Keep Her Safe

By Sophie Hannah

I use this blog usually to recommend books for middle school and young adult aged people because there are so many kids that don't know what to read and parents don't know what to recommend. However, this adult book was so good that I just had to share.

If you are into mystery and suspense, then this book is for you. It was one that I just picked at random to listen to (as an audio book) and I was thrilled! I couldn't stop listening.

It starts with Cara Burrows running away from her family for a little break. She is happily married with two young teenage children and she's found out she's pregnant again. The rest of her family is not too happy with this new development, and, feeling upset and confused, she heads to Arizona to a 5-star spa to figure out her own feelings. She arrives late her first night and checks into an already-occupied room. A man and 14 year old girl wake up and find Cara. Cara excuses herself after trying to explain why she ended up in their room. When she gets down to reception, the receptionist is so upset, she upgrades Cara to her own casita. Cara just wants to sleep so she accepts and tries to forget what happened.

The next day, Cara hears an old woman explaining to the receptionist that she saw Melody. Cara, having no idea why this is weird, tries to dismiss it, but something sticks. When she looks up information about Melody, she finds that Melody was a 7 year old girl who was killed by her parents 7 years ago. However, a body was never found even though everyone believes she's dead. When Cara sees a picture of the 7 year old Melody, she realizes it looks just like the girl she saw in the hotel room. There are other, non-disputable things that connect Melody with the girl in the hotel room. Could it really be her? Could her parents be in prison for life for a murder that never happened? Or is it all a ruse? A fake? A look-alike?

Cara teams up with other guests from the resort to investigate more, and she gathers more information about the long ago case. When Cara gets kidnapped, she knows she getting too close to something. The other guests get the police the involved, basically reopening the case of Melody and trying to find Cara. Cara escapes after a few days and the case if figured out after some good detective work. Many people were involved in a few deceptions, sending the story into different paths of thought. But just when you think you know everything, a major plot twist shakes everything up that left me with my jaw on the floor for a while afterwards. I also couldn't get it out of my head so I ended up thinking about it for a long time after I finished listening.

I know the summary may not make this book as exciting as I want it to be, but it is really good. I don't want to give too much away because I want you also to be surprised. The surprises are great!

Some of the characters in this book are fun and engaging. Cara, the main protagonist, is complex but not always constant. Sometimes she's weak and cautious about her words, but at other times, she comes right out and says her mind even though she usually doesn't like to. I guess characters can change, but sometimes it was too much change. The action was just enough to keep you wanting to know more, the suspense dragging you along until you just want to know the answer!  There is some language in the book, some F-bombs and "God-damns" but it wasn't overwhelming.  You need to be good at keeping track of a bunch of characters because there are quite a few, and most of them are necessary. Some a not really needed. 

Overall, this was an exciting book, and the ending was phenomenal! I still am slightly in shock at the way it ended. It leaves me wondering two different ideas of what the author might mean by it, but isn't that what a good book should do? Stay with you? Leave you with something to think about?

I would recommend this book for adults who like mystery, suspense, and thrills. It wasn't scary suspenseful, but kept you on the edge of your seat waiting to find out what happens next. I highly recommend it!

Echo

By Pam Munoz Ryan

Echo is a beautiful story that really consists of 4 different stories. But these 4 stories are connected in an incredible way. Each little story is filled with doubt and fear and a complex, strong spirit, and each story is filled with music. But in the end, they culminate into a gorgeous composition that will echo on after you've finished reading. 

We start with Otto, a boy playing hide and seek with his friends. To impress a girl he likes, he decides to hide in the woods so he'll be the last one found. As he waits, he pulls out a book he recently bought from gypsies, but he's amazed to find his name on the title. The story is about 3 princesses who were given to a witch and were cursed. Otto, who gets lost in the woods, happens across these 3 princesses, and they ask for his help. They fill a simple harmonica with their song and tell Otto to give it to others. Once the harmonica, and the song it produces, helps 3 people, the princesses will break their curse and be free. Otto leaves and finds his way home. When he tells everyone what happened, they don't believe him and think him crazy. He grows up to marry the girl he fancied and live a happy life.

The story then jumps to a new character in a new time. We are now 50 years into the future during World War II and we meet Friedrich from Germany. Friedrich has a birth defect, and at a young age, started working in the harmonica factory in town with his father and uncle. He finds a beautiful harmonica that sounds more amazing than any harmonica he's every played before so he takes it. Friedrich is obsessed with music and is often found conducting imaginary orchestras. Most people find him strange. Life continues to get harder as the War encroaches into their town, and Friedrich's father is not on the right side. Friedrich's father is taken away, and Friedrich races to save him. Just when things are at the worst, this story pauses.

We then move to 1935 and Philadelphia, PA, to a 14 year old named Mike. Mike and his younger brother Frankie are orphans waiting to be adopted. Mike is a gifted musician at the piano. When he finds a harmonica (the same harmonica that Friedrich had in Germany), he puts together a plan to save his brother and he from having nothing and no one. However, they are taken as foster kids to a rich young woman's house, a woman who is dealing with demons of her own. Slowly, music and kindness help, but Mike is afraid they will be separated. He plans to escape with Frankie, but things don't go as planned. Just when things are at their worst, the story pauses.

In the last story, we meet Ivy in 1942 in Southern California. She is a Mexican immigrant who has moved to a new place for her father's work. There are definitely divisions of race, and there are even discussions about the Japanese people in the area who have been taken to camps. In a neighboring house that belonged to a Japanese couple, Ivy finds a room hidden away that officials are looking for. Does she tell? And what's wrong with a room filled with musical instruments? In the meantime, she starts her new school and gets to use a harmonica (guess who else had this harmonica). She is beyond talented and also starts to play the flute. Life gets tense, and again, just when things are at their worst, the story pauses.

In the fourth section of this book, we move to 1951 in New York, NY.  Each chapter in this section belongs to one of the characters: Friedrich, Mike, and Ivy. Their continued stories are revealed as their lives have converged. Because of the harmonica they each shared, their lives have gone in directions they couldn't possibly have imagined. It is a beautiful culmination of their lives.

And in a forest long ago, three beautiful princesses are freed from their curse and are reunited with their family.

This story was incredible! In the beginning you have no idea how everything fits together.  Each story is endearing, and it's hard to leave each one at its cliffhanger. But the end is magnificent.  The way the stories fit together is perfect and creative and brilliant, just like a musical composition that haunts you after it's finished. This story will do the same. It is a MUST READ!!!

I recommend this novel for everyone, but especially for middle school boys and girls. 

A Wrinkle in Time

By Madeleine L'Engle

"It was a dark and stormy night."

Best beginning of any novel ever! I remember thinking this the first time I picked up this book as a tween. And it was a book that I read multiple times within those few early teenage years. I remember enjoying the book immensely.

When I watched the movie a few months ago, I remembered pieces of it, but not enough to contrast between the book and movie.  I had heard complaints about how different the movie was compared to the book and how much was changed, but until I read the book, I was not aware just how much the movie deviated from the original story.

A Wrinkle in Time is a fantastic tale that is not set in a certain time. In fact, unless you checked the copyright date, you'd never know that it was written in 1962. It feels like present day.

Meg Murry is the main protagonist, and she, along with her brother Charles Wallace and their new friend Calvin, are whisked away by Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which. As a child, I thought these names were fantastic! Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which act as guardians, showing the children the terrible danger that lurks nearby and bringing them on an adventure into danger where they have a chance to save their father. The danger is The Black Thing, the Shadow, the Darkness that threatens peoples hearts and souls. But there are those who are fighting it, bringing light to the Darkness and sending the Darkness away.

The children are taken and left on the planet Camazotz where the people are controlled by IT. Everything is the same and like, and no one needs to think. IT offers freedom from thought and freedom of rest.  But it's not real freedom. Charles Wallace is taken in by IT and Meg is the only one who can free him, free him with the one thing that IT does not have: love.  In the end, Meg saves the day, and the family is all reunited.

What I was most surprised about and what I had forgotten about this book was that it has Christian view. The Black Thing is the evil devil, trying to manipulate and possess the people of the world. He fills them with hate, jealousy, greed, and the need for an easy, thought-free life. But there are fighters of good, bringing love and hope to a world of darkness. A few times throughout the book, scripture is quoted, and the Lord is referenced. Of course, those parts were deleted from the movie, but it brings the idea of spiritual warfare to the fore-front.  We, as Christians, are surrounded by the powers of darkness. But we have peace knowing that Jesus has defeated the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh. Though we are still plagued by these, we have the ultimate hope of salvation and true freedom from them.

This book is a fast paced story. The author does not dwell on flowery descriptions of places or people so that makes the story feel faster. There is always something happening.

I would recommend this story for middle school and young adult boys and girls. It is a classic, but it is still a great story. It is a little unusual and strange, but it would be a wonderful book to discuss with kids to find out what they notice about it.

The Siren

By Kiera Cass

Kiera Cass is one of those sweet, simplistic writers that is perfect for young girls and ladies.  She doesn't need to push boundaries to match the culture. She doesn't need to use crude language or sexual situations to draw you in. She just tells a story, a beautiful story about people drawn together. The Siren is one of those stories. 

Kahlen was crossing the Atlantic on an ocean liner when the Ocean called to her. When Kahlen answered Her amid all the chaos and death of everyone else from the ship, the Ocean welcomed her in to become one of Her own, a Siren. Kahlen, with 2-4 other Sirens, is transformed into a deadly messenger. Whenever the Ocean needs to "eat", the Sirens call and sing all passengers to death.

Eighty years later, Kahlen is still a Siren. She only has 20 more years before she will be released from her sentence, but each passing year weighs heavily upon her. She is the only Siren that has nightmares about what they have done. She keeps a scrapbook about all the passengers she sings to their death.  She does not live in the present but clings to the past. The other Sirens she lives with do not understand her and encourage her to change, but it is just not Kahlen. All she has ever wanted was to fall in love and get married.

But one day, that all changes. She meets a boy. And not just any boy, but a special one. Akinli does not shy away from her quiet nature. (Sirens cannot speak or sing in front of anyone or the Ocean will claim them). He does not fear her different ways. In fact, he is a perfect complement for her. And just as she feels as if he could be the One, she leaves to save him and herself from pain and lose. She is Siren, she cannot age for 20 more years, she cannot speak, and she cannot give away the secret of the Sirens. He would just grow old in front of her and not understand the mystery of her. So Kahlen leaves, pulling her sisters with her to move somewhere else and withdrawing further into herself.

Love has other ideas though.  After a extremely difficult singing, Kahlen "runs" away and ends up right by Akinli, as if they are linked. It had been months since she left, but he takes her in as if it were only yesterday.  They spend a magical, perfect day together, but Kahlen makes a mistake, opening her mouth, speaking a single word. In that instant, Kahlen trades her life for his, adding more time to her sentence in exchange for his safety and life. And though that is sad enough, things are not that simple.

Even though Sirens cannot get hurt or experience pain, Kahlen starts to fall ill. She cannot swim underwater like she used to; she cannot sing to death the way she did before.  She is extremely fatigued, sleeping long hours even though Sirens do not need to sleep. And it's not just her. The other Sirens report back that Akinli has the same symptoms. The two are linked, and just when all hope is lost about saving them, the Ocean finally shares the secret that could save them both.

What I liked: Again, Kiera Cass is a wonderful writer. Her style is straightforward but engaging, sucking readers in. You want to know what happens. You grow closer to these characters even though they aren't real. They are easy to read but sweet and satisfying. The characters are realistic and complex, but unique and fresh. Kiera Cass also wrote The Selection series, and I felt those were just as wonderful!

I would recommend this book, and The Selection series, to ANY middle school and young adult girl. They are amazing books!

Quantum Prophecy

by Michael Carroll

Quantum Prophecy starts with a battle...a huge battle between superhumans.  The ultimate evil guy, Ragnarok, is leading the villains in his super tank, waiting for the right opportunity to release his power damper and strip the heroes of their powers. Things don't go as planned, and an explosion rocked the surrounding area.  In that instand, all the superhumans disappeared.

Ten years later, 13 year olds Colin and Danny are celebrating Mystery Day, the day to honor the disappearance of all the superhumans. But weird things are happening. Danny discovers he has super speed. Colin finds out he has super strength and incredible senses. What they find out is that not all superhumans have disappeared.  They've just...retired after their powers were striped.  In fact, Colin and Danny both have retired superhumans living close to them without even an idea of who they were.

Unfortunately, Danny and Colin, with their emerging powers, are kidnapped by someone they thought they could trust. The plan is to strip them of their powers as well, thereby saving the world from a mysterious prophecy that showed Danny leading an army that would destroy everything they knew. Colin escapes and heads to find help, but it's not enough. They are all betrayed again, and Danny sacrifices part of himself to save thousands.  Does that prove that he's not a bad guy after all? You'll just have to find out in the next book.

What I liked: This was a book that I read to my boys, and they LOVED it. They never wanted me to put it down. It is full of adventure and excitement and super powers.  What's not to love? It's a great boy book, but it's also fun for girls too.  It is the first in a trilogy and one of my sons is breezing through the second book with a lot of ohhs and ahhs about what's happening.  It is also a little bit more of a challenging book to read so upper elementary students might struggle with the some of the descriptions. 

What I don't like: There are a lot of words that are low level swear words, words like crap, damn, hell, and bloody. They also use God's name in vain many times. My boys were not happy about those parts, but as I was reading it aloud, I skipped over many of those parts. They were always offended when those words came up though. 

The Remnant Chronicles

By Mary E. Pearson

The Remnant Chronicles are a trilogy made up of The Kiss of Deception, The Heart of Betrayal, and The Beauty of Darkness. Each book is filled with adventure, romance, intrigue, and deception at each turn.

The Kiss of Deception starts with Lia, or Princess Arabella, First Daughter in the Kingdom of Morrighan.  It is her wedding day, but she is far from excited. In fact, she sneaks away, deciding that she wants a chance to live her own life and fall in love. Lia and her handmaid, Pauline, run away to a small town where two young men track her down. One is the Prince who she was to marry and the other is an assassin from a neighboring country on a mission to kill her. The only thing is...you don't know who is who. She starts to fall in love with one of the young men, but you have no idea if it's the Prince or the Assassin. And she has no idea who they are either. She thinks they are just attractive, young men. When something terrible happens, Lia's guilt drives her to return to her home to make things right. But on the way, she is kidnapped by the Assassin. Instead of killing her, he decides to take her back to his country of Venda to see if she can be used. Essentially, he can't kill her because he loves her. The Prince, finding out this happens, chases after her because he is also in love with her. Lia is hauled across the country, fighting and trying to escape, but learning that her destiny is more powerful than she realizes. The story ends with the Prince finally catching up to her, and they are both led into Venda, a vicious place that never takes prisoners.

In The Heart of Betrayal, Lia is trapped in Venda and must learn to play a twisted game with the Kozimar, or King of Venda. He is bent on destroying the other kingdoms and manipulates those around him to get what he wants. The Assassin fights his feelings for Lia while still trying to protect her and the Prince plays another game of deception to keep his true identity and feelings for Lia hidden.  To gain more power, the Kozimar parades Lia around to the various people of the land to bring them "hope" for a new future. The people of Venda take to Lia, welcoming her in, and she learns that Venda is not full of evil barbarians as she was once taught. As she gains more power and discovers more of her destiny, the Kozimar decides to marry her. On the day of the wedding, the Prince finally finds a way to escape Venda with Lia, but the getaway is not clean. Lia is hurt and dying.

Finally, The Beauty of Darkness. Lia takes a while but recovers from her wounds. Her goal is to return to her kingdom to warn them that the Kozimar is still coming, but the Prince is determined to bring her to his kingdom to keep her safe. The Assassin catches up to them and helps escort Lia back to her kingdom. But her kingdom is not safe for her. In fact, they would like to kill her. New information comes to light and Lia realizes that there are traitors in her kingdom, people who are helping the Kozimar destroy her home and the people she loves. She ousts the traitors, saves her dying father, and rallies her people to war. But they are terribly outnumbered. Little does she know that the Prince has ordered his troops to fight with Lia and her kingdom. Together, the two kingdoms with help from some Vendans will battle an army that is twice their size. Lia, using her special gifts and brilliant mind, concocts a plan. The people around her are starting to trust her and follow along. The battle is bloody, but Lia finds a way to save so many of them all. The Kozimar is killed and peace is brought to the land, peace between kingdoms that hasn't happened ever. All because of Lia.

What I liked: This series is fabulous! I loved the first book because it was a whole guessing game as to who she fell in love with. Was it the Prince she was to marry or the Assassin that was sent to kill her? You do eventually find out, but it's fun to wonder and guess while you don't know. The books also had amazing characters. The three main characters (Lia, the Prince, and the Assassin) were complex and well thoughtout, with backstories that were so interesting. All the twists and turns throughout each of the books were great too. Other side characters, like Pauline, Gwyneth, Berdie, Aster, Sven, and Griz, made the story so much more rich and entertaining. It was a great series!

I would recommend this series to middle school and young adult girls. Though it's not a girly-girl book with lots of romance and moony eyes, it's not really a guy book either. I think that some boys might enjoy it, but it's mostly for girls. 

Rogue Knight

By Brandon Mull

This is the second book in the Five Kingdoms series, following directly after Sky Raiders. It continues to follow Cole, Mira, Jace, and Twitch on their adventures to right the wrongs done to Mira and find her sisters.

They move on through the first of the 5 kingdoms and into the 2nd. There, Cole is almost recaptured by the people who enslaved him before, but he escapes with help from his friends. They gather a new, powerful friend named Skye who can create the most amazing illusions. They also hear about three important pieces of information: a Rogue Knight is conquering villages and cities across the Elloweer Kingdom; a monster is zombifying villages and cities within the Kingdom; and there is a mysterious prisoner in a special prison called Blackmont Castle. Mira is convinced that the special prisoner is her sister Nori so they make their way there. Along the way, Cole finds his friend, Dalton, from Earth and they help him escape.

When they get to the prison, the Rogue Knight captures Mira and declares a duel against the Dreadknight, warden of the special prison. An epic battle commences. When it's over, Cole and his friends check the prison, but the mysterious prisoner is mysteriously missing.  Apparently, Trillian the torivor, a caged demon, kidnapped Nori and had her brought back to his Lost Palace. Cole and the others must travel there to save her.

When they get to the Lost Palace, Cole, Jace, and Mira meet Trillian but only through dreaming. To save Nori, they must pass a test, and they only have 3 chances to get it right. It is difficult, to say the least, but they pass and save Nori.  After they leave the Lost Palace, they plan to meet up with the Rogue Knight to go after the monster and stop it. They meet another one of the High Shapers of the Five Kingdoms who gives them special masks that turn them into animals and that will not allow them to be zombified by the monster.

They meet up with the Rogue Knight and together they travel to fight the monster. While fighting, Cole discovers he has magic, or shaping abilities that are rare and powerful. However, while using them to fight the monster, he is cut off from them. Difficult as the battle is, Cole and his friends win and save the day! But the journey is not over.  Honor and a few loyal soldiers plan to head to another Kingdom in search of their youngest sister while Cole, Mira, Dalton, and Jace head to a the Kingdom of Zeropolis to find the middle sister, Consta.  All the while, Cole and Dalton are still on the lookout for other friends from Earth to help save. 

What I like about this book: It was a great follow-up to the first book in the series! It, again, was full of action and adventure, twists and turns.  The story kept moving quickly, and my boys were desperate to hear what happened next.  It was fun to continue this journey with Cole and his friends and to meet knew ones. I love the creativity of the author and how each of the kingdoms are completely different and amazing.  In one scene, Cole, Jace and Twitch go to see an Illusion show that is pretty sweet! 

This is a great book for middle school and young adult boys or girls who like adventure and fast paced stories!