Book #76 Read in 2012
Red Rain by R.L. Stine
Known for his years of writing YA horror, R.L. Stine decides to scare adults--and he does it with this novel. Lea is a travel blog writer and is on an island when a hurricane hits. Devastation ensues. She returns home to her husband and two children with a little more than she left with--she is accompanied by 12 year old blonde twin boys, Daniel and Samuel. Though her husband Marc is reluctant to have the boys in their family, Lea ignores him and thrusts the boys wholeheartedly into their home and life. Little does she know that she just unleashed two monsters into her hometown.
This book was one that I could not put down. It was violent, graphic and disturbing, yet I had to know how it was going to end. This felt like a YA book to me with the writing style, but since I enjoy reading YA this worked for me. It was a good horror read.
Book #75 Read in 2012
Kill You Last by Todd Strasser
This is a great YA mystery. Shelby's father is a photographer. Three girls who he did business with have been reported as missing and Shelby's father is a person of interest. Shelby begins her own investigation to try to clear her father's name. She gets some help from her best friend Roman and a reporter, Whit, whom she is beginning to trust. Will Shelby find out who the killer is?
This book had good twists and turns. It was a very quick read and kept my interest throughout. Shelby is a good main characters--she has brains and guts. There was also some humor and romance in the book but the action and the mystery were the main plot points. I recommend it.
Book #74 Read in 2012
I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
Jasper (Jazz) Dent is the son of Billy Dent, one of the most evil serial killers ever. Jazz is not convinced that he is not a serial killer in the making and struggles daily about this. In his small hometown, another killer is on the loose. This killer is mimicking the kills of his father, seemingly in some sort of homage to Billy Dent. Jazz pleads with the sheriff to be allowed to search for this serial killer--because who better to understand this sort of monster than a boy who was brought up by one?
This book was a great read. It was very intense and at times so disturbing but I could not put it down. It had a lot of action, humor, some romance and a cliffhanger ending that makes me really want to read the sequel, which is coming out in April 2013. I recommend this gritty read.
Book #73 Read in 2012
Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier
This is the sequel to Ruby Red and picks up pretty much where the first book left off. Gwen is getting a little more used to time traveling. She and Gideon are exploring the chemistry between them. Charlotte is still jealous that Gwen is the Ruby and not her. Added to this book is more of the history behind the secret order and the enemies that they are facing. Gwen has a little demon ghost who only she can see and he is becoming her companion. Gwen's friend Lesley is trying to help by researching and investigating what she can.
This book has good twists and turns in it. The romance between Gwen and Gideon is beginning to progress. There is humor in the book and also a good mystery plot. The third book comes out sometime during Fall 2013 and I look forward to reading that one as well.
I received this book through the Amazon Vine program to review.
Book #72 Read in 2012
The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis
This book was hard to put down but also hard to get through. Anna is drawn to Abel, a mysterious student at her school. He has a reputation as a hard core drug dealer. She begins to spy on him and realizes that he is the caregiver for his younger sister, Micha. Abel spins stories to entertain Micha and uses the stories as a way of talking about what is going on in their lives. Anna earns her role in these stories as she gets more and more sucked into the lives of Abel and Micha. This book has raw parts that are incredibly graphic and characters are so complex that it is hard to figure out who is good and who is bad.
This book was interesting in a train wreck, can't put it down sort of way. Abel is at once hero and villain. Anna is at once victim and enabler. They are tough to compartmentalize. This book is edgy and has powerful elements to it.
Book #71 Read in 2012
Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores by Jen Campbell
This is a very quick read--it is a collection of questions/comments that customers have been heard saying in bookstores. Bookstore workers and owners submitted these questions and comments. Some are funny, some are weird and some are downright sad (one customer asked for a copy of the sequel to The Diary of Anne Frank because she enjoyed Anne's writing. . . sigh). This book was generated by the author's blog, where these sayings were first collected and publicized. A cute read that book lovers will get a kick out of--a nice way to spend an afternoon. I enjoyed it.
Book #70 Read in 2012
The Code Busters Club by Penny Warner (YA)
This is the first in a mystery series. Four young adults form a club where they pass secret messages written in code back and forth. Their neighbor, whom they call Skeleton Man, is taken to the hospital after his house catches fire. But was it an accidental fire or set by his newly arrived family members? The kids decide to investigate.
This book was a good mystery and used the codes in an interesting way to move the plot along. I could see readers who liked solving codes really enjoying this book. There are two male and two female protagonists so I think both male and female readers would be drawn to this book. It was a good, quick read.
