Pea-Sized Reviews: Spectacle

I'm on a serious graphic novel kick right now... I'm literally putting a hold on every new graphic novel my library gets in that remotely interests me. I love that I can binge-read these in like a day, and yet still get so completely sucked into the story and the world and the characters because the art brings it all alive. If you have any suggestions for great graphic novels, please send them my way!



Spectacle, Vol. 1
by Megan Rose Gedris

Available as: paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 136
Publisher: Oni Press
Publication date: May 22, 2018
Suggested tags: young adult (ages 13-17), graphic novel, mystery, ghosts, circus/carnival



From Goodreads:

"Fan-favorite webcomic creator Megan Rose Gedris (Yu+Me Dream) crafts a compelling tale of magic, deception, and wonder in this stunningly illustrated graphic novel about the bond between sisters.

Pragmatic engineer Anna works as a psychic in the Samson Brothers Circus, but she doesn't believe in anything supernatural—until her twin sister Kat is murdered and comes back as a very demanding ghost. Sharing a room with her sister was hard, but now they're sharing a body while trying to identify the killer. With few leads, a troupe full of secretive folk, and strange paranormal occurrences popping up around the circus, solving the case seems near impossible. But the murderer in their midst may be the least of their problems..."

I have a thing for books set in circuses or carnivals, plus I liked the murder mystery plot with a ghostly twist, so this one was a winner for me. I wasn't sure how I felt about the style of the art at first, but it did grow on me quite a bit. I actually loved the bonus art at the end with the circus posters. The story starts off kind of heavy with Anna discovering her twin sister Kat's murdered body... but it does get a little lighter and even humorous at some points. Kat finds that she can dive into Anna's body and kind of camp out there, so the two of them get down to the business of collecting clues and trying to solve Kat's murder. There are some mysterious things happening around the circus and it ends on kind of a wtf cliffhanger that made me want to pick up the next volume immediately (and after some searching, I discovered that more issues are available online! wheee!!).

Final verdict: I loved it!

{ My reviews are honest and my opinions are my own; 

your reading experience may vary, so give it a read and see what you think. :) }

Friday Freebies: April 4, 2014

It's a paranormal freebie fest! Click on each title to go to the Amazon Kindle edition listing. Be sure to double-check the price before you download!




Anathema
by K.A. Tucker

Available as: paperback, Kindle edition
Pages: 284 (Kindle edition)
Publisher: Papoti Books
Publication date: May 27, 2011
Suggested tags: young adult, paranormal, vampires



First in the Causal Enchantment series. From Amazon:

"Evangeline has spent her teenage years in obscurity. Her foster parents have the emotional aptitude of robots and her classmates barely acknowledge her existence. About to turn eighteen and feeling like a social pariah, she is desperate to connect with someone. Anyone.

When Evangeline meets Sophie after literally stumbling upon her café, she believes she’s found that connection. Willing to do anything to keep it, she accepts a job as Sofie’s assistant and drops everything to fly to Manhattan, where she is thrust into a luxurious world of Prada, diamonds, and limitless cash.

With such generosity and kindness, it’s easy for Evangeline to dismiss certain oddities . . . like Sofie’s erratic and sometimes violent behavior, and the monstrous guard dogs. She’s even willing to dismiss her vivid dreams of mob-style murders, beautiful homeless people living in caves, and white-eyed demons that haunt her each night as figments of her imagination—especially when one of those figments is the gorgeous Caden. When she wakes up with bite marks on her neck, the fairy tale quickly turns into a nightmare. She slowly unravels the mystery surrounding Sofie and friends, and the reality of the bites and the “dreams.” What she discovers is far more mysterious and terrible than anything she could have imagined.

In a world where everyone has motive to lie for personal gain, Evangeline must decide which deception is least likely to get her killed."

Psyched
by Juli Caldwell

Available as: paperback, Kindle edition
Pages: 225 (Kindle edition)
Publisher: Firefly Publishing
Publication date: May 30, 2013
Suggested tags: young adult, paranormal, ghosts



From Amazon:

"Aisi Turay has it all under control.

At least, she thinks she does. Forget that the most popular girl in school hates her guts and will stop at nothing to embarrass her. Forget that her little brother is tormented by the ghosts and demons she sees all the time. Forget that her mom is a con artist who pretends to be psychic to make some cash. Forget that her dad is hiding a secret than can destroy everything she knows about herself. Nope, she's got this one...until that one awful day when she nearly loses it all.

With ghost-hunting hottie Vance, a guy who stumbled into her life at the worst possible moment, Aisi must search for the messages hidden in visions and memories to protect her family. Maybe, just maybe, they can reclaim what she thought was lost forever."

WANTED: Dead or Undead
by Angela Scott

Available as: paperback, Kindle edition
Pages: 210 (Kindle edition)
Publisher: Evolved Publishing LLC
Publication date: March 18, 2012
Suggested tags: young adult, paranormal, zombies



First in The Zombie West series. From Amazon:

"Trace Monroe doesn't believe in luck. He never has. But when a fiery-headed cowgirl saunters through the saloon doors, wielding shotguns and a know-how for killing the living dead, he believes he just may be the luckiest man alive.

Trace wants to join Red's posse, but she prefers to work alone--less messy that way. In order to become her traveling companion, Trace has to agree to her terms: no names, no questions, and if he gets bit, he can't beg for mercy when she severs his brain stem.

He agrees, knowing only that Red is the sharpest shooter he's ever encountered. The fact she's stunning hasn't escaped his attention either.

What he doesn't know, is that Red has a very good reason to be on top of her game. She not only has the answer for how they can all outlive the plague taking over the wild, wild west, she IS the answer."

Waterborn
by Kimberly James

Available as: paperback, Kindle edition
Pages: 374 (Kindle edition)
Publisher: Createspace
Publication date: August 29, 2013
Suggested tags: young adult, paranormal, mermaids



From Amazon:

"Charms fade... "You don't have to choose. You can be both. The girl with the charm, the girl without. They both suit you."

Caris Harper lives a charmed life. Literally.

When her dad offers to take her to the Emerald coast of Florida for summer vacation, Caris jumps at the chance. The chance to get answers to questions she's always been too afraid to ask. The chance to be normal. Isn't that what her dreams have been telling her, that here in the place of her birth she can be normal? But from the first moment the wind caresses her face and the sun touches her skin, the charm begins to fade, revealing a girl Caris never knew existed, one that is anything but normal. The long-buried Song that awakens is only the beginning of a transformation that will challenge her ideas about loyalty and family.

Noah Jacobs is a waterbreather--a species of human fully adaptable to life in the water. Like his older brother Jamie, Noah wants to prove they can use their abilities and be heroes in service to their country. When a simple mission goes wrong and Jamie goes missing, Noah exiles himself to the Deep in a desperate search. MIA is a classification Noah is not ready to accept. But instinct can't be ignored. Not when he hears her Song. Caris is not what he expects and Noah is determined to get her out of his head. Instead he finds himself acting as her mentor and the more time they spend together, the more Noah realizes he just wants Caris.

When a startling truth threatens their newly formed trust, Noah straddles the line between love and obsession while Caris struggles to find a balance between the girl she thought she was and the young woman she wants to be."

New Release Round-Up: December 2-8, 2013

Young Adult


Ink is Thicker Than Water
by Amy Spalding

Release date: December 3, 2013
Available as: paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 320
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Suggested tags: young adult, realistic fiction, contemporary



From Goodreads:

"For Kellie Brooks, family has always been a tough word to define. Combine her hippie mom and tattooist stepdad, her adopted overachieving sister, her younger half brother, and her tough-love dad, and average Kellie’s the one stuck in the middle, overlooked and impermanent. When Kellie’s sister finally meets her birth mother and her best friend starts hanging with a cooler crowd, the feeling only grows stronger.

But then she reconnects with Oliver, the sweet and sensitive college guy she had a near hookup with last year. Oliver is intense and attractive, and she’s sure he’s totally out of her league. But as she discovers that maybe intensity isn’t always a good thing, it’s yet another relationship she feels is spiraling out of her control.

It’ll take a new role on the school newspaper and a new job at her mom’s tattoo shop for Kellie to realize that defining herself both outside and within her family is what can finally allow her to feel permanent, just like a tattoo."

Rain of the Ghosts
by Greg Weisman

Release date: December 3, 2013
Available as: paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 240
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Suggested tags: young adult, paranormal, ghosts



First in the Rain Cacique series. From Goodreads:

"Rain of the Ghosts is the first in Greg Weisman's series about an adventurous young girl, Rain Cacique, who discovers she has a mystery to solve, a mission to complete and, oh, yes, the ability to see ghosts.

Welcome to the Prospero Keys (or as the locals call them: the Ghost Keys), a beautiful chain of tropical islands on the edge of the Bermuda Triangle. Rain Cacique is water-skiing with her two best friends Charlie and Miranda when Rain sees her father waiting for her at the dock. Sebastian Bohique, her maternal grandfather, has passed away. He was the only person who ever made Rain feel special. The only one who believed she could do something important with her life. The only thing she has left to remember him by is the armband he used to wear: two gold snakes intertwined, clasping each other’s tails in their mouths. Only the armband . . . and the gift it brings: Rain can see dead people. Starting with the Dark Man: a ghost determined to reveal the Ghost Keys’ hidden world of mystery and mysticism, intrigue and adventure."

Other YA new releases for this week:

Middle Grade


Glitter Girl
by Stephen Webb & Toni Runkle

Release date: December 3, 2013
Available as: paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 256
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Suggested tags: middle grade, realistic fiction



From Goodreads:

"True Confessions of a Trendsetter

Hi! I'm Kat. Welcome to my blog. I may be from a small town but I'm also Glitter Girl Cosmetics' newest trendsetter. Thanks to my flair for fashion and my popular style blog, I've been chosen to be an Alpha Girl, which means I get to try out all the Glitter Girl products before they hit the stores.

Forty-eight hours after she blogs about the goodies in the new line, every girl at Kat's school is sporting the gear. Kat's popularity skyrockets, but Jules--Kat's BFF--seems to be the only one who's not buying into the Glitter Girl lifestyle. Is Kat willing to sacrifice her friendship for life in the fab lane?"

Other Middle Grade new releases for this week:

"Waiting On" Wednesdays: May 1, 2013

"Waiting On" Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Each Wednesday, you share upcoming releases that you're eagerly anticipating.





Absent
by Katie Williams

Expected release date: May 21, 2013
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 184
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Suggested tags: young adult, paranormal, ghosts



From Goodreads:

"Forever is a long time to be stuck in high school.

Seventeen-year-old Paige is dead, the victim of a freak fall from the roof during Physics class. Now she’s a ghost, permanently bound to the grounds of her high school. It isn’t all bad, she can find out everyone’s secrets, which can be amusing—for a while. But then Paige hears something that isn’t amusing at all: the rumor spread by the most popular girl at school that her death wasn’t an accident—that she supposedly jumped on purpose. Paige is desperate to stop the gossip, but what can a ghost do? Then Paige discovers something amazing. She can possess living people when they think of her, and she can make them do almost anything. Maybe, just maybe, she can get inside the girl who’s responsible for the stories. . . and have a little fun turning the tables while she’s at it.

Katie Williams’s second novel is a suspenseful page-turner full of eerie wit and a touch of the otherworldly."

Friday Finds #35

Friday Finds is hosted by Should Be Reading. Each Friday, you share the great books you heard about or discovered over the past week: "books you were told about, books you discovered while browsing blogs/bookstores online, or books that you actually purchased."




The Reece Malcolm List
by Amy Spalding

Available as: paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 352
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication date: February 5, 2013
Suggested tags: young adult, realistic fiction, contemporary



From Goodreads:

"Things I know about Reece Malcolm:

1. She graduated from New York University.
2. She lives in or near Los Angeles.
3. Since her first novel was released, she’s been on the New York Times bestseller list every week.
4. She likes strong coffee and bourbon.
5. She’s my mother.

Devan knows very little about Reece Malcolm, until the day her father dies and she’s shipped off to live with the mother she’s never met. All she has is a list of notebook entries that doesn’t add up to much.

L.A. offers a whole new world to Devan—a performing arts school allows her to pursue her passion for show choir and musicals, a new circle of friends helps to draw her out of her shell, and an intriguing boy opens up possibilities for her first love.

But then the Reece Malcolm list gets a surprising new entry. Now that Devan is so close to having it all, can she handle the possibility of losing everything?"

Shrapnel
by Stephanie Lawton

Available as: paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 212
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Publication date: January 18, 2013
Suggested tags: young adult, paranormal, ghosts



From Goodreads:

"It’s been six years since Dylanie and her family visited a Civil War site and the place came alive with cannon fire. Problem was, no one could hear it but her.

Now she’s sixteen, her dad’s moved out, her mom’s come out of the closet and Dylan’s got a spot on Paranormal Teen, a reality TV show filming at historic Oakleigh Mansion. She’ll spend a weekend with two other psychic teens—Jake and Ashley—learning how to control her abilities.

None of them realized how much their emotional baggage would put them at the mercy of Oakleigh’s resident spirits, or that they’d find themselves pawns in the 150-year-old battle for the South’s legendary Confederate gold. Each must conquer their personal ghosts to face down Jackson, a seductive spirit who will do anything to protect the gold’s current location and avenge a heinous attack that destroyed his family."

Unremembered
by Jessica Brody

Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 320
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux
Publication date: March 5, 2013
Suggested tags: young adult, science fiction, romance



First in the Unremembered series. From Goodreads:

"When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the sixteen-year-old girl discovered floating among the wreckage—alive—is making headlines across the globe.

Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn’t on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can’t be found in a single database in the world.

Crippled by a world she doesn’t know, plagued by abilities she doesn’t understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can’t remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she’s running out of time to answer them.

Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her from before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget?

From popular young adult author Jessica Brody comes a compelling and suspenseful new sci-fi series, set in a world where science knows no boundaries, memories are manipulated, and true love can never be forgotten."

What Lies Beneath
by Richard Denney

Available as: paperback
Pages: 172
Publisher: CreateSpace
Publication date: March 26, 2013
Suggested tags: young adult, mystery, thriller



From Goodreads:

"When Blair Lewis is left for dead in a freezing lake, she can't get over the fact that her boyfriend tried to kill her. And when she begins to receive disturbing gifts and letters from her supposed dead boyfriend, she attempts to figure out what is going on before the darkness consumes her. Nothing is as it seems and the startling truth is going to rip Blair right out of this world. Is Blair simply losing her mind? Or is something vicious and dark after her sanity and soul?"

Friday Freebies: February 22, 2013

Click on each title to go to the Amazon Kindle edition listing. Be sure to double-check the price before you download!



Blood Calling
by Joshua Grover-David Patterson

Available as: paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 271 (Kindle edition)
Publisher: Red Iris Books
Publication date: January 2, 2013
Suggested tags: young adult, paranormal, vampires



First in the Blood Calling series. From Amazon:

"Lucy Leary's eighteen year old life is a wreck. Her parents divorced, she's earned a DUI, and her grandfather has died. He left her a single possession: A vampire slaying kit with a note that says, "They're real. Fight them."

Lucy finds answers in a place she never expected--the homeless shelter where she has to perform her community service. The Sundown Shelter is only open at night, and the man who runs it disappears during the day. But digging into the truth is dangerous. What Lucy learns will force her to abandon her life and confront an ancient vampire out to get her family."

Shadow Bound
by Angel Lawson

Available as: Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 214 (Kindle edition)
Publisher: unknown
Publication date: December 10, 2012
Suggested tags: young adult, paranormal, ghosts



Second in the Wraith series. (Book 1, Wraith, is also currently free!) From Amazon:
(BEWARE OF POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD if you have not read the first book in the series!)

"After recovering from a horrific fire that took the lives of two people and released her best friend, Evan, to pass from this world to the next, Jane Watts finally has a chance to live a normal life.

If you consider seeing and guiding ghosts normal.

It’s summer and Jane and her friend, Ava, spend the hot, humid days working and hanging at the pool while Jane’s boyfriend, Connor, attends summer school. With the ghosts under control, things are going well until a friend from Connor’s past reconnects with him. Hours later she kills herself. Charlotte’s suicide throws Connor into a tailspin and her ghost latches on to Jane because, as they learned from Evan, ghosts only linger if they need something.

Unfortunately, Charlotte doesn’t need something. She wants something.

In Shadow Bound, Jane struggles with the fact that not every spirit is welcome and not all have good intentions. With Ava’s help, Jane stumbles into a decades-old murder, what her gift really means and how to save Connor from forces intent on destroying them all."

The Sun, the Moon, and Maybe the Trains
by Rodney Jones

Available as: paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 253 (Kindle edition)
Publisher: Red Adept Publishing
Publication date: September 28, 2012
Suggested tags: young adult, time travel, romance



From Amazon:

"John Bartley’s days are filled with working in the mill or the garden, and he can’t wait to see Zella at the next barn dance. But when he stumbles through a hidden portal in the forest, everything he’s ever known falls behind him.

A hundred and thirty-four years behind, to be exact.

Tess can’t quite believe John’s tale of time travel. Does he really not know what a cell phone is? A car? Indoor plumbing? To convince the girl he’s swiftly falling for that he’s not crazy, John must delve into Tess’s history—his future—and solve the mystery of his hometown’s demise.

But when they learn its fate, each faces a wrenching choice. Save their love or save the past?"

Whispers from the Grave
by Leslie Rule

Available as: paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 216 (Kindle edition)
Publisher: Andrews McMeel
Publication date: April 3, 2012
Suggested tags: young adult, science fiction, time travel



From Amazon:

"The similarities between Jenna and Rita were uncanny. They looked and acted exactly alike. Each was experiencing the thrill of first love. Each was empowered with a gift of the supernatural. And each harbored dark secrets. Jenna and Rita could have been sisters. Except for one thing . . . Rita was murdered over a century ago.

Out of the yellowed pages of her diary, Rita's frightening legacy is reborn. But the more Jenna reads of Rita's spellbinding past--of murder, deception, and sinister experiments--the more she fears her own future. Because Rita's history is repeating itself, moment by horrifying moment. And Jenna has to live it."

Read my review of Whispers from the Grave.

Friday Finds #33

Friday Finds is hosted by Should Be Reading. Each Friday, you share the great books you heard about or discovered over the past week: "books you were told about, books you discovered while browsing blogs/bookstores online, or books that you actually purchased."




Geek High
by Piper Banks

Available as: paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 242
Publisher: NAL Trade
Publication date: November 6, 2007
Suggested tags: young adult, realistic fiction, contemporary



First in the Geek High series. From Goodreads:

"At this school, everyone's a geek. And Miranda Bloom still can't fit in...

Miranda is a math genius with divorced parents, an evil stepmother, and no boyfriend in sight. She can't even fit in with the other geeks at the Nottingham Independent School for high-IQ students, because they actually have useful talents. Miranda, on the other hand, is known as "The Human Calculator," which doesn't amount to much when people have, you know, their own calculators.

Then Miranda gets stuck planning the school's Snowflake Gala. And as she struggles to find a date and drum up some school spirit at Nottingham-aka "Geek High"-she finds that who you are means more than where you fit in."

Lights on the Nile
by Donna Jo Napoli

Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 288
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: September 20, 2011
Suggested tags: middle grade, historical fiction, fantasy



From Goodreads:

"Kepi is a young girl in ancient Egypt, content to stay home with her family, helping her father, who was wounded in the construction of a pyramid for the cruel pharaoh Khufu. But that was before she and her pet baboon, Babu, were kidnapped and held captive on a boat bound for the capital city, Ineb Hedj. And when Kepi and Babu are separated, she knows she has only one choice: to make her way to the capital on her own, rescue Babu, and find a way to appeal to the pharaoh. Khufu is rich and powerful, but Kepi has her own powers, deep inside her--ones she herself doesn't even know about yet.

Donna Jo Napoli, acclaimed author of Zel and Beast, revisits the fabled origin of fairies in this strikingly original and affecting novel of friendship."

Spellbinder
by Helen Stringer

Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication date: September 29, 2009
Suggested tags: middle grade, paranormal, ghosts



First in the Spellbinder series. From Goodreads:

"Belladonna Johnson can see ghosts. It’s a trait she’s inherited from her mother’s side of the family, like blue eyes or straight hair. And it’s a trait she could do without, because what twelve-year-old wants to be caught talking to someone invisible?

It is convenient, though, after Belladonna’s parents are killed in a car accident. They can live with her the same as always, watching the same old TV shows in their same old house. Nothing has changed . . . until everything changes.

One night, with no warning, they vanish into thin air—along with every other ghost in the world. It’s what some people think ghosts are supposed to do, but Belladonna knows it’s all wrong. They may not be living, but they’re not supposed to be gone.

With the help of her classmate Steve, a master of sneaking and spying, Belladonna is left to uncover what’s become of the spirits and to navigate a whole world her parents have kept well-hidden. If she can’t find her way, she’ll lose them again—this time for good."

Zoo
by Tara Elizabeth

Available as: paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 290
Publisher: CreateSpace
Publication date: February 11, 2013
Suggested tags: young adult, dystopia



First in The Enclosure Chronicles. From Goodreads:

"A chronicle of my time living in a zoo . . . I'm not really sure where to start, and you may have trouble believing me even as I tell you my story. My family did. They laughed the first time I told them, so now I just say it was all a crazy dream. You see, I died in a totally preventable car accident . . . or so I thought. When I opened my eyes, I was shocked to discover that I had been resurrected into the year 2282 and, just as unbelievably, was locked up in a zoo! A HUMAN ZOO! Oh wait, I mean the People's Past Anthropological Center.

The Global Government created the Centers because all of the different cultures of the world had, over centuries of time, slowly absorbed into one uniform culture. Everything and everybody felt the same, and the world didn’t like it. So, to help the people of 2282 find cultures they thought worthy to live their lives by, they used time travel to zap the people of the past into the future. They created enclosures to house their live human exhibits. And that's what happened to me. I became a research project, a source of entertainment. I was a prisoner who was over two hundred years away from my family and friends.

Most of my time in the enclosure was spent trying to escape. I also made friends, lost friends, fell in love, was betrayed, was held captive within captivity, and lots of other fun stuff. There were some shocking moments and some devastating moments . . . It’s a lot to recount, but I’ll try my best to tell you all about my time travel . . . PAST, PRESENT, and FUTURE.

I'm Emma, by the way."

Friday Finds #31

Friday Finds is hosted by Should Be Reading. Each Friday, you share the great books you heard about or discovered over the past week: "books you were told about, books you discovered while browsing blogs/bookstores online, or books that you actually purchased."




Don't Expect Magic
by Kathy McCullough

Available as: hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 256
Publisher: Ember
Publication date: November 8, 2011
Suggested tags: young adult, paranormal



First in the Magic series. From Goodreads:

"Delaney Collins doesn't believe in fairy tales. And why should she? Her mom is dead, her best friend is across the country, and she's stuck in California with "Dr. Hank," her famous life-coach father—a man she barely knows. Happily ever after? Yeah, right. Then Dr. Hank tells her an outrageous secret: he's a fairy godmother—an f.g.—and he can prove it. And by the way? The f.g. gene is hereditary. Meaning there's a good chance that New Jersey tough girl Delaney is someone's fairy godmother.

Even though she's not the pink and sparkly type, Delaney soon finds herself with a client: Flynn Becker, a boy at her new school who's hopelessly in love with a girl who doesn't know he exists. Flynn's wish is Delaney's command. With her customized black boots and chopstick wand, Delaney does everything in her power to make Flynn's wish come true. But what happens when a fairy godmother needs a wish of her own?"

My Beating Teenage Heart
by C.K. Kelly Martin

Available as: hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 288
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Publication date: September 27, 2011
Suggested tags: young adult, paranormal



From Goodreads:

"Ashlyn Baptiste is falling. One moment she was nothing—no memories, no self—and then suddenly, she's plummeting through a sea of stars. Is she in a coma? She doesn't remember dying, and she has no memories of the life she left behind. All she knows is that she's trapped in a consciousness without a body and she's spending every moment watching a stranger.

Breckon Cody's on the edge. He's being ripped apart by grief so intense it literally hurts to breathe. On the surface, Breckon is trying to hold it together for his family and his girlfriend, but underneath he's barely hanging on.

Even though she didn't know him in life, Ashlyn sees Breckon's pain, and she's determined to find a way help him. As her own distressing memories emerge from the darkness, she struggles to communicate with the boy who can't see her, but whose life is suddenly intertwined with hers. In alternating voices of the main characters, My Beating Teenage Heart paints a devastatingly vivid picture of both the heartbreak and the promise of teenage life—a life Ashlyn would do anything to recover and Breckon seems desperate to destroy—and will appeal to fans of Sarah Dessen, John Green, and David Levithan."

Still Waters
by Emma Carlson Berne

Available as: paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 212
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication date: December 20, 2011
Suggested tags: young adult, mystery, paranormal



From Goodreads:

"Hannah can't wait to sneak off for a romantic weekend with her boyfriend, Colin. He's leaving for college soon, and Hannah wants their trip to the lake house to be one they'll never forget.
But once Hannah and Colin get there, things start to seem a bit...off. They can't find the town on any map. The house they are staying in looks as if someone's been living there, even though it's been deserted for years. And Colin doesn't seem quite himself. As he grows more unstable, Hannah worries about Colin's dark side, and her own safety.

Nothing is as perfect as it seems, and what lies beneath may haunt her forever."

Wherever You Go
by Heather Davis

Available as: hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 320
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Publication date: November 15, 2011
Suggested tags: young adult, paranormal, ghosts



From Goodreads:

"Seventeen-year-old Holly Mullen has felt lost and lonely ever since her boyfriend, Rob, died in a tragic accident. The fact that she has to spend most of her free time caring for her little sister and Alzheimer’s-stricken grandfather doesn’t help. But Holly has no idea that as she goes about her days, Rob’s ghost is watching over her. He isn’t happy when he sees his best friend, Jason, reach out to help Holly with her grandfather—but as a ghost, he can do nothing to stop it. Is his best friend really falling for his girlfriend?

As Holly wonders whether to open her heart to Jason, the past comes back to haunt her. Her grandfather claims to be communicating with the ghost of Rob. Could the messages he has for Holly be real? And if so, how can the loved ones Rob left behind help his tortured soul make it to the other side?

Told from the perspectives of Holly, Jason, and Rob, Wherever You Go is is a poignant story about making peace with the past, opening your heart to love, and finding the courage to move forward into the light."

Friday Freebies: October 12, 2012

Click on each title to go to the Amazon Kindle edition listing. Be sure to double-check the price before you download!



Cornerstone
by Kelly Walker

Available as: paperback, Kindle edition
Pages: 263 (Kindle edition)
Publisher: Kelly Walker
Publication date: September 30, 2012
Suggested tags: young adult, fantasy



First in the Souls of the Stones series. From Amazon:

"In a world comprised of three rival kingdoms as different from each other as the families that rule them, Emariya Warren is unique in being a daughter of not one but two of the ruling families.

Sixteen years ago, Emariya narrowly escaped dying on their cold estate floor beside her mother. Now, after learning her father has been captured, Emariya makes the desperate decision to follow in her mother's ill-fated footsteps and journey to marry the prince of a rival land, Torian Ahlen. But when Emariya discovers the secrets of the three families and an ominous prophecy warning the three bloodlines must never be combined, she begins to fear the handsome prince waiting for her may desire more than to steal her heart.

CORNERSTONE is a full length Young Adult fantasy.
Mature Content - Cornerstone does include a few minor curse words. No sexual or explicit content."

Darkness Falls
by Jessica Sorensen

Available as: Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 288 (Kindle edition)
Publisher: Jessica Sorensen
Publication date: March 14, 2012
Suggested tags: young adult, paranormal, dystopia



First in the Darkness Falls series. From Amazon:

"When the disease spread through the world, people had no choice but to go into hiding. The Colony is hidden deep underground, far away from the vampires—humans that were transformed by the disease. The vampires are hideous, starving, and they will kill any human they come across.

Seventeen-year-old Kayla is a Bellator, a warrior that protects The Colony. In order to survive, there are three rules she must follow:
Rule #1—Never go out after dark.
Rule #2—Always carry a weapon.
Rule #3—No matter what, never EVER get bit.
But what happens when the rules Kayla has always lived by can no longer apply?

The Highers run The Colony and accept nothing less than perfection. One slip up can mean death. Kayla has always worked hard to follow the rules and strive for perfection. But during a moment of weakness, she lets her imperfections show. Her punishment is worse than death. She is chosen for The Gathering and is thrown out into a world full of starving vampires.
No one has ever survived The Gathering, at least that’s what Kayla’s been told. But when she runs into a group who insist they were once part of The Gathering, Kayla discovers the Highers have been keeping secrets. Secrets that could lead to a cure."

The Deepest Cut
by J.A. Templeton

Available as: paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 306 (Kindle edition)
Publisher: Julia Templeton
Publication date: June 27, 2011
Suggested tags: young adult, paranormal, ghosts



First in the MacKinnon Curse series. From Amazon:

"Sixteen-year-old Riley Williams has been able to see ghosts since the car crash that took her mother's life and shattered her family. Guilt-ridden over the belief that she's somehow responsible for her mom's death, Riley is desperate to see her mother's elusive spirit to gain her forgiveness.

When her father moves the family to Scotland so they can all start over, Riley believes her life couldn't get worse--that is until the ghost of nineteen-year-old Ian MacKinnon catches her purposely cutting herself. An uneasy truce quickly turns into friendship, and soon Riley's falling hard for Ian.

Riley believes her gift could help Ian end the curse that has kept him tied to the land for centuries, but that would mean letting him go forever and she's not sure she is strong enough to do that. As if her life wasn't complicated enough, the malevolent spirit of the woman who killed Ian returns and she'll stop at nothing to keep Riley from helping Ian find eternal peace.

Please note: THE DEEPEST CUT is a mature YA paranormal romance. Due to strong language, mention of cutting, alcohol and drug use, it is not recommended for younger teens."

Witch Eyes
by Scott Tracey

Available as: paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 338 (Kindle edition)
Publisher: Flux
Publication date: September 1, 2011
Suggested tags: young adult, paranormal, witches



First in the Witch Eyes series. From Amazon:

"Braden's witch eyes give him an enormous power. A mere look causes a kaleidoscopic explosion of emotions, memories, darkness, and magic. But this rare gift is also his biggest curse.

Compelled to learn about his shadowed past and the family he never knew, Braden is drawn to the city of Belle Dam, where he is soon caught between two feuding witch dynasties. Sworn rivals Catherine Lansing and Jason Thorpe will use anything—lies, manipulation, illusion, and even murder—to seize control of Braden's powers. To stop an ancient evil from destroying the town, Braden must master his gift, even through the shocking discovery that Jason is his father. While his feelings for an enigmatic boy named Trey grow deeper, Braden realizes a terrible truth: Trey is Catherine Lansing's son . . . and Braden may be destined to kill him."

Friday Finds #29

Friday Finds is hosted by Should Be Reading. Each Friday, you share the great books you heard about or discovered over the past week: "books you were told about, books you discovered while browsing blogs/bookstores online, or books that you actually purchased."




Dark Souls
by Paula Morris

Available as: hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 304
Publisher: Point
Publication date: August 1, 2011
Suggested tags: young adult, paranormal, ghosts



From Goodreads:

"Welcome to York, England.
Mist lingers in the streets.
Narrow buildings cast long shadows.
This is the most haunted city in the world. . . .

Miranda Tennant arrives in York with a terrible, tragic secret. She is eager to lose herself amid the quaint cobblestones, hoping she won't run into the countless ghosts who supposedly roam the city. . . .

Then she meets Nick, an intense, dark-eyed boy who knows all of York's hidden places and histories. Miranda wonders if Nick is falling for her, but she is distracted by another boy — one even more handsome and mysterious than Nick. He lives in the house across from Miranda and seems desperate to send her some sort of message. Could this boy be one of York's haunted souls?

Soon, Miranda realizes that something dangerous — and deadly — is being planned. And she may have to face the darkest part of herself in order to unravel the mystery — and find redemption."

Fear: 13 Stories of Suspense and Horror
by various authors

Available as: hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, ebook, audiobook
Pages: 320
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Publication date: September 2, 2010
Suggested tags: young adult, horror, short stories



From Goodreads:

"Don't turn out the lights. Don't go out alone. And whatever you do, don't let down your guard. Because your neighbors might seem normal, but why do they collect knives and eat their steaks so bloody? And when the boy of your dreams finally asks you out, why is there something so . . . lupine . . . about him? And if your brother's fear of the dark is so childish, how do you explain those shadows creeping out of your closet?

In thirteen blood-chilling stories from true masters of suspense, including five New York Times bestselling authors and four Edgar Award nominees, nothing is what it seems, and no one is safe. . . ."

The Lottery
by Beth Goobie

Available as: hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 224
Publisher: Faber Childrens
Publication date: October 1, 2002
Suggested tags: young adult, thriller



From Goodreads:

"Sally Hanson's school is being secretly ruled by Shadow Council; a powerful and brutal group of students. Every autumn Shadow Council holds 'The Lottery', a dreaded ritual which picks a pupil to be the 'victim' - a person who is ignored by the entire school and forced to become Shadow Council's slave.

Sally is this year's victim - and she faces the worst year of her life. Humiliated and isolated, her friends desert her and teachers turn a blind eye. But when Shadow Council's demands become increasingly sinister, Sally begins to suspect that maybe more than bad luck is against her . . .

A dark and powerful psychological thriller from an extraordinary writer."

Possessions
by Nancy Holder

Available as: paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 320
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication date: September 3, 2009
Suggested tags: young adult, paranormal, ghosts



First in the Possessions series. From Goodreads:

"The It Girl meets The Exorcist in this chilling, haunted boarding school tale

New-girl Lindsay discovers all is not right at the prestigious Marlwood Academy for Girls. Ethereal, popular Mandy and her clique are plotting something dangerous. Lindsay overhears them performing strange rituals, and sees their eyes turn black. It doesn’t help that the school itself is totally eerie, with ancient, dilapidated buildings tucked into the Northern California woods, a thick white fog swirling through campus. There are hidden passageways, odd reflections in the windows at night, and scariest of all is the vast lake rumored to have captured the ghost of a girl who drowned many years ago.

What Lindsay doesn’t yet realize is that Mandy and her cohorts are becoming possessed by spirits who have haunted the school for two hundred years. Spirits who want someone dead...

And that someone is Lindsay."