A Gaggle of Book Reviews

Kristin Harmel’s newest release is an engrossing young adult novel called When You Wish. This is a delightful story of a girl pushed to be a star by her mother, but Star herself doesn’t feel comfortable with her “star” persona, and tries to discover who she really is. Readers might remember my earlier reviews of Kristin Harmel’s wonderful chick lit books How to Sleep with a Movie Star and The Art of French Kissing, and this book is right up there with the others – if you’ve read her other books, you will definitely want to pick this one up! If you’re not already a fan, When You Wish will quickly convince you to pick up her other novels.

When You Wish has a similar feel to Kristin’s chick lit books, with a strong female character and vibrant secondary characters. Unlike Kristin’s books for adults, When You Wish has a title that won’t make you blush, and any “romance” is teen-appropriate. Some authors have trouble moving from adult novels to young adult, but Kristin has found a great balance – there’s enough tension to keep the reader pulled in to Star’s life, and yet parents will feel comfortable with their kids reading the novel. Assuming, that is, that the parents don’t snag it to read for themselves!

I’ve talked about the need for great female leads in my Maximum Ride reviews, as well as in other reviews of young adult novels. As a mom of 3 girls who are growing up far too quickly, I continue to search for strong, fun, and engaging girls in young adult and tween novels. Star is a very different character than Max, but they share an inner strength paired with an anxiety about trusting that inner strength, which makes them realistic and approachable. In When You Wish, Star leaves her celebrity life in search of her estranged father, but also to find out who she is when she isn’t surrounded by her entourage. Start finds the world outside the pop star circuit to be very different from what she is accostomed to, but she makes decisions based on her own moral compass and finds that she points herself in the right direction.

There’s a surplus of boy “coming of age” books, and a surfeit of the girl equivalent that aren’t sappy and/or clichéd. When You Wish is sweet, but below the sweetness lies a strength that comes from Star’s determination and courage. There is a very hot guy involved, but Star does what needs to be done for herself, not just to get the cute guy. There’s plenty of crush-activity for teens to be happy, and plenty of spunk in Star so she never comes across as a stereotypical teenage girl.

No stereotypes or clichés seems to be Kristin Harmel’s writing creed. At first glance, Star’s mother seems like a typical stage mother, but there are hidden depths that you discover as the book progresses. The same is true for the father Star seeks, the entourage she left behind, and the people she meets along the way. It would be very easy to make this book into a teen version of Thelma & Louise, and not do any character or plot development, but Kristin has steered clear of that path and written a book that is well worth the shelf space.

I highly recommend When You Wish for young adult readers (too much kissing for my tween). Not-so-young adults shouldn’t overlook this novel, though! When You Wish is a very heartening, feel-good story that pulls you into Star’s gravity with a great cast of characters and a story that keeps you turning page after page. Go pick up a copy and read a story that will have you smiling when it’s finished – we all deserve great reads like this!

Boxcar Kid by Norma Charles is a new young adult/tween novel about family life during the Westward expansion in Canada. Set at Fraser Mills, a lumber mill in British Columbia, in 1909, Boxcar Kid follows Luc and the Godin starting with their arrival from Quebec. While the novel is written as fiction, the location is real, and the situation could really have happened. Coquitlam, British Columbia grew rapidly in 1909-1910 when French loggers from Quebec moved west to work for Fraser Mills and the growing logging industry.

Luc is the thirteen year old oldest child in the Godin family in Boxcar Kid. Luc has a mother, a father, a twelve year old sister Rita, a five year old sister Clara, and a baby brother named Joseph. We soon realize that there was an older son, Leo, who died in an accident within the previous year. The entire family is excited about the move to Fraser Mills, and eager to see the new home that was built for them by the loggers. However, upon their arrival they learn that the homes were not built, and that the four families that moved to the mill will be sharing an empty boxcar in place of a home.

Norma Charles has a wonderful skill for creating characters – each of the main characters jumps off the page, pulling the reader into the story. Facts merge with fiction as we learn about horse care, doctors, schooling, and the object of Luc’s fascination – bicycles! At the beginning of Boxcar Kid, Luc feels worthless – he is nervous around horses after the accident that killed his brother, and his younger sister happily takes his place working with their father. Luc helps a bit with the younger children, but finds himself helping new arrivals, translating between French and English. His academic skills are soon a boon, and a chance for him to help his family and himself.

The world of a lumber mill was completely foreign to me, as was the history of westward expansion in Canada. In Boxcar Kid, Norma Charles does an amazing job of intertwining a wonderful coming-of-age story with a unique historical background. As with Valerie Sherrard’s Three Million Acres of Flame, the story and the characters pull the reader in, and the history lesson sneaks in unexpectedly! Luc, his family, and his friends are wonderful characters – no cardboard cut-outs or stereotypical characters. It feels as if we are peeking through time into the lives of people almost 100 years ago; we see the prejudices against the Chinese, bicycles, and the difficulty of a language barrier that crops up even when moving within the same country.

I loved Boxcar Kid, and recommend it to the 9+ age group of tweens and Young Adult. Parents should know that there is a little flirting, but nothing beyond that. There is some discussion of death, as well as accidents. That said, there is very little violence overall. This is a great read to reinforce the value of family, of being confident in yourself, and in learning some history, too! Boxcar Kid is a wonderful, quick read that kids will enjoy and that can spark some great discussions, too.

This book was received from the publisher for review

Demon Envy is author Erin Lynn’s first foray into the Young Adult genre. Writing as Erin McCarthy, she has created some wonderful paranormal novels with romance, including Sucker Bet which we reviewed here. Demon Envy is just as well-written and fascinating as the adult novels, but with age-appropriate themes and activities. The stage is set when sixteen year old Kenzie Sutcliffe accidentally drops some of her prescription acne cream down the shower drain, and it opens up a portal to hell. Specifically a portal to one of hell’s prisons, and a prisoner escapes – appearing in her shower as she’s washing her face!

After Kenzie freaks out, she and the demon Levi (yes, his name is an anagram of evil) negotiate an understanding. Levi will stay at the Sutcliffe home and go to school with Kenzie, and he and Kenzie will work together to close the portal before another prisoner or a guard comes through the shower portal. Levi works some demon magic to get Kenzie’s parents OK with the plan, and to make sure he can go to school despite having no ID or transfer records. Why does he want to go to school? Levi is an Envy demon, and he feeds off the jealousy of humans; high schools make for great eating for an envy demon!

There’s a knack for writing for the Young Adult market, and it isn’t just in reworking a plot so that it doesn’t cross into inappropriate behavior for the under 18 set. Some authors can’t make the switch work, while others manage to be equally successful in both markets. Erin manages to write books in different voices, all of which feel real. Kenzie and her friends act like realistic teens. The parents in Demon Envy are pretty oblivious, but that’s normal for Young Adult novels.

Demon Envy includes several themes that are frequently used in this genre: a girl on the outside of popularity, new kid who becomes popular right away, and the girl has a crush on the popular sports star. However, Erin puts a new spin on them and makes them feel fresh. Adding a demon who feeds on high school jealousies is definitely unique! Plus, each of the characters has their own quirks that make them interesting and fun rather than a cardboard stereotype.

If you’re a teen who wants a new spin on the typical Young Adult read, pick up Demon Envy. If you’re the parent of a teen who likes Young Adult fantasy and the YA version of chick lit, pick up a copy of Demon Envy. If you’re an adult who has loved the many novels by Erin McCarthy, definitely pick up Demon Envy to read her Young Adult writing. No matter why you are picking up Demon Envy, you’ll really enjoy it, and we highly recommend it. This is another book where the only problem is that the next book, Speed Limit Demon won’t be out until November!

The Final Warning: A Maximum Ride Novel is the much-anticipated fourth book in James Patterson’s young adult/tween Maximum Ride series. The series has attracted a large following as it puts the reader into the lives of a flock of six children who have been genetically designed to be 2% bird – they have wings and can fly! Before I launch into a review, NO – this is not going to be the final book. (That was my daughters’ concern when they heard the title.) I reviewed the first three books, and have been excited about this book for the past year. It’s hard for a book to live up to readers’ expectations, but James Patterson has written a fourth book that has no problems living up to the reader’s excitement and enthusiasm; I literally could not put it down, and finished it in one sitting! Keep reading for a sneak preview of Maximum Ride 4 – The Final Warning, without spoilers…

If you haven’t had a chance to read the first three books (or if you didn’t re-read them right before starting The Final Warning), Patterson does a great job of introducing you to the characters without overdoing the explanations. Max (as the narrator and the leader of the flock) catches us up on what the flock has been doing since the end of Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports. Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, Angel, and Total (their talking dog) are planning to testify to Congress about what has happened as they tried to save the world from the School, the Institute, and Itex, the company which controlled everything. Once they have spoken with Congress, though, what will happen to them? Do they go to a new school, or is there another mission to save the world?

What will happen next? Well, the book includes a blog post from Fang that discusses that…

“The big news of today is that we’ve all decided to settle down and go to regular school and stuff, and Fox is going to make a reality TV series out of it, called Bird Kids in the House! They’ll have like a hundred cameras all over the lace and they can film Iggy cooking and Angel doing her weird stuff, and Total listening to his iPod.
They can film Max leading.
Nah, I’m just kidding. No reality series. Our lives are probably a little too real for most people, if you know what I’m saying. … We’re not sure what’s going to happen next.”

Of course, the the Voice in Max’s head leads the flock to find a new way to save the world after their defeat of Itex. Max and the gang might be tired of cold weather, in The Final Warning they learn that sometimes you have to suffer for a cause. The flock goes to Antarctica to study the effects of global warming, and the cuteness of penguins. Like any other 6 year old girl, Angel wants to adopt a baby penguin… This is a perfect example of the wonders of James Patterson’s writing; he has created 6 human-avian kids, and while they have extra strength, speed, and some special skills, they are still kids. Nudge chatters endlessly like a certain child in my house, Gazzy and Iggy conspire on practical jokes and explosions, and there’s the growing tension between Fang and Max who have grown up together, and now at 14 are experiencing attraction to each other.

While reading Maximum Ride series, readers are instantly transported into the world of the flock. Part of the reason the reader is sucked in so quickly is that the story is told in the first person, from Max’s perspective. Add in Fang’s blog and Patterson’s skill in creating characters and situations, and you have characters who feel incredibly real and that everyone will love. Patterson was brilliant in creating kids who can fly – who hasn’t wanted to fly? As soon as I started reading the series, I couldn’t read it fast enough. Now that I’m sharing the series with my kids (9, 7, 4), and they are begging for “just one more chapter” constantly. We’re torn between savoring these experiences we’re sharing with the flock and wanting to know what happens next!

If you are a reluctant reader, or you’re the parent of a reluctant reader, pick up the Maximum Ride series, and pre-order The Final Warning. It’s impossible to stop reading once you’ve started reading about Max and the flock. There’s a fine line for an author to walk when dealing with a “cause” – in The Final Warning Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel are saving the world in a very different way than in the earlier books. This time they are trying to defeat the evil scientists, but also let the world know about global warming. Patterson does a great job of integrating characters, plot, excitement, and a cause in The Final Warning, and I hope it helps kids pay more attention to their world.

I highly recommend The Final Warning for any reader age 10+, and kids younger than that will enjoy The Final Warning and Maximum Ride series as a read-aloud book; the chapters are only a few pages each, which makes it very easy to cave in to the “just one more chapter!” request! Parents should be aware that there is quite a bit of violence, though the flock only acts in self-defense. If you’re an adult, don’t dismiss these out-of-hand as kid’s books. Just like some other young adult series, these are books that can be enjoyed by people of any age. In fact, The Final Warning and the earlier books are great books to read with your child and discuss together. If you like science or fantasy, flying kids or evil corporations, everyone will find something to love in The Final Warning!

Check out my review of the first three books as well. This book was received from the publisher for review

Three Million Acres of Flame is the latest Young Adult novel by Canadian author Valerie Sherrard. She has written several other novels for this age range, including Speechless, which we really enjoyed and reviewed here. It’s always wonderful to have a chance to read and review a second book by an author. This time Sherrard has created a fictionalized story that commemorates a part of Canadian history that is often overlooked – the Great Miramichi Fire of 1825. She participated in an interview about the fire, as a part of her book tour. Using a time of crisis and tragedy as a backdrop, Sherrard paints a portrait of a family coping with both big and small problems.

Valerie Sherrard writes some details of the fire in the Author’s note:

The Miramichi Fire took lives [more than 160]. (Among them, a number of my ancestors.) By the time it had run its deadly course, it had burned one fifth of the province – more than three million acres of land. It destroyed buildings, possessions, livestock, and provisions. It left many facing the winter ahead both homeless and impoverished.

The rest of the author note describes in greater detail the facts of the fire and its aftermath. The fictionalized account of the Haverill/Drummond family in Three Million Acres of Flame follows the events of the Miramichi Fire as they really happened, with suspense, fascinating details, and a tender feeling for characters.

At first, the Haverill/Drummond family seems like many families in the 1800s. A widower with a son and a daughter marries a widow with one son, and they try to blend the two families together. Skye is still mourning her mother’s death, feeling that her father married again too quickly. While Skye feels a close bond with her brother Tavish and her father, she wants nothing to do with her new step-mother and new brother Stewart. Skye and her brothers feel like authentic teens – complaining about each other and their parents, teasing, and feeling as if they are the only blended family in the world. Skye goes to school, chatters with her friends about her problems with her step-mother and Stewart, and then does the chores that are needed on a farm. These are warm, normal characters with whom you can easily relate.

The first few chapters lay the groundwork for the rest of Three Million Acres of Flame, molding the characters into unique individuals with their own strengths and before the fire comes. Sherrard helps us understand the world of 1825 – class differences, chores, church, and the town of Newcastle in general. As time passes, Skye starts to grudgingly accept her step-mother and enjoy the warmth and freedom of August. There are day-to-day problems, such as her sadness that her Uncle William (her late mother’s brother) is moving out of their home to work in a logging camp, Tavish developing a crush, and her step-mother is expecting a baby.

Everything changes on October 7, 1825. The dry weather and heat had created the perfect environment for a fire, and the entire population of Newcastle flees from the fire into the Miramichi River that separates their town from neighboring Chatham. Chaos breaks out as separated family members try to find each other, and townsfolk walk the fine line between being in the river deep enough to escape from the flames, but not so deep that you would drown.

Skye’s heart had just started to heal from her mother’s death, and now she has to deal with the deaths of people close to her and the anxiety of not knowing the fate of others. Sherrard writes the novel using the third person, so we can see the aftermath of the fire from Skye’s perspective, as well as her brothers’ perspectives. Once the flames are gone, the inhabitants of Newcastle need to cope with finding places to live and food to eat for the upcoming winter. Sherrard’s storytelling ability is amazing, bringing me to tears several times as I read about the fates of the townspeople and the hardships they had to endure. My heart swelled, though, as I read about the generosity of other Canadians and the townspeople helping each other.

Three Million Acres of Flame is a multi-faceted, intense read. While at first glance it looks like a “disaster book”, it really tells the story of a “normal” family living through extraordinary times. Sherrard doesn’t make her characters infallable, instead she breathes life into them as she shows Skye’s jealous streak, Tavish’s tenderness, and Stewart’s propensity for teasing as we follow a year of their lives. Using strong female and male characters to drive the story, the reader ends up learning about a compelling time in history as well as becoming invested in what happens next for each of the characters. It felt like I had walked into the 1800’s and visited with friends.

I highly recommend Three Million Acres of Flame for the young adult audience (boys and girls), as well as for adults. There are some graphic descriptions of the aftermath of the fire, so I would not suggest it for tweens. While parts of the book are quite sad, this is not a depressing book at all. Valerie Sherrard has done fantastic work with this engrossing novel, it was very difficult to put down!

This book was received from the publisher for review

I was excited to receive The Law of Three: A Sarah Martin Mystery, a new young adult novel by Caroline Rennie Pattison. I have always enjoyed mysteries, and amassed a large collection of Trixie Belden mysteries as a kid I was loathe to give up. I nostalgically read all the Encyclopedia Brown books to my daughters, and one or two Nancy Drews. As I was reading them, though, I noticed that so much was out of date: the expectations of girls/young women, the freedoms allowed children, technology, and the language used in the stories. I had to stop periodically and edit or explain the content of the book. I was looking for a mystery aimed at the tween/young adult age that was current.

I found a wonderful modern-day mystery in The Law of Three. Sarah Martin is our strong-willed, lively narrator and the daughter of a police detective in the small town of Muskoka, Ontario. She’s a newcomer (her family moved to the town in her first book – The Whole, Entire, Complete Truth: A Sarah Martin Mystery), and is still trying to find her place in the high school. She has a slightly older brother, some new friends, and is learning who everyone is in town and in her classes. Pattison writes characters who sound just like real teenagers, without making you squirm at your own memories of that age. As an added bonus, the parents aren’t perfect or stereotyped either!

Mysteries told in the first person have an added dose of realism, it feels as if we are observing what’s happening, and picking up the clues beside our 9th grade detective. Pattison has written the book so it is read as entries from Sarah’s detective journal, complete with dates and locations! The storyline of The Law of Three starts when Sarah has to pick up some dropped books in the hall, a girl trips over her, and then threatens her. Sarah soon finds out that Garnet Hopper (as well as her brother Byron and her parents) are the focus of a myriad of rumors – did Garnet drown another teenager two years ago? What is the secret about their family: Do they curse people? Are they in the Mafia? Witness protection plan? Devil-worshippers? Sarah wants to find out, and starts using her detective skills to learn the truth.

As Sarah tries to find out what is going on with the Hopper family, she unexpectedly makes a new friend, has her current friends turn their backs on her (for a short time), finds out about the Wiccan religion, and tries to help locate a missing teenager. The themes in The Law of Three are more timely than in older mysteries – religious tolerance and the world of runaways and abductions are very different now. I was very impressed at how well-researched the novel was, and the way that Pattison shares that information with the reader without it sounding dry; we read Sarah’s notes after she’s researched something, complete with her thoughts on the topics.
Pattison has created a really unique character in Sarah: she jumps to conclusions, but also looks up everything online, and she has a passion for discovering the truth. I really enjoyed the character of Sarah, while she has her faults, she is a very strong girl, and one who pushes against peer pressure. The secondary characters are also very well-rounded, with each one having unique traits. Additionally, while Sarah’s father is a police detective, he doesn’t share confidential information about cases with her, and he has a very realistic feel. I kept giggling at the antics of Sarah’s mother’s new pet – a pot-bellied pig named Amber, a choice that sets her mom apart from any other mom I’ve read in this genre!

The Law of Three was hard to put down and incredibly engrossing (I finished it in a day), plus it had a mystery that kept me thinking until the end of the story. Residents of small towns are often distrustful of someone who is different, and that feeling is magnified for the Hoppers. So much of the novel felt real, and perhaps some of that is because Pattison lives in the real Muskoka, Ontario. She has a wonderful touch writing teenagers that sound like real teenagers, not like TV characters or bland stereotypes – everyone has a depth to them. The world inside Muskoka high school also rings true, from cliques to Sarah’s problems understanding Geography.

It takes a deft writer to make a book feel real and enticing, and Pattison has accomplished that in The Law of Three. I recommend it for the 10-15 age range, with the note that there is some discussion of kissing and crushes. If you have boys, don’t automatically rule this out – several of the important characters are boys, and the main character is a very strong girl, The Law of Three should appeal to both genders. This is a book that’s going on my shelf for my girls; it’s not being loaned out!

This book was received from the publisher for review

The fantasy young adult/tween market is growing, as are the number of books with female main characters. I was very happy to see that The Unwritten Girl and Fathom Five have a female main character, and her best friend is a boy, a combination with cross-gender appeal. James Bow has managed to combine real life as a tween/young adult with fantasy in a way that brings both worlds to life. The newly released Fathom Five and its precursor The Unwritten Girl mix life in a small Canadian town with travel through alternate worlds. Fathom Five can stand on its own, but The Unwritten Girl is a novel that deserves some attention, too.

James Bow’s first book, The Unwritten Girl, introduces us to 12 year old Rosemary, who has lived her whole life in Clarksbury, but yet never felt like she fit in. 12 year old Peter is the “new kid” in the small town, and has the added oddity of being an orphan who lives with his uncle. Rosemary and Peter are drawn together at first because of their shared sense of not belonging. However, when Rosemary’s brother Theo comes back from college unresponsive to anything other than a specific book, they join together to return him to himself.

Theo has had mental illness issues in the past, but his doctors can’t figure out what is happening now. It isn’t until Rosemary looks at the book he’s holding that she figures out what she must do. Rosemary and Peter are pulled into a world of the written word, where A Midsummer Night’s Dream’s Puck guides them through challenges and The Land of Fiction, which is surrounded by the Sea of Ink. The idea of traveling through the world of books reminds me a bit of The Phantom Tollbooth, but James Bow takes us on a very different journey. Peter and Rosemary encounter several surprising situations, have their pre-conceptions challenged, and are tested in ways that help them build character traits that will help them back at home as well. The story and the characters kept me turning pages, anxious to see what happened next!

Fathom Five is the second in the The Unwritten Books, but it stands alone while inviting you to read its predecessor. Peter and Rosemary are now 15, and life is less simple than it was 3 years before. James does a fabulous job of showing the change between age 12 and age 15, and what high school is really like in a small town. The secondary characters have mellowed from the middle school grades, and Peter and Rosemary’s academic strengths are valued rather than bullied. Peter becomes very distracted and unable to concentrate all of a sudden, which leads to a lot of gossip conversation among the teachers.

Peter’s babysitter, Fiona, has found him again, 6 years after his parents’ death. She claims he’s a changeling, a siren child left with his parents when they had a stillbirth. These claims are contributing to his distraction, especially because he feels he has no one in whom he can confide – his uncle and sole family member is away on business. Peter is also distracted by his change in feelings about Rosemary from platonic to romantic, and his worries over her response when he kisses her.

Rosemary, meanwhile, reads just like a 15 year old girl should – she’s worried about Peter’s lack of concentration, and she’s over-thinking everything. She is conflicted about moving from friends to boyfriend/girlfriend, and part of her seems to wish for the simpler days a few years before. I’ve rarely seen a man write the character of a teenage girl this well – James has really brought Rosemary to life along with Peter!

Fiona is trying to convince Peter that it’s time to come home to his siren family, and leave the world of Clarksbury behind. Rosemary is trying to convince Peter that Fiona is wrong, but will Peter listen to her or to Fiona? Is there a secret about why Fiona’s words have so much of an effect on Peter, or is it simply because he is wishing for a family like Rosemary’s? Most importantly, is the world of the sirens really where Peter belongs? If not, can Rosemary help him discover the truth?

The worlds in The Unwritten Books are thoughtfully put together. Rosemary and Peter are multi-faceted, and while the secondary characters aren’t seen often, they aren’t stereotypes, either. James has created unique worlds for Rosemary and Peter to visit in each novel, but they learn important things about themselves each time, and those character traits will serve them well back at home. While I really enjoy the incredible depth and detail of the fantasy world, I also appreciate the work James has done to make life in Clarksbury feel real as well. There aren’t many writers who can move characters between the real world and the fantastic with such grace.

I highly recommend James Bow’s The Unwritten Books. Both The Unwritten Girl and Fathom Five are wonderful Young Adult fantasy novels, and would be attractive to both boys and girls. The fantasy inside James Bow’s novels aren’t the type of fantasy that has received a lot of movie attention of late, so teens and tweens who say “I don’t like fantasy” should like these! If you’re an adult, don’t pass these up because they’re labeled Young Adult. You can always buy and read them, then donate them to the Young Adult section of the library!

These books were received from the author for review.