Favourite YA of the Year? Maybe! UNDER THE MOON by Deborah Kerbel - REVIEW

TITLE: Under the Moon

AUTHOR: Deborah Kerbel

RELEASE DATE: January 2012

FORMAT/PAGE COUNT: Kindle/200

PUBLISHER: Cormorant Books


PURCHASED: Amazon

FROM KERBEL'S WEBSITE - A LIST OF HER BOOKS AND WHERE YOU CAN FIND THEM.

SYNOPSIS:

A girl who's lost her sleep...
A boy who's lost his dreams...
And twenty-six nights that change their lives.
Fifteen-year-old Lily MacArthur has trouble sleeping. In fact, she doesn't sleep at all--at least, not since the death of her aunt. As the days turn into weeks, Lily becomes convinced that death-by-exhaustion is around the corner and searches the moonlit nights for a way to save herself from the long, dark hours of solitude.

Can her new friend, Ben, help her find her sleep? Or do secrets from Ben's past mean that he also needs saving? (From GOODREADS)



EXPECTATIONS: High expectations. I was pleasantly surprised by Kerbel's Mackenzie Lost and Found. After reading it, I knew I had to read the rest of her stuff...both published and not-yet-published.

MARKET/GENRE: Young Adult/Contemporary (This is definitely a cross-over...would appeal to adults)


REVIEW:

15-year-old Lily MacArthur is not sleeping. Ever since her eccentric romance novel writing Aunt Su passed away, she's been wide-eyed and counting the days left of her existence. Lily knows humans can only live so long without sleep (she's Googled it). While the clock of doom counts down her dwindling seconds, Lily makes the most of her time left on Earth.

Lily is such an adorable character. She's saucy and introverted and looking for wonder. Her Aunt Su is a pivotal character in her life--the polar opposite of Lily's rigid domineering mother. Su wore muumuus, smoked (and grew her own) pot in her segregated cabin in the woods. She was worldly and she had a shelf full of best-selling romance novels under her belt to prove it. Clearly, Aunt Su is who Lily strives to be. She wants to be nothing like her control-freak mother, whom she not so endearingly refers to as General MacArthur.

Lily’s sleepless nights lead her to wandering the streets of her small town. And this leads her directly to the all-night fry place's drive-thu window and the new boy in town. She is immediately drawn to the morose Ben Matthews, who has a mystery she’s willing to get to the bottom of. Kerbel did a great job with the emotional landscape of this Ben character. He brushes the line of inappropriateness so often, it leaves the reader waiting to like him, but ultimately cautious. With whatever it is he’s going through clearly weighing deeply on his soul, Ben tends towards meanness when speaking to Lily. Kerbel set this up PERFECTLY because the reader is—by the time Ben shows up—completely invested in Lily. We are protective of her, as much as we are excited for her.

So, we have an interesting storyline that pulls us along at a great pace. Lily’s aunt dies—Lily stops sleeping and knows that eventually this could kill her—Lily meets the new town hottie before anybody else gets a chance to—Lily’s mother is a control-freak with a daughter who seems on the cusp of rampant disorder. These are all intriguing storylines. Throw in the fact Aunt Su willed everything she owned to Lily, the fact that new social movement—a movement Lily is none to impressed with—attempts to bring Lily into its fold and the dark tale of loss spiraling out behind Ben that is about to put him in very real and immediate peril and you have a fantastic novel in Under the Moon!

Kerbel establishes a wonderful character in Lily…one the reader is compelled to love. And then she takes her (and the reader) on a wonderfully quirky adventure. I won’t say this novel is perfect—there are no perfect novels—but I will tell you I loved it. I couldn’t put it down. There are a couple coincidences in the story that are a bit timely…but they are EASILY forgivable. Lily is a character you will remember for a long time after reading her story. Which is what I think you should do right now—you’ll have to find out for yourself if things work out for her. After breaking the world record for staying awake longer than the last person who died of sleeplessness, there’s not a lot of options for Lily. Kerbel does a phenomenal job of making Lily’s future look bright while simultaneously keeping her perilously awake and in danger of dying. Enjoy the read!

 

EXPECTATION: We don't pick our favourite books...we just look for a good story and hope--with every book we pick up--that we have found one. To date, Under the Moon is my pick for favourite YA of 2012. Satisfied! 100% Awaiting the next Kerbel!


SIZE: 5 (1/2)

An Interview with Allison Baggio - Summer Reading Series

Time for the next Summer Reading Series instalment! I'm thrilled to have ALLISON BAGGIO visiting us today. She's going to talk about the books she's passionate about. I'm going to tell you where you can find Allison's books! She is also an author.

KC: What book are you reading right now? And what are your thoughts on it so far?


ALLISON: I am usually reading a whole pile of books at once. I keep them at different places in my house and when I'm there I'll pick them up. Sometimes a book will really catch my attention and I will carry it around with me--then I know I've found something really special. So, I'll pick one for you--The Last Hiccup by fellow ECW author, Christopher Meades. It just happens to be on my nightstand so I usually read this one for a bit after I put the kids to bed. The book is about a young boy in 1930s Russia who comes down with a chronic case of hiccups and how this infliction changes his life. This is not the type of book I would usually pick up, however, Christopher has officially drawn me into his quirky little world. I am so impressed with the quality of writing in this book . . . one of the blurbs on the back says "Each sentence is a tiny masterpiece" and it is definitely true

.
KC: That sounds like a book I NEED to read! Thanks for the rec. As a writer, you most likely spend a lot of your time editing. Do you find it hard to turn off the internal editor when you are reading for pleasure? Do you ever find yourself being drawn out of story because you know there’s a better way to write the last sentence you just read? Or are you able to turn the writer/editor off when you are reading for pleasure?


ALLISON: Funny you should ask this. I just took a book on vacation with me. A pretty popular book. Well, okay, I'll just say it, Wild by Cheryl Strayed. I love a memoir that involves any sort of adventure so I knew I would love this story (and I did!), however, I found myself overwhelmed by the large number of unnecessary adverbs in the book. "Elegantly, hesitantly, unglamourously, awkwardly" -- I think she used everyone possible at least once, and sometimes many in the same sentence!

I often found myself reading out the heavily adverb-ed sentences to my husband in shock, and that really took me out of the story. Instantly. And unrelentingly. Usually I am able to shut this sort of internal editor off, but since I just finished the final edits on my next book, I was really stuck in that mindset. I think this problem is getting worse the more editing I do, and the more obsessive I get about my own writing. Undeniably.


KC: Great answer! (-: Top 5 Favourite Novels?


ALLISON: Oh gosh, let's see. Top of my mind:

• Room by Emma Donoghue 
• A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews 
• The Romantic by Barbara Gowdy 
• Far to Go by Alison Pick 
• The Lovely Bones by Alice Seybold

KC: I was blown away the first time I read A Complicated Kindness. I think that book may have changed my reading habits. Do you have a favourite autobiography? If so, tell us about it.


ALLISON: How about Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. In it, he tells his life story of growing up in India and his experiences with meditation and yoga. I read most of this book on my honeymoon ten years ago and still intend to finish it. No, really! I will say that it probably influenced some parts of my first novel, Girl in Shades.


KC: I love that answer more than you’ll know. That book was a bible for me in the late 80s early 90s. I adore it! Any recommendations for books on writing?


ALLISON: I think Stephen King's On Writing is one of the best ones out there and I actually have had a recent desire to re-read it (I've just remembered one of the quotes from the book: “The road to hell is paved with adverbs” hmmmm). Also, writers should pick up Work Book: Memos & Dispatches on Writing by Steven Heighton--it is like no other writing book I've read and gives some very poignant insights into how to make sense of the writing life.


KC: Who were your favourite authors as a child? Your favourite books?


ALLISON: I was a big Judy Blume fan. All her books.


KC: Your favourite authors as an adult?


ALLISON: Miriam Toews, Barbara Gowdy, Brian Francis--all the other great Canadian authors I've connected with who are out there writing what they have to write and not giving up.


KC: Book covers seem to be getting a lot of buzz these days. In Twitterverse, there are Cover Reveals almost daily. I think it’s safe to say we’re in an age where it is more common practice to actually judge a book by its cover. Do you have any favourite covers? Do they have any pull on your decision to read a book?


ALLISON: I am quite fond of the covers they have given to my own books so far, and I think that is a good thing to feel because yes, people DO judge books by their outsides. I'm surprised at the number of times someone will post a just cover and someone will respond, "That looks really good. I want to read it." But it's true. People do feel more drawn to covers that appeal to them, so we shouldn't give up on designing great covers!

One interesting cover that comes to mind is the one for The Carnivore  by Mark Sinnett. I like that the story is about a hurricane and there are rain drops infused into the cover. Very neat.

Ohhh, and I did love the cover of Brian Francis's Natural Order

I am definitely more prone to pick up a book if I am attracted to the outside.


KC: I LOVE your book covers. I think they're both stunning(ly) beautiful! Do you have favourite genres/markets?


ALLISON: Usually adult literary fiction, and some more commercial stuff.


KC: Your 3 desert island books?


ALLISON: Have to go non-fiction for this (I don't re-read fiction books that much):

• A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
• Home With God: In a Life that Never Ends by Neale Donald Walsh
• Beyond the Horizon by Colin Angus (loved it!)

KC: As a writer, do you ever copy down favourite quotes and pin them up in your writing space for inspiration? If so, what are some of them?


ALLISON: YES! I do this all the time. Right now on my bulletin board I have "Pursue Excellence, Ignore Success". I think Deepak Choprah said it. I'm also always writing out, "Allow What is To Be" - Eckhart Tolle


KC: I was hoping for that reaction. I too get pretty passionate when I find a golden nugget in something I’m reading. (-: What’s the next title you plan on reading? What drew you to it?


ALLISON: The next book I am planning to read is Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain. I definitely fit the mould of an introvert, and was drawn to this book because, well, I hope to get some more insight into myself (always up for that!).


KC: Is there ONE book that made you decide, ‘This is what I want to do…I want to write!’? Or were there many?


ALLISON: Hmmmm, trying to think back. My need to write bubbled up around grade five when I started to write short stories. I think it was more a need to tell stories, than one book that inspired me.


KC: If you could travel back in time and put your name under any novel title in existence, which one would you choose? Why?


ALLISON: Oh gosh, this is hard. Of course there are books I admire, but the idea of me having written them is a strange one. I just find that creative inspiration is such a personal thing, I can't imagine having written anything besides what I myself was inspired to write. I think I've answered The Time Traveller’s Wife to a similar question. So.... The Time Traveller’s Wife by Allison Baggio. (No, I just can't get my mind around that.)


KC: As a writer, who do you write for? Anyone/Anything in particular?


ALLISON: I guess I have to say, me. I write for the pure joy I feel while I am doing it, and the satisfaction I feel afterwards. I hope I can always write for me, because I think that the process of thinking about what people will think of what you write, has probably ruined many a good author.


KC: Okay, since you are published yourself…I’m going to be linking your books below for my readers. Besides these two titles, are there any other works in the hopper? Anything you’re working on that you want to talk about?


ALLISON: I am currently revising a new novel that I am very excited about. It takes place during and shortly after World War 1 and is a fictional story around an actual un-solved murder that happened in 1914. I haven't received any serious feedback on it yet, so I am still in that "new love" stage with it--which is a nice place to be for now.


KC: Sounds intriguing! I was going to say amazingly and incredibly intriguing…but those lys are just background noise. (-: Can’t wait to read it! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts today. I enjoyed your responses. We have a lot of suggestions here and you’ve reminded me of more than a couple of books that I’m passionate about. Maybe it’s time to revisit them. Thank you!


ALLISON: Thanks, Kevin!

You can learn more about Allison’s books and visit her online at any of the locations below:

Website: AllisonBaggio.com 
Twitter: allibaggio
Facebook: GIRL IN SHADES and IN THE BODY   
BOOKS:  ECW PRESS - GIRL IN SHADES and ECW PRESS IN THE BODY 

D. Renee Bagby Presents YA First Chapters: Summer on Fire by Kevin Craig

The first chapter of my own YA novel is being featured today on a YA First Chapter blog. You can read the chapter here:

D. Renee Bagby Presents YA First Chapters: Summer on Fire by Kevin Craig: Summer on Fire by Kevin Craig MuseItUp Publishing eBook ISBN: 978-1-926931-97-5 Print ISBN: 978-1-927085-15-8 Zach, Jeff and Arnie p...

What a Boy Wants - Review

Title: What a Boy Wants

Author: Nyrae Dawn

Release Date: April 6, 2012

Format/Page Count: KINDLE/141 pages

Publisher: Self Published--Amazon Digital Services

Purchased: Amazon

Synopsis:

Courtesy of watching his mom’s relationships, Sebastian Hawkins knows what girls need to do to get a guy. He has what he considers a PHD in hooking up. When he needs extra cash for a car, Sebastian starts up an online venture as The Hook-up Doctor, to anonymously help girls land the guy of their dreams. Of course, his services don’t offer a happily-ever-after guarantee. He’s seen firsthand getting together never means staying together.

And then he falls in love…

With the last girl he would expect…

Totally not in his game plan.

Suddenly, Sebastian finds himself muddled in the game he’s always prided himself on. He can’t even pick up girls at parties anymore! Why would anyone want to be in love when it turns you into a stuttering, screwed-up, mess with really lame stalker tendencies? Stalking? Totally not his gig.

But the Hook-up Doctor won’t let himself go down easily. He’s always known how to give a girl what she wants and now it’s time to figure out what a boy wants… and he definitely plans on getting it. (From GOODREADS)

Expectation: This was yet another book I heard of through Twitter. It sounded good. I thought I would give it a try...not too much expectation, to tell the truth. I just liked the idea that it was in a guy's first person POV.

REVIEW:

You would think an arrogant narrator would turn a reader off. But über cocky Sebastian is quickly accepted for who he is. He's the cool guy everybody likes. The smooth operator. He's so suave, in fact, he runs a blog to hire out his hook-up services to girls looking to understand and 'connect' with Mr. Right. What does Sebastian care if they only succeed in a plain old simple hook-up, instead of the lasting relationship they might actually be looking for? Sebastian himself is not one for love. He's happy to hook-up with the ladies and steer well clear of relationships and love. After seeing what love does time and again to his single mother, he's happy to continue having a good time without strings.

Nyrae Dawn does an incredible job getting into the head of a teenage boy. She captures the voice perfectly. Although Sebastian's Hook-Up Doctor status kind of makes him a bit of a slime-ball (lets face it...it sounds a little bit skeezy to be selling hook-up skills over the internet!), Dawn is masterful in her ability to make the reader still care about her dastardly narrator. He's a teenage boy, after all. They can be excused for such things, right. Especially if the writer allows the reader to see all the good inside. And under his Hook-Up Doctor facade, Sebastian's just a good kid.

Sebastian starts to see his BFF, Aspen, as something more than a friend. Did she always have the curves he's only now noticing? Has she always been so pretty? The hook-up doctor's 'no emotions-no love' rule seems to crumble as he begins to see Aspen in a new light. But there are all kinds of roadblocks in this quick paced young adult romance. You'll enjoy unravelling the story to find out what happens. It was such a pleasant surprise to watch the characters stumble and grow. The two remaining main characters, Jaden and Pris only add to the enjoyment. Though the friends make up a seemingly unbreakable foursome, Jaden and Pris just can't see eye to eye. Their friction makes for some interesting situations. Friction aside, though, these friends look after one another...to the point of having a PPP (Pre-Party Plan) to keep each other out of trouble.

This is a quick and endearing read. Sebastian is one of the more memorable characters I've read about in recent months. I heard a rumour Ms. Dawn will be bringing her characters back to life in a follow-up of What a Boy Wants (I believe the title is What a Boy Needs and that it takes us closer into the life of Sebastian's best guy friend, Jaden). I, for one, will definitely be picking it up. These characters are vibrant and real. I look forward to spending more time with them!

One important detail I feel I need to address. I would have given this book a 5 1/2 but for this one detail. I know this title is self-published. It's a great great read and I recommend it highly and happily. BUT...there are a few little mistakes within its pages that could have been avoided. There are issues here and there regarding tense. It's written in past tense, but every once in a while there's a slip. There are also a few missing words, or extra words here and there. None of the editing issues take away from the story.
That detail aside...go pick up this book. Nyrae Dawn is a name I'm sure we'll hear a lot about in the future. What a Boy Wants will NOT disappoint! (If I were an agent and this book came across my desk...I'd be ALL over it!)

SIZE: 5

EXPECTATION: Having not much expectation for this title, I can safely say it blew me away. Loved Sebastian's voice. Made it easy to plow through this great story!

Gone, Gone, Gone - Review

Title: Gone, Gone, Gone

Author: Hannah Moskowitz

Release Date: April 17, 2012

Format/Page Count: Kindle/288 pages

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Purchased: Amazon


Synopsis:
 

In the wake of the post-9/11 sniper shootings, fragile love finds a stronghold in this intense, romantic novel from the author of Break and Invincible Summer.

It's a year after 9/11. Sniper shootings throughout the D.C. area have everyone on edge and trying to make sense of these random acts of violence. Meanwhile, Craig and Lio are just trying to make sense of their lives. Craig’s crushing on quiet, distant Lio, and preoccupied with what it meant when Lio kissed him...and if he’ll do it again...and if kissing Lio will help him finally get over his ex-boyfriend, Cody. Lio feels most alive when he's with Craig. He forgets about his broken family, his dead brother, and the messed up world. But being with Craig means being vulnerable...and Lio will have to decide whether love is worth the risk.

This intense, romantic novel from the author of Break and Invincible Summer is a poignant look at what it is to feel needed, connected, and alive. (From GOODREADS)

Expectation: I am a SOLID Moskowitz fan. Hannah is one of my favourite (not so) new authors. I have yet to be disappointed by her works. In fact, I absolutely adore every Hannah Moskowitz book on the market. My expectation for this book was TOO HIGH.


Market/Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary

Review: 

Favourite Moments: 

'If I could take all the machine guns in the world and bend them into hearts, I totally totally would, even if I got grazed by bullets in the process, which knowing me I probably would, because I'm a little bit of a klutz, but Lio thinks I'm cute.'

'I love you, you fucking idiot, and I love you crazy and I love you sane, so will you please answer my emails?'


'One woman is not very many. Nine dead people, total, is not very many. But my stomach hurts so hard.'


'Something about the fact that he asked me if I was in New York, and I'm not in New York, and then he says he misses me even though I'm here, I'm just not here with him...I think I understand for the first time what it means to be in a relationship.'

From the moment I first read BREAK by Hannah Moskowitz, I knew I would read each consecutive novel she ever releases. Gone, Gone, Gone (from this point on referred to as GGG) is my 4th Moskowitz read (Break, Invincible Summer & Zombie Tag being her first three novels). As usual, I was NOT disappointed! Moskowitz continues to pepper her wonderfully real YA and MG novels with poignant heart-achingly awesome life. She is a master at instilling her readers with an emotional attachment to the worlds of her characters. An absolute master.

One of the things I love about GGG is the dual first-person narration. This is something that--as an author--I have used twice myself. Something about the dual first-person viewpoint really gives the reader such great insights into a story. With GGG the two main characters, Craig and Lio, take turns narrating chapters. Moskowitz carries out this back and forth narration flawlessly. One never forgets which of the two characters are narrating, as each are wonderfully unique.



GGG opens with Craig discovering that not only was his house broken into, but his menagerie of house pets have all escaped through the broken windows. Through this discovery, the reader begins to sense a slight brokenness in Craig...an endearing brokenness. We are also introduced to Todd, Craig's older brother. What would a Moskowitz novel be without an extraordinary brother/brother relationship! I still don't know how she does it. The reader gets a quick picture of this relationship in the way that Todd checks up on Craig, shows concern for him. There's this wonderful line in the first chapter that really captures something of their relationship. 'Todd has this way of being affectionate that I see but usually don't feel.'


The reader is also made aware in the opening chapter that 9/11 plays a prominent role in the story-line. The denizens of GGG are all on edge from the freshness of the terrorist attacks. Lio is from New York, newly settled in Maryland. While he deals with the memories of New York's version of 9/11 events, Craig struggles with the D.C. area's version--which included the death of his ex-boyfriend's father in the Pentagon. The story begins only 13 months after the towers fell. The raw nerves the characters display get re-electrified with a new fear as the DC sniper shootings begin.

To quickly describe the plot of GGG, it opens with an animal hoarding Craig. Apparently he is replacing his boyfriend (and his social life) with a menagerie of fury friends. He acts as something of a Welcome Wagon spokesperson for his school. He is assigned Lio, who is transferring to his school from New York. Their relationship begins in IM, but quickly develops from there. Lio is a boy who can possibly be fixed, unlike Craig's messed up institutionalized boyfriend Cody...who never recovered from his father's 9/11 death. Lio lived through cancer and had a twin brother who did not make it through his own cancer ordeal. Lio is as messed up as his multi-coloured hair. Something about him re-ignites Craig's life. Just as something about Craig re-ignites Lio's desire to speak, to engage in life.


"His tragic flaw is that he is a walking tragedy, and his smile makes me feel alive." ~ Craig, describing Lio.

As the two form a relationship, they struggle to live in a world gone mad with the random shooting spree of the Beltway Sniper. As everyone around them ducks and weaves to avoid being shot at, they slowly come together amid the chaos. Still dealing with the emotional fallout of 9/11, the two go about their lives trying not to become victims of the sniper. All the while, they are trying to reassemble Craig's gone, gone, gone menagerie. There are some wonderful moments in the story where the boys put everything down to mathematics---the odds of becoming a sniper victim, the differences in the number of tragic deaths in New York as compared to those in D.C.. We are made aware through character growth that the figures don't matter, that numbers don't matter. That each life lost is a life lost, come what may. There is something just achingly familiarly and melancholic in the insights we are given through the eyes of these two boys in love.

These two boys each have pasts to unravel and come to terms with. Doing so amid the re-collection of Craig's menagerie and the simultaneously unnerving sniper attacks makes for an exciting pace that will engage the reader non-stop. I read this novel in just over a day. Not unlike Moskowitz's other books, I just couldn't put it down. She writes with a rawness that makes the reader right at home inside both the tragedies and the joys of her stories. I highly recommend Gone, Gone, Gone. If you are not yet a Moskowitz fan, if you have yet to stumble upon her fiction, this book will bring you in hook, line and sinker. Be prepared, though. You'll want to pick up the rest of her quickly growing catalogue of work.





SIZE:5 (1/2!)

Expectation: Forget about it. Blew my expectations out of the water. I will read cocktail napkins that Moskowitz scribbles on. Hannah Moskowitz is a RELEASE DAY AUTHOR. No two ways about it!

Possess - Book Review

Title: Possess

Author: Gretchen McNeil

Release Date: August 23, 2011
Format/Page Count: Kindle Edition, 384 pages

Publisher: Harper Collins, Inc 

Purchased: Kindle

Synopsis: Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her over-protective mom, by Matt Quinn, the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, the voices are demons—and Bridget possesses the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from. Literally. Terrified to tell her friends or family about this new power, Bridget confides in San Francisco’s senior exorcist, Monsignor Renault. The monsignor enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession, but just as she is starting to come to terms with her freakish new role, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. And when one of her oldest friends is killed, Bridget realizes she’s in deeper than she ever thought possible. Now she must unlock the secret to the demons’ plan before someone else close to her winds up dead—or worse, the human vessel for a demon king. ~From Publisher's Book Description

Expectation: High. I enjoy this type of story, both as a paranormal fan and as a once Catholic schoolboy who was secretly spooked by all the sainthood/demonology lore.  

Market/Genre: Young Adult/Paranormal

Review: 

"Rule Number Five...They lie." ~ Bridget Liu exorcises demons under the tutelage of her mentor Monsignor Renault, who is quick to shout out the rules of exorcism as she does so.  

As I began reading Possess I was immediately taken back to the Catholic possession stories of my youth. Seventies horror seemed to pivot around the Catholic exorcism/possession theme. Being a Catholic, the theme always terrified me as a child. I was delighted to see it revisited in this fast-paced, well written debut novel by Gretchen McNeil. It was a thrill-ride of a story that harkened back to that time in my life. It’s 3^rd person POV was so incredibly tight and close, it was as if I were reading 1^st person. Remarkably well done. I hope McNeil's Possess is the portal that brings back a wave of stories exploring this theme. If it does become that portal, it's an excellent example of the genre to begin the trend. I could not put this one down!

Bridget Liu, the main character in Possess, was such a strong force. It was a delight to follow her throughout this story. McNeil made sure Bridget had a LOT of issues to overcome. We are introduced to her after her father has been murdered and two suitors are vying for her mother's attention not a year after his passing. And her young brother Sammy is having nightmares. And she has discovered she can banish demons. She's actually killer at exorcising them…I mean, she rocks at it! But she's afraid to take it to the next level. She's afraid of feeling too good in the thick of the exorcism.

With a potential knight in shining armor attempting to get closer to Bridget, she experiences that same 'feeling too good' tingling. Matthew Quinn is an exceptionally likeable love interest that Bridget tries desperately not to fall in love with. If the reader can squeeze between the lines, they might notice that Bridget's high school nemesis, Alexa Darlington, may have earlier performed a little spell to have Matt as her own. But Matt is now cleansed of the spell and only has eyes for Bridget. He is a stunning knight in shining armor, too…always there for the heroine. But though his heart is in the right place, it's clear from the beginning that Bridget is the stronger more capable of the two. She needs no saving. But she may need the good feeling that Matt brings out in her, if she can ever get past the animosity that makes their interactions so entertaining.

Together (in a matter of speaking) Bridget and Matt work to solve the many mysteries that McNeil expertly weaves into this story. Every clue takes the reader on another ride. There are a delightful many creepy occurrences throughout Possess, from the possessed dolls to the feline ghost to the bumbling Father Santos sent from the Vatican to investigate the rising number of demon possessions in Bridget’s town. The reader happily tags along to see where each clue will take them. Who can Bridget trust? Who must she be leery of? The reader knows Bridget will unravel the mess in time to save the day, but the timeline is tight…tight enough to keep one compulsively reading to get to the next reveal.

I think McNeil has found the perfect new marketplace for the exorcism theme---Young Adult. After reading Possess, I’m certain the two are a perfect match. I can’t wait to see what McNeil brings to the table with her next novel. Whatever the story, I’m sure it’ll be as 'unputdownable' as Possess was!    

SIZE: 4.5

Invincible Summer - Book Review

Title: Invincible Summer

Author: Hannah Moskowitz
Release Date: April 19th, 2011
Format/Page Count: Kindle Edition, 288 pages

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Purchased: Kindle

Synopsis: Noah’s happier than I’ve seen him in months. So I’d be an awful brother to get in the way of that. It’s not like I have some relationship with Melinda. It was just a kiss. Am I going to ruin Noah’s happiness because of a kiss?

Across four sun-kissed, drama-drenched summers at his family’s beach house, Chase is falling in love, falling in lust, and trying to keep his life from falling apart. But some girls are addictive.... Not your typical beach read.

Expectation: After reading BREAK (Moskowitz's debut novel), I knew I would eventually read Invincible Summer. After hearing the buzz, my expectations were very high.

Market/Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary

Review: 

 

“Gideon keeps falling down.”

Within the opening line of Invincible Summer, is a hint of what will follow as the story of the McGill family unfolds. And who better to tell their story than Chase McGill. Chase, the self-appointed oldest brother (who is chronologically the second oldest), narrates this family saga over four summers as he struggles to keep it together and keep making sense of a dynamic that is sometimes impossible to make sense of…the modern family.

The thing that really touched me on a visceral level about this story was the relationship between Chase and his older brother, Noah. Noah is a wanderer, a bit of a lost soul perhaps. Chase so desires to keep Noah within the family fold that it’s sometimes the only thing on his mind. But when the brothers are together, that’s the real magic of this book. The two are so touching together, so achingly close and intimate. As someone who grew up with three brothers, this bond that Moskowitz has somehow perfectly captured resonated so loudly for me it became the whole focal point of the story. Whatever happens between these two boys, the love they feel for one another is so solid—so breathlessly there—that it leaves you aching within its pulse.

But as beautifully written as their relationship is, it is not entirely the focus of Invincible Summer. As the opening line alludes, this could in fact be considered a story of falling. We meet up with the McGills every summer for four years. The first summer, we meet the boys, their parents, their younger sister Claudia and deaf brother Gideon. And we also meet the Hathaway family that the McGills intimately share their summers with. There is Shannon, Bella, Melinda and their parents.

There is a reason I listed all the characters here. In the first few pages of Invincible Summer, as a reader, I thought I was going to have a hard time keeping track of this rather large cast. My fears were quickly alleviated, though, as I got deeper into the McGills’ saga. Each character was so well drawn there was never any question about who was who. Moskowitz did a wonderful job making each one unique and memorable.

There is another character in Invincible Summer worth mentioning. Albert Camus. He plays as big a role as some of the other characters. Moskowitz weaves beautiful Camus quotes throughout her story, as the boys become almost obsessed with his views and opinions of the world. After their introduction to him through Melinda, who has sex with both Chase and Noah, they are able to spout off Camus quotes for every event in their lives. This was done perfectly by Moskowitz, someone who clearly knows her Camus. It was such a delight to see the chosen quotes co-mingling with the story Moskowitz so expertly wove.

I’m not going to go too far into the story of Invincible Summer. I feel to give details would be to give away too much. I’ll just say that there is always something happening. In the first summer, we see Chase and his clan deal with a new addition, the tie breaker baby sister who throws off the balance of blond and brunet in the McGill household. In the second summer we see a rift in the family that has them fracturing in such a unique way it’s as tickling as it is tragic. The pivotal moments in Invincible Summer seem to occur in and around Chase’s yearly summer birthday, a fact not lost on our narrator. Each summer, there are issues for the family to deal with. And as the reader sees them arrive and erupt on the page, we are filled with nostalgia, angst, regret and pain. We laugh with the McGills and we cry with the McGills.

This book is one I will return to again and again. It’s an expertly woven tale of family dynamics, teen relationships and childhood summers. Every reader will connect to these memorable characters. Every reader will recall their own childhood summers as they dive deeper into this book… and how they felt both sickeningly vulnerable and powerfully invincible all at once as they struggled through those summers. And if they have siblings, they will ache with the familiarity of the sibling love that is so perfectly texturized in the bond between Noah and Chase. Moskowitz nailed the modern day family in this tale. I feel certain it will work its way into the hearts of all who read it.          

This book exceeded my expectations by so much, I can't even quantify it. I seriously expected to enjoy it, as I enjoyed Break. But this one...it felt like it hit me on a visceral level. Such an emotional roller coaster--the good kind!  
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