YA Magical Realism Pick: Winterwood

Winterwood
by Shea Ernshaw
Simon Pulse
2019
319 pages
ISBN: 9781534439412

Ethereal, mysterious, magical, and poetic, Winterwood will be your YA favorite read!

Nora Walker was born near the wild woods. Her family has been a part of the woods since before the woods themselves. The Walker women have a mythology of their own. Townspeople claim that the Walker women are witches and to be feared.

When a brutal snowstorm comes, Nora knows she'll be snowed in for weeks. There is no way to access the town for supplies or help and no contact with the outside world. She's not afraid; that's just the way things have always been, but when she finds an unconscious boy in the woods, she knows she has to save him. Her mother and her grandmother before her have left Nora with a spell book and book of healing cures. She works her magic, and the boy comes back to life. He's from the boys' camp on the other side of the lake, but doesn't remember much else.

Oliver has no memory of why he was in the woods or how he could still be alive. He's been missing for weeks, and there's no way he could have survived the wild woods. Nora knows something is wrong and the woods begin acting stranger than usual, but Oliver is so alone, Nora feels herself drawn to him. When a white moth begins to seek her out, she knows death is not far behind. What happened that night?

Suzy, a girl from Nora's school, one who has never spoken to her before, arrives on her doorstep, seeking a warm place to weather the storm. She has a tale of her own about the boys' camp. There is one boy dead and one boy missing. Nora knows she'll have to confront Oliver. What does he know about the dead boy? Did he have anything to do with his murder? The unexpected TWIST at the end is EPIC! I LOVE THIS BOOK!

Masterful storytelling and compelling, poetic prose that seems to sing off the pages make Winterwood the best YA read of 2019! This one will be up for awards season.

Beautiful cover art is a masterpiece of graphic design and marketing.

Highly, highly recommended. A must have and a MUST READ. 5 STARS!

Magical Storytelling Pick: Wink Poppy Midnight

 

Wink Poppy Midnight

by April Genevieve Tucholke

Dial Books

2016

247 pages

ISBN: 9780803740488

 

 

 

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/14/april-genevieve-tucholke-wink-poppy-midnight-excerpt

 

"Tucholke walks a fine, spine-chilling line. . .  An eerie, tangled story with plenty of questions: Who can be trusted? Who—or what—pulls the strings? . . . The book keeps readers wondering. Nicely constructed and planned, with unexpected twists to intrigue and entertain.”  

—Kirkus starred review

“A dark, unpredictable mystery that . . . shimmer[s] with sumptuous descriptions and complicated psychologies. . . . Occult accoutrements, descriptions of the wild landscape, and a twisting-turning plot create an uncertain atmosphere that constantly shift readers’ perceptions of who is trustworthy.”

 —Publishers Weekly

 

From the author's website:

 

Spring 2016 Kids’ Indie Next List

 

Amazon Editors' Best Books of the month, March 2016

 

A Junior Library Guild Selection

 

Teen Vogue’s Best New YA Books of 2016

 

PureWow's Best of Spring

 

Wink Poppy Midnight is that rare book: equal parts magic, mystery, romance and intrigue. Textured and rich, the prose sings off the pages. Tucholke is one fine storyteller; she pulls you in, makes you believe in magic, throws crazy plot twists at you, adds a few red herrings for spice, plays you like a fiddle and then leaves you breathless, confused and delighted. "Every story needs a hero. Every story needs a villain. Every story needs a secret." (from the inside cover). Readers will not see this story's ending coming, and believe me, there's no way to prepare for it--any of it.

 

Wink is a masterful storyteller who believes, truly believes--to the depths of her being--in fairy tales. Poppy is a mean girl; the girl who seemingly has no heart. She cares nothing for any one and she only acts in her own self-interest. She's a true sociopath. She plays with both Midnight and Wink, toying with their hearts and heads until Wink can bear it no more. Wink convinces Midnight of a plan to bring Poppy down a notch or two.

When their plan goes off the rails, Poppy disappears. Both Wink and Midnight feel guilt, but Wink knows Poppy is still playing a game with them. Wink knows Poppy like she knows herself. Midnight once loved Poppy, and he still smells her perfume in his room. Is she a ghost? Is he seeing things? If she's alive, why won't she come back?

Someone is pulling the strings and someone is lying, but whom? Is it Poppy manipulating others into thinking she is dead? Or is it Wink, the pixie storyteller? Everyone loves Wink, but with her intelligence and creative, whimsical mind, could she be the mastermind for murder? Or is it someone else behind the scenes? Someone Poppy used to love?

Minor characters are drawn into the mystery and add to the suspense. Wink's younger siblings think Poppy has drowned, and Wink might even believe it.

After a chilling séance, an accidental fire burns down the spooky Roman Luck House and the kids escape, everyone except Midnight. Wink fears Midnight is dead, but (spoiler alert) someone or something pulled him from the house. Only Midnight knows what really happened but he's not talking--he has too much to lose.

Heroes and villains are never truly heroic nor truly evil. Sometimes it's hard to tell the good from the bad--unlike most fairy tales where ugly ogres and cackling witches are bad and beautiful princesses and handsome heroes are always good. Wink needs her fairy tales to make sense of her life and she is such a lyrical storyteller, she has all the other kids  believing in fairy magic and heroic quests. When they listen to Wink, they believe in princesses and witches.

Wink Poppy Midnight will haunt you long after you have finished reading. The only thing missing for me was a more gothic setting. This book could have gone southern gothic or gothic romance, but it didn't. Perhaps that is the way the author intended.

Cover art captures magic elements of Wink's stories: a snake, a full moon, a spider's web, an owl, an apple, flowers, a butterfly.

 

Highly, highly recommended for mature readers. Mature situations. Poppy is quite a seductress.

 

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

 

 

 

 

Storytelling Pick: The Marvels

The Marvels
by Brian Selznick
Scholastic Press
2015
672 pages
ISBN: 9780545448680

Available September 15, 2015

Brian Selznick continues to astonish, astound and amaze! The Marvels is a 672 page behemoth that tells the story of five generations of a theatre family, a shipwreck, and a beautiful house full of family secrets.

The first 300 plus pages are all Selznick's magical  art. The detail and beauty is astounding and the story tells itself. This part of the book had me enraptured and wonderstruck (ha, ha, a little Selznick humor there!) Visual learners and those who struggle with reading and budding artists will all love the story in pictures (and hey, who doesn't love a picture book?) The other part of the book, told in prose, was just not as compelling. It is like comparing apples to oranges, after all. Can one really compare a work of art to words on a page? Well, only if the words are truly genius: Shakespeare, Milton, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, Isabelle Allende.

The characters of Frankie and Joseph while sweet, were not as interesting as the story of a shipwreck and a surviving boy and his dog rescued by a ship and brought across the sea to England. Uncle Albert is the most interesting character in the second half of the book. I was a bit let down with the ending, expecting it to be more compelling and profound.

Still, The Marvels itself is a massive undertaking. It is a beautiful work of art and should probably be reviewed in that way. To review the second part as a book of prose does the work a true disservice. Enjoy the art, enjoy the storytelling and you decide.

Highly recommended for the art alone! Suitable for grade 4-up. Suitable for all libraries.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the "Sneak Peek" and the ARC 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)

Thriller Pick: The Dogs

The Dogs
by Allan Stratton
Sourcebooks Fire
2015
240 pages
ISBN: 9781492609384

Available September 1, 2015



When Cameron and his mother move to Wolf Hollow and take up residence in a dilapidated farmhouse, Cam is angry. Move, again? Every time Cameron gets comfortable, his mom is on the run again. She sees shadows everywhere and worries that her ex-husband and Cameron's father will find them. She is fleeing an abusive relationship and trying to stay two steps ahead of her volatile ex. She uses  prepaid phones and  takes odd jobs--sometimes getting paid in cash to hide from Cameron's father.

There's something strange about this old farmhouse far in the countryside. Cameron sees a ghostly vision the first night. A little boy wearing a coonskin cap stands by the barn. Soon Cameron learns  about the man who once owned the place. Gossips say his own dogs attacked and killed him. The old man who owns the place now including the property next door is clearly hiding something. What happened to the family that once lived in this house? Cameron soon discovers its his job to find out. With a little help from the other side, Cameron searches for clues.

Time does not necessarily heal all wounds. Sometimes time just buries the past--with a thin sheet of lost memories. What happens when some of the past is brought to the surface? What new wounds are opened?

Cameron's mother thinks he spiraling into madness, and even makes an appointment for him to see a doctor. The drugs he takes makes it harder for him to dream, but his visions still haunt him. If Cameron can't talk to a ghost how is it possible that he knows where the bodies are buried?

The Dogs is a mystery and a suspenseful  thriller. Although considered a YA novel, it will have crossover appeal to adults as well. Anyone who loves a mystery with a bit of ghost story thrown in will enjoy this spirited (yes, pun intended) read.

Highly, highly recommended grade 7-up. Child abuse, murder, divorce, rumors of extramarital affairs.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC 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)

Spooksville PIck: The Howling Ghost (book 2)

The popular "Spooksville" television show  can currently be seen on the Hub Network which received the Parents' Choice Approved Seal. Young readers will be thrilled to read Christopher Pike's books in the new packaging. First released in 1995, The Howling Ghost will appeal to another generation of thrill seekers, ghost hunters and fans of things that go bump in the night.

Here is the earlier cover:

Here is the new cover from Aladdin:

The Howling Ghost

(Spooksville, book 2)

by Christopher Pike

Aladdin

2014

128 pages

ISBN: 9781481410533

Middle grade readers are in for a real treat when they discover Christopher Pike and his Spooksville series. The Howling Ghost is a quick read and a book I would recommend in a second for any reluctant reader. The cover art is nothing short of spectacular! A ghostly, scary hand reaches out of the stormy sky beside a lighthouse where the waves are threatening a small boy who stands periously close to danger. His sister seems to attempt to get his attention from her vantage point on the rocks. This cover will have this book jumping into shopping carts and baskets for good reason! 

Newcomers to Spooksville, Cindy and Neil are out near the old lighthouse. Neil begs to go near the water and Cindy relents. She climbs to a rock to get a better look of the shore and water. Suddenly, a giant ghostly hand descends from the sky, the water begins churning like a tidal wave and then there's that unearthly noise. Neil is grabbed up and taken to???Cindy doesn't know. One minute Neil is right there, the next he has vanished into thin air. Town police rule it a drowning, but Cindy knows the truth.   No one will believe her.  That is until Sally, Adam and Watch come to the rescue of the new damsel in distress. 

Sally believes everything that is weird can and does happen in Spooksville. She can't explain why things happen, they just do. Sally tells Cindy not to worry--the kids will find Neil and figure out what is really going on. A trip to the haunted lighthouse turns into a harrowing adventure and escaping the ghost's wrath becomes the most important part of their mystery. The kids decide they need to know who the ghost is to figure out what the ghost wants with Neil.

Any fan of the t.v. show will tell you it's all about the chemistry of the characters. It is the same for this book. Sally is no-nonesense, fearless, faithful and snarkily funny. She will have you grinning with her quick barb; Watch and Adam are seemingly clueless but loveable nonetheless. 

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC 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)





Paranormal Pick: Dead Is Just a Dream

Dead Is Just a Dream
by Marlene Perez
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
2013
176 pages

Available September 3, 2013

Something sinister is going on in the little town of Nightshade, California. Jessica Walsh and her band of friends each have gifts--reading people's thoughts, seeing the future, being female warriors who protect the town. When Jessica sees a ghost horse on the beach, the first murder is reported.

A rude painter shows up in town with a show of his gruesome paintings and a new owner buys Phantasm Farms, a local horse farm. The girls have to find out who or what's killing people and soon!

After a visit to Phantasm Farms, Jessica thinks that the ghost horse, the nightmares, the painter and the strange girl who can talk to horses are all tied together. Something is killing people with fear. Dreams begin haunting her friend Eva but she can't remember what the terror is exactly.

Caught up in the case, Jessica has to juggle her high school classes, her relationship with hot boyfriend Dominic and his burgeoning music career, her very crowded family home, the arrival of her older brother from college, and policing the town of Nightshade from evil. Residents in Nightshade aren't sleeping and Jessica has to get to the bottom of this mystery.

Dead is Just a Dream is a delightful paranormal read with a little Beverly Hills, 90210 and The Secret Circle mixed in. There's the rich kids and fancy cars and there's the circle of paranormal friends who live "normal" lives when not chasing evil or destroying monsters.

Marlene Perez has the teen scene down pat and readers will fall under her spell. Cover art with the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) skull may be off-putting to some readers--the kids attend a huge party on The Day of the Dead at a mansion. While the cover isn't that "girl-y" or romantic, fans of the series will read this book.

Highly recommended grade 7-up. No language. Just sweet kisses...oh, and sinister murder.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive moentary 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: The Watcher in the Shadows

The Watcher in the Shadows
by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Little, Brown and Company
2013
262 pages

See what the author says about his young adult books

Master storyteller Carlos Ruiz Zafon (The Shadow of the Wind, The Prince of Mist) has done it again! The Watcher in the Shadows is that rare and beautiful book that will captivate young readers. It has all the elements a reader craves: a dark mystery, an eccentric inventor who lives in a strange mansion--Cravenmoore--so aptly named--it's a dark name, a gothic name. The mansion is full of whimsical inventions but some are truly terrifying. The setting: the rugged coast of Normandy. The characters: Irene Sauville, a fourteen year old girl who moves to Normandy with her widowed mother and younger brother Dorian. Irene's mother, Simone takes the position of manager of Cravenmoore for the strange and quirky inventor Lazarus Jann (even the name Lazarus is creepy--in the Bible, Lazarus rose from the dead).

Irene meets a local boy named Ismael who shows her the town and takes her sailing. They are smitten with one another and soon are inseparable. Lazarus tells young Dorian a strange story of a man who makes a deal with the devil, so to speak. The man and his shadow are separated and his shadow runs rampant on a murdering spree. The shadow is a doppelganger (a copy) of the man. Dorian likes spending time with the strange inventor even though some of his automatons (robots) scare him.

When a murder occurs near Cravenmoore, villagers begin to spread rumors. Ismael and Irene  investigate and soon find danger everywhere they turn. The kids will need to act fast if they want to save their own lives and Irene's mother and brother. What evil invention has Lazarus brought to life? And why is it intent on killing them? What is the strange fascination Lazarus has for Simone? What secrets are hidden in the secret rooms of Cravenmoore?

Richly imagined, finely tuned, fast paced and fun, The Watcher in the Shadows delivers.

Highly, highly recommended grade 5-up. A must read for lovers of ghost stories and gothic literature.

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)

Ghostly Pick: Doll Bones

Doll Bones
by Holly Black
Margaret K. McElderry Books
2013
256 (page count quoted on publisher's arc)

Available May 7, 2013 (date from publisher's arc)

Creepy, spooky, and downright strange, Doll Bones will delight tween fans of ghost stories and things that go bump in the night. Author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series Jeff Kinney says, "Nobody does spooky like Holly Black. Doll Bones is a book that will make you sleep with the lights on" (quote from publisher's flyer included with the shipment of the arc).



Best friends Zach, Poppy and Alice have played their game with dolls for years. Zach plays with a pirate doll he calls William the Blade, captain of the ship Neptune's Pearl. Alice's G.I. Jane doll is Lady Jaye, a thief who sneaks passage on the Pearl and Poppy's dolls are evil mermaids intent on destroying the ship and its crew. There is one doll strictly off limits; the kids refer to her only as The Great Queen and she lives in the china cabinet inside Poppy's house. Poppy's mother says she is old and made of fine bone china and worth a fortune. The kids make up a story for her; she is The Great Queen who rules over all the kingdoms.

When Poppy begins having nightmares and is haunted by a blond girl dressed in a nightgown who wants Poppy to bury her, Poppy enlists her friends' help. The Great Queen is made not just of china  but of bones! The child in the dream tells Poppy that the doll in the china cabinet is actually her.

The friends hatch a plan to ride the bus to Liverpool, Ohio, where the doll was manufactured. There,  the vision told Poppy, bury her (the doll) in the cemetary under a willow tree.

The kids' adventure is like one of their play stories. There are leering, crazy strangers and villians, a few helpful fairy godmothers (a donut shop owner and a waitress), and a not-so-nice librarian.

One problem and it probably only bothers librarians: the librarian in the book  is depicted as blinking "...owlishly behind her bright-green glasses" * and she comes off as gruff and not kid-friendly--not exactly the type of librarian depiction that this librarian/blogger likes to see in kid-lit. In fact, the librarian threatens to call the police and warns the kids that they better not have vandalized the place. The illustration of the librarian by Eliza Wheeler depicts a prim and very properly dressed middle aged woman. Again, not the face of librarians today. This is a librarian from yesteryear. C'mon, Holly Black, I know you've met librarians across the country, and you know librarians today are way cool.

Could Poppy be going crazy? Is she really dreaming about a ghost of a real girl who was murdered? Could the doll really be made of the girl's bones? Who was the little girl and who killed her? Could a doll be evil and haunting Poppy? When Zach has a creepy dream of his own, he becomes a believer. The kids decide to find the willow tree and solve the mystery.

Highly recommended for fans of ghost stories grade 5-up.

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)

*Quoted material from the arc

Ghostly Pick: Girl Meets Ghost

Girl Meets Ghost (Book 1)
by Lauren Barnholdt
Aladdin
2013
213 pages

Clever, quirky, and cute, Girl Meets Ghost is a surefire way to begin a series (this being book 1). Girls will love Kendall--she's feisty but fun, grouchy but gossipy, complaining but comic, and she will keep tween readers entertained.

Kendall sees ghosts! Not only that, they can communicate with her and she helps them to move on. While ghost whispering sounds like a cool gift to possess, actually it is quite annoying, at least for Kendall. When she's trying to concentrate in math class--not her greatest subject, by the way--she sees a cute girl in a gymnast suit. A blond--of course--cute--of course--and a ghost--of course--who won't leave Kendall alone until Kendall agrees to help her.

Kendall and her bestie Ellie are excited about having a real boyfriend this year. Kendall likes Brandon and Ellie is crushing on Kyle. Kendall plots a way to spend time with Brandon--ask him to tutor her in math--it is his best subject, after all. He agrees and brings along Kyle and Ellie. Instead of the library, the kids take a city bus to the mall. Kendall did tell her father she was studying after school; she just didn't say it was at the mall! Her father is furious when he catches her at the mall with a boy!

The gymnast ghost Daniella wants Kendall to figure out why she can't pass on, but Daniella doesn't really know any details and until she remembers, she is an irritating presence. Soon, Kendall sees a second scary ghost--an older woman who appears menacing.

How is Kendall supposed to help Daniella and try to start a romance with Brendon? Ghosts keep getting in her way, and Kendall is sick of it.

Recommended grade 5-up. This is a fun tween pick.

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)

Spooky Pick: Forevermore

Forevermore
by Cindy Miles
Scholastic
2013
279 pages

Part romance, part ghost story, part Gothic, part mystery and part magic, Forevermore is an appealing new title in YA lit.


Ivy Calhoun finds herself on her way to the wild moors of Scotland where her new stepfather Naill is the Laird of Glenmorrag, a huge Scottish castle that seems to come out of Edgar Allan Poe's menacing prose or a horror movie set.

Ivy's father died some years before and Ivy never thought her mother would remarry, but she seems truly happy and in love, so Ivy's trying to make the best of the move from Charleston.

The castle is creepy, cold, dark, menacing and drafty. Ivy's step-grandmother is almost as spooky as Glenmorrag. Meals are expected to be served on time and Ivy is expected to dress accordingly. Four servants stand by to serve them at mealtimes, and the air is thick with Grandmother's disdain.

Maybe it's her imagination, but Ivy senses a presence. When her violin and bow hang in the air all by themselves a voice keeps warning her to leave the castle, Ivy has no doubt that there's an evil ghost haunting her.

Imagine her surprise when she comes face to ghost with Logan Munro, and 18 year old ghost who's been trapped wandering the moors for two hundred years. He doesn't know why he's tied to Glemnorrag or how he died, but Ivy promises to help him find answers. Logan tells Ivy it's not just him haunting the castle--there is something else--a dark presence, and Logan fears for Ivy's safety.

Logan is a tragic hero stuck between two worlds and wandering the Scottish countryside searching for answers. It isn't until he meets Ivy that he realizes the answers he seeks have been within his reach all along.

The author uses Scottish brogue when her locals speak, but I found it quite distracting. Logan says "gell" for girl and "aye" for yes. I realize she was trying to capture the local dialect of her characters but I feel the story could have been stronger without it. The Scottish countryside comes alive for the reader--its menacing storms, battering winds, lonely moors, steep cliffs, and sea air are the perfect setting for a ghost story.

Recommended grade 7-up. Anyone who loves a ghost story with a little romance will be a fan.

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)

Paranormal Pick: The Raven Boys

The Raven Boys
The Raven Cycle, Book One
By Maggie Stiefvater
Scholastic Press
2012
408 pages

Read the free teaser here

Only in the capable hands of a superior storyteller like Stiefvater, could the Raven boys capture teen hearts. The author uses her writer’s chops and subtle finesse to tell a ghost story, a love story, a magical story, and the beginning of what is surely to become the most anticipated trilogy in years. Highly, highly readable and entertaining, teens will stay up until the wee hours frantically seeking what will happen to Gansey and Blue.

When Blue Sargent meets Gansey, a wealthy Raven boy, in a premonition, she knows he doesn’t have long to live. That’s not all, it has been prophesied that Blue will cause her true love to die. Her mother has been protecting her since birth, warning that she never kiss a boy and never fall in love. What’s a sixteen year old girl to do? Living in a house full of card readers and clairvoyants hasn’t been a real childhood, and now that she’s sixteen, Blue longs for a “normal” life.



She goes with her aunt to an old church on the corpse road on St. Mark’s Eve. No one ever celebrates St. Mark’s but the dead always do. Aunt Neeve wants to make contact with the other side and help the spirits of the deceased move on. She takes Blue along because when Blue is around, her magic is amplified. It is here that Blue meets and speaks to spirit Gansey. Later, she meets human Gansey and his rich boy crowd.

Just how rich are the Raven boys? Of Dick Gansey II (Gansey’s father) and Dick Gansey III (Gansey), Stiefvater writes, “Both of them could trot out logic on a nice little leash, wearing a smart plaid jacket, when they wanted to.” Gansey (the son) owns an abandoned factory which he lives in with his roommates (they live gratis) while he attends the Academy. He doesn’t realize that picking up the tab and offering to pay for everything may not sit well with others like Blue or Adam, who come from much humbler beginnings.

There’s something magical happening In the town of Henrietta; first, nearly famous Aunt Neeve shows up out of the blue (pun intended), then Gansey and his friends start poking around in the woods, a teacher at Aglionby Academy is looking for something magical and dangerous, and the ley lines are nearly buzzing with spiritual energy. Blue begins to meet the boys on the sly to help them hunt for a long lost legend of Welsh history that legend says slumbers somewhere near the town. To the one who wakes Glendower, that lucky person will be granted everything. The problem is that the kids aren’t the only ones obsessed with finding Glendower.

Gansey’s friends consist of Adam, a boy from the poor side of town who is working jobs to attend Aglionby, Noah—a quiet boy who has secrets of his own, and Ronan—an extremely foul, unlikeable misanthrope who is seriously deep and drew me back to him at the end of the book—with only seven little words of dialog. Now, I really like Ronan and want to know more. The novel sets up for book two nicely, and I can’t wait to read what Stiefvater has in store for Blue, Gansey and the boys.

The ending is a crash-bang in-your-face-world-gone-crazy ending that had me guessing until the very end. What a rollicking thrill! Several plotlines converged and a few unexpected zingers caught me by surprise. It’s refreshing when a book entertains and surprises at the same time. This one will leave readers breathless.

Highly, highly recommended grade 7-up. There is the mention of the B word—a child born illegitimately and the boys talk about “balls” as in grow a pair, but this is tame compared to most YA fiction. Ghost story fans will love this must-read!

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)

Ghostly Pick: Queen of the Dead

The Queen of the Dead
by Stacey Kade
Hyperion
2011
272 pages

Will Killian and Alona Dare are quite an impressive team--with Will's good looks and kind manners and Alona's vivacious smile and homecoming queen demeanor, they are laugh out loud funny and verbally spar throughout the novel. Only one thing is wrong-Alona is dead, yep, dead. She hasn't been able to "move on" and has found Will, a spirit-talker. She becomes his ghost talking sidekick as they try to figure out why she can't seem to find her way into the after-life.

When Will realizes his "gift" is not the only one around, and that there's a whole society of people like him, he gravitates toward them leaving Alona alone and jealous.

Poor Alona--so alive and popular in life, now dead and dissed by her "almost" boyfriend and soon to be forgotten by her parents. Her mother has started cleaning her room, throwing out Alona's possessions and her father has remarried and now has a baby girl on the way. What's a ghost girl to do?

Starving for attention from Will and trying to reconnect with her parents, Alona visits Mina, a classmate who is in a coma. Somehow Alona and Mina get combined or merged and Alona's now trapped in Mina's body. How will she reach Will now?

Fun, funny, serious ghost-busting paraphernalia, and high school hi-jinks!

Recommended grades 8-up. You don't have to read book one to understand this novel but it may make more sense to start with The Ghost and the Goth.

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

Ghostly Pick: Shimmer

Shimmer
by Alyson Noel
Square Fish (Macmillan), 2011
192 pages

In this second installment of the Riley Bloom trilogy, Riley continues to help ghosts trapped in the Here & Now to cross over into the hereafter. With the help of Bodhi, a guide sent to help her and her golden lab Buttercup, Riley attends to the needs of the spirit world. The three spiritual friends are all on vacation when their fun is interrupted by a huge hound that is not from this world. Riley follows it until she meets one mean-spirited ghost, Rebecca, the daughter of a southern plantation owner trapped on earth, refusing to leave.

Rebecca is angry and hates everything. She keeps all the ghosts trapped with her in the Here & Now, spitefully keeping them from moving on. With the help of a strange African prince who speaks in riddles, Riley is shown how to help Rebecca. First, Riley must see and understand everything that happened to the plantation's slaves and to Rebecca. Only then, can she save all of them.

Readers who loved Radiance (book one) will be drawn to Shimmer. Riley is a spunky and spirited (yes, pun intended) character who has a mind of her own and rarely listens to Bodhi.

Recommended grades 4-7.

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

Paranormal Pick

The Haunted (Book two, The Hollow Trilogy)
by Jessica Verday
Simon Pulse (Simon & Shuster), 2010
467 pages

Abbey returns home to Sleepy Hollow after a couple of months at her aunt's farmhouse trying to gather her sanity after the death of her best friend.

Thinking she's safe to return home, Abbey tries to get back to normal and begins to be tutored by her science partner Ben. That's during her waking hours. Her sleep is still tortured by weird dreams of Caspian--another love. He simply won't leave her alone. But that's not the worst of it--Caspian can never be with Abbey because he is already dead--a ghost only Abbey can see. Can she ever be happy stuck between two worlds?

Readers who like a gothic love story will like this one; however, book one, The Hollow, should be read first.

Recommended grades 9-12.

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

YA Pick

Witch & Wizard
by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet
Little Brown and Company, 2009.
314 pages.

Teen readers will be drawn to this novel for three reasons: the large "W" ablaze dominating the cover, the words "witch" and "wizard" in the title, and those readers who followed the Maximum Ride series will want to read Patterson's latest YA novel.

Siblings Wisty and Whit Allgood are awakened in the middle of the night by armed thugs who arrest them, transport them to a "trial," and drop them off at a sadistic prison. The old government has been overthown and replaced by a maniac who refers to himself as "The One Who Is The One." The Allgood teens are dangerous to the new order because of their powers. Wisty and Whit discover that they are a witch and a wizard, respectively. As they begin to harness their powers, they befriend a ghost or "curve" who helps them escape the prison through the Shadowlands, a dangerous otherworld where spirits, and sometimes, humans, roam. Later, they join a gang of likeminded kids who hope to overthrow the new regime and fulfill a prophecy that kids will rule and peace will come.

This is a quick read with chapters only 2-4 pages in length. Each chapter ends on a suspenseful note to keep those pages turning. Action and adventure readers will enjoy this novel. Patterson continues to use a formula he has had past success with: working with another author who is comfortable in the children's and YA lit market. Charbonnet, with over 75 titles to her credit, is best known for the Babysitter's Club Baby Sister's books.

The ending of this novel makes possible a slew of sequels. As prolific a writer as Patterson is, he will likely churn out a whole series.

Recommended for YA collections. Grades 6-high school.