Lily Dale: Awakening by Wendi Corsi Staub

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

What could be worse than getting dumped via text message? Calla thought that was the worst thing that could happen to her but she was wrong. Not long after getting dumped she finds her mother dead. Calla's life as she knew it is over. Her father is a professor and is scheduled to do a sabbatical in California. While her dad is in California getting things ready for them Calla goes to spend the summer with her grandmother Odelia in Lily Dale. To Calla's shock Lily Dale is full of psychics including her grandmother. As Calla gets to know Lily Dale and the people who live there unusual things start happening to her. She starts seeing ghosts and having visions. Is she like her grandmother and will she ever uncover who her mother really was. The only way to uncover family secrets is to stay.

I really liked this book but it read like a first chapter. What I mean by that is it felt like I was only getting the beginning of the story not the middle or the end. That could be because there are three other books that follow. Lily Dale: Believing, Lily Dale: Connecting, and Lily Dale: Discovering. The next two books are out already but Lily Dale: Discovering will be out in October 2009.

I can't wait to start reading the next book.

Nick of Time by Ted Bell

I just read the Young Adult book "Nick of Time" by Ted Bell. I enjoyed it very much and would rate it a 4. The setting is on the coast of England in 1939, the eve of World War II. Nick McIver, a 12 year old boy, and his younger sister Kate help their father who is looking for German U-boat wolf packs that are circling the Channel Islands. The information they provide to Winston Churchill is vital as he tries to warn England of the imminent Nazi invasion. One day Nick discovers an old sea chest, left for him by his ancestor, Captain Nick McIver, asking for help. The chest contains a time machine which Nick uses to return to the year 1805 to help his ancestor and the Admiral Lord Nelson's entire fleet. The Royal Navy is being threatened by the French and the evil pirate Billy Blood. Meanwhile, Nick's sister Kate with the help of two of England's most brilliant detectives, Lord Hawke and Commander Hobbes, tries to stop invading Nazis. An adventure for all ages.

Submitted by Helen Duda

Keeper of Light and Dust by Natasha Mostert

Reading Level: Adult
(3 out of 4)

I liked this book but it seemed like it took me forever to get through it. I would have liked the romance to have been explored more. All in all I'm glad I read it.

Mia Lockhart is a tattoo artist and she practices martial arts. Mia has a secret. She is a Keeper. Keepers are woman who are warriors, healers, and protectors. They have the ability to keep people safe. As Mia practices her craft among the boxers and martial artists of South London, she has no idea that a man who calls himself "Dragonfly" is watching from the shadows.

Adrian Ashton is a brilliant scientist, an expert in the field of biophoton emissions from cells within the human body. He is also a skilled martial artist and a modern-day vampire. With the aid of an ancient Chinese text, he has mastered the art of draining the chi of his opponents and by doing so he kills them but he stays young. Mia is drawn to him but when she finds out he is threatening those she loves she knows she has to stop him.

Fade To Black by Alex Flinn

Reading Level: Young Adult

(4 out of 5)

Fade to Black is told alternately by three voices.

The facts: Alex Crusan is an HIV-positive student, and while he is sitting in his car he is attacked by an unknown assailant wielding a baseball bat. Alex is taken to the hospital with multiple injuries.

The suspect: Clinton Cole was seen by a witness riding his bike around the time and area of the attack. He has harassed Alex at school but he would never do something like that. Would he?

The witness: Daria Bickell never lies. She told the police she saw Clinton do it, so she must be telling the truth. But did she really see Clinton do it?

The victim: After the windshield shattered Alex ducked under the steering wheel. He knows what he saw and must decide what he wants to tell.

I liked this book. The three alternating voices was a nice change in pace and Daria's chapters were done in verse.

Love is Hell by Marr, Westerfeld, Larbalestier, Zevin, and Stolarz

Reading Level: Young Adult

(4 out of 5)

Sometimes I love to read short stories. I like that they are short and to the point. This book has a couple of authors I really like so I had to give it a try. Scott Westerfeld's story Stupid Perfect World was my favorite but they were all good. Gabrielle Zevin's story Fan Fictions was weird even for me and I'm not sure I liked it or not. I'm still rolling it around in my head. The other stories are Sleeping with the Spirit by Laurie Faria Stolarz, Thinner Than Water by Justine Larbalestier, and Love Struck by Melissa Marr.

From the back cover: "In these supernatural stories by five of today's hottest writers love may be twisted and turned around, but it's more potent than ever on its quest to conquer all.

From two students who let the power of attraction guide them to break the hard and fast rules of their world to the girl who falls hard for a good looking ghost with a score to settle, the clever, quirky characters in this exciting collection will break your heart, then leave you believing in love more than ever."

Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Krause

I was walking in the Young Adult section of the library yesterday and I saw this book hanging half off the shelf. I read this book about two years ago. I really liked it even though the ending was not what I was expecting. But sometimes that is a good thing. Then I watched the movie and the ending was the polar opposite of the ending in the book. I loved that. The movie ended the way I thought the book should have ended, so in the end I got the ending I had wanted.


Blood & Chocolate features Vivian Gandillon. She is a werewolf. She falls in love with a human named Aiden. Aiden claims to be fascinated with magic and wolves but will he accept Vivian for who she is? The library owns several copies of the book but unfortunately we don't own the movie. But I highly recommend reading the book first and then watching the movie.

Maverick by Lora Leigh

Reading Level: Adult

(4 out of 5)

Maverick is the second book in the Elite Ops series. The first book is called Wild Card. The Elite Ops team is made up of dead men, men who "died" and restarted their lives with new identities and a score to settle. Micah Sloane was formerly David Abijah. Micah is an Elite Ops agent and his assignment is to keep Risa Clay safe and catch the man who was paid to assassinate her. The same man that had killed his mother and ruined his life. Risa was betrayed eight years ago by her own father and has spent the time since trying to rebuild her life. Micah is posing as her lover but is it really just pretend? Ms. Leigh's books are filled with action, humor, and romance. I can't wait for the next book.