Divergent by Veronica Roth

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

I finally jumped on the Divergent band wagon, or should I say train since they are highly referenced in the book, and read it.  Also here is a new cover that I really like with Shailene Woodley on it.  I think that she is a great choice to play Tris.  Anyway  I really liked that the setting is Chicago and I knew a lot of the places Ms. Roth talked about.  I like to think I have a great imagination and can create what authors describe but I didn't have to think to hard about the landscape in this book.

With that said Veronica Roth tackles a subject that many have done before her, a dystopian world.  Much like in the Hunger Games you don't know why the world is the way it is, it just is that way.  In Roth's world people are separated into five factions or virtues: Abnegation (The Selfless), Erudite (The Intelligent), Dauntless (The Brave), Amity (The Peaceful), and Candor (The Honest).  You are born into one of the factions and on your sixteenth birthday you are tested to see which faction you should spend the rest of your life in.  But you don't have to go with what the test says, you can choose differently.  For those that are Divergent the test can't determine which faction you should be in.

Beatrice Prior is Abnegation but her test results come back Divergent.  She has never felt selfless enough to stay with her faction so she chooses Dauntless.  Dauntless is a brutal faction that isn't quite what it seems.  There she meets Four and several other people that will become friends and enemies.  Some people in their society are no longer happy with the way things are ran...so of course trouble is coming!

I really enjoyed this book and the twists and turns the author took me on.  I just couldn't help think while reading, especially during the initiation training, how violent some of the scenes were.  Eric, their leader, was one cruel puppy.  I know that I would not have made it in the Dauntless society.  I really don't think I would fit very well into any of the factions but I think that is really the point.  We can have a little of all the virtues.  I am eagerly awaiting the movie which comes out on March 21 and until then I have started reading Insurgent.

Happy Reading!

There's More to Life Than This by Theresa Caputo

Reading Level: Adult Non-Fiction

Submitted by Gerti

Brassy Hicksville-native Theresa Caputo has become famous as the Long Island Medium, and not only has a TV show with that name, but also tours the country giving psychic readings, and was recently in Merrillville doing the same.

I’ll say first that I am a fan of the show, and did want to buy tickets for her performance at the Radisson Star Plaza, but was ultimately unable to do so. I picked up the book as I have always been a believer in “the other side”, but my father’s death last year and the passing of a number of other beloved relatives and friends in 2013 had me searching for a little more confirmation about that.

This book heartily supplies that confirmation for me. Caputo starts the book discussing her early life and how hard it was to make peace and understand the gift of channeling the voices of the departed. It was very believable to me that as a young person, such images and messages would be hard to integrate into her life, even for her family and friends. Finally she meets someone who can help her accept and fine-tune her gift, and then she becomes the Theresa Caputo so many people recognize and love. The book is written in that unmistakable voice of hers and includes moments of her irreverent and unexpected humor as well.

But this book is more than a mere biography, and more than a listing of the successful readings she has had with people. Caputo works to examine larger issues for her readers – why she sees a Christian God when she channels, what happens to children who die, and whether many of us are given signs from beyond that we simply fail to see because they are not what we are expecting.

Even more heartening for people who have lost loved ones, Caputo maintains that those who die (not matter how) are always happy as they wait for the chance to return to earth in another form. This sounds more like Hinduism than it does Catholic doctrine, but Caputo is undeterred. She says family groups tend to go through life cycles together again and again, so in theory my father who passed will be reborn as my grandchild in 20 years or so. The people we loved apparently wait in “heaven” until they find a family they want to reconnect with, and come back to earth to learn a virtue they failed to grasp in their last life.

That is strangely comforting, as is her contention that our pets are also in “heaven”, and that sometimes our pets channel messages from those we love as well, since they are more psychically attuned. Yes, I’ll grant that for those who don’t believe it all sounds a bit mad. But for those of us who want to believe “there is more to life than this” (her title), Caputo’s book hits just the right note, and although I won’t buy a copy (sorry, Theresa!) I recommend those who need comfort after losing a loved one to find it in this book, whether it’s bunk or not.

The Taking by Kimberly Derting

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

Coming April 29, 2014

I was so lucky to get my hands on an advanced e-galley of this book.  I love Kimberly Derting's Body Finder series and this first book in her new series about alien abductions did not disappoint.  I don't want to say too much about the book and give anything away.  Just know I read this in two days.  I couldn't put it down, it was that good.  I can't wait to read the next one!


A flash of white light . . . and then . . . nothing.
 
When sixteen-year-old Kyra Agnew wakes up behind a Dumpster at the Gas 'n' Sip, she has no memory of how she got there. With a terrible headache and a major case of déjà vu, she heads home only to discover that five years have passed . . . yet she hasn't aged a day. 

Everything else about Kyra's old life is different. Her parents are divorced, her boyfriend, Austin, is in college and dating her best friend, and her dad has changed from an uptight neat-freak to a drunken conspiracy theorist who blames her five-year disappearance on little green men. 

Confused and lost, Kyra isn't sure how to move forward unless she uncovers the truth. With Austin gone, she turns to Tyler, Austin's annoying kid brother, who is now seventeen and who she has a sudden undeniable attraction to. As Tyler and Kyra retrace her steps from the fateful night of her disappearance, they discover strange phenomena that no one can explain, and they begin to wonder if Kyra's father is not as crazy as he seems. There are others like her who have been taken . . . and returned. Kyra races to find an explanation and reclaim the life she once had, but what if the life she wants back is not her own?(from http://www.kimberlyderting.com/taking.php)

The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton

Michael Crichton's The Andromeda Strain is an interesting and maybe even thrilling look at the very real and dangerous threat of space-viruses. In the book, the strain is brought back by a secret military test probe and ends up decimating an entire town. The military tries to handle it in the ways they've been trained, but the disease is like none known on earth. It kills by coagulation, and is highly contagious. That's where the Wildfire Team comes in. They were created in case an infection from space was brought back and their mission is to contain and control it. No one took them seriously until now.

In the meantime, an exploration unit Is sent to the infected town to look for survivors. They find only two: an old man and an infant. This only adds to the complexity of the puzzle. Back at the Wildfire facility, which has seven levels, a nuclear device, and tedious sterilization procedures that last for hours, the scientists have isolated the virus. They figure out that it survives without any amino acids, which are essential to all life on earth, and that it spreads as an airborne infection. Then the unthinkable happens- the space virus escapes and contaminates one of the labs. With a scientist trapped inside, all seems lost ... but he doesn't die. It has mutated to a non-harmful state in which it only destroys rubber. With the nuclear device deactivated and the virus contained, all seems well. Three years later, a space mission to Mars in a craft with rubber sealants returns from the atmosphere with 3 dead astronauts.  

When N.A.S.A. is asked about it, the official response is, "it was beyond our control."Not the best book in the world, but it kept me reading. It was one of those books where you wish you
could find more time to read it. An overall classic, a good read, and an interesting look at a very real threat not too far from reality. 

 Submitted by Max 

Shade and Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

Aura has something special planned for her boyfriend's birthday's but before she can give it to him he dies. He's gone, well sort of. Lie everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and talk to ghosts. This mysterious ability had always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she could undo it. But not with Logan's violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Dead Logan is almost as real as alive Logan used to be. Almost.

It doesn't help that Aura's new friend Zachary is so understanding and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit. As Aura's relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura's heart and clues to the secret of the Shift.


Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

Trying to move on after a loved one dies is hard enough but how do you move on when the one that died hasn't moved on. At the end of Shade Logan tries to move on and ends up becoming a Shade. A shade is a spirit that turns dark. Shift starts up with Aura trying to bring Logan back into being a spirit. Which she succeeds. Aura has to face facts. Logan is dead. It's hard having a ghost boyfriend. She's torn between moving on with Zachary and still helping Logan to move on from this world.

This was a great sequel. You learn a lot more to do with the Shift and Aura's mom. I had boy whiplash for a little while though when Dylan got thrown into the mix. I could actually see Aura with him. I'm very fickle at times. Zach shouldn't have went to prom with someone else. But I'm glad she got back on track with Zach.

The third book Shine comes out next May. I can't wait!

Angel Burn by L.A. Weatherly

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

Angel Burn is the first book in a trilogy. This was a fun ride. Willow knows she is different than other girls. It's not just because she has a love for fixing cars. She can see peoples futures just by touching them. She knows that isn't normal. When she does a reading for a girl at school she finds out that she isn't the only abnormal thing out there. Angels are real. They are not angelic. She just happens to be part angel. Soon she finds her herself on the run from killer angels with a gorgeous angel killer named Alex. Nothing is what it seems. Ms. Weatherly takes you on a thrill ride that you don't want to get off of. I'm looking forward to the next one.

Giving Up the Ghost by Sheri Sinykin

Lexile Level: 600

Age Level: 10-14

“Giving Up The Ghost”, written by Sheri Sinykin and published by Peachtree Publishing in 2007, is about a thirteen-year-old girl named Davia who travels with her parents to Louisiana to help great-aunt Mari who is in the process of dying from cancer. Mari lives at Belle Foret, an old plantation home that has been passed down in the family for generations. From the first that Davia arrives there, she thinks the place feels scary. It turns out that there is a ghost named Emilie, a French Creole girl, who is haunting it and that great-aunt Mari can speak with her. Then Davia also finds out that she too can see and speak with Emilie, eventually be-friending her. Meanwhile, even though her great-aunt Mari is sharp-spoken, Davia is becoming close with her as they work together in figuring out how to release Emilie’s ghost from “Belle Foret” before Mari dies. Besides all of this, Davia is also working through the fear of her mother’s cancer returning. This book is a 2009-2010 Young Hoosier winner for grades 6-8. It is basically an emotional novel about overcoming fear. Written in an easy to read manner, I think it is a great engaging story that gives the reader a lot to think about.

Submitted by Karin

River Marked by Patricia Briggs

Reading Level: Adult
(4 out of 5)

River Marked finds Mercy getting married and going on her honeymoon with Adam. Where would a coyote and a werewolf go on a honeymoon, camping of course. But they are not roughing it by any means having borrowed a camper from Uncle Mike and the showers at the campground are nicer than any campground I have been to. But if you follow the Mercy books you know that trouble always seems to find Mercy. Being on her honeymoon is no exception. Lurking in the water is a monster of epic proportions. It is going to take Mercy and some friends to stop the monster in it's tracks. This was another great read by Ms. Briggs. I'm sad that she stated that she will only be writing one book a year now instead of two. Next year a new Alpha and Omega book will come out in January and the year after another Mercy book. I can't wait.

“The Very Little Princess” by Marion Dane Bauer

Ages 9-12, Grades 2-4, 122 pages

“The Very Little Princess” by Marion Dane Bauer, c2010, is about a girl named Zoe who is dropped off by her mother to live with her grandmother because either her mother needs time alone or can’t handle taking care of her. When Zoe’s mother drops her off at her grandmother’s, it is evident that her mother is not close to her grandmother. The communication between her mother and grandmother is tense. Zoe overhears them arguing and suspects it is about her. Only until recently, when she was told she would be going to live with her grandmother, Zoe had never heard of this grandmother or known she had any relatives. It has always been just her and her mom, living in various apartments in Minneapolis. As she is being driven to her grandmother’s, a house in the Minnesota countryside with a green lawn and lilac bushes, she suspects that her current life will possibly come to an end. She doesn’t know for sure though. You don’t know when, if ever, Zoe will go back to live with her mother. While at her grandmother’s, she plays with a dollhouse and a doll named Regina. One day, the doll, a not so very nice princess, comes to life, ordering Zoe around and claiming her as her mother. This takes up most of the story. I didn’t care for this story at all. I didn’t like the tone of voice it was written in. I definitely didn’t like the doll. This doesn’t mean that everyone is going to dislike the story. It is about a topic that perhaps some children have experienced or are experiencing with a parent and may be something they can identify with. It got excellent reviews on Amazon. I have enjoyed other stories by Marion Dane Bauer, such as “The Blue Ghost”.

Submitted by Karin

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

Reading Level: Adult

I haven't read this book but I hope to in the future, once I'm done with all of Diana Palmer's books. From the cover it sounds like a really good book. On Rose Edelstein's ninth birthday she discovers that she has a magical gift. Upon the first bite of her mother's homemade lemon-chocolate cake she discovers that she can taste her mother's emotions in the slice. Her mother's emotions aren't happy ones. Her emotions taste of despair and desperation. From then on food becomes a peril and a threat to Rose. Every food she encounters has an emotional story, not all good. This gift forces Rose to confront the hidden truths about her family. As she grows up she realizes there are some secrets that even her taste buds cannot discern.

As a lover of food I would not want to have that gift. The best tasting food can be made by people who are not happy and eating something laced with despair or rage would ruin my food experience. Although that might help me on my diet :).

This looks good so check it out. If you read it before me let me know what you think of it.

The Lost Saint by Bree Despain

Reading Level: Young Adult
(3/2 out of 5)


Can you keep a secret? You can, good because I have a confession to make. I didn't read this book in it's entirety. The Dark Divine sucked me in and I totally enjoyed it. The Lost Saint did not. I'm not sure if it was Daniel pulling away from Grace or Grace being totally absorbed in wanting to be a super hero. I liked the beginning of the book and the end. I didn't love the end because it leaves you hanging but it kept me interested enough to finish it. So I skimmed the middle. Please don't hate me. I will read the third book because I have to know what happens but I hope it's like the first one where I couldn't put it down.

At the end of the Dark Divine Grace had saved Daniel from his curse, was bitten and infected with the curse by her brother, and her brother ran away. In the Lost Saint you find Grace being trained by Daniel to use her curse for good and not evil. Then she gets a call from her brother warning her that she wasn't safe. She wants to find Jude and make her family whole again but everyone is against that idea. Then Daniel and her father are against her training. So she finds someone who will train her but she slowly starts being taken over by her wolf. It doesn't help that Daniel is pulling away from her. Towards the end of the book you understand why Daniel is pulling away and they both fall into a deadly trap. And then you are left hanging by the ending.

Now I'm not saying you won't love this book because you might. It just wasn't doing it for me. If you have read the book please comment and tell me what you thought of it.

Angel Time by Anne Rice

Reading Level: Adult

An assassin can redeem himself by answering a prayer from the past. He is taken to a city and answers the prayers of a Jewish lady who has lost her daughter. He prevents a riot. He is returned to the present time. We can look forward to another assignment!

Submitted by Rose

Sleepless by Cyn Balog

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

What if I told you Sandmen were real? Every night when you go to bed your personal Sandman comes and seduces you to sleep. I would have to say I need to talk with my Sandman because most nights I toss and turn before I can get comfortable enough to sleep. In Sleepless Eron De Marchelle is a Sandman. Eron was once human and at the age of seventeen he died and was offered to either move on or become a Sandman. After 100 years of service you become human again. I would think that to some that would sound appealing. Eron is in charge of Julia and two others. He has feelings for Julia that a Sandman is forbidden to have. Even after he becomes human he is forbidden from pursuing Julia. But Eron's term of service is almost up. Will he risk everything to try and be with her?

I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read.

The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade

Reading Level: Young Adult
(5 out of 5)

Yes, you read that correctly. 5 out of 5. I LOVED this book. Alona Dare is the popular cheerleader everyone loves to hate. Will Killian is the troubled Goth kid. Did I forget to mention that Alona died and is now a ghost and Will can see and communicate with the dead? Once Alona figures out Will can see her and talk to her she wants answers even if that means talking to a total loser. Will doesn't want anything to do with any ghosts because they have been a pain in his butt since he was little and he especially doesn't want to help high and mighty Alona Dare. But they realize they can help each other and along the way sparks fly, sarcasm flows, and this is just a delicious read.

Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements

Reading Level: Juvenile
(4 out of 5)

Bobby Phillips is a normal teenager until one day he steps out of the shower and he can't see himself. What's a boy to do? He tells his parents, who take a little convincing and then they all agree they can't tell anyone else because Bobby would most likely be carted off and experimented on. So that means no school and no contact with the outside world. Which brings trouble from the school and from Bobby when he doesn't listen and decides to go out and explore. This was a fun read. I would only want to be invisible if I had the power to become visible again but in Bobby's case as the days go by it doesn't seem like that's going to happen.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Reading Level: Adult
(4 out of 5)


It seems like during the summer I don't get as much reading done as I do in the winter. It may be due to the fact that its really nice outside and I haven't quite figured out how I can swim and read at the same time without getting my book soggy. I still love to read I just am not reading at the same pace I do in the winter. While on vacation I decided to try and read The Host by Stephenie Meyer. I say try because I tried when it first came out and I couldn't get past Fords Deep Waters putting Wanderer in Melanie's body. At the time it just wasn't doing it for me and I was surprised because I like this type of story. So on the plane ride to Arizona I cracked open this 619 page book and dove in. I can't say that it really gripped me like Twilight did. When I read Twilight I couldn't put it down. I could put The Host down until I got half way through. Then it sucked me in and I sat reading in my chair at home from 9pm until 4am to finish it. When I got to what I thought was the end I was ready to cry because I had read over 594 pages and the ending was not what I wanted at all. I was ready to boycott anything else Ms. Meyer wrote for the rest of my life BUT she redeemed herself because two blank pages later was the actual ending of the book and I really enjoyed it. Ms. Meyer I really would have hated not ever reading another book you wrote because I love your books and I really liked The Host. Everyday that passes I like it a little more and more.

The Host is a love story that just happens to take place during an alien invasion of earth. Souls, which are centipede looking creatures that get inserted into humans, can't live without a host and have already taken over several planets. They set their sights on Earth because it's beautiful and they believed that they could make humanity better. Slowly over time they invade and when the humans eventually wise up to what is happening its too late. The Souls have taken over and they assign Seekers to find the humans that run. Wanderer is a Soul that had lived on seven planets, which is remarkable for a soul. She is picked to be put in Melanie who is a rebel human. The Seekers hope is that Wanderer can find out where the other humans are hiding. What Wanderer didn't anticipate was that Melanie would stick around in her body. Usually when a Soul was implanted the human it takes over goes away. Melanie is a fighter and she doesn't want to leave her body. At first Melanie and Wanderer are at odds with each other. But after time Melanie shows Wanderer the love she has for her brother Jamie and the love she has for Jared. Wanderer starts to love them as well and they set off to find them. For me that is when all the fun began and the story really sucked me in. After almost dying in the desert Melanie's Uncle Jeb finds them and quickly realizes that Melanie has been taken over because of the silver in the eyes but what he also thinks is that Melanie is still in there. Melanie's Uncle Jeb is a great character that you can't help but fall in love with. The rest of the humans are weary and full of hate because who wouldn't be after having your planet invaded. Jared is livid but doesn't want any harm to come to Melanie's body. Ms. Meyer has really spun an incredible tale full of well developed characters and the culture she came up with for the other planets was just fascinating. In all this is a romance. A romance between Melanie and Jared and Wanderer. Wanderer can't help but love Jared because Melanie and her body loves Jared. But to complicate it further the love triangle becomes a square because Ian loves Wanderer, not Melanie but Wanderer. And Wanderer likes Ian as well. Has any of this caught your interest yet? The ending was really good and even though this is a stand alone book I would have been happy to read more about what happens to Earth, the humans, and the Souls.

Immortal by Gillian Shields

Reading Level: Young Adult
(3 out of 5)

Evie Johnson is sent to Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies when her grandmother is put in a nursing home and her father is in the army. Wyldcliffe is housed in a Gothic mansion on the bleak northern moors, is elite, expensive, and unwelcoming.

When Evie gets to the school she finds that the teaching is strict, the students are snobbish, and the oppressive atmosphere leaves her feeling lonely. Her only lifeline is Sebastian who she meets by chance. Soon she is sneaking out to see him every night but something about him doesn't add up. Evie is haunted by a ghostly girl that looks a lot like her. Evie is slowly drawn into a tangled web of the past and present that she cannot control.

What I liked about this book is that the chapters alternate between Evie and the diary of Agnes. Evie is in the present while Agnes lived in the past. Of course I'm pretty sure there will be a second book because everything doesn't get resolved at the end but I couldn't find any information about a second book.

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

Let me start off by saying that I think I have a knack for picking out really good books that leave you hanging and the next book in the series doesn't come out for months.

The sequel to this book is called Crescendo and won't be out until fall of this year. End of rant :).

This book actually doesn't leave you hanging which is nice. I actually thought it was a stand alone book but when I went on the authors website I found out that there is a sequel.

Nora Grey had a plan and romance was not a part of it. But she meets Patch and she is attracted to him but at the same time he makes her uneasy. She's not sure what emotion to trust. Bizarre things are happening to her and Patch is everywhere she seems to be. Is he responsible? What Nora doesn't know is she is in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those who have fallen and when it comes to choosing sides the wrong choice will cost Nora her life. I really liked this book. It was full of humor, romance, mystery, and danger. I'm looking forward to the next book.

I think this is another very cool cover.

Fallen by Lauren Kate

I love doing this blog. I mean I love to read so why not talk about the books later. What is frustrating about this blog though is I like pictures and sometimes the pictures don't always come out the way I want them to.

Exhibit A:

You can so see me in this picture. I think it looks kind of cool but it takes away from the cover, which I think is awesome. I don't judge books by their cover but it certainly helps when the the covers are cool to look at. I first saw this book in a catalog and what sucked me in at first was the cover. Who's that girl and what's her story? Why is she in the woods all by herself? Then I read what the book is about and I knew I had to read it. I'm glad I did.












This picture is a much better. Not great but better. I have a hard time not getting a glare. Anyway I'll stop focusing on my picture woes now.

Fallen is about Lucinda or Luce for short. She is sent to the Sword and Cross reform school after a bizarre fire that killed her boyfriend left her as a suspect. The first day there she meets Daniel Grigori who is achingly familiar but he claims they have never met before. Daniel frustrates Luce with is hot and cold attitude but she can't seem to stay away from him. Will she believe him when the truth comes out? That's all I'm going to say I don't want to give anything away.

The sequel Torment will be out in September.

Hotter After Midnight and Midnight Sins by Cynthia Eden

Sorry I don't have pictures but I wanted to blog about these books. If you are into paranormal romance that is to hot to handle than Cynthia Eden is an author for you.

Hotter After Midnight features paranormal psychotherapist Emily Drake and Atlanta detective Colin Gyth. Emily treats vampires who are afraid to drink blood, sex demons looking for meaningful relationships, and others that go bump in the night. Colin is a wolf shifter and his boss brings Emily in on a case that isn't human. From the start sparks fly and this is a great read.

The second book in the series is Midnight Sins and features Cara, the sex demon looking for a meaningful relationship from Hotter After Midnight, and detective Todd Brooks, Colin's partner from Hotter After Midnight. In this book another murderer is stalking Atlanta. Todd is convinced that Cara is the killer that they are looking for but after meeting her he's not so sure.