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Master Storyteller Joseph Bruchac’s latest novel, Dragon Castle, draws on the rich and magical legends of his Slovakian heritage as it explores themes of the hero’s journey, the journey to find oneself, and the courage to face one’s destiny.  15 year old Prince Rashko has lived his whole life in a peace secured by a distant ancestor, Pavol the Brave.  It’s a good thing that peaces abounds, too, because his parents and older brother Paulek seem to be more interested in daydreaming, sword fighting and living a life of ease than in doing much of anything to secure the safety and long-term security of the realm.  But RashkoRead More →

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Alexis Warren is back.  Now, she and her parents have moved from their haunted Victorian-era house to a non-descript suburb and are trying to rebuild their lives after Kasey, Alexis’ younger sister, was possessed by a murderous ghost and tried to kill them all in Katie Alender’s debut novel Bad Girls Don’t Die.  Alexis has a boyfriend now, is settled into a comfortable group at school, and is ready for life to get back to a controlled, predictable normal.  But then Kasey is released from the psychiatric hospital and comes home, and of course, soon all Hell breaks loose. This time, Kasey and her friendsRead More →

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Sometimes when I am picking out the next book I want to read, I go solely on the cover art. I don’t read the jacket flap or the blurb on the back or even the little summary on the back of the title page. I let the cover draw me in and then allow myself to be totally surprised (or not) by the story that unfolds with the book. Debut author Dawn Metcalf’s Luminous  was one of these books for me – I was completely seduced by the cover (I was feeling really girly that day, OK?) and it lead me to expect either aRead More →

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The Goodnight farm is engulfed by the McCulloch’s ranch – a pretty good metaphor to describe Amy Goodnight’s life. Her family is different; all of the women are practicing white witches. This is a source of embarrassment for Amy, who sees it as her job to be a liaison between her family and the “normal” world that surrounds them.            Amy and her sister, Phin, are spending the summer caring for the ranch while their aunt is away. What should be an uneventful summer full of chores turns into just the opposite with a series of unexpected events: a ghost comes to visit Amy, humanRead More →

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I read a lot of books; fortunately, my profession and one of my hobbies jive like that.  And since I read so many books, I find myself jaded by the repetition on theme, the slight variations on popular books that are churned out in the hopes of finding “the next whatever“, and the lackluster writing and poor editing that occurs in the rush to print more and more.  So it’s a rare day when I am so engrossed in a book I cannot stop reading it and then cannot stop telling people about it.  And on Saturday, I got to have one of those days whenRead More →

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I only recently saw the award-winning movie, “Slum-dog Millionaire” and was haunted by it for weeks. My immediate reaction to Trash by Andy Mulligan was that it was going to be similar in a variety of ways – the children are orphans, they live in desperate conditions, and they (rightfully) mistrust the law.  I wasn’t sure I could experience another story of the horrors of youth in a third world country but the writing kept me captivated. Raphael lives in a metal box on the edge of the dump. He works every day in the dump looking for something edible, recyclable, salvageable or hopefully, valuable.One day he finds something very special. HeRead More →

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Jennifer Donnelly’s newest book for young adults, Revolution, is a revelation (October 2010 from Delacourte Press).  It’s an enticing, enchanting blend of transformation story, historical fiction, mystery, and good, solid storytelling. Two smart, artistic, reckless young women are linked  across the centuries by their love for the young boys in their care: Andi, in 21st century Brooklyn is on a self-destructive bent after the tragic death of her younger brother Truman 2 years ago; and Alex, in Paris in 1795 during the French Revolution, is determined to save her young charge, the Dauphin of France, young Louis-Charles.   When Revolution opens, Andi’s self-loathing, grief, and hatred forRead More →

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Dead Connections’ author Charlie Price’s new novel, The Interrogation of Gabriel James, is an intriguing mystery from page one.  High school junior Gabriel is a material witness to two murders and in a combination of his interview with local police detectives and his memories of the events that lead up to the murders, we watch spellbound as he quickly gets in way over his head. What starts as a prairie fire outside his hometown of Billings, Montana, leads quickly to the disappearance of local pets.  Next, there’s increased drug pushing going on around town and the town’s homeless and mentally ill population is being harassed andRead More →

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On a dark night when he was 12 years old, Jacob Reckless laid his hand on the gilded mirror in his missing father’s study as was instantly, magically transported into a strange world where fairy tales have come to life.  And from that first visit, Jacob becomes addicted to the escape, the freedom, and the forgetting that the Mirrorworld provides him.  Until the day, 12 years later, when his younger brother Will follows him through the mirror and is attacked by the stone-warriors and infected with their poison.  Now it becomes a race against time as Jacob and Will must search throughout Mirrorworld to findRead More →