelly Keaton
Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster), 2011
273 pages

Masterful storytelling. Darkness Becomes Her is set in sinister and creepy moss-covered and overgrown New Orleans, now named New 2, after a series of wrenching hurricanes destroyed it. Nine families whose ancestors first settled New Orleans band together and form the Novem, the only law recognized beyond the Rim.

When seventeen-year old Ali Selkirk goes in search of her birth mother and answers to why she was given up as a ward to the state of Louisiana, she finds dark secrets about her mother's life...and death. Returning to her hotel, Ali opens a box of things left behind by her mother thirteen years ago. There is a letter for Ali... and it's frightening. The letter warns Ali "Please, baby girl, just run..." --to leave New Orleans and those who are looking for her.

Ali wants to follow directions and means well, but after killing a strange Greek warrior who vanishes before her eyes, she wants answers: Who was the creepy Greek guy and why does he want her dead? Why does she need to run? Where is her real father? Did her mother really commit suicide, or was there something more sinister going on?

On a whim, Ali catches a ride beyond the Rim and into New 2. And that's when strange things really start to happen! Macabre characters inhabit New 2 and dark secrets boil over. Joining a band of misfits, Ali begins untangling the mysteries and getting answers.

This dynamic page-turner will appeal to fans of paranormal and adventure--fans of Twilight and The Lightning Thief will like this read.

The line "Run, baby girl" gave me actual goosebumps at the end of Chapter One. I was hooked.

Highly recommended grade 9-up. This novel should be okay for some grade 8 readers--it is as tame as The Hunger Games.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

YA Pick

Ruined

by Paula Morris

Scholastic, 2009.

309 pages

Rebecca hates the idea of leaving her friends in New York City for a semester in filthy post-Katrina New Orleans attending a snooty boarding school full of the city's richest families. She hates living with her weird Aunt Claudia who reads tarot cards for tourists in the Bourbon Street district and seems to know an awful lot about voodoo legends and curses.

The prep school kids are cliquish and rude to Rebecca and consider her an outcast. Only one boy, Anton Grey, talks to her, but he is careful not to let his other "friends" know that he is nice to Rebecca. Once Rebecca follows Anton and his friends into the Lafayette Cemetery and stays hidden from view. As she is leaving, she stumbles upon a young girl named Lisette. Lisette is easy to talk to and tells Rebecca all about the history of New Orleans and the rich families who live near the cemetery. There's only one problem: Rebecca is the only one who can see Lisette--because Lisette is a ghost.

Rebecca and Lisette try to discover the reason that Lisette is not at rest. They also are thrown into danger when an old Haitian voodoo curse threatens Rebecca's life.

Part ghost story, part high school clique novel, Ruined is an entertaining read that will appeal to mystery and gothic readers who have a penchant for dark and gloomy places and mysterious happenings in the Big Easy (New Orleans). Recommended for YA collections grades 7-up.