Hot Off The Press

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

 in Book Reviews / Books / Fantasy / Hot Off The Press / Older Readers / Otherworldly / Young Adult by

THIS BOOK HAS NOT YET BEEN RELEASED AND OFFICIALLY COMES OUT OCTOBER 19TH 2010

Summary

Calla Tor has always known what her destiny will be. She will become the Alpha Female of a werewolf pack. Her mate, Ren Laroche, was already decided. But she does agree that he is sexy. She, in her position, does not get to choose who she can love. There are rules from the Keepers. The Guardians do as they are told, but if they do well they get rewarded with education, money, cars, and food. But she and her mate, since they are alpha’s, run the pack, they fight side by side, and guard a sacred site for the Keepers. But when she saves a boy hiker from a bear, she realizes her mistake. But he then is gone. But when she goes to school, he is the new student. The Keepers want him protected. The overseer of the new pack, Logan, want the alpha female and male to watch over him. They were going to be his “Guardian.” But this strange boy invites her in. She actually loves him. But loving him could cost them their lives. But is love the ultimate sacrifice?

Review

This was an interesting book. Unexpected things happened. It was about werewolves but it was pretty realistic. This might be a read again for me. The characters were interesting because of the way they were described. I thought that the story’s base line was interesting with the she and he wolf and then a human in between. There was quite a lot of blood mentioned in the book. This is because when a Guardian is severely injured with a magic weapon, they have to drink another guardians blood. There is a ginormous arachnid in the book and there are some other squeamish parts. The violence is my only complaint about the book. There was a lot of it. There are also creatures which are shadows and they are kind of creepy.

Hope that my readers enjoy it when it comes out.

A Million Shades of Gray by Cynthia Kadohata

 in Book Reviews / Books / Fiction / Hot Off The Press by

Vietnam 1973. What  Y’Tin wants  in life is to be an elephant handler. But not just a handler,  the best handler in his village. He loves his elephant, Lady, and his deep devotion and attachment to her is makes him want to spend all his time with her. Though the Vietnam War has been fought in his country, and his father worked for the American Special Forces Y’Tin has had a peaceful life in his village. However, it changes suddenly with the arrival of fighters from the north who overtake his village. Everything Y’Tin thought his life was about changes.

Set in the Central Highlands of Vietnam in 1973 – 1975 this story is set in the later stages of the Vietnam War, after the United States has withdrawn and  the south of Vietnam is left to defend itself against the onslaught from the north. Cynthia Kadohata paints the details of the lives of  the Dega people of the Central Highlands  clearly and draws the reader into the joys and sadness of village life. The world of a teenage boy and his elephant comes to life in her descriptions of school, family, war.

Cynthia Kodahata weaves a story that is brutally real and engrossing. Her writing draws you in and through her words you are able to discover the world of the Highland people of Vietnam. She spares no one in setting out her story, and the American role in the later stages of the war aren’t overlooked. She doesn’t skimp on the details of the brutality of war and its impact on people, and has clearly researched the topic thoroughly. I found myself wondering several times if the content was too much for the younger reader, as the details of conflict are clearly described. However, that is what makes the books so powerful. It is a fictionalized account of what happened, and serves as a lesson to younger readers who don’t know the history, or older readers who have forgotten.

This is great writing, and it is no wonder that Cynthia Kadohata is an award-winning writer. An excellent, but sobering read.

by Guest blogger M.O.M.

Bad Kitty Gets A Bath

 in Books / Fun / Hot Off The Press by

by Nick Bruel

*NEW* HOT OFF THE PRESS

Review

This is a little book (size wise) but is very cute. The book is about this cat that crashes into a garbage can and gets all dirty. Kitty (the name of the cat) then has to be given a bath because she is really smelly and the owner cannot stand her. Once the bath is filled, he has to FIND the cat. Kitty had disappeared and they could not find her for a while. The owner had to search for her and finally cornered her into the bathroom and then had to try and get her INTO the bathtub. Once she was in it, after a lot of persuading and pain, the owner got the cat into the bathtub.

The book was actually really good. When I saw it on the shelf at my library I was reluctant to read it because it look kind of child-ish but then I decided against it. The cover looks really nice and when I opened the book, I found it had illustrations. The book has wonderful illustrations. There is also some information about cats in the book. Legitimate facts about them. You can actually learn a thing or two. Also it was quite funny. There were some funny pictures and some funny things said.

I just loved the illustrations though. The book was kind of done in a journal form, like the drawing were rough and the writing was all over the place. The illustrations really enhanced the book and made it really interesting. There was not a WHOLE lot of text in the book (because it was mostly all pictures) but you know the saying “pictures tell a thousand words.”

I hope that you will like this book as much as I did.

Happy Reading.

HOT OFF THE PRESS….. The Name Of This Book Is SECRET by Pseudonymous Bosch

 in Books / Fiction / Hot Off The Press / Series by

thenameissecretSummary

A mysterious death.

An intriguing narrator.

A surprising alliance.

A mysterious disappearance.

And the names of the heroes are XXXX and XXX-XXXXXX.

(Sorry can’t tell you. It’s a SECRET.)

Review

Yes I know that you are thinking, ‘What was the point of that summary? There is nothing there telling you what the book is about.’ Well, sorry to disappoint mes amis (that means ‘my friends’ in French). That is the whole point of the book. The more you read the more you learn. In the beginning Pseudonymous Bosch does not even have a chapter one (Nor does he have a chapter 13. Bad Luck for XXXX and XXX-XXXXXX). He cannot give names or addresses away. He can not even describe the persons appearance. You just have to guess. This is a book you want to read more, and more, and more, and more, and more, and I think you get the point. This books ending is like a cliff hanger. The end is obviously saying that there will be another book. This is a must read book. It is humorous, and is mysterious. It is probably one of the best books I have read in a while. This book has illustrations on the beginning of every chapter. It gives the book character. This book should definitely be an award winner. What do you think?????

Happy Reading!!!!!