Reviews, reviews, reviews

Wow, I totally flaked on blogging yesterday. Big duh moment. Anyhoo...

Here's what I read this week:

The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester: Stephenie Meyer called this a cross between "Little House on the Prairie and X-Men," and I couldn't agree more. What a fabulous book. Piper, the only child of a traditional farming couple, isn't what anyone expected. But her wonderful gift and unsinkable attitude land her in a heap of trouble. What at first seems to be the answer to her prayers turns out to be a nightmare, and to save herself and her new friends she must decide between meeting the expectations of others and being true to herself. Middle grade, but I still loved it.

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey: Jessica finds out her strange background is even stranger than she thought, when her vampire fiance, to whom she's been promised since birth, shows up at her school to claim her. This is worth reading just for Lucius's letters home. Very entertaining, although I would have liked a little more explanation on Fantaskey's version of vampirism, and I could have happily throttled her hippy-dippy parents pretty much any time they showed up.


by Carlos Ruiz Zafon: A slow, intricate read, but worth it. Young Daniel's introduction into the secret world of books takes a terrifying turn when he discovers a book called The Shadow of the Wind, by Julian Carax. When he researches the book's origins, he discovers he possesses the only remaining copy of the book-because a mysterious, horribly disfigured man has been traveling Europe, destroying every copy of Carax's books he can find. It isn't long before the scarred man shows up to try and collect Daniel's copy. Daniel has to delve deeply into Carax's past and his own future to find the truth and bring closure to a cycle of hatred and unrequited love spanning two generations.

Impossible, by Nancy Werlin: This was a magical read in every sense of the word. Seventeen year old Lucy Scarborough lives with her fiercely protective foster parents, but their protection isn't enough to save her from rape and subsequent pregnancy. Soon, Lucy discovers that her situation isn't a coincidence; she's the latest victim of a centuries-old curse that leaves each Scarborough woman doomed to give birth and go insane by her eighteenth birthday. The only way to escape her fate is to complete a series of seemingly impossible tasks set forth by a song, passed down from mother to daughter, a strange version of "Scarborough Fair," unknown to folk historians. Time is slowly running out as Lucy races to complete the tasks and save herself and her unborn daughter from the clutches of the curse.

Hope you enjoyed this week's offerings; tune in next Thursday for more quickie book reviews!


Buy Surviving Serendipity at Amazon or Quake Direct!