Lisa here! Welcome to another one of my reviews, but as you can probably tell from the title, this isn’t just any stinkin’ review, no! But instead, I’m reviewing two books in one… that’s a lot of “reviews” in one sentence, but any-who, the books are…

The Darlings Are Forever (Book #1), by Melissa Kantor.

“Jane. Victoria. Natalya. Together, they are the Darlings. Best friends forever. They have matching necklaces, their own table at Ga Ga Noodle, and even a shared motto: “May you always do what you’re afraid of doing.”

When the friends begin freshman year at three different high schools in distant corners of New York City, they promise to live by their motto and stay as close as ever. The Darlings know they can get through anything as long as they have each other. But doing scary new things is a lot easier with your friends beside you. And now that the girls aren’t spending all their time together, everything they took for granted about their friendship starts to feel less certain. They can’t help but wonder, will they really be the Darlings forever?

Now in paperback, this exciting new series by bestselling author Melissa Kantor, The Darlings Are Forever will speak to any girl who has ever had a best friend.”

Jane, Natalya, and Victoria are three best friends, also known as The Darlings, with a motto they each share, “May you do what you are afraid of doing.” Spending almost all of their time together, usually at their own table, at their favorite restaurant Ga Ga Noodles, the girls are worried about starting high school, each at a different school. They promise to make time for one another and never to forget their friendship.

Natalya is accepted into a private school (which her sister also went to), and becomes friends with the most popular girl’s in school, but for all the wrong reasons.

Jane attends a performing arts school, and wants to pursue acting. Until she starts crushing on her director!

And Victoria, who is innocent and perfect in her parents eyes, starts doing things she would never have imagined doing before.

Sticking together through good, and many bads (such as sneaking out to a party, pictures exposed online, and a few other things that could put Victoria’s Dad’s chances of becoming Senator in danger) the girls come out at the end of the tunnel, as best friends, and as the Darlings.

And Darlings In Love (Book #2), also by Melissa Kantor.

“The Darlings have just begun their second semester of ninth grade, and love is in the air.

Victoria: The sweetheart Jack: The irresistible songwriter…but is he writing off Victoria?

Natalya: The overachiever Colin: The perfect match, if only the game were less complicated

Jane: The drama queen Simon: The Greek god… of mixed signals

In the face of both joy and heartbreak, the Darlings know that they’ll always have each other. Boys come and go, but the Darlings are still forever.”

This second book continues with the three best friends. This time, each learns how to love.

Victoria has a boyfriend named Jack (who we meet in the first book) and loves spending every minute with him; things just keep getting better and better. Natalya is starting to crush on her ex-boyfriend Colin (who we also meet in the other book!) when he challenges Natalya to a online chess game. And Jane is dealing with loneliness but meets a cute boy named Simon in the theater.

Things seem to be going great for the Darlings, that is until Valentine’s Day goes wrong for Victoria. Natalya finds out that Colin is hiding something from her, and things may be to good to be true for Jane.

In Darlings in Love, the three girls, learn that boys come and go, but friends last forever.

(*Thanks you Goodreads, and Barnes and Noble, for the book summaries!)

High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the death of his mother, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness. Angry and alone, he takes refuge in his imagination and soon finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld. While his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled into a world that is a strange reflection of his own — populated by heroes and monsters and ruled by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious book, The Book of Lost Things.

Despite having never heard of this title prior to a single recommendation from a trusted book reviewer, I quickly became eager to pick up The Book of Lost Things the moment I heard of its fairy tale elements. Said element proved to be very much present and accounted for, but ultimately it supported an even more engaging and original tale of loss, mourning and coming-of-age.

Known predominantly for his crime fiction, John Connelly effectively created his own fairy tale narrative within this novel and inserted it with a very realistic and very tangible amount of violence, brutality, cynicism and bittersweet truth. While this may deter some readers, and certainly had me feeling incredibly uncomfortable and emotionally drained much of the time, it was ultimately a very effective means of conveying the stark nature and often indirect moral compass of the original fairy tale/folk lore format.

Our twelve year-old protagonist, David, was really put through his paces in this novel; the poor boy had to deal with taunting visions of his dead mother, sudden and unexplained fainting fits that left him bleeding and incoherent, several gruesome and unnerving encounters with a number of truly despicable beings, and the constant threat posed by the Crooked Man (who remains one of the most unforgiving villains I have ever encountered.) David handles all of his challenges with a mix of bravery, recklessness and fear that was very telling and true of his age and upbringing. Additionally, Connelly’s decision to place the fantasy action alongside the ‘real world’ setting of war-time London was also a wise move, with much of David’s home-grown fear of German invasion and destruction feeding into his imaginings.

Although there are not many ‘light’ moments within the novel, and they appear fleetingly, it is important to note the two elements that really made this work enjoyable for me: the twists on known fairy tales, and the sheer love and affection conveyed for the written word and the act of reading. David’s avid love and almost palpable connection to books is evident from the first page, and the sensation this creates forms an active metaphor for the transformative experience of reading, especially at a young age. Also, the inclusion of Connelly’s own retellings of known tales such Snow White are both amusing and unsettling.

While both the US and UK covers for this novel might suggest a middle-grade audience, I would certainly not be recommending it to readers under the age of 15, due to the mature and violent content. However, I do sincerely believe that older readers will find something truly engaging and memorable in David’s fantastical and harrowing journey.

The Book of Lost Things – John Connelly

Atria Books

ISBN – 0743298853

339 pages

November 7th 2006

For those of you who enjoyed the first book in The Sky Chasers series, Glow, the second book will be on the shelves near you soon.

**If you haven’t read Glow, there may be spoilers so I suggest grabbing the book before reading on.**

I jumped at the chance to review Spark and was over the moon to receive the book in the mail. It felt like forever since I’d read Glow but surprisingly the characters were still fresh in my mind and I was back into the rhythm within a few pages.

Here is part of the goodreads.com blurb

Waverly and Kieran are finally reunited on the Empyrean. Kieran has led the boys safely up to this point, and now that the girls are back, their mission seems slightly less impossible: to chase down the New Horizon, and save their parents from the enemy ship. But nothing is truly as it seems…Kieran’s leadership methods have raised Seth’s hackles— and Waverly’s suspicions. Is this really her fiancé? The handsome, loving boy she was torn from just a short time before? More and more, she finds her thoughts aligned with Seth’s. But if Seth is Kieran’s Enemy No. 1, what does that make her?

If Glow can be compared to Lord of the Flies; Spark has every right to be compared to the 1981 Todd Strasser novel, The Wave.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely is the concept we explore through these well-developed characters and heart-wrenching plot lines.

Seth is portrayed as an evil maniac for some of the first book and yet I found myself really being able to sympathize with his plight right until the last page this time.

Amy Kathleen Ryan takes us places where we are looking at our own morals and asking what we would do if placed in a similar situation. To be honest, some parts made me a little uncomfortable on an ethical level, because I couldn’t see myself dealing with situations better than her characters did. The action scenes are fast paced, and unexpected heroism is the call of the day.

I read Spark cover-to-cover in 3 days, though without life getting in the way it would have easily been back on the shelf in 24 hours. Where the third book will lead us I have no idea, but I am on the edge of my seat and you’ll find out why once you own a copy of Spark.

http://www.amykathleenryan.com/spark.php

http://amykathleenryan.blogspot.com.au/

Hardcover, 309 pages

Expected publication: July 17th 2012 by St. Martin’s Griffin ISBN 9780312621 (ISBN13: 0978031262135)

Hello and welcome to my review, please pull up a chair, and enjoy!

Today’s book review is on The Last Echo, by Kimberly Derting. This is the third installment of The Body Finder series, the first being The Body Finder, and second being Desires of the Dead!

“In the end, all that’s left is an Echo.

Before, Violet’s morbid ability to sense the dead led her to uncover dark murders and long-buried secrets in her small town. Now that she’s working with a special investigative team, Violet hopes she can help even more people—whether by saving a life or catching a killer.

Although she’s relieved to finally be honest about what she can do, her instant connection with her mysterious partner, Rafe, is both confusing and unsettling, and their unique bond creates tension with her boyfriend, Jay. When she discovers the body of a college student murdered by “the collector,” Violet refuses to give up on the case. With her own relationship on the line, Violet doesn’t realize that the serial killer is looking to add to his collection and that she may have caught his eye. Will the life Violet has to save be her own?”

I’ve loved this series, the story line, the characters, everything from the start! This series is something new and fresh. I haven’t read anything like it, or anything comparable.

Since The Body Finder, Violet realized her special power, learned how to control it (somewhat), is dating her best friend (Jay), and now is part of a police task force, with others who also have special abilities.

If you haven’t read the series yet, you might be asking yourself, what kind of special power are you talking about, Lisa?

Violet can sense the dead! And looking at someone she can see if that person has ever murdered anyone (including animals).

Becoming part of the police task force, Violet meets other people who have different powers. She meets a boy named Rafe, who Violet soon builds a bond with, causing tension between Violet and her boyfriend Jay. She also deals with cases that seem impossible to solve. Being so closely involved, Violet always gets caught up in the crime.

Becuase I read and enjoyed the first two books in this series, I set extremely high expectations for this third installment, and yet again, Kimberly Derting hits a home run! I wish The Last Echo showed a little bit more of Jay, and the romance between him and Violet, but I still really enjoyed reading about the criminal side.