Review of "The Body Finder"

"The Body Finder"
by Kimberly Derting


5

Pub. Date: March 16th 2010
Pages: 329

Summary: Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world . . . and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat left for her. But now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved by her hope that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer . . . and becoming his prey herself.

I absolutely loved this book! I am a slow reader and I read this book in only a few hours, it was THAT good. I really enjoyed the mystery, paranormal, and romance combo. Out of all the books that I've read for the 2010 Debut Author Challenge this was definitely my favorite so far. I thought it was really cool how each soul that Violet sensed had an original smell or taste. Getting glimpses into the killer's mind helped pick up the pace of the story for me. It just gave me chills knowing what was happening before Violet did. Derting was also good at keeping me guessing throughout the story. There were a couple of times where I thought I knew what was happening and then I found out I was completely wrong. I love when I have trouble figuring out what is going to happen next in a book. I like when I don't see things coming and just HAVE to continue to read to find out the next twist. I loved watching the interactions between Violet and Jay. I feel like that's how I act when I like guys, playfully hitting one another and teasing the pants off them.

I've never been the type of person to actively seek out a mystery to read, but this book made me want to delve into the genre. I know that it wasn't a strict mystery because there was a lot more going on in the plot, but I felt it was a good introduction for me. I don't usually plug bookstores or online bookstores, but I just discovered that BN.com has an e-book version of "The Body Finder" for only $1.99. I'm not sure if this is a sale price, but I just had to share this fantastic deal with you! I can't wait to see what Derting writes next, but according to her website she does have a book coming out in 2011 called "Desires of the Dead". Here is the book trailer for "The Body Finder" that I got off Derting's website.

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Review of "Hex Hall"

"Hex Hall"
by Rachel Hawkins


4

Pub Date: March 3, 2010
Pages: 336

Synopsis: Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father-an elusive European warlock-only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters. By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect. As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

I thought this book was a lot of fun with great fantastic characters. I read it in only a couple of days because I just couldn't put it down. I really enjoyed Sophie's character, even if I thought she was being a little dense at times. I just felt like reaching into the book and pinching her saying, "Wake up! This is SUCH a bad idea". Sophie has a wonderful sense of humor and a unique voice that hooked me into the story from the beginning. I wasn't sure how I felt about Archer, Sophie’s love interest. He had his moments, but I didn't quite grasp why he was dating Elodie. I hope that he is in the next book because I think he could develop into an interesting character, but right now I don't know how I feel about him. My absolute favorite character in the book was Sophie's roommate Jenna. I have to admit that I love pink so I could relate to Jenna's pink obsession. I just felt she was an interesting character with a lot of spunk.

I can't wait to read the next book in the "Hex Hall" series. Hawkins seems to be taking the next book in a really interesting direction that has potential to be an even more fantastic. It feels weird to predict that the next book will be so awesome, but Hawkins finished the book with some interesting twists that could make it more than just a super fun, but typical supernatural book. It does bother me that there is a black cat on the cover, but there is nothing about animals being a part of the book. Well... other than the shifters, but I don't remember there being a shifter cat in the book. I know this is just being picky, but it seemed unnecessary.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of paranormal fiction, especially if you are looking for a fun page turner. People who like the series "Magic in Manhattan" and/or "House of Night" will enjoy "Hex Hall".

*I received an ARC of this book for free at the ALA conference.

Review of "Leviathan" by Scott Westerfeld

"Leviathan"

by Scott Westerfeld

6

Pub. Date: October 6, 2009

Pages: 448

Summary: It is the cusp of World War I, and all the European powers are arming up. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition. The British Darwinists employ fabricated animals as their weaponry. Their Leviathan is a whale airship, and the most masterful beast in the British fleet.

Aleksandar Ferdinand, prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battle-torn Stormwalker and a loyal crew of men.

Deryn Sharp is a commoner, a girl disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.

With the Great War brewing, Alek's and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way...taking them both aboard the Leviathan on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure. One that will change both their lives forever.

I absolutely LOVED this book! It had action, suspense, beautiful illustrations, a fantastic plot, and wonderful characters. Scott Westerfeld created a fantastical world based off the real events of WWI by adding futuristic machines and genetically engineered animals into the conflict. Even though the book isn't completely historically accurate, it does cover some of the political issues going on during and prior to the war. I loved that Westerfeld added an afterword that goes over what is fact and what he fictionalized. Westerfeld made this book appealing to both girls and boys through the fast paced story that followed two main characters of the opposite sex.

As mentioned earlier, Westerfeld has added beautiful illustrations that help the reader to better understand some of the scenes that Westerfeld is trying to portray. I feel like the illustrations really brought the characters and machines to life. The world created is so intricate that it helped having the visuals so I wasn't bogged down by descriptions. I was a bit worried that it might slow down the pace of the book, but I didn't find it to be a problem. It was actually really cool to have a visual of some of the action scenes.

Between "Leviathan" and "Incarceron" I am hooked on steampunk and cannot wait to read more of the sub-genre. If you want to learn more about "Leviathan" just check out Scott Westerfeld's blog. The first chapter and the afterword are available if you are interested, but the afterword does have some spoilers. You can check out the blog here. I highly recommend that people who are fans of fantasy or sci-fi check out this book.

YA Books Reach a Broad Audience

My brother forwarded me an article from the Los Angeles Times discussing why teen books appeal to adults as well as younger audiences. I'm sure a lot of us bloggers are aware of this, but I just thought it was interesting to see what some of the top publishers and authors had to say on the topic. Check out the article here.

Teaser Tuesdays

"Leviathan"

Scott Westerfeld

Excerpt from page 60:
"The Huxley let out a screech above the wind, like the horrible sound when one of Da's air bladders would spring a leak.
'No, Beastie! We're almost safe!'"

I am a little more than halfway through the book and loving it! It is one of those books where you are late places because you can't put it down.

Teaser Tuesdays was started by MizB on her blog. On Teaser Tuesdays participants are asked to grab the book they are currently reading and open it to a random page. Then fist two "teaser" sentences on that page between lines 7 and 12. The key is to entice readers to pick up the book without giving away any spoilers.