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Showing posts from May, 2011

(45) Past curses, family secrets, and superstitions

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Title: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garci & Margret Stohl Publisher: Little Brown Books 592 Pages Genre: YA Supernatural Synopsis: Ethan Wate is struggling to hide his apathy for his high school "in" crowd in small town Gatlin, South Carolina, until he meets the determinedly "out" Lena Duchannes, the girl of his dreams (literally--she has been in his nightmares for months). Review: Ethan finally meets the girl of his dreams, literally.  When Lena Duchannes moves to Gatlin the whole town starts talking about the weird new girl. Lena doesn't fit in and doesn't try but what Ethan is drawn to more than her originality and mystery is that he has been dreaming about her for years.  As Ethan and Lena become closer he finds that people he thought were friends start treating him differently and small town life can be extremely unpleasant for those who don't fit in. Not to mention that small town Gatlin where nothing every happens has a lot more go...

(44) Once Upon A Time....

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Title: Don't Breathe A Word by Jennifer McMahon Publisher: Harper Collins 464 Pages Genre: Mystery I received this book as an advanced electronic galley from netgally.com .   Synopsis: Family secrets and fairy lore create a shifting reality in McMahon's unsettling novel about the disappearance of a 12-year-old girl who longed to become Queen of the Fairies. Fifteen years after Lisa goes missing, her younger brother, Sam, gets a strange phone call that leads him and his girlfriend, Phoebe, to discover a book, supposedly written by the King of the Fairies, that Lisa used as her bible to cross over, and which prompts Sam and Phoebe to meet up with Sam's cousin, Evie, to see if they can figure out what happened to Lisa. Nothing is as it seems from that moment on, and Phoebe's longtime fear of a dark man in the shadows seeps back. Review : Fairies aren't the cute little pixies you imagine playing in your yard, they are scary creatures that steal babies and re...

(43) A warning for the digital generation

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Title: Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 320 pages Genre: YA I received an advanced electronic copy of this book through netgalley.com .  It is set to be release May 23, 2011. Synopsis: Maddie lives in a world where everything is done on the computer. Whether it’s to go to school or on a date, people don’t venture out of their home. There’s really no need. For the most part, Maddie’s okay with the solitary, digital life—until she meets Justin. Justin likes being with people. He enjoys the physical closeness of face-to-face interactions. People aren’t meant to be alone, he tells her. Suddenly, Maddie feels something awakening inside her—a feeling that maybe there is a different, better way to live. But with society and her parents telling her otherwise, Maddie is going to have to learn to stand up for herself if she wants to change the path her life is taking. In this not-so-brave new world, two young people struggle to carve out their...

(42) Secret Societies, Murder and Epitaphs

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Title: The Restorer by Amanda Stevens Publisher: MIRA Books Genre: Historical Fiction I received this book as an advanced electronic galley from netgalley.com . This book was set to be published April 26, 2011 Synopsis: My name is Amelia Gray. I’m a cemetery restorer who sees ghosts. In order to protect myself from the parasitic nature of the dead, I’ve always held fast to the rules passed down from my father. But now a haunted police detective has entered my world and everything is changing, including the rules that have always kept me safe. It started with the discovery of a young woman’s brutalized body in an old Charleston graveyard I’ve been hired to restore. The clues to the killer—and to his other victims— lie in the headstone symbolism that only I can interpret. Devlin needs my help, but his ghosts shadow his every move, feeding off his warmth, sustaining their presence with his energy. To warn him would be to invite them into my life. I’ve vowed to keep my distance,...

(41) Coming of Age

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Title: Shine by Lauren Myracle Publisher: Amulet Books 376 pages Genre: YA I received this book as an advanced electronic copy from netgalley.com .  It was released May 1, 2011.  Synopsis: When her best guy friend falls victim to a vicious hate crime, sixteen-year-old Cat sets out to discover who in her small town did it. Richly atmospheric, this daring mystery mines the secrets of a tightly knit Southern community and examines the strength of will it takes to go against everyone you know in the name of justice. Against a backdrop of poverty, clannishness, drugs, and intolerance, Myracle has crafted a harrowing coming-of-age tale couched in a deeply intelligent mystery. Review: Cat has distanced herself from her friends and her family but when her best guy friend Patrick gets beaten in what looks like a hate crime Cat starts to re-examine her life, what is important to her and finding herself and her inner strength.  By investigating who may have hurt her fr...

(40) Mazes and Buried Treasure

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Title: Unearthed by Jordan Gray Publisher: Harlequin Genre: Mystery Fiction I am a little backlogged at the moment but I received an advanced electronic copy of this book via netgalley.com.  The book was release April 27, 2011.  Synopsis: The fourth and final installment in the Mystery Case Files program! Secrets are at the heart of Blackpool.... Behind the colorful charm and vibrant history of the English seaside town of Blackpool is a legacy of secrets. Secrets people have killed to keep hidden. But for Michael and Molly Graham, finding the truth has become personal. Their friend clings to life in a hospital—shot to keep him quiet—and the couple is driven to uncover what he would risk his life for…and what someone would murder for. But the pieces of this puzzle are as disparate as any they’ve faced—a sunken pirate ship, a one-legged skeleton, vengeful curses and a grim family legacy. And if they put the pieces together, will they only be digging their own graves...

(39) Mysterious Man of Fire

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Title: Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers 304 Pages Genre: YA I received this book as an advanced electronic book from netgalley.com .  This title is set to be released May 3, 2011 Synopsis: Set in Calcutta in the 1930s, The Midnight Palace begins on a dark night when an English lieutenant fights to save newborn twins Ben and Sheere from an unthinkable threat. Despite monsoon-force rains and terrible danger lurking around every street corner, the young lieutenant manages to get them to safety, but not without losing his own life. . . . Years later, on the eve of Ben and Sheere's sixteenth birthday, the mysterious threat reenters their lives. This time, it may be impossible to escape. With the help of their brave friends, the twins will have to take a stand against the terror that watches them in the shadows of the night--and face the most frightening creature in the history of the City of Palaces. Review: Carlos Ruiz ...