DJ's Life in Fiction

The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel by Gregory S. Slomba (New Fairfield, CT, 2012). Review copy provided by author. The accidental death of his father haunts twelve-year-old Eric Scott, and he thinks he's dreaming again when Stig, a talking owl from another world, shows up late one night. Stig wants Eric to help him on a quest to deliver the small seaside town of Calendria from a greedy pirate named Sharky.  Eric agrees, but doubts his qualifications; could he possibly be a hero? Once there, Eric discovers that delivering the town is but one of the problems he'll have to solve. With Stig and new friends Kate and an outcast dwarf named Hallo Tosis, Eric battles for Calendria--and himself! Slomba delivers an action-packed adventure that's sure to thrill middle grade and younger readers.  Even little ones (I'm thinking first and second graders) will enjoy this tale as a read-aloud because of its magical characters (a talking owl! a conniving pirate!) and wacky humor (lik...

Torn (Torn Series #1) by Ashley S. Morgan.  Reviewed from e-copy provided by author. Isidora Rivers feels everything deeply, which helps her acting, but not her life so much. Recklessly riding her bike down the hill to school, she is nearly hit by a car driven by a hot new guy, Tristan Rhodes.  Worse, she's immediately drawn to this broody newcomer who seems to know too much about her.  Plus, he pulls her in one moment and pushes her away the next. What's a girl to do?  With character names like Tristan and Isadora (so close to Isolde), this novel is obviously playing on the star-crossed, ill-fated love theme.  Tristan's odd familiarity and then the endless flashbacks make the reading sort of self-fulfilling, although there is a twist at the end. This may be enough to keep some readers going. For me the characters were somewhat flat and Morgan relies on telling rather than showing to demonstrate their traits.  Izzy's best friend Sarah seems to exist mainly...

Calico Joe by John Grisham (NY: Doubleday, 2012). Reviewed from ARC provided by publisher. Joe Castle was going to save the Cubs from the brink of another lackluster season. Like most boys, eleven-year-old Paul Tracey followed Joe's meteoric rise, watched him smash records every game, and thrilled to each success. He was somewhat ashamed that Joe meant a bit more to him than his own father, Warren Tracey, a pitcher for the Mets, and excitedly looked forward to seeing what would happen when his dad pitched against Joe in an upcoming home game. Little did anyone know that the clash would send vibrations throughout the baseball world, and many lives would be changed forever. No one spins a tale like John Grisham, and his mastery is apparent in this story of baseball, life, and death. The past and present merge seamlessly as readers follow the rise of Joe Castle (aka Calico Joe because he's from the small town of Calico, Arkansas), Paul's immersion in that career and his sad l...

Hey everyone! Welcome to Mera’s YA Book List! Today, we have author M. Clifford joining us for a interview. For my opinion on the first released novel in his series, Felinian, check out my review here . Thanks for joining us, and for allowing me to interrogate (oops, I meant question) you! On to the interrogation! Mera: Felinian tells the story of Katherine, a girl gifted with uncanny abilities, and nine lives. While there are a few books out on the topic of nine lives, as many people associate with cats, there aren’t many. What made you choose a topic that could be considered obscure, when placed next to the ever-present abundance of vampire, or werewolf novels?  M: Good question.  Mostly, I wanted to create something new.  I realize the cat woman genre has been done to some degree, but I wanted to approach the topic in a different way than my predecessors (and perhaps to raise the bar in terms of creativity).  There aren’t too many authors creating new, gothic mons...

  Katherine Luna lives in Sleepy Hollow. And she is upset with her life. She is being forced to go to a different high school than all her friends, the creepy cat lady who lives in her neighborhood is getting stranger each day and she has just been humiliated at a senior party on Halloween in the worst way possible for a teenage girl. As her body suddenly begins to change in the most unexpected way, forcing all the boys to fawn over her, she is confronted with the realization that she can communicate with cats and that a mysterious man is now following her. All starts to make sense when she learns that she has become a Felinian and that she has been quickly gifted with the fabled nine-lives of a cat, tied somehow with ancient Egyptian lore, and empowered with the ability to control the passions and minds of men. As Katherine fights her lustful, Felinian nature, attempting to stop herself from stalking the boys of her school, the man stalking her begins to reveal ...

  Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.     When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone .  Hardcover , 472 pages Published October 1st 2008 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt “In a world where people born with an exceptional skill, known as a Grace, are both feared and exploited Katsa carries the burden of a skill even she despises: the Grace of killing” An a...

The Annihilation of Foreverland by Tony Bertauski (Smashwords, 2011). Review copy provided by author. The island where thirteen-year-old Danny Boy wakes up should be every boy's dream--a tropical paradise, no parents, lots of other boys around his age, and plenty of time to play video games between visits to the ultimate alternate reality world, Foreverland. They're told that the island is a rehab center, and Foreverland is key to healing their minds before they graduate.They all have sockets embedded in their foreheads for the probe needle that transports them from the torture of the Haystack into Foreverland. But Danny can't seem to remember how he got to the island or much else about his life before he arrived at the island, and he doesn't understand why one of the boys, Reed, resists entering the alternate reality of Foreverland to suffer in a cold wet cell in the Haystack. There's also the question of what happens to boys--and their sponsors--when the Chimney...

Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin, #1) by Robin LaFevers (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012). Reviewed from e-ARC provided by publisher via netgalley.com netgalley.com . Ismae Rienne bears the mark of St. Morain, the god of death, yet her hateful father arranges a marriage for her that nearly gets her killed. Rescued by the parish priest and village herbwitch, Ismae is spirited away to a convent of nuns dedicated to St. Morain, where she is trained as an assassin. Although her first assignment hits a small snag, Ismae quickly begins her next and greater assignment in the royal court of Brittany where she poses as the cousin of one of the deceased duke's bastard sons, Gavriel Duval, to seek out and kill suspected traitors to Anne, the Duchess of Brittany. Grave Mercy offers a unique, quasihistorical blend of action, court intrigue, and romance. The world of the convent,where Ismae is trained, remains largely undeveloped, which may disappoint some readers. LaFevers portrays the ...

Hey everyone! It's May and I'm a little late but here's favorite reads for April/ May!    Mera's Favorites of April!   So, April was a slow month for me as I was constsantly finishing up assignments for my last few weeks of the semester at school. But I did manage to read an adequate amount of books (probably 5), and I'll tell you which I liked most. I was super stressed with school so I seemed to gravitate towards light YA reads during April. One of them was Shooting Stars by Allison Rushby. It was a cute fun fast read that I thoroughly enjoyed. It definitely made me smile. Shooting Stars is one of those books that you'd turn to when you don't feel like reading paranormal, or when you just want something sweet. Though it's a normal YA romance, Rushby managed to spice it up, which is something I really appreciated. The plot makes turns one wouldn't expect, and come on. Before this book, I have NEVER read a book about a teen paparazzo, which is what r...

                  “If the true bloodline does not rule Ter Chadain, the Protector shall appear and reclaim the throne for the rightful Queen.” King Englewood reads the prophecy every day since he murdered the royal family, all of them. Or so he thought. The three year old twins escaped that night thirteen years ago, but his men are closing in to finish the job before they can turn sixteen and activate the magic spell making his worst fears a reality. A Protector in Ter Chadain and a royal heir with claims to the throne he now held. Logan and Teah Lassain witness the violent murder of their family and narrowly escape. They now find themselves not only thrust into the revolution, but the keys to the reunification of Ter Chadain. Bestowed with the powers and spirits of past Protectors, Logan must learn to control both before their memories destroy him. Wrenched with anger and the desire for reve...

Hey everyone! YA Excerpt Week is officially over and it's time for me to announce the winners of the awesome prizes that accompanied those amazing excerpts. Read on and see if you won! If you'd like to read the excerpts just check out the giveaway tabs or the history (left sidebar) to click on the links! Congrats to all of the winners! I will email you all within approximately 24 hours from now to confirm addresses and prize retrieval. After I email you, you'll have 48 hours to respond, at which time I'll pick a new winner. Okay, here goes: For Day One, the winner of Pat McDermott's Glancing Through The Glimmer is ... Devan K. ! For Day Two, the winner of the Jenna Kay swag is... Carole D. ! For Day Three, the winner of  Kimberly Kinrade's Forbidden Mind is... Crystal B. !   For Day Four, the winner of Brea Essex's Foreshadow is... Monica  G. !   For Day Five, the winners of  the Janell Rhiannon Invisible Wings bookmarks are... 1. Yamna M. 2. Melissa M. 3. S...

Leaving Sophie Dean by Alexandra Whitaker (New York: Five Spot, 2012). Reviewed from ARC provided by publisher. Goaded by her best friend, Valerie forces her lover Adam to choose between herself and his wife and kids. Although Adam chooses Valerie, his wife, the eponymous Sophie Dean, takes the unusual route of leaving Adam in the family home with the kids. I was hoping this would be a kick-ass, female power novel of take it to the man, and it sort of was, but not really. There were some good laughs at Adam and Valerie's expense as they dealt with the unexpected childcare. But mainly Valerie and her best friend are plain old nasty, and Sophie is a bit too nice. Adam just doesn't seem worth any woman's bother. The kids are adorable. The ending was reasonably good, though, and not as pat as I feared it would be.  Overall, not a bad read, but not as good as I had hoped.

Cycles by Lois D. Brown (n.p.: Levanter Publishing, 2011). Review e-copy provided by author. After an accident, thirteen-year-old Renee Beaumont needs a blood transfusion, which shouldn't be a big deal, but it turns out her blood is unique. Her neighbor Dr. Dawson fortunately has some blood that he claims is hers that the doctors can use to save her life, but Renee can't remember ever giving him her blood.  When she and her best friend Sam investigate, they discover a cache of blood in Dr. Dawson's lab that's all labelled with his dead daughter's name.  What does it mean that Renee's blood matches his daughter's? This novel seemed uneven and juvenile at the beginning until I realized the characters were only thirteen!  Action, suspense, and mystery propel the story, along with supernatural and mystical elements.  Many readers will enjoy the native American (Ohone indian) spiritual elements as well. The evil villains, especially the woman, make the story see...

Casey Barnes Eponymous by E. A. Rigg (2011). Reviewed from e-book provided by author. Sophomore Casey Barnes sees it as her mission, maybe even duty, to alleviate the misery that is high school one three-song playlist at a time.  She leaves the lists in library books for her unsuspecting victims--three perfect songs to boost them through the day.  Her killer taste in music makes her confident that her lists can make all the difference...and maybe even get her back the guy she sort of dated over the summer, Alex Deal. They have so much in common, too.  He's in a band, and she wants be a rock star.  She's got the guitar playing and song writing down, but she's not too keen on playing in public, but she will if that will help her get Alex Deal back.... Casey Barnes rocks--in all the right ways. Sharp, sarcastic, passionate, daring, slightly self-enthralled, obsessed and obsessive, yet a bit naive and vulnerable, she makes a great YA protagonist. While the plot focuses ...

Goddess Interrupted (The Goddess Chronicles #2) by Aimee Carter (NY: Harlequin Teen, 2012). Reviewed from e-ARC provided by the publisher via netgalley.com . Kate returns to the Underworld after her summer on the surface with James ready to be crowned Queen and live with Henry, though she feels sure he still loves Persephone.  The coronation barely begins when Henry is spirited away and an age-old rivalry between the gods and goddesses and the Titans, specifically Cronos, threatens to end everything--even the immortals! Kate is desperate to save Henry even as she doubts his love and must enlist the aid of Persephone to locate him and solve a tricky situation before she loses everything she loves, forever! Carter spins a fine dramatic tale in this sequel to The Goddess Test . Kate's doubts about Henry, and indeed Henry's enigmatic actions, are a bit overdrawn, but seem realistic enough. The drama among the gods and goddesses, charged with ancient rivalries, spices up the plot, ...

Spellcaster (Spellbound #2) by Cara Lynn Schultz (New York: Harlequin Teen, 2012). Reviewed from e-ARC provided by publisher via netgalley.com . Spellcaster picks up where Spellbound left off.  Emma and Brandon are blissfully in love and all seems perfect.  They successfully defeated the evil spell that had doomed their love for centuries, and now Emma is coming to terms with her newfound witch powers under the tutelage of her best friend Angelique. But the power of true love attracts others who would use it for nefarious purposes, so Emma and Brandon again find themselves fighting for their love--and their lives! In this excellent, exciting, and worthy sequel, Schultz nicely depicts the growth of Emma and Brandon's relationship beyond the initial first flush of young (though centuries old) love. The minor misunderstandings that get blown into needless drama seem all to realistic, as does the cautious exploration of passion.  And that's just the romance angle!  An...

Starters by Lissa Price (NY: Delacorte Press, 2012).  Reviewed from digital ARC provided by publisher via netgalley.com . Callie Woodland, her little brother Tyler, and their friend and former neighbor Michael are barely managing on their own.  They are Starters--anyone twenty or younger--who survived the Spore War because the government opted to inoculate only the young and the old, leaving a lot of kids with no living relatives when the war ended. Callie desperately needs money to help Tyler get medical attention, so she decides to investigate Prime Destinations, a company that implants chips in the brains of Starters so Enders (the seniors who were also inoculated and survived the war) can rent young bodies. The first two rentals go well, but the third one gets tricky when the renter, Helena, gets the chip altered so she can communicate with Callie and then tries to enlist Callie's help investigating the disappearance of her granddaughter--a  situation that may call f...