The House at the End of the Street

The House at the End of the Street
       written by Lily Blake, David Loucka and Jonathan Mostow


Wow....an extremely good and very short read.  If you have a teen  that does NOT like to read...get this book.   If they have a book report or something where they have to read something...this book may actually turn them on to reading.  I read it in one weekend and probably could have read it in about four hours had I been uninterrupted.

Because it's so short, the fact that it was so surprising...had such good twists and turns and also quite a bit of suspense was actually surprising.  I won't do any spoiler alerts so I cannot tell you much but a girl and her single mom move to a new place due to the main character not focusing on school as much as a guy and some illegal substances at their previous residence.  So of course, she immediately gets involved with the town freak the second she moves to this new location.  Bad stuff happened at the house he lives in and she thinks he just needs a break...some friends, AND she thinks he is cute.

Well there really isn't much left to say without giving things away so I'll go on to my rating.  I think Teens who enjoy that kind of fiction will LOVE this book.  Those who don't like to read that much will enjoy it too.  Even adults!  Just don't see the movie first.  It would so ruin it.

Short and sweet, this book gets an overall 4 on my behalf.  The writing wasn't top of the line but with some suspsense it doesn't need to be.  This carried itself without too much character development.  Most of the focus is on our heroin and that s enough.

Read whenever you can and know that this one is a four!!!

Ciao for now!!!

The Plain Truth by Jodi Piccoult

Sorry, the add the link and image button wasn't working so I had to add a different way. I hope it works!



Upon starting this book, I was hooked immediately, wanted to keep reading but I will say there were parts of it that were a bit unbelievable; The book is about a crime that happens in the world of the Amish...so there are crimes that are just against God in the world of the Amish, then there are crimes that are not allowed in the land of the law as well. There are some times when I started to think that Jodi was bringing us into some really forbidden territory but no, she didn't go there (sexual abuse between older brother and younger sister). In other words, my mind was guessing all over the place though I did guess the right answer a few times during the read, but my mind would shy away from that answer and back down a different road thinking that what I read couldn't be the truth.

The part that was unbelievable to me is the actual house arrest part with the lawyer staying on the farm...seriously? Most likely wouldn't happen...so I had to let that go in order to enjoy the read. Let's see...a lot has been going on in my life recently and I finished this book a while ago so am trying to remember all I have to say about it Oh there were other parts of the book that were different...strange...different...and probably not really needed for the storyline so I questioned what the author was doing with the character...maybe just seeing if she COULD write about that type of a character or figure? For those of you that are going to read this...I'm talking about the ice skating sister on the lake. You'll see what I mean. I liked it...a very sad story...a heartfelt glimpse into the mystery of the Amish world as seen by Jodi Piccoult.

I like the way Jodi writes...though this time there were different story line threads that didn't seem to go anywhere...and though they tied up a little at the end...you were still left wondering in some areas.  That's not always a bad thing though for writers to leave you to your imagination.

The premise of the story...there's a baby born...and found in the barn...that had passed away.  According to the Amish...no one was pregnant...but the clues lead to a young unwed Amish girl.  Did she have the baby and then rid herself of the burden so as to try to hide her turning from her faith's rules?  Or did someone else have a baby?  Or did someone else kill the baby?  So many questions.  Plus a lawyer who has to live amongst the Amish...someone typically used to electricity.

It's an enjoyable read...some long shots but easily forgotten...okay when i wrote that...I realized that the lawyer being ordered to live on the farm by the judge really bothers me...so other THAN THAT...I really liked this story.  But then again, I really enjoy stories about the Amish and the Little House on the Prairie way of living.

That's it for now...I will give Jodi Piccoult's The Plain Truth four out of five stars.  I may have to put her books on their own scale according to her style of writing...there are so many!!!

Happy Reading!  Spring...the rainy time of year when you can always curl up with a good book!!!

Best!

50 Shades of Grey by E L James

Fifty Shades of Grey
by EL James
#1 New York Times Bestseller





This book is all the rage.  It's all over the radio and television.  Dr. Oz is talking about it.  The ladies on The View are discussing it.  All the morning show radio hosts are reading it and talking about it and taking calls about it.  So, I work at a University and I happen to be in the bookstore (go figure) and noticed that they had the trilogy there.  So I think I better pick up the first book because not only was it 20% off but I get an extra 10% off as a Staff person.

I am not a wild woman by any means...but I used to be back in the day.  So needless to say I'm not a prude.  The way people were talking about this book though, I thought I was going to be blushing bright red the entire time I was reading.  As always, it's a matter of perspective.  I know people that explore sexuality in different ways, so I'm not easily shocked in areas such as this.  So I considered this book actually a nice tame story in the world of BDSM.

I would definitely expect that anyone reading this book would be 18 years of age or older.  As far as "sex" scenes go, I liked this author's style because there were no heaving bodices or naughty words used for body parts.  Everything was very natural and rated R as opposed to X.  E L James has a very nice way of describing erotic happenings in a way so as not to offend. 

I guess a good way to describe it would be to say it was clean erotica as opposed to nasty dirty erotica.  You didn't feel like you just visited some back door peep show where you paid a dollar to put your eye up to a hole in the wall.  And you didn't feel like you had to hide the book while reading in public...although that may be because of the publicity.  I actually ran into strangers reading the same book at the hair salon...and she didn't blush when I showed her my copy and said "enjoying the book?"  lol...she just laughed.

So it's clean, sensual exploration into a world most don't know a whole lot about but everyone secretly fantasizes about because let's face it, we all want someone else to take control...and who better than a gorgeous rich billionaire with his own jet, helicopter and a guy who wants to buy you an Audi to ensure your safety while driving?  Hey, I'd let a guy like that tie me up any day!!!!  Okay so he also bought her a laptop, blackberry, closet full of clothing with a monthly clothing allowance and was constantly surprising her with things like upgrading her airfare to first class and buying out the seat beside her so she could sit alone.

MY KIND OF MAN!!!!  LOL...okay so the me, the librarian did think Christian Grey was her kind of man...and Ana is a very lucky woman because she's not your typical tall blonde (yet everyone else in the story is including every woman working for Mr. Grey) but he doesn't want them...he wants plain mousy Ana.  It's an erotic spin on Cinderella minus the talking mice but let's throw in some spankings instead.

So her storyline is intriguing (obviously) because there is a lot of sensual scenes.  Characters are all wonderful...quiet Stepdads, loving Mothers, fun, protective roommates, Cinderella (Ana), our heroine and the Princely Christian Grey.

One (important) thing I didn't like about the book is actually the way the author describes conversations...the actual writing of these.  I almost feel her struggle during the conversations...Ana drops her eyes and looks at her hands, Grey closes his eyes, blah blah blah.  But I don't think people are reading the book to find out what these two have to say to each other...so most probably miss that part.  But I AM the Critical Librarian so I have to bring that up, and I do notice those things.

Oh and the ending?  It went from Cinderella happy to Cinderella not happy in about three pages...and I think it happened just to give you an ending that makes you WANT to read book number two.  So will I read book number two?  Yeah probably...but I'm going to take a break.  I feel like the author tried to force me into it...besides...you all know me and I have about four other books going at the same time and I'm WAY behind in my blogs as I have about four or five books at least that I need to blog about.  I don't like to be forced...unless it's Christian Grey doing it, of course.

So for good clean erotica...I give this book five stars...for writing quality...I'm only giving out two and a half stars so Fifty Shades of Grey averages right around three and three quarter stars as the ending felt forced so I had to take a little away for that as well.

I don't think E  L James has to worry though.  The book is hot enough to sell...and selling it is!  I cannot WAIT for the movie...rated X?

That's it for today, Readers!!

TTFN

Fallen by Lauren Kate (Tween and Teen romance novel)

I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore (Lorian Legacies)

Wow!  This book was great.  Another teen book, and I know my son saw the movie but I'm not sure what made me purchase the book and read it.  I guess maybe it was the blurb on the back.  This is a book about nine aliens who look human who have to leave their planet and come to earth.  They each have one person with them to help care for them and keep them safe.  They are children when they reach Earth and go their separate ways.  They have to survive and sooner or later they will start to get their "gifts' when they become teenagers...which are some sort of powers...and they have no idea what their powers might be.  The book focuses on Number Four of the nine.  The reason the number is so important is that the bad aliens who are after these nine have to kill them in order.  The first chapter in the book is very short and basically lets us know that number three is now dead.

So our story starts with Number Four...he and his guardian are leaving (again) and moving to a new location to try and fit in and hide.  So this boy is an alien who has to fit in with humans...he makes friends but can never stay long in any place and he is waiting for some unknown powers to make themselves known to him at any given time.  He has to stay alive...so they can never go after Number Five.

I am going to do something I didn't really want to do in this blog but I have to because it is something I feel people should be aware of always.  My son saw this movie...he is not a reader (which drives me nuts).  He liked the movie a lot and I thought maybe if I tried to put the book around, he would pick it up...but much to my chagrin, he wanted nothing to do with it.  I read the book and absolutely loved it.  I cried and sobbed and could not believe it was filled with such emotion.  I was so attached to John's guardian Henri that I thought my heart would break at the end of the book (can't tell you why, of course).  Character development was great, the fact that these were aliens living among us was believable because they weren't coming in with hostility and tactile warfare.  They are humble and cute.  I grew very attached to these characters.

You have your typical high school issues with bullies and ex-girlfriend/boyfriend anger issues, and there's also a lesson in there about taking the high road and not following the crowd.

I like this book and give it a high five. 

This book is a hidden gem.  It looks like the book a tween would read for action and destruction but it has so much more.  Spread the word!

                                

What are YOU reading????

UP AND COMING REVIEWS AND READS.....

Hi, I just wanted to apologize for sometimes taking so long in between posts and then dumping a bunch on you at once.  Life just gets in the way.  Oh to spend all my time on updating things on the computer, right?

But no, there's parenting and working full time and then, of course, there is the actual reading of the books that I am reviewing.  But that, my friends, is my favorite part!!!!

Currently, I am reading or I have on my list to read, or I am finished reading but have yet to review::::::

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore (read...review almost finished)
Salem's Lot by Stephen King (read...review next in line...an oldie but a goodie!!!!)
The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore (the next in line to the above)
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier (hoping to read it soon)
Tara Road by Maeve Binchy (Just started reading...was in Oprah's Book Club)
Pirate Latitudes and Air Frame and Congo all by Michael Crichton


I will also be picking back up with a few Janet Evanovich's as she is in the high teens with Stephanie Plum and I am on #7 or 8 so I have to catch up!!!!  I also plan on reading a few children's books and I'll get as many teen books in there as I can.  Feel free to read along and also to send suggestions!

For my personal enjoyment, I am rereading some classics like The Swiss Family Robinson (my favorite when I was just a child).  I have no business rating any of the classics of course and will not do so but I will let you know that I am reading them and what I liked and didn't like about them.  Charles Dickens is always a favorite.

I'd love to hear what you are reading as well.

Happy Reading!!!!

Best,
Karen

Kiss the Girls by James Patterson

Kiss The Girls by James Patterson




I got this book at The Salvation Army thrift store in Portsmouth, NH.  Oh and by the way, that place is incredible.  There is an entire media room filled with books.  It's like heaven!!!


But because I got this second hand, I read this one first even though I was supposed to read Along Came a Spider (I think that is the name of the first).  There is a detective, Alex Cross, who lives with his mother and two little girls in Washington, DC.  He is a widower and his whole life and everything he does is overshadowed by the fact that he did lose his wife and he has to ensure he is around to raise those little girls who mean the world to him.


Suddenly his whole family is around because his own niece has been kidnapped from school in North Carolina.  Someone is kidnapping beautiful, smart, talented women.  Someone is collecting these women.  There's another case going on in Los Angeles.  Are the two cases related?  Hmmmmm.


This book is well written.  We know what the kidnapper is doing.  We know that he will kill and has killed.  We know what he is saying to these women.  We are basically in the room with the two of them and witnessing the kidnap victims fear and horror at what they are being forced to succumb to.  But we have no idea who it is...and I don't know about you, but when I was reading this book, I was suspicious of everyone that Alex Cross was in contact with.  Everyone he talked to, everyone he visited, every one who crossed his path.  THAT is the sign of a VERY well written suspense thriller.


Alex Cross is a very likable character.  We feel for him...we want to marry him...and be the mother to his children...so therefore, we do not want anything to happen to him.  That gives the novels a new twist.  We actually feel a heart felt warm kind of attraction to this character.  I think I even wanted Alex Cross to succeed in finding the kidnapper/murderer more than I wanted to save the women.  I guess that is because we know Alex and didn't really get a lot of character building with the victims except for Kate, a special victim in the life of Alex, of course.


So I guess we know the characters we need to know...we actually feel for the main characters and want everything to be okay for them...so as far as character building...I give this book a 4.  Storyline, susapense, thrill ride, it was a pretty good ride...so I give the book a 4.5.  As far as the ending...well I like the fact that you know there's going to be another book.  I did not like the ending as far as what happened between Alex and Kate.  They both seemed to understand why they couldn't be together...but for some reason, I never understood...and still don't.  So I was left feeling like I was missing something.  For that little piece of discomfort/bad taste I was left with, I give it a 3.  The book did translate well into a movie with Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman.  I may have to watch that again now that I've read the book.


Overall the book is good, worth reading...it's an older book so most of us have seen the movie and know how it ends...but lucky me, I fill my head with so many books and movies, I typically do not retain the info for long so the thrill was not lost on me.


I give Kiss the Girls a four out of five star rating.


Happy Reading!!!


Best, 
The Critical Librarian

The Lonely Mile by Allan Leverone

http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Mile-Allan-Leverone/dp/0615547117/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323737715&sr=1-1

The Lonely Mile by Allan Leverone

This book was quite a ride.  It definitely makes you question yet again, getting involved when you see a crime in progress.  Our hero, Bill Ferguson, has no choice but to get involved.

This is a great suspense thriller based on three of the scariest encounters one could have, a serial killer, kidnapped by a human trafficker and someone you should be able to trust turning on you causing the floor to fall out from under your feet at the worst moment in your life.


This book was a ride and a half and I seriously enjoyed every moment of it. Besides the plot, the story, the writing, I also really loved that the chapters are short...and the way that you hear from everyone's point of view. So one chapter from the killer's point of view, one from the captor's point of view, one from the savior's point of view, etc. There are also some mystery points of views in there that leave you guessing throughout the book. I kept saying...okay, this chapter is only a few pages, I'll just read THIS one and then go to the bathroom...or I'll just read this next one and then I'll go do the laundry. LOL.


I also loved the basis for the title "The Lonely Mile". It reminded me a little bit about the speech that Tom Hanks gives in Cast Away after he is rescued and after he see's his girlfriend and realizes she is going to go on with her life the way she has been living it during the four years he has been gone. And he realizes that he has to keep going...no matter what and shares this with his best friend right before he takes off on his road trip to find the Angel Wings woman. The moment that Bill Ferguson discusses his lonely mile with his ex happens before the book takes place but it reminds me of life going on...no matter what...whether you want it to or not.


I cannot give you anymore information on this book because...it's a suspenseful thriller and I am not going to ruin it.  i will say this, I will be purchasing Allan's other books on a regular basis and will follow him as I do Stephen King.  I am not just saying that because I work with his Sister in Law and her kids used to babysit mine either.  LOLOL.


Seriously though, I do rate this book five out of five stars.  I am usually generous because I feel badly rating something badly.  But I am asking myself as I write this if I feel in any way that this book or writing style or anything about it deserves less and I honestly can say no.  


The fact that the chapters are short....wow, that is my favorite writing style.  LOVE LOVE LOVE that...because you can always "just read one more chapter before I go to bed"  LOLOL.


So five stars.  Read it...if you like thrillers...James Patterson, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, etc? Do not hesitate to purchase, borrow, take out from the library, order, download, steal, whatever,  this book.


Okay, I am going to say that I thought I had already posted this review...but when I looked back tonight it seemed to have gone missing so I am posting it again....so I apologize if it's somewhere on my site that I am not seeing.  But the good ones, You have to ensure that the good ones are getting posted




Best,


Critical Librarian

Switched by Amanda Hocking

  Switched by Amanda Hocking


This is going to be a shorter review because it's not a book that needs a real literary review.  The age group for this particular book is probably anywhere from young tween to late teen depending on what genre you enjoy.  I enjoyed it but then again, I would read ANYTHING including Dr. Suess at my age (42)...so you can't go by me. I will also say, I enjoyed it but nothing like Harry Potter or Twilight.  I will never read this series twice and I'm not sure I will even get to the second and third book except for a slight very mild curiosity to find out what the heck happens to this girl and the human boy.

This story follows the typical Harry Potter story line where a "normal" girl who has had somewhat of an unhappy life thus far, finds out she is not really who she thought she was.  The difference in Switched, however, is that I'm not so sure that the new life is better.  She leaves behind people she loves and has to live with some that she doesn't really love.  It is interesting...and oh, she finds out she is...NO, not a Wizard...but a TROLL but a Troll princess which if you have to be a troll you might as well be top of the bloodline, right?...lol...but good thing for her trolls aren't the ugly creatures listening to those billy goats gruff trip trip trapping across that bridge.

Wendy is our main character and she has trouble fitting in anywhere..and she learns about love (Finn)...and this book was developed as part of a Trilogy.  The other two books already had release dates when this one was being advertised at B&N.  You can check out the series at www.trylleseries.com
Trylle is the World of the trolls...but they are Trylle...not troll.


I am not going to rate this one as I do the others because this is more of a fun read.  I don't think parents really need to read it before their child does...I don't think the first book has anything a parent wouldn't want his or her tween exposed to in it.

There's a bit of violence...but nothing very descriptive.  There is your typical prejudice (against humans) but Wendy doesn't fall into the trap because she grew up thinking she was human and was raised by humans...so no big deal.  If you are concerned about violence, you can read the end of the book, the battle scene is at the very end of this book.

This is a book I would let my kids read without worry.  Nothing to take too seriously.  If I had to rate it for adult enjoyment, I might give it a 2.8...I would have given it a higher rating, had I been left on the edge of my seat and was running out to the bookstore today as the second book was released at the end of February.

So I guess that is all I have to say about Switched.  It would probably be a good gift to get the teen who has everything...the first two books and maybe a gift card to purchase the third?

Best,
The Critical Librarian

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

 Wintergirls  by Laurie Halse Anderson

Images provided by Amazon.com (the place to buy books)!!!

Wintergirls was more of a young adult, maybe mid to late teen novel but can also be appreciated by anyone who lived through those years and still recall the hurts and joys and deep heartfelt feelings that every little thing seemed to bring on.

Every one of us remembers high school and how we all made sure we were either perfectly dressed like everyone else, or perfectly dressed like no one else, we all had our body image issues, our hair issues, our clothing issues.  But most of us were lucky to make it through unscathed.  Most of us managed to make it to the point where we became fully functioning adults in the real world and we stopped caring so much about what others thought or about what our bodies were doing.

This book is the story about Lia...whose body image issues and friendship with someone who had similar issues  fed her mind until she became diseases with anorexia.  I won't give too much of the story away but unfortunately, Lia is now alone and has even more to deal with on top of her body image issues and anorexia.  Lia is fresh out of a hospital and living with her Dad and stepmom and half sister.  She is superficially functioning.  She is lying about eating, lying about her weight and fooling her family...but the truth may be that most of them would like to be fooled because this isn't an issue that anyone really wants to deal with.

Here's an excerpt of Laurie Halse Anderson's writing:

         "I pee out the extra water inside me and strip.  I stand five feet, five inches tall, a little shorter than freshman year.  That's when my periods stopped, too.  I pretend to be a fat, healthy teenager.  They pretend to be my parents.  Everything is just fine."  (in the book 'everything just fine' has a line through it as if it was a mistake).
     "I close my eyes.
      As I step on the scale, Jennifer warns Emma about ice cream.
     As I step on the scale, Emma fears vanilla.
     As I step on the scale, Dad swings his racket and scores.
     As I step on the scale, Mom slices open a stranger.
     As I step on the scale, shadows edge closer.
     As I step on the scale, Cassie dreams.
     I open my eyes.  099.00 pounds.  I am officially standing on Goal Number One.
     Ha.
     If my docs knew, they'd bodyslam me back into treatment.  There would be consequences and repercussions because (once again) I broke the rules about the perfect sized Lia.  I am supposed to be as big as they want.  I am supposed to repeat my affirmations like incantations to drive the nasty voices out of my head.  I am supposed to commit to recovery like a nun pledging body and soul in a convent.
     They are morons.  This body has a different metabolism.  This body hates dragging around the chains they warp around it.  Proof?  At 099.00, I think clearer, look better, feel stronger.  When I reach the next goal, it will be all that and more.
     Goal Number Two is 095.00, the perfect point of balance.  At 095.00, I will be pure.  Light enough to walk with my head up, meaty enough to fool everyone.  At 095.00, I will have the strength to stay in control.  I'll stand on the blocks hidden in the toes of my satin ballet slippers, pink ribbons sewn into my calves, and rise above up in the air:  magical.
     At 090.00, I will soar.  that's Goal Number Three.

     Cassie watches, half hidden in the shower curtain.
     "Give it up, " she whispers."

Okay...so great writing technique.  You spend the entire book inside Lia's head which is a scary place to be when you are a person of sound judgement.  It's scary to me as a grown women because so many of our teens today DO think this way and Ms. Anderson does a very good job at giving us the experience of reliving those very scary mixed up teenage hormonal years where our sense of self was mostly in the toilet and was definitely never good enough.

Writing technique, I definitely give this four stars.  I would go with five but there are times when you are in someone else's head that you can become confused and therefore you have to reread what you just read to understand it.  Not a bad thing...just different and some might not enjoy that type of book as it's not an easy breezy read.  Story gets a four, simply because it's sad and tragic...I won't tell you the ending...but the ending is why it is getting a four. :)   I love the story, I love the characters.  I feel Lia's discomfort at being around her Mom.  I feel her aloneness in the book when she is in the house with her stepmom.  Wow, that was a scary place to be as I was there so many years ago.

I will give this only a 3.5 rating for the character development.  Because we are in Lia's head we don't really know what is going on with the other characters.  I guess because of the way the story is told, we really shouldn't know...but I was curious.

Overall, a good read.  I think teenage girls should read this with their Moms reading it as well.  Everyone should know what their daughters may be going through.  So as a reference tool for mother's of teenage girls, I give this a 4 as well.  Obviously not everyone is developing anorexia...but they could be thinking about cutting, or taking drugs, or any number of crutches that are available to today's teens.  Today they are even picking up guns before going to school...

Overall this book gets about a 3.5 - 4.0 star rating.  I go with the lower rating because it's not a book for everyone.  You probably have to ensure your teenager is strong enough to handle a story such as this one.

Best,
the Critical Librarian :)

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

NIGHTSHADE
       by Andrea Cremer


The reason I read this book was as a favor to my friend.  I was told her daughter,who is a 12 year old Tween, is a self proclaimed Nightshade Trilogy fan (there are three books altogether in the series).  The book that she owns is falling apart, literally, pages falling out, etc. as she has read it over and over.  Because I love Twilight and Harry Potter, she thought I might share her daughter's passion for this book or at least her enthusiasm and at the same time she, who does not read much, would know what her daughter was reading and embedding into her brain.  I was disappointed when I found out.

This is the story about a pack of shape shifting teenagers.  They are werewolves by most definitions but they claim to not be werewolves in the story...and it's true that they have control over their shifting...there's no full moon action in this story.  There are actually two different 'packs' (one being the Nightshades) that are supposed to combine on Halloween night through marriage.  Top Dog of one marries top dog of the other so to speak.  You get the distinct impression in the beginning of the book that typically these two clans are not very friendly with one another but both leaders decide to make a good impression on their followers because after all once the marriage takes place in a few weeks then they will have to get along.

Calla is our heroine and Ren is our hero...or is he?  Calla is to marry Ren but a few weeks before a new kid starts at school "Shay" and he causes all kinds of chaos.  He's human (or is he?) and the humans are typically looked down upon...but he's adamant and wants to know Calla a lot better.  So a little bit of a love triangle happens...which is very dangerous because these packs also have adult packs...grownups, adults, parents that all support this marriage and they are very dangerous folks to deal with apparently.  Some of them give you the distinct impression that they are sort of the mafioso of shape shifting.  Anywho, Shay brings up info to Calla that proves that perhaps her pack are not good people (animals) and perhaps she lives a lie and all hell breaks loose on Halloween night (the night of the wedding)...and this is where we leave off and supposedly wait breathless for the next book to come out (NOT ME!!!!).

I am going to be a bit hard on poor Andrea as a writer because I know she has freedom of speech...but so don't I.  This book and definitely geared toward young teenagers and some of the things it entails...lots of lust...although no sex...but there is sex implied...Calla wants it badly from two different men...constantly.  Women are supposed to do what the packleader says no matter what...for instance Calla's mother is actually sort of hit on by the head mafioso guy even though she is, of course, married to Calla's Dad.  Calla tells her mother to not allow it and before we know it, Calla hits the floor because her mother has punched her...yes folks, punched her closed fisted and told her that the women give certain people whatever they want.  REALLY, Andrea????  Aren't we teaching our young tweens the wrong message here?

Another issue I had was that the teens are all around the age of 16 and 17 and some a little younger and they are attending dance clubs and partying at bars where underage drinking is okay with all of their parents.  Yes, it specifically says that in the book...that these packs of wolves can drink whatever they want and do whatever they want despite the fact that they are underage.  YUCK!  Oh yes and Calla makes her first kill...as that is her job...and it doesn't bother her in the least...

What else?  Oh yes...all the humans are lower life forms and are not spoken of and turn their heads and run away...so it's not like Harry Potter when we, as muggles, are happily unaware.  No, there are select kids that go to the same school with these packs and even the teachers let these kids do whatever they want.  There are no consequences for these kids.  They run everything...and I don't like to be considered a lowlife in any book that I read.  I don't mind being a muggle...because there are those that like the muggles and that try to save and protect the muggles...but not these shifters.  We aren't worth the dirt on the bottom of their paws...hmmmmmm...THAT is a thought in itself isn't it?

So no, I will not find out what happens unless I ask my friend's daughter what the outcome is...but I will not waste any more time reading this series.  I had to force my way through this one and kept hoping it would get better somehow!!

I give this book one star and I feel I'm being generous.  I give it that star for the pretty purple on the cover of  the book and also for the character descriptions.  Sorry...Nightshade is usually my type of story but this one is definitely in the toilet of the supernatural life for me.

To each their own.