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What a fun, imaginative book Philip Webb‘s Where the Rock Splits the Sky is! Well, perhaps the word “fun” isn’t quite right, as there is nothing fun about the adventure Megan, Luis, and Kelly are having.  Basically, aliens have stopped the world from spinning on its axis, thereby plunging its surviving zones back in time about 100 years. Megan is on a quest to find her father, and learn the secrets of what is to come. Megan is brave, Luis is loyal, Kelly is a great “fish out of water”, the characters are interesting, and the premise is a great one. I read this book inRead More →

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For readers who remember the adventures of Shade, a silverwing bat in the Silverwing Trilogy, Kenneth Oppel  delivers with equal measure, the action-packed and compelling story of Will Everett’s life in his most recent novel, The Boundless.  Set in in the late 1800s, at the time the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) was being built, Will, who taught himself to draw when he was ill and bedridden for weeks, is looking for adventure.  The only adventures he has had have been in his head or drawn in his sketchbook or lived out vicariously through his father’s letters from various rail construction sites. When he arrives inRead More →

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I guess it’s a universal truth: human beings are fascinated by imagining our own destruction.  Who hasn’t seen movie after movie, tv show upon tv show of the end of the world as we know it: life during and after the apocalypse, the alien invasion, the viral plague, or the crushed citizenry living under a ruthless, post-Armageddon regime?  Not to mention the avalanche of distopian fiction, populated by heroic characters whose grit and determination helps them rise up against the horrors that have pulverized the rest of humanity into pitiful shadows of their former selves.  And I’m not saying that the best of all ofRead More →

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Ever since I was a child, I have loved books that begin with a map.  I love referring back to it as I read the story; to put myself right next to the characters as they live their adventures.  This book has a map!  That being said, I am not sure how to write this review.  By the back cover artwork (and I knowwe are not supposed to well, judge a book by its cover),Matthew Jobim’s The Nethergrim is a face-paced, nail-biter, page-turner of an adventure book…not that it isn’t, but nor is it. Edmund, Katherine, and Tom do fight for their lives, and for thoseRead More →

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I pretty much hate it when I am reading a series and the author reintroduces characters and themes passed the first book. I have great appreciation for an author who has confidence in her/his readers’ intelligence.  That being said; some series must be read in order, this book being a prime example. Cole Gibsen‘s Shinobi is the third book of Gibsen’s Katana series.  As engaging as this book may be, it does not stand alone. As the characters are reincarnated samurai, this book alternates between the past and present.  There were many poignant, important memories from which I was left out. In fact, it wasn’t untilRead More →

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Ben Mikaelsen fans will likely appreciate his newest book, Jungle Bones, which is about a young boy who is angry and fighting to survive.  As I read, many times I was reminded of scenes from Touching Spirit Bear. Dylan Barstow is defiant, disrespectful, and determined to do whatever annoys adults the most.  The only sane part of his life is a black lab named Zipper.  Not quite an eighth grader, this king of contempt has a “file as thick as a phone book” (10) and a chip on his shoulder “as big as a log” (29).  Resentful that his mother treats him like a screw-up, heRead More →

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Green dust and meteors streak across the sky in Scrap Town Sixteen, bringing with them remnants of other worlds. On the eve of an imposing chair, Micah arrives at the door of Piper, music box in hand, ready to let the master do her work. Piper has always had a way with machines. She is recognized as the town machinist – even though a young, orphaned teenager. Micah’s music box is in almost perfect condition, amazing for something streaking through the universe.  The scrappers scour the earth after each storm, but Micah is too young to beat off the experienced scavengers, so how did heRead More →

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15 year old Laila’s father is dead.  Numb with grief, shocked by the unexpected loss, and drowning in pain, her life is unrecognizable.  But that’s only the start: she finds herself exiled, with her mother and younger brother, in a non-descript apartment outside Washington, D.C., having fled her country after her father’s assassination.  Not only has she lost her beloved father, Laila has also lost the only life she ever knew: that of the daughter of a king. Her country has fallen into a civil war, as a long-standing resistance now openly challenges her uncle, who has taken over her father’s place as leader.  TheRead More →

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I tend to love Civil War Era novels. This may be because the absolute horror of the time tends to lend itself really well to dramatic tension.  The conflicts present in Jane Nickerson‘s The Mirk and Midnight Hour most certainly could have made for a lot of high tension drama, but, unfortunately, they fell short. Ms. Nickerson introduces a wide range of themes throughout the novel; communicating with wildlife, the Civil War, slave society, voodoo, xenophobia, blended families, love, and treachery.  A strong development of any of these would have made for a really interesting story, but none were ever completely explored. Violet is living duringRead More →