Anyway, after finishing The 5th Wave yesterday, I immediately dove into one of this year’s South Carolina Children’s Book Award nominees, The Adventures of Beanboy by Lisa Harkrader. I had already read a couple of reviews, so I was sort of prepared for a story similar to Diary of a Wimpy Kid or Captain Underpants. In a sense, that’s what I got. But The Adventures of Beanboy, in my opinion, is so much more than I thought it would be. This novel, told through drawings and first person narrative from the perspective of seventh-grader Tucker MacBean, has real heart. This is a book that I will be all-too-happy to share with my students, especially those who love comic books and are looking for a hero they can really relate to.

Tucker MacBean feels like his life is spinning out of control. He’s virtually invisible at school, he rarely sees his mom (who works during the day and attends college at night), he has to take care of his younger brother, Beech, and his dad has packed up and moved to Boston. Tucker is desperate to find a way to make things a little better for everyone…and he may have just come across something that will work. 

Tucker’s favorite comic book, H2O, is holding a contest to see who can come up with H2O’s sidekick. The prize? The new sidekick will be featured in upcoming episodes, and the prize winner will receive a full college scholarship. Pretty great, right? Well, Tucker gets the bright idea to enter the contest…and try to win the scholarship for his mom. Tucker thinks he’s come up with a great idea for a sidekick–Beanboy, a boy who harvests the majestic power of beans–but how can he prove to the contest judges that his creation has the heart of a true hero…and how can Tucker find the hero within himself?

In Tucker’s quest to come up with the perfect comic book sidekick, he’s also facing the scariest girl at Amelia Earhart Middle School, the terrifying Sam Zawicki. Sam seems to delight in being mean to everyone…except Beech, Tucker’s little brother. With him, she’s almost nice, and that small bit of niceness starts to make Tucker think that there may be more to Sam than anyone knows.

Time is running out for Tucker to enter the contest with the power to change his life. Things will get in the way–his run-ins with Sam Zawicki, finding time to work on his entry, coping with a mom who’s never around (but really wants to be) and a special needs brother (who he dearly loves and will do anything for), a school dance, mean girls, and doing the right thing–but Tucker will do everything in his power to not only enter this contest but win. Is H2O’s new sidekick (hopefully) everything he should be? More importantly, what has Tucker learned about himself as he’s struggled to create a hero? Find out when you read Lisa Harkrader’s The Adventures of Beanboy!

As a total comic book nerd, I really enjoyed Tucker MacBean’s story and his journey in creating Beanboy. I think many of my students will feel the same way. Yes, I plan to market it alongside Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Captain Underpants, and even Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder, but I enjoyed Beanboy way more than those other books. I think the story was much better developed, Tucker had to really do some research in creating his character (which will help me in showing students how research can help them in everyday life), and this novel gives just a small glimpse into what goes into the creation of a comic book. It also shows readers just how important it is to look past someone’s appearance and attitude to see the person behind the facade. What they find could surprise them.

For more information about The Adventures of Beanboy and other books by Lisa Harkrader, visit http://www.ldharkrader.com/Home.html. Hopefully, we’ll see more of Tucker MacBean and Beanboy soon!

No one knew what to expect when the Others arrived. It soon became clear what they could expect–the worst.

The first wave knocked out power. The second wave brought massive tsunamis and eliminated all coastal cities. The third wave delivered disease that would wipe out most of who remained. The fourth wave silenced many of the survivors. What will the fifth wave bring?

That’s a question that plagues Cassie, a young girl who has become a warrior to survive. Just a short time ago, her only worries were getting her crush, Ben Parish, to notice her, and getting decent grades. Now, though, she’s lost nearly everything thanks to the Others…aliens who are systematically destroying her home. She doesn’t know why they’ve come–and, at first, she doesn’t really care–but she does know that she must do everything in her power to find the one person she has left. Her little brother, Sammy. But even Cassie isn’t prepared for what–or who–she’ll have to face to get back to her brother. She’ll discover just what she’s willing to do–and who she’s willing to trust–to get back to what really matters to her.

Cassie isn’t the only one asking questions about what the aliens are really after and what they have planned next. A boy nicknamed Zombie is being trained as an alien-killing soldier. He’s not the only one. Kids all over are being gathered and trained to think about nothing but killing. But why? Why kids? When Zombie, who was once a carefree kid with everything going for him, begins to question what’s going on around him, he’ll arrive at some upsetting and game-changing conclusions. It seems that the fifth wave has already begun. Is there any way to stop it…or have the Others already taken too much from humanity for any hope of its survival?

If you’re paranoid like me, The 5th Wave will make you extremely uncomfortable (like all the best books do). This disquieting story, in my opinion, is a much more realistic alien invasion tale than many of the others I’ve read. All that “We Come in Peace” crap is stupid. If aliens really came to Earth, do you really think they’d be friendly or diplomatic? Would we? I don’t think so.

Though The 5th Wave is being marketed as a young adult novel, I actually think the wider appeal will be to adults who have grown up with stories like Invasion of the Body Snatchers,  Alien, Independence Day, District 9, Terminator, and other tales of alien invasions that aren’t even close to the loving E.T.-type stories that give us the warm fuzzies. The 5th Wave is not a happy book, and, since it is the first book in a planned trilogy, even the ending doesn’t really provide a ton of closure…but this book is an amazing work of science fiction and should be experienced by any fans of the genre.

For those that want to know more about this exhilarating book, check out the official website at http://the5thwaveiscoming.com/. The site contains loads of information on the book, including the official Facebook and Twitter pages and several book trailers that totally capture just how intense this book really is. (I’ve embedded one of them below.) If you decide to experience The 5th Wave, I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I did.

Annika Truman’s six-year-old brother, Jeremy, is about to undergo surgery to remove a brain tumor. Annika is desperate to give him hope, so she comes up with a story about a genie who will grant a couple of Jeremy’s wishes–as long as his final wish is to make it through his surgery okay. She thinks that Jeremy will wish for the most sought-after toy in the world, a Teen Robin Hood action figure, which she’s already bought him. Unfortunately, Jeremy has something else in mind. He wants to meet the real Teen Robin Hood…as in the actor who plays the character. What’s Annika to do now? She’ll do just about anything to make Jeremy happy…so she hits the road to track down one of the most popular teen stars in Hollywood.

Apparently, when you’ve got a will of iron and a loyal best friend backing you up, it’s amazingly easy to find a celebrity. Annika and her friend get up to some pretty crazy shenanigans in their quest to find Teen Robin Hood, better known as actor Steve Raleigh. Here’s the kicker:  They succeed.

Annika’s methods aren’t entirely legal, and trouble ensues, but Annika finally gets the chance to ask Steve, who is even more gorgeous than he appears on TV, to help her little brother. All he has to do is take a little time out of his very busy schedule to visit with a sick kid. Happens all the time, right?

But what if Steve says no? What if Annika has spent all this time–time she could have been spending with her little brother–for nothing? And what if Steve agrees to help? What then? Will it be enough to give Jeremy–and, more importantly, Annika–faith that everything will turn out okay? What if this one wish just isn’t enough? Read Just One Wish by Janette Rallison to learn how far one girl will go to bring hope to a situation that is beyond her control.

As I said before, I found this book to be entirely unbelievable…except the end, which was way too believable. If you’re going to give me a story that makes me suspend reality and think that a seventeen-year-old girl could disappear for a weekend–without her parents having a clue what’s going on–to find a popular celebrity and get him to visit her brother, you could at least give me the ending that I want. And what is up with the schmaltzy romance that, in my opinion, is just as unlikely as almost everything else in this book? It just didn’t make sense to me, but maybe that’s because I’m looking at this from an adult perspective. I’m sure teens want to think that simply meeting a favorite celebrity would be enough to make them fall in love. (Okay, okay…I’ll admit that I have a serious crush on Benedict Cumberbatch, and I’m holding onto the hope that he’ll sweep me off my feet one of these days. I’ll get off my high horse now.)

At any rate, this book wasn’t for me. There was very little about it that I thought was realistic. Feel free to disagree, but, as for me, I think I’ll move on to reading about something more likely to happen…like an alien invasion. Peace out.

1. End-of-school-year craziness. Any educators who follow this blog know how insane the end of a school year is. Inventory. Meetings. Tracking down overdue books. Awards days and celebrations. Gathering materials checked out to teachers. Too tired to move at the end of the day. Not to mention my library got new carpet during the last week of school. That was its own brand of crazy.
2. Netflix. Yes, I blame Netflix for my lack of reading lately. When I got home from school, I wanted to zone out a bit, and I did that with the help of the IT Crowd, the Bluth family, and the Brothers Winchester. I have no regrets.
3. Defiance, the ebook. I downloaded Defiance as an ebook to my Kindle app when it was one of Amazon’s Kindle daily deals. I’ve found that it simply takes me longer to read ebooks than it does print books. For whatever reason, I find it easier to get lost in a print book than an ebook. I don’t know why.

Anyhoo, no matter how you look at it, it took a while to read Defiance. It was a decent book with an interesting plot, and I’ll probably read any sequels, but I wasn’t really invested in what was happening to the main characters until close to the end of the book. To put things in perspective, I read the last third of the book in less than a day.

In C.J. Redwine’s Defiance, we meet Rachel and Logan. They live in the walled city of Baalboden, which is ruled by the heartless Commander who seemingly protects the citizens from a dragon-like monster known as the Cursed One. Rachel’s father, Jared, was sent on a tracking mission by the Commander and is missing, and Rachel and Logan might be the only people who really believe that he’s still alive beyond the city’s walls. So they devise a plan to go looking for him…but the Commander may have other ideas.

It seems the Commander might know something about Jared’s whereabouts–and why he hasn’t returned–and he’ll do everything in his considerable power to make Rachel and Logan cooperate in retrieving what he believes is rightfully his. But the Commander didn’t count on just how much Rachel and Logan want to thwart his tyranny…especially when the Commander demonstrates just how far he’ll go–and how much he’ll take away–to hold onto his power.

Some people buckle under pressure, but others–like Rachel and Logan–become more determined than ever to destroy the man who has taken so much from them…by any means necessary. They’ll brave prison, loss, the Cursed One, and certain death to bring justice to the Commander. But first, they must find out what happened to Rachel’s father and what the Commander is really after. Can they do this while holding on to hope, their own humanity, and each other? What will they lose in the process? Can they fight against evil from so many sides while figuring out who’s really in control? Begin finding the answers when you read Defiance, the first book in C.J. Redwine’s Courier’s Daughter trilogy.

Now that I’ve finished Defiance and thought about it a little bit more, I realize that I’m very intrigued by the story and what may happen next. (This is usually the case when I read books that talk about rising up against corrupt governments. I should probably examine that a bit.) I look forward to seeing what happens in the next book, Deception, which will be out on August 27th.

Upon reflecting, I realize that the characters in Defiance have a lot in common with those in The Hunger Games. Rachel, the main character in this series, is kind of Katniss-like. Her circumstances harden her, make her stronger (in some ways), and force her to do what needs to be done. Her counterpart, Logan, is an amalgam of Peete and Gale. In my opinion, Logan is more emotional than Rachel, but he’s still a skilled hunter and absolutely ruthless when he needs to be. The Commander, of course, is similar to President Snow. He’s a jerkwad of epic proportions, and I dare any reader to get through this book and not want the man dead.

If you’d like to learn more about Defiance and the rest of this series, visit C.J. Redwine’s blog at http://cjredwine.blogspot.in/. You can also find out how to follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. You may also want to check out the Defiance book trailer below which takes the whole Hunger Games comparison to a whole new level.

• Glass Houses
• The Dead Girls’ Dance
• Midnight Alley
• Feast of Fools
• Lord of Misrule
• Carpe Corpus
• Fade Out
• Kiss of Death
• Ghost Town
• Bite Club
• Last Breath
• Black Dawn
• Bitter Blood
• Fall of Night (the one I’m posting about right now)

You’ve been warned!

For those still with me, let’s get right to it.  Rachel Caine has once again ripped my heart out…or staked me in the chest, if you prefer to stay with all things vampish.  Just when I thought things were starting to get sort of normal for Claire and the gang, a major wrench gets thrown into the works, and everything spirals out of control.  In Fall of Night, the fourteenth book in this addictive series, Claire is finally heading for MIT, but what she thought would be a dream come true is turning into a nightmare.  It seems that dark and scary isn’t exclusive to Morganville…

It isn’t easy for Claire to leave Morganville behind.  Despite the horrors she’s witnessed–and even been part of–she’s grown rather attached to the place, especially her dear friends Michael and Eve, her boss Myrnin, and her boyfriend Shane (even though things are a bit tense with them of late).  She just can’t pass up the opportunity to finally go to MIT, her dream school.  Sure, she’ll be working with Dr. Anderson, one of Myrnin’s former assistants, and eventually returning to Morganville, but this is Claire’s chance to finally prove that she can be on her own and have a life outside of the vampire-controlled town that she’s come to call home.

Almost immediately upon arriving in Boston, Claire wants to return to Morganville.  Things just aren’t what they thought she’d be.  Her friend, Liz, is acting really weird, and working with Dr. Irene Anderson isn’t all Claire had hoped it would be.  In fact, Claire may have gotten herself involved in something more dangerous than living in Morganville could ever be.

When Dr. Anderson gets wind of the machine that Claire has been working on–a machine that could potentially disable the powers of vampires–Claire’s already tumultuous world takes another nosedive.  Friends old and new are in extreme danger, and much of the blame can be laid at Claire’s feet.  How can she deal with what she’s done?  And is there any way to get out of this mess with her sanity, her relationships, and her life intact?  If not, what could it mean for those she loves and the town that means so much to her?  Has night finally fallen in Morganville?  I guess there’s only one way to find out…

So…yeah…I love this flippin’ series.  Even though each book makes my blood pressure go up, I just can’t stop reading them.  Part of me can’t believe that there’s only one more book in the series, especially when you consider how things ended in Fall of Night (major cliffhanger).  I just don’t see how things can possibly be neatly wrapped up in just one more book.

The fifteenth and, at least to my knowledge, final book in the Morganville Vampires series is Daylighters, and it is due for a November 5th release.  The title alone makes me nervous…and that nervousness will make plenty of sense to you when you finish reading book #14.  Given the journey I’ve been on in the past fourteen books, I think my anxiety is totally justified.  What do you think?

Foster McFee and her mom have just run away from their home in Memphis. Somehow, they end up in Culpepper, West Virginia, and they’re looking to start fresh…and maybe make a few of their dreams come true.

Foster dreams of being the first kid chef on the Food Network. She’s inspired by her favorite celebrity chef, Sonny Kroll, and Foster spends much of her time trying out new recipes. Soon enough, her new neighbors realize that Foster is a star baker, and this girl who has troubles to spare is making a name for herself in this small town. She may also find that her troubles aren’t as big as they seem when new friends share the burden.

Foster’s mom, Rayka, dreams of being a singer. Sure, she’s had jobs before as a backup singer, but she wants to really show the world what she can do. If only she can escape a menace that’s followed her from Memphis…

The people of Culpepper welcome Foster and her mom into their town, and it will become clear that the McFees have brought some positive changes with them. Not only are Foster and Rayka on the verge of realizing their dreams, but they may just start something that will help everyone in the town.

Is Culpepper, West Virginia, ready for what’s coming? Foster, her mom, and the residents of Culpepper may not be famous yet, but they’re getting close…

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Close to Famous, and I think many of my female students will devour it. (The cover alone might be enough to drive some of the boys away.) Foster’s voice was both vulnerable and totally believable, and I think many students could relate to her struggles. Truthfully, I think any reader can relate to some of what Foster goes through. After all, haven’t we all had a dream that seems unattainable? I know I have (and still do, if I’m being totally honest).

I only have one complaint about this book. Where are the recipes?! I read so much about Foster’s delectable muffins, cookies, and cupcakes, but there were no recipes to guide me in creating my own concoctions. How disappointing! At any rate, I think this would be a fun book club pick, and those that attended the book club could bring their own homemade baked goods with plenty of recipes to share with the group.

For more information on Close to Famous and the many works by Joan Bauer, visit http://www.joanbauer.com/.

Well, I finally finished reading The Elite, the sequel to The Selection by Kiera Cass, last night. It took me a while to get into this book. The first part of the book didn’t have a ton of action, especially if you don’t really care about the lovey-dovey stuff…or the main character’s indecisiveness over what she really wants. I wanted action and political intrigue, and I finally got a fair share of it about halfway through the book. Things really picked up then, and, love story aside, I’m now eager to read the third book in the series. Given the way things unfolded in The Elite, I have super-high hopes that the final installment in this series will have action and conflict galore…not to mention another stunningly gorgeous cover.

America Singer is now one of the Elite, one of the final six Selection candidates who have the chance to win Prince Maxon’s heart and the coveted title of Princess of Illea. But America’s not really concerned about the princess part of this competition. She finds that she’s more interested in Maxon. She’s growing to love him, and, despite the differences in their backgrounds, she thinks he loves her as well. But how can she ever be sure? After all, he may be whispering the same sweet-nothings to the other girls as he’s uttering in America’s ears. And when one of the girls does something scandalous, America grows even more unsure of Maxon’s true nature…and her own feelings for him.

Who can America turn to in the midst of her emotional turmoil? In steps Aspen, a palace guard and America’s former boyfriend. Their relationship poses its own dangers, both to America’s heart and her place in this anxiety-inducing quest for the crown. Which guy should she be with? The one who has known her forever or the one who can give her the world? Is the decision even in her hands anymore?

In the middle of the Selection, things are also changing in the kingdom of Illea. War is brewing, rebels from both the north and south are attacking the palace, and America herself is coming to grips with the fact that things are seriously wrong in her country. Just how much is Maxon aware of? And is there anything she can do to change the system of inequality that oppresses so many…including her own family and friends? Can America shed light on what’s really going on in Illea without endangering herself, those she loves, or even her place in the Selection, something that has quickly become much more than a competition for a prince? Does she even want to be one of the Elite anymore? There’s only one way to find out…

First, let me say that, once I got into this book, I enjoyed it. Like The Selection, I particularly enjoyed the historical and political aspects of The Elite. Reading how the country of Illea was born was fascinating and all-too-easy to believe. That being said, there was one big thing about this book that annoyed me. America herself. I know she had her reasons, but she’s just so wishy-washy. I love Maxon. I love Aspen. I love Maxon. I love Aspen. MAKE A DECISION, and quit dragging these guys along! Granted, America is a seventeen-year-old girl in a very stressful situation, and that combo doesn’t make for mature decision-making, but come on! The back and forth got a little old, and I’m still not sure which guy she’ll end up with at the series’ conclusion. It’s a little infuriating.

The final book in this series, The One, will be released on May 6, 2014. I’m hopeful we can expect an eBook short story or two to make the wait less painful. Kiera Cass has already given us one of these: The Prince, a short story about Prince Maxon’s feelings regarding the Selection. It was pretty good and provided some insights into Maxon’s character.

For more information on The Elite, the entire Selection series, and author Kiera Cass, visit http://www.kieracass.com.

Yesterday, I read a book that a student brought to me. The book is Rich Wallace’s War & Watermelon, and one of my fourth graders brought it to my attention. She read it and came to the conclusion that it didn’t belong in an elementary library. Well, of course, I had to read it after that. This student is not one to go crazy over every little thing, so I really took her concerns seriously. (Not that I don’t take all other concerns seriously, but you know how people are. Some get their knickers in a bunch over nothing. This girl isn’t like that.) After reading the book, I have to agree with my student. War & Watermelon is not a book for an elementary school library…but it is a great addition to any middle or high school collection.

War & Watermelon takes place in the summer of 1969, and it explores what life was like for one almost thirteen-year-old boy during this time. Brody is a pretty typical kid. He likes football, he’s starting to be interested in girls, and he’s dealing with drama at home. Typical stuff, right? Well, kind of. This is also the summer of ’69. (Cue Bryan Adams music.) The Mets are winning, man just landed on the moon, the U.S. is at war in Vietnam, and Woodstock is about to hit New York. It’s a lot for a kid to take in, especially when his brother’s about to turn eighteen and become eligible for the draft. Tensions are high at home and everywhere else, and Brody often doesn’t know which way to turn. No matter what happens, though, this will be a summer that Brody will never forget.

War & Watermelon sort of fills in a gap in some historical fiction collections, but I really don’t think it’s a good fit for my school library. Elementary school kids probably wouldn’t understand some of the humor, and they probably shouldn’t understand some of the drug references. (Notice I said shouldn’t.) The main character does go to Woodstock, and many young readers (and their parents) might focus a little too much on the nudity and drug use present at the music festival instead of the message of peace it was intended to be.

I’ll be passing this book on to a local middle school, and I hope that students there will enjoy it. I just don’t think my kids are ready for this book. Do with that what you will.

This week, I finally did something I probably should have done years ago. I read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I know many people may be shocked that I never got around to reading this American classic in high school, but I guess I just missed out on it. (When I was in high school, I didn’t read “classics” unless they were required in my literature classes. I gravitated toward cheesy teen romances, fantasy, and some science fiction. Not much has changed.) Anyway, I wanted to see the movie adaptation this weekend, so, of course, I had to read the book so that I could compare the two.

(For the record, I probably would have seen the movie even if I hadn’t read the book. I’ve been a Leonardo DiCaprio fan since he played Luke Brower on Growing Pains in the early 90s. That is one man who just gets better with age…and he’s a fantastic actor.)

So, I’m not going to tell too much about the book because I figure all of my readers either have read it or will read it the future. I will say, though, that I think The Great Gatsby paints a vivid picture of what life was like in New York in the Roaring Twenties. There were some lavish parties and, at least among the upper echelons of society, a rather casual disregard for propriety and self-control–when it came to wealth, sex, marriage, sobriety, etc. (Goes a long way in explaining how the whole concept of Prohibition came about.)

The Great Gatsby is both a tragic love story and a tale of people who bring out the worst in each other. Told from the perspective of Nick Carraway, who is at once above the drama and a part of it, we delve into the mystery of Jay Gatsby and his love for Daisy Buchanan. It’s often difficult to sort out the truth from all the lies, but the lives of the people in this book intertwine in a beautiful mess, and, in the end, their lives unravel in the blink of an eye.

I enjoyed reading The Great Gatsby, and a big part of me is happy that I waited until I was an adult to experience this book. I honestly don’t think that I could have appreciated it as a teenager. Now, with some knowledge of the time period–I studied the 1920s extensively as an undergrad student–and more life experience myself, I can grasp just why this book is widely considered a must-read American classic.

I can’t wait to see what Baz Luhrmann does with Jay Gatsby’s story. I hope I enjoy it as much as I did Moulin Rouge, especially since The Great Gatsby has the same kind of decadence that was present in that wonderful musical. I have high hopes for this movie, and I am praying that my hopes are not dashed by Hollywood (as they have been so often in the past). So far, reviews are mixed, but I don’t really put too much stock in reviews. (The original Star Wars trilogy was widely panned by reviewers. Those people were made of stupid.) Either way, I’ll get to look at Leo DiCaprio on the big screen, and that’s always fun!

Speaking of fun, here’s a trailer for the movie adaptation of The Great Gatsby to whet our appetites for the movie…which is in theaters today!

If it’s not readily apparent, I finished reading Chosen at Nightfall earlier today. I’ve been enamored of this series since I first got my hands on an ARC of Born at Midnight about two and a half years ago. Today, I concluded my journey with these characters (or at least some of them). This finale was chock-full of action, conflict, and danger, but it also contained it’s fair share of levity, friendship, and, yes, romance. Many of the questions that plagued me throughout the first four books were answered in this one, and several problems were resolved. Some of my predictions from previous books came true. Others…not so much. All in all, Chosen at Nightfall was a great conclusion to a series that I’ve truly enjoyed. I hope you’ll feel the same.

Kylie Galen finally knows what she is. As a chameleon, she possesses gifts from all supernatural species…along with a few others that are unique to her kind. And even more that are unique to her. While staying with her grandfather and great-aunt, Kylie’s learning a great deal about her species, but she’s finding life with the other chameleons rather difficult. She doesn’t fit in here like she did at Shadow Falls, and she’s viewed with a certain amount of distrust. What’s a girl to do?

Well, if you’re Kylie Galen, fate has a way of stepping in and making your decisions for you. When Mario, a powerful and evil chameleon, returns with the intent to wreak havoc in Kylie’s life, it becomes clear that she must return to Shadow Falls for her own protection. Her grandfather disagrees with Kylie’s decision to return to the camp/school that is her true home, but it’s really not up to him. Kylie makes a getaway from the chameleon compound and, even though she encounters her share of danger in the process, returns to Shadow Falls…and to the two young men who are fighting to win her heart.

Derek, the half-fae who can feel Kylie’s emotions, and Lucas, the werewolf who broke her heart. How can Kylie choose between these two guys when she’s got so much other stuff to worry about? It’s not like she’s super busy with anything like finding a way to help the teen chameleons who want more freedom, or dealing with a sword-wielding ghost who shows up at inconvenient times and wants her to kill someone, or trying to figure out why her mom’s boyfriend gives her the creeps, or helping her friends with their love lives, or, you know, learning to fight so that she’ll be ready to face Mario again. No, she’s got plenty of time to worry about deciding between Derek and Lucas, both of whom have given her reason to distrust them. (Where’s a sarcasm font when you need one?) Does she want either of them after everything that’s happened? (Yes, she does, in case you were wondering.) Who truly holds her heart, and can she get past her own issues–and his–to make things really work?

Boy problems aside, Kylie has a life or death battle on her hands. She knows that she must be the one to face Mario, but she doesn’t know if she has the strength or will to destroy a being so powerful…without losing her own life in the process. Kylie will have to use everything she’s learned and all the connections she’s made–to both the living and the dead–to get out of this one with her life and her sanity intact. Will it be enough? Will she finally be able to rid herself of this enemy that has tormented her for so long? The time of reckoning is fast approaching, and it seems that fate is not done with throwing some surprises Kylie’s way…

I hope that the few paragraphs above have intrigued you or whetted your appetite for this book and the others in C.C. Hunter’s Shadow Falls series. If you decide to give the series a try, I honestly don’t think you’ll be disappointed. It’s a great ride for anyone who likes some supernatural teen angst with a bit of action, mystery, and romance thrown in. And even though the characters in these books are paranormal beings, they relate to each other (most of the time) like typical teenagers. They have problems with their parents, they think about sex, they break the rules, and they’re trying to figure out who they are.

I’m happy to report that this is not the last we’ve seen of at least some of the Shadow Falls characters. According to a small teaser at the back of my copy of Chosen at Nightfall, a series is in the works that revolves around your favorite vampire and mine, Della Tsang. (If you’re already a fan of this series, you know that the two Shadow Falls novellas deal with some of her backstory.) I’m hoping we’ll see more information about this on C.C. Hunter’s website soon!

That’s all for now folks! I’ll leave you with this absolutely fantastic book trailer for Chosen at Nightfall. Truthfully, it’s so good that it made me want to read the book all over again!

*I hesitate to recommend this book to middle grade readers, simply because I know some parents frown on cursing and frank talk of sex…both of which are present in this series. (Truthfully, I think a lot of people are a bit too prudish about such things. If you think middle school students don’t curse or talk about sex, well…you’ve never worked in a middle school. That’s all I’m saying.) As with any other book or series, know your readers, and recommend books accordingly. Knight Reader out.*