Book Thoughts: The Graveyard Book

Title: The Graveyard Book
Author: Neil Gaiman

This was my first foray into reading Neil Gaiman, and I think I shall have to go back for more. Clever, cute, and a little bit creepy, the story of Bod’s childhood in the graveyard is one that I devoured in one sitting. I was reminded of a more serious and slightly more grown-up Eva Ibbotson story.

The cast of characters is wonderful and varied, and the story is one you don’t want to stop reading. It was in the YA section at my library, but I would extend the age range for this book into slightly before “young adulthood” and well after it. In other words, check it out if you like anything remotely fantastical or mysterious.

Book Thoughts: Past Midnight

Title: Past Midnight
Author: Mara Purnhagen
Series: Past Midnight #1

I love when I find a book that completely exceeds my expectations. I thought Past Midnight was going to be good -- certainly not bad, but ghost stories are often hit-or-miss with me, and I thought "good" was as good as it was going to get. But...I was wrong. And in times like these, I love being wrong.

Charlotte's parents are professional ghost-story debunkers. They believe in residual energy, nothing more. They never live in one place for very long, always on the move to debunk more ghost stories. So when they settle in South Carolina with the intent to stay there long-term, Charlotte is thrilled. Until a pair of ghosts turns up in her bedroom...and her new friends turn out to have ghosts of their own.

I loved the friendships between Charlotte and the cheerleaders and Charlotte and Noah. As much as I love romances, I loved that this wasn't a romance. I loved that college was mentioned - it's realistic. I can attest to the fact that high school seniors spend a lot of time thinking about college, so that was a nice touch. And I loved that I didn't solve the mystery before the end of the book - it kept me reading to find out what was going to happen next. Mostly, I just really liked Charlotte as a narrator, too. And, okay, I've read books set in Charleston where you can tell the author has never actually been there, but Mara Purnhagen got it right. So the book gets bonus points for that too. :)

Past Midnight hasn't earned a place on my all-time-favorites, read-them-over-and-over list...but it was definitely an awesome, fun read (and pretty short, too, if you don't want something long). It gets the thumbs-up from me! Check it out if you get the chance.

Oh, and before I go: is this cover gorgeous or what? I'm not sure what about it appeals to me so much, but I love it. It's awesome.

Book Thoughts: Shade

Title: Shade
Author: Jeri Smith-Ready
Series: Shade #1

I went on the PulseIt website, saw a book that looked interesting, opened the e-book to read the inside jacket and see what it was about. I swear I never meant to get sucked into it and just keep reading...but I did.

The book about which I am speaking is SHADE by Jeri Smith-Ready. It's an absolutely fantastic book and you will not - repeat, will not - want to put it down. The premise is this: Almost seventeen years ago, on the night of Aura Salvatore's birth, a mysterious event called the Shift occurred. Everyone born after the Shift - "post-Shifters" can see ghosts. Ghosts can only interact with the living, and they contact post-Shifters so that they can accomplish whatever they need to do to be at peace. Most of the post-Shifters are more annoyed and/or frightened by their violet visions than interested in helping. Aura included. Until her boyfriend, Logan, dies.

While Aura is mourning Logan's death and attempting to carry on a relationship with ghost-Logan, exchange student Zachary Moore arrives and is assigned to be Aura's partner on her thesis project (another school that requires senior thesis projects! Yay for relating to the characters!), which is about megaliths. Aura wants to find out more about the Shift. Which means finding out more about Zachary as well. Throughout SHADE, Aura struggles to balance her relationships with the living and the dead, all while searching for clues to the event that has made her and all the other under-seventeens of the world able to see the dead.

I think what I really loved about this book were the characters. While the premise is blatantly fictional - people don't see ghosts, definitely not everyone under seventeen - the characters were hauntingly (haha, bad pun) real. Aura's grief, Logan's frustration, Zachary's frustration, Aura and Megan's friendship - all of it is wonderfully, painfully real. I also love that the readers aren't being hit over the head with the fact that "YES. THIS WORLD IS WEIRD. THERE ARE GHOSTS." The ghosts and the supernatural aspects of it figure in significantly to the major plot - there'd be no book without the Shift and the ghosts - but it's all just there. It's part of the world. There are no lengthy explanations of why this world is so different; it just is, and we understand that.

And then there's the fact that I am now desperate for a sequel, which considering this one just came out is not a good thing. I don't wanna have to wait!!! SHADE does wrap up a complete storyline in and of itself, but it also leaves a lot of unanswered questions about the Shift and Aura's past that could(/should) lead to a sequel. Plus I really don't want to give up Aura and Zach and Logan just yet. So - please, Jeri, can we have another one? :)

Book Thoughts: The Light

Title: The Light
Author: D.J. MacHale
Series: Morpheus Road #1

THE LIGHTwas written by D. J. MacHale, who also wrote the wonderful sci-fi/fantasy/adventure Pendragon series. This was a really strange book that took me a little bit to get into, but in the end, I really enjoyed it and I'll definitely read the second one when it comes out.

The book is about Marshall ("Marsh") Seaver, a quiet boy with one real friend who lives alone with his father because his mom died. He's planning a wonderful summer vacation, but then two strange things happen: Marsh's best friend Cooper disappears, and the scary comic-book super-villain that Marsh has been doodling everywhere starts appearing in real life. When it starts becoming clear that the two occurrences are related, Marsh has to team up with Cooper's sister Sydney to find out what happened to his best friend and put a stop to Gravedigger (the super-villain)'s dangerous behaviors.

I can't count the number of times I said "This book is so weird" while I was reading it, but in the end, I did think it was a good book and it definitely kept me reading. THE LIGHT was full of mystery and creepiness and adventure, and Marsh is a pretty well-developed character. It plays with your mind and makes you want to find out what happens. There are definitely a few plot holes that need to be addressed and hopefully will be later in the series, but it's definitely worth reading. You can find out more about stuff at D. J. MacHale's website. You can check out the Pendragon series too - it's very very very very awesome.

Book Thoughts: The Summoning

Title: The Summoning
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Darkest Powers #1

The Summoning is about a girl named Chloe Saunders. She's moved around a lot since her mom died, and now her life is finally starting to calm down. She goes to a special school for the arts and dreams of being a filmmaker. Her biggest worry is that she hasn't hit puberty yet, and all of her friends have. Well, it hits - and brings more than just the normal teenage-girl problems.

Suddenly Chloe is seeing ghosts everywhere. When dead people in her school start demanding her attention and she starts talking to people who seemingly aren't there, her Aunt Lauren gets her put in a special group home called Lyle House.

At first Lyle House isn't that bad. But as Chloe gets to know the other kids - Simon, Derek, Lizzie, Rae, and Tori - she begins to suspect that there is more to this home for troubled children than meets the eye. Lyle House has a dark secret, and Chloe is determined to figure it out. But that may be more dangerous than she knows...

The Summoning kept me eagerly turning pages, and the ending left me waiting desperately for the release of The Awakening. Kelley Armstrong does an excellent job with this series, and I recommend it to anyone looking for some great dark fantasy.

[[If you can't tell, this is one of the earlier reviews I wrote. I can now add that books 2 and 3 were just as great!]]