Showing posts with label teen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teen. Show all posts

10/07/2011

Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace (Jennifer Scales, Book 1) Review

Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace (Jennifer Scales, Book 1)
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I love MaryJanice Davidson and devour all of her books. I looked forward to giving Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace a whirl. I loved The Adventures of the Teen Furies and looked forward to reading another one of her Young Adult efforts. This time Davidson teams up with her husband, Anthony Alongi, and creates a spanking new YA fantasy series. Even though Jennifer Scales is a sweet, fun introduction to a series, I was not as riveted with this effort as I was with Teen Furies. Jennifer Scales's growing pains are tougher than the rest of the fourteen-year-olds out there. After all, she doesn't just have to deal with puberty, boys, friends and other teen conundrums, she also has to deal with the fact that she is a weredragon who shifts to her dragon form during the crescent moon. Her parents had kept the secret until she began to feel changes within her. She developed her dragon form and other abilities at a younger age than most weredragons. Also, she looks different from other dragons. Could the fact that her mother is human be the reason for this? As her father and grandfather teach her how to hunt for prey and fly using her dragon wings, she tries to adjust with her unconventional life, but things get tougher when she learns that there are enemies who want to destroy the dragons...
I like how realistic Jennifer's reaction to being a weredragon is. She has a difficult time adjusting to her new lifestyle and is refreshing to see that she does not accept things from one chapter to the next. Her relationships with her high school friends suffer as a result and her school days could well be over. I liked the scenes centered on her interactions with her grandfather and other teen weredragons. This is an overall nicely done work that has a less abrupt ending than other Davidson efforts. I don't know if this has to do with her collaboration with her husband, but the pace of the story is far better this time around. However, I found myself struggling to finish this book. Perhaps the reason to this is due to the fact that this book is specifically written for very young readers. As an avid Davidson fan, I wanted to give the book a whirl despite knowing that it is written for very young adults. I'll be fair and review it within its genre and say that the novel is wonderful and a great reading investment for young readers. I'll give Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace to my sixteen-year-old niece and hope she will continue to read the future offerings of this series.

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And you thought puberty sucked. Try morphing into a dragon.I knew that at this age I'd be going through a lot of changes-but blue scales? Claws? A snout? Come on! This is ridiculous and just so unfair. And I can't believe my parents waited until the day I turned into a dragon to tell me that I am one-thanks to my dad's side of the family. Believe me, no amount of dieting can stop how big I grow when I turn dragon-and don't get me started on the tail. This dragon thing is going to happen every crescent moon. Can I be any more of a freak? At least I have my grandfather to show me how to get by as a weredragon. It's not easy. And I can't even tell my best friends, because dragons have ancient enemies who want to destroy them. As if my parents, school and the soccer team weren't enough to deal with. Looks like it's up to me to protect the few fellow dragons that are still left or I won't see my next birthday. Forget about blowing out those candles. With this breath, I'll set the whole town on fire...

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7/18/2011

The Dead Girls' Dance (Morganville Vampires, Book 2) Review

The Dead Girls' Dance (Morganville Vampires, Book 2)
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I was lucky enough to pick this up just days after I'd read Glass Houses and had cooled off from facing the unwelcome cliffhanger that topped off what was otherwise a terrific book. As the other reviewers say, this picks up moments later and the action is non-stop until the end -- where we get another cliffhanger, though not QUITE as traumatic. I mean, this one you have to think about for the full scope of the potential trauma to set in.
The characters are getting more dimensional and interesting and the worldbuilding shows how intricate it is, hiding so many mysteries that we want to investigate. I don't usually like vampire novels, but this series has lots of original ideas in it -- and its characters carry them to even higher levels. The cliffhangers are frustrating, but I'm currently writing a series that has its own set so I guess I should welcome this as setting a precedent. Be assured that the basic plot of the book is complete within it; you won't be dissatisfied.
You'll also get some really good scares. Have fun reading it! (And Rachel Caine: WRITE FASTER!!!)

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Claire has her share of challenges. Like being a genius in a school that favors beauty over brains; homicidal girls in her dorm, and finding out that her college town is overrun with the living dead. On the up side, she has a new boyfriend with a vampire-hunting dad. But when a local fraternity throws the Dead Girls' Dance, hell is really going to break loose.

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5/11/2011

Confessions of an Almost-Movie Star (Berkley Jam Books) Review

Confessions of an Almost-Movie Star (Berkley Jam Books)
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"Confessions of an Almost Movie Star" is the first Mary Kennedy book I've read and a definite winner! Ms Kennedy gives readers suspense, romance, humor, and the ability to see the world through a teen's eyes tied up in a glitzy package. As a published author, a former teacher, and a Mom who has devoted a lifetime to encouraging new readers, I found this book to be a delight. No library should be without it. This is a well-written, well-plotted, YA novel that is both timeless and timely. The magic word "Hollywood" was what caught my eye. My 14 year old is both star struck and more interested in chatting on the phone or listening to music than reading for pleasure. I bought the book for her, but read the first two chapters to make certain that it was appropriate. Then I read the third chapter and the fourth. I couldn't put the book down. Best of all, after I finished the novel, my teen read it and loved it. Now she wants to track down other Kennedy books. Don't miss it.
Judith French

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Have you ever dreamed of becoming a movie star? Or visiting a movie set? Or meeting the Sexiest Teen Star in America? Well, now you can! It's all in the pages of Confesssions fo an Almost-Movie Star. What happens when a Hollywood film crew visits a small New England town to shoot a film called Reckless Summer? Take a wild guess. Did you say: excitement? Adventure? Heart-stopping romance? Jealousy? Betrayal? You were so right! Sparks fly off and on the set as Jessie and her friend Tracy solve a mystery, find romance and score fifteen minutes of fame.

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