Title: Broken
Author: Karin Fossum
ISBN: 978-0-1510-1366-1
Story Length: 272 pages
Genre: Adult Literary Fiction

Back Cover of Broken

A woman wakes up in the middle of the night. A strange man is in her bedroom. She lies there in silence, paralyzed with fear.The woman is an author and the man one of her characters, one in a long line that waits in her driveway for the time when she’ll tell their stories. He is so desperate that he has resorted to breaking into her house and demanding that she begin.

He, the author decides, is named Alvar Eide, forty-two years old, single,works in a gallery. He lives a quiet, orderly life and likes it that way—no demands, no unpleasantness. Until one icy winter day when a young drug addict, skinny and fragile, walks into the gallery. Alvar gives her a cup of coffee to warm her up. And then one day she appears on his doorstep.

Three Quick Points About Broken

• Point 1: Where’s the mystery? A quarter of the way through, I realized this wasn’t a traditional whodunit mystery—it wasn’t a traditional mystery in any sense.
• Point 2: It’s about characters under a microscope. Flawed but hauntingly natural characters crafted with aplomb.
• Point 3: Smooth prose and pacing, for a translation. Lost in translation isn’t a cliché for nothing, but if anything was lost in this translation, I didn’t miss it.

Short Synopsis of Broken

A writer agonizing over the line of people waiting to have their stories told is surprised when one evening one of those characters invades her bedroom. After a bit of back and forth, they decide on a name for him—Alvar Eide—and she agrees to start his story. She carved out his life: living alone, working in an art gallery, and shunning basic human interactions until a drug-addicted girl wanders into the gallery, and his life. From time to time, Alvar would stop in on the author to discuss the story, particularly when things weren’t going as he expected.

My Thoughts on Broken

First, I was confused. Then, I was intrigued. Finally, I reflected.

On the cover it says that it’s “a mystery”, and from that I expected something along the lines of a detective in a room with a bunch of people when at some point he would declare that Professor Plum did it in the parlour with a candlestick. But that’s not what I got.

The walls around me dissolved as I drifted into the world the author created. With morbid curiosity (and some sympathy) I watched as Alvar’s world spiraled out of control, all because of one crucial choice he made to help the drug-addicted girl instead of shooing her from the store. When he felt the consequences of that choice—what he thought was an act of kindness backfired—he went to the author and practically asked, “Why hast thou forsaken me?”

Surprising is the author’s answer: she can only write what she observes as she drifts down the river; she does not have as much control over what happens as Alvar thinks. But Alvar believes, since she is the author, she can write it any way she pleases and begs her to write something more suitable to his nature.

This novel is a mind warp. The true mystery is not whodunit, but whatmadewhodoit: whether our actions are the product of fate or free will. Subtle clues were sprinkled throughout to support each theory and to, no doubt, spark discussions.

Although it wasn’t what I expected, I enjoyed it. Broken is a quiet, languid philosophical book for people who enjoy pondering the mysteries of the human condition. What made this novel even more disturbing was how real each character felt, despite having exaggerated personalities. At the end, you may be left wondering whether we are creations of divine inspiration or the puppets of a frustrated novelist.

Rating: Worth Every Penny [TPB][B+] (?)

Title: Still Missing
Author: Chevy Stevens
ISBN: 978-0-3125-9567-8
Story Length: 352
Genre: Adult/Thriller

Back Cover of Still Missing

Eh hem…well…I’m rather embarrassed.

Normally this is where I’d type out what’s written on the back cover of the book, but I can’t because this book is currently on loan to a few people and heaven only knows when I’ll see it again—if ever. (You’ll understand why I say that when you read my thoughts.)

Three Quick Points About Still Missing

• Point 1: Morbidly captivating. This book deals with some strong subject matter, but it’s so captivating you can’t pull your eyes away from it.
• Point 2: An easy writing style. Annie’s words flowed in such a conversational manner that reading from one page to the next was perfectly natural.
• Point 3: Some minor contrivances. There were a few inconsistencies in the story, but in the grand scheme of the novel they were minor.

Short Synopsis of Still Missing

Thirty-two year old realtor, Annie O’Sullivan is kidnapped from an open house and held hostage by a deranged psychopath for a year. Still Missing is where she recounts, through sessions with her therapist, what she went through (rape, beatings, psychological abuse) and the course of the investigation afterward.

My Thoughts on Still Missing

First, this book is graphic. It lays bare everything Annie went through during her captivity. It’s not gratuitous, but it will make you shudder. So fair warning.

With that bit out of the way, let me say that this book was absolutely captivating. I simply could not put it down. I thought I would read a few pages before bed and before I knew it, it was 3AM and I was flipping the last page. And then I just stared at it. My mind was reeling from it.

As a character Annie’s flawed and broken, but not so flawed and broken as to be unlikeable. At one point I remember thinking, This is a person I’d probably be friends with in real life. And the way the story unfolds it’s as if you’re right there with her in the therapist’s office or in the mountain cabin with her captor.

It’s a rare thing when a novel comes along that engages my head (the psychological), my heart (the emotional), and my body (the physical), but Still Missing did. The characters were drawn enough that I kept wondering about their motives and choices and why they made them.

At one point I literally punched the air and screamed, “YES!! Do it again!” (This makes no sense out of context, I realize, but those who’ve read this book should understand where and why such a statement would have been appropriate. Of course, those same readers will probably think I’m a sociopath for actually wanting her to do it again.)

The novel isn’t perfect, though it comes close. I’ll admit there are a few consistency issues and the psychology behind The Freak felt a bit contrived and I won’t even get started on the police procedural section (there’s one scene in particular that I’m on the fence about), and though it seems like a lot, all of those things are forgivable.

As a whole, this book was amazing…so amazing that I’ve loaned it out to several people (all but one finished it in a single day—the other finished it in two—and all of them called me squealing because “OMG!! That book was AWESOME!”) and it’s still making the rounds. It seems the book is receiving quite a bit of hype, but in this case, I believe it’s warranted.

The book can now be purchased from Amazon.com, but if you want to test the waters first, you can actually read the first two chapters for free. Grab the first chapter, in PDF format, from the MacMillan website and read the second chapter at the NYT website.

Rating: Worth Every Penny (?)

Title: The Clearing
Author: Heather Davis
ISBN: 978-0-5472-6367-0
Story Length: 228 pages
Genre: Young Adult Light Paranormal Romance

Back Cover of The Clearing

Every single night that summer I lay awake wishing my life were different. And then one day it was…but not in the way you probably think.

"Different" for Amy was moving from the city to her aunt’s trailer in the country–starting her senior year at a new high school, putting the pain of a broken relationship behind her, starting fresh.

"Different" was Henry, a teenage boy Amy meets in the clearing behind Aunt Mae’s. Henry dresses differently, talks differently, and treats her better than any guy she’s ever known. And she’s starting to fall for him.

But Amy is stunned when she finds out just how different Henry really is. Because on his side of clearing, it’s 1944. By some miracle, Henry and his family are stuck in the past, staving off the tragedy that will strike them in the future. Amy’s crossing over to Henry’s side brings him more happiness than he’s ever known–but her presence also threatens to destroy his safe existence.

In this touching tale about falling in love, finding strength, and having the courage to make your own destiny, two teens living decades apart form a bond that will change their lives forever…and learn that true love can be truly magical

Three Quick Points About The Clearing

• Point 1: Ultra-sweet. This is a book for true romantics at heart.
• Point 2: Melding two generations. Through beautiful prose, Davis paints a lovely portrait of the idyllic life of a bygone generation.
• Point 3: A few tiny holes. Some inconsistencies (and stupidities) pricked tiny holes in an otherwise beautiful story and made me wince.

Short Synopsis of The Clearing

After leaving an abusive relationship, sixteen-year-old Amy moves in with her great-aunt Mae. While in her care, Amy discovers a mist lining the forest and through it a clearing where she meets the eighteen-year-old Henry. Over time, the two fall in love, but there’s one problem: Henry (and his mother and grandfather) are stuck in 1944. It’s then up to the two of them to decide if and how they will be together.

My Thoughts on The Clearing

I hardly know where to begin with this one. The prose was beautiful; I especially love the descriptions of Henry’s side of the mist. I could almost feel the sun on my face and the honey-laden homemade biscuits melting in my mouth. And although the pacing was leisurely, it was so smooth and easy to read that I finished it in a day.

Then there is the romance, which is the cornerstone of the book. Its progression and development was old-school: Heavy on the courting with compliments and consideration. Although it was ultimately Amy’s story, I wanted to jump right in and sure enough, I would have married Henry had he proposed. It was absolutely sweet.

Not only did it show love in a different light than many contemporary young adult books, it inadvertently (and inconspicuously) touched on the topics of faith and purpose. Nothing preachy, but it did a nice job of reminding us that everyone has a purpose and that we are stronger than we often realize.

There were, however, three things that I didn’t care much for:

1. The character development of Jackson. He was made out to be a nice modern boy who was interested in Amy, but there was a scene which brought his chivalry into question along with his intentions with Amy. I wish there was another scene to clear it up.

2. There was a scene where Amy invites her ex-boyfriend—the abusive one—into her home while she was alone. And when a third party arrives, she turns him away so she can once again be alone with the abusive ex-boyfriend. It’s commendable that she wishes to deal with the situation head-on, but how she went about it was idiotic.

3. The ending was far too abrupt. I understood the intended effect, but in a messy situation (which was the entire foundation of the story) it was far too neat.

Although I’m not usually in the habit of saying books need to be longer, in this instance I feel it fits. The above problems certainly could have benefited from a few more scenes to smooth them out. Still, even with those flaws, this was a beautifully told story of love (romantic love, not lust).

Rating: Worth Every Penny [TPB] [B+] (?)

Title: Morpheus Road: The Light
Author: D. J. MacHale
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0438-0
Story Length: 344 pages
Genre: Young Adult/Psychological Horror

Back Cover of Morpheus Road: The Light

It begins with mysterious sounds, a fleeting face outside a window–all things that can be explained away. That is, until he comes face-to-face with a character who only exists on the pages of a sketchbook–a character Marshall himself created.

Marshall is quickly convinced these strange incidents have something to do with his best friend, Cooper, who has gone missing. Together with Cooper’s beautiful but aloof sister, Sydney, Marshall searches for the truth about his friend while ultimately uncovering a nightmare that is bigger and more frightening than he ever could have imagined.

Three Quick Points About Morpheus Road: The Light

• Point 1: More of a creepfest than a gorefest. Although I’d definitely place this book in the horror category, there’s a relatively small amount of blood and guts.
• Point 2: So. Much. Tension. It just didn’t stop. Right when you think all is well–BAM!–something else jumps out at you.
• Point 3: There’s a mystery begging to be solved. Too bad the second book isn’t out yet, because (and I can’t believe I’m going to say this…) OMG I can’t wait for it!

My Thoughts on Morpheus Road: The Light

(Below are my thoughts on the book. If you want a full rundown of the story, you can read the story summary, but be warmed: it includes spoilers.)

I actually kept flipping the last page back and forth hoping there would be more. I was hoping that by some miracle, the last page would transform into the second book in the series so I could continue because there was a huge teaser that left me bug-eyed and slack-jawed. But let me back up.

The story is narrated in Marshall’s own voice. He’s a somewhat idyllic sixteen year old who still plays video games, reads comic books—oops graphic novels, as he would correct—and builds model spaceships. On the surface he was somewhat immature, but it worked for him. He was a good kid through and through, though some would call him a geek through and through.

However, his best friend Cooper is his complete opposite. Cooper is a lady’s man, risk-taker, and borderline bad boy. In the beginning, I didn’t really feel the chemistry between these two characters, but as the story progressed and I witnessed the lengths to which Marshall would go for his friend, it felt more natural.

Then there’s Sydney. Oh, Sydney. I’m used to seeing the angst-ridden and brooding hero in YA literature, but this time it’s an angst-ridden and brooding heroine. Sydney is snarky and unapologetic in her virulence. But as the story progressed, we get to see a different side to her. She truly did evolve as a character and I absolutely love the evolution of her relationship with Marshall. It actually felt like an organic part of the story.

As far as character development goes, this book did an excellent job of making the main characters (Cooper and Sydney) real; they were imperfect and made mistakes and grew from those mistakes, while (most of) the secondary characters, including the villains, had just enough personality to make them entertaining.

Where this book shone, though, was the tension. This isn’t the typical horror that has killer clowns climbing out from under the bed with a scythe to lop off heads. This is the kind of horror that makes you question your own sanity. You’re inside Marshall’s head as he’s experiencing weird happenings—blood that can’t be explained, his character coming to life, the ground opening up and swallowing a VW Beetle—and it doesn’t take long for you to start questioning what’s real and what’s not right along with thim. This book had my heart racing more than a few times.

It’s also fast-paced. There are sections that offer a brief respite, but before you’ve had a chance to fully catch your breath, you’re swept up again. Not only that, this book was actually funny. Even under all the pressure, Marshall still had a sense of humor. Granted, in some of his quips, he makes references to bands, celebrities, and television shows which might be foreign to the younger generation and might date the book in a few years, but it was tastefully done.

I’ll admit there were a few moments where this book slipped into cliché-land, but frankly, it’s more than forgivable. This is one of the better YA horror-thriller-suspense-with-a-dash-of-mystery-thrown-in books I’ve read in a while.

Slightly wild tangent: I have to point out that although this is the first book in a series, it had a complete story in itself with the promise of another, bigger one lurking around the bend. In fact, it was a single sentence in the Epilogue (which I can’t share because it would be a MASSIVE spoiler) that made me ask WTF happened and when is the second book being published?

Lately I’ve been noticing a trend where the first book in a series is basically a prequel with no self-contained story—like a set up where nothing actually happens—and it always irks me when I come across them (am I the only one who’s noticed this and is annoyed by it?), which is why I appreciate this tidbit about Morpheus Road: The Light.

Rating: Worth Every Penny [HC] [B+] (?)

Back Cover of Hush, Hush

For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She’s never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along.

With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora’s not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can’t decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen – and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

Three Quick Points About Hush, Hush

• Point 1: The best kind of bad. The smokin’ hot half-nekkid angel guy on the front cover barely does Patch justice.
• Point 2: Nora disappears in the story. I mean that figuratively, of course. Her personality disappears. Sometimes she felt like a shrinking violet. (Not altogether a bad thing.)
• Point 3: The names made me cross-eyed. OK, some of the character names were so far out there, I had to stop reading, process, shake my head, then continue.

Full Review of Hush, Hush

Before reading the full review, please note that there may be some spoilers. I tried to keep it vague enough not to spoil the entire story, but be warned. If you’d rather not take any chances, skip the synopsis and go straight to the final thoughts.

Hush, Hush Synopsis

One afternoon during biology lab, Nora Grey finds herself being paired up with the new kid, Patch. At first sight, Nora sees her good grades slipping through the cracks because the last thing that appears to be on his mind is schoolwork. But she quickly learns that she has far bigger problems.

Patch is the epitome of bad boy: always dressed from head to toe in black (except when wearing the occasional blue baseball cap), long black hair, black eyes, and hard body. She knows she should stay away from him, but there’s an electric attraction.

It’s not long before Nora suspects she’s being stalked and begins to hear voices in her head that aren’t her own and sees things that feel real, but aren’t. Nora’s world is falling apart all around her and her best friend Vee starts to think she’s a little crazy.

Then the physical attacks start. Someone smashes into her car while driving, people around her begin to get roughed up, and Nora can’t make any sense of it. But she knows who the prime suspect is: Patch.

Soon Nora realizes she’s at the center of a conspiracy of angelic proportions and has the make a sacrifice to save her life.

Final Thoughts On Hush, Hush

Hush, Hush is told from Nora’s first person point of view. The problem I see all too often with this is the narrator becoming too whiny or needy or haughty in the most disenchanting way. That wasn’t a problem here because Nora’s personality slipped into the background so the focus was on the story. The unfortunate side effect was that Nora wasn’t exactly rocking my world as far as characters go.

Vee, Nora’s best friend, and Patch, fallen angel. Now there are two well drawn characters. I found myself wondering what was wrong with Vee half the time and screaming at her to get some sense the other half. Patch was an enigma. A spicy enigma. (By the way, that was a pun. You’ll understand when you see where he works.)

I even loved the waitress and the bag lady who make an appearance in the story while Nora is doing some snooping in Portland. Though minor characters, their personalities were larger than life and each made me laugh. Unfortunately, the same treatment can’t be said for Elliot or Jules. They were all over the place and what made it worse was that both of them were somewhat major players in the story.

As for the story itself, it worked for the most part. In some areas, mainly when we’re getting an education about the angelic hierarchy and angel indiscretions, the story lags. It doesn’t lag for too long and the action picks back up.

There were a couple holes that made me raise an eyebrow and ask, “Why didn’t he/she just __________?” (filling in the blank would equal a spoiler) or “Ski mask, really?!?” (i.e. some of the things that happened were just weird—not creepy or mysterious or spooky weird—plain weird.) Luckily, those holes were relatively tiny and didn’t spoil the overall story for me.

And let’s not get me started on some of the character names…one or two weirdly named characters? No problem, but there has to be a limit.

Everything is eventually resolved and the questions (well, most of them) are wrapped up in the end. A few bits seemed like contrived afterthoughts bordering on cheesy, but again, not badly enough to ruin the story. While I won’t be pining over Patch for years to come, it was certainly an entertaining way to pass an afternoon.

(Oh yeah…that allusion to an “ancient battle” on the back cover? You won’t find anything too epic. No pitchforks or smiting swords or even angel on demon war action. I’m loathe to say it, but think of this more as Twilight with fallen angels instead of vampires.)

(Since I’m reviewing based on the ARC, I’ll snag a final copy sometime today and update if the ending is vastly different from the current version.)

UPDATE: I’ve had an opportunity to get out and about and spotted a copy of Hush, Hush at Sam’s Club. After comparing the ending of the ARC and the final release, I can say that not too much has changed. The final bit of dialog was tweaked and extended by a couple more paragraphs to ratchet up the heat factor and melt the (previous) cheese factor. So, with that said, the review still stands.

Rating: Worth every penny [TPB] [B] (?)

Back Cover of Ruined

Rebecca couldn’t feel more out of place in New Orleans, where she comes to spend the year while her dad is traveling. She’s staying in a creepy old house with her aunt. And at the snooty prep school, the filthy-rich girls treat Rebecca like she’s invisible. Only gorgeous, unavailable Anton Grey seems to give Rebecca the time of day, but she wonders if he’s got a hidden agenda. Then one night, in Lafayette Cemetery, Rebecca makes a friend. Sweet, mysterious Lisette is eager to talk to Rebecca, and to show her the nooks and crannies of the city. There’s just one catch: Lisette is a ghost.

A ghost with a deep, dark secret, and a serious score to settle.

As Rebecca learns more from her ghost friend — and as she slowly learns to trust Anton Grey — she also uncovers startling truths about her own history. Will Rebecca be able to right the wrongs of the past, or has everything been ruined beyond repair?

Three Quick Points About Ruined

• Point 1: Fueled by racial tension. Handled delicately, for the most part, was the issue of race, its intermingling and its consequences.
• Point 2: New Orleans is real. The descriptions were rendered so tangibly that I felt I was in the city itself.
• Point 3: Mystery with a hint of romance. The story, for the most part, is Rebecca unraveling a mystery, but there was a hint of romance.

Full Review of Ruined

Before reading the full review, please note that there may be some spoilers. I tried to keep it vague enough not to spoil the entire story, but be warned. If you’d rather not take any chances, skip the synopsis and go straight to the final thoughts.

Ruined Synopsis

When Rebecca Brown’s father must take an extended business trip to China, she’s sent to New Orleans. While there, she lives with Aunt Claudia, a close friend of her father, and her daughter Aurelia.

Despite the move not being one Rebecca’s eager to make, she tries to make the best of the situation, but it’s not easy. She has to attend a prep school where your class is dependent on your family’s surname and your income bracket.

Unfortunately, Rebecca ends up at the lower end of the scale and on the radar of the higher-ups, Helena Bowman and her ilk. To pour more salt in that wound, Rebecca catches the attention of Anton Grey, a hot guy from St. Simeon that Helena and every other girl at Rebecca’s prep school has been eyeing.

Her only friend (aside from Aurelia) becomes a ghost named Lisette that she meets in the cemetery. As their friendship progresses, a mystery begins to unfold. Rebecca is then charged with discovering the reason that Lisette’s spirit has failed to move on and why only two girls can see her.

Final Thoughts On Ruined

Ruined is three things: 1) a history and cultural lesson; 2) a ghost story with; and 3) a mystery. (I could add a fourth—romance—but it was so light that it really didn’t count.) All of these elements were weaved together so well that I didn’t realize fully what was happening until I finished the book.

Yes I understood that each part was happening individually. I understood that I was learning about New Orleans and its culture, that there was a ghost whose story needed to be told, and a mystery that needed to be solved, but it was done so well that each part sustained the others.

New Orleans was painted so vividly that it became another character unto itself. It was rendered by an author who clearly loves the city.

For the most part, all the characters were nicely developed with only a few areas of contention. Helena Bowen was not nearly mean enough throughout the book to justify what she wants done (along with her mother) toward the end of the story. She comes across as more of a catty teenager with a stick up her butt than a true villainess.

Lisette’s character was delicately drawn despite being a ghost. She was sensitive and confused and frightened. She was a real girl. I especially enjoyed the trek that she and Rebecca make to learn more about Lisette’s history and the other ghosts they encounter. Each one was an individual.

Then there is the mystery surrounding Rebecca, Lisette, and Helena and their families. It’s interesting, and sometimes intense, but there were a few areas and rabbits out of the hats that threw me for a complete loop-de-loop and made me say, “Really?!?” (Yes, out loud.)

The story itself flowed nicely, but there were a few areas that yanked me out of the story altogether—some of the race relations and there seemed to be an agenda for getting teens to volunteer. These, in themselves, are not bad things, it was jarring how they were worked into the story.

Overall, the book was a fun and quick read. There is a dark element, but nothing entirely frightening. A touch of romance is included, but it’s not an overreaching theme. The sex, drugs, and violence are kept to a minimum. (There is one scene toward the end where it gets dicey, but I’ve seen worse watching Supernatural.)

Rating: Worth Every Penny [TBP - B+] (?)

Ruined: A Ghost Story is available at Amazon

Back Cover of Being Dead

They may be dead, but thee certainly not gone. They dance with the living, sleep under your bed, and follow you home from school.

In this deliciously creepy collection of seven stories, Vivian Vande Velde follows the haunted souls of yesterday beyond the grave into our world–a place they just aren’t ready to leave.

Three Quick Points About Being Dead

• Point 1: The cover is creepier than the stories. Of course, that doesn’t mean there isn’t some level of nerve-altering in at least one of the stories.
• Point 2: A mixed bag. A few of the stories seem like incomplete thoughts, but the remainders have the power to make one gasp, laugh, or misty-eyed.
• Point 3: Smooth and fast reads, all. Each story flows from one page to the next making this book an exceptionally fast read.

Full Review of Being Dead

Typically I break my reviews into two parts: synopsis of the entire story and my personal thoughts. Since Being Dead is a short anthology of ghost stories, I decided to offer a brief synopsis followed by commentary for the individual stories. I did my best to avoid major spoilers.

These stories range from mildly creepy to hilarious to poignant, but you’d be hard-pressed to find one which will keep you awake with fright (unless, of course, you allow your imagination full reign of the possibilities).

Drop by Drop, a modern parable, tells the tale of a teenage girl, moving to a rural area with her family, who becomes haunted by a young girl. The build up and tension created in the story is excellent, if not classic and despite anticipating each creepy element, I enjoyed it. However, the climax dropped dead; it was too predictable, but there was a twist (the lesson one should learn).

Dancing With Marjorie’s Ghost is a cautionary tale; woman comes back from grave at the request of her “grieving” husband. Its main tenet is to be careful what you wish for (and watch out for karma). Some aspects of it reminded me of The Monkey’s Paw. Despite its seeming familiarity, it was a simple, quick, and fun read.

Shadow Brother is the story of a family torn apart when the eldest son, Kevin, is drafted for the Vietnam war and dies in battle. Stricken with grief and guilt, his father spirals downhill. Unfortunately, this story fell apart partly because of the characterization—I didn’t believe the relationship between Sarah, Kevin’s younger sister and the story’s narrator, and her cousin Dwight—and because it seemed more like a patchwork quilt than a well-rounded story.

Ghost Story is rather straightforward: Collegians start moving into a haunted house, then quickly move out. That’s the entire story, but it had me chuckling by the end.

For Love of Him had plenty of unrealized potential. It’s about a young man who becomes captivated by the old gravestones of a man and woman who wouldn’t have been much older than him when they died. His obsession takes a near deadly turn, but the intervention of a mysterious (almost) stranger saves him. The atmosphere and backstory had plenty of room for growth, but it was vague in all the wrong places and petered out resulting in a highly predictable ending.

October Chill looks through the eyes of a young girl dying from a brain tumor who meets the ghost of a colonial soldier while working in a recreated colonial village and falls in love. By the end of the story I was wishing it were a full-length novel because I was intrigued by the young man’s story and wanted to see more development between them; it all happened and ended too quickly although the story was certainly enjoyable. More heart-tugging than scary with a bittersweet ending.

Being Dead, the book’s namesake, transpires during the great depression. A sardonic newsboy meets with a good bit of luck moments before his untimely (and surprising) death. Despite being dead, he must find a way to deliver an important message to his mother. The voice and pacing is vastly different from the previous stories. But it was smooth, poignant, and hilarious. The emotions were tangible from anger to frustration and by the end of the story, when the final message is delivered, I was misty-eyed. By far the most balanced and well-written story in the bunch. This story was the book’s saving grace.

Despite not loving every story, Ghost Story, October Chill, and Being Dead certainly made the book a worthwhile read.

Rating: Worth The Price [B-] (?)

(Small note: Had it not been for two of the stories—October Chill and Being Dead—the book would have dropped at least one letter grade.)

Being Dead available from Amazon

Back Cover of A Certain Slant of Light

Someone was looking at me, a disturbing sensation if you’re dead.

In the class of the high school English teacher she has been haunting, Helen feels them: For the first time in 130 years, human eyes are looking at her. They belong to a boy, a boy who has not seemed remarkable until now. And Helen–terrified, but intrigued–is drawn to him. The fact that he is in a body and she is not presents this unlikely couple with their first challenge. But as the lovers struggle to find a way to be together, they begin to discover the secrets of their former lives and of the young people they come to possess.

Three Quick Points About A Certain Slant of Light

• Point 1: Classic voice wrapped in a contemporary setting. It felt more like reading historical literature than contemporary fiction, despite its 21st century setting.
• Point 2: James and Helen (once she gets a body) are bunnies. And I don’t mean cute. I mean they like to get down and dirty. A lot. And passionately.
• Point 3: More questions than answers. After the final page is closed, a lot of questions about the meaning of life and death are still lingering in the air, unanswered.

Full Review of A Certain Slant of Light

Before reading the full review, please note that there may be some spoilers. I tried to keep it vague enough not to spoil the entire story, but be warned. If you’d rather not take any chances, skip the synopsis and go straight to the final thoughts.

A Certain Slant of Light Synopsis

Helen has passed on, but her spirit remains as what she refers to as Light. To sustain her existence, she clings to living hosts and follows them about their lives, careful not to drift too far away.

Through her current host, a modern high school English professor, she meets James. He is also Light, but inhabiting the body of Billy Blake. At first, Helen is frightened that someone living (Quick) can see her, but soon discovers the true story.

As James and Helen come to know each other, their desire to connect on a physical level grows and they decide Helen needs a body. Both with physical bodies, they proceed to live the lives of their hosts, though they have none of their memories and each one has their own set of problems.

(Billy Blake is from a broken home where his older brother Mitch is his caretaker and Jenny Thompson lives with extremely religious parents whose world is quietly crumbling.)

Through these physical bodies, both James and Helen are able to figure out what happened to them and ultimately move on. Along the way, however, they make decisions that greatly affect the lives of their individual hosts.

Final Thoughts On A Certain Slant of Light

A Certain Slant of Light reminded me of The Sixth Sense (1999, M. Knight Shyamalan), except told from a ghost’s perspective. And when I closed the book, I realized it was more about how actions can affect others than a straightforward romance.

Using prose and pacing found usually in historical literature, Helen brings us through the story, explaining what it feels like to be Light, how it feels to find love with James, and her struggle with doing the right thing as opposed to following her desires when it comes to the lives of Billy and Jenny.

I didn’t care much for how the love developed between James and Helen; call me cynical, but I don’t entirely buy the love in two days scenario even if they were the only two Light on earth—in that respect, Whitcomb didn’t sell it for me—but I could understand their magnetism.

Plus, there was an undercurrent to the story: how James and Helen’s actions were affecting the lives of Billy and Jenny. Inadvertently, both James and Helen needed to help their hosts, whose souls had vacated their bodies beforehand, in order to free themselves and bring their hosts back to their rightful homes. In essence, James and Helen needed to do what Billy and Jenny could not.

Although Billy’s story was cut off due to perspective, it’s relatively simple to assume that he needed to confront his brother and father in order to move forward in his life. And Jenny needed to confront her parents—more specifically, her mother, and let them know who she was as a person rather than shrinking away into oblivion.

At the end of the book, there are plenty of strings untied, but it’s left up to the reader to tie them. For instance, in the case of Billy and Jenny, they seem to be in one fine mess, however, another way of looking at it would be that Billy and Jenny were drawn together for a deeper reason and they would continue forward, helping each other and possibly finding lasting love.

Also, one wonders about Helen’s first husband. After she was finally able to pass over, she sees James and they are together once again, but it was mentioned she had another husband who she had a child with—was James this husband? Again, a question for the reader to answer.

Finally, there’s plenty of allegory to decipher which brings up questions about the meaning of life and death and even God. Great book to pick up for discussions as there are likely to be many conflicting opinions. However, it’s important that the reader enjoys classic literature on some level, otherwise the motility could seem sluggish. It helps, too, if one is in the right state of mind before reading.

NB: There is some explicit sexual content, though very tastefully done, and some mature subjects. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone under 16—or at least, not mature enough to handle such content.

Rating: Worth every penny [TPB] (?)

A Certain Slant of Light at Amazon

Back Cover of Boy Meets Girl

Meet Kate Mackenzie. She:

• works for the T.O.D. (short for Tyrannical Office Despot, also known as Amy Jenkins, Director of the Human Resources Division at the New York Journal)
• is sleeping on the couch because her boyfriend of ten years refuses to commit
• can’t find an affordable studio apartment anywhere in New York City
• thinks things can’t get any worse.

They can. Because:

• the T.O.D. is making her fire the most popular employee in the paper’s senior staff dining room
• that employee is now suing Kate for wrongful termination, and
• now Kate has to give a deposition in front of Mitch Hertzog, the scion of one of Manhattan’s wealthiest law families, who embraces everything Kate most despises…but also happens to have a nice smile and a killer bod.

The last thing anybody–least of all Kate Mackenzie–expects to find in a legal arbitration is love. But that’s the kidno f thing that can happen when…BOY MEETS GIRL.

Three Quick Points About Boy Meets Girl

• Point 1: Voyeurism on a whole new level. The entire story unfolds via correspondence such as office emails, forms, IMs, phone messages, lists, and journal entries. Very clever.
• Point 2: Where’d the time go? Since the story unfolds via correspondence, it’s difficult (if not completely impossible) to track how much time has passed. That also contributes to the disingenuous evolution of Kate and Mitch’s relationship.
• Point 3: Predictable ending with a nifty twist. This being the type of book that it is, it won’t be a surprise that girl ends up with prince charming, but it’s the twist at the end that makes it worthwhile.

Full Review of Boy Meets Girl

Before reading the full review, please note that there may be some spoilers. I tried to keep it vague enough not to spoil the entire story, but be warned. If you’d rather not take any chances, skip the synopsis and go straight to the final thoughts.

Boy Meets Girl Synopsis

Boy Meets Girl opens with Kate Mackenzie working on a warning letter for an employee named Ida Lopez, the company’s dessert lady, because she sometimes refuses to serve dessert to certain people whom she deems to be undeserving. These people, of course, find it necessary to complain.

Kate, however, does not get a chance to finish this letter of reprimand because Ida decides she will not serve another piece of pie to Stuart Hertzog, part of the company’s legal staff. Stuart happens to be dating Amy Jenkins (aka the Tyrannical Office Despot, Kate’s boss) and he requests that Ida be fired. Wanting to be a good girlfriend, Amy complies and tells Kate to stop working on the letter and terminate Ida.

After Ida is let go, she files suit against the company and names both Amy and Kate as part of the suit. In the course of the suit, Kate meets Mitch Hertzog, who has been assigned to the case because Stuart, his brother, has a conflict of interest (seeing as how it was his fault Ida lost her job in the first place).

Kate expected Mitch to be as shifty as his brother Stuart, but was pleasantly surprised to find out that he was nothing like she expected. Unfortunately, due to one of his chivalrous acts, Kate ends up losing her job. Luckily, with a bit of help from Kate’s friends, he’s able to set things right again and sweep Kate off of her feet.

Final Thoughts On Boy Meets Girl

This book was infectious. I thought I would pick it up to pass a couple hours, but ended up reading it straight through. First, the fact that this book evolves through correspondence and journal entries was clever and well done. There are so many ways I could have seen such a format crashing and burning, but in this story, it worked. One quirk I did happen to catch, however, is that sometimes individual personalities weren’t completely respected.

For instance, Kate often clarifies who she’s talking about by tacking on a fragmented sentence, such as “Mitch, I mean” and as the story continued, I caught other people doing the same thing, even when their previous correspondence wouldn’t have suggested that it wasn’t one of their idiosyncrasies. It didn’t detracted greatly from the story or the reading though.

The handling of Ida was beautifully done (until the end). If you’re just breezing through the book, it would be easy to miss, but aside from making delectable treats, she’s also a bit psychic. And the whole reason Kate and Mitch were able to find each other was because of Ida. Another clever aspect of the book was the recipes sprinkled throughout. I haven’t tried any of them yet, but they actually do look like recipes you can use. My only quarrel was with Ida’s ending. I understand why and was glad for her, but I just didn’t like the how.

But you’re probably wondering about the juicy bits, the actual romance that unfolds through the story. What I liked about this particular romance is that it was cute and seemed like a natural unfolding. What made it unnatural, however, was the lack of time transpiring. Love was declared, but it seems odd considering Kate and Mitch could not have known each other very long—or it just seemed as though it wasn’t very long. In essence, it seemed rushed.

For the most part, each of the characters were very well drawn. What I found surprising (and pleasantly so) was the depth of evil that dwelled within some of the characters’ hearts and that they were rendered without censure onto the page. Kind of like getting to peer in the minds of people when they think no one is looking.

On a final note, this book may cause hysterical laughter.

Rating: Worth Every Penny [TPB] (?)

Get Boy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot at Amazon

Back Cover of The Last Unicorn

The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone…

…so she ventured out from the safety of the enchanted forest on a quest for others of her kind. Joined along the way by the bumbling magician Schmendrick and the indomitable Molly Grue, the unicorn learns all about the joys and sorrows of life and love before meeting her destiny in the castle of the despondent monarch—and confronting the creature that would drive her kind to extinction.

Three Quick Points About The Last Unicorn

• Point 1: Nature plays a large role. The textures, the aromas, and the sounds all center around the things that grow and thrive in nature; shifting from air to sea to fire to earth to metal, and sometimes intermingling.
• Point 2: The unicorn is rather vain, but in such a way that her vanity seems justified. Throughout the text we’re reminded that the unicorn is the most beautiful creature, much of which is her own musing, and when she’s turned human, she’s incredibly distraught because she’s mortal and dying, and therefore no longer beautiful.
• Point 3: This book is a musical without the sheet music. If anyone had any doubts that Mr. Beagle enjoys writing lyrics, hand them this book. Just about everyone sings something at some point, ranging from the silly and nonsensical to the melancholy.

Full Review of The Last Unicorn

Before reading the full review, please note that there may be some spoilers. I tried to keep it vague enough not to spoil the entire story, but be warned. If you’d rather not take any chances, skip the synopsis and go straight to the final thoughts.

The Last Unicorn Synopsis

A unicorn residing in a lilac wood overhears two huntsmen one day discussing the existence of unicorns. When the unicorn learns that she’s the last of her kind, she decides to find out for herself and embarks on a journey to find her kin.

She travels for many days and nights without any sight of other unicorns. When she comes in contact with humans, they all look at her and see a horse. In other words, men have forgotten unicorns and that gives her hope—maybe the unicorns do still exist, but since the men can no longer see them, they assume they are no more.

After meeting a dizzy butterfly, she learns that her hopes were mislaid. In a roundabout way, the butterfly tells her about the Red Bull which drove all the unicorns away. But where? And are they still alive?

Then one night, the unicorn is captured and placed in Mama Fortuna’s traveling sideshow of mystical creatures. However, the animals in the carnival are not what they appear to be, except one (not including the unicorn). While in captivity, the unicorn learns from Mommy Fortuna that King Haggard controls the Red Bull. The unicorn also meets a magician named Schmendrick who later helps set her free. As repayment, he asks to come with her and reluctantly she agrees.

Along the way, Schmendrick is captured by a bungling group of thieves and it’s where he meets Molly Grue. Molly, having seen the unicorn (who helped rescue Schmendrick), basically invites herself on the quest and they continue the journey to find the Red Bull and find out what truly happened to the other unicorns.

After some travel, they come across King Haggard’s domain. It’s fruitless and desolate, but one town is prosperous. In that town, called Hagsgate, they learn the legend and prophecy of King Haggard’s castle.

When they set out from Hagsgate toward the castle, that’s when the Red Bull strikes for the first time. In a fit of panic, Schmendrick summons up his magic and begs it to do as it will and its will was to turn the unicorn into a human girl. The new form allowed the unicorn to continue on to the castle without being further bothered by the bull, since it was only seeking out unicorns.

At the castle, the unicorn is introduced as Lady Amalthea and she quickly steals Prince Lir’s heart. Over time, she begins to forget who she once was and her mission altogether, so when the king confronts her about being a unicorn, and tells her where they are, she truly has no idea what he’s talking about—in fact, she’s trying to avoid it altogether. With time running out, Schmendrick and Molly turn up the heat on their mission.

This all leads to the lair of the Red Bull where Prince Lir and Lady Almathea must fulfill their individual destinies, though heartbreaking.

Final Thoughts On The Last Unicorn

If you have no patience for florid language and sometimes overly abstract descriptions, then this is not the book for you. Mr. Beagle loves his similes and adjectives and adverbs; nearly every sentence is rife with them. In any other story, I’d probably admonish the author, but for The Last Unicorn, it works. It brightened up the narration, even in the dreariest of passages (and there were some dreary passages).

From the very first page, I was sucked into the fairytale, into a completely different world possibly long ago or existing parallel to this one. Who truly knows? What I do know is that I felt as though I were standing right next to the unicorn throughout her entire journey and meeting the same creatures and people that she did and escaping from the same dangers. In other words, the story felt real. Intellectually I knew the story was fiction, but deep inside, in a place that’s usually lost to age, it was completely believable.

Each character was built with a perfect balance of strength and weakness. For instance, the unicorn is vain. In the beginning, the vanity seems justified to an extent, but when she’s transformed into the Lady Amalthea who now has human emotions and desires, that justifiable vanity becomes arrogance, mainly to disguise her fear. Schmendrick was a good-natured bungling wizard who occasionally had an off day. It was the off days that made his character incredibly relatable. And the indomitable Molly Grue, the voice of cool reason and support. Together the characters all complimented each other well.

The story had a nice flow, though I will admit some parts tended to slow down, but it wasn’t so bad that I could put the book down and never want to pick it up again. The opposite, actually. Those sections gave me a breather so I could put the book down for the night get some rest and come back to it another day. Frankly, I was glad that the book took a little longer than usual to read because I wanted to prolong the story. Even when it ended I felt a little sad because I wanted to continue on with each character on their journeys.

Rating: Worth Every Penny (?)

Get The Last Unicorn at Amazon

* I watched the DVD after I finished the book and was surprised at how much was taken out. Despite removing some scenes and changing a few of the characters slightly, the movie still worked and was still as captivating as the first time I watched it.